Longwood Gardens fireworks

These long, hot days are a testament to a fundamental fact: summer, in all its languid glory, is upon us. While it’s early days yet—we’re only at the beginning of the season, though in Baltimore I can assure you summer has been ongoing since the first April heat wave—I can already feel the spirit of this time of year emerging. Summer is a time of slower growth, of embracing the outdoors, of taking a moment, or a few moments, to savor the natural world and really feel our place in it. We’re creatures of the seasons, and our bodies and spirits respond to the calendar and the weather in ways we’re used to. Summer, at least for me, inspires a spirit of exploration and adventure—now, with a little more latitude in how we use our time, the habits of summer vacations long past, we can pack our bags and venture out into the world, see some new sights and savor what has been around us all the time and is now in full bloom.

Our family has more than a few summer traditions—the classics, of course, like baseball games, visits to family out of state, barbecuing on our patio, but also a few special highlights that we really treasure. One of those highlights—and something I’d like to recommend to you all today—is taking in a fireworks show at Longwood Gardens.

I’m sure I’ve spoken about Longwood Gardens on this blog or in my newsletters before—it holds a special place in our hearts, and is always a treat for us to attend once or twice a year. Longwood Gardens, located in Kennett Square, PA, is a property of over 1,100 acres that’s open to the public year-round, and features incredible public gardens, woodlands, and meadows ripe for exploration and enjoyment. Longwood Gardens is the project of the Dupont family, who have built and maintained this property for generations. Their seasonal exhibits are beautiful to behold—we always make a point to attend during the holiday season and take a gander at their incredible decorations—and one of the highlights of their season is their summer fireworks series.

Beginning in July, and running through late September, Longwood Gardens hosts a series of fireworks and fountain shows set to a wide array of music and with a wide range of themes—from 80s dance hits to classical American composers to a space-themed show happening on September 6th, there’s sure to be something that appeals. The Longwood Gardens fountains are an architectural and engineering marvel, rigged with incredible lights and controlled with a really remarkable degree of artistry and sensitivity. Paired with the fireworks, these shows are absolutely unforgettable. Shows happen two days each month—the current show dates for their 2026 season are July 2nd & 18th, August 8th & 22nd, and September 6th and 26th.

Looking for a reason to road-trip and see an incredible show? I can’t recommend the Longwood Gardens fireworks and fountain shows enough. I know we’ll be making a trip up there this summer—and the options seem too good to pick just one!

And while you’re out and about on the grounds, enjoying that natural beauty, maybe you’ll think a little about how to bring some of that natural beauty to your home, both indoors and outdoors. If those thoughts come to mind, reach out to me anytime—I’d love to be part of bringing that natural spirit, and your true design self, to your home.

For more info about the Longwood Gardens offerings, you can check out their schedule here: https://longwoodgardens.org/events-performances/events/fireworks-fountains-shows. Personally, I’m pretty compelled by that outer space-themed show!

Time for me to go get my Longwood Gardens tickets—happy summer!

Hampden Highlights 2026

I love my neighborhood. We’re lucky enough to be in Baltimore (according to the benches, the Greatest City in America, and who am I to argue with a bench?), and luckier still to be in Hampden, one of the most charming, friendly areas the city has to offer. We’re within walking distance of anything a person could want—our local library, vintage and boutique shops, unbelievably good coffee, some of my favorite restaurants, and possibly the best ice cream in the city, at the Charmery. We really get a lot of joy out of our neighborhood. One of our favorite summer pastimes is sitting on the steps of St. Luke’s across from the Charmery, enjoying a few scoops of Telltale Chocolate or Salted Caramel, and watching our little world go by. If you’re in the area, there’s nothing I can think of to recommend more!

In the spirit of celebrating the local—and Woodside Home believes strongly in supporting our local businesses and communities—I thought I’d take today’s post as an opportunity to highlight an upcoming festival in our neighborhood: the Hampden Highlights Festival.

Hampden Highlights is an annual summer festival that celebrates all things local, and all things Hampden. For those who don’t know, Hampden has a storied local history—famous for being a part-time haunt of John Waters, and for really loving flamingos. It’s a cheerful, exuberant place, and the Hampden Highlights festival is all about letting that spirit shine. The festival is pretty new—its first year was 2024—and it serves as a huge fundraising opportunity for local charities and as an opportunity for local businesses to get the word out about who they are and what they’re all about. A portion of the festival’s proceeds goes towards the local non-profit initiatives at St. Luke’s church.

Vendors all along 36th St. offer incredible food and drinks—there’ll be live music throughout the day, and activities for kids and adults alike. The Hampden Highlights festival always feels like the real kickoff moment of our summer. It’s a beautiful opportunity to give some love back to the community, and to be participant in those local networks that make our neighborhood, and any neighborhood, special. 

The Hampden Highlights Festival will be June 6th, 11AM – 7PM, on 36th St. in Hampden. Parking can be a little tricky, so plan to get a ride, hop on the bus, or utilize your parking spot-hunting wiles to the max!

I know I’m ready to enjoy some Hampden magic—I hope to see you there!

For more info, visit the festival homepage here: https://www.hampdenhighlightsfest.com/

Supportive sofa fabrics

Think about who, or what, in your life really makes you feel supported. I’m sure a good many people and things come to mind—your family and friends, perhaps some coworkers or colleagues, the reliable car that gets you where you need to go, your best pair of walking shoes, that one go-to recipe that’s the easiest and tastiest quick dinner. We surround ourselves with the things that really help us keep going. And one support system we should never overlook is our sofa!

Our sofa defines our living room space. It serves as a primary hang-out point for our family, our friends—keeps us comfy while we’re reading or watching a movie, gives us a place to kick back and chat or to take an impromptu nap, offers us something to sink into at the end of the day when we turn on our favorite show. Our sofas deserve some consideration. So today, I’d like to take a look at one important sofa component: material choice.

Sofas can be divided into two primary material categories: fabric and leather. Each of these options offers their own benefits, and comes with their own unique considerations. When we’re making a sofa choice together, while we’re working on your Woodside Home design project, these are some of the factors we’ll be discussing—let’s take a look.

First, fabric sofas. Fabric sofas can either use natural fabrics (like wool, cotton, or silk) or synthetic fabrics (like nylon or polyester). These fabrics offer some pretty unique advantages—first off, there is an enormous range of options to choose from. If you can imagine it, there’s probably a fabric that fits your vision! Fabric is flexible, and it’s not hard to find the perfect fabric for your room’s aesthetic and color palette. In addition, fabric sofas tend to be more affordable. When thinking about a fabric sofa, however, it’s important to think about what kind of durability and stain-resistance your lifestyle needs. Young kids or pets in the house? It’s extra important to make sure your fabric selection is tough enough to stand up to wear and tear, and easy to clean in case of accidental stains. Whatever you’re needing from your sofa, odds are there’s a fabric that’ll fit the bill.

Leather sofas, on the other hand, come with the natural durability of leather—these sofas stand up very well to use and time, and are pretty darn hard to stain. A leather sofa can live a long life and still look beautiful, especially if you’re excited to embrace the lovely natural aging and patina that leather can take on. A leather sofa can be a note of elegance in your space. When thinking about a leather sofa, you’ll definitely want to be cognizant of your budget, as leather sofas do tend to run a higher price than fabric sofas. And it’s good to be aware of the ways leather can affect the physical temperature of your space—leather reflects temperature in unique ways, which is good to keep in mind.

The sofa is the anchor point of your living room. When we’re working on a design for a communal space, the sofa is the piece that will receive some extra time and consideration. It can be a lot to keep in mind, but reviewing all your options is, without a doubt, the best way to ensure you get a sofa that’s perfect for your room, your lifestyle, and the aesthetic sensibilities you want to express in your home, as a reflection of your own tastes.

Looking to level up your sofa, your living room, or your whole home? Send me an email! I’m here to help you make sense of all the options available to you, and find the perfect sofa, and the perfect design, for you.

When we think of all in our lives that supports us, let us not forget our humble sofas. Take some time today to enjoy your sofa—I think I’ll enjoy mine with a movie this evening!

Flower Mart 2026

In the front beds and gardens the flowers of Baltimore are blooming. The crocus of March set the stage and now the azaleas, the forsythias, and the tulips are leaping to the stage. As we drive around the city, the brick and concrete are bedecked with bright spots of color. There’s a freshness, a real beauty, to this season. I hope you’ve had some chance to savor it! I know that we are.

In our home, we’ve spent a lot of time curating our garden (see my previous blog post for a recommendation for a favorite garden store of mine) and now we’re beginning to see the fruits of our labors. Our hanging planters are blooming and growing into their fuller form—the creeping jenny is starting to drape over the edges in the loveliest way—and we’re really enjoying some opportunity to sit in this warming sunshine and savor our garden.

And in the continued spirit of garden, of April, and growth, I wanted to take the opportunity in today’s blog post to offer a recommendation for one of my favorite local events: the Mount Vernon Flower Mart.

Flower Mart—which has held a beloved place on the Baltimore seasonal calendar since the early 1910s—has been going strong for over a century now, and I can guarantee it is just as joyful as it’s ever been! The market is held at the Washington Monument circle in Mount Vernon, between Peabody (by the way, step inside and take a glance at that gorgeous library if you have the opportunity!) and the Walters Art Museum. Local vendors bring not only impossible quantities of flowers, but also handmade ceramics, prints and wall art, jewelry, crafts, and, of course, some of the best of local Baltimore food. The Ekiben truck, I assure you, always does an excellent turn of business, and I definitely think the line is worth the wait. The air is rich with the smell of flowers, the sound of hustle and bustle, the comfortable warmth of some May sun, assuming those April showers are through. And, for a fun historical experience, you can enjoy a classic Baltimore lemon stick here. For those of you unfamiliar, the lemon stick is an old-time Baltimore treat—a halved lemon with a peppermint stick for a straw. As you suck the lemon juice through the peppermint, you get a wonderful sweet-spicy-sour experience that is pretty much irreplicable!

In our family photos there are plenty of my daughter and her friends when they were little, exploring the Washington Monument circle, looking at plants, and savoring their very own lemon sticks. This event is a cornerstone not only of Baltimore’s social calendar, but also our personal history. It’s a real treat every year, and I can’t recommend it enough.

This year, Flower Mart will run May 1st & 2nd, from 11 AM to 8 PM, at the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon.

Take the time to appreciate a little natural beauty, and maybe bring some home for your own outdoor spaces!

The Margaret Cleveland at Walther Gardens

All around us, those April showers are encouraging the world to bloom. At home, we’re working on our landscaping—as much as is available to us in a row home, of course, which is just our squares of back garden, our barrels for tomato plants and cucumber vines, our selection of pots for growing herbs, and the hanging baskets we’ve secured to our fence. But though this space is small, every year we strive to make it vibrant, lively, and engaging. After all, I believe that no space is truly limiting—even the smallest area of a garden (or of your home, in the case of interior design) can offer beauty and peace, and is deserving of careful curatorial attention.

Gardening, like other tactile hobbies, is something I find very grounding. There’s something especially rewarding about the physicality of it—digging holes in the dirt, carefully breaking up bound roots, getting out the hose and watering the finished plot—and, too, something rewarding in the act of helping a living thing thrive. As the air warms and the showers fall our plants will grow happily and, in time, bloom with glorious, vibrant color. And we’ll get to sit on our patio chairs, perhaps with glasses of iced tea, and enjoy the scenery. If we’re lucky, maybe we’ll get some company from the birds, who like to congregate on our fence and chat!

Your outdoor spaces are just as much a part of your home design as your indoor. They offer the same opportunity for self-expression, for curation—plus, they help invite you to spend time in nature, which is, all in all, really good for you! Today, I thought I’d feature a local Baltimore nursery and garden store that is one of our absolute go-tos for our outdoor needs: The Margaret Cleveland at Walther Gardens

The Margaret Cleveland—so named for one of the founders’ grandmothers, who inspired his love of curation, artifacts, and plants—sits on an acre of lovely property at Walther Gardens. They offer plants of all varieties, both in outdoor shopping spaces and in a beautiful, cozy greenhouse. Sometimes, it’s nice just to take a walk through the property, if only to admire the wonderful way the space is curated. There’s such a palpable love for design and nature, and every detail is thoughtfully, intentionally chosen. The heart of the space is the 1885 farmhouse, which they’ve converted to a shop full of fine art objects and curios—there’s something for everyone! Each year they expand and refine their offerings. There are new wonders to see every year—new plants, new art, new home goods—and we’re certainly regulars! In the winter, we pick up our Christmas tree here. In the summer, we take advantage of the delightful snowball stand on the property and pick up a refreshing treat.

Curating your garden space is a lifelong project, one which renews itself yearly and offers further opportunity for exploration and development. You get to create a space for yourself to relax and savor nature—what could be better than that? The Margaret Cleveland at Walther Gardens is full of inspiration. So, if you’ve got time this spring, I highly recommend making a trip! It’s sure to be worth it.

Are you thinking about your outdoor spaces? Your patio, deck, or porch? I’d love to help you find and design the perfect outdoor furniture, and curate an out-of-doors experience that’s truly you. Send me an email, and let’s set up a time to talk!

It’s time, over here, for a trip to Walther Gardens—hope to see you there!

Opening day and Orioles magic

I know I talk often of seasonal rituals—the importance of holidays, taking time and space to recognize the passing of the days—but right now, I’m gearing up for possibly my favorite seasonal ritual of all time: opening day. Baseball season is, at last, upon us. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been following the Orioles offseason with great excitement. When we signed Pete Alonso, I knew this season was going to be one to remember. Now, with our pitching rotation looking steady as can be, and some incredible talent in our starting lineup, I think this might be a very good year for some Orioles Magic!

The experience of opening day really demands being present in the moment. The sensory tapestry of Camden Yards—the smell of Boogs’ pit beef sandwiches and the hot pretzels and popcorn, the booming voice of the stadium announcer and the buzz of the stands alive with chatter and energy, the bright sun on the green field and the orange carpet, of course, rolled out for the occasion—it all creates a sort of special magic. The Yard comes to life, in that way, made living by the anticipation and enthusiasm of the team and the fans alike. Even watching opening day from the comfort of your own home, you’re just as enraptured by the energy, by the thrill of a new beginning.

In that sense, opening day is both, of course, a yearly ritual, a signal of spring, and also an opportunity to start fresh. No matter what happened in the season before—unfortunately for the Orioles, I can safely say the 2025 season was not their best year—opening day offers an opportunity to start over. With fresh and familiar faces alike, the team is both the same—always the Orioles—and somehow also reborn. There’s nothing but possibility in this moment. Who knows where the season will take us?

That ability to be yourself, and at the same time a new version of yourself, a fresh version, is really wonderful. You want to carry with you your fundamentals—your values, your tastes, your history—and at the same time, sit comfortably in the fact that you’re always growing, always changing. Spring is always an opportunity for embracing that growth. Who were you last year? With your strength replenished by the interiority and restfulness of winter (though with all the snow shoveling, maybe this particular winter wasn’t too restful), where will you go? Who will you be this year?

As always, I’d like to bring this back to your home. In this malleable moment—between what you were, and what you can become—is the perfect opportunity to take stock of your space. Does your home reflect who you are? Is it open to who you might become? Does it work for your lifestyle? Does it meet your daily needs, or are there gaps, places where there’s room for some new development? Home is where we start and end our days. It sets the tone—just like opening day can set the tone for a team’s season of baseball. So: is your home setting the right tone?

If not—don’t fear! That’s what I’m here for. Send me an email, anytime. I’d love to be part of your new journey, and help make your home yours.

Well, t-minus two days until opening day—I better go plan my Orioles outfit!

Amy Sherald, American Sublime

Baltimore offers many things—a home, a pretty good baseball team, a thriving coffee scene, Woodside Home (of course), a rich history—but among these offerings one of the most special is an incredible access to art. Baltimore is nothing if not an artist’s town. Across every possible discipline—and I mean music, performance, dance, visual arts—you can find a hotbed of new and classical work alive and well in our fair city. 

The Baltimore museums are some of my personal favorite ways to spend a free day. For more classical works, consider the Walters Art Museum—for bizarre, bold, and contemporary, there’s American Visionary. But right around the corner from our neighborhood, on the edge of the Hopkins campus, is one of the best: the Baltimore Museum of Art, or BMA. And for the next few months, they’ll be hosting an exhibit by an incredible, incredible artist. Today, I thought I’d offer you all a little artist feature to encourage you to go check out some of this work!

The BMA is very lucky to be hosting an exhibit, American Sublime, consisting of a catalog of beautiful works by painter Amy Sherald. You might be familiar with Amy Sherald already—she’s well-known for her iconic portrait of Michelle Obama which hangs now in the National Portrait Gallery. American Sublime (which shares a title with a book of Sherald’s paintings) features 38 paintings, created from 2007 to the present, including both her early works and some of her most recognizable.

Sherald’s exhibit is not only special for her sheer artistic force—it’s also a celebratory moment for Baltimore, a homecoming for a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. Many of Sherald’s works were painted in Baltimore, and feature Baltimorean models. Her work features moments in the everyday lives of Black Americans—it speaks to humanity, to the richness of Baltimore, to the beauty of lived reality. It’s hard to express how moving her work is—which is why I encourage you to snag a reservation and go check it out! Tickets are available now through the duration of the exhibit, which runs until April 5th. 

Appreciation of art is one of the finest things we can do with our time. It’s an activity that doesn’t demand an end, like so many of the routines of our life—work, maintaining the house, errands, the functional mechanics—do. Taking time to sit with and enjoy the experience of a painting can be really centering. It can ground you in the moment, which is a precious thing. And it helps us all connect to not only our own humanity, but the humanity of others. Right now, I think that’s especially vital. 

The art we surround ourselves with shapes the kind of lives we live day to day. Want to curate your own artistic space in your home? It would be my joy to help—drop me a line, anytime, and let’s talk gallery walls.

But all that aside: if you can, set aside a few hours of a day and check out American Sublime at the BMA. We have our reservations on the books, and I can’t wait!

Bassett Furniture feature

Another cold February day is upon us, but you can tell by the changing quality of our daylight that spring is not so far around the bend. As much as I love the coziness and interiority afforded by the winter months, I’ll confess a certain excitement when those first hints of warmer, greener weather start floating by on the breeze. 

Now that we’ve stocked up our reserves of energy with our restful winter season, we’ve reached the time of renewal and rebirth—the time to take stock of where we are now, and where we want to go, and start making strides towards our vision of the future. Your home design is a part of that vision. As your desires for your life change, so does the role you need your home to play. Wanting to add a studio for art projects? Or host more friends and rethink your guest room? Maybe plan some dinner parties and ask your dining room to carry some extra plates? You want your home to be ready for anything you ask—in every room you might need! 

So, this week, I wanted to take a moment to showcase a brand whose versatility, quality, and pricing are ready to meet any goal you might be setting for your home: Bassett Furniture.

Bassett Furniture has a rich heritage of craftsmanship and quality. They were founded in 1902 by the Bassett family and quickly grew from a local Virginian retailer to a respected national supplier of high-quality craftsman furnishings. Today, Bassett aims to make good on the dedication of its founders—they are passionate not only about innovative, top-of-the-line furnishings, but also about ensuring their customers are treated with respect, attention, and sincere customer service.

All Bassett frames are made in America, so you can trust their individual quality and the rigor of their manufacturing standards. Their range of fabrics is broad and beautiful, and there’s certain to be something to suit your tastes. The company is committed to sustainability initiatives—planting trees to create biodiverse ecosystems, recycling and using recycled material in their packaging—and understands that we have responsibilities to ourselves, each other, and the world that sustains us.

And with the breadth and depth of their catalog, Bassett furniture—sofas, tables, chairs, credenzas, desks, rugs—you can furnish any room in your home!

An even better feature: when you’re working with a designer—like me!—you’ll have access to the Bassett showrooms and a qualified, experienced design expert to help you select the perfect pieces from Bassett’s breadth of offerings. I’ll help make the process of finding your future furnishings fun, easy, and affordable—especially because I can offer designer prices.

You can expect my personal, attentive design assistance, and use of the local Bassett showrooms with pricing that I promise will pleasantly surprise! Together, we can explore endless high-quality options born of a proud tradition of American craftsmanship.

Ready to take the next steps? Send me an email and let’s schedule a call today! I’d love to go to a Basset showroom with you and help you find exactly what your home needs.

I truly enjoy, as a designer, being able to work with fantastic brands like Bassett. And I know that we can find the perfect Bassett furnishings for your home, your way.

Image from Bassett Furniture website.

Valentine’s treats: Linzer cookies

Valentine’s Day is but four short days away. In our home, we’ve put up our paper decorations and purchased our little boxes of conversation hearts (one of the finest emblems of the Valentine’s season). Sometime in the next few days we’ll set aside some peaceful hours to spend crafting this year’s batch of valentines—we’ll raid our excellent stash of colored paper and glitter and ribbon and concoct some cards meant not only to offer our love to those we treasure in our life, but also meant to serve as an act of love towards ourselves, a moment we give ourselves to settle, create, and make something fun.

February has been especially chilly this year in Baltimore—we’re only recently freed from the snow-in and subsequent ice brought on by that blizzard—and Valentine’s, as ever, serves as a much-needed spot of warmth in this cold month. It’s good to take a moment to look upon our worlds with gratitude for the love they offer us, the security that love brings. Love is varied, and always beautiful. And now is the time to celebrate it!

One of our go-to Valentine’s traditions—and a holiday tradition at large—is whipping up a special baked good in honor of the season. Today, I thought I’d share with you all our favorite Valentine’s Day cookie recipe: Linzer cookies. They’re charming, tasty, and a whole lot of fun to make! 

So: rustle up your best heart-shaped cookie cutters, and enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of all-purpose flour

• 1 cup of finely-ground almonds

• ½ tsp of salt

• 1 cup of unsalted butter, at room temperature

• ½ cup of powdered sugar (plus some extra for dusting)

• ½ cup of packed light brown sugar

• 2 large egg yolks

• 1 tsp of vanilla extract

• ¼ tsp of almond extract

• ⅔ cup of thick fruit jam or preserves (in a flavor of your choice

Instructions:

1. Whisk together the flour, finely-ground almonds, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer (or using a hand mixer, or just some elbow grease!) cream together the butter, powdered sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy and well-blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

3. Mix in one egg yolk—then, when that’s fully incorporated, mix in the second, along with the vanilla and the almond extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again.

4. Add in the flour mixture and mix until combined.

5. Divide the dough into two equal portions, flatten gently, and wrap with plastic. Chill these 45 to 60 minutes, just enough to make the dough more firm for rolling.

6. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees around the end of the dough’s chill time.

7. Dust a clean work surface with a fair amount of flour. Roll your dough out fairly thin—close to ⅙ of an inch is good.

8. Cut your dough into your preferred shape (we do hearts for Valentine’s Day, but stars or regular old circles work well too!

9. Transfer your cut shapes to baking sheets.

10. Using a smaller cookie cutter (we use a smaller heart!) cut the centers out of half of your cut cookies. These will be the tops of your Linzer cookie sandwiches—the rest will be the base!

11. Chill your cut cookies 10 to 15 minutes to help them hold their shape.

12. Bake about 9 to 11 minutes. The bottom edges should be barely golden brown.

13. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool fully.

14. Once your cookies are completely cool, spread a little jam over the solid cookies (about a teaspoon usually works, but this can vary depending on the size of your cutters).

15. Dust the cookies with the cut-out centers with powdered sugar, then layer these over the jam-covered cookies.

16. Enjoy! These are best stored in the refrigerator, in an airtight container.

May your Valentine’s Day cup runneth over with love—we’ll be enjoying some of these tasty treats and watching our favorite rom-com. Stay warm out there!

(And whenever you’re ready to give your home some extra love and care, drop us a line!)

A refreshing refresher

In my last post I talked a little bit about what this new year offers—an opportunity to take stock of the year behind, and embrace the possibilities for the year ahead—and on the topic of possibilities I figure now is a great time to dip into a little bit of a refresher on Woodside Home, who we are, what we do, and how we can help make your home yours. While you’re looking around and really weighing your home on your scales, you might find that some features or elements aren’t doing quite what you need, or reflecting your tastes as well as they could. You might even decide that it’s time to start totally fresh—a whole-home redesign. Well, that’s where we come in! We’re here to take your space into the new year, whether via a few pieces, a single room, or your whole home.

So, let’s take a look at the process, shall we?

Starting from the beginning:

1. Book a call

Every Woodside Home design project, from sofa order to total home design plan, starts with a personal phone call which you can book with us over email. Before we get started, we want to make sure we’re the best fit for your needs. We’ll go over what you’re looking for, your ideal project timeline, and your budget. Once we’ve figured out what works, and what you’re after, we’ll set up your formal, in-depth consultation!

2. The consultation

When we’re ready for next steps, we’ll meet, either virtually or in person, to talk in greater detail about your project and to get a better visual sense of your space. Here, we’ll evaluate the space or spaces you’re looking to work on, the pieces you’ll ultimately need, your personal style and aesthetic tastes, and discuss your budget and pricing estimates in greater detail. Here, too, we’ll take our preliminary measurements, which will let us get start on your design plan.

3. Putting your design plan together

Now it’s time for Woodside Home to get to work! Using the information we’ve gathered from our chats—tastes, styles, budget, needs, timeline—we’ll put together a full, custom design plan tailored to you and your home. Typically this takes us about two weeks, sometimes a little longer for larger projects or if we have a larger client load. Once we’ve put your design together in full we’ll share it with you via our personal portal—here, we’ll post potential layouts and piece options and you can share photos, inspirations, questions, and comments on every aspect of the plan. We really value your collaboration and your voice in the design process, and here is where we’ll really work together. With your feedback we’ll adjust your plan until it’s exactly what you want for your home.

4. Approvals!

Once we have your approval, we’ll put the orders in for your new furnishings and decor! Your pieces will be inspected on arrival to ensure they’re in perfect condition, and we’ll arrange for white glove delivery of your new items and professional window treatment installation for your new shades and drapers. Sit back, relax, and get ready for the final transformation!

And that’s all there is to it—just four simple steps, and your home will be refreshed, rejuvenated, and more you that it’s ever been.

We can’t wait to hear from you! Have a lovely rest of your January!

And a Happy New Year

2025 has gone out the door, and we’ve boldly crossed the threshold into 2026. A new year is a beautiful thing—a fresh start, rich with possibility, ready to be shaped by our goals and desires for these upcoming months. There is something clarifying about a new year. It offers us the opportunity to not only plan for the year ahead, but to reflect on the year to come, and all it might offer us. This is a time to sit with what was, and consider what’s ahead. 

And in this process, we might come to discover that the shape of our life is ready to change. Change can be a wonderful thing. It can open avenues to authentic living that we hadn’t considered before. It can help us be the version of ourselves that we know we are, that we really want to be. While we’re recovering from the madcap whimsy of holiday fun, we can take that time of rest to allow our thoughts to percolate, our ideas develop, and our spirits recover their strength to tackle the next thing.

It’s important to cultivate the life you want. After all, every day is valuable, a gift that we truly can cherish. And where you live your life is a big factor in how you feel and operate, day-to-day. Your home can define your mornings and evenings—it’s where you wake up and where you go to sleep, after all—and because of this, it’s important that your home is giving you the comfort and ease that you need.

Your new year will be a personal journey, like your home journey, but you don’t have to go it alone. Woodside Home is here to help! We’d love to help you leap into 2026 armed with a home that not only works for your life, but makes you truly feel at home. Your home is a reflection of you—it deserves care and consideration, and we’re excited to be part of that process.

Ready to get started? Send me an email! I’m ready to kick off 2026 with you, whenever you are.

Until then, wishing you and yours a beautiful start to the new year. May your January be joyful!

Holiday traditions

Christmas is but three days away, and for those of you with younger kids I’m sure the fervor is reaching a peak. I remember the Christmas thrill that occupied our household in those early days—and you know, I’d say our holiday season is still a time of great enthusiasm! Baltimore is rich with festive holiday activities for you and yours. Whether it be a seasonal market, holiday lights, or local events, there’s something to do just about every day in the city.

Today, I thought I’d share with you some of our personal favorite seasonal activities and events, so you, too, can delight in some festive fun!

Miracle on 34th Street

Every year the block of 34th St. between Keswick and Chestnut puts on its best and most extravagant holiday attire and opens for nightly public viewing. Inspired, of course, by the film of the same name, 34th St. has some of the best Christmas lights you can hope to see this time of the year. Plus, there are often special surprises, including local vendors with hot cocoa and choral performances by local groups! For us, it’s not Christmas without the 34th St. lights.

Cocoa at the Charmery

Are you a hot cocoa fan? Of course you are—I’m pretty confident everyone is! Well, some of the best hot cocoa you can get your hands on appears yearly at the Charmery (one location in Hampden, and one location in Roland Park). Their cocoa is rich and extra chocolatey, and comes complete with house-made marshmallows, and peppermint ones to boot! Plus, this cocoa makes a great accompaniment for those 34th St. lights—the Hampden Charmery is only about two blocks from the light displays.

The Baltimorons

Now, this is a bit of a new Christmas tradition for us, since this movie was released this year. But I can say with certainty that The Baltimorons is definitely one of our new favorite seasonal films. It’s a fun, lighthearted rom-com with some unexpected moments of real sincerity, and the performances are nothing short of stellar. A great deal of it is filmed in Hampden—and features 34th St., too—so if you come on down for the lights, you’ll be able to spot plenty of locations where the movie was filmed. It makes for a pretty fun scavenger hunt!

Tradition is one of the most lovely aspects of the season. It helps us remember and honor the passing of time, the meaning that the time has held for us, and the people we’ve shared our lives with. Whatever your holiday traditions, I hope you’ll find these ones a good addition to your usual roster.

And when you’re cozying up in your home during these chilly moments, don’t be afraid to ask yourself if that home is really working for you. Tradition is beautiful, but sometimes, a little change really does the trick! Reach out to me anytime. I’d love to help make your home yours.

Until then—cheers to the season! May you all have some excellent hot cocoa in your future.

‘Tis the tablescape season

Do you hear that? The distant sound of Mariah Carey in the air? Well, not so distant, actually—the holiday season is upon us and her ubiquitous radio presence has returned in full force. Personally, I don’t mind it! You can’t deny that’s a pretty good Christmas song, and it’s part of the traditions of the season to hear it a good thousand times between now and New Year’s Eve. Keep singing, Mariah. ‘Tis the season!

When the holidays come around, our homes really get a workout. Between hosting holiday events, relatives visiting from afar, and special days with family, now is when we ask our spaces to be flexible and well-prepared to meet our changing needs. Part of a home design’s value lies in its ability to step up to the challenges of every season. And one of the ways a home is really flexible is in how it can offer you space for seasonal decor. Here at home we’re longtime collectors of vintage holiday decorations, and the holiday season in our house isn’t complete without a good rollout of our many boxes of vintage ornaments, garlands, lights, and candles. In this way our home transforms, puts on a different suit, and helps us feel cheerfully full of festive spirit!

Today I thought I’d share with you some holiday decor ideas centered around a vital piece of home furnishing: your dining table. After all, with hosting season upon us, it’s time to get that table into the holiday spirits! So, here are three of my favorite design tips you might consider when designing a table-scape for your next holiday dinner.

1. Incorporate some sheet music

This is a fun one! Sheet music is both, of course, a functional item (pretty handy for carolers) and itself a lovely piece of artwork. Vintage sheet music books make great additions to your table setting—with their lovely lines and fun covers they can add both color and texture to your design. Consider using sheet music as place settings!

2. Add in some nature

Now this is a classic: a sprig of evergreen, a holly bough, and a bowl of architectural pinecones can all make for gorgeous natural additions to your holiday table. With their clean colors and classic feel, a little bit of the natural world can go a long way towards a beautiful setting.

3. Consider the Christmas village

We’ve been collecting vintage paper Christmas village houses for many years, and I’d say we have a pretty ample assortment—you can find these at many an antique store, or sometimes new on the shelf at your chain store of preference. A Christmas village setting adds a little whimsy, a little bit of storytelling, to your holiday table.

Of course, all this lovely decoration needs a place to stand, doesn’t it? Your dining table is an anchor in your home design. Not only does it serve as the place your family gathers for meals and special occassions—pretty important work!—but it’s also a multi-purpose piece, a space for kids to do homework, for crafters to work on projects, for the family to enjoy a board game or a puzzle. The dining table can shape your space, both in function and in design feel. It helps support your family, and all of life’s joys!

Looking to find the perfect dining table for you and yours? Reach out anytime! I can help you get a unique, custom piece, perfectly tailored to your needs and tastes. I’d love to help your holiday season be the best it can be—and a good dining table will help you get there.

Wishing you all a festive few weeks, complete with hot cocoa and good music. May your festive table settings inspire awe in your friends and family! Better start working on mine! 

Happy Thanksgiving

Folks, it’s t-minus two days until Thanksgiving, and over here we’re getting ready to cook up a storm. In our family we like to space out our Thanksgiving meal prep over the course of an extra day or two, in the hopes of a more relaxed holiday, and so our kitchen is already bustling with activity. We’ll get the sweet potatoes going a little early, sort out the final details of our menu, and start tidying our house for the coming arrival of our friends and family in just a couple days.

This is one of my favorite holidays, and not just because it involves a really excellent meal. The world is a fast-moving place, and it often feels like our lives are getting faster by the minute. Thanksgiving offers us an opportunity to pause, breathe, and take stock of where we are, where we’re going, and who we’re travelling with. It’s a moment to appreciate the richness of our lives—it can be easy to forget, sometimes, how lucky we are. These are difficult times, tumultuous times. Home is our sanctuary. Now is the time to truly appreciate home—what a gift it is to have a space of peace and refuge.

So I’ll keep it brief today. Thank you for helping support Woodside Home, for your projects and referrals, and for letting me help make your home yours—it’s a blessing to get to do what I love for a living. Wishing you and yours a happy, peaceful Thanksgiving!

Colorful world of Company C

Some may put forth an argument for spring—and who could blame them?—but in my book, autumn is the season of vibrant, wonderful color. Now, as the trees shed their usual green and put on their coats of many colors, our world is awash with brilliant color: ruby reds, goldenrod, cheerful oranges and warm browns. Every tree becomes a sort of painting, a natural art installation, ready and waiting to catch your eye and offer you a peaceful moment of beauty to savor as we start to turn gently towards winter.

With fall colors on the mind, I’ve been thinking about the application of color in design. Color is a pivotal avenue through which a home design takes on character and personality. Colors are, after all, rich with emotional resonance—a soft, sleepy blue has a different feel to it than an vibrant, energetic red. Embracing color in your home is a great way to elevate your space to the next level, and help make sure your space well and truly speaks to you.

So, on the subject of color, today I wanted to take the opportunity to feature one of our favorite vendors and an expert in color of all kinds: Company C!

Like their website says, color and design are at the heart of everything Company C creates. Many of their designs draw inspiration from the steady foundation of traditional patterns—think plaids and damasks, florals and paisleys, the sort of patterns we’re already familiar with—and propels them into modern design by injecting them with fresh colors, textures, and bold changes to scale that take the familiar and turn it into a fresh, new idea. That’s the beauty of using color. It’s transformative—it can take the known and make it special again! And that’s exactly what Company C is all about.

Company C believes in living colorfully—embracing the joy and happiness of color—and, more, living colorfully with attention to quality. There’s no richer source of color than nature, and so Company C draws inspiration from the natural world and is committed to environmental wellness, sustainability, and keeping an ethical workplace. To respect the natural world is to practice preservation and responsible sourcing, and Company C is proud to be a part of helping our environment stay healthy.

Living colorfully also means living authentically, embracing your true self and your tastes. Company C offers sophisticated designs ready to help shape your space to who you really are. You want your home to be a sanctuary, a refuge, a space of joy—and color can make that happen. And sometimes, it’s good to take risks! Company C is all about being bold, experimenting with new styles and colors to find your most vibrant self-expression. They’re well known for their saturated hues and fantastically-scaled patterns. Those pops of brilliance and visual interest can be the focal point of a room—they can offer a sense of playfulness to your home, and there’s no better feeling than the freedom to play!

Are you ready to step into a colorful new world and embrace your authentic self? Send me an email! With a little help from Company C, we can get you living colorfully in no time!

Sometimes the best thing in the world is taking a moment to appreciate a little bit of unexpected beauty. The colors of fall, though we know them well, are also always new, always more complex than a quick glance might reveal. Take some time for a stroll through nature this week and lean into the last of these fall leaves. I’m sure they have something wonderful to offer you—if only a little extra color for your day.

Patterson Park Lantern Parade

Folks, we’re only 10 days away from my daughter’s favorite holiday: Halloween. Baltimore, a beautiful city year-round, always seems to truly blossom during this festively spooky season, and is already embarking on a calendar of local events—art fairs, outdoor markets, movie nights, festivals and block parties—that makes every day a celebration. Today, I thought I’d let you all know about one of my favorite local traditions: the Patterson Park Lantern Parade.

At the end of October, the Lantern Parade comes to town. This parade is one of the most magical of Baltimore experiences—artists from all across the city come to show off their creations, which range from massive lantern dragons to little bats and Jack-o’-lanterns. As the parade moves through the park, it’s like someone unleashed a mystical menagerie in the city, all aglow with soft colored light, filling the night with life. All the lanterns are handmade by Baltimore locals. Our city is artistic in its bones—there’s nothing more special than an opportunity to see that artistry in action. There are food trucks, games and activities, and even a costume contest (which I hear gets pretty competitive). If you’re looking for a festive way to celebrate the season, I’d highly recommend it!

The 2025 Lantern Parade (aka the Great Halloween Lantern Parade) will be taking place in Patterson Park on October 25. The festival portion—food trucks, live music!—starts at 4 PM, and the parade itself begins at 7 PM, once the daylight has faded some. This is one of the best annual local events, and if you’re in the area, I hope you come down and see it.

That’s all from me for today. As ever, reach out to me when you’re ready to start your home transformation! Maybe I’ll see you at the parade!

Vendor feature: Four Hands bath

In our hectic modern lives, sometimes the bathroom can become a place of calm. There is nothing more refreshing to the spirit than taking a relaxing warm shower after a long day—that time is completely yours, to take a minute, breathe, and reset. A bathroom, too, is a design space we often overlook. Since a bathroom is a smaller room in the home, it can function as an accent to its adjoining room, or as an opportunity for a unique design, a little fun and flair. And, of course, there’s nothing wrong with keeping it simple—a clean, peaceful design can help enhance that restorative feeling you get from your morning and evening rituals.

At Woodside Home, our vendors are what make our business possible—they provide the materials that allow us to make your home truly yours. So, In keeping with the spirit of last post’s vendor feature, today I thought I’d take the opportunity to feature another personal favorite: Four Hands, who has just released a bath collection.

The Four Hands bath collection is inspired by the idea that the bathroom can truly be a space of comfort and ease in the home, especially if aided by the right furnishings and decor. This new collection says, what if your bathroom was your own personal spa and sanctuary in one? Complete with all sizes of vanity, mirrors, and lighting (including sconces, pendants, and chandeliers), you’ll be able to craft the perfect bathroom from their catalog.

So, what drives Four Hands? Well, they prioritize quality materials and quality craftsmanship, and this mission of quality is the backbone of their business. Their bath furnishings are ready to meet the needs of your new bathroom space and look beautiful at the same time—drawing from the styles, textures, and materials that reside in their existing offerings, Four Hands sought to make a bath line that allowed you to embrace self-care practices in the home while also enhancing your home’s beauty. All their bath mirrors and lighting fixtures keep that classic Four Hands style and are newly upgraded with damp-resistant strength to hold up well against moisture without sacrificing style. Their vanities—which were the starting point for the collection, inspired by elegant simplicity and timelessness—are focused on attention to material. You’ll find oak veneers with wire-brushed finishes to bring out the lovely motion of the grain, and beautiful Carrara marble for your vanity counters. That kind of attention means that even the simplest of pieces is in and of itself a work of art—one that you get to see every day as you move through the routines of your life.

And more, Four Hands offers several customization options for their vanities, which are designed to fit standard 8-inch widespread faucets—this means you are able to customize with a faucet, and hardware, of your choosing. Vanities are available in three sizes, two looks, and two finishes, and there are 20 different bath-safe mirrors and 10 lighting options to mix and match to create a style of vanity that’s perfect for your home, and for your tastes. Personalization is how you can make your home speak to who you are, and at Woodside Home, I’d say that’s certainly one of our core values. Plus, if you’re a fan of Four Hands’ other products, you’ll be happy to know that their bath line is designed to fit seamlessly with their existing catalog. 

Are you ready to craft the bathroom sanctuary you deserve? I’d love to make that happen! Drop me a line, anytime, and let’s set up a time to talk.

Four Hands is a beautiful, thoughtfully-crafted brand, and I’m delighted to feature them today. I hope you, too, will be moved to embrace the bathroom as a place of restoration. We could all use a little spa treatment now and then.

Vendor feature: Canadel

Here at Woodside Home, we love our vendors. After all, our vendors are what make our business work—they provide the high-quality, custom furnishings that let us curate your home to fit your tastes to a T. As we draw closer to the holiday season—the season, of course, of hosting, dinner parties, family get-togethers, and all manner of special home events—we’re starting to look at our dining rooms, how they’re supporting us, and what we need from them. With those things in mind, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite dining furnishings, from one of our favorite vendors: Canadel.

Canadel offers beautiful dining furniture that’s proudly hand-crafted in North America. Their options are nearly limitless—they provide myriad custom ordering options crafted in solid birch, with over 50 finish options and just about any size, shape, or style you could think of. Canadel prioritizes quality in every one of their pieces and at every stage of the process, from assembly to shipping. They go beyond the quality control measures legally required for manufacturers, and take each of their pieces through extensive additional quality control testing, to ensure that their pieces will remain timeless and durable, and give you years of enjoyment. All products are hand-assembled and hand-finished, so you know your new dining set was crafted with an artisan’s touch. 

Canadel is conscientious—about the buyer’s experience, and about their role in the global ecosystem. For their sustainability and low emissions they’ve received the Greenguard certification. Their pieces recognize that harmony with nature is the best path to long-term success, and long term health and wellness for their workers, their customers, and the world. They prioritize buying locally and minimizing waste, and recycling what waste they do have. Their packaging materials are made of recycled materials—and, to offset plastic waste, they offer their employees reusable water bottles. Just another gesture to show that Canadel cares, and is committed to an environmentally responsible future.

And when you buy from Canadel, you’re supporting not only an eco-conscious business, but a family business too. Canadel arose from modest beginnings—their CEO Guy Deveault began his career working in his father’s furniture factory during the summer, between school years. He began as a factory worker and climbed the ranks to foreman. After college he and his brother, Michael, Canadel’s current president, joined Canadel’s leadership ranks. The furniture industry has changed a lot since Guy and Michael took the helm in 1982, but their company reputation for integrity and honesty has kept Canadel at the top of their game through every changing current.

Ready to revitalize your dining room? I can help you find the perfect pieces from Canadel, and at the best price I can get through my longtime vendor-client relationship. Let’s talk—we’ll get your home shipshape for the holiday season, and for everything else.

It’s a joy to be able to feature vendors I truly love, and Canadel will always be one of my favorites. If you’re ready for high-quality, timeless dining furniture, Canadel is the way to go, and I can make that happen. 

Back-to-school baking

For those of you with school-aged kids, we’ve officially entered the back-to-school season. Actually, back-to-school gets properly underway in August, when we undertake our annual trips to the store and stock up on the necessities: folders, binders, notebook paper, pencils and pens, maybe some fun erasers, markers and scissors and craft glue. Fall is a time of pulling inward, stocking for the cooler months ahead, and in this way our yearly practice of readying for school is very fitting. New adventures lie around this bend—we’ll be ready to meet them.

The practice certainly changed as my daughter grew older. By her college years instead of the colorful folders with rabbits on them we were more in the market for plain black notebooks or binders, extra red pens for making notes on her college classmates’ workshop stories, a backup charger for her laptop so she’d be able to get her virtual readings up during discussion seminars. But the sentiment of the ritual is unchanged. We’re preparing for the next thing, the next step on our journey. Refreshed and reinvigorated by the adventures—and the relaxation—of summer, we arm ourselves with paper and pencil and settle in for the coming calendar of learning. The spirit remains the same.

A part of our back-to-school ritual always included, of course, prepping the perfect lunchbox snacks. Today, in the spirit of taking the next adventure, I thought I’d share with you one of our personal favorite cookie recipes, from a vintage cookbook a friend shared with me a few years ago. This has become a staple in our rotation—whether you’re baking to add a sweet treat to your kids’ lunchboxes, or just to treat yourself as you step into this new season, these are sure to brighten your fall. From the cookbook Cookies by Lou Seibert Pappas, here is the finest oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe out there!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of butter, at room temperature

• ¾ cup each of granulated white sugar and firmly packed brown sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 tsp. vanilla

• ¾ cup each of all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• ½ tsp. salt

• 2 cups of quick-cooking rolled oats

• 1 cup of chopped walnuts, pecans, or any nut of your choice

• 1 large package (12 oz.) of chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F

2. Beat the butter and the sugars together until creamy and fluffy

3. Beat in the eggs and the vanilla

4. In a separate bowl, stir together the flours, baking soda, and salt

5. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, beating well

6. By hand, stir in the oats, nuts, and chocolate chips. Sometimes we’ll sneak in some butterscotch chips, too, if the mood strikes us! Mixing these ingredients in by hand helps ensure your cookies don’t get overbeaten in the mixer.

7. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown

8. Cool on wire racks. This recipe makes a pretty big batch—around 6 dozen—so cut everything in half, or down to ⅓, if you’re looking for something smaller

Back-to-school season is also a time when we start to see how well our homes are working for us. Does our kitchen meet the extra demands of packed lunches? Do we have enough workspace for us to do our jobs while the kids are working on their projects and homework? How can our home be better tailored to do what we need it to do, and represent our tastes and spirit while doing so?

I’m here to help you answer those questions, and plan your home redesign. Drop me a line—I’m ready when you are!

In the meantime, I hope these cookies bring a little sweetness to this fresh and busy time of year. I think I’ll whip up a batch myself.

Fall planters

While the weather may be deceptive—hereabouts it’s summery well into October—there’s a crisp note of fall undoubtedly in the air. We are t-minus 5 days to September (a happy Labor Day weekend to all!) and we’re beginning to consider what the coming season will look like for us.

For me, a big part of the transition to fall is reevaluating my garden and my containers. Our yearly spring plantings, which thrive in their summer season, aren’t always the best suited for the transition to fall. Our tomato plants will probably keep kicking a while longer, but some summer plants just don’t thrive in the shadier, cooler days of autumn. Containers and window boxes are a really wonderful way to add color and texture to your home’s exterior decor. We usually make a game of coordinating our front planters to Orioles colors, in the spirit of baseball season! Those pops of natural flair, in any palette of your choosing, just add a special touch to your home, and can help make it feel more like you.

Now, when the weather changes, what’s a person to do? Today, to help you get your planters ready for the turning season, I thought I’d offer some tips and tricks, courtesy of Fine Gardening Issue 87 and an article by Dennis Schrader.

Sometimes, when you head to the garden store for fall planting, you get a pretty limited selection: the usual mums, pansies, and grasses that seem to be ubiquitous in fall. But what if we expanded our horizons? Consider using alternative accent materials—decorative cornstalks, gourds, and pumpkins can add color and shape while also remaining in keeping with the seasonal style.

Another suggestion: try using a mixture of pot sizes. When planning your planters, you can use smaller accent pots to draw out details from larger pots. Perhaps you use certain colors and textures in combination in your large planter—try pulling one or two of those plants into separate smaller pots, or smaller pots with decorative detail and color, and using those as accents to your larger container. This way, you maintain a sense of continuity in your design while still creating bits of variation for visual interest. 

And don’t let fall limit your color palette—plenty of colorful plants thrive in fall weather. Consider richly-colored mums, the purple blossoms of Mexican bush sage, the bright orange of firecracker plants, and every color of pansies. The vibrancy of the changing leaves can certainly be brought out in your planters!

Thinking in terms of texture is helpful too, especially if you’d like your planters to hold out until the winter ice and snow. Ornamental kale, dried grasses, and seed heads leftover from earlier plantings can make striking visual displays that hold up even when the December chill starts to set in. And remember, a planter doesn’t need to be elaborate to be beautiful! A limited plant selection with good color and texture variation can make for a strikingly lovely display, all while utilizing plants that are hearty enough for the cool weather.

Here are a few specific plant recommendations! Consider the following: African daisies, ornamental chard, flowering maples, coral bells, chrysanthemums, pansies, grasses of all kinds, flax lilies, creeping jenny, jasmine, and English ivies.

I hope these tips from Fine Gardening help give you a leg up for your fall planters this season. It’s time for me to make a trip to the garden store! But when you need me for your home redesign, I’ll be ready to go.