Before: A retired couple’s spacious back deck served as a great space for entertaining and hosting friends and family, but its exposure to the elements meant guests baked in the summer sun and also were pestered by mosquitoes. “[The homeowners] never sat out there,” designer Tracy Hains says. “That’s where the idea was born. They wanted to sit out there and enjoy the pond, walking path and trees.”

Hains, who owns Che Bella Interiors in Burnsville, Minnesota, worked with her team to design and build a screened-in enclosure for the existing deck. As part of the renovation, they also updated the home’s adjacent interior spaces to better reflect the homeowners’ style and to improve the flow between the inner rooms and the outdoor space.

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Is it just us, or does the mural make the linear chandelier in this beautiful Virginia dining room by Design Therapy look like moonlight filtering through a willow tree’s branches? Squint and the table’s pedestal could be the tree’s trunk.

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In the San Francisco Bay Area, this midcentury-modern-style dining room by Ann Lowengart Interiors softens the wall covering’s geometric patterns with curved dining chair backs. Zoom in to see the retro starbursts on the gilded iron chandelier, which the clients already owned and Lowengart was more than happy to work into the design. “We added the fun blue shades,” she notes.

Chandelier: Etoile, Circa Lighting; shades: Jefferson linen blend in Blueberry, Pindler

If you have a woodstove or fireplace, stocking up on good, dry wood is essential before winter really kicks in.

Although wood does look inviting all stacked up, it’s probably best to store the bulk of it outdoors to prevent little critters from entering your home. A covered porch can be a good transitional space for keeping a wood pile, and a neat stack of wood is a cozy thing to look at as you enter the home on blustery days.

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Bathroom at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with two children
Location: Austin, Texas
Size: 150 square feet (14 square meters)
Designer: Kaelee Pearson of CG&S Design-Build

The star of the room is the 2-by-8-inch blue concrete tile by Clé, laid in a herringbone pattern. “My clients originally chose a beautiful chevron limestone mosaic tile, but due to supply chain issues, it wasn’t available,” Pearson says. Knowing they weren’t fans of glossy finishes, she nudged them toward adding some color in a cement tile that was available for quick ship. This was necessary to keep to a tight construction schedule. “This is more of a neutral Federalist blue,” Pearson says. “It has a natural variation in color that isn’t too bold.”

The tile continues from the floor up the back shower wall. “There is so much directionality in the herringbone pattern,” Pearson says. That draws the eye to the focal wall in the shower.

“While it’s nice to have the uninterrupted look of a curbless shower, these clients didn’t care about that,” Pearson says. “Sometimes a curb is more practical, because the shower doors allow clearance for a bathmat to be placed in front of them, and the curb is more effective at keeping water from spilling out onto the bathroom floor.”

Last year’s trending organic greens have transitioned into deeper, darker blue-greens that have an elegant yet cozy and welcoming vibe.

PPG and its brand Glidden have both selected Vining Ivy as their 2023 Color of the Year for paint. A handsome aqua-emerald, Vining Ivy can be used to create a snug bedroom retreat, as shown here, or put to work in the kitchen as an accent color, perhaps for an island base or pantry cabinets in a glossy sheen.

Keep in mind that you shouldn’t change the color scheme on or in your home just because another one is trendy. Instead, look at these paint colors as an opportunity to update the interior or exterior of your home if needed, and only if you see a color that you truly love. Alternatively, if you do find any of the colors captivating, you can bring them in through home decor items — there will no doubt be many pieces in these colors in the coming year.

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ADU at a Glance
Who lives here: A mother whose adult daughter lives in the main house
Location: Portland, Oregon
Size: 625 square feet (58 square meters)
Designer: Lucas Gray

“It’s not often someone comes to me wanting a modern black box, but that’s how this project started,” Gray says. However, as the design evolved, everyone decided that natural exterior materials would be a better fit for the surroundings. “Hardie board or metal would have felt too cold,” Gray says. The siding is a mix of natural cedar and dark stained cedar, a species that can stand up to Portland’s climate. The result is a building that is modern and minimalist but also has warmth.

The four glass panels seen here mark the bedroom, while the doors to the right open to the main living space. This side of the building faces away from the main house, making this a private garden just for the ADU. The overhang provides protection from the elements. Remember how pretty this garden is while reading the rest of the story, as most of the other photos were taken before it was planted.

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