Q: I have moved back in with my parents. I graduated from college in January and am still looking for a job. They've kindly found space for me, but it's really small, not much bigger than a double bed. I don't want to sound ungrateful, but I need help in making the room look larger.
A: Help is on the way! Three time-tested allies in space-making are mirrors, light colors and absence of clutter. All three work their magic in the calm, interesting bedroom we show here.
Like yours, the room itself is barely wider than the bed, but in the hands of master designer William Hodgins — he's the "W.H." on the monogrammed pillows — the small room becomes a snug harbor, as serene as it is functional.
Hodgins, the acclaimed Boston-based designer, is the subject of the handsome new monograph "William Hodgins Interiors," by Stephen M. Salny. Along with interiors inhabited by the likes of Felix Rohatyn (former ambassador to France) and a Saudi prince or few, we find photos of Hodgins' own home understated and elegantly traditional but always with a fresh and original twist.
His bedroom offers clues to winning your own space race: an all-white color scheme; a large mirror that visually doubles the room's size; organized accessories, like the formal arrangement of artwork on the wall; and the little love seat, which serves as both a footboard and bookshelf.
There's plenty to look at in this room, but definitely no room for clutter.
Q: What's the word from High Point, N.C., the furniture capital of the world?
A: We're just back from sleuthing the huge market (l80 buildings; more than 11.5 million square feet of show space; 76,000 visitors from l00 countries). Our feet are still smoking, notebooks bulging, and eyes stinging from all the new and interesting colors, styles and ideas we saw.
Here's a taste of what we learned:
—Organic is the word. Natural materials and designs drawn directly from Mother Nature are everywhere. Some are playful — Noir offers a cement stool shaped like a tooth (noir.com), and CR Laine Furniture, a "chiseled" upholstered ottoman called "Stonehenge." Others are astonishing — Belgian designer Serge de Troyer trapped ordinary barnyard straw inside a clear acrylic bench and dining chairs wrapped in fish skins (sergedetroyer.com).
—Everywhere there were new takes on naturals: hair-on-hide upholstery (silvered on a hassock at Taylor King); trees tamed into tables, often with the bark left intact; reptile skin patterns, real skin and printed (lizard on an elongated — 84-inch — banquette at Councill)
—Faux went haute: Theodore Alexander coaxed glass, brass and faux longhorns into a handsome sofa table (theodorealexander.com). And back at CR Laine, young artist Tracy Hiner's Black Crow Studios (blackcrowstudios.com) teamed with mineral aficionado Brenda Houston to translate close-ups of malachite, amethyst and agate onto wallpapers of staggering size and beauty, to turn the furniture showroom into a giant jewel box of a background for CR Laine's wonderfully colorful collections.
And there's more, lots more, to tell. Tune in next week — we still have a few million square feet of furniture news to cover from the High Point Market — including amazing new collections like Trump Home (by Dorya), Jamie Drake (Theodore Alexander) and Stickley (stickley.com) — which is celebrating its 25th anniversary and collectively representing 444 years of American craftsmanship.
Rose Bennett Gilbert is the co-author of "Manhattan Style" and six other books on interior design. To find out more about Rose Bennett Gilbert and read features by Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website and www.creators.com.
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