apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

We just don't have it in us to venture out into the shopping madness of Black Friday. Since we're lucky enough to have the day off, we'd much rather spend it at home, enjoying leftovers and catching up with family and friends. If you don't yet have plans and you're thinking of staying in, we've gathered a few ideas.

If you're scrambling to get ready for Thanksgiving and still aren't sure what to do about flowers for the table, just grab some salt and pepper shakers, pop the lids off, and repurpose them as bud vases. They're charming and small, so you don't have to spend a lot on flowers. If you don't have any extra shakers…

Now that the third season of Mad Men is over and Don and Betty's glam bedroom has been deserted for the time being, the tufted headboard craze seems to be dying down. If you've been shopping for one, now is a good time to scoop it up on sale. Click below for prices ranging from $2,000 to $240 to about $110 for a DIY version.

If your family is anything like ours, the holidays don't really look like the pages of Martha Stewart Living. On a Thanksgiving morning, you might find us all bleary-eyed in our pajamas, the beds unmade, the kitchen counter littered with boxes full of half-eaten Entenmann's and dirty coffee cups.

It's been a long day, so we hope you'll forgive us for staring out the window and getting lost in the view. For many years, studies have proven that natural light can give us a significant psychological and physical boost, but recent papers are kicking it up a notch, with evidence that views can be equally important.

The other week, Regina posted a great roundup of subtle holiday décor, and a few commenters requested more examples. Candles are one of our favorite ways to celebrate the season simply, without too much glitter. To get you started, we’ve gathered some ideas.

Milwaukee is one of our favorite Midwestern towns. Best known for the iconic Calatrava-designed Art Museum Pavilion, the area also has a lot to offer in terms of modern architecture on a smaller scale. We’ve rounded up a few examples of homes in and around the city that illustrate Milwaukee’s particular breed of Midwestern modernism.

Wes Anderson's new movie, Fantastic Mr. Fox opens nation-wide this Thanksgiving and has been praised for its particular sense of style, parts of which are based on the home, clothes, and fetishes of the book's author, Roald Dahl. Dahl, who died in 1990, was an intriguing and contradictory figure whose passions ranged from chocolate Crunchie bars to Matisse and Beethoven.

Short curtains are definitely not in vogue right now, with long drapes showing up consistently across the pages of design magazines and blogs. Yet there are legitimate reasons to go short, whether you have a cat who likes to claw the curtains, a radiator below the window, or you just like the look.

A whole post devoted to one form of hardware might seem a little micro-focused, but we’re of the belief that details reinforce (or sometimes undermine) the strength of the whole. Bin pulls, classically used in farmhouse kitchens, are one of those small things that can completely transform the look of a room.

Nothing revives a tired traveler more than a good sleep and a shower. If you really want to make your guests feel welcome, spend a little time prepping your bathroom for their arrival.

Le Nid des Cigognes (translated as the Stork's Nest) is a 4-bedroom rental house in Marrakech. The house itself is simple, made of white walls and neutral tile floors, but the decor is rich and colorful, thanks to a collection of textiles that decorate the walls, floors, and furniture.

Name: Luciano, Marzia, and Margherita
Location: Modena, Italy
Size: 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom condo
Years lived in: 28

Modena, an ancient city in Emilia-Romagna, is home to the Ferrari company, Italy's best balsamic vinegar, and this incredible pre-war apartment, shared by Luciano, his wife Marzia, and their daughter Margherita. The building dates back to 1906, and the first thing you notice when you walk through the door are the hand-painted walls and ceilings, which Luciano and Marzia had restored to their original colors and motifs.

We’ve needed a new rug for our living room for a long time, but we keep putting it off, waiting for the perfect rug at the perfect price. As our non-urgent search continues, we’ve made some notes of sources that continuously come through with good prices.