Guest Bedroom Essentials For The Holidays

The holidays certainly aren't the only time of year that any of us may have overnight guests, but during the holiday season — the season of merriment & counting one's blessings — we all want to go the extra mile for our guests.

I've put together a list of essentials that every guest bedroom/suite should have, but this isn't any ol' essentials list — no ma'am (or sir). Each of these items was hand-picked by yours truly to make the holiday guest experience comforting, special, and memorable. But before we start shopping, let's talk about some practical steps to pulling your guests' home away from home together.

Tablescaping for the Winter Holiday Season

While I love to shop — duh! — I don’t believe I always have to buy everything all new every time I want a new look, because no one has that kind of money or storage! When I decided to set the dining room tablescape, this year I pulled out my fav tablescaping pieces from last year — because that’s when almost everything was purchased — and started to plan out place settings with what I had on hand.

How To Create A Tablescape: Easy Tablescaping Tips & Ideas

Tablescaping isn't exclusive to dining tables, although this time of year, it's often assumed that it is. Any time you're decorating a tabletop surface and/or creating a sort of flat surface vignette -- dining table, coffee table, fireplace mantle, console table, sideboard, bar cart, bookshelf — YOU'RE TABLESCAPING!

5 Easy Steps To Choosing Color

So often when I'm working on a design the biggest dilemma tends to revolve around color -- picking colors, matching colors, using colors -- so I thought it be cool to share some of my "wisdom" on color!

DesignAlbie KnowsOctober 22, 2021design therapy, free resource, color

Batching Hack: Setting Up Canned Emails in Gmail

If you listened to the last Q & Albie episode of the season, then you know it was all about batching with e-designer and content creator, Heather Hess. After a long season of sharing insights and tips for elevating your design business, it seemed only fitting to end with an episode all about productivity.

As we addressed productivity hacks on the show, there was one that we both agreed cold save a ton of time with clients, vendors, or other partners:

Q: ARE THERE ANY BATCHING HACKS THAT YOU CAN RECOMMEND?

A: CANNED EMAILS!

Business, ShoppingAlbie KnowsJune 24, 2019designpreneur, free resource, gmail, the design influence

20 Books to Help You Launch & Propel Your Interior Design Business

We’ve all heard the debates on whether or not you should go to school & get formally trained as a designers, or if being self-taught will suffice. While I can’t answer that for anyone but myself, what I can say is that no matter which path you choose, you never really stop learning.

A lot of that learning can come by way of doing — there’s no substitute for experience — but some of that learning you have to actively pursue, whether it’s taking CEU courses, watching webinars, listening to podcasts, or good ol fashioned books!

Business, ShoppingAlbie KnowsJanuary 14, 2019books, free resource, the design influence

Favorite 2018 Resources That We're Taking Into 2019

From new platforms that needed decoding to new resources we didn’t even know we needed, 2018 was definitely the year of a lot of tech! After 12 months of continuing to use old faithfuls from 2017 and diving into the new goodies of 2018, here are the resources we loved from 2018 that we’ll be taking into 2019.

BusinessAlbie KnowsDecember 30, 2018the design influence, free resource, edesign, new yearComment

Announcement: The New Albie Knows Decor Discovery Shop

Back in 2016 when I launched the original Decor Discovery is was a subscription box — I thought I was out of my depth & just downright nuts, but I went for it anyway, and was immensely blessed to have seen it come to life. After an amazing first year, as I prepped for year two, I had a decision to make — a tough one to let go of the subscription. Here we are, now another year later, and I still have that passion for shopping & wanted to bring my finds to you. But now, instead of a bi-monthly subscription box, I’ve decided to do say by way of a curated shop!

Easy Ways to Turn Up The Style In Your Dining Room

With it being the season of good eats & large gathers, it only made sense to follow that up with the dining room! By now, you've learned to how & what to measure for your dining room, so let's talk about really taking it to the next level with these marquee furnishing upgrades.

Albie KnowsNovember 12, 2018dining room, wallpaper, download, design therapy, decor styling, tablescaping, free resource, holiday season, shopping

Pros & Cons of Moving

So in my lifetime, I've moved 7 times. With every move, I found myself constantly trying to define my life via my space. I'm someone who lives in my head, and with that, someone who's always planning and envisioning and daydreaming. I'd get lost in thought planning changes I'd want to make; because no matter what was happening around me, I needed to be able to control my home. With each move, this has never changed. But also with each move, I've learned just a little bit more about myself, the people in my life, and honestly, the world around me.

Design, LifestyleAlbie KnowsOctober 6, 2018west coast transplant, design therapy, mompreneur, moving, free resource, small spacesComment

3 Reasons I Loved Our New York City Studio Apartment

When I moved into my Hell’s Kitchen studio nearly 7 years ago, I had no hesitations — large kitchen, washer/dryer, and an amazing view all equaled a no brainer. The square footage didn’t matter to me because it was just me. Then I met my now husband. THEN we had a baby. Suddenly my perfect bachelorette studio started to resemble one of my many shoe boxes. In hindsight, it was great, and I'm glad we didn't immediately move!

Outdoor Living Shopping: Serena & Lily Summer Favorites

Memorial Day is around the corner which means summer is basically here! Right on time too, because thankfully most of the country is officially out of that weird winter/spring limbo we were having back in March & April.

Albie KnowsMay 21, 2018summertime, serena & lily, memorial day, holiday season, outdoor, free resource, favorites, shopping

5 Common Decorating Mistakes (And How To Avoid Em)

This is why a professional is important.

We help you sort through those ideas & feelings, and really just quiet all the design noise. What we see isn't always what the client sees, especially when it's not their natural inclination. So what ends up happening? Projects, instead of creating a design, are fixing a series of design mistakes.

Albie KnowsMarch 5, 2018design therapy, decor styling, diy, free resource, my home, shopping

Putting Together Our Dining Room: Part 1

Even before we officially decided to move, I would fantasize about designing wherever we would end up -- floor planning, coordinating color schemes, wish listing -- doing all the things I would do for a client.

Fast forward, to when we started doing apartment tours and then to when ultimately chose a place, I was super excited about having a space to really flex my design muscle (not for lack of trying in our NYC studio).

Easy Dining Room Measurements

Wherever you are in your design journey, there are some key basics that you need to know to get your dining situation situated, especially when it comes to measurements so that you get the appropriate pieces that fit the space as much as they fit your lifestyle.

5 Steps To... Love Your Space

Most people have no problem celebrating love and milestones in their relationships... Valentine's Day and anniversaries get recognized, yet most of us don't give a first, second, or third thought to loving up our homes. Now, yes, we may decorate, but what are we really doing to show the place we live, rest, and spend our lives that same love we show to the people in our lives. Here are my 5 ways you can love your space every day.

Lifestyle, VideoAlbie KnowsSeptember 7, 2017design therapy, design intensive, style quiz, free resource, self care, edesign, small spacesComment

8 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Decorating or Designing Your Space

If you're that design enthusiast who isn't afraid to tackle your own decorating and/or designing, I want to remind you that there are certain things you still want to keep top of mind before jumping head first into creating your "dreamscape". Here's a compilation of some questions you absolutely should ask yourself before ever tackling a decorating or design project...

VideoAlbie KnowsAugust 4, 2017youtube, design intensive, free resource, design therapyComment