The newly launched Wintr Markt is an online concept shop offering featuring holiday and winter collections of modern American luxury home décor by Apricot’s Home. Inspired by winter weekends spent at christkindl markets and ski villages all over North America, the Wintr Markt brings sparkling warmth into your home even on the darkest days of…
Tag: contemporary living
How to care for washable wool
A lot of Apricot’s Home products have washable wool in them, so let’s talk about what washable wool is and how best to care for it. Why do we use washable wool? It is a dream material for many winter goods and doggie products, providing unparalleled quality. From absorbing moisture in the cold, to natural…
Is your quiet luxury home preppy at heart?
One of the hardest interior decorating choices in American luxury homes, is whether or not to include upscale preppy influences. Is covering your walls with paintings of horses and dogs subtly nostalgic, or, is it tacky and fake? Anyone with old school preppy grandparents can tell you, it’s ok to be fake as long as…
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…
Sewing 101: how to make luxury pillow covers
In interior decorating, if you want overstuffed luxury throw pillows, your best choice is to make them yourself. In the picture, I replaced a set of Armani silk and golden silk wool pillow covers with a custom Mood Fabrics screenprint and silver glow in viscose-linen blends. The cost of fabric for designer pillow covers is…
Furniture mods: how to Hollywood your sofa
Reupholstering a sofa with a custom-made cover is the first step in transforming a living room from coastal vibes to a Hollywood allure. Picking the right upholstery silhouette and fabric takes a few weeks to do. The sofa in the picture started with a contemporary off-white cover in an Upper East Side apartment. Living on…
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…
#LKRB principle of design: waste not, want not
With a no-waste approach to interior decorating, environmental sustainability and financial sustainability go hand in hand. One of the primary reasons that glamorous historical properties are sold into trusts is because they were built without an eye to maintenance costs. A low-key luxury living space gives thought not only to day-to-day contemporary living, but also…
Furniture mods: upholstering like an expert
Upholstering your furniture with professional results does not require extensive interior design expertise. The papasan chair in the picture was transformed from a modern vibe to a rustic lodge aesthetic with a natural wool pillow cover. I used a wool wash with lanolin to soften the cover for an extra-cozy touch. Pillow covers versus upholstering…
#LKRB principle of design: love before you buy
The most important reason to purchase inexpensive furniture as a young adult isn’t to save money, but rather to make sure that when you do buy high quality furniture, you love what you buy. Shopping for antiques and custom-made decor takes patience and persistence. If you don’t hire an interior designer to do your shopping…