Home Front

We’ve brought you the lighting and tableware shops in our most stylish friends’ rolodexes. Now comes their go-to sources for the element that always ties the room together: the rug. Ahead, our ongoing, alphabetized list of guest editor favorites—plus a few of our own picks to narrow down your search. —Lindsey DeSimone, senior editor, content strategy Akara Armadillo Beni Rugs Block Shop Cold Picnic

I did the thing everyone tells you not to do when house-hunting: I got attached. After submitting an offer on a starter home in our dream neighborhood, I immediately began mapping out all the changes I would make. “Let’s knock out the pantry closet and do floor-to-ceiling cabinets instead,” I told my husband. “I bet I could rent a really tall ladder at The Home Depot and repaint the exterior myself,” I continued, feeling super confident in my DIY skills at this point.

Redoing a house is a huge undertaking—now imagine an entire hotel. After today’s guest editor, Shannon Maldonado, accomplished the latter (she opened YOWIE Hotel in Philadelphia in 2023), she understandably needed a break from making design choices. Every aspect of the cool-kid accommodations (and cafe and shop!) is comfortable, convenient, and stylish—you don’t see the hours of problem-solving and painstaking attention to detail that went into every nook and cranny.

The thing about DIYing is that there will be hiccups. This past weekend, that looked like paint reading far darker than anticipated once applied to my dining room ceiling. I did what any cool, calm, collected adult would: completely gave up and went to get ice cream. Adding this vintage shelf bracket to cart also helped. Similarly in need of a little retail therapy? Look no further...

Leave you high and dry on a lighting source or bedding rec? Annie Meyers-Shyer, aka This Oak House on Instagram, would never. The white paints she swears by, the hardware brands in her house, her go-to Etsy vendors—she happily spills all to her followers.

It’s always fun when we notice similar design predictions bubbling up and then actually see them take off out in the world. Case in point: the purple wave. If you haven’t read it yet, our last post includes 40+ design insider hot takes for your consideration. Ahead, inspiration from our saved folders to yours. —Lindsey DeSimone, senior editor, content strategy Home Front is a reader-supported newsletter.

My Sunday plans? Put down my phone and pick up a puzzle and paint brush—though, not at the same time. Perhaps I’ll even dip into one of the soon-to-be everywhere colors on our recent guest editors’ radar… —Lindsey DeSimone, senior editor, content strategy Home Front is a reader-supported newsletter. Free subscribers get access to some of our weekly content or you can upgrade to paid to never miss a post.

I’ve been spending summers in northern Michigan my entire life. Lake Michigan is the size of Belgium, and it sure feels like it when you’re staring out at the water from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Over Memorial Day weekend, my husband Alex ran a marathon along Grand Traverse Bay, so we decided to stay a few extra days and head up Leleenau Peninsula. There, we settled into a space that felt tucked away from the rest of the world.

“Looks like a room everyone would feel at home in” was a comment someone recently left under one of interiors and garden designer Nick Spain’s Instagram posts. It hit the nail on the head: the spaces he creates lure you in and put you at ease, even if you’re simply scrolling by. And then there’s the way he slips in the unexpected so seamlessly, you’d assume it had always been there. Turquoise checkerboard floors in an 1800s home’s kitchen?! I’m drooling.

The team is heading into the office for a big brainstorm this week, and getting together is always like a mini reunion. Creativity just flows easier, as does the free Diet Coke. I’m also having my portrait taken by Domino’s inimitable staff photographer Belle Morizio for some secret future content; you’ll just have to stay tuned. —Lindsey Mather, editor in chief In today’s Home Front: Have you heard of Greek Isle Aesthetic?