Great book: Soul of the Home

Some coffee table books are so great, that you don’t just decorate your coffee table with them, you read them cover to cover. Tara Shaw’s influential interior design book Soul of the Home: Designing with Antiques is a “must-have” for anyone who has inherited antiques or an interest in shopping for antiques. Unless you’re refurbishing…

Professional design: making an interior healthy

Healthful living starts with a healthy interior environment. Before undertaking an interior decorating project, it’s helpful to review your built environment against healthy building standards. For example, upgrades to paint colours and lighting will not have the desired impact on your wellbeing if your space doesn’t have thoughtfully installed windows. As an athletic young woman…

Professional design: biophilia to lift your mood

One of my favorite design philosophies to enhance the mood of a space is biophilic design. “Biophilia” is a word that means “love of living things” and biophilic design incorporates natural elements into your home. Making use of biophilic elements in your home boosts your emotional well-being by bringing the psychological benefits of time spent…

Professional design: 3 awesome feng shui ideas

You don’t need to be an interior design professional to make use of design philosophies like feng shui. If you’ve never decorated a home before and don’t know the difference between Art Deco and Hollywood Regency, a basic design philosophy can help you decide where to place your furniture and decor. Following a philosophy like…