Schoolhouse Chic: An Artful Restaurant in Long Island City

Wouldn't it be easier to design a kitchen sans appliances? So often, a kitchen's large appliances are a motley crew of shapes and finishes that distract from your overall scheme. In fact, it's surprising how much appliances can vary, even within one brand. If all appliances matched, they would be instantly ready to drop into your thoroughly considered design.

What's more wholesome than a trip to the apple farm? Here are ten of our favorites in the East, the West, and the in-between:

It makes sense, doesn't it, that the cleanliness-obsessed Swiss would produce the world's best-looking trash receptacle? And offer it in several guises (including a stool-height bin with a felted wool seat cushion).

This week on Gardenista, Michelle and Erin tested a slew of garden design apps and picked the 10 best ones out there. Oh, and they explored wheelbarrow chic, stopped in at a hostel on Deer Isle, Maine, and looked into the nude gardening trend.

Who doesn't love a good insider tip? We do, so our ears perked up when Jeff Sherman of Delson or Sherman Architects mentioned his trade secret for the most consistently aligned and beautiful flush recessed baseboard detail. What's a flush recessed baseboard detail, you ask? And why should we want them?

An ancient, crumbling farmhouse on the terraced hillside of Cinque Terre in Italy gets an overhaul; think whitewashed interiors, polished concrete floors, and just a dash of persimmon delivered via textiles and furnishings.

We've been lusting after a light from Los Angeles designer Alison Berger for a while now; the only thing stopping us? The museum-worthy price tag. We've turned up an alternative from a Scandi source for a fraction of the cost (it's not as weighty, it's not an art piece, and Brad Pitt didn't commission it, but it will do).

Inspired by the classical shoetree, the designers at Maison Martin Margiela put it on the wall: Instant sculpture, not to mention functional storage.

It all started when Alexa discovered the French blog Le Dans La and started sighing a lot in the office. Sarah and I would glance over and see her mooning over, say, a pale pink wall or a blush-colored light. Then we all got a bit obsessed with the color and wondered if we were turning into girly girls. But we decided no, the trick is that the pink has to be perfectly pale; just a tinge of blush.

Add wallpaper to the latest trend of all-things-ombre.