Tag Archives: Accessible Living

Art, History, Oddments

At Home with Style

Several years ago I began publication of a free online magazine of interior design called At Home with Style. My mission wasn’t to force my opinions on others—I just wanted to help readers make their own design goals a reality. My design website (which has no paywall and doesn’t require registration to read the articles) includes medium- and long-form articles on scores of interior design-related subjects. I’ve included features, Q&A sessions, architectural and design history, links to other articles and resources—a whole bundle of tools to help readers achieve their design dreams. My hope has been to use my decades of experience in buying, selling, decorating, remodeling, and consulting on a number of homes and gardens to help others create spaces that they feel good in.

I encourage readers to figure out what makes most sense for them. Once they know what styles and features they like most and how they want to live, they’re invited to browse through my articles to pick and choose whatever might help them fulfill their own vision. And as I point out throughout the site, what I think about a design doesn’t matter if it doesn’t work for you.

The exterior of the Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio in Oak Park, Illinois. Shown is a low wall made of poured concrete and brick in sections with shingles and brick on others. The wall is topped with Wright's own half-globe-style planters. Behind is a view of the shingled exterior of the octagonal tower that held Wright's studio.
The Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio is featured in “Decorating Tips from Frank Lloyd Wright,” my article about the home and studio he created for himself and his family in Oak Park, Illinois—it was the very first home he designed and had built | Laura Grey

At Home with Style features articles on many popular topics, including these:

• Some of the most popular styles of home decoration from around the world and how to make them work in your home

• Tips on choosing and caring for textiles, home decor, garden plantings, and flooring (even if you have pets)

• How to choose and maintain outdoor furniture so you can double or triple its years of beauty and service

• Where to source sustainable home furnishings

• How to renovate your home for accessibility so you can age into it comfortably and accommodate disabilities (your own or those of others in your home) safely

• Learning how to tell whether vintage or antique dishes and glasses are contaminated by lead (or are safe to use)

A lush green lawn is surrounded by berms covered in trees, climbing roses, and all manner of blooming perennials. A brick-fronted Cape Cod-style house with wooden shingles and a white door is at back left. On and next to the porch are painted antique chairs.
A beautiful, comfortable garden setting goes a long way toward creating a mood—I’ve included several articles on creating and maintaining a beautiful, healthy garden. Here’s the cottage garden my talented friend, the garden designer Shon Robinson, helped me create for the Pacific Northwest home I owned circa 2010 | Laura Grey

I don’t outsource the writing of At Home with Style—I write every word of it myself. And I don’t take ad money, get kickbacks or subscription fees or other payments for my articles, or receive freebies in exchange for my opinions. I just want to share some of the many tips and tricks I’ve learned over the course of decades to help you find the inspiration and help you need to make your home feel the way you want it to feel.

An antique chest of drawers on slender legs is painted teal, and its drawer fronts have been covered in a patterned wallpaper featuring birds, leaves, and lemons. Source: @thedovestail on Instagram
An elegantly restored vintage chest of drawers is given new life thanks to a coat of peacock blue-green paint and drawers covered in wallpaper by vintage furniture transformation artist Beth West of The Dove’s Tail. I included this example of Beth’s beautiful work in my article “Off-the-Wall Wallpaper Projects” | Instagram: @thedovestail

My goal for At Home with Style is to help you establish a home that you find safe, comfortable, beautiful, functional, and affordable. I want to help my readers learn about the style, decorating, historical details, and maintenance tricks and resources I’ve found worthwhile over the past 40 years. I hope you enjoy it.

A small but vibrant room decorated for Christmas includes a tiny decorated tree, ornaments hanging from Venetian blinds, a glass bowl full of ornaments next to a vase of winter greenery, and piles of gifts on the floor in front of the door to a balcony with a view of apartments beyond
I believe any space, no matter how large or small, should reflect your own style, whether for holidays, special occasions, or any old night of the week | Laura Grey

At top:

Your sense of style is about you and what makes you feel good, not about what someone tells you looks or feels “right.” If it’s safe, functional, and comfortable for everyone in the home, and it makes its inhabitants feel good, it’s golden. It’s your home—it should feel like you, not like someone else | Paul Hanaoka for Unsplash