Star Signs

If you are anything like us, you do a LOT of your shopping online. It’s easy, convenient, and can be accomplished wearing pajamas from the comfort of your bed or sofa. But it isn’t always the best way to get a feel for the quality and functionality of a piece of furniture or technical device. Sites that post customer reviews are automatically showing a certain confidence in their product, but they are also providing a lot of information that can be tough to muddle through.

Here are a few tips and tricks for getting the most out of product reviews.

Negatives always outweigh the positives online.
Satisfied shoppers rarely take to their online megaphones to praise their new acquisitions, though you can be sure friends and family will hear about it. More often than not, it is the people who are unsatisfied who take to the soapbox in an attempt to get a fix. Take everything online with a grain of salt.

Read between the stars.
Even when the majority of reviewers award a product the maximum number of stars, it's worthwhile to read through the reviews to see how your personal preference matches up with the reviewers' tastes. Always put more weight in the reviews that add comments, and go beyond a simple star rating.

Read the negative reviews first.
If an item has some deal-breaking flaw—faulty drawers, buggy applications—the weaker reviews will reveal it quickly. Keep in mind, though...

Skip one-star reviews.
The most useless ratings are almost exclusively 1-star reviews from buyers who had extremely bad experiences—usually due to poor shipping or a product anomaly—and became emotionally reactive in turn. Begin with the two star reviews to find the most honest critiques about a product's performance.

Don’t skip long reviews.
Brief is better, most of the time. But when it comes to user-submitted product reviews, wordier entries tend to touch on more aspects of a product’s performance, and might include more of the specific details that will be relevant to you.

Compare reviews across multiple sites.
Shop around for reviews the same way you’d shop around for a specific item. An Amazon shopper may still want to venture over to another site's product page to check the reviews from a different set of buyers. Social networks can also be gold mines for bigger purchases worth devoting a bit more time to. Take a look at Twitter feeds and Facebook pages for a fuller picture.

Are you a regular product reviewer? Do you review for both positive and negative experiences?

Going to the Dogs

Here at Hillsdale HQ, we’re pretty crazy about our dogs. (And yes, most of us have one…or three.) So considering our field, and our pet obsession, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that we’re always looking for tasteful ways to incorporate canines into our home décor. Here are a few unique examples on how to incorporate YOUR pet into your style.

• We’re loving artist Erin Rea’s Modern Pet Portraits Etsy shop.  She creates modern prints custom designed from your pet's picture and a wide choice of pop art-inspired backgrounds. 8" x 10" prints are only $55. And if a portrait on the wall might be too much for you, she also can adorn coffee mugs, iPhone covers, totes, pillows and much more. 

  

  Photo Credit: Erin Rhea Modern Pet Portraits

• Artist Dyanna Bruno uses vivid colors to create beautiful paintings and sketches of your beloved pet. Custom sizes and styles are available to suit your décor and your pet's personality; 8" x 8" paintings begin around $200. These are a great way to add a pop of color in foyers, bedrooms or powder rooms. 

  

  Photo Credit: Dyanna Bruno My Paw Portrait

• Le Papier Studio offers sturdy, 100% cotton totes with silhouettes of your favorite breed of dog, or you can send in a pic and have your dog's image forever embellished (silhouettes stay on file so you can put it on other products too). These are ideal for beach goer’s and grocery shoppers alike at $30 for a standard design tote or $40 for a custom creation.

  

  Photo Credit: Le Papier Studio

• Need more snuggling time with Bailey or Scout? Curl up with a few of these felted wool pillows custom designed from your supplied picture. Bonnie Fowler crafts these cozy pillows in several sizes, with the smallest, 8 " x 8" pillow selling for $58. Throw pillows are always a fun, low end commitment way to add a touch of whimsy to your home. 

  

  Photo Credit: Bonnie Fowler

• For classic, realistic oil on canvas portraits, check out artist Steven Morrell’s gorgeous, museum-quality paintings you'll be proud to display above your fireplace, in the bedroom or in some of the more lovely spots in your home. 

Do you own a dog? What kind? Have you ever considered putting your pooches mug on a painting or pillow? 

Resident Wanderlust

This time of year we get hit hard by wanderlust. Summer’s coming to an end, school’s getting ready to start (if it hasn't already), and all we can dream about is one last respite from routine. Lately, we’ve been eyeing some of the fabulous places we’d stay if given the opportunity—hotels and abodes abroad that pack a particularly interesting design punch. This is partially influenced by our dedication to local travel beacon the 21C Museum Hotel, recently named to Condé Nast Traveler's prestigious Platinum Circle. Here’s a bit about the 21C, and a few others at the top of our list:

The 21C Museum Hotel

Louisville, KY

Created on Louisville’s busy downtown Main Street from abandoned tobacco and bourbon warehouses, this remarkable property doubles as a contemporary art museum with more than 9,000 square feet of exhibition space, and artwork in every room. The hotel also boasts reclaimed-wood floors, hand-blocked linen upholstery, exposed brickwork and timber trusses, and glass transoms.

Photo Credit: cntraveler.com

Hotel Viura

Villabuena de Álava, Spain

Named for a white grape widely planted in the Rioja wine-producing region of Spain, Hotel Viura sits beside a 16th-century church in Villabuena de Álava. The contemporary structure of concrete cubes is an ideal base for exploring the surrounding countryside’s wineries and small towns. 

Photo credit: elledecor.com

Alila Villas Uluwatu

Bali, Indonesia

Situated high on a cliff more than 300 feet above the Indian Ocean, this resort was designed using locally sourced materials that blend seamlessly with the serene setting. Each of the 84 villas—decorated with traditional Balinese accents—has a pool and cabana, making it perfect for that tropical getaway of your dreams.

Photo credit:  elledecor.com

Opposite House

Beijing, China

Tucked away in a relatively quiet corner of Sanlitun Village in Beijing’s diplomatic quarter, the Opposite House features an eye-catching angular emerald-glass exterior. The guest rooms, designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, are calm and serene, with oak wood soaking tubs and sleek minimalist furniture. The 2,153-square-foot, two-level penthouse comes with an expansive outdoor terrace, an indoor-outdoor reflecting pool and use of a Maserati Quattroporte.

Photo credit: departures.com

Torre di Moravola

Umbria, Italy

A half-hour drive from Perugia, the Torre di Moravola offers a world of contrasts: ultramodern interiors and amenities within a 12th-century watchtower. In the tower’s atrium, a frosted glass and steel staircase is blended in with ancient stone walls, while the sitting room boasts hefty wood beams high above mahogany and cream colored sofas.

Photo credit: departures.com

 What hotels are on your bucket list? Consider adding the 21C and visiting us here in Louisville, KY!

 

Book Nooks

This time of the year we always find ourselves hard charging through a giant stack of novels and non-fiction as we soak up our remaining weekends by the pool. But we like to consider ourselves year-round readers, so we’re always looking for inspirational photos of really great reading nooks. We’ve found quite a few dream-worthy book nooks around the internet, so here’s a round-up of a few of our favorites.

We adore this hall library, complete with its own window seat reading spot. It’s bright and airy, but comfortably cozy.

Alcoves, for those lucky enough to have them, make ideal reading nooks, whether off a kitchen, living area, bedroom or hallway.

For those that need to be craftier about it, some gauzy drapes, twinkle lights, some pillows, mattresses and blankets can do the trick.

Isolated shelving, combined with some bench seating, can also make a lovely spot to take in some chapters.

When the weather is nice, outdoor nooks and crannies can make fabulous reading spaces, especially when paired with a unique set of outdoor-specific furniture.

Transform that closet space underneath the stair case into a cozy little reading nook for maximum space efficiency. 

Where are your favorite places to read? Reading anything particularly good this summer? Please share!