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Curated

Look Up, Darling. Ceilings Are The Statement Piece You Never Knew You Needed

Ceilings are having their moment. Delicate fretwork with softly lit arches, fiber optic star fields in a home theater, and faux wood beams turn the room's most overlooked surface into a statement.

Curated

Is Your Living Room Killing the Vibe? How to Design Spaces That Spark Connection

Most living rooms are built for bingeing, not belonging. Fireside nooks, swivel chairs by the window, and social kitchen seating create spaces that spark real conversation and connection.

Curated

Bespoke Built-Ins: The Perfect Solution for Personalized Spaces

Catalog furniture solves one problem at a time. Bespoke built-ins solve several at once, tailored to your space, your height, your storage quirks, and the way your family actually lives.

Curated

Designing Your Home for Wellness: A Holistic Approach

Wellness starts at home with natural light, clean air, filtered water, and rooms designed to soothe. Simple, impactful choices that help you feel better in the place where you spend the most time.

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Fall Organization Tips for Parents

A designer mom of three shares her back-to-school survival tactics, from a lunch assembly station and posted meal plans to laying out a full week of outfits before the morning rush begins.

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Designing Functional Study Spaces for Kids

From a banquette nook off the kitchen to a convertible desk hidden behind sliding metal mesh, ideas for study spaces that grow with your kids from grade school all the way to college.

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Why We Chose Virginia Tile for Every Bathroom in Our First Luxury Spec Home Build

A room by room look at the tile in our Washington House spec build, from antique mirror walls in the powder room to lotus-printed Thassos marble sourced from female-owned manufacturers.

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How to Place Art: The Ultimate Personalization

Art placement is where personality meets precision. How we use scale, lighting, and balance to turn walls into stories, including a sculpture that appears to drift across Lake Michigan.

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Luxury Design, Smart Budget: How We Manage Your Home Renovation Costs

Every home lands somewhere between Ikea and Versailles. Setting a real budget early tells us exactly what to show you, so your renovation stays beautiful, focused, and free of costly surprises.

Curated

7 Easy Ways to Add Texture to Your Space

Texture is what makes a room feel layered and alive. Start with plush pillows and knotted wool rugs, then build up to chunky sculptural accessories and materials that beg to be touched.

Curated

The Upper Crust of Smart Home Innovations: A 2024 List

From AI fitness mirrors and Josh.ai voice control to wine dispensers calibrated for perfect pours, the smart home innovations worth inviting into a luxury home this year.

Curated

Banquettes: A Lifelong Romance

Everyone wants to sit in the booth. Why banquettes earn their keep in kitchens, entryways, and dining rooms, with cozy continuous seating, hidden storage, and endless custom upholstery options.

Curated

The Allure of Metallic Accents: Adding Shine and Sophistication

Chrome lamps that echo the skyline, metallic mesh cabinets, gold chandeliers that open up tight corners. How reflective accents add glamour and space, and how to balance them so they never tip into gaudy.

Curated

The Homogenization of Interior Design is Breaking My Heart

A dining table built from the old Barnes and Noble front door, a letterpress island, a chair from a 1970 Porsche seat. Why big box sameness erases personality, and why a home should reveal who actually lives there.

Curated

Creating Awesome Playrooms For Everyone’s Sanity

Zoned layouts, built-in storage with plenty of drawers, and durable washable materials turn kid chaos into a playroom that keeps the rest of the house calm, especially when the grandkids visit.

Curated

How to Blend Vintage Pieces Into Your Space

Real marble, solid wood, and stories worth keeping. How to start small, mix vintage finds with modern pieces, and make an antique the focal point without your home feeling like a time capsule.

Curated

From Stress Den Calming Sanctuary: Home Office Design Advice

A surgeon's dated brown office becomes a moody vintage apothecary retreat in Chicago's North Shore. Emily Mackie on choosing a theme, a calming color, and a workspace that soothes instead of stresses.

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5 Dramatic Powder Room Wall Treatments and Why You Should Have One

Powder rooms are small enough to go gloriously bold. Gold botanical wallpaper, art deco geometry, and feathered patterns from our projects show how a tiny room can make your biggest statement.

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7 Exquisite Splurges Every Interior Designer Dreams Of

From a Hastens bed to a Zip Water tap that pours carbonated on demand, Emily Mackie shares the seven splurges that 25 years in luxury design have taught her are truly worth dreaming about.

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7 Creative Ways to Maximize Small Spaces

Paint walls and ceiling the same color, make every piece pull double duty, and edit clutter ruthlessly. Seven designer strategies that make compact rooms feel larger, calmer, and genuinely stylish.

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5 Whimsical Design Ideas to Transform Your Home

Custom bathroom tiles printed with a client's favorite memories, swings, slides, and bars that spark conversation. Five ways whimsical design trades catalog sameness for rooms full of personality.

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Navigating the World of Interior Design: Decorator, Designer, or Architect?

Decorator, designer, or architect? A clear guide to what each professional actually does, plus what the Illinois licensing changes mean before you hire help for your next home project.

Curated

SWINGING BACK TIME: EMBRACING THE LOST ART OF UNWINDING

Emily Mackie reflects on how fast life moves once your oldest leaves for college, and shares her own ways to slow down, from hot yoga and long walks to reading nooks and the dream of a wicker swing.

Curated

The Rally Against Builder Basic: Redefining Home Design

A tour of 1760 Washington in Wilmette, the luxury spec home built to challenge builder basic, from a sweeping curved staircase to spa-like baths, custom cabinetry, and a boldly colored facade.

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10 Unexpected Home Additions That Will Transform Your Living Space

Ten indulgent additions that transform daily life at home, including a water bottle filler in the fitness room, a doggie bedroom tucked under the staircase, and a dedicated relaxation room.

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Inside Our First-Ever Digital Concept Home, The Art of Living at 1760 Washington

When Wilmette denied permits for a physical show house, The Art of Living at 1760 Washington became a digital concept home, an award-winning 3D virtual tour anyone can now explore.

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How to Connect With Neighbors and Build Community Through Design

Inspired by Emily Mackie's mother, who transformed a Texas street by planting sidewalk trees, this guide shows how front porches and thoughtful outdoor design turn neighbors into community.

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Powder Room Surprises: Ideas to Make Your Space Elicit Emotion

A powder room should transport your guests. Emily Mackie shares ideas that stir real emotion, from hand towels embroidered with Cindy Crawford one-liners to gallery walls that teach.

Curated

4 LUXE DESIGN MATERIALS TO KNOW ABOUT IN 2023

The luxury materials worth knowing this year are no fads. Reimagined terrazzo in oversized, vibrant chips leads a list of finishes that bring lasting personality to floors, backsplashes, and countertops.

Curated

HOSTING FOR THE HOLIDAYS: 6 TIPS ON HOW TO PREPARE YOUR HOME FOR GUESTS

Practical ways to ready your guest room for the holidays, from fresh white linens and plump new pillows to travel size toiletries, a spare robe, and the small hotel touches guests remember.