A mudroom can be a blessing or a curse. If organized, it can keep your home clear of boots, scarves, toys, keys and a host of other items you have to gather before leaving the house. But since a mudroom is also the first space you will see upon entering your home, it's important to give it a stylish look. Here are 8 ways to better organize your mudroom for both beauty and functionality.

1. Mudroom Organizer

A wall unit composed of a bench with shelving, drawers or pegs is the ideal way to organize a mudroom in any shape or size. Furniture stores and online outlets offer a wide variety of sizes and finishes, typically listed under the category: Entryway furniture. An unfinished mudroom organizer may be priced as low as $200; however, the median price for finished units typically falls between $300 to $450. For more affordable prices, check out local flea markets or thrift stores.

2. Row of Pegs

The cheapest way to organize a mudroom is with a row of pegs, which you ca

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Ask any interior designer, and you'll hear that choosing the right lighting is one of the most important factors to consider when decorating your home.

The most pervasive trend in lighting continues to be layered lighting. Layering involves using ambient light, otherwise known as "ceiling," "overhead" or "overall lighting"; task lights such as floor or table lamps; and accent or decorative wall lighting.

Layered lighting can dramatically change your space, enhance colors and add ambiance to any room. Dimmable lights, first used sparingly in homes, are now utilized in every room of the house. They're a stark contrast to the bright lights most of us work in all day, can change the mood of a room with the flick of a switch, and save on electricity, too.

Living room lighting

If you have a large living room with high ceilings, you can go two ways with your lighting. This space will always need overhead light, so you could either focus on it by adding a bold chandelier, or you could shift th

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Decorating trends come and go, and what was popular years ago now seems incredibly dated (think gold and green shag carpeting from the '70s, along with heavy drapery and faux Tuscan furniture).  Luckily, what's "in" for bathroom vanities this coming year is a lot more practical and basic than in years past.

According to Patricia Dunlop, owner of Boise-based Fine Kitchens and Baths, bathroom vanities will have clean lines, plenty of storage space and great lighting in 2013.  "Cabinetry in general is moving toward simpler, cleaner lines — either a flat panel or a shaker style door," Dunlop notes.  "Perhaps this is in response to the spa-like feel people are after: clean, quiet spaces with interesting details — but not fussy."

Many homeowners are opting for non-traditional woods to help get that personal spa look.  Rift-cut woods, which have very straight grains, have become increasingly popular as have laminates with straight patterns, bamboo, zebra and other exotic species of wood.  Th

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(Photo: Freshome)

When you approach home design, you likely do so in a couple of different ways – choosing objects and colors that simply look attractive or using an existing pattern or decor theme to govern your decisions.

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However, color is a powerful tool that can be used to inspire emotions, create space illusions or simply set the mood and atmosphere for any particular room. Especially when used with interior and exterior painting, color psychology is a great way to create a healthy and beautiful home. The following are 20 ways to use color psychology in your home.

1. Create the illusion of space with bright colors: If you want your home to look larger than it really is – especially when it is about to go on the market – you can use bright and vibrant colors like yellows and eggshells to add space to yo...Read More »

Three young children create several unique challenges when it comes time to find a place for everything, and even more challenges if I hope to keep it there. Often, the front hallway becomes a dumping ground when the kids walk in the door. Sports equipment, school gear, shoes, laptops, and more regularly clutter the small foyer in my home. Creating a functional entryway for my family has become a challenge.

Keep shoes contained.

Shoes tend to be one of the biggest issues in my front hallway. Because we take off our shoes when we come into the house, there is always a large pile of flip-flops, tennis shoes, cleats, and dress shoes. To help keep shoes contained, we've made some changes to the front hallway to make it more functional. We have a large mirrored bench with two baskets underneath, one for mom and dad's shoes and one for kids' shoes.

It doesn't need to be fancy, and in fact, if you can do without the mirror you can purchase the bench and baskets for a more re

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Decorating the nursery can be one of the most exciting parts of being new parents, but it's not always easy to decide what type of color scheme and theme will be a good match for your little one. Many parents don't even know what the gender of the baby is before the birth, while others prefer a more gender-neutral theme regardless of the sex of the baby. Fortunately, there are several fun and creative themes that are a perfect match for the nursery, and decorating this room can be a simple DIY project the whole family can be involved with.

Here are seven gender-neutral decorating themes for nurseries:

1. Storybooks

Children's storybook characters can be a source of inspiration for a room decorated with a storybook theme. Paint scenes from your own favorite children's stories on the walls, and add stuffed toys from different books to the nursery. You can introduce the baby to these characters as they get older.

2. Zoo Animals

This is a great gender-neutral theme t

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Fall is here, but cooler weather doesn't have to mean the end of a gorgeous garden. The trick to getting fantastic fall color is choosing plants that suit your climate, thrive in cooler temperatures and look good whether they're dormant or in full bloom.

Depending on where you live, plants may be in bloom all winter long or only until the first freeze hits.

"The farther south you go, the longer the fall growing season is, and in the southernmost and southwest states they can continue to garden with certain plants all through the winter," says Susan Littlefield, horticultural editor for the National Gardening Association.

"I'm in Vermont, and in fall the leaves are changing and the asters are blooming. But in Texas, they're probably just planting their tomatoes for fall harvest."

Littlefield says there are plants all homeowners can choose to give their fall garden a pop of color, whether they live in New York state or southern California. "Lots of cool season annuals and perennials ar

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Although summer is the dominant season for outdoor entertaining, don't overlook the potential of fall for the best outdoor parties. The fall air is crisp and cooler, the sun isn't quite so bright and the leaves are turning beautiful shades of gold, orange, purple and brown.

With such a beautiful atmosphere, you don't have to do a lot to create an atmosphere for a fall party. Focus on simple things like natural decorations, lighting, seating and adding warmth.

Decorations

You can't go wrong adopting a harvest theme and decorating with fresh pumpkins, corn and gourds.

Pumpkins are especially versatile. Hollow out a pumpkin, fill it with ice and you have an instant cooler for drinks. If you love power tools, drill holes in a hollowed-out pumpkin and put candles inside for a unique effect. You can also cut the top off a mini-pumpkin and hollow out a small hole for votives.

Reimagine the way you use dried decorative corn by stringing several ears together, tying them with twine and hanging

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While housing prices across the United States are still well below pre-crisis peaks, the very top of the Manhattan home market continues to shatter price records.

The $88 million sale of an apartment at 15 Central Park West in December set a record for the highest price ever paid for a Manhattan apartment. (Former Citigroup boss Sandy Weill once lived there.)

Just a few months later, a buyer broke the record, paying a reported $90 million for a duplex penthouse in One57, a building under construction at 157 West 57th Street.

Who will set the next record? It’s likely to be the buyer of one of the following properties, currently the most expensive listings in Manhattan, including one priced above $100 million — a line that no apartment in New York has ever crossed.

1 Central Park South — 8th Floor
Units: 8th Floor (807-809); condo
Price: $55 million
Details: 10 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths; approx. 5,580 sq. ft.

Call it 1 Central Park South — though most New Yorkers still call it The Pl...Read More »

You can never have too many windows, but you can certainly suffer from too little privacy. How can you increase the privacy of your home without replacing or hiding the windows? By using window film and inventive ways of utilizing blinds and fabrics, you can enhance the beauty of your windows while decreasing your exposure to prying eyes.

Window Film

Window films offer you a way to add privacy without replacing the glass panes in your windows. Ideal for bathroom windows or the narrow windows flanking your front door, window film comes in a range of sizes and patterns. Combining several films across one pane of glass might create unsightly seams; so be sure to find a film that is as least as big as your window. Window films simply need to be moistened, then applied to the glass. You can always remove them by simply peeling them off.

Frosted Glass Paint

Cheaper than window film, frosted glass paint offers you an affordable and easy way to add privacy to plain glass win

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