healthy steps and conscious habits start at home, julie paulino design

You’ve probably heard the saying hundreds of times for good reasons.  Your body feels cleaner and stronger when your diet suits your needs.  Junk food cravings  – from a cheeky Chinese takeaway covered in gooey sweet and sour sauce to a yummy Italian pizza with a mountain of melted cheese – are only satisfying at the moment.  You know that if you rely a little too often on your favorite takeaway, your body begins to feel lumpish and tired.  Besides, you might also find that your tight pants have become a little tighter than they used to be.  And if you have children, you’ve undoubtedly observed what is referred to as the sugar rush:  An elevated period of agitation followed by crankiness, tantrums, and fatigue.  In short, you don’t need anybody to tell you about the advantages of a healthy diet for your family.  But it doesn’t mean that your kitchen is the only room of interest when it comes to building a healthy lifestyle.  On the contrary, if you want to encourage your family to stay healthy, you need to transform your entire interior decor, including but not limited to the kitchen.  Are you ready for a healthy and elegant style in your home?  Below, are a few healthy steps and conscious habits you can adopt to live a healthier life.

Read More…

Stained cabinets, timeless kitchens

We all love painted cabinets in the kitchen because of how crisp and clean they can look.  Stained cabinets, on the other hand, can also look clean and fresh especially after they are upgraded with white stone, wood washed techniques and beautiful cabinet hardware.  After that, they are not only beautiful, but they are timeless kitchens that will stand the test of times.

If you happen to like traditional design with a modern twist, then you will love these timeless kitchens below.  Each and every one of them has what it takes to make anyone want to reverse their previously painted kitchen cabinets to natural wood color again.  All these kitchen images were found on Pinterest where it is really hard to track the source and credit.  If you happen to be the photographer or designer of one of these kitchens, please leave a comment, and I’ll be happy to credit you.

Stained cabinets, timeless kitchens

Read More…

make a new place feel like home, Aerin Lauder kitchen

Moving into a new place is really exciting, but it can take time to make a new place feel like home.  Many people may feel like they’re living in someone else’s place for a while, or they just can’t feel comfortable in the new space even for weeks after moving day.  The feeling of unfamiliarity can be even worse if it’s a rental home which you won’t be able to make fully into your own home.  However, it’s not impossible to make a new house feel like a home that’s warm and inviting.  Below we have a few easy tips that can help you make your new place inviting and homey in a flash.

make a new place feel like home, Aerin Lauder kitchen

Aerin Lauder’s Kitchen via Elle Decor

Read More…

handbags, bags trend, purses

Handbags can be expensive, I know.  Since a big chunk of our salaries gets allocated to purchasing purses and handbags, no one can blame us if we decide not to get on the trend wagon.  Don’t despair yet.  The great thing nowadays is that there are so many great options of handbags from all price points that it’s easier than ever to find purses of good quality which are also in trend.  Then we can invest the more significant money on classic bags that will never go out of style, but for now, we’ll focus on the purse trends this Fall.

handbags, bags trend, purses

Street Style Photograph via @Scandinavianfashions

All in all, we aren’t really trendy if after evaluating Fall’s best fashion trends, we fail to do the same with the accessories that will spruce up those outfits.  We got our everyday ankle boots covered; now it’s the time for our purse collection to get equal treatment.  This season is offering up bags in unusual shapes, in many different materials from chunky chain handles, lucite and fringes.  The belt bag is still a must for the fashion lady who prefers hand free bags.  A pretty saddle with fringe is always fun and comes with an excellent price tag.

handbags, purses trends

Photo via @thestylestalkercom

Left Chloe mini crossbody bag, a similar while more affordable option here.

Read More…

Feeling a little sleepy? That could all be down to not getting enough sleep through the night. Sleep is just as crucial as plenty of exercise and following a healthy and nutritious diet when you are trying to be fit and healthy. If you are not getting enough shut-eye each night, then you could find that your overall health and fitness start to suffer.  Don’t worry if you have been struggling with your sleep recently.  Here are the top essential tips to help you sleep better, so you get a lot more zzzzzs in the future!

tips to help you sleep

Read More…

I’ve been studying Interior Design and chic spaces on my own and school, for years.  On my own I love to try to understand the spaces I’m interested in and talk about most of them in this blog.  As good design has historically proven, design style is pretty much adjusted by region or state.  Even though in some cases this traditional thinking doesn’t apply.  Take the proximity between New York City and New Jersey for example.   Two states one cotton ball throw away from each other, yet they could not be further apart in design aesthetics.  Chic spaces for me are spaces where things juxtapose with tension and friction,  where according to conventional thoughts, things are not supposed to work, but they do.  A Luis XVI chair upholstered in black liquid leather and placed next to a Jacques Adnet side table would create that ambiance.  Add an abstract painting on top, and the whole feeling will get stretched out a bit more.  Like someone once said, It’s like having a tension cord about to pop.  A classic architectural home with modern art and edgy modern furniture pieces would also create a very chic outlook.  New York, in my opinion, is the City that best codifies chic spaces.  Maybe it’s because of New York’s own diversity, and dynamism comes seeping into its interiors?  Of course, chic spaces are all around us.  Below are images with distinctive styles that give us a glimpse into what makes a space chic and most importantly how to make a home chic.

chic spaces, home chic, Robert Couturier

The use of a modern sculpture suspending from the traditional ceiling in this library is simply outrageous.  By Robert Couturier.

chic spaces, home chic, Lynn Nesbit's home

Lynn Nesbit’s home