If you flip through design magazines these days, you'll notice a lot more bedrooms featuring upholstered headboards.  They're comfy and can easily transition between design styles.  Even better, we've moved far beyond the hideous pastel nightmares that assaulted our good design sensibilities in the early 90s.  If you're longing for a "Golden Girls" moment, eat some cheesecake.  Don't do a pink and aqua ruched headboard.  There are lots of affordable options if you're looking for something simple and neutral.  You can find upholstered headboards anywhere from Target to Crate and Barrel.  But what if you'd like something a little more custom?

While reading another design blog, I came across this site which sells kits to create custom headboards at a fantastic price.  Foam for You offer several different styles and give ideas on how to customize each look further.  If you've seen a fabulous designer bedroom featuring an upolstered headboard, this is a great way to get the look for less.  Don't be intimidated by this project.  It's pretty basic and the website gives easy to follow intructions (and 2 ways to contact them for more help if you need it.

I received this question from a reader about how to dress an awkwardly shaped window in her home.  Can you tell me what is the best way to dress a window that is pointed at the top and rectangular down to the sill?  I find that dressing a window is a lot like dressing a person.  No, stay with me on this, it really does make sense. 

You've got the functional aspect of window treatments--does it block light in the morning, keep in the heat during winter, etc.  And then you've got the more decorative issues: Do you want something contemporary and simple or more ornate?  Do you want to to highlight certain details or camouflage them?  Every morning you need to get dressed but you usually consider the weather, the day's activities and making the most of the build you've got. 

Without knowing a few more specifics about your room, it's a little tricky to give you advice but I'll start with this: decide if you like the pointed top or not.  If you do, then you may want to go with something similar to this picture.  Panels hung from a rod that bisects the window at the tallest horizontal point make the pointed top a more featured architectural element.  For a more romantic look, you could swag fabric to follow the shape of the window using rosettes at the peak and corners. 

If you don't like the pointed top, you can use a cornice like the picture above, to conceal the top.  A cornice is better than a valance because it will effectively block the light and create a more convincing illusion. 

Whether you choose to highlight the shape or conceal it is really just a matter of personal preference but either way, let me know what you decide.  

I found this picture in a back issue of Traditional Home magazine and wanted to share it.  Look at those pillows!  What a fantastic way to use some collected t-shirts from past concerts.  I love how most of the room is more conservative and then you have the iconic Rolling Stones tongue on a pillow.  I think the pattern on the draperies do a great job of bridging the furnishings and the accessories.  If you don't have your own collection of vintage rock t-shirts, you can always search eBay and thrift stores.

Instead of pillows, you can have the shirts matted and framed to hang as artwork.  While you're trolling eBay, you may want to look for some classic albums.  Back in the 70's, cover art was almost as much a part of the album creation as the music.  A framed arrangement featuring some of your favorite music is an interesting and more personal way to dress a wall.   

Sunday I took a trip to the Brooklyn Flea Market at the former Williamsburg Savings Bank to check out their wares.  Brooklyn Flea runs 2 markets-one on Saturday in DUMBO and the indoor one at One Hanson Place on Sunday (and both days during the winter).  First off, the space is amazing.  It reminded me of Grand Central Station in that it was such a lovely space to have such a common sort of activity.  Second, the layout made it a little complicated to browse as you incongruously flowed from one set of wares to the next.

Like many things in Brooklyn, items seemed strangely expensive.  I've seen similar items at the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market for better prices.  For costume jewelry and purses there's no contest--hit the West Side.  There were a few exceptions.  The man pictured here, Lon Black, is a regular at the flea market and just plain great to talk to.  He sells from an extensive collection of vintage post cards.  I wound up purchasing a postcard with a vintage photograph of Shea Stadium from when it opened in 1964.  He even took the time to explain how to enlarge it on Photoshop to maintain the detail.

On the mezzanine level, a vendor sold hand blocked pillow cases and bed coverings for very reasonable prices.  The food vendors towards the back are also worth a look.  Delicious tacos and milkshakes at excellent prices.  If the weather is good, I highly recommend taking a walk down Fulton Street where you'll find street vendors and a small secondary flea market.  Hey, you may even get serenaded by an Usher cover singer like I did.

I received this question a little while back from a reader who needed some help figuring out what type of area rug to buy for her living room. 
I hope you dont mind but I have a question for you.  I just did my floor in my family room (wood) until we get a sectional we have two couches (black) that meet and a corner table. In the middle of the room we have a round coffee table! My boyfriend wants a round inexpensive rug because next year we are going to get new couches, so he doesnt want to invest in an expensive rug if we will be replacing it. Anyway, does it need to be round if the table is or can it be a rectangle and do we need to have black in the rug just because the couch is black? I am sorry, but you are the only one that I know that would be able to help me! I appreciate any guidance! By the way, everything you do is stunning! 

Here's my response:  First off, no, you don't need a round rug. You actually need a rectangular rug. Rugs are generally used to anchor a furniture arrangement and since the main items that make up the living room are the 2 sofas (which create an "L" shape), then the rug should be rectangular. I usually relegate round rugs to dining rooms with round tables or larger foyers. You want to have the rug either meet the edge of the sofas or have it large enough for the front 2 legs to go on it.

As for the color, you don't need to have black in it, but it should be a color that compliments black. For instance, a pastel rug would not be ideal with black sofas. But if the room has artwork with black frames or drapes hung on a black rod, then that will tie the black in well enough.

Now, an easy solution would be something neutral, but think about the sofas you may want to get in the future. A tan rug now would work with the black sofas but if you eventually do tan sofas you have a room full of oatmeal. No good. You may think you'll switch out the rug when you switch the sofas, but there will very likely be some overlap. You could start with either artwork or some pillows to pull your color palatte from if you don't plan to design around an area rug (which is actually where I start a lot of my projects)

Don't go with anything smaller than a 6'x9' or it will look chintzy. Better to buy a simpler rug that is the right size than a higher end rug that is too small. It's like couture pants that are 2 inches too short. They may be designer, but they're still highwaters.

So it's time to move and you're reading the listings online or in the paper to see what's out there in your price range.  But who can decipher that mess?  Some of the confusion is the use of all those abbreviations: EIK, w/w, and CAC, for example.  The shorthand saves time and money, but makes it difficult to figure out if the listing actually has the features you're looking for.  By the way, those jumbled letters mean eat in kitchen, wall to wall carpeting and central air conditioning.  NY1 has some helpful information to help you with the alphabet soup.  But that's just one way real estate listings cause confusion. 

What about the words you can actually decipher?  Words like "cozy" or "vintage" or "charming".  Well, in real estate talk those actually mean small, old and strange.  Again, NY1 to the rescue with an informative segment that explains the creative language realtors use when writing a listing. 

But it's not all negative.  Words like "mint" and "turnkey" indicate the property is in excellent shape.  If you're in the market, take some time to educate yourself so you spend your energy investigating the listings that best suit your needs.  And if you're looking to sell, keep in mind that the same home you find tiny and outdated may be cozy and vintage to a potential buyer.

Today is the grand opening of 4 of Diane von Furstenberg's 20 newly designed rooms for the Claridge Hotel in London.  She has stayed in hotels all over the world and is known for her stylish yet practical aesthetic.  My problem?  I can't seem to find any pictures online!  And, sadly, I'm not quite able to hop a flight to London to see the rooms for myself.  Here's hoping the NY Times posts them tomorrow in their style section.  If any of you have come across pictures, please send a link my way. 

It's hard to flip through a home and garden magazine without coming across one of Kravet's ads that show the everyday item, like a black and white cookie, acting as the inspiration for some beautiful fabric or furniture.  I like to poke around their site from time to time since it is chock full of good ideas.

If you can't make it into the  D&D building to see their showroom, they've got a few pictures on their site.  I'm starting to see quite a bit of this color combination and I'm a fan.  If there were enough neutral to tone it down (sisal rug, tan walls) it would actually be quite liveable.  There's also a whole section that showcases designer projects that use Kravet products that has even more great ideas.

I've made my feelings on ikat clear in previous entries.  I like it, but I don't feel it's worth a huge investment.  In 10 years, that ikat print club chair (with ottoman) won't be rocking your living room quite the same way.  Of course, there are exceptions.  You've got a neutral room with lots of African art?  That bench with the ikat print is still going to work really well.  For the rest of us,  Eddie Ross has a great article on his site that shows how to do ikat beautifully (and temporarily).

As you can see, the "investment" items are all classic pieces that will age nicely: brass candlesticks (brass--the antiqued kind-- is so back, did you get the memo?), floral china, petite vases, and simple flatware.  The runners provide the punch and those can easily be made with some fabric and iron on hem tape if you'd like to do something a little trendier,  And yes, those are some funky chairs. But if you're say, throwing a baby or bridal shower, you can just as easily rent these as you can the plain ones, right?  Fear not, the trendy ikat.  You can participate without feeling foolish later.

When you're five going on six there's not too many Christmas presents you can give your parents that are going to wow them.  Macaroni necklace? Ashtray?  Is that lump even an ashtray?  But I (and every other kindergartener at Bowling Green) brought home a custom made silhouette, suitable for framing.  I hope they're holding up that tradition at the old alma mater because silhouettes are the height of style these days.

Silhouette art is nothing new.  It enjoyed serious popularity back in Victorian times when photography and oil paintings were not options for the masses.  Even in the days of love letters and poetry, you could always point to a framed silhouette and say, "of course I love you.  Don't you see your shadowy head on my wall?" 

But there are modern takes, such as the grouping pictured here, that show there's room for this art form even in more contemporary design. 

If you'd like to get on board you can follow the tutorial here which goes through the process of creating your own silhouette artwork.  Or you can find some excellent ready made options on etsy.com.