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Residing in a Twin, Duplex or Townhouse has some design challenges that are easy to overcome with simple tips!

Designing a Twin/Duplex

The owners of shared buildings often cite many conveniences in having a neighbor close -by. more

by Patricia M. Cove | 8/13/21

Garden District Fund board member Jen Arms and Emily Daeschler, president of the Fund, plant a barrel.

Chestnut Hill Garden District Fund’s annual spring planting has Germantown Avenue ablaze with color

For the 18th consecutive year, Germantown Avenue is exploding with the color of flowering annuals planted by dozens of dedicated volunteers. more

8/12/21

Reconfiguring the interior of a rancher can be one of the easiest projects and best investments you could undertake.

With the right vision, a rancher could be a good choice

I grew up in a “Rancher”. In fact, my father built it himself, in 1959, and it remained our family home for the next 50 years. more

by Patricia M. Cove | 7/30/21

If you own a Federal home your furnishings need not be Federal antiques. Or if you own a modern contemporary home, you cannot incorporate your inherited Victorian sofa.

Design for all spaces

There are a few design guidelines that can be applicable no matter what the scope of a project. If you own a Federal home your furnishings need not be Federal antiques. more

by Patricia Cove | 7/16/21

A vintage painted pitcher holds a glorious bouquet of pink peonies, complementing the green and rose color scheme of the room. Resting on the floor are two brass containers filled with dried hydrangeas.

Celebrate spring and summer with flowers in new and unexpected places

Philadelphia in April is awash in green and pink, and yellow, and purple, and Chestnut Hill in May will be extraordinarily bedecked in floral blooms of all shapes, sizes and colors. more

by Patricia Cove | 7/1/21

The Designers at Jonn’s Contemporary Interiors in an ad for Philadelphia Magazine circa 1981.

Recalling a first design position and the changes in interior design since

Like so many other time periods of the past, the late 70s and early 80s had their particular hallmarks when it came to styles and design. more

by Patricia Cove | 6/17/21

Home for sale on the 8100 block of Devon Street is part of an “endangered species.” Realtors say that low inventory makes it hard for new homebuyers to move in Chestnut Hill. (Photo by Barbara Sheehan)

Local Realtors offer advice for NW Philly’s tight housing market

Prospective buyers looking to relocate to Mount Airy and Chestnut Hill are especially challenged, say local realtors. more

by Barbara Sheehan | 6/17/21

A dining and kitchen showroom at Strohm Teka in Madrid. (Photo by Valeria BM)

As pandemic wanes, world of design shows signs of return

The joys of working in the field of design are many, but as of late, the changes that have occurred over the past several years have become a bit more challenging. more

by Patricia Cove | 5/21/21

Valerie with a giant cactus flower blooming on our enclosed porch.

How to grow flowering orchid cacti on your enclosed porch

My wife, Valerie, is particularly fond of the flowers that bloom on our front porch for a month starting in mid-April. The orchid cacti (two specimens are in bloom in the picture) have survived another winter on our climate-controlled, enclosed front porch. more

by Stan Cutler | 5/21/21

Valerie inspects a Clivia plant that is at least 50 years old.

On mothers, daughters and houseplants

The Clivia plant that my wife, Valerie, is inspecting in the photo is at least fifty years old; it was her mother’s. more

by Stan Cutler | 5/6/21

If an interior designer is given “carte blanche,” it’s important her vision matches the client. A homeowner with classic taste might not appreciate a minimal design, for example. (Photo created by vanitjan)

When designers are given ‘carte blanche’ over a project

Normally this space is reserved to talk about design trends, styles, colors and architectural elements. These are the foundations of design. Rarely is it discussed exactly how those design projects evolve to completion. more

by Patricia M. Cove | 5/5/21

The quintessential French country garden room, replete with settee upholstered in Bennison “Roses,” two Bergere chairs, Staffordshire figurines and layered Majolica plate ware.

Country styles are a comforting design staple

With so much changing in our world right now, we have been consumed with talking about and predicting what trends in design will result from the drastic changes in the ways we live and work. more

by Patricia Cove | 4/14/21

Plant an Earth Day tree

Earth Day returns on Thursday, April 22, 2021, the 51st anniversary of the seminal event that changed the world by giving birth to the modern environmental movement. Please plant a tree for Earth Day—any time in and around April 22 works. more

by Mike Weilbacher | 4/8/21

Mixing modern seating with antique pieces; a new direction in design (photo by farhadeen.com)

In design, the only constant is change

Over the past few weeks we have taken a look at design as it has evolved over the past 100 years or so and focused on its influences, whether they be social, political, industrial or originate from a totally different impact. more

by Patricia Cove | 4/1/21

Modern living spaces flow together as part of one contiguous space that reflectsa more casual and relaxed way of life.

How Modernism ‘opened’ our living spaces

Many of the architectural characteristics of the Victorian period came as a result of industrialization, that allowed for the mass production of all sorts of ornamentation, or Victorian … more

3/19/21

Mt. Airy resident Ty'Aja Jones-Brown, 21, welds a pipe at Orleans Technical College in Northeast Philadelphia. After graduation, she hopes to complete an apprenticeship at the Philadelphia Naval Yard, where they will teach her how to weld. (Photo courtesy of Orleans Technical College)

Mt. Airy's 'Rosie the Riveter' a construction pioneer

Mt. Airy resident Ty'Aja Jones-Brown and Norristown resident Maya Crockem are just two of many women changing the perception that women can’t do construction work. more

by Sue Ann Rybak | 3/11/21

Philadelphia Flower Show chief designer Sam Lemheney.

Flower show chief excited by outdoor venue

Flower Show chief designer Sam Lemheney has a springtime present for the quarter million loyal Philadelphia Flower Show attendees who go to the Horticulture Society event each year in the freezing … more

by Diane M. Fiske | 3/10/21

This modern take on an Art Deco styled interior is from the L.A. home furnishing shop, Lulu and Georgia.

The lasting influence of Art Deco and Art Nouveau

When looking back at interior styles following the popular Arts and Crafts movement, two styles that are often referenced together but could not be more different are Art Nouveau and Art Deco. more

by Patricia Cove | 3/4/21

Valerie shows off here prized collection of amazing orchids.

Gardening: Spectacular orchids are a gardener’s reward

Among the more dangerous pursuits of 19th-century explorers was orchid collecting. more

by Stan Cutler | 2/12/21

ABOVE: The new dining room, renovated in the Arts and Crafts style, with a geometric stenciled frieze, a custom William Morris patterned area carpet and Arroyo Craftsman lighting fixtures. BELOW: A narrow passageway transformed into a butler's pantry with a custom cherry built-in, including leaded glass cabinet doors and storage banquette.

Arts and Crafts was a design remedy for mass produced home goods

One thing you can say for sure is that once the pendulum swings one way, it will surely swing back the other. So it was in the 1880s and 90s that designers and architects, hating the mass production of the Industrial Revolution, staged a revolt of their own and laid the foundations for the English Arts and Crafts movement. more

by Patricia Cove | 2/11/21

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