We may be editors at AD, but don't let that fool you into thinking we have all the answers when it comes to designing our own spaces. Among the other intentions being set at the top of the year, we’ve been considering all the ways we want to reshape our homes. After all, it’s a bad look to have unhung art when guests come over, or a plant gasping for life beside the sofa, stage left. Procrastinating the LED swap required of every New York apartment will lend itself to weird lighting in your next Zoom call. Among our ambitions are re-upholstering a well-loved set of chairs, welcoming in more color, warming up to pendant lighting, and finally getting everything off the floor.
Go Back to the Basics
Even as children, we were taught that the most elemental hues of them all are the primary colors (blue, red, and yellow). As someone cultivating a new, more grown-up apartment than my last, I’m falling back on classic color combinations over some of the splashier, Danish modern palettes that you, me, and everyone on the grid was feeling a few years back. Right now, I’m offsetting the white walls in my apartment with oxbloods and deep blues and creams for a cohesive, more harmonious effect. If it ain’t broke… —Lori Keong, commerce director
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Do an Upholstery Overhaul
For my entire childhood, I coveted the set of turquoise reading chairs in my grandmother’s library. Passed down to her from a dear family friend, I’ve had the honor of shepherding them since 2018. That said, being decades old and used daily, their gorgeous blue cotton twill upholstery is in rough shape. I’m so enamored of the fabric that I’ve been procrastinating replacing it (I’m also not enthusiastic about the potential price tag) and I’m deep in a search for something equally as special that will make my grandmother proud. —Rachel Fletcher, commerce director
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Play Up Patterns
I switch up my design style a little throughout the year depending on the season, but I generally like to think of myself as more of a minimalist. I want to venture away from solid, muted tones in 2026 and sprinkle in prints and patterns more across my apartment, especially on the walls and bed. I’ve already been investing in tortoise frames for my art prints and loving it, and next up I’m envisioning a more vibrant bedscape mixing patterns like florals and stripes without going too crazy. —Nashia Baker, senior commerce editor
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Get Everything Off the Floor
My Instagram followers know, perhaps too well, that I lived through a housing crisis the last 14 months that resulted in three different moves. After that, I gave up trying. My Herman Miller pendant is on the floor, my egregiously large book collection takes up significant real estate along the baseboards. My art is unhung, slanted against the wall.
I read something recently on the importance of distributing weight throughout your design. Furniture needs space. The floor needs to be a floor. Thus I’ve invested in shelves, particularly these from Frama which are the best looking ones on the market, in my opinion. Wassily Chairs offer a masterclass in negative space, and a magazine rack is just the thing to take a sloppy collection of accumulated ephemera and organize it. I’ve also found, historically, the most motivating way to get things hung is to have them properly, and thoughtfully, framed. —Julia Harrison—commerce writer
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Level Up Lighting
I’m staunchly against using the “big light” at home—particularly because the overhead LED recessed lights in my apartment have a brightness level that feels like being caught in a camera flash—instead craving the coziness of assorted smaller light sources. The current assemblage of floor and table lamps in my space are far from curated and leave it feeling dim (and not in an intentional way). This year, I want to create a more harmonious lightscape: utilising sculptural shades to bring visual interest, wall sconces to level up my reading nook, and maybe even a pendant light. —Lauren Arzbaecher, commerce producer
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Curate With More Intention
I’m a self-proclaimed lover of stuff, but this year, my goal is to try to understand my design style and only bring in items that align with that ethos. Vintage items and furniture pieces are preferred, and focusing on quality and longevity is essential. I want to be surrounded by belongings that bring me the most joy, like my Richard Ginori teapot and a ceramic cowboy boot filled with pennies. —Kate McGregor, market editor —Kate McGregor, commerce market editor
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