Home Design
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Inside a Melbourne Home That’s a Modern Twist on a Cuckoo Clock

What do you get when you take inspiration from a cuckoo clock, Japanese architecture, and the charming qualities of historic Edwardian-era homes? The latest residential project from the geniuses at Rara Architecture. Nicknamed Cuckoo House after its clocklike form, this two-bedroom, two-bathroom home in Footscray, Australia, a neighborhood right outside of the Melbourne city center, is a prime example of taking a dated home and transforming it into something new and exciting, while still celebrating the fabric of the existing structure.

<div class="caption"> <strong>BEFORE:</strong> The original structure had a classic Edwardian cottage with a small layout, including one dark bedroom at the front, a gabled roof, a weatherboard exterior, and a surrounding veranda. In the update, Wesley moved the veranda farther out, managing to bring more natural light into the front bedroom. </div>

BEFORE: The original structure had a classic Edwardian cottage with a small layout, including one dark bedroom at the front, a gabled roof, a weatherboard exterior, and a surrounding veranda. In the update, Wesley moved the veranda farther out, managing to bring more natural light into the front bedroom.

“Footscray has been slowly undergoing a lot of gentrification over the last two decades,” says architect Wesley Spencer. “And

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Home Design
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Fall home decor trends: Comforting hues, flexible design

In recent years, brown anything in a living space was considered by some arbiters of decor as drab and outdated. But this fall the hue is back in favor, in part because of the unsettled, anxious state of the world.

“Brown traditionally makes people feel comfortable and safe, and those are feelings that many of us are looking to our homes to provide,” says interior designer Dawn Hamilton of Oakland Park, Florida.

It’s just one of the trends in decor this season, when the pandemic has made home an even more essential space for living, working, studying and more. Also on the watch list: flexible rooms, indoor and out.

COZY PALETTE

Hamilton says today’s brown palette is being used in new ways, as a neutral in all kinds of materials, and as an accent color.

“Brown feels very earthy and rich. It’s warm and inviting, and has the same grounding

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Home Design
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Designing History Offers an Intimate Look at the Design of the Obama-Era White House

Photo credit: © Designing History by Michael S. Smith, Rizzoli New York, 2020
Photo credit: © Designing History by Michael S. Smith, Rizzoli New York, 2020

From Veranda

Renowned interior designer Michael S. Smith is no stranger to designing high-profile celebrity residences and office spaces, but he could have never guessed it would all prepare him for the project of a lifetime: decorating The White House for one of our nation’s most historic administrations. The designer, and now-member of the Committee for the Preservation of the White House, reflects on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in his latest book, Designing History: The Extraordinary Art & Style of the Obama White House, which debuts September 1.

“The Obamas were my constant inspiration, and their mission to celebrate the White House as the People’s House, a place that was welcoming and accessible to all Americans, led to our focus on highlighting the best of America in every possible way—through not just the diversity of creative talents,

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Home Design
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How to Decorate Your Home in an Eco-Minded Way

Photo credit: Nicole Franzen
Photo credit: Nicole Franzen

From Veranda

Maybe you’ve swapped plastic bags for canvas at the farmers’ market, invested in a hybrid car, and even offset your carbon emissions when traveling. But how does it work to be more sustainable as you outfit a new home or refresh your current one? Thankfully, there are designers across the country making it infinitely easier to decorate your home in an eco-minded way than ever before.

Andee Hess, Oregon’s interior design darling for the state’s most prominent brands and residents (think: Stumptown Coffee and Fred Armistead of SNL and Portlandia fame) says growing up in the Pacific Northwest means sustainability is in her blood. But even if it’s not in yours, her talented, creative eye helps guide clients to a more eco-conscious way of designing.

“Being surrounded by green space and nature definitely has a direct impact on your desire to preserve and

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