The Journal

Entertaining

Choose a centerpiece you can talk across

Let the arrangement sit below the conversation rather than between two faces.

Furniture & Finishes

Check the route before ordering a sofa

Measure the delivery route before deciding that a sofa fits the room.

Decorating

Working With Muted Green

Choose the green that belongs beside your floor and furniture, then decide how much of it the room needs.

Room by Room

Make a Small Living Room Comfortable for Guests

Plan for the people who live there every day, then add guest seating that can appear without taking over the room.

French Country

Country Character in a Modern Apartment

Bring the shapes and textures you like into a plain apartment without pretending that it has old farmhouse architecture.

Seasonal Living

A Simple Spring Branch Arrangement

A few branching lines can suggest spring more clearly than a dense arrangement that hides every stem.

Organizing

Separate daily supplies from spares under the sink

Work around the plumbing first, then give daily items and unopened supplies separate places.

Entertaining

Set a coherent table with mismatched plates

A shared scale or quiet background can connect plates from different sets.

Furniture & Finishes

Choose a dining table by its base as well as its top

The shape beneath the tabletop determines where knees, feet and chairs can go.

Decorating

Blue and Cream Without a Coastal Theme

Quiet blue can feel at home with books, warm wood, and ordinary upholstery, without turning the room into a beach setting.

Room by Room

Give the Television a Quieter Place

Let the screen have a sensible place, then use the surrounding furniture to keep it from becoming the room’s only subject.

French Country

Make Curved Furniture Feel at Home

A curved leg or rounded chair back can soften a room without requiring a complete suite of matching furniture.