By: Stephanie Andrews Last weekend I went to New York City to meet up with my oldest friend, Lara. Lara and I have been close friends since we were 7 years old. (I don’t take this for granted a mere 50 years later!) Lara booked us...
By: Stephanie Andrews Growing up in rural Pennsylvania, surrounded by dairy farms, woods, streams, and dirt roads, life was slow-very slow. My mom and dad had eschewed the big city of Erie, Pennsylvania to pursue their dream of building a passive solar home on 40 acres...
By: Allie Andrews Over the Summer I had the opportunity to visit and study in Spain. My program took place in two lesser-known cities in different regions of the country. The first city I stayed in was a small, tight-knit city called Cuenca. It is in...
By: Stephanie Andrews As a designer, few things excite me more than choosing rugs, paint, and wallpaper. To me, these are the items in the home that spell out the personality of those that live there. Paint is the biggest bang for the buck in transforming...
By: Stephanie Andrews In my family, I am not known for my promptness. In other words, I have a reputation for being late. My mother calls it “one-more-thing-itis”, in that I often think I still have time to do one more thing before I leave. I...
By: Stephanie Andrews I feel very lucky. In my professional life, I feel as though I have found my Ikigai. Ikigai is a Japanese term loosely translated as “a reason to get up in the morning”. Even with that sentiment after 22 years as a design entrepreneur, I still...
By: Stephanie Andrews We just returned from a 2 week vacation to Turkey. My husband, Ed and I, went with our closest friends-Gail and Nick. We toured Istanbul, Cappadocia, Izmir and Bodrum with little side trips to Ephesus and Pamukkale. [caption id="attachment_17450" align="alignnone" width="400"] This pic is...
By Stephanie Andrews Hi everyone! Before I get into the personal design for my home, I'd like to share my goals for this new, more personal blog: 1-Share stories of my home and travels that are relatable and helpful to both of us. 2-Share design and life advice...
By Stephanie Andrews Two simple tasks are magical in the home-simplifying and new paint. Simplifying means decluttering, arranging shelves, and letting go of items that no longer serve you. New paint is obvious when you want to change and uplift your home, and you want...