Emily Henderson's Blog, page 207

The Link Up: Another Soapy Teen Show Emily Loves, Sara’s New Candle Obsession & A Great $20 Dress

photo by david a. land | via domino

Happy Sunday folks. HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT OUR LATEST AND GREATEST NEWS?? Sorry for yelling, but we are very excited. On Friday we launched the EHD Insider Community and y’all, we couldn’t be more thrilled to interact with you all such more personal levels. Head here to read all about what it is and here to sign up for a FREE two-week trial. See you there!

Alright now that we’ve settled down a bit let’s get into this week’s link up:

Today’s home tour is the home of the extremely talented David A. Land who started Corner & Compass, a project aimed at increasing representation in the design world. Head here to read his interview on diversity in design and to drool over his utterly vibrant and exciting home.

From Emily: I’m all out of teen soapy shows so I was PSYCHED when the second season of Roswell (the reboot, not the original although I loved the original) came out this week on Netflix. Sure it deals with an alien/human love but it also has a really diverse cast and is set in New Mexico and has great conversation about immigration. So ya, alien sex and progressive politics, which I guess is my jam (?).

Also from Emily: I know it’s a splurge but this swimsuit is still my favorite (although I love my red one from last year that is no longer available). I posted the black one last year but since I like the color I got (sapphire blue) this year and LOVE IT, I wanted to talk about it again. Here’s why: The double layer on the front hides dimples and the diagonal seams are very flattering. The thighs don’t cut it AT ALL. In fact, it’s a tiny bit cheeky, FYI and most importantly it has support for the ladies (with adjustable straps). I can be active with my kids but still feels cute. I think it’s especially great for ladies with larger ladies.

From Sara: I bought this honeysuckle and jasmine candle from the Cedar Street Candle’s and I’m obsessed with it. It’s the perfect summer scent. Y’all KNOW I love a candle. Plus this is small, independent candle company, which I love. Next up I want to order Eucalyptus and Sage.

From Mallory: If you’re like me and you’ve struggled with finding women’s deodorant that ACTUALLY works, look no further than this lil blurb. I found a scent of Old Spice that smells deliciously gender-neutral (while simultaneously making me feel like a lady) and it lasts for hours. Bye B.O. see you never! This was a hot topic between Arlyn, Veronica, and I, and if you signed up for Arlyn’s weekly newsletter (which if not, you should!) she wrote about her deodorant journey a few weeks back. They particularly love this natural deodorant, which I’ve found hasn’t worked as well for me personally, but if you want to go the natural route (which is probably better for everyone if it works), then this is the brand to go with! Have you guys had as much trouble finding a deodorant that works for you?? If yes, let’s chat in the comments, I think this is so crazy that it’s this hard!

From Ryann: Every week I ask my boyfriend, “What do you think I should put in the link-up?” and his response is, “you should put in Dr. Disrespect” who is a hilarious video game streamer that he watches CONSTANTLY. I always have to lovingly remind him that although I enjoy watching it too (this is coming from someone who’s never played a single video game), I don’t think our demographic would care for a guy who plays Call Of Duty for a living and makes jokes. BUT I’VE BEEN WRONG BEFORE SO WHAT THE HECK. Maybe your boyfriend or husband plays video games and it is super boring to watch. Next time, suggest watching Dr. Disrespect’s streams and you will enjoy the experience of watching video games 100000x more.

From Caitlin: I’m very excited because I think I have finally decided on colors for my living room and dining room! I thiiiiiiink I’m going to go with this for the former and with this for the latter (yes, it is going to look like I’m throwing a baby shower, and yes, I’m into it anyway). But y’all, I picked up these samples (+15 others) in MARCH and it’s been tough trying to narrow it down because they’re all good. If you haven’t tried Clare yet, I swear that it lives up to the hype AND the swatches stay sticky even though I’ve moved them around about 8,000 times in every room of my house. Get a sample, love it, order paint, and get everything you need (including tools!) shipped to your door. (This isn’t sponsored but I wish it was. PS. Emily posted a sneak peek of Clare paint in a new bathroom project over on the community and it’s gonna be so good.)

From Jess: Here is a website to help support Breonna Taylor and here is an Instagram account that gives a ton of info on how to help Elijah McClain. We have to keep pushing.

Also from Jess: Like most everyone dealing with the summer heat, I have been looking for affordable, cute, and relatively modest clothing that is light and works for summer. So I ordered this shirtdress and I really love it. It’s not the kind of dress I would wear on a date (Dates? Who knows when those will be a real thing again). But it’s a comfortable dress that is breezy AND has pockets. Plus I really love the burgundy color:)

That is it for this Sunday’s link-up. Hope that you have a good rest of your weekend and take a moment to take some action. See you tomorrow and can’t wait to talk about all things design in The EHD Insider Community.

Opener Image Credit: Photo by David A. Land | Via Domino

The post The Link Up: Another Soapy Teen Show Emily Loves, Sara’s New Candle Obsession & A Great $20 Dress appeared first on Emily Henderson.

Dressed Down Beauty Essentials We’re Loving This Summer

Summer is here, at least in LA. And it’s just as hot as I thought it would be. I’m personally a big fan of extra-long evenings, when the ground is still warm from a day of sunshine and the air heavy with the smell of Jasmine that’s blooming everywhere. But when it comes to summer, I’m switching up my beauty and skincare needs. My skin isn’t as dry as it is in the winter, I’m sweating a whole lot more, and I’m craving light, fresh options in my routine. Anyone else with me?

I have a lot of recommendations, but I know that I’m just one person with a specific set of likes and needs. So I begged the rest of the EHD team to share some of their favorite summer essentials too. I even convinced two beloved EHD alums to share a few picks – Arlyn, my accomplice in skincare obsession (who also happens to be launching a blog of her very own soon, make sure you’re subscribed to her newsletter to stay in the loop), and Veronica, a lady with the best taste in eyeliner this side of the universe.

Let’s get into it . . .

Bath & Body

1. From Sara – LARO Perfume: If you’ve gotten to know me over the years here at EHD then you know I’m a SUCKER for anything olfactory. And perfume is at the top of that list. I love perfume too much to stick to one signature scent. I recently discovered LARO, and immediately ordered their Discovery Set, which comes with mini rollerballs of 11 unique scents (it’s also beautifully packaged, and comes with a 20% coupon for a full-size perfume once you decide what you like). My favorite scents are Stargazer Lily, Chanteuse, and Big Sur.

2. From Caitlin – Fur Body Fuller Frontal Set: Fur is truly for everyone with body hair – whether you shave, wax, or let it grow all-natural. Or maybe, like Sara, you’re a summer shaver and winter grower (her words, not mine, haha). I swear by this 4 piece kit: The scrub and ingrown oil is a lifesaver (and the ingrown oil comes with a little mitt, the size of your finger, to help you scrub off dead skin before you apply!), the lotion keeps your hair growing in soft (not prickly! Or at least, less prickly), and the signature fur oil keeps the body hair you do have feeling soft while moisturizing the skin underneath. This kit is my holy grail product and it lasts forever. It’s been a quarantine lifesaver.

3. From Arlyn – VERB Hydrating Shampoo & Conditioner: My hair is both greasy and dry. I’m a medical marvel! I received a sample of this with my Sephora points and let it sit in my shower for weeks until I remembered to use it one day. Then I was mad I hadn’t used it sooner so I could buy the full-size bottles. It left my hair smelling so good, my strands were soft, shiny, and not weighed down. My ends felt hydrated, my scalp didn’t feel greasy. Complicated hair panacea! 

4. From Sara – Each & Every Natural Deodorant: I’ve been on the natural deodorant train for a while, and always love trying out a new brand. I came across Each & Every and was super excited to give them a try. BUT they had too many good scents to choose from, so I ordered their “Choose 4 Minis” option and got citrus & vetiver, cedar & spice, sandalwood & black pepper (my favorite so far), and coconut & lime (which is perfect for summer).

Skincare

1. From Emily – PCA Nutrient Toner: I ran out of this a couple of months ago and went 6 weeks without it. The whole time I was trying to figure out why my skin was so unhappy. But once I got my refill and started using it again my skin brightened up pretty quickly and absorbed my moisturizer so much better. I’m a true devotee of this toner. Also ditto on their Hyaluronic Acid Serum.  

2. From Arlyn – Saturday Skin Pore Clarifying Toner 10% Glycolic Acid + Pore Control Complex: When I read a product description and it makes big promises about “smoothing and refining your skin’s appearance,” I typically follow with a swift “yeah right.” NOT THIS TIME. This toner has been everything I hoped it would be. I use it every other day, and within the week, I 100% noticed my skin transforming before my eyes. I have big juicy pores that are now tighter and generally, my skin texture is smoother.

3. From Sara – Versed Reusable Cotton Pads: I love a toner, and use one every morning and night. Which meant I was going through a lot of cotton pads. But, in an attempt to make small eco-friendly switches in my daily life, I ordered these reusable pads. They come 14 to a set, and I double the length of their use by using both sides. That means one set lasts me a whole month before I have to wash them!

4. From Mallory – Coola Organic Face Sunscreen: I only wear foundation or powder on occasion, but no matter what I’m always slapping this sunscreen on. I’ve been told it’s the most important thing you can do for your skin all year round, but especially during in the summer when we’re spending a little more time outdoors. This formula is super lightweight and smells amazing, but in a really natural way. It’s just the best!

5. From Caitlin – The Volition Must-Haves Set: I’ve asked about skincare before on the site because it’s such a BROAD and confusing topic for me, the kind of person who is only now slowly readjusting to a regular bathing schedule. I discovered Volition while researching for a post and decided to order this kit of 6 products because like, hey, they did all the hard work for me. It had a nearly perfect rating and 1,400 reviews so it must be good, right? IT IS. If you have dry or dull skin (I do), then this is literally everything you need to start a clean skincare routine. I LOVE.

6. From Arlyn – Paula’s Choice Water-Infusing Electrolyte Moisturizer: Paula’s Choice skincare products don’t get the internet fame they deserve. They are solid, affordable, and unfussy. My skin was feeling very dry lately and I read about this moisturizer in several places and decided to try it. I’ve only been using it about two weeks but my face feels so much better already, and no signs of new-product-induced breakouts. It’s really light making it great for summer wear, absorbs quickly, but fully quenches my thirsty skin without a mid-day oil slick in my T-zone. 

7. From Sara – Living Libation’s Best Skin Ever Seabuckthorn Oil (as both a cleanser and moisturizer): I bought this oil after Emily’s friend wrote this post, and highly recommended it. And I have to say, I’m equally convinced by this oil. I use it as both a facial cleanser AND moisturizer. It’s light, herb-y, and doesn’t irritate my eyes (which is a huge issue for me). It’s all over my face constantly.

8. From Jess – Shani Darden Texture Reform: Friends, I am in really in love with this gentle retinol serum. I have talked about it before but now that I have been using it for over a month I can give you my full review. I feel like my skin looks brighter and fresher, thus making me feel better overall (I know it’s shallow, but I’m human). I am also relieved that, as someone with fairly sensitive skin, I’ve had zero problems with irritation. YES! I just made sure to follow the gradual use instructions : ) I can’t wait to see more benefits as time goes on. 5 STARS!

9. From Sara – Ayele Pumpkin Vitamin Mask: Now that I’m working from home, a hobby is the workday face mask. If I’m starting to get antsy I’ll pop up and slather one on, do a little dance, set a timer, sit down and work, and then go wash it off. It’s a great mental break, and my skin is loving it. This pumpkin mask is currently a favorite in my rotation. It smells so good, and legit leaves my skin brighter afterwards.

Makeup

1. From Veronica – Steve Laurant Precision Tip Eyeliner: This black eyeliner make it super easy to get a nice cat eye wing, and it’s super smooth!

2. From Sara – 786 Cosmetics Nail Polish in “Chefchaouen”: I’m not a big manicure person, but I always love having polish on my toes. I’ve curated a small selection of polish colors for at-home pedis, and this denim color is summer perfection.

3. From Jess – Tan Luxe The Face Illuminating Self-Tan Drops: Fewer physical things make me feel more confident than a good tan. It’s THE summer/life essential for me personally (blame my mother). I mentioned wanting these tanning face drops in this post (no it didn’t go on sale, I just caved), to avoid needing to lay out in the sun and damage my skin. My review? Another 5 star purchase! Now I will say, that I let my ego get the best of me – I bought the darker shade because in my mind I tan easily and have more of an olive tone (just a really pale olive tone) and that is what the site recommended. I think that the color looks great but since my skin hasn’t seen the sun in practically a year I have to be VERY careful with the amount I use. I’ve decided 1.5 drops is my absolute max for a light natural-looking glow. My greatest fear is looking like a cast member from Jersey Shore. Next time I might try the lighter one just to see the difference.

4. From Sara – Ere Perez Rice Powder Blush & Bronzer in “Roma”: Like Jess, I love a little warmth on my skin during the summer. But it can get way too dark, way too fast really quickly for me. This organic bronzer blush hits the perfect balance of warm, but natural for my pinky skin. I prefer my bronzer shimmer-less, but they also have a version with the classic shimmer bronzer.

5. From Mallory – Ilia Limitless Mascara: This is THE ultimate mascara. It has a dual brush with one side that kinda combs through your lashes and the other that volumizes so those puppies (aka your lashes) just end up sky-rocketing and looking longer than ever. 10/10 recommend this!

6. From Veronica – NYX Eye Liner: Colored eyeliner is super fun and I have so many different colors that I can quite literally match my eyeliner to any outfit. Spices up my day a bit! (Trust V on this, her bright and bold eyeliners were always the envy of the office.)

7. From Sara – Glossier Skywash Eyeshadow: My lids are super narrow, and get real oily. Because of that I’ve always really struggled with eye shadow. But these cream-to-powder eyeshadows are like watercolors for your lid. They can be built up or kept super sheer, and they last all day. My favorite shades are Palm, Pool, and Pebble.

8. From Jess – Uoma Beauty Brow-Fro Blow Out: I’m not someone that wears a lot of makeup, but I am someone who loves a good brow. And I really love this brow gel! I like Boy Brow from Glossier, but I always feel like it vanishes off my face halfway through the day. Brow-Fro stays on the whole day! It’s a bit thicker than Boy Brow so you if you want a natural look you should use a lighter touch : )  

9. From Mallory – NYX Brow Gel: Speaking of brows, I ended up grabbing this once at the grocery store just out of sheer convenience since I needed some brow stuff. It was a real shot in the dark guess and now I literally can’t live without it. It keeps all those lil pesky eyebrow hairs in place!

10. From Jess – Uoma Beauty Double Take Contour Stick: I am still pretty new to the contouring world (again not a big heavy makeup person) but a little contouring goes a long way if you ask me. I love how simple this double-sided stick is to use and gives me the perfect, slightly more sculpted glow I am always looking for! I say “slightly” because I don’t go full out, but you totally can if you want! I can throw it on and just go.

11. From Sara – NOTO Multi-Bene Stain Stick in Ono Ono: I AM OBSESSED WITH THIS. I got it after Caitlin recommended this brand in this post, and I honestly cannot believe I’ve lived so long without it. This is the perfect brick orange-red color, which is saying a lot because I have super pink skin, and generally have an awful time with red lipsticks. It can be built up for a super saturated look, but also lightly applied for more of a natural “popsicle stain” lewk. Plus, it can be used on both my cheeks and lips. A little CC cream with SPF, some brow gel, and this is all I need for everyday wear.

12. From Emily – Supergoop Glowscreen: So far this summer I’ve mostly just worn this with, a little bit of concealer. It feels super smooth and light, and makes my skin look just a little glow-y. I feel like I’m checking the box of SPF, foundation, and highlighter all at once. 

Alright, that’s it for our summer essentials (it’s a long list, I know, but we each have different priorities and ideas about what is “essential”). Now I want to know how all of your beauty routines change when it gets warmer out. Any stand out favorites you’re coveting this summer?

The post Dressed Down Beauty Essentials We’re Loving This Summer appeared first on Emily Henderson.

NEW EXCITING LAUNCH: Welcome to Our EHD Insider Community

It’s launch day. A whole new chapter at EHD, one that I didn’t predict happening and yet have secretly always dreamt of. I could NOT be more excited. It’s not a rug line or a candle collection (sorry, Sara – she LOVES a scented candle). It’s better and bigger, and yet smaller and more impactful. WHAT IS IT???

This video will give you a little taste but then read the post to get the WHOLE scoop:

Working in digital media you don’t have a 5-year plan, despite the cultural need to say that you do. My lack of future planning is partly because I love what I’m currently doing so much that why would I try to do other stuff? “Growing” for the sake of having a big company (an “EM-pire” GET IT? I HATE MYSELF) – has never been my goal (and a huge lesson I learned last year). But mostly I don’t plan too far in advance because I run a blog on the internet and play the part of an “influencer” in social media, which means my proverbial address is “I have zero long-term guarantees” on a very loud and crowded internet Main Street, in the middle of the frankly kinda unstable Wild West – DIGITAL MEDIA.

Digital media is a very exciting world to be in – extremely fast-paced, producing daily content amid constant changes, with no real guidance, handbook, or leadership to tell us how to do it. Meanwhile the landscape, climate, and audience changes every day, sometimes hourly. New platforms are introduced monthly. New algorithms tank different parts of business often. We have to check numbers on all platforms a few times a day and when they are up we are UP, when down we are trying to figure out why, rarely finding an answer. It’s like the wall street trading floor in the ’80s – people trying to wave papers higher and yell louder in an attempt to be heard. To “cut the noise” or the other buzz word of the year – to “disrupt.”

Unlike Wall Street, our business has a different “product.” We don’t really sell anything (nor do I want to), and there is no tangible transaction. Our business model relies on readers coming to our platforms and engaging in the content, in pursuit of ad revenue and partnerships based on two things: traffic and engagement. Don’t bother buying a book on how to do it – its already dated (but I’ll tell you far more on the new platform:)). Working in this field forces you to stay creative and innovative, you feel young and full of energy as you get these endorphin hits based on immediate feedback and traffic surges. It has so much potential for success, fame even. But the business model also makes it heavily reliant on advertising and the volatility of the market (when the economy is down, the same ads are worth far less even if traffic is much higher. FUN!). That’s right – you could be more “popular” than ever with more people “buying” your product and yet revenue could be plummeting.

So we are making a shift and taking more control of our revenue, with you – a tighter, safer, enthusiastic, loyal yet totally inclusive community. Why not forego the unpredictability, stop chasing empty likes, fighting so hard for new eyeballs, and instead spend more time honing in on YOU, the readers we have here, and who really engage and contribute?

SO WHAT IS THIS NEW SECRET TRANSFORMATIVE BUSINESS MODEL??

I’M SO EXCITED!!!!! And you know I conserve my use of exclamation points to only EXTREME excitement!!!!

Welcome to “The EHD Insider Community”, a NEW program, that we are launching TODAY in addition to the current site and our years of archives for members who want to pay $9.99/month to go deeper. Don’t worry, everything is staying the same HERE, for free. But if you become an EHD community insider you get every new post (ad-free) and so much more.

Nothing is actually changing here

Instead, we have created a space for those of you who want MORE. It’s a design enthusiast insiders forum. We want to create a more meaningful inclusive community while giving you a backstage pass to our conversations and process. It’s a safe place I can really let loose (think me, circa 2014). If you want, you can skip all the rest of this post and just go check it out here (first two weeks are free with an easy opt-out). The goal is high quality, daily connection with those who want to go deeper (or just watch us go deeper), so you can be a part of the process, and to facilitate conversations between our readers. We want to cultivate an ecosystem of creative people obsessed with all things design, style, and blog/media in a fun, unpretentious, less filtered, and exciting way.

On this platform, there are 6 major things you’ll get (for now, we’ll be adding more as we navigate what you guys want).

DAILY BLOG POSTS – NO ADS

Get ready to read like it’s 2010 with 2020 quality content. We heard you (and we agree, believe me). No more ads for you insiders. We aren’t the first to try to buck this system, many sites have paywalls (a certain amount of articles for free a month, then a subscription) but we might be the first design blog to do this which is kinda terrifying and yet totally empowering.

But . . . we know that only a small percentage of our readers will move to this platform based on ad-free blog posts alone (and that’s ok) – so keep reading.

THE GARAGE SALE

OH GOODY. This is a forum for us AND YOU to sell gently used furniture and decor, locally. This is not an e-commerce site, we don’t take a cut, nor will it be searchable or curated by us. It’s a design-centric Craigslist, with less spam and hopefully less risk. Insiders will be able to sell their furniture/decor to other members. I’m of course launching it with 12 pieces (adding more actually) that I need to sell – some vintage, some gently used from shoots, all awesome. And I’ll be adding to it every week. This is not 1st Dibs pricing, I have a bench going for $60 and a sofa for $450. I just don’t want to deal with Craigslist and want to keep it within The EHD Community, to give these pieces to good homes with all of you (any of the money I make on sales will be going towards our current feel-good flash makeovers). But anyone in the community can sell pieces. It’s super easy – you post a photo and some details, then other members contact you directly through the platform and you coordinate the sale directly. We have nothing to do with it, we are just creating the forum, not facilitating the sale or taking a cut.

I’m really hoping that all my favorite flea market dealers will post their goods there because I’m desperate for some local vintage. I’d love for estate sale companies to post their sales links here, or pickers to upload what they scored in Palm Springs over the weekend. But it can also be a 3-month-old Ikea dresser in good condition that was too big for your wall (but like, not your 5-year-old toaster, if you know what I mean). WE ARE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THIS. I’m also nervous that it’s going to crash the site, but again IT’S THE WILD WEST. Yeehaw.

READER DESIGN AGONY GROUP CHAT

This is a forum where YOU (and us) can post your design questions with a photo and all the other members can help weigh-in, recommend pieces, or just give a thumbs up. Our comment section is always full of incredible advice from you all to each other and we wanted a proper place for this to live with an easier way to communicate. It can be, “Help! Is this vintage lamp awesome or ugly?” or “Does anyone know of a bookshelf that would fit in this corner?” Literally any agony that you or WE have, gets posted here and we help each other out.

BEHIND THE SCENES –

Get ready to watch the messy process in real-time. Sometimes I’m not ready to show 900k people the fact that I might be considering a vintage blue toilet in our basement bathroom, or maybe I’m not quite ready to reveal our new sofa to the masses, but there will be safety in this community because we know that trolls rarely want to pay to hate-read (nor will that be accepted, in any form – BYE!). We will likely post some of our insta-stories here as well, but they’ll stay permanent not disappearing in 24 hours like over on Instagram. It might be the EHD team on set, me trying out patterned curtains in the dining room (true story), or Julie and I trying to make that canopy work in the kid’s bedroom, or Sara playing with art in her hallway. Real-time design process, unfiltered that might not be ready for the blog or make sense on social media. I know I would LOVE to see my favorite designer’s messy process, so it’s a place to show you ours.

DESIGN ROUND TABLE

All the stuff we are talking about internally. Consider this design news – upcoming trends, noteworthy design collaboration or launches, amazing home tours – all things current in our design zeitgeist. This could be where we crowdsource what the next kitchen trends are before we write about them. And it’s not just us, it’s coming from you, too. We want it to be juicy, newsworthy, and to feel more insider-y than just what is published around the interwebs. Let’s talk about what we can’t stop talking about, which will likely help inform our content, too, in a good way.  

JOIN THE BRAINSTORM

This is where you can tell us what YOU want on the blog and read our real-time internal pitches to each other. We might pitch you our editorial ideas and based on your feedback we can pursue it, shift the angle, or scrap it altogether. And you can give suggestions – less “where can I get a bookshelf?” (that would be more in the design agony section), and more like my recent pitch which was “Why are some rooms so hard to design and others so easy???” We usually get this in the comment section on the blog, but this will give these requests a proper place and platform for editorial discussion. Pitch away, or if you are an editor at another site, come get a peek at our editorial calendar.

HELPING HANDS

I’m so excited about this. This is all things “FEEL GOOD” within our now extended and inclusive community with the simple goal of helping those in need near us. It’s like one of those pinboards at a community center. This could be as simple as, “Does anyone in LA have an extra crib for a family on our street who was hit hard financially by the pandemic?” or “I have a ton of extra gently used girls toddler clothes I’d love to give away – does anyone know where I can donate, either family or shelter?” One of Jess’ friends, who is a social worker and works with the homeless in Boston, has a totally undecorated office. She reached out to Jess asking about rug advice (because she needs one), and that’s the exact type of stuff we want to know about (and of course we want to step in and help as much as we can, virtually – our next Feel-Good makeover!). Maybe it’s just to fulfill a shopping wishlist for a family that is struggling, or volunteer to come to help paint a public school. So many of my friends have expressed wanting to help others but not knowing how or where besides donating money, so I’m hoping this would be that destination. Real readers helping each other, near each other. This is also a great place to pitch Feel-Good makeovers and perhaps even some of our readers who are designers themselves would want to take it on if we don’t have the band-width. It’s a real dream and puts us in direct contact with those who need help, in a meaningful actionable way.

So those are the ‘Topics” we are launching with, and if you go over to Discovery you’ll see examples of all of these.

Question: What is this exactly? A new social media platform? A new website?

Answer: It’s a platform that looks like a feed, with topics that you can opt-in and out of, and easily upload, comment and interact with each other. It is on your phone as well as your desktop and all links will be active, photos will transfer over, etc. It’s like a blog meets the best part of every social media platform.

Question: Will I get the whole blog archives there?

Answer: No. It’s not a resource site like this site is designed to be. The daily blog posts will be published over there, but you really can’t search for say “medicine cabinets” like you can on this site.

Question – Any other perks I should know about?

Answer: Connecting with each other, making friends, meeting your customers, getting more potential readers – in short, dare I say “networking”? With many of us feeling more isolated, connecting in new ways feels even more important. You can make friends near you (if you want to share your location), share business problems, ideas, and collaborate. You, our dedicated readers, are creative, progressive, generally so lovely and nice – we know this from every in-person event. Our reader event up at the mountain house was the best testament of this with every person being someone I would be friends with in real life. And while this isn’t going to be a place for self-promotion, necessarily, of course there are ways to share your product/service if it answers a question or pertains to what we are talking about (carefully). Whether you are bloggers, designers, editors, marketing directors, social media experts or anybody pursuing a creative field – our platform will allow you to know who is interested in the same things as you, who is near you even, and then you can connect and build that relationship.

Question: Who do we want to join ‘The EHD Community”?

Answer: EVERYONE . . . We obviously want this to be a WILDY inclusive community, full of design enthusiasts, editors, bloggers, designers, marketing, anybody pursuing a creative career in design or media, and those of you who want more access to our process. We want this to be a safe, inspiring space full of real design talk. At $9.99/month I know it might feel like a risk, but the first two weeks are free so if you’re interested please go check it out. If it turns out that you aren’t into it, opt-out and come back to this site. On the other hand, if you are excited by this new site and truly want to join, but $9.99/month isn’t in your budget, just email us in 2 weeks (when your free trial is over) and someone from my team will send you a link to join for free. While this is a business (and I’m putting my trust in everyone), we do NOT want finances to stand in the way of you being a part of this community. And hey creative industry folk – you can certainly write it off as creative research or ask your boss to pay for it like a magazine subscription. If you are in the blog/media/influencer/design industry I think you’ll want to check it out – niche communities are what’s next, folks (or so we hope, HA).

Does this mean less sponsored posts?

Yes. Listen, I love the products and companies we work with – they are all good products or I would NOT endorse them, full stop. This new platform, with its paid subscription, will allow us to do less of these and make space in this world for other awesome design bloggers to have more of these opportunities. Sponsored posts have been a huge part of growing our business. I know how important partnerships can be to a career, and I’ll be actively recommending and advocating for other bloggers/influencers to the brands that reach out to us. We’ll always do the partnerships that align with projects we are already doing or that align easily with the brand.

Wanna sponsor a feel-good flash makeover? Email us

Are We Done With Open Concept Layouts? Is Privacy Now The Top Priority??

Well, it’s been 105 days (yes, I took the time and counted) since the start of EHD no longer working in a office together as a team. As many of you saw in yesterday’s post, Emily made the announcement about the official closing of our LA office doors. That’s right our temporary WFH set ups that we showed you back in March have now become permanent for the foreseeable future. (I miss you all!)

But we are not alone, many small businesses and some larger companies are reducing their office size or letting employees who can, work remotely. Which brought up the question in our weekly ‘EHD Happy Hour Zoom Meeting’ with so many of us now home throughout the work week, for who knows how long, will this shift our living needs and make some permanent changes to how we will design a home’s functionality for the future?

While helping to design the Mountain House last year we decided that the loft would be the perfect space to set up Emily’s office (we were so cute and innocent back then). And while it looked great in photos she quickly found out that functionally, with two kids and without a door to shut closed, little to no work could get done during the day. Soon after Emily moved her office into the downstairs guest room which is conveniently closer to the WiFi router and most importantly has a door. Doesn’t ‘Instagram Emily’ look so productive writing in her peaceful mountain retreat office? Meanwhile, ‘Reality Emily’ is laughing out loud at that photo while Birdie and Charlie make a mom sandwich. Side Note: It is pretty cute, on our end at least, to watch them sneak into the guest room during a team Zoom call to surprise her.

We know that Emily isn’t the only parent or person craving a little privacy during the day. Over the past few months, I’ve lived in four different places with 2-5 roommates at a time and upwards of 7 animals at once. It can get noisy, smelly and for a more introverted than not person, very overwhelming most days. The only time I didn’t dream of living in a home where every room was separated and could be closed off by a door was at Emily’s LA house, granted it was just myself and my boyfriend so there was enough space to pretend that the other person didn’t exist for a couple of hours during the day. (thank you, thank you, thank you again to Emily & Brian. We appreciated our time there more than words can say.)

So, does this mean we are finally ready to say goodbye to the open concept floor plan trend and trade it in for a more traditional layout?

photo by sara ligorria-tramp for ehd | from: the reveal of the mountain house kitchen

An open concept home has been popular for the past 30 something years and for a good reason. It’s a layout made for entertaining, if your home is on the smaller side it opens up the space making your rooms feel brighter, and for growing families it helps with multi-tasking like cooking dinner and keeping an eye on your children. But then again it means that everything is open and what if you have a Zoom call and your partner ‘absolutely needs to get in their work out’ while the kids are in a virtual classroom. Then, what?

photo by tessa neustadt | from: want an extra room? consider transforming your garage

One option if you like your open concept would be to transform your garage into a more useable space which Jess showed us some very pretty examples of the other day including the one above. Unfortunately, we know that this is more of a weather permitting option but it got me thinking about the idea of a flex room that would meet all of your functional needs. Now that both of my roommates and myself are working from home I find myself spending 90% of my time in my room. Sleeping, working, eating, exercising all in my 10’x12′ bedroom and am highly considering a Murphy bed to open up some space while still holding onto some sweet, sweet privacy.

Now those two ideas are smaller privacy solutions but let’s again talk about the potential extinction of the open concept home. Are you/we craving permanent privacy that bad? Jess brought up an interesting idea. Would closing off open-plan layouts potentially lead to spending less time together as a family when things gradually go back to normal? Or will we cherish the time spent together and be more in the moment?

I am very curious as to what your take on this is and if you are actually reconsidering your open floor plan for your current or future home? One thing I think we will see a rise in is the return of the front porch cause I literally saw someone sitting on a beach chair in the small patch of grass outside their apartment on my walk the other day. Anybody else wanting to add-on a porch or just that guy? 

Let’s talk about it below, see you there.

A VERY Exciting One Room Challenge Project Intro From The One And Only Shavonda Gardner

This week I was asked to be a part of #ShareTheMicNow campaign, Home Edition on Instagram. The answer was an overwhelming YES. If you don’t know what that is, it’s a day to amplify Black designer voices to expand their reach, share their message, and show off their talent with a takeover on Non-Black designer’s Instagram accounts. We need to keep pushing to make sure the momentum rises and campaigns like this are essential. So can you guess who is taking over my account??

Needless to say, I was pretty darn happy when I was matched with Shavonda Gardner. If you don’t know who she is then today is your lucky day. She is a designer, blogger, mother, wife, and all-around wonderful person which is evident in watching her Instastories. I love how she refers to her followers as friends and even more, I love her bold and beautiful designs. Shavonda has been in the process of making over her backyard for a while and chose to tackle her entertaining and lounge area for this season’s One Room Challenge. I wanted to share the very beginning of this project from her blog because she is about to REVEAL it and seeing all her hard work is insanely inspiring.

So head to my stories to catch Shavonda’s takeover, follow her if you aren’t already and enjoy this post she wrote about her backyard. ALSO, just to tease because it’s fun, you can expect and EHD x SGS collaboration coming this year and I CAN’T WAIT:) Shavonda take it away xx

Hi Everyone!

Happy Thursday friends and Happy One Room Challenge kick off week! I don’t think I’m alone in feeling like this year ORC feels even more special and necessary than all the years past, not only for our homes but also for ourselves. The impact of the global pandemic has left so many feeling isolated and full of fear and anxiety. ORC has always been a powerful way to bring people together virtually all over the world through our collective love of design. It’s been a wonderful community building tool and right now I get the sense we would all love to feel as connected as possible during our distance from one another. What better way to do that than by cheering each other on as we tackle a project in our homes. I’m so excited to be joining One Room Challenge as a guest participant this round.

I’m back for my third One Room Challenge friends and this time I’m taking on a project I’ve been looking forward to tackling for FIVE years…our backyard! At the top of my home goals list this year was to get our outdoor spaces all the way together and the time has come to get it done. This project is a BIG task but one I’m more than excited to see through to the finish line. I figured participating in ORC would be a great way for me to be accountable to actually do it. There are several components to this makeover, but first I want to give to a little flashback and history of the evolution of our backyard over the years since we moved in. Be prepared for photo overload:

This is what things looked like when we first moved in:

Yikes, right! Ya’ll it was a whole mess.

I could see the potential in this space but it was going to need A LOT of work. Like…A WHOLE LOT. Over the next few years we slowly chipped away at just getting the area to the point where we had a fairly clean slate to work with. We started by removing misplaced trees, tore down the rickety dilapidated pergola, ripped out the death trap of a deck, replaced the fence and built entry gates, removed the shed, replaced exterior doors, rewired the garage, added electrical, and had the house painted.

That got us to the place we were at the beginning of this year. I mean it still looks all kinds of crazy, but it’s a vast improvement from where we started.

With a clean slate and a plan in place, we went into 2020 with a clear goal to get this whole situation in order and to transform this space into something beautiful, functional, and special for our family. I mentioned earlier the makeover has several major components, one of which being the addition and construction of a large L-shaped floating deck off the bedroom and back landing which will visually connect the house to the detached garage. This was a major project that we decided to hire out because of the technical aspects needed to build it properly for our property. Our house sits quite a bit higher than our garage, we have drainage issues that need to be addressed, and I wanted it built on two levels.

This was going to take quite a bit of time so we had the deck built in February/March so we would be ready to take on the rest of the project at the start of ORC this spring with that major part done. If you follow me on Instagram you will have seen the project through to its completion in real time via my daily stories. I saved everything to a highlight in case you want to go back and see the whole process:) For the deck build we hired local landscape contractor Charles Shipman and his team at Shipshape Landscape. They were phenomenal and did an incredible job. This was not an easy project in the slightest and they really knocked it out of the park. It started with them having to dig a 3-4 foot deep trench 100 ft across the yard and adding a french drain near the house to address our issues with drainage and the garage flooding when it rains.

At this point, Naomi was sure I had completely lost my mind and she was pretty convinced she was out of her mind for letting me rope her into buying this fixer-upper of a house! The woman deserves a medal to be honest, lol!

After the drainage was dealt with they got the deck built.

There are literally no words to describe how in love with it we are. It’s very big at around 500 sqft and this extra space is a game-changer for our family AND our home. I’ll be writing an in-depth post all about the deck after ORC, but for now here are the main specifics: we used redwood for the material, I wanted two levels with the boards laid in different directions so it would create interest and serve to define spaces (more on that next week), none of this was sponsored and we saved for a long time to pay for it, we will be staining it in a few months after its had time to dry out a bit, did I mention I’m obsessed with it?!

And that brings us to where we are today. Next week I’ll be sharing the overall design plan, mood board, and to-do list as well as my inspiration for pulling it all together. We have so much work to do still to make this our dream outdoor space and I’m looking forward to tackling it over the next 7 weeks. I’m also really looking forward to following along with all the other guest participant projects and seeing what magic the featured designers make this season! Make sure you check out the other participants here. And if you have a space you’d like to tackle I encourage you to join as well. There’s still plenty of time and we have 2 extra weeks this time too!

Until next time friends…..

Em again. That deck is SO beautiful and if you’ve been following her stories you know how much more beautiful its become. I want to thank Shavonda for letting us republish this post and so graciously being my partner in the #ShareTheMicNow campaign. Can’t wait to do more together:)

The post A VERY Exciting One Room Challenge Project Intro From The One And Only Shavonda Gardner appeared first on Emily Henderson.

Front Loading Versus Top Loading Stacked Washer/Dryers + What I Have at Home

Over the weekend I posted a riveting story about laundry detergent as I Vanna White’d our TOP LOADING stacking washer and dryer closet on the bedroom floor upstairs (if you are renovating right now DO THIS). We still haven’t started building the more proper laundry closet downstairs (nor have we purchased the appliances) so this is the only way we clean our clothes these days (but I can wear the same clothes FOR DAYS without cleaning – it’s a real gift). After that story we got a lot of DMs with some questions we thought I’d answer – mostly about my feelings towards this tall little lady.

First off, I think we need to address the top loading versus front loading situation. I didn’t know this was a “thing” till we ran into a mold problem inside our front-loading washer in this laundry room. We were baffled, perplexed, so annoyed and then when we had a plumber come he said this happens ALL THE TIME with front loaders. Now I think that you can avoid this by A. Using way less liquid detergent so it makes it easier to dry out and B. leaving the door open all the time (cool). But essentially for whatever reasons, front loaders don’t drain as well and yes, mold often forms and especially in the rubber part where the door closes. Then it makes your clothes reak of mold and you hope that putting them in the dryer, your dryer balls will kill the smell and they do, or maybe you just get used to the smell – I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ANYMORE.

So why “front load” in the first place? Well, without giving you a report on the history of the washer and when the “change” happened, it’s to save space – so you can fold clothes or add storage on on top of your front loader that you obviously can’t with your top loader. So when we were planning this house was when we were dealing with the mold. Out of fear that this would happen again I went top load with this unit without hesitation. Now there MIGHT be non-molding front loading stackable units, I’m not saying they ALL have drainage issues. But the plumber that we hired assured me that this is TRUE – front loaders are prone to mold, top loaders are not.

This is what we bought and have in the mountain house.

washer/dryer unit

So how do I feel about this little unit? PRETTY good … So far, but it’s only been a year and a half. This weekend was the first time that I’ve felt motivated to get the larger unit/closet going downstairs because as you can imagine there is less capacity in the smaller one so it takes so much longer to do the laundry unless you stay on top of it every day – which we were for most of quarantine but have gotten lazier.

So just this morning I was saying to my MIL – “I wish I had a bigger washer/dryer right now” and then Mallory said everyone was asking about my thoughts on my current one. So I figured I’d bore you with a whole post about it. So far so good for small loads.

I will say this – I’m not a really picky appliance person – like I’m not INTO appliances and I mostly want them to be super simple with as few settings as possible so I don’t mess them up. Sometimes I feel like the old fashioned dial and the “press start” button is all we need and not ones with wifi settings that speak a foreign language and a dryer that talks to your microwave.

So there you go. If you want to see our “plan” for our downstairs laundry closet (still small, but bigger) go here, or check out our laundry room HERE.

OH but seriously (and pardon me if I’ve asked this before) as I’m shopping for the downstairs set – I’d LOVE to know what you have that you love. By the way, this is why I love Good Housekeeping magazine – because they do real reviews after like many many months of using, but I actually think that your recommendations would be crazy valuable to a lot of us. For instance – I can recommend that stacking set, how about you??

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The Current EHD LA Office Is Officially Closed (With A Quick Tour – Finally) And A Walk Down Our Office Memory Lane

It’s been over 10 years since I started the blog, and documenting the growth and massive shifts we’ve gone through would be enough for a book (quite literally, and maybe will be). Many of you might have missed the announcement via my weekly Saturday newsletter (that I started and then stopped because properly putting my feelings into words was HARD) but here it is – We are permanently giving up the EHD office. At least this office. It was a no-brainer, a bitter-sweet no-brainer that requires a lot of back story information. So today we are going to revisit the last 10 years of the “EHD office spaces” and you’ll see where we landed the last two years and why I’m giving the brick and mortar up.

2011

Right after Design Star Brian and I moved into this house that had a cute added sunroom that would be my WFH office. It was bright, had its own entrance, and was certainly enough space.

photos by kimberly genevieve | from: how to make your small office space look and feel bigger, (and happier)

That’s when it was just Orlando and I. Then we brought on Bonnie (now the Director Of Brand Marketing at Zillow) and a couple of interns and freelancers for shoots (the very talented Tessa Neustadt and Monica Wang – how fun is that?). It didn’t cost anything as it was just part of our rent (I think the rent was crazy expensive, though, like $3000 for two bedrooms + this room). Soon Orlando moved on to do his own client work and blogging (have you seen his new show?) and Ginny came aboard (have you seen her new line with Lulu and Georgia? We just ordered this bed for one of our makeovers). We mostly just shopped in person and did on-site visits for the Fig House or our residential clients, so we didn’t really use the office so much on a day to day basis. Everyone was hired hourly and often worked from home, or we met up at coffee shops.

Then we had a baby named Charlie and we bought our first house, 7 years ago. GEEZ, I might actually cry because A.) It’s all going so fast, and B.) Life was so much simpler and easier then – guys this was basically PRE-Instagram, PRE-“influencer” stuff – how crazy is that? This home had a basement that we worked out of, but only for like 9 months. This is the ONLY picture I could find of it below – obviously NOT designed but I do appreciate the organized “paper towel” styling.

2013



from: our new stu-stu-studio

At this point my team consisted of Ginny, and then of course Brady came aboard when Charlie was 3 months old. Once it was the three of us, working out of my home started to feel weird for them (they never said anything) and us, even though we were so close and had so much fun together. We had to climb the stairs into my house to go to the bathroom and kitchen and with napping baby and me breastfeeding I think you could call it “unprofessional”. But we were also slowly renovating and decorating that house so we kinda needed to be there and shoot a lot. Before we moved we were able to shoot the space for Matchbook Magazine – remember that?

2014



photo by bonnie tsang | from: target + vintage in matchbook magazine



photo by bonnie tsang | from: target + vintage in matchbook magazine



photo by bonnie tsang | from: target + vintage in matchbook magazine

Oh geez. Nostalgia is a wildly powerful feeling, guys. This post was meant to be easy and it’s turning very emotional.

But shoots like that totally disrupted all the workflow and we realized we needed a space not in my house to work and shoot – somewhere with enough white wall space + good natural light. So over one weekend, I found this space in Eagle Rock, like 7 minutes from my house. It was $1200 a month (at first) and 1000 square feet, which was big enough for desks and a space to shoot. I still remember surprising Brady and Ginny with it, telling them I was taking them to coffee then walking them into the space – we were all giddy.

2015



photo by chris patey

This started a new phase in the business – when we went from “blogging” to “content creation.” It was a shift that happened slowly, then all at once. With this studio, we were able to shoot sponsored posts (this was in the early years of partnerships) and we really transformed the space weekly. One side had desks on wheels, the other had shelving full of props that I hoarded for shoots (and life).

photo by chris patey

Yep, about 3-5 times a month we would transform a side of it into a shoot space for the blog.

photo by tessa neustadt | from: how we transformed our studio windows in one hour

We shot this post for those window stickers above and the below post for Devine Color (temporary wallpaper).

photo by jess isaac | from: our studio refresh with devine color

We also shot so many original posts for fun editorial content like “1 Credenza 4 Ways” or “1 Dresser Styled 4 Different Ways” or “1 Bed 4 Ways” because we REALLY liked showing you how to style one thing four ways.

photos by tessa neustadt

But as I was doing the math (which I rarely did) I realized that these shoots were costing about $2500 in time and material and we certainly weren’t making that much on them. So while we did still shoot here, it was always super messy and the shoots made working there really disruptive and chaotic. The wallpaper panels were taken down early on to shoot and never put back up so it went from totally designed, to super messy really fast.

At this point, I think I had 3 full-time salaried employees – Brady, Ginny and Sara, and a few hourly employees (Mel, Bowser, Erik, Jess, amongst others). We needed to have a real office with designated desks and less photoshoots. Around that time we got a big partnership with Wood Naturally which provided the perfect excuse (and resources) to invest in designing the office more for function (and client work) and less for photoshoots.

2016



photos by tessa neustadt | from: our new design library and a sneak peek into our studio

Oh man. I loved that space – it felt so pretty and pulled together. We had all our samples organized, and even had that copper ladder made for my favorite vintage fabrics.

photos by tessa neustadt | from: our new design library and a sneak peek into our studio

It was a pretty great space. Then the back office opened up and we used it for storage (another $1100) and so we were able to keep this one more organized with more room for people. We fit here pretty nicely, so why the change?

Well, there are a few reasons I chose to move offices:

1. Location. My family had moved to Los Feliz and my commute now was 25 – 30 minutes. That commute along with having 2 young kids and breastfeeding felt like A LOT. The rest of my team lived even further away.

2. Privacy. I found myself not coming into the office because I didn’t have my own enclosed space to write and I would basically just talk about the Bachelor all day and distract everyone. So I thought that getting an office with my own room would help me come in more often.

3. We didn’t need a shoot space. At this point, we also made a shift in our content to shoot in real homes with unique architecture (not a blank sterile photo studio wall). We started moving all posts to be in locations either in my home, our team’s homes (hello MOTO), and friends and families homes.

4. We stopped doing client work so we didn’t need the extensive library of samples (we still have a ton, but they are in storage so that when we need them we can go get them).

So I started looking, and perhaps got a bit hasty and signed a new lease on our current space (the one we are giving up).

The new studio was smaller, had less storage, and was TWICE as expensive (I think $3400 + parking + storage unit). Seems like an odd business choice, right? Looking back, it probably was not the best financial move but these are lessons I get to learn along the way. I chose it because it was central (East Hollywood on Fountain by the big Scientology center), the building itself was SO PRETTY (restored by Manola Studio), I got a beautiful office to myself so my dreams of coming in every day and writing were about to come true (ha, more on that below), plus there were multiple restaurants nearby – something we lacked in Eagle Rock. There was a restaurant “about” to open right beneath us (5Leaves) that took over a year to open but the promise of happy hours with artisanal cocktails right below our office was a temptation I couldn’t pass up. Here she was when we first found it…

2017

Look how pretty it is!

The inside was raw, more industrial than the outside, but still good elements.

Now that I’m looking at it it feels underwhelming compared to the light bright spaces before, but it was really pretty – brick, wood, and black steel windows. I also was in the “stay small, don’t grow” phase. I think we were at 5 employees and we fit nicely here. But very quickly, with the production of my second book, the , , and a billion shoots, we shot up to at one point to 13 people between freelance and full-time. We were packed together with 2 people to a desk and it became clear that I had created (or accepted) too much work for us to “stay small” – a real gift of mine.

We had to rent a storage unit and everyone was working on top of each other to a point that I had to give up my office to Arlyn and Sara because we had run out of space in the main area (and I wasn’t coming in as much as I thought I would anyway – always out shooting). That’s right, I didn’t have an office in my office. HA. I realized we were too big for this space which prevented us from ever properly “designing” it. I think I knew for a while that it was not the right fit, but looking for a new bigger place was so daunting (and expensive). We’d likely have to go to the valley which would add a huge commute for everyone and selfishly I just didn’t want to add an hour of driving to my life. So we remained in this state of limbo for a while.

Then the team shrank and we had fewer full-time employees coming into the office. Why? I realized that the business could not support 13 employees (10 full-time on salary), so I had to make some tough decisions to A.) Layoff two people due to my idiotic over-hiring (I’ll forever be sorry to Chandler and Carolina), and then B.) Once we wrapped up the Portland project, mountain house, and book shoots we didn’t have enough full-time production work. So the production team, Velinda and Bowser, went freelance (read more about that here – and hire them!). So right before the pandemic, we were down to 7 full-time salaried employees which technically fit in this office space again.

Note: A few people have asked in the comments about Veronica, our second photographer and photo assistant. A few months ago, when production had slowed way down on our end, she decided she was ready to look for the next step in her photography career. She is quite possibly one of my favorite people in the world with so much kindness, talent, and hard work. She shot all of the fashion posts, helped me have fun when I was uncomfortable in front of a camera, and has a real eye. So if you need a fashion, product, or interior photographer I can personally highly recommend her (and we have some jobs booked with her this summer already, so act fast). Also fun fact, she is currently working a lot with Monica Wang (my former photo intern from 2013) who owns The Revery. I love a former EHD collab.

So why give up the office??? Well, turns out we simply didn’t need it. We continued to not have any photoshoots there – almost all on location, and we run a digital business that exists mostly online. Plus as our partnerships and ad revenue were hit by the pandemic so I had to make some financial cuts and I didn’t want any of them to be team members. Once I made the decision to give up the office, a huge weight was lifted. At the time almost everyone on my team was loving/thankful to be working from home (months later I think we all really miss having co-workers).

What now? Well, we don’t know. I think the future for everyone – world-wide – is uncertain, which does give us a latent collective anxiety, but also some new opportunities and even more shifts and pivots (the buzz words of 2020) that we are excited about. Speaking of which – we have a VERY EXCITING BUSINESS shift that we are announcing on Friday, one that I’ve wanted to explore for YEARS but it never felt like the right time. And now. It. Is. So stay tuned for that.

But for today we are just all working remotely, from our homes. Maybe we’ll end up doing one of those shared workspaces, rent out conference rooms, or even just meet every day for breakfast and lunch when we aren’t shooting (if we ever get back to having photoshoots).

It’s so easy to get wrapped up in things that you think you need as a small business, and some of them are so important to “grow.” But your needs change and it’s a good exercise to consistently analyze the business and really hone in on what you NEED versus what is cool to have, or worse – what you are used to having. Like a lot of things in our life, the Pandemic really shined a light on what is essential, and has helped me, at least, let go of a lot.

So stay tuned for what’s next – announced on Friday (barring any major life “shifts”). 2020 will be the year of focused change, clear intention, and focus on meaningful growth. Let’s hope it works. xx

P.S. Design of the Merrick Building by Manola Studio and if you are interested in the office space email cyrusge@gmail.com. Also, we are selling all those dining tables (that we used as a desk) starting Friday for $200 each – all going towards our next feel good flash makeover.

The post The Current EHD LA Office Is Officially Closed (With A Quick Tour – Finally) And A Walk Down Our Office Memory Lane appeared first on Emily Henderson.

Let’s Talk Vessel Sinks & Wall-Mount Faucets

photo by sara ligorria-tramp | from: the final mountain house reveal (for now): all the details of my master bathroom

Jess here! So my friend recently bought her first home and needs to do some renovating (she will laugh at the “some” part of that sentence). It’s a bit of a fixer-upper but it’s going to be so wonderful once it’s all done. Soon we will get back those nights where we stay up waaay too late drinking wine/talking and I “have to” sleepover. The gamechanger? I get my own room now! Ok enough about me and back to my friend’s house. She had mentioned she had been perusing our site for design advice and told me how helpful this post was for deciding what kind of bathroom fixtures she wanted. This got me thinking maybe she wasn’t the only one needing some sink/faucet advice since renovations are slowly starting back up again. So if you are confused about sinks and faucets, read through Emily’s thought process for what and why she wanted a certain combo for the mountain house.

I am THIS CLOSE to showing you the final master bathroom plan (UPDATE: Here’s the reveal) but I have to get everything ordered asap (the plumbing and fixtures won’t change, just all the tile and finishes – depending on your vote). Right when I was about to sign off on the product order I had this terrifying thought –  Is a wall mount faucet with an undermount sink TOTALLY WEIRD??? Why don’t people do it? All you see is wall mount with vessel sinks? Is there a reason why? To me it’s super clean and simple and if you get the height right it won’t splash too much. So I tasked my team to find some wall mount sinks that did not use a vessel (like above) to make a case pro the “wall/under” combo and calm my nerves.

First, let’s chat about vessel sinks. For many a year (25 years ago) the vessel sink was super popular  – those super decorative glass bowls were BIG and fell fast. But a few years ago there was a revival and simpler square or circle ones became the rage.

photo by tessa neustadt | from: guest bathroom reveal

I even used this one on top of my vintage dresser in our old guest bathroom. It was modern and simple and made that dresser easy to convert to a vanity. Great.

photo by tessa neustadt | from: guest bathroom reveal

What I am super into right now is wall mount faucets and on our design plan with Kohler I have wall mount fixtures in 3 of the 5 bathrooms, but I have them paired with undermount sinks. And once you plumb for wall mount and tile over it, there is no going back.

So before I hit “send” on my product spreadsheet I wanted to make sure I wasn’t doing something totally weird.

When you google “wall mount faucet” it’s ALWAYS a vessel sink. WHY? What am I missing? Where is that red flag?

Photo Source

All of these look lovely but do you need a vessel?

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Are the pros of a vessel that it looks fancier and kinda has another architectural element? I don’t think functionally they are better in fact often if you get a thick one it can take up more counter space…

But it doesn’t keep your undersides clean if you want to do something like the above and below. An undermount sink would be more visible.

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The rectangle vessel is also enjoyed by many bathrooms and if we were to use a vessel in the house then we’d likely lean in that direction.

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Great. Lovely. Two thumbs (and two vessels) up.

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I like them WAY more when they are more shallow and the height doesn’t come too far off the countertop, but then are they not very functional??

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There is the option of a vessel that is more in a “bowl” shape meaning that it is more narrow on the bottom then widens as it comes up.

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These can lean more traditional but can certainly be very pretty, and all of these examples are showcasing them so well.

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Don’t get me wrong. I’m not anti-vessel, I just wasn’t planning on having them. And now I’m questioning myself. So we did a ton of pinning and found many beautiful shots of bathrooms with wall mount faucets and undermount sinks.

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I’m feeling much better.

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The next question is: what do these bathrooms have in common (if anything) that makes that particular look work, or is there anything to avoid?

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While our mountain house has many handmade and warm finishes the plumbing fixtures are all super modern. So while stylistically these bathrooms don’t represent the mountain house, the faucets are pretty modern like some of these that you see here.

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Our house is more like these photos, stylistically.

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And here are a few more beautiful examples just to really hit it home.

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See? The wall mount/under mount combination is beautiful and minimal and simple, no?

Hilariously enough I was panicking so I texted my friend, Nate (Berkus) about it. I was like If anyone is going to give me expert advice, it’s this guy. He said basically yes.

But of course, I’d love you guys to weigh in.

Please tell me if A.) you think this is weird and therefore too risky. or B.) you love it. Or C.) if you have a vessel sink how do you feel about it? Do you wish it were an undermount?

Basically I’d just love a conversation about the pros and cons of vessel sinks or wall mount faucets for that matter … I love the clean look, but am I making a mistake or doing something that will feel super dated in a few years? Weigh in below.

Update: Check out all of The Mountain House REVEALS here: The Kitchen | The Kitchen Organization | The Kitchen Appliances | The Powder Bath | The Living Room | The Downstairs Guest Suite | The Loft | The Kids’ Room | The Upstairs Guest Bath | The Dining Room | The Family Room | The Master Bedroom | The Master Bathroom

Opening Image Credits: Photo by Sara Ligorria-Tramp | From: The Final Mountain House Reveal (for Now): All the Details of My Master Bathroom

The post Let’s Talk Vessel Sinks & Wall-Mount Faucets appeared first on Emily Henderson.

Want an Extra Room? Consider Transforming Your Garage

If you are at all like my family, your garage has never stored a car. Ok maaaaybe once. But really it’s a place to store your excess “stuff” and it’s actually kinda a missed opportunity when you think about it. Yes, there are things like seasonal decorations, boxes of family photos, random piles of tools, discarded drum sets, and ALL of the sports gear from seasons’ past that need a place to live (or *cough* be donated). But in a time when home feels like the only true safe zone, separate “zones” are more desired than ever. Maybe it’s a place to escape when you need a little alone time, a separate common area to gather, or an extra room for a family member who just moved in? Guys, your garage could be the answer to your “lack of needed square footage” prayers.

Now as someone who was raised in California and then only lived in major cities where apartment buildings were the only housing options around, I was naive to what people who live with real weather do with their garages. Was transforming a garage only conceivable for people who live in temperate climates?? I obviously didn’t know so I had to expose my lack of knowledge to my go-to midwestern friend, Dan. This was my text:

Question for you from your dumb CA friend. Do people in snowy climates use their garages for car storage during the winter or do they just leave their cars in the driveway?

After apparently laughing for a solid minute (I think Dan is starved for real humor), he graciously answered by saying that it’s a mixed bag. Some people do use their garages for their cars, especially if they have nicer cars that they want to protect from the elements. Otherwise, a lot of people just use their driveways. He also noted that since most homes in snowy/cold climates have basements they act as that “separate space” to get away in. OK DAN, I get it, cold weather people are super cool with their awesome basements. Not. Jealous.

But here in California basements are a rarity and if we want an extra room but not the square footage to add, our garages are the top contender. Now, this post was actually born out of looking at the work of the super talented Shanty Wijaya of Allprace (Yep, the same designer responsible for this home). I noticed that in all of the projects she sent me, she transformed each of those properties’ garages into non-storage, useable spaces. It’s kind of a sneaky, genius signature move. So who better to chat with to get all of the tips and tricks to know how to transform your “catch-all space” into an extra oasis.

Why have you chosen to turn the garages of the houses you flip into rooms that people can use for bedrooms, game rooms, offices, etc.?

“For functionality, healthy lifestyle, additional income potential (via Airbnb/rental income potential), and additional flex spaces. Based on my experience, many LA homeowners opt to have an ADU (for Airbnb/rental income potential) or a rec room instead of a car garage. When designing/building all of our projects, we always strive to add value to the house for the prospective homeowners to enjoy. We also believe in the mental-physical health benefit of indoor-outdoor living. By converting and thoughtfully designing a garage into an ADU, we increase the sqft of the home and the potential rental/Airbnb income to help with the homeowner’s mortgage payment. These add tremendous value to the future homeowner. By converting and thoughtfully designed the garage into a rec room, we add flex space to the house and we normally design and incorporate this space as part of indoor-outdoor living. Also, extra space and sqft with a thoughtful design always add property value.”

Hot Tip

ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit) has a bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, HVAC system and a permit is required. A recreational room (rec room) is an extra space that can be used as a game room, office, etc without bathroom/kitchen and not intended to be used as a bedroom but a permit is also required. - Shanty

What makes you decide to turn a garage into a bedroom vs a fun bar/communal structure? 

“They’re many variables to be considered in making that decision. For example, there’s zoning, foundation, the overall design, and the lifestyle concept we aimed to achieve in each of our projects. When converting the garage, we always aim first to convert into ADU.”

Jess here! That makes the most sense since creating an ADU will get you the greatest return… but it does require the most money. Let’s take a look at a couple of Shanty’s projects to see her thought process and chat more.

Project WeHo (West Hollywood for Non Locals:))

Can you give me a quick overview of this project?

“The lot is sloped and small, only 3200sqft, which is the norm in the West Hollywood Norma Triangle neighborhood. We extensively remodeled, added sqft to the main house to become a 1600sqft house, a small heated pool/spa, and converted the dilapidated 1 car garage into a pool house/bar.”

“We decided to convert the 1 car garage into a pool house/bar with a bathroom. It sits next to a newly built small heated pool/spa. The city of West Hollywood allowed the bathroom inside the pool house with the proper permit. This pool house and small grassy courtyard which is facing the driveway created a much-needed separation between the 2 car driveway and the backyard pool area. Cars can also be parked on the street and this gated driveway can be used as a free flow extra entertainment area.”

Jess again. Clearly this was a HUGE job but man was it a transformation with so much thought put into it. I love that they had the idea of making part of the extra-long driveway a potential entertaining space as you enter into the back of the home. And since it would be cruel to not show you the inside, here are some pictures…

That wood ceiling adds SO MUCH texture to what could have easily just been a plain white box.

Another one of Shanty go-to’s that I’ve noticed is she incorporates skylights in almost every bathroom. If you are renovating, you should 100% consider one (Emily is equally a fan). Also, you can’t see but there is a door that goes directly into the bathroom from the pool area. Again, thoughtful design always wins.

For these next two projects, the purpose was to refinish the spaces into rec rooms/possible garages which could be far more DIYable if you are up for it…

Project Cimarron

“This was not a garage conversion. We just remodeled the existing back structure into a finished garage with polished concrete, ceiling, walls, and replaced the existing doors as well as added in custom-built carriage garage doors. The glass carriage doors provide access for cars to go inside the finished garage when the homeowner chooses to use this space as car garage in the future.”

Here is the “Before”… I KNOW IT’S INSANE.

Shanty also mentioned that in both this and the next project that the idea of indoor/outdoor living was a huge part of the overall design. However, what I love is that this new structures can easily be closed off so if someone needs some alone time it’s not a problem. Quarantine dreams amiright??

Now I had a few more general questions.

For someone who is considering transforming their garage what is your advice? Any must-knows or experiences you’ve learned from?

“Go to the city and check all the requirements and confirm eligibility. For example, but not limited to zoning, parking requirement, property setback, garage foundation, etc.

For ADU conversion, hire a professional. At the end of the day it will save more time and money than DIY.



For a rec room and finished garage, you might be able to DIY but first, always do thorough due diligence. 

For example, most LA homes are older homes and many older home’s garages don’t have a foundation/proper foundation, and this will add significant cost to the project.” 

What is the average price for making a garage into a room?

“It varies depending on existing garage condition, finishes, material, the complexity of the design, etc.

For an ADU: We get many requests from homeowners to build a new ADU building or a garage conversion into ADU (bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, HVAC), and based on our average price all included is around $250/sqft. This includes design, plan, permit, project management, construction, and our finishes.

For a rec room: Plan and permitting are still required but DIY construction is possible depending on how adventurous you are! But again, price is very subjective depending on existing garage conditions, finishes, material, the complexity of the design, whether you DIY or hire professional, etc.”

Sidenote. Do I spy with my little eye a hammock?? The new EHD favorite relaxation decor tool? Yes, yes I do. If you are in the market head here.

Project Baywood

What are some ways to save?

“The majority of the budget will be in construction, planning, and the permitting process. For me, to save money, time, and headaches in this project scale is to do a thorough inspection and research. Go to the city and hire the right people who can do all of it.”

Remember our design mistake post: when to hire and when to diy?? Sounds like unless you really know what you are doing, hiring might be the way to go to get your dream garage getaway and not to completely drive yourself (and loved ones) nuts:)

Any products/materials that you’d recommend?

“I love carriage doors for garage conversions for the design purposes, light source and it offers flexibility for car access whenever you want to use it again as the car garage.”

For garage door sourcing, do you have any recommendations where people could look for similar kinds?

“For carriage doors, we always use wood and custom-built them. Any woodworker/carpenter can do it. It’s pretty easy.

For interior doors, go to Home Depot, Lowes, or any door/windows stores. They surprisingly carry countless door styles. Ask for the catalogs of all the door brands they carry. For a unique design, most of them are in the catalog and have to be special order.”

Well, now that we have all of her secrets we should be all set. Just kidding she is VERY good at her job (clearly) and I hope that you’ve learned about a few new things to consider if you are wanting to throw out most of that garage junk and have another room to call dibs on.

But I HAVE TO know. Do you agree with Dan? Are garages used as much in say, Ohio (Dan’s homeland), as they are in California? If you live in a cold climate would you consider making your garage another room to hang out in or is your basement (if you have one) all the extra space you need? Have you tried to DIY your garage with success and have more hot tips for us? Let’s talk in the comments!

Love you, mean it.

Designs by Shanty Wijaya of Allprace Properties
Photos of first home by Jessica Alexander
Photos of Project WeHo by Virtually Here Studios
Photos of Project Cimarron and Project Baywood by Tessa Neustadt

The post Want an Extra Room? Consider Transforming Your Garage appeared first on Emily Henderson.

Rules For Picking a Coffee Table (+ 105 of Our Favorites for Every Space)

Photo by Tessa Neustadt for EHD | From: How to Add Style to a Neutral Living Room

We were noticing that this was a post that a lot of people have been looking at recently so we thought let’s just put it up at the top of the blog again! Picking out a coffee table is something that you think you just instinctually know how to do… until it’s time to find one. That’s why we made this post so you don’t have to guess what size, shape, or type you need to make the perfect sofa match. Enjoy this quick little republish. xx

The coffee table. So functional, so often an afterthought. Sofas get all the living room glory, and sure they keep us comfortable. But the coffee table is the workhorse of the living room. It holds our drinks, remote controls, beloved tech devices, treasured trinkets, and, for better or worse, our take-out dinners at the end of a long day. It occasionally doubles as a stool (which we’re not endorsing, for legal reasons, but we won’t deny having done on occasion), a desk, or a craft table. With such a big, diverse job, you’d surmise that it would be one of the first furniture pieces you thought about when moving into a new place and/or re-decorating… except it’s usually not. 

How many hours do we put into choosing the perfect sofa, the perfect rug, the perfect chairs for our living room…only to throw in a hand-me-down coffee table that used to belong to Aunt Susan? (bless her heart). Okay, we don’t all go down the who-cares-about-a-coffee-table route. Plenty of you have definitely belabored the choice of a table, we’re sure, but regardless of what side of those scenarios you find yourself, you might need some guidance or inspiration in the coffee table shopping department. What size and shape go with what sofa size and shape? It might feel like a shot in the dark, but fear not, we’re here to help. We’ve put together a shopping guide with all the best coffee tables we could find—round, square, rectangular, oval!—and a few rules to keep in mind (with a diagram!) when choosing a coffee table.

First up: rules. While you can, of course, go with whatever shape and size you like, to have an ideal relationship between your coffee table and sofa, here are some general things to keep in mind: Your coffee table should be at least half the length of your sofa (but no more than roughly ⅔ the length) and should sit at about the same height as the seat, give or take 4 inches (i.e., if your sofa is 90-inches long and 20-inches tall, you should look for something, no matter the shape, that’s around 45 to 54 inches wide and 16 to 24 inches tall). However, if you have a sectional with a chaise, and your table is going within the open L-shape that sofa shape creates, that 1/2 to 2/3 guideline applies better to just the length of the horizontal seat, rather than the full length of the sofa. Here’s a quick graphic to show you what we mean, as well as a breakdown of ideal shapes by sofa configuration:

For more living room-specific tips, see this post where we broke down tons of super helpful tips like how much space you need around a table, rug size rules, lighting guidelines and more. 

Once you figure out the right size and shape, after that, it’s more about making the right design choice for your space. Rectangular and oval-shaped coffee tables can almost be interchanged, depending on what kind of flow you’re looking for—same goes with round and square. Let’s break it down a bit further (with the bonus of our favorite shopping picks):

Rectangular



photo by tessa Neustadt | from: mel’s living room reveal

Consider rectangle (or oval but more on this shape next) if you have a standard sofa (or an extra-long sofa with chaise) so everyone can have easy access to their coffee, cocktail or late-night snack of choice. This is also a great choice if you have a narrow space with minimal walk-around clearance. If you’re a household with more remotes or tech cords than you can count, think about getting a table with some functional but still sleek drawers like #1, #21, #23 and #30. It’s hard to see in the photo, but the table at #2 has a shadow box top  (that’s great for putting in your favorite curiosities and trinkets but still having plenty of surface area for you know…real life stuff. Oh, and if you regularly eat in front of your TV (whether by choice or because you don’t actually have a formal dining area), a lift-top coffee table is super useful for not having to hunch over your plate (#10 and #29). 

1. Shaw Walnut Coffee Table | 2. Shadow Box Coffee Table | 3. Shadow Box Coffee Table | 4. Tvilum Diana Coffee Table | 5. Logan Industrial Coffee Table | 6. Marisol Coffee Table | 7. Mabel Coffee Table | 8. Grey and White Marble Coffee Table | 9. Savi Striped Inlay Coffee Table | 10. Naya Pop-Up Coffee Table | 11. Blake Raffia Coffee Table | 12. Corbyn Coffee Table | 13. Elemental Layers Coffee Table | 14. Mill Iron Coffee Table | 15. Wiley Coffee Table | 16. Fairmont Metal Coffee Table | 17. Oblique Marble Coffee Table | 18. Beckett Reclaimed Wood Coffee Table | 19. Nordcasa Coffee Table | 20. Lakin Recycled Teak Coffee Table | 21. Padre Coffee Table | 22. Hafley Coffee Table | 23.Knox Storage Coffee Table | 24.  Janelle Coffee Table | 25. Bios | 26. Sayer Coffee Table White | 27. Oscuro Coffee Table | 28. Trivia Coffee Table | 29. Mid-Century Pop-Up Storage Coffee Table | 30. Zennie Coffee Table

Square



Photo by Zeke Ruelas for EHD | From: Ginny’s Living Room Reveal

If you have a large comfy sectional or the traditional conversational set up with a sofa and a couple of chairs (kind of like Ginny’s living room above), a square table is a great choice. It fits perfectly in the L-shape nook of your sectional or the big space in the middle of your chat zone. The best part of a square table? You get the most styling space bang for your buck. Who doesn’t love a well-styled coffee table vignette? We really like the mix of the square top and round base of table #1 for a play on shapes. Similar to the shadow box table we talked about in the previous section, #2 from IKEA has a draw with four sections, and the glass top lets you see all the pretty things you decide to store (definitely not the best option if you know you’ll just end up junking up that drawer with remotes and catalogs, though). 

1. Square Flash Table | 2. Liatorp | 3. Profile Square Coffee Table | 4. Woven Wrapped Rattan Coffee Table | 5. Strut Coffee Table | 6. Vena | 7. Whitebird Small Coffee Table | 8. Matter Cement Coffee Table Ivory | 9. Streamline Square Coffee Table | 10. Bowley Coffee Table Brown | 11. Gridiron Stainless Steel Coffee Table | 12. Brezza Coffee Table | 13. Blake Rafia Square Coffee Table Indigo | 14. Reclaimed English Beam Square Coffee Table | 15. Square Metal/Glass Open Shelf Cocktail Table | 16. Aphra Square Coffee Table | 17. Cabot Square Coffee Table | 18. Thaddeus Forged Iron and Glass Coffee Table | 19. Solano Square Coffee Table | 20. Marble Plinth Coffee Table | 21. Rebar Coffee Table | 22. Aiken Square Coffee Table | 23. Lenia Square Coffee Table | 24. Lisabo | 25. Reclaimed Russian Oak Parquet Coffee Table | 26. Plywood Grid Cocktail Table | 27. Lallerod

Round



photo by sara ligorria-tramp | from: reveal: arlyn’s bright & happy rental living room makeover

For anyone living in a small space where every piece of furniture counts, think about cutting corners (literally) and going with something round. It’s also a good choice to pair with a sectional or sofa with chaise since it’s a good “nook” shape, i.e. it fits into a little nook of space nicely like in the family room of Jaime Derringer from Design Milk above. Another hot tip if space is at a premium or if your room is already busy is to consider a glass top like #9 and #24. This helps things appear more visually open—if you don’t see it, is it really even there? Speaking of smaller spaces, storage is NEVER unwelcome in a tight room, which is why we really love #10, #22 and #25 for their deep, hidden-away storage (great for stashing hobby items, toys and more). Round coffee tables also seem to have a bit more fun (the blondes of the table world??), so why not cash in on the availability of options for something more sculptural like #4, #6, #16, #20 and #27? 

1. Noir Tiered Coffee Table | 2. Jewel Round Coffee & Side Table Set | 3. Zorina Cocktail Table | 4. Turn Coffee Table | 5. Silicus Coffee Table | 6. Spoke Marble Coffee Table | 7. Emmond Two-Tone Coffee Table | 8. Cap Ivory Cement Coffee Table | 9. Round Glass And Metal Ilene Coffee Table | 10. Drum Storage Coffee Table | 11. Brass Tray Coffee Table | 12. Marte Ottoman | 13. Modern Round Coffee Table | 14. Milking Table LAX Series | 15. Marble Coffee Table | 16. Betania Petite Coffee Table | 17. Brass Tray Coffee Table | 18.Victory Round Coffee Table | 19. Round Glass Coffee Table | 20. Arteriors Bates Large Coffee Table | 21. Edmund Silver Glass Cocktail Coffee Table | 22. Turning Table | 23. Anya Travertine Coffee Table | 24. Charlottenborg Table | 25. Cala Hammered Coffee Table | 26. Shaker Coffee Table | 27. Darbuka Black Coffee Table

Oval



photo by tessa neustadt | from: experimenting in my living room: trying to find “the” rug

Oval is a good call if you have some small humans running around and want to attempt to avoid any face-to-table sharp edge encounters (round is also good for this). If your living room is a high-traffic area (like, do you have to walk through it to get to another space like the kitchen or dining room?), a more sinuous shape helps with visual flow, as well. It accomplishes the same look as a rectangle but softens a really angular or modern sofa. The classic mixed marble and wood design (#1) is a favorite around here (check it out in Emily’s living room here). The thin legs keep it light and floaty (which balances the heavier wood at the bottom). Of course, the Platner table (#5) is a modern design classic, and while the brass table above from Brady’s living room is no longer available, we found a similar one in a brass tone (#7) if you love the silhouette but are flexible on the metal finish. If you’re into making a bit more of a statement, check out the petrol blue table from West Elm at #19; it has a retro, ’80s inspired vibe that could add a serious cool factor to a simple, stripped back living space. 

1. Thomas Bina Olivia Coffee Table | 2. No No Table | 3. Bordeaux Coffee Table | 4. Palais Ovale Coffee Table | 5. Platner Coffee Table | 6. Wood Coffee Table | 7. Massenburg Coffee Table with Tray Top | 8. Leigh Coffee Table | 9. Brown Oval Coffee Table | 10. Nova Oval Coffee Table Black | 11. Oval Tribal Carved Wood Coffee Table | 12. The Floyd Coffee Table  13. Stockholm Oval Coffee Table | 14. Nero White Marble Oval Coffee Table | 15. Brodick Coffee Table With Tray Top | 16. Gallego Marbled Coffee Table | 17. Whisler Coffee Table | 18.Vintage Brass Oval Platter Table | 19.  Ruby Storage Coffee Table Blue | 20. Reeve Mid-Century Oval Coffee Table | 21. Marlow Oval Coffee Table

So…what else do you wish you had guidelines for? We’ve done a handful of posts with tons of rules by room, but how would you want us to drill down deeper? What do you struggle with regularly while decorating that you want some signature EHD how-to post action on? As always, let us know in the comments.

Since you’re already riding high on design guidelines, here are some more posts that might be helpful:

Design Mistakes: Hanging Curtains All Wrong Living Rules to KnowDining Room RulesBedroom Design RulesMy Top 3 Design Rules. Ever.

Opening Image Credit: Photo by Tessa Neustadt for EHD | From: How to Add Style to a Neutral Living Room

The post Rules For Picking a Coffee Table (+ 105 of Our Favorites for Every Space) appeared first on Emily Henderson.