after seeing all the sneak peeks from the team at fossil -shay, jill, kate and ryan –   i think it’s safe to say this team has great style. we’ve already seen her diy file cabinet, but today we have a look into the rest of the home of casey green, design consultant and part of the concept team at fossil she and her husband live in a charming little home built in 1940. they honed their diy skills and flipped the condo, which of course came with everything in it’s original state (pink and burgundy tile bathroom anyone??). the result is crisp and fresh. click here for additional images of casey’s home. {thanks, casey!} -anne

[above: The wing back chair is from my husband's parents and I had it recovered in Romo fabric I discovered during a work trip in London. ]

My Office: This is my favorite room in the house, and is where I run Kenwood Studios, my design consultation service. The bulletin board above my desk is made from a salvaged door. I cut the length down, then coated it with magnetic paint. I finished it with 1 coat of chocolate brown paint and 1 coat of dark stain. The desk is from West Elm, and the chair is from a flea market in Canton Texas- upholstered in Amy Butler Fabric. The file cabinet was recently featured in the DIY section of d*s.

When we moved in there were 3 separate doorways in this tiny little room, so my husband started by closing off one of the doorways and adding built-ins for all my craft storage. We actually used 12″ deep kitchen cabinets from Ikea and trimmed them out at the top and bottom. We were lucky enough to find the original tongue and grove ceiling underneath the drywall, so we spent a weekend carefully refinishing it back to it’s original glory. right: The letterpress set was also a great find from Canton- I was giddy when the guy sold me the entire set WITH the wooden tray for $50!

I love the soothing wall color in this room- Benjamin Moore’s Sea Haze. The bed was a great craigslist find, as was the midcentury modern chair I refinished and reupholstered with an Eddie Bauer houndstooth fabric. The lamps are from Target, and the comforter is from Anthropologie. I gave my husband 2 options and he chose the one you see, so he proudly tells everyone he picked it out. :)

CLICK HERE for the test of casey’s sneak peek after the jump!

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out first sneak peek from furniture designer jennifer anderson is another exercise in good use of space. a little over two years ago she and her designer/developer boyfriend (and his two kids) combined spaces and moved into an 850sf cottage in the ocean beach neighborhood of san diego. the challenge was to scale back two residences – jennifer’s studio apartment and chris’s 1,625sf single family residence – into one, while at the same time melding their styles together. downsizing is always a challenge, but these two make it work. click here to take a closer look at the spaces. {thanks, jennifer!} -anne

[above: The Echo Chaise is a piece that I made during graduate school. It is made of industrial felt and maple veneer. It’s meant to be used in a variety of ways: sitting on the lower bump like a short stool, sitting on the higher bump like a tall stool, using it like a regular chaise lounge and also as an inverted chaise lounge with your head lower than your legs. Emilie Douglas designed the coat rack in the living room. She designed and fabricated it while we were both living in Los Angeles and working as furniture designers for Rivr Media’s television show, “Freeform Furniture.”

Both Chris and I have been long-time admirers of mid-century Danish modern design. The black leather PK22 lounge chair is an iconic piece designed by Poul Kjaerholm. In fact this piece (acquired by Chris from the Danish consulate in New York City) influenced much of the work that I completed while in graduate school. The small walnut and ash side table along side the mid-century sofa was acquired three years ago from The Messler Gallery at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine where I was teaching a summer workshop. The table was designed and built by Jerry Osgood, one of the pioneers of the Studio Furniture Movement. Artist Lockwood Dennis of Washington did the block prints above the sofa. I purchased these from the visual display department at Nordstrom (for next to nothing) while I was working there before graduate school.

In the living room and hallway are drawings by Todd Partridge a local San Diego artist with whom I went to graduate school.

CLICK HERE for the rest of jennifer’s sneak peek after the jump!

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question: what are some ways to create the look of wallpaper without actually wallpapering? -amanda

answer: hi kate! wallpapering without wallpaper is one of my favorite craft tricks. it’s cost effective, easier to apply (usually) and leaves you with a wide range of customizing options. here are some of my favorite:

• stencils/stamps: one of my favorite ways to create a wallpaper look is to break out the old stencil or stamp kit. using a pre-made stencil, designing your own, or free-handing a pattern can be a great way to get the look but leave yourself the option to paint-over when you move. here are some great stencil books resources: lena corwin, lotta jansdotter, ed from stencil 101.
• gift wrap: whether you mod podge this on or adhere it with clear contact paper (cut slightly longer than the gift wrap to stick to your surface) this is a really affordable way to get the impact of a bold wallpaper pattern without the sticker shock.
• decals: i’m not a huge fan of decals, but there are so many to choose from these days you’re bound to find something you like- and can easily remove. here are some of my favs: domestic, blik, and elly nelly.

[have a design question you'd like answered? just shoot us an email right here with the title "dear d*s". if you're asking a specific interior design question please include a picture of the space in question and your budget for any new projects.]

CLICK HERE for 2 more reader questions – your advice is needed for a tricky bedroom layout and a bedroom makeover!

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before we jump into home tours and reader questions, i wanted to share these beautiful new pieces from naochina and yaling of flowie. first up- naochina’s new set of glowing ceramic lights.

based in shanghai, naochina is a group of product designers who have recently launched a collection of home decor designs. i’m really loving their “snowlights”- a series of ceramic cones that include ambient LED lights for a really beautiful and subtle glow. they remind me equally of little shining snowdrifts and glow-in-the-dark conical mushrooms. click here for more information and to shop online ($138 for a set of 3 lights or $42-$53 each).

yaling from flowie (click here to check out her adorable home), just released a new series of bags, pillows and tea towels with tie-dye patterns. although i shed my hippie ways after college there are a few things i still have a soft spot for: handmade hemp belts (i know, ridiculous) and tie dye. so when i saw yaling’s new tea towels with a tie dye pattern i was hooked. it’s just such a happy look. click here to check out yaling’s new collection and shop online.

i just wanted to say a quick thank you to house beautiful magazine for including us in their holiday china feature. the magazine invited a group of people to work with simple white china from pottery barn and dress it up in their own unique way for a non-specific “holiday” setting. i tweeted a little peek into our shoot at saipua last month and am happy to share some more images of our take on the china here today.

d*s editors amy merrick and sarah ryhanen helped style the shoot, creating beautiful flower arrangements and working with a gorgeous mix of vintage blue and white and ironstone plates. i was so thrilled with the way it turned out and was so happy to see it in this month’s magazine. click here to see the magazine clip. thanks to amy, sarah and house beautiful!