Sarah Yang

One of the best parts of move-in day at college is getting to decorate your dorm room (or apartment, house… whatever your housing situation is). It’s probably your first time living outside of your childhood home, so this is your big chance to decorate your own space the way you want to. Have fun with it!

As ADUs (accessory dwelling units) become more and more popular, their designs become more sophisticated. Take for example, this Santa Monica ADU and garage with its angled façades and laser-cut aluminum screens that create a lantern-like effect at night.

It turns out that you don’t need to do a full, down-to-the studs renovation to make your home stand out if you’re trying to sell it. Smaller projects and details can have a big impact, too, according to a new report by Thumbtack and Zillow. The home services website and real estate marketplace company partnered to find the top 10 no-demo renovation projects that can entice buyers. And the best part? All of these projects cost less than $5,000 on average (this depends on where you live, of course).

The front yard of this home designed by E. Cobb Architects in Seattle’s Leschi neighborhood already had plenty of curb appeal, but the home’s new owner wanted to add a pool to splash around with his grandkids on a warm day. So he tapped Ian Butcher, AIA, founding partner of Best Practice Architecture to create the space.

Sure, your home’s primary bathroom should reign supreme when it comes to renovation and makeover priorities. If you have more than one bathroom, it’s the one you’ll use the most, so, of course you want it to be comfortable, serene, stylish, functional… all those things. 

Jewelry designer Maya Brenner wanted a room in her Los Angeles home that was a retreat just for her. After raising kids for 21 years and running a business for 25 years, she wanted a space of her own that could be used for “dreaming, designing, reading, and being with myself or people I love.” So she decided to take over a room that was originally built as a nursery for her youngest child and then used as a home office. Joanna Williams of Kneeland Co. was tapped to help transform the space.

A couple of the Sunset editors were talking about the Barbie Dreamhouse the other day. And we had a hot take: Although it’s an iconic home (with a slide, pool, and a color palette that childhood dreams were made of), it’s not the most attractive-looking space from an interior design or architecture standpoint. Sure, it has some touches of mid-century modern style and an extremely cohesive color palette, but we think not very many people would want to live there IRL. On top of that, it doesn’t really look homey or comfy. And all of that’s okay, because the house is for a doll and make-believe moments. What’s a human who wants to live out their Barbie fantasies to do?

Movies and TV shows have inspired interior design choices for a long time. Who doesn’t want their home to look like a Nancy Meyers film come to life? Wes Anderson’s playful and colorful film sets have inspired people to bring that iconic, quirky look home. And I’m sure purple living rooms have become more commonplace thanks to Friends.

This Sears-Roebuck-era bungalow in Huntington Beach had been well-loved for over 15 years by its owners. The high-school sweetheart owners had frequented the beach for many years, even calling it “their place.” And after earning success later in life, they achieved their dream of buying a home in their special spot. Many memories were made there with family and friends over weekends and summer months.

Layout and flow is so important in kitchens, often the hub of the home where everything happens—cooking, eating, gathering, etc. If a space doesn’t have the best layout, it can feel cramped and inefficient. That was the case in this San Diego kitchen in a 1922 Craftsman-style house.

Sure, renovations that seem to happen overnight can be awe-inspiring, but there’s something to be said about renovations that happen gradually. What you need in your home probably changes throughout the years—another kid, a WFH job, a grandparent that moves in… all of these things could shift your design priorities.

Much like buyers’ remorse, there is such a thing as renovation regret. It’s inevitable, too, if you decide to take a chance with a design trend that might seem “outdated” in few years. Remember when chevron was THE pattern of the moment? And how everyone was getting a sliding barn door?

Everyone has their own design aesthetic, and that’s welcomed. If everyone liked the same things, the world would definitely be a lot more boring. But sometimes a design aesthetic doesn’t quite match its surroundings, like what the previous owners did to this 1958 Eichler E-111 home in the San Mateo Highlands.

Yes, a huge, impressive pool can be #backyardgoals, but it might not be the most practical thing, especially when you consider location and how much time and money you want to spend on maintenance. That’s what designer Emily Henderson and her family thought when they were doing a big overhaul of their property in Portland, Oregon—which included shrinking the sports court; adding a pool area, pool house, garden, and flagstone pathway all around the whole property; and putting in a new healthy lawn in the front.

Sometimes you have to treat yourself and that was the case for two homeowners in San Mateo, California. “Our clients are a retired couple with two Labrador retrievers and grown adult children,” explains Melinda Mandell. “They are lovely down-to-earth people, that really show up for their family, and are excellent neighbors, watching out for others. They recently decided it was time to invest in themselves by remodeling their primary suite.”

Perched above Los Angeles in the Mount Washington neighborhood is a home that rivals Barbie’s Dream House. The Spanish Revival home, owned and transformed by celebrity hairstylist Rob Talty, is truly a sight to behold with its ombré pink exterior and lush garden that’s a habitat for butterflies and hummingbirds. And did we mention that it was just put on the market?

Vacation homes are meant to be places to relax and recharge, which means the design and architecture should set the tone. And that’s exactly what Celeste Robbins of Robbins Architecture did in this four-bedroom, five-bathroom home in Driggs, Idaho, which is featured in her new book, The Meaningful Modern Home: Soulful Architecture and Interiors.

When it came to the kitchen in their three-bedroom, two-bathroom 1930s San Francisco home, the owners wanted keep the current square footage and layout, but adjust the space to make it work harder for their family’s needs (they have two daughters). So they brought in Allie Allen and Sasha White of Shiny Shed Collective to oversee the renovation of the 144-square-foot L-shaped room.

All house flips aren’t created equally, that’s for sure. Luckily even though this 1920s Spanish bungalow in Los Angeles went through a quick flip by its previous owner, it still had many materials that were of great quality, says Candace Shure of Shure Design Studio, who reimagined the home for her client, a young lawyer and first-time home buyer.

Every kitchen needs good storage, but not every kitchen has good storage. Some are small and need a lot of hacks to find a spot for everything. Some can be the right size but with not enough cabinet or drawer space. And others are just not using their storage potential fully, like this kitchen in San Rafael, California.

While a family of five (a couple and three daughters) had made some renovations throughout the years to their 1949 mid-century, post-war house in Seattle since they moved in in 2013, there was one room that still desperately needed a facelift: their galley-style kitchen. “It was hardly big enough for two people to move about, let alone a family of five!” says Meghan Price of Maple & Plum, who oversaw the project. “There were areas of wasted space, major lack of storage, and it felt dark and uninviting. The back door and laundry were situated just off the galley kitchen, with tight, limited access to the backyard.”

Interior designer Stephanie Hunt’s seven-bedroom, 10-bathroom Park City, Utah, home is a grown-up, glammed-up, sophisticated version of a funhouse—it’s got so many surprises and delights at every turn. And believe it or not, she got the inspiration for the home on a freezing winter trip to Reykjavík, Iceland. “We were there for a quick weekend trip and I was struck by how the simple barn structures—very close together—looked like one unit. Because we’re art collectors I wondered what it would feel like to have each pod or pavilion, if you will, developed in a simple, honest architectural style, connected by halls and glass elements, with the halls serving sort of in-home art galleries,” she explains.

It’s well known that the housing market is so competitive right now, but prospective home buyers aren’t the only ones hurting—renters are, too. According to personal finance website WalletHub, inflation has impacted rental prices, and 2022 saw the second-highest price growth in decades with a 6.2% year-over-year increase. 

For those who are looking to buy a home for the first time, the feat can seem like quite the hurdle. With housing prices and interest rates still high, and a competitive market, it’s tough out there! And the number of first-time home buyers are dropping, too, because of those high prices—according to personal finance site WalletHub, 26% off home purchases were made by first-time home buyers in 2022, down from 34% the previous year.

What if you could paint your walls the same color as your car? Porsche has teamed up with paint brand Backdrop to let you do just that. In honor of the 75th anniversary of Porsche, the collaboration features four heritage colors that you can paint your house with: Irish Green, Riviera Blue, Speed Yellow, and Ruby Star.

The ‘80s film Back to the Future (and its subsequent sequels) are total classics, and while fans will most definitely remember the comedic one-liners, storylines, and iconic characters, there are also some noteworthy architecture and design moments. Doc Brown’s home in the film is the Gamble House in Pasadena, California, a stunning, historic example of the Arts and Crafts movement designed by influential 20th century architects Charles and Henry Greene. Movie fans still flock to the location to take photos and go on tours.