It’s late January and everyone is talking about the resolutions they set for living a healthier life. Some are succeeding and some aren’t. Have you considered designing your HOME to help keep your resolutions? Need to exercise more? We can convert a spare bedroom into a yoga/meditation retreat. Want more connection with friends and family? […]
Tips to get cozy
The past few years the Danish concept of hygge (pronounced hewgah) has appeared in many of my design and shelter magazines. This idea, which I love, is about creating an environment that fosters well-being through coziness, ease, conviviality and candlelight. In fact, candlelight is almost a prerequisite because hygge, at its core, is defined as […]
Kitchen tile dont’s
I have been fortunate to work with some highly skilled tile installers and, to be frank, it is both art and science. These tile DONT’S are not all related to tile installation, but they prove that a successful installation requires ONE vision, preferably from a professional designer who can prevent these mistakes. When we work […]
A beautiful accessible bathroom
There seems to be a great deal of confusion about what ‘Living in Place’ means. Quite simply, it’s an affirmative approach to designing homes to be accessible, beautiful, comfortable…and safe, of course! A dear friend and fellow designer recently volunteered for an ALS Accessibility home tour. This fundraiser was unique because it was not a tour […]
Space Planning Before and After
Last week we measured for a new project. It is imperative, I find, to take our time when we measure to make sure we capture as much information as we need because ‘ending well’ really depends upon how we begin. You see, space planning is an art AND a science. We can spend hours playing […]
Interior designers aren’t interior decorators
Last fall a high school student, Sara, joined the RHI family as an intern. She is incredibly smart and dedicated; in fact, she’s the valedictorian of her class. It is a privilege to have her on our team. To prepare for Sara’s internship, I mapped out a variety of lessons that I believed would […]
Travel inspires and educates
If you’ve been a follower for any length of time, you will know that I love to travel. Travel is important and I consider it an imperative part of my ongoing education. Travel inspires and refills my creative reserves. More profoundly, it exposes me to fresh design concepts, new products, trending colors and it provides real-life illustration of the impact […]
Step One
A resource that I provide to clients prior to our initial consultation is a Discovery Questionnaire. This 8-page document prompts dialog and discussion between couples from things as mundane as favorite paint colors to more serious issues of health and wellness. I say that I don’t “design by committee”….you know the adage about a horse being […]
Good design takes time…. and knowledge
I was cleaning out my electronic files and stumbled across this photograph I took last summer. It’s a close-up of the ladies room floor at the New York Mets’ Citi Field baseball stadium. Glamorous, I know. I took the photograph because I noticed that the designers used the Mets’ logo colors for the floor. It […]
Top 8 Christmas decorating tips
Our Christmas decorating program ‘Trees with Ease‘ is in full swing and I know many of you will be pulling out your Christmas decorations this weekend so I want to share some tips to help you organize and prioritize. These tips were published in Rutland Magazine and you can view the original article HERE. 1. […]