My new house plant

Love the green house section of Ikea! If it can survive in the basement of a warehouse, I sure hope it can survive in my living room!

Book shelf brush up

Looking to reorder your books over the holiday break? I know my IKEA Billy bookcases could use a freshening up!

Here are some great tips for organizing your shelves from syndicated columnist Marni Jameson, http://www.marnijameson.com/ (Love the last tip!)

• Lose the jackets. If you can tear yourself from them, do. Save the covers if you like for future reference or if you ever loan the book.

• Separate hard from soft. Place hardbacks on prominent shelves. My loft has a wall you see when you walk in (hardbacks), and one less visible (paperbacks).

• Line 'em up. Don't smash books along the back wall. That creates a jagged profile. Create a clean line by pulling books evenly to 1 inch from the shelf's front edge.

• Create a system. If looks matter more, or if your collection is small, arrange books by size, tall to short. If finding a book easily matters more, and your collection is large, arrange alphabetically by author.

• Purge. When I learned that Cash4books.net bought used books, I was motivated and cleared 55 from my library. But, when I entered the ISBN numbers, the company would buy only four. For those a check for $8.72 is on the way! I donated the other 51 to the thrift store.

• Follow the thirds rule. When arranging bookshelves, shoot for one-third books, one-third art or photos, and one-third open space.

Sister Act

My sister's new place is looking fabulous! And I wanted to share some pics of how it all turned out!

She let me be a part of all the fun--hunting for furniture, accessories, backsplash and paint. Special thanks to Pottery Barn, IKEA and Target.

Congrats on a job well done, sis!

It's back!

Watch out, folks!! Our friend Domino is back. Changed, but that's OK, we'll take it!

There's a new online version called Lonny Magazine, which gives us the gorgeous layouts and fun trends we came to love from Domino, but without the posterity of a glossy mag.

I won't lie. I'll miss being able to rip out and savor my favorite ideas. But I'm not complaining! The void left by Domino could only be filled by the editors of the mag themselves. Thanks to a coworker at my new job at Henson Consulting, I'm up to speed on this!

CB2 in blogosphere

I just learned that CB2, one of my fave stores for affordable modern furniture, has a nifty little blog! They recently posted holiday hosting ideas. Here are a few:

* Keep a carafe on the nightstand table--shows your guests you're looking out for them

* Invest in a convertible sofa for your spare room

* Wrap their bathroom towels and soaps in a ribbon, like a package for their stay

For more, visit blog.cb2.com.

Rental? Coulda fooled me!

Take a look at decorator Jamie Drake's temporary 32nd floor NYC apartment. It's no wonder Madonna is among his clients, right?

Penelope Green of The New York Times did a lovely feature on it. Check it here! And be sure to click through the slideshow!

Beaumotro on Twitter!

OK, I'm in!

My new coworkers at Henson Consulting, a great Chicagoland PR boutique, have me excited about Twitter. I realize I'm behind the ball on this, but I'm learning how great it will be for quickly spreading the word about cool interior decorating finds and ideas, especially around the holidays!

Follow me at http://twitter.com/beaumotro

See you there!