Many things can serve to symbol a change from room to room in a home or apartment with open space. Here are a few creative ones we've seen.
1. Open art work

A custom triptych depicting rhythmic waves was designed to define the living space and serve as a visual punctuation mark.
2. Creative tiling

What appears to be a tile-covered room divider is actually the furnace room.
PLUS: A Peek at Some Unique Homes
3. Changing depth

In lieu of walls, shifting ceiling planes signal transitions. "The living room is a double-height space, and elsewhere there are subtle drops in beams and ceiling heights," says Berman. Further delineating spaces are display elements like open wood shelving and cold-rolled steel panels, the latter doing double duty as a fireplace wall and room divider in the living room.
4. Trellis

The trellis can be a very inexpensive way for you to divide rooms. And with a layer of glossy paint, you can give it a contemporary touch. Add back lighting, and it can create texture
Blog Posts by cottages-gardens.com
See how animal prints and antique are used in these classy homes to add a homey feel and a touch of whimsy.
Read More »from Whimsical Animal Decorating Ideas
.
Give a small bathroom character with koi fish wallpaper.
.
A few choice butterflies add s sense of movement under this light fixture.
.
The stone fireplace, itself a work of art, is adorned with a copper fish sculpture from the homeowners' antiques collection.
PLUS: A Peek at Some Unique Homes
.
A hand-printed English phoenix-patterned fabric lines the walls in the powder room, where a traditional console sink from Waterworks stands next to a patterned hand-knotted antique rug. The chandelier is Venetian. .
.
An alligator print and a green cut velvet fabric woven with turtles liven up the mudroom, lit by nickel wall lanterns.
PLUS:
Follow us on Facebook
How to Decorate With Photographs
Innovative Ways to Design an Edible Garden
Stunning Designer Tablescapes
Amazing One-Room Makeovers
15 Environmentally Friendly Products
Earth Friendly Resources for Designers
The Art ofIdeas from the Most Amazing Dining Rooms
By cottages-gardens.com | At Home – Tue, May 8, 2012 12:15 PM EDTEntertain in style by creating a dining oasis. See what these three amazing homes have done with their dining rooms.
Read More »from Ideas from the Most Amazing Dining Rooms
Create a theme: Split-bamboo shades give a dining area a tropical boost, along with a Jansen table, a Marc Newson wicker chair and a throne-like vintage wicker chair from a Paris flea market.
Create a mood: Use paintings to transport the diner, as this mural does. The handpainted Stark mural depicts West Point on the Hudson River. Reproduction Queen Anne chairs surround the 18th-century English dining table.
PLUS: A Peek at Some Unique Homes

REALLY transport the diner by setting up outdoors. A freestanding pavilion on the terrace of this Ocean House residence was transformed into a private dining room with 360-degree views. The patio furniture is from Restoration Hardware. If you don't have a pavilion, set up a tent.
PLUS:
Follow us on Facebook
How to Decorate With Photographs
Innovative Ways to Design an Edible Garden
Stunning Designer Tablescapes
Amazing One-RoomKill the chill in the spring morning with these luxury items from the simple to the ultimate
Read More »from Heated Elements for Your Home
1. The ultimate luxury (above) -- A heated toilet seat and a foot warmer: Kohler's Numi toilet combines modern design with cutting-edge technologies like a motion-activated lid and seat, integrated bidet and air dryer, and a heated seat and floor-level vents to keep your feet warm.
2. Heated towel bars: Add a touch of luxury to your bathroom with this affordable addition. Find out other ways to turn your bathroom into a spa escape.
3. Heated floors: Installed in the bathroom, across the whole house, or in an outdoor space, heated floors are sure to make you home a comfortable haven. A Murado painting hangs behind the Cavalletto dining table and Azucena chairs. Heated Kota limestone floors continue through the first floor. From Best Plumbing, Stamford
PLUS:
Follow us on Facebook
How to Decorate With Photographs
Innovative Ways to Design an Edible Garden
Stunning Designer Tablescapes
AmazingWould You Live in the Skinniest House in New York City?
By cottages-gardens.com | At Home – Fri, May 4, 2012 2:47 PM EDT
Read More »from Would You Live in the Skinniest House in New York City?
Here's the skinny on a celebrated townhouse in the West Village: At just 9½ feet wide and 30 feet deep (including the rear garden), the Millay house at 75½ Bedford Street is universally described as the narrowest abode in New York City-and it's on the market.
Best known as the former residence of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Edna St. Vincent Millay (actors John Barrymore and Cary Grant also once lived here), it's being advertised as both a sale and a rental: Lease it for $13,500 a month, or buy it for $3.95 million-$550,000 less than its $4.3 million ask this past December. Built in 1850, the recently renovated 990-square-foot townhouse hardly seems claustrophobic, with three bedrooms, a balcony overlooking a private garden, four wood-burning fireplaces, and a washer/dryer.
-Barbara Thau
PLUS:
Follow us on Facebook
How to Decorate With Photographs
Innovative Ways to Design an Edible Garden
Stunning Designer Tablescapes
Amazing One-Room Makeovers
15 Environmentally Friendly Products3 Ways to Incorporate Natural Landscaping
By cottages-gardens.com | At Home – Thu, May 3, 2012 10:12 AM EDTDon't have a green thumb-or the time-for exotic flower beds and perfectly tended gardens. See how this landscape architect incorporates the surrounding into his designs.
Read More »from 3 Ways to Incorporate Natural Landscaping
1. A grassy ramp connects different areas of the garden at a 26-acre Hamptons estate.
How do you make a landscape look natural?
You can usually make a few bold changes to a garden that are actually very subtle to the eye but help to tie a landscape together. Also, I think it's a mistake to fight the natural plant palette-or the regulations that might exist at a site-so you should never do anything that's too radical.
2. Wisteria clambers up a pergola in Water Mill, creating a shady retreat. The rough stone walls contrast with a series of bluestone slabs set simply into the grass.
How do you create a low maintenance garden?
By first explaining that "low maintenance" is a relative term, and that most any garden will require some degree of maintenance. One helpful solution is to limit the plant palette to several keyCheck out these amazing sustainable products. Tell us how green would you go?
Read More »from How Green Would You Go?
Walls made from recycled corks
Habitus cork is created using sustainably harvested cork-the bark of the Mediterranean cork oak tree is merely trimmed, allowing the trees to live up to 200 years. I was pleased to learn that Habitus cork mosaic tile is recycled from Spanish and Portuguese wine stoppers, making my occasional glass of Vinho Verde feel especially verde. The hand-cut chips are warm, insulating and antibacterial, with an assortment of organic stains available. Their richly textured custom finish brings contrast and depth to a modern space. Habitus Finishes LLC, 800-729-5120,habitusnyc.com.
Baskets made from recycled rubber
A group of women based in Rome handknit baskets using Neoprene, a type of rubber used in the plumbing, car and motorcycle industries. We think they're the height of eco-chic.$220 for red, $180 for white, available at Design Within Reach, Greenwich, (203) 422-2013, and Westport,Unique Homes Built in Extraordinary Locations
By cottages-gardens.com | At Home – Tue, May 1, 2012 10:59 AM EDTCreative architects, designers, and more were called on to turn these unique locations into actual homes.
Read More »from Unique Homes Built in Extraordinary Locations
Converted Home from an Abandoned Water Tank
Sixteen years ago when the opportunity arose to purchase a cistern perched on a hillside just outside of New Haven with views of Long Island Sound and the Gothic spires of Yale, architect Peter de Bretteville didn't hesitate. "There's something extraordinary about industrial buildings like warehouses, mills and water tanks. They are bigger than life-taller, wider and more robust-than normal residential buildings," says de Bretteville. "And there's something so appealing about living in an old relic."
See the amazing images of a home build inside an abandoned water tower.
Converted Barn from Roxbury Landmark
Connecticut is famous for its barn-style homes, a type of dwelling that allows ex-urbanites to live in a loft that looks humble-appealing to our Yankee desire to avoid flashy fanciness- but is loaded to the rafters with cool stuff.4 Ways Designers Decorate with Photographs
By cottages-gardens.com | Decorating Guide – Mon, Apr 30, 2012 10:48 AM EDTHere are four very different ways of decorating with photographs. Let your space and color theme be your guide.
Read More »from 4 Ways Designers Decorate with Photographs
1. Find a close up with the colors you are looking to bring into the room.
A NASA photograph of Saturn's rings hangs on the wall in the living room of the apartment shared by design gurus Bob Willliams and Mitchell Gold. The photograph brings the elements of the living room together.
Plus: A Peek at Some Truly Unique Homes
2. Creative placement of similar theme.
Susan Penzner's photo collection, mostly portraits of women, provides an arresting backdrop in the high-ceilinged living/dining space in her reinvented 1965 Sag Harbor rambler.
3. Sometimes more is more.
Photographs line the main hallway drawing the eye forward and adding a familial and cozy element to this 10,000-square-foot compound in the Hamptons.
4. The element of surprise
In the bright kitchen above the fireplace, an elephant embryo photograph by Montauk neighbor Peter Beard takes center stage in a charmingDon't forgo style for function. Use these designs for the rooms where you need fabrics that can withstand traffic and spills.
Read More »from Stylish Traffic Zone Fabrics
1. Sina Pearson's Santa Fe Sun, from the American Southwest Collection with Nano-Tex finish, creates a stain barrier so spills bead up and can be wiped away, sinapearson.com.
2.Thibaut's Bolton-Woven, Courtyard collection, #W8454 in Palmetto, of 100 percent high-UV polyester that is mold and mildew resistant, thibautdesign.com.
3. Duralee'sContract, fabric #90847-41, Blue/Turquoise, with a combination of Nano-Tex and DuraBlock technology that forms a barrier to block stains, Decoration & Design Building, NYC, duraleecontract.com.
4. Carnegie's Arrival, in polyurethane, available in 15 colors, with permanent silver antimicrobial properties, carnegiefabrics.com.
5. Numea, (from top to bottom) #267 and #135, made of 100 percent acrylic, mildew-proof and finished with DuPont Teflon® for more protection, available at JAB Anstoetz, (T), D&D, NYC, jab.us.
6.
