For many, 2014 started with good intentions, hopes, new dreams, and aspirations. We all fall prey to making our new year resolutions of doing more exercise, adopting a healthier lifestyle, losing weight, being more punctual, getting physically fit, quitting smoking and the list goes on. But chances are that by end of January we’ll most likely be adding them to our to-do list for the next year. Why? Because it requires determination and commitment to get oneself tied up in the struggle against becoming a better person in the New Year. Thankfully, we're living in the age of technology and can beat the odds by achieving our goals by taking advantage of the thousands of apps available to us on our tech devices. Track How You Move, Eat and Sleep There is no lack of abundance of health tracking gadgets and apps, but finding the right one - the one that makes it easy to track activity AND keeps you motivated - can sometimes be like finding a needle in the haystack. Topping our list this year is Fitbit. Fitbit offers a variety of activity trackers and smart scale gadgets that you wear. The gadgets, and their free app, track your daily goals and progress over time, help in monitoring calories in and out, and much more! An added plus - Share your hard work and progress with friends and peers to create some friendly competition, which works as a...

Last week, NYC's top interior designers attended the annual What's New What's Next at the New York Design Center. We'll be posting more info on what we saw and what we're going to be using on upcoming interior design projects, but- I was most interested too learn that, hold on to your hat, chintz is back! No, it's not a typo, I wrote CHINTZ. Yes, like the '80's when I used to hang out at the Inn at Perry Cabin in St. Michael's Maryland. Now I loved Laura Ashley as much as I loved Stiff Stuff hairspray and acid washed jeans, but I would never want to go through that phase again! So...Chintz? That's what Wall Street Journal contributor and decorator Sarah Ruffin Costello says is what's HOT now. However - not a ton of chintz ala Mario Buatta, but a "dollop" of chintz just to smarten things up. She also mentioned that David Hicks, Moroccan, and Ikat are all DEAD... So my first reaction was to walk out of the room, but she had some good points- Now that everyone can shop at DWR for modern designer furnishings, and get a mid-century looking credenza at West Elm for peanuts what on earth is making design "special" any more? If people can go on hivemodern.com and purchase all of the classics fitting out their penthouses in Corbusier why hire us?? Well, because we have something that the average internet shopper/design...

Kitchens and bathrooms are by far the most important rooms in the house when it comes to remodeling, selling and buying. Interest in these highly specialized and technical areas of the home gobbles up a huge portion of HGTV and DIY Web sites, and is a specialty among designers like me.