News Alert! Saltwood Interiors owner Christine Cowles featured in Central Coast Voyager magazine.

Imagine this scenario: You find a stunning rug online. You hit “buy” and eagerly await its arrival. But when you roll it out beneath your sofa, your heart sinks. Instead of looking like a luxurious anchor for the room, it looks like a lonely postage stamp floating on a sea of flooring.

Renovating can be incredibly rewarding, but with rising costs and often lengthy permitting processes, it’s important to plan carefully, budget properly, and have realistic expectations about how long a remodel may take to finish. Whether you are updating a classic Spanish Colonial Revival or a midcentury ranch home, here are my top tips to ensure that your project stays on track.

While the rest of the country envisions Santa Barbara as a permanently sun-drenched postcard, we locals know the truth about late spring and early summer. Enter the marine layer. Whether you call it May Gray or June Gloom, that heavy, stubborn blanket of fog rolling off the Pacific can make the months of May and June feel a bit, well, melancholy.

As we head into the summer months (although really, don’t we enjoy outdoor living almost year-round?), I often hear from clients who want to refresh their exterior spaces in preparation for family gatherings, neighborhood barbecues, and lazy days ahead. If you’re looking at a tired outdoor living space and want to give it a refresh, read on before you lay down your entire tax refund for some new pieces.

When you’re decorating an entire home or simply refreshing one room, it’s natural to focus on the big elements, such as paint colors, furniture, and lighting. But one of the most overlooked elements (and one of the most impactful) is window treatments.

If there’s one design decision that can completely transform a space, it’s paint. It’s also one of the most affordable updates you can make, especially if you’re the DIY type and willing to do some of the work yourself. But with thousands of colors and numerous brands, choosing the right shade can feel surprisingly stressful.

There’s something about the start of a new year that brings renewal and motivation, particularly for homeowners thinking about selling their home in the coming months. If you fall into this category, then it’s a good time to start tackling the projects now, which can help with a successful home sale in the coming months. 

As we enter 2026, let’s take a peek at what’s on the horizon for interiors. This transition to a new year feels more like a quiet shift rather than the introduction of any dramatic trends. From major furniture catalogs to what’s trending on social media, it seems that layered, lived-in spaces are everywhere.

So, how exactly does AI fit into the world of home design? Can it help with your next renovation or refresh? And more importantly — can it replace the human expertise of a designer, contractor, or tradesperson?

Just when it feels like tariff talk is behind us, new headlines remind us otherwise. The latest round — set to take effect October 1 — includes a 30 percent tariff on furniture and a 50 percent tariff on kitchen and bathroom cabinets. For those of us in the design industry, these tariffs ripple far beyond numbers on a page.

If you’re naturally drawn to serene, uncluttered spaces that feel soulful and grounded, chances are you already resonate with the principles of wabi-sabi design — even if you’ve never heard the term.