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I have a confession. I love watching HGTV. Although I am a 21 year old girl who doesn’t even have her own home or garden to cater to, I still adore learning, watching and hearing about interior design. I am that girl who sits in the aisle at Barnes and Noble, reading the pages of interior design magazines such as Country Living, Dwell, Elle Décor, Domino or House Beautiful. I will pick a longer line at the grocery store just so I can browse the pages of those same magazines while I wait to be rung up. I will even go so far as to confess that I actually get excited when I receive a Pottery Barn catalog in the mail, and of course I immediately peruse each page looking for more creative decorating ideas.

Although you might not be willing to admit it, interior design relates to everyone, regardless of age, gender, class or race. Even if you are a college student who has a room full of mismatched furniture, it is that same mismatched furniture you see, feel, sit on or perhaps trip over everyday.

I hope to inform my readers about the world of interior design. I want to show how different styles can be used to express individuality, personality and taste. By sharing a large variety of styles, such as Asian, contemporary, country, eclectic, English country, Mediterranean, mission, modern, romantic, traditional, transitional, tropical or even Western, I want to ensure that there is something to inspire everyone.

Designers that have inspired me personally include Rachel Ashwell, Thomas O-Brien, Jamie Drake, Alex Papachristidis, Steven Gambrel, Candice Olson, Kenneth Brown, Phillip Greenberg and Angelo Surmelis to name a few. Each of these designers’ have cultivated their own unique aesthetic that allows them to maintain their own point of view. I truly respect their ability to illustrate their unique vision no matter what type of room they design.

I want to share these renowned designers’ work not to set an unreachable standard for my readers, but to inspire them. I want to show that beautiful furniture, drapes, bedding, pillows or flooring does not always have an expensive price tag attached. Although it might take a disposable income to hire the top designer and afford custom made furniture, it is important to remember that style is free. As long as you are willing to be creative, anyone can surround themselves with functional and inspirational design.

It is also important to realize that interior design is not restricted to the home. Interior design is essential for hotels, apartment buildings, restaurants, stores and bars. I want to share the ways the look and style of buildings can elicit a feeling or mood just by their interior design.

A major trend that has started to infiltrate the design world is the notion of “going green”. There are a plethora of ways people can be environmentally friendly when designing a room. There is even a television show on HGTV titled “Red, Hot and Green," which focuses on designing with the environment in mind. Each episode features an eco-friendly room makeover. I want to share ideas I have gathered from the show and other articles to help inspire others to be more green.

Whether it is that Dallas Cowboys wallpaper you remember having splashed all over your walls when you were growing up, or the antique desk you inherited from your grandparents, the items that make up a your interior design signifies a part of you. What you surround yourself with not only represents your life, but also influences it.

Blog Lust


Need home decor tips? If you do, I found an amazing interior design blog, Material Girls, that will undoubtedly inspire you to instantly start sprucing up your apartment, house or dorm room. Even if your space is already beautifully decorated, you will feel an uncanny desire to re-frame that old picture, re-paint your bathroom or change the pillows on your bed...I am telling you, this blog is just that good!

The blog’s contributors include Lauren, Abby Baldwin, Emily Johnston , Jill Seidner and Julia B. Edelmann. All of these contributors are talented, well established interior designers. Their offices are scattered across the country, including Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Brooklyn and Chicago.

Everyday, the Material Girls’ 172,718 readers are provided with new information on interior design. The blog’s readers are given the opportunity to comment on the daily posts. The readers’ comments reveal that the blog’s audience can be divided into two main subgroups. One subgroup includes professionals with careers as interior designers. The other subgroup, which includes me, is made up of people who do not necessary work in the interior design business but have an interest in it. Because Material Girls’ blog posts are short and simple, the blog is able to effectively cater to both of these subgroups and be enjoyable for the readers regardless of their experience in the interior design industry. You could even be inspired inspired by the comments readers' post. They offer additional links to other websites as well as helpful design tips.

Although the blog’s writers share their personal opinions, the readers are still provided with a broad, valuable perspective on interior design. This is made possible by the contributors’ combination of different backgrounds and aesthetics. By offering a diverse range of interior design styles to its’ readers and by posting articles from other established sites and interior design magazines, the blog is able to maintain its credibility.

Domino, a reputable and well-respected interior design magazine, was referenced on a post from January 15. The article was about interior designer, Mary McDonald. As Emily Johnson writes, McDonald “does not care if a piece is "high" or "low", she isn't afraid to paint zig zags on the floor, nor does she hesitate when pairing colors like navy and rose”. McDonald is considered “one of the most daring designers out there”. Johnson praises McDonald for knowing “how to dress a space- no matter how unpredictable, glam, bold, ornate, bright, geometric, dressed up, or casual it is, she nails it every time”. The post shares McDonald’s design tips as well as reveals pictures from Domino of some of her work.

McDonald’s design tips (summarized by Material Girls):

1. Define a room with hardware store bought molding



2. Pair classics with the "ridiculous"
3. When designing a room in a monochromatic scheme, add a shot of contrast
4. Don't be afraid to go bold on the floor



5. Don't be afraid to get a little funky in areas that normally lend themselves to the expected
6. Start neutral, then pile on the accessories
7. Cheat by using both high and low end items



8. Collect objects (from around the world) in all the same hue to form unified and sophisticated displays

The blog benefits from being written by working interior designers because it can share information that only professional have access to. For instance, on January 19th, Emily Johnson posted pictures from the Home and Gift Market at The Dallas Market Center. One of Johnson’s favorite showrooms is Global Views. She writes that “lots of glitz and glamour adorn their vignettes” and it is filled with “sunburst mirrors, metallics, and graphic prints”. Here is a picture from the Home and Gift Market at The Dallas Market Center and the showroom.





Although I do not have access to showrooms that a professional might have, I can offer a unique point of view to my readers. Since I do not work in the interior design industry (or own my own house to decorate), I have not cultivated a personal, distinctive style yet. I will be able to provide my readers with a young, fresh, open-minded and uninhibited view on the interior design world. Ultimately, I can only hope that my blog will inspire others the way Material Girls has inspired me.

Eddie Ross

What stands out in Eddie Ross’s self titled blog is his style of writing. Post after post, his voice remains consistent and distinctive. He undoubtedly has his own point of view, which he has acquired through the years of experience in the interior design industry. Eddie Ross has served as the Associate Decorating Editor at House Beautiful, Senior Style Editor of Martha Stewart Living, appeared on Bravo’s reality show “Top Design” and is currently the owner of Eddie Ross, LLC, a company which offers interior design, event production and styling services. After browsing through his posts, it is undeniable that Eddie Ross has learned a lot about the interior design industry and he is willing to share his insightful opinions and ideas with his blog’s readers.

When analyzing Eddie Ross’s voice, what initially stands out is his sentence style. The post titled “Goodbye City, Hello Country” from January 28th, provides examples of Eddie Ross’s use of sentence structure.

Well, everyone—after six years of living in our small but beloved sliver of Manhattan, the time has come for a newer, better and far more beautiful chapter in our lives, and if you'll join us, in yours as well! If ten years in the magazine business and a short six months of blogging have taught me anything about what it takes to create pretty things, day in and day out, that (I hope!) inspire and delight you—furniture and table settings, flowers and food, glittered webs and ornament wreaths—it's space. And I mean S-P-A-C-E. For us New Yorkers, it's everywhere and nowhere.

Eddie Ross constantly uses dashes to connect his ideas. These dashes are significant to mention when examining his voice because it gives his posts a rhythm when they are read. The dashes serve as a casual break between thoughts and make his posts conversational. The conversational nature of his writing is useful because it draws the readers in. Conversational phrases, such as "I hope" also give this post a personal touch. These personal touches make the readers feel a connection to the blog writer. This connection is important to establish because it allows the blog to attract a following. Another conversational phrase that reiterates Eddie Ross's distinctive voice is when after mentioning space, he spells it out. This is just another example of how his writing feels personal. When I read his posts, I don't really feel as if I am reading something he has written, but rather feel like he is speaking to me.

Eddie Ross’s use of questions is another factor that makes his of voice, or style of writing, conversational. By asking his readers questions, he lures them in, enticing them to respond and interact. Throughout the blog, he has asked the readers to share their flea market finds, their favorite Christmas decorations, and what silver they need to polish.

The use of fragment sentences is also a characteristic of Eddie Ross’s distinct voice. His January 28th post continues with:

Now I just want to be able to cook, craft, garden, decorate, and entertain in a way that's my own version of Fabulous. With silverware, china and linens. Hydrangeas, lilacs, and clematis. I want to have garden parties and dinners by the fire. A butler's pantry and a linen closet. A room for guests (frequent) and a room for Jaithan when we're at odds (infrequent). I want a washer. I want a dryer. I want a letter box on the street. I want a dog. I want five dogs! But most of all, I want to be able to share it all with you! So guess what? In a modest, 1760s farmhouse in Millerton, New York, nestled on a 70-acre working farm with horses and sheep, cows and ponies, we found it all. Here's a picture of our new home shortly after it was built.

He writes fragment after fragment as he expresses his desire to leave the city and move to the country. Although fragments are not necessarily proper writing technique, when used creatively, they are effective in establishing a writer’s voice. These fragments also add to the conversational quality of Eddie Ross’s posts. When I read the previous post, I almost felt as if he was causally talking to me on the phone.

Another post, titled, "More to Come: Art That Fits," reveals Eddie Ross’s voice is from January 22nd:

When it comes to our homes, I bet we all have something in common we'd rather not admit—walls, somewhere or another, left woefully bare. If you just haven't gotten around to hanging what you already own, what are you waiting for? It's the New Year, so get to it! On the other hand, if you're anything like me, still searching for that perfect piece—traditional but with a fresh, new look that's sophisticated and modern—check out the new Biltmore Collection from my friends over at Artaissance, my favorite online source for beautiful, affordable art.

It this post, Eddie Ross’s use of dashes, exclamation points, questions and italics all are examples of his writing style. The exclamation point, in particular, is a positive contributor to his voice. Explanation points allow the posts to convey an emotion. Each post has an upbeat, positive, feeling that radiates through Eddie Ross’s voice. This emotional excitement is made possible by exclamation points.

It is important to mention that Eddie Ross does not just use dashes, fragments, exclamation points, questions and italics in these particular posts, but throughout the entire blog. His voice is consistent. As I browse through previous posts, I feel like I am listening to story moving backwards. Since the posts are filled with personal accounts of events, people and objects Eddie Ross encounters day to day, the entire blog feels connected and cohesive. There is not a major disconnect from post to post but a seamless connection that has a story-like quality to it.

The combination of the conversational quality of his posts, his opinionated point of view on interior design, and his personal account of events (including pictures) make this blog unique.