A Less Striking Addendum

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There is nothing worse than finding an adorable home decor DIY, buying a ton of materials, and starting a project—only to find it's a hundred times more complicated than it appeared in the slick, edited video you saved on socials.

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.

There’s nothing more discomforting than scratching or pricking yourself in dry weather with scraggly thorn-filled rose bushes. But they are so pretty—if only they were as manageable! They can be, with our tricks to growing less prickly and thorn-free roses in your garden. Read on to find out!

The biggest and most expensive purchase most people make in their lives is buying a house. Families and individuals plan for years, sign off on decades long mortgages, and empty their savings account to acquire their own home. But the homeowner headache does not end when you sign your name on a piece of paper (or hundreds and hundreds of pieces of paper, let’s be honest with ourselves); a purchased home does not always mean a livable home. 

Courtesy of Magnolia

Although June’s abundance of bloom and colour has moved on, July has brought its own striking sights throughout the garden – plants blooming for the first time, growing much taller than usual or otherwise making an impact in a way they never had before. I have already shown Clematis ‘Prince George’ a number of times this year, but it is now flowering literally from bottom to top and I can’t resist sharing it again (below). The individual blooms are delightful too, intriguingly crinkly (above).

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.

IT’S ONE of the best-known naturalistic gardens anywhere, and yet it’s perched in the most unnatural spot imaginable, 30 feet high above New York City traffic on an abandoned elevated railway line. The High Line on Manhattan’s West Side is celebrating the 15th anniversary of the opening of its first section, years that have been filled with expert lessons on gardening in this looser, nature-inspired style.

We're sharing handy cleaning and organizing tips to help you prep your place for guests in a flash when you don’t have time (or willpower) to do a deep clean. From easy-to-execute tasks to tools that make the job infinitely easier, use these tips to whip your place into shape when you’re looking for big results in next to no time.

You don't need to devote an entire day to spring cleaning tasks to get your home into tip-top shape. Professional cleaning and organizing experts swear by the following seven chores that will have your space looking much more refreshed in just a matter of minutes. So go ahead and spend a small chunk of your time this weekend giving your sock drawer a good clean out or finally dealing with that overwhelming pile of mail.

Jacob Fox