Home & Garden Blog

“For Maryalice Huggins, old things — particularly fine antiques — are living, breathing beings. Some radiate irresistible allure. Auctions might as well be singles bars.”- NYTimes.com Home and Garden feature article, 11/13

Maryalice Huggins, besides having a beautiful name, loves the artisanal and sumptuous quality of fine antiques and priceless heirlooms. And the heirlooms don’t just have to come from your family! Maryalice loves to mix and match from a variety of contemporary and historical artifacts and time periods, and we can do a lot to learn from her. Thank you, NYTimes.com, for bringing once again a refreshing mix of the old and the new to home and garden styling!

What if you want to recreate the aesthetic of Maryalice Huggin’s home? I suggest we start with a base layer of neutral, contemporary objects. Some standard white walls and solid colored rugs, some geometric sofas and glossy tables. From there, let’s look at some antique, rusted, inspired pieces to give your home a kick. Good objects to look for are mirrors, lamps, and table sculptures. Let’s take a look:

First, the base contemporary layer:

Zuo 900231 Fortress Sofa White: $1,322.00

And the antique lovely to set it off just right:

Uttermost 12525 Hesper Wall Art w/Etched, Antique Mirrors and Pewter Finish: $144.00

Find more contemporary style home decor at Smarter.com.

Finishing this weekend (October 12) Crate & Barrel’s Fall Upholstery Sale offers three great ways to save: 15% off select Stock, 15% off select Stock Plus, and 25% off all Custom Furniture (the custom furniture sale is only offered at stores, unfortunately. So make it a point to get to a store this week or this upcoming weekend before the sale runs it’s course!)

Top Sale Items:

Steele Chair from Crate & Barrel: $929.00 (marked down from $1,099.00)

Lounge Three-Piece Sectional from Crate & Barrel: $3,137.00 (marked down from $3,697.00)

Lounge Chaise from Crate & Barrel: $929.00 (marked down from $1,099.00)

Shop for more affordable sofas and sectionals at Smarter.com.

I subscribe to the belief, personally, that your home should reflect your personal style, not the other way around.  Your personal style developed (hopefully!) way before you bought your first apartment or house that you now call “home”.  I’m not talking about the dingy apartment you had to scrape through those first few years after college, I’m talking about home, when you actually had enough money to pick what you wanted, not what was cheapest.  I was struck by how fashion relates to interior design in the most recent issue of Vogue.  For one, I absolutely love Cameron Diaz, the feature woman and style icon of this month’s Vogue, but I was thoroughly distracted by her scenic location.  Only in a way California seems to be able to pull off, the house seemed built of light and sunshine.

Diaz’s style is enviable summer fashion:  well-made, thick linen and a leather belt, the perfect combination of chic and summer fun.  The decor in the room compliments this, with cream-colored, simply-lined chairs, a glass table and wooden dangle decorations.  Maybe your style is a little different, a little darker than Diaz’s bubbly blonde, and you would go with more of a vintage worn aesthetic.  For summer, though, simple and chic is key: here are some ways to evoke Vogue’s set:

Beige Microfiber Adjustable Sofa: $562.99

Contemporary and classy, this discounted sofa is features on Smarter.com as a great find for it’s versatility and luxury.  The sofa adjusts into a bed, and the Microfiber exterior finish is extra durable.  Marked down from $755, this is a great base piece to a new, contemporary style for your home.

Modish Glass Top End Table: $384.99.

Marked down from $731.99, Smarter.com features this fabulous save because of the table’s distinctive style and sleek look.  At the bargain price, how can you say no?

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for more adjustable sofas.
Discounts on glass top end tables.

My mother always said that the way to buy furniture at a good price is paying attention to special offers. Today I have a really good one to show you and I hope you can take advantage of it.

This is the Vancouver Convertible Sofa, and let me tell you why I think buying this piece of furniture right now is such a great opportunity:

First of all, it looks really comfortable. A sofa must be comfortable, because it will mostly be used for relaxing and resting.  This is impossible if your couch is not cozy enough.  Always remember that is not only important for it to look good, it has to feel good too.

I think the design of this sofa is totally elegant, delicate and beautiful. It has a really modern and classy European look that would for certain harmonize with any contemporary deco.  It is very practical since it becomes a full-size sleeper with a blink of your eyes, which is very useful when friends sleep over.  Another interesting detail: the back can be adjusted in three different positions!

Now the best part, it is being sold in a really low price. Only $525,00!!  A sofa having all these great things (being comfortable, so practical and amazing looking) would definitely be expensive and hard to find.  In this case the price is not high at all, exactly the opposite; it’s a bargain for a sofa of this quality.

Vancouver Convertible Sofa: $680 Now: $525.00

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for more convertible sofas.

If you’re in the market for a new sofa and don’t want to spend too much money, check out this for under $500!  It’s not a futon.  It does kind of look like one, but it looks much more comfortable.  It turns into a sleeper just like a futon, but it can also be turned into a lounger.

Doesn’t it look much more comfortable than a futon?  It also comes in Bone and Chocolate.

Denver Adjustable Microfiber Sofa Sleeper: $749 Now: $479

The sale on this sofa ends today!