Modern Interior Design Ideas
April 28, 2026
photo from Knoll Furniture
I believe we are destined to eschew the interior design choices of our parents and embrace those of our grandparents. Sure it’s comforting to go home again for a visit, but when it’s time to decorate we look back another generation. Here are some furniture designs from the 50’s and 60’s which have stood the test of time.
Eames desk and storage unit from Herman Miller
Eero Saarinen's Tulip Chair from Knoll
Florence Knoll's Settee
George Nelson's End Table for Herman Miller
Eames Molded Plywood Folding Screen
So much modern furniture has come and gone, but these pieces have always been popular for their great proportions and quality of construction. Several companies are looking back into their design archives to bring back some limited editions of old favorites.
Eleanor Forbes' Officers Chair (1955) from McGuire
Rerelease of the Eames Molded Plywood Chair from Herman Miller
While most of the lisences for these designs are held by the original manufacturers, Design Within Reach, does sell some designs. I’ll leave you with a quote from Charles Eames which speaks to the integrity of these pieces,
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Coffee Tables to Put Your Feet On
April 21, 2026
Hudson River Valley Woven Table from Ralph Lauren
Having moved to a house where the TV is in the living room, our glass-topped table is a constant source of misery to my couch potatoes who want to put their feet up and be comfortable. And in many homes the coffee table is the default dining table, chess table and extra seat during a party. So now we need a fabulous piece that does all that and more. Here are some coffee tables to make your interior designer smile and you comfortable.
Bennington Cocktail Table by Hickory chair
India Mandavi for Ralph Pucci
Jerome Seguin for Ralph Pucci
And here are a couple with a bit lower price tag!
Braiden Coffee Table from Crate & Barrell
Rosaline Trunk from Pottery Barn
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Staging Your Home For Sale
April 18, 2026
Yellow Flowers Greet the Buyer
Assuming your house is clean, smelling fresh, brightly lit, and offering views out of sparkling freshly washed windows, it’s time to consider whether your furnishings are supporting the mission-to get someone else to imagine that your house is theirs. Once you list your property it becomes a product, and ideally it is barely furnished. The role of the furniture is to control the way the property will be viewed. Rooms look largest when the sight line runs diagonally. So for example, if the first view of the living room, is across to the fireplace, place a chair or large plant to the side of the fireplace to direct the view there. If there is a small bedroom, the bed should be pushed against the far corner opposite the entry door. If an area is disproportionately long and narrow, place a mirror on the long wall to reflect across and widen the room. If you have a wonderful deck or patio, place something colorful (bright chair cushion, or planter) at the perimeter to pull the buyer’s attention there. With each of these long diagonal views, the visitor is subconsciously measuring the space, and you want that measurement to be as large as possible.
Lit alcove beyond the dining table.
Photo by Montecito Home Staging
Visitors should be able to walk easily past your furniture without concern that they will bang or scrape it. This may mean taking the buffet out of a narrow dining room, or leaving simply a sofa and single lounge chair in a living room. Take down your trophy wall because buyers will be drawn in to the intrigue of photos and plaques which show who you know and what you do, and become distracted from your “mission”. Sheers, draperies and blinds should clear the windows to give an unobstructed view, and they should not cover door handles or light switches.
What to do about colorful decorating schemes? Throughout the years, I have seen few, recently decorated listings where currently fashionable colors flow naturally from one room to the next, and with a professional quality paint job which does not appear to need a touch up. If this describes your listing, then your decorating might help sell the property. Not every buyer will be interested in your property, so focus on the profile of your most likely prospect. Hint: That person or couple is probably a lot like you were when you chose the property, and they are buying for the same features that attracted you. So put yourself in their shoes, and imagine where they shop, what they read, and how their peer group is decorating. If your color scheme does not fit for this imaginary buyer, get out the shell white, and start painting.
Montecito Home Staging
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Lastly, plan for photos of your property on the Internet. In fact, look at photos of listings on websites, like Realtor.com. In my experience, buyers click through the photos until they find one which gives them a reason to disqualify the property, then click, they’re on to the next one. Those photos should be a harsh reminder, that limited furnishings and off white walls are probably less offending than overly decorated rooms. Use the photos to showcase architectural features of the property, rather than the furnishings.
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3 Decorating Ideas Your Kids Will Love
April 16, 2026
Kids, these are for you!
1. A magnetic paint primer with a chalkboard paint top coat. This way you can write on the wall or endlessly rearrange posters and pages torn from magazines. And as you see below, thanks to Martha Stewart, any color paint can be chalkboard paint. Scotch tape and masking tape can pull the paper face off of drywall causing all kinds of problems.
Active Wall brand magnetic primer by Magna Magic
Recipe for chalkboard paint from Martha Stewart
2. Check out LoveSacs, 1 and 2 seaters. Much to my chagrin and my teenagers’ delight, our Sac is a great seat to play Nintendo or bed for a wayward couch surfer. I did put my foot down at the fluffy “Snow Leopard” cover, but opted for a conservative tan suede one instead. So our Sac looks like a giant rock. Who was I kidding?
LoveSac
I sent the Snow Leopard back!
- but kept the Suede cloth one
3. Mom, keep the professional decorators out of this room, and let your teens pick their own furniture, paint colors, bed spreads etc. As long as it’s safe in there, let them work with you on a budget, make their selections and live with the consequences. How else will they take control of ever bigger decisions, unless they practice at home? And maybe they’ll have enough pride in the finished project to keep it picked up!
from Desire to Inspire blog
Flickr photo
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3 Child-Friendly Interior Design Ideas
April 14, 2026
As opposed to designing for kids, these ideas are for you. The best way to keep your walls, floor and upholstery looking great in the face of heavy duty wear and tear, is to be proactive in your finish selections.
Wallcovering from F Schumacher
1. Wallpaper your hallways and stair cases. A large scale pattern provides camouflage, but a heavy weight fabric backed vinyl texture can be SCRUBBED. There is a reason that these vinyls are specified for elevator lobbies in office buildings where delivery carts, boxes and briefcases bang the walls. At home your hallways take a beating from sporting equipment, book bags, suitcases and fingerprints.
Koroseal, Belize Weave, color Barbados
Koroseal, Dressage, color Andalousian
2. Laminate print or lightweight fabrics for use as chair seats, banquet backs and tablecloths. Perhaps you want the breakfast room chair seats to match the curtains. Keisling Hess Finishing Company, a fabric converter to the trade, will take the fabric and vinyl coat the surface to make it water resistant. The folks there will view your swatch to confirm that the process will produce the desired result. Chintz or already glazed fabrics may not work well, but I had great success with cotton ticking which was upholstered on a breakfast room banquet. The result was, you guessed it, scrubbable.
The Celeria Kemble Fabric Collection for Schumacher
3. In areas where you know you will have spills or are concerned about moisture penetration, consider laying carpet tiles in lieu of wall to wall. We are accustomed to seeing these tiles used institutionally, however, Millikan produces some designs which are meant for residential installations. Many have the added benefit of producing large graphic patterns which look more like a rug than tiles. And when stained beyond the point of cleaning, a single tile can be pulled out and replaced.
Millikan Tesserae Carpet tiles
Enjoy your home AND your kids!
Millikan Legato Collection
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