Home Improvement

Start with the palette. “Saturated” is a word being used a lot; it means ripe plum hues, intense tangerines, rich indigos, verdant greens, zingy turquoises, hot reds and peppy yellows.

Ask William Carter about expanding your home and he’s going to be blunt: It will be expensive. It will be messy. And it will take time.

There’s art in cartography: Street grids, the curve of a shoreline and topographic details lend themselves to wall art, rugs and textiles.

You probably didn’t realize, when you put an ornate old picture frame next to the sleek Pottery Barn sofa in your living room, that you had your finger on the pulse of America’s design culture.

When decorating our homes, we tend to consider things like beauty and comfort, the durability of pieces we might buy or the image they project. But how many of us stop to consider our energy bills?

What if you’re a fan of vivid orange, lime green or a luscious shade of lavender? These colors can be tricky to use successfully in decor. But you don’t need to avoid them.

Landlords often want their white walls to stay white. Many won’t let you do even the most minor construction. Some even ask renters not to nail anything to the walls.

But for many folks, who are more self-critical than self-confident, the journey to the ideal wall color or room style is fraught with angst. What if you choose wrong and visitors to your home snicker? What if you spend all that money and don’t get it right?

The popularity of custom, built-in pieces may be partly a backlash against the cookie-cutter conformity of furniture at many major retailers. Small spare rooms or awkward spaces can take on new life when a built-in is added.

Attending the New York International Gift Fair is a little like watching television with a teenager: Lots of eye-catching visuals whiz by as the channels keep changing.