When you look through your closet, searching for something to wear, chances are you have a few go-to pieces that you select over and again, like those jeans that are as comfy as jammies or that shirt that brings out the color of your eyes. Similarly, when I decorate my home, I have a few favorite accents I use repeatedly to create great displays. At the top of the list? Urns! I adore urns in every size, shape and style because they are as lovely as they are versatile. Want to use urns to add spark and style to your home? Here are five ideas to get you started. (more…)

After a long, hard day at work, for me, there is no better therapy than stepping into a steaming hot bath and letting the stress of life float away. Whether or not your bathroom is the place you go to relax and rejuvenate, make this all important space lovely and inviting. Here’s how. (more…)

I caught screen fever at an early age. I was just a little kid, playing at my friend’s house, when I happened into her dining room and spotted the most amazing floor screen standing behind the buffet. The large screen was beautiful, stretching almost to the ceiling, and it sucked me in with a force stronger than gravity. Years later, when I was furnishing my own home, I knew I had to use a few screens in my decor, not only because they are stylish but also because they can be used to solve a host of decorating dilemmas. (more…)

Remember when we treated our TVs like dirty little secrets, hiding them away in armoires where they couldn’t be seen, an embarrassing fact of life that was best concealed? Who could blame us? Those hulking, unsightly boxes were a decorating buzz-kill, marring the landscape of a room with their behemoth presence, trailing a constellation of cable boxes and VCRs, twists of spaghetti-like wires going everywhere.

Today’s sleek, svelte and stylish flat-screen TVs can actually add to your home décor. The secret to decorating effectively with flat-screen TVs is to incorporate them into existing displays so they become just another element in a lovely roomscape. (more…)

When you make your New Year’s resolutions for 2012, don’t forget to include a few that will help your home become its stylish best. Here are a few ideas to inspire you. (more…)

Been too busy to decorate for the holidays? Believe me, I’ve been there. There have been years I’ve been so busy helping everyone else get their homes ready for this special season that I barely had time to toss up a decoration or two before the family arrived for Christmas dinner.

Never fear: There is still time to change your home from bah-humbug to merry and bright. Here are six festive fixes you can do in minutes. (more…)

When it comes to decorating your dining table for your holiday feast, I’m all for a full-steam-ahead, all-out, over-the-top display that is as magical as the season. This is the one meal of the year when you simply can’t do too much on your table. I’ve learned a secret through the years, after decorating my dining room over and again for my holiday open houses: Creating a memorable holiday tablescape doesn’t have to take a lot of time and effort. The key to success is to add a few personal touches that will make a huge difference. Here are five ideas to inspire you. (more…)

Some years I go at my holiday decorating with great gusto, fueled by a long list of ambitious decorating projects I can’t wait to try. (Once I hung a huge fallen branch from the ceiling in my dining room, filled it in with faux greens then decorated it with hanging votive cups. I was exhausted, but man, was I thrilled with the drop-dead-gorgeous results.) But this year, I just want a hint of the holidays in my home decor, a gracious but gentle nod to the season.

Whether you’re going for a splashy holiday display or just want to quietly sneak in a touch of Christmas, one of the easiest – and most important – spots to trick up is your fireplace mantel. Here’s how. (more…)

A towering pine tree decorated to the hilt will always be the king of the Christmas tree forest, in my opinion. But I have to admit that I’ve recently developed a huge crush on the big tree’s little brothers. Little Christmas trees have captured my fancy in a big way because they come in lots of different looks – from vintage to classic to contemporary, are super affordable, virtually unbreakable, easy to store after the holidays and, best yet, a simple way to help any display shine for the season. Here are some secrets for getting a big holiday look from little Christmas trees.

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This time of year, I spend a lot of time being Santa’s helper, helping customers come up with the perfect gifts for everyone on their lists. One of the benefits of working at Nell Hill’s is that you can see firsthand what gift items people flip over — those can’t-miss picks that score high on the wow factor and low on the cost scale. Here are my top five favorite gift suggestions for this holiday season. (more…)