Category: Interior

The beautiful Hollywood Hills home that interior designer and blogger Mark D. Sikes shares with his partner, Michael Griffin, was featured in House Beautiful in 2012. Since then, a bedroom-makeover-turned-full-house-redesign landed the same home (with its new look) in the pages of Veranda's newest issue.

December is the happiest time at Ann and Gordon Getty's spectacular 1913 residence in San Francisco's Pacific Heights neighborhood. Each year, family members fly in from around the world to join the couple for a month filled with festivities. They gather alongside longtime friends to celebrate the holidays and Gordon's birthday, which falls just five days before Christmas.

Photography by Anita Calero CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Light passes through the stones on Marco Bicego 's alluring Unico necklace; $62,380,neimanmarcus.com. The Gossip necklace by Goshwara features cushion-cut gems for extra sparkle; $9,875, goshwara.com. Marie-Hélène de Taillac 's Rainbow necklace moves so seductively on the neck; $6,960, mariehelenedetaillac.

When an American diplomat and his wife bought this grand home on Palm Beach's waterfront nearly 30 years ago, the craze for British country-house decoration was at its height. The massive Palladian edifice, which stands in contrast with the Mediterranean- and Regency-style structures that dominate the renowned stretch of real estate, was designed by prominent Palm Beach architect John Volk in the 1920s for an heir to the Kroger grocery fortune.

Wolfgang Puck is renowned for his restaurants, cook books, and being the Academy Awards's favorite chef, so getting the chance to cook up a meal in one of his kitchens would be a foodie's dream come true. And one lucky person will get the chance to do just that, as the celebrity chef's Beverly Hills home - and its beautiful, well-equipped kitchen - just hit the market, according to Variety.

MELANIE ACEVEDO When entertaining, DON'T: • Make a seating chart: People will organically be drawn to each other, let them mingle and see what happens. "It's more interesting that way," says Kathryn Ireland. • Obsess over a theme: You are creating an experience for your guests. Focus on what feeling you want the evening to evoke not a theme -this will help you plan other details as well.

When workers began digging the foundation for a 18,000-square-foot mansion in a luxurious new gated development in Tarrytown, New York last summer, they didn't expect to pull up much more than dirt and rock. You can understand their surprise, then, when the excavator dipped its bucket into the ground and actually unearthed an ancient, thousand-pound marble slab covered in Latin writing.

While everyone fought over Dorothy's ruby slippers in "The Wizard of Oz," it turns out her blue and white gingham dress is the real object of desire. The costume, worn by Judy Garland in the 1939 film, is expected to fetch between $800,000 and $1.2 million at auction in November. Bonhams, a British auction house, will offer the dress in its annual auction of Hollywood memorabilia, "Treasures From The Dream Factory.

Toys 'R' Us founder Charles Lazarus has sold his share of toys over the years. The latest is a personal one, a sprawling Hamptons estate that could easily be described as a play house. According to the New York Daily News, the Quogue, New York property is for sale, with an asking price of $13.5 million.

In the American parlance, log cabins have long been a symbol of humble origins and the can-do frontier spirit. But move over, Abe. There's no reason why these elemental, rustic houses can't be meticulously crafted and ravishingly decorated. Consider this snug getaway nestled in the woods near Sewanee, Tennessee.

In honor of the 100th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's birth on May 29, the Smithsonian is featuring a rare exhibit of Richard Avedon portraits of the Kennedy family. The only photographer granted access to the Kennedys between JFK's election win and his inauguration, Avedon shot the family in their Palm Beach home on January 3, 1961 - just weeks after John Jr.

ONCE, IN THE 1980S, IN THE HAMPTONS, there was an all-American weekend house filled with heart and comfort and quilts. Designed by a young Anthony Baratta, it made a lasting impression on a New York couple. And after their visit, for some 30-odd years-in fact, long after they'd left New York, long after they had found Baratta and put their Los Angeles home into his hands, and long after their three kids were grown and gone-it lingered in their minds.

When Danielle Rollins transformed a pedestrian 1970s Georgian in Atlanta into her dream home, it was the beginning of a bold new chapter for both the property and the designer. A curated rainbow of blue, tobacco, coral, and off-white unites an explosion of patterns in the living room. Sofas in a Prelle silk velvet, DeAngelis; curtains in a Cowtan & Tout fabric; wallcovering, Pierre Frey; artwork over sofa, Kelly O'Neal.

Luca Trovato, Max Kim-Bee Create a feeling not a theme: " Think of the experience you want guests to have, and what you'd like them to feel when they walk away from the evening," advises designer Danielle Rollins. "Creating such a clear vision of the evening makes it easier to decide on décor, menu options, and other details.

Gallery Seomi | Los Angeles, CA & Seoul South Korea "Steam 21" by Se Hwa Bae (one of six editions) Cowhide leather and walnut, 2012. The Los Angeles Antiques, Art + Design Show (LAAADS) returns next month for its 18th annual year. The show opens Wednesday, October 9 with an evening benefitting the Decorative Arts and Design Council of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and honoring husband-and-wife team Annie Kelly and Tim Street-Porter, the recipients of this year's Design Leadership Award.

With her bright, energetic palette and bold, gestural figures, Kate Long Stevenson's artwork has long been the focal point of our favorite interiors and Pinterest boards. It comes as no surprise, then, that the painter can throw a party with the ease and style of a seasoned vet. To celebrate her latest work - a mixed media series with the swimmer as subject - Stevenson gathered her closest friends for lunch at her Charleston home.

While smart technology -- from tablets to phones to cars -- is making everyday life easier, providing limitless information at the flick of a finger, there's still one major area where it's lacking: style. Cue Google Android's new collaboration with two top Council of Fashion Designers of America talents.

Before now, boatels have been hulking monstrosities, at best, and watery gimmicks, at worst. In any case, they're largely eyesores. And a Serbian design studio has something to say about that. Drawing inspiration from the sleek pod hotels that dot cosmopolitan landscapes, the studio, Salt & Water, has compartmentalized the rooms that, together, would make up a traditional boatel.

After more than 40 years in the decorating world, Thomas Britt has picked up a few tips in good design. Here, he shares some of his secrets. Use color in a definitive manner . You may want to carry one color throughout the entire house, but you have to use different patterns, textures, or shade variations to create both contrast and interest.

Leonardo DiCaprio's environmental charity, The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, is set to host its third annual gala in St. Tropez, France, later this month, Forbes reports. Expect lots of paparazzi to be on hand, as event chairs include Cate Blanchett, Penelope Cruz, Robert De Niro, Jonah Hill, Kate Hudson, Scarlett Johansson, Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, Kevin Spacey, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, among others.