Ask A Designer™

Ask A Designer: How To Make The Most Of A Compact Family Room

In this Ask A Designer column, Jennifer Koper shares her tips for designing a functional gathering place. Question: How do I lay out my narrow family room? Should I do built-ins on either side of the fireplace? I’ve already ordered a sofa and I’m looking for a coffee table — what…

Food

3 Instagram-Worthy Eats From The New Cookbook, Vibrant & Pure

The debut cookbook from Adeline Waugh, creator of the popular Instagram account @vibrantandpure, proves that healthy foods can be beautiful, too. Gorgeous photos of these recipes will make you want to try holistic eating, if you’re not doing so already. The book offers 80 recipes, and many…

Decorating & Design

Ask A Designer: How To Modernize A Kitchen That Is Stuck In The Past

In this Ask A Designer column, Jennifer Koper shares her tips for refreshing a kitchen with a light palette and open shelves. Question: I’d like to spray my lower cabinets white and swap out my uppers for open shelving. How do I make this look good? — K.S., Calgary Answer: Having…

Decorating & Design

Lynda Reeves On What You Should Include In Your Next Reno

This article originally appeared in the February 2020 issue of House & Home You can probably imagine how many scouting shots of condos and newly renovated houses arrive in our office every month. Over the 30-plus years of looking at thousands of photos, patterns emerge that can’t be ignored. Some have…

Ask A Designer™

Ask A Designer: How To Add Interest With Built-In Bookcases

In this Ask A Designer column, Jennifer Koper shares her ideas for making an awkward living-dining room more polished. Question: The angled wall in my living room has me stumped, and I’m not sure what to put on my bare walls. Could you help me with furniture and lighting? — T.M.,…

Ask A Designer™

Ask A Designer: How To Wake Up A Tired Dining Room

In this Ask A Designer column, Jennifer Koper shares her ideas for refreshing a dining room without changing the furniture. Question: I’d like to pull my dining room together and give it some style, but I want to keep my furniture. Where do I start? — B.B., Montreal Answer: The good…

Decorating & Design

Lynda Reeves On The New Recipe For Kitchen Design

This article originally appeared in the October 2019 issue of House & Home Kitchen design has a way of bringing out strong opinions in many of us. Everyone has their view on exactly what they don’t like, plus a list of things they’re considering but wonder about. The investment is always…

Celebrity Style

Cynthia Loyst Shares 5 Tips For Creating A Sanctuary At Home

There’s something about the start of a new year that makes us want to indulge guilt-free in rest and relaxation. That’s exactly what Cynthia Loyst — writer, producer and co-host of The Social — wanted to achieve with her debut book, Find Your Pleasure: The…

Food

3 Fuss-Free Recipes From The New Cookbook, Cooking For Good Times

Chef Paul Kahan may have built a culinary empire in Chicago, but he’s also known for his casual style of entertaining at home. He knows that getting everyone involved, and having drinks and snacks while you cook together is key to a fun gathering. In his latest cookbook,…

Decorating & Design

Ask A Designer: How To Warm Up A Dated Fireplace

In this Ask A Designer column, Jennifer Koper shares her ideas for giving a drab fireplace a modern makeover. Question: We’re moving into a new home that has a fireplace with decorative niches on one side of the wall. Could you recommend a mantel style and help us furnish the space?…

Decorating & Design

DIY: Elegant Gift Wrap

This is a super simple yet beautifully elegant wrap. You create bundles by wrapping any gift in either tissue or a remnant of solid-colored fabric. What you’ll need: Silk organza fabric Fabric remnants or tissue paper in complementary hue Tape Scissors Leather laces Kraft paper tags Bubble wrap and fabric…

Decorating & Design

DIY: Lynda Reeves’ Modern Art Christmas Crackers

Christmas crackers are the best because they make great table decorations and you can personalize them by filling them with wonderful treats. You can either use store-bought ones and just swap out the contents, or you can make your own. What you’ll need: Sheets of kraft paper and gold-colored paper…

Decorating & Design

DIY: Flower Tree Advent Calendar

A fun way to count down the days before the 25th, advent calendars can also be a stylish decorating move. Whether they’re handmade or store-bought, they bring a merry mood to your space. This DIY version is equally elegant and artful! What you’ll need: Magnolia branch (or similar) Rocks Vessel…

Food

3 Comforting Israeli Recipes From The New Cookbook, Sababa

Tel Aviv-based American author Adeena Sussman teaches readers how to create flavor-packed recipes with Israeli ingredients such as tahini, sumac, harissa and za’atar. Sababa translates to “everything is awesome,” so whether you try the comforting Marak Katom soup filled with seasonal root vegetables or the Smoky Eggplant P’titim,…

Ask A Designer™

Ask A Designer: How To Transform A Living Room With Shades Of Blue

In this Ask A Designer column, Jennifer Koper shares her ideas for bringing a dated living room into the present with a cool-toned palette. Question: I’d like to update my living room, but I’m not sure where to begin. Please help! — L.J., La Salle, Ontario. Answer: I love that…