I believe that a perfect house is like a perfect person; no one really wants to be around them and everyone secretly hates them. Be the weird person. Be the interesting person, the person that sometimes says inappropriate things or laughs too loud at jokes, and have your home reflect who you are.

As long as you work in a color palette and you style what you already have within that color palette, it's going to look good together.

I would definitely bring silver into your holiday decor.

I'm shocked at how much I'm into Christmas pillows. There's cheesiness, obviously, but then there's really cute ones that are metallic that say "Ho Ho Ho" or "Merry" or cute vintage needlepoint ones.

Metal shades only give directional lighting, which is great for a desk or work area, but not for ambient lighting. Fabric shades are much softer.

I personally would rather be a partygoer than a party-thrower.

I set up stations, buy a big vat of chili, and then guests do what they want to do - and I still get to party.