Our Holiday Gift Guide | For the Person Who Loves to Cook

The holidays are coming soon, and we’ve created a wide range of curated gift guides on our site. We love giving gifts, and also love helping our customers find the perfect gifts for their loved ones.

Up first is our gift guide for the cook. (Did you know we offer free gift wrap and free shipping over $75, too?)

Unique Gifts for the Hostess

For the friend who loves to entertain, we like to give pretty serving dishes and trays that double as decor.

Our Etu Home Collection has many charcuterie boards and servers - here are some of our favorites.

The green tartan charcuterie board works well for the holidays, but is also an attractive kitchen addition year round.

Shop the Etu Home Green Tartan Charcuterie Board online here

The Etu Home Classic Trivet Top Lazy Susan is the ultimate server - it's large and spins around so guests can sample every delicious morsel. 

And for fall gatherings, one of our Etu Home Mod Pumpkin Servers are the ideal gift. 

Shop the Etu Home Large White Mod Pumpkin Server online here

Unique Gifts for the Baker

We like to give bakers something that makes their job a little prettier when they're elbow-deep in flour and powdered sugar. From hand-thrown pots to brightly colored potholders, these suggestions do the trick.

We'd start with one of our Etu Home handthrown mixing bowls - they come in three sizes. They're created one-by-one on the potter’s wheel from white European Clay. From beginning to end, each piece requires approximately 35 hours of labor.

We like to turn these bowls into their own little kitchen gift basket, so we find fun things to add inside. We usually start with a pretty potholder or two, like the Pine Cone Hill Bright Stripe potholder. 

We then like to add something to use their new goodies with - our Finding Home Farms pumpkin spice pancake and waffle mix is a perfect addition. 

Gift Ideas for the Decorator

For the friend who likes her kitchen to look as good as her food tastes, we have plenty of kitchen decor items in stock. 

A pretty candle with a tasty scent is the perfect addition to the countertop. 

We're big fans of decorative towels - hang them on your oven, or use them to keep bread and rolls warm until dinner is served. Our June and December ones are perfect for the kitchen decorator. 

Help her prop her cookbooks (or ipad with recipes) up in a fashionable way with our Etu Home Cookbook stand. It comes in a range of colors. 

Our Etu Home Colorblock Flower Vase is perfect for a kitchen island.  Fill it up with her favorite flowers and bring it to her door!

More Unique Gifts for Someone Who Loves to Cook

Check out our full gift guide for the cook online at Lavender Fields here.  Don't forget, we offer free gift wrap, free shipping over $75, and can even make you your own custom gift basket! 

How to Decorate a Guest Bedroom: An Interior Designer’s Guide

With the holiday season approaching, guest bedrooms are on many of our clients’ minds. When friends and family come to stay, it’s important to give them a warm, welcoming space to enjoy. We just set up our guest bedroom look book with our favorite guest bedroom and hostessing finds.

Here’s our guide to decorating a guest bedroom in your home:

What size bed for a guest bedroom?

This is one of the most-asked questions when it comes to guest bedroom decorating. We like to start with, “Who’s staying with you?” and “How big is the room?”

If you’re using a larger space like an attic or lower level and you anticipate having kids come to stay, a bunk room is always a beloved choice. Building a built-in bunk room can get pricey, so if you’re on a smaller budget, coordinating bunk beds that aren’t built in work just as well. 

image via Style Me Pretty

If you have a smaller room but still anticipate grandchildren or other youngsters visiting, we love the double twin bed look. An easy way to save space in tight quarters is to just put one large nightstand in the middle. Another idea for a smaller grandkid or nieces/nephews guest room is a trundle bed, where an extra twin mattress rolls out on the bottom. It’s great for sleepovers!

pic via ThousWell

If you’re doing multiple beds in one room, we recommend keeping the bedding the same on all of them. Our Pine Cone Hill collection is a great place to start. 

Shop the Pine Cone Hill Coral Trio Bedding online at Lavender Fields Here

If you’ll mostly be hosting adults and/or couples, you’ll want to choose a larger bed. If you know that two people will be sharing the space, we recommend going with nothing smaller than a queen size bed if the room will fit it  - it’s a nicer, more luxurious size for your guests than a full. 

We like our Corsican line of iron-wrought beds. They come in a range of styles and the colors can be customized, too. The iron design gives an airy feel and makes the space appear bigger. 

Shop the Corsican Williamsburg Canopy bed online at Lavender Fields Here

What furniture goes in a guest bedroom? 

Again, this depends on the size of your room. We like to include nightstands, a dresser, and if the space fits, a comfy reading chair. 

Here are some more of our favorite guest bedroom decorating ideas: 

• Always include a mirror - full size, if possible. Here are some of our favorite mirrors. 

• A TV is a nice touch - hang it over the dresser and make sure to leave the remote on the nightstand. 

• We like to layer lighting: the ideal is a few regular overhead lights, a pretty chandelier, and sconces above the bed OR lamps on the nightstand. 

Photo via Jan Woodhouse

• One of those suitcase stands you find in a hotel is a nice touch, so your guests don’t have to put the suitcase on the bed or the floor to unpack. 

• Since a guest bedroom isn’t used every day, it’s a great place to add a fun element like wallpaper too. Wallpaper the whole room, or stick with an accent wall. 

• Everyone’s preference is different, so we like to layer the window treatments, too. The ideal is shades, pretty sheers, and curtains to finish the look. Those who enjoy the morning sunlight can sleep with just the sheers closed, while those who need total darkness can adjust to their liking. 

• Don’t forget to warm the space up with a rug. Shop our Dash and Albert rug collection here.

Shop the Dash and Albert Kota Indigo Wool Rug online at Lavender Fields here

Small Guest Bedroom Ideas

If your space is teeny tiny, you can still make it cozy. Our small bedroom guest decorating ideas:

• You can skip larger nightstands and just go with pedestal tables instead - guests likely won’t need to store things in their nightstand like they would in their usual bedroom. 

• If the room is too tight, skip a dresser and get a platform bed with drawers underneath. 

• Try adding floating shelves to the wall for things like toiletries and candles. 

• Don’t skip the mirror - it’ll make the room appear larger. 

Shop the Somerset Bay Crescent Mirror online at Lavender Fields here

Office/Guest Bedroom Ideas

Sometimes, a guest bedroom has to be used as a dual space. In these situations, we recommend furniture that does double duty. 

Stick with a daybed - it looks more like a sofa than a bed, and you can add pretty throw pillows to pretty up the space. 

via Apartment Therapy

Replace the nightstand with a desk - when guests come to stay, you can clean your paperwork and office supplies off and replace them with framed photos and candles. 

Shop the Somerset Bay Marshville Writing Desk online at Lavender Fields here

Get an enclosed bookcase that can contain clutter (and hide it away) when your guests arrive.

Shop the Reclaimed Pine Archive Cabinet online at Lavender Fields here

How to Prepare a Guest Bedroom

When your guests are arriving, we like to set up a guest bedroom like you’d set up a fancy hotel. Here are our ideas for special little touches that help make it feel like home:

• Leave freshly laundered and folded towels somewhere in the room. If there’s an ensuite bath, add a new bar of soap [link] and make sure the shampoo, conditioner, and body wash bottles are full. If they’ll be sharing a bathroom with other family members, think about getting robes and adding them in the closet. Don’t forget hangers for the closet, too!

via Sunny Circle

• Add a fresh candle - don’t forget the lighter or matches. Here are some of our favorite candles.

• Add a small basket and include mini water bottles, small snacks, and travel-sized essentials like toothpaste in case they get thirsty in the middle of the night or forgot something at home. 

• Put some interesting books or new magazines on the nightstand for your guests to enjoy. 

Free Design Assistance at Lavender Fields

Looking for help on setting up your guest bedroom? Get in touch with us for free design assistance, or interior design services to decorate your entire space.  

Fall Decorating Roundup: Our Fall Decor Favorites for Every Room in Your Home

At Lavender Fields, we love fall:  the apple cider donuts, the crisp autumn air, the changing leaves. Most of all, we love decorating for fall! Finding the prettiest fall throws, candles, and decor to stock the shop with is one of the best parts of our job. 

We start stocking the shop with fall decor starting in August, and we like to transition into fall decor around Labor Day. This year, we have a treasure trove of new fall items for the home, and we’re sharing our favorites for every room! 

Front Porch Fall Decor | How to Decorate Your Front Porch for Fal

Let’s start at the beginning! Whether you have a big wraparound porch or just a teensy stoop, there are still tons of options for how to decorate your front porch. 

We always like to start with a fall wreath - the ones with dried florals are beautiful. You can even make your own!  A doormat adds color and interest to your doorstep. 

Depending on how much space you have, we always like to add planters with fall flowers like mums in them. Our Aged Metal Soaking Tub Relic gives a vintage farmhouse look, and you can switch up the flowers seasonally. Then, stack your pretty pumpkins along the stairs! 

If you have enough space, you can really have fun with your fall decor. For larger porches, we like a porch swing like our Red Egg Porch Swing. You can switch out the pillows for the seasons - for fall, we like to add cozy throws, too. Add an outdoor rug from our Dash and Albert outdoor rug collection to really make it cozy. 

Shop the Red Egg Double Happiness Porch Bed online at Lavender Fields here

Front Entryway Fall Decor | How to Decorate Your Entry for Fall

If you can fit it, your entryway should always have some sort of console table or casegood piece in it - both as a landing spot for mail or to put your purse while you take your coat off, but also for seasonal decor! 

For a modern glam look, we like our Modern History Stacked Console. 

Shop the Modern History Stacked Console online at Lavender Fields here

If you’re more into a farmhouse or French Country look, we love this three door mirrored cabinet from Modern History - the storage makes it great for smaller spaces! 

Shop the Modern History 3 Door Mirrored Cabinet online at Lavender Fields here

A mirror is always a good idea above an entry table - it gives you a chance for that last minute makeup check right before you leave. We like our Jamie Young Audrey Mirror, which is super affordable for such a high quality piece! 

On top of your entry table, we love vases with fall arrangements in them. Our Etu Home artisan vases come in a range of sizes to cluster on your table.  You can get a real bang for your buck with our Jamie Young set of three Gwendolyn hand-blown vases! 

We then layer in other natural elements, like pumpkins and gourds. We always add a candle, like our Finding Home Farms collection of fall candles. 

Shop the Finding Home Farms Empire Apple candle here

Living Room Fall Decor | How to Decorate Your Living Room for Fall

Decorating your living room for fall is all about layering cozy fall textiles in your space. We love a great wool throw, like this pretty one from Designer’s Guild. We also have dozens of fall throws on our site here. Put them in a pretty basket, like one of our Pigeon and Poodle handmade baskets. 

Shop the Designers Guild Bampton Throw online at Lavender Fields here

For the chairs and sofas, you can never have too many throw pillows! We love this “Give Thanks” one that can last you through Thanksgiving. 

Shop the Velvet Give Thanks pillow online at Lavender Fields here

For a luxe look, try Bella Notte Linens velvet throw pillows - you can’t get softer than these! If you’re looking to add a little fall color in your home that you can easily change out, try our Pine Cone Hill Panne Velvet pillows. 

Shop the Loulah Kidney Pillow online at Lavender Fields here

And of course, a gorgeous fall candle - we love our colorful hobnail Simpatico candles for the living room. 

Shop our Simpatico Candles online here

If you have a mantle in your living room, that’s a prime space to decorate for fall. We like to add pretty candlesticks with nice taper candles in fall colors. Then, add some autumnal elements, like glass, velvet, or real mini pumpkins. If your home has more of a neutral or farmhouse feel, we like the white and green pumpkins instead of orange ones. 

Dining Room Fall Decor | How to Decorate Your Dining Room for Fall

With all of the fall holidays, your dining room will be well-used this time of year. We like to jazz up a dining room with fall or harvest decor to make it feel warmer and more cozy.

First, make sure your dining room has great lighting - put it on a dimmer if you can to adjust the mood. We have a range of beautiful chandeliers for every home decor style.  Our wood bead Jamie Young Blanca chandelier can read farmhouse, French country, or coastal, depending on how you style the rest of the room. 

If you haven’t freshened up your dining room rug in a while, now is the perfect time to do it - it’ll be brand new and ready for the holidays!

If your dining room is more formal, we love to do a wool rug underfoot, like our Dash and Albert Healy Blue Woven Wool Rug. If your dining room is more casual or you have lots of kids or pets, try an indoor/outdoor rug that’ll clean in a cinch. 

Shop the Dash and Albert Healy Rug online at Lavender Fields here

We like having some fall-inspired serveware for your holiday get-togethers - our brand new Colette olive green glassware is a great way to keep an autumnal vibe with your usual china. If you’re looking for a major dish upgrade, our Arte Italica dishes are handmade in Italy, and the Vetro collection has real gold in the hand painted design! 

Shop the Arte Italica Vetro Collection online at Lavender Fields here

To finish your table, you’ll need some fall-ready linens. We love these TL At Home vintage velvet napkins. 

Shop the TL at Home Velvet Napkins online at Lavender Fields here

Bedroom Fall Decor | How to Decorate Your Bedroom for Fall

As the weather gets cooler, we like to do a few simple things to make our clients’ bedrooms cozier and more festive. When guests come to stay for holidays like Rosh Hashanah, Thanksgiving, and fall gatherings, it’s a great time to freshen up your guest room, too. 

[pic of fall bedroom]

Switching out your sheets for the fall is an easy way to keep it festive all season. Our brand new Pine Cone Hill Silken Solid Sheet set in Spice is a fun way to add fall colors to an all-white bed. 

Fall throw pillows are another way to decorate your bedroom for fall. Every bedroom should have a great throw blanket, too - we like to add a few in guest bedrooms. Check out our wide range of throw blankets here. 

Shop the Pom Pom at Home Capistrano Throw online at Lavender Fields here

We like adding a fall candle to every bedroom. Click here to check out our fall candle collection. Don’t forget the cute matches - you’ll never have to hunt down a candle lighter! 

Free Design Assistance at Lavender Fields

Looking for help on coordinating your new sheets with a great throw blanket? Get in touch with us for free design assistance, or interior design services to decorate your entire space.

An Interior Designer’s Guide to Coastal Decorating (Whether You Live on the Beach or Not)

 Though Lavender Fields is located right near the beach right here on Long Island, we have customers all over the country who come to us for chic coastal and beach house decor. A question we’re often asked is if you can decorate in coastal or beach house style even if you don’t live on the beach.

Our answer is a resounding yes! We’re fans of laid back, relaxed, stylish coastal decor even if you’re nowhere near a beach. We love using sisal rugs, driftwood photo frames, coastal bedding, and rattan furniture in our coastal-inspired interior design projects. The trick is to layer the elements the right way so your home doesn’t look too theme-y. 

Here’s our interior designer guide to coastal decorating, whether you live on the beach or not. 

Start with your foundation: the flooring and the walls

If you’re in the market to totally redo your floors or are building a new space, we recommend a light colored, cool-toned wood floor like white oak. You can also have your dark wood floors whitewashed, which works even on dark wood floors. Another option is to have your floors painted white - but make sure you get a good floor company who does it right for durability!

Whitewashed Floors from Habits and Hues

Even if refinishing your floors isn’t in the budget, you can still add a coastal look to your space with coastal or beach house style rugs. We like using sisal style rugs and pretty striped rugs in our coastal style interior design projects. Check out our site for our full selection of Dash and Albert coastal style rugs. 

Shop the Dash and Albert La Mirada coastal rug online at Lavender Fields here

Shop the Dash and Albert Dunes Bleached Oak woven Jute rug online at Lavender Fields here

For the walls, it depends on your budget. White shiplap is good for an accent wall, but is a labor-intensive installation requiring lots of materials. 

If your budget is tight or you want to do something you can easily switch out, paint is a great option. We like bright white trim with Benjamin Moore’s Beach Glass (a toned down aqua), Coventry Gray (a soft gray), or Silver Cloud (a soft, cool blue). 

Silver Cloud in a Beach House by Home Bunch

Another option is to add wallpaper. With coastal wallpaper, we mostly stay away from novelty prints like anchors or seashells and stick with natural grasscloths or prints in a coastal color palette. 

Wallpapered bedroom with blue grasscloth via In My Own Style

Choose a few coastal inspired investment pieces for your furniture

The good thing about coastal style is that you can layer in the soft goods like bedding, rugs, pillows, and decor to achieve a coastal look without tossing all your existing furniture. That being said, we usually encourage our clients to get some beautiful investment pieces to anchor their design. 

For the bedroom, you can go luxe with our Seaglass collection. You could also get a simple white iron bedroom from our Corsican collection, and layer in coastal bedding. 

Shop the Seaglass bed online at Lavender Fields here

We love rattan pieces for coastal inspired homes. Our Red Egg Furniture collection is handmade in the Philippines, and comes in over 20 finishes. Go with a rattan bar cart, side tables, or occasional chair to add a little natural style to your home. 

Shop the Red Egg Indochine Nesting Tables online at Lavender Fields here

Our Modern History collection features an entire line of whitewashed oak cocktail tables, sideboards, and console tables for that Montauk look.

Shop the Modern History large Architectural Coffee Table online at Lavender Fields here

Our website has over nine pages of coastal inspired furniture, enough for any style and every room in the house. Check out the whole selection here. 

Layer in the beach house bedding

Your beach house bedding style depends on your own personal taste, and we have something for everyone. 

Some of our clients are set on an all-white look, and we have so many options for that. We like to add a little detailing to our all-white bedding looks, whether it’s a ruffle on the edge of a sheet, piping on the pillowcases, or matelasse texture on the duvet or coverlet. 

Shop Taylor Linens Polka Dot matelasse bedding online at Lavender Fields here

We also have a ton of pretty blue duvets and coverlets. These go well with light walls and a nice sisal rug underfoot.

Shop the Pine Cone Hill Flora Blue Duvet online at Lavender Fields here

For kids rooms or guest bedrooms in a true beach or lake house, we sometimes like to use a novelty print on the sheets, like this “Happy Fish” bedding from Pine Cone Hill.

Shop the Pine Cone Hill Happy Fish Sheet Set online at Lavender Fields here

We also have a ton of beach house-inspired throws. These are good for chilly nights and to add a little pattern and texture into your room. 

The ideal bed should have the following elements, no matter your style:

1. Great sheets with a little interest on them (ruffles, piping, prints) or a really beautiful texture like silky cotton or natural linen

2. A coverlet or quilt for cooler nights - this is a really good way to add texture. Some people just stick with a coverlet, but we often like to layer a duvet on top. Our Pine Cone Hill Draftsman Quilt is a good example of one that works well by itself. 

3. A duvet that works with your quilt or coverlet. If you’re going all white with everything, find a duvet with some interest like our Pom Pom at Home Charlie duvet cover.

4. Don’t forget the pillowcases and shams! There are lots of ways to do this. You can have your main pillowcases match your sheets, with Euro shams that match your duvet. You can also have two pillowcases match your sheets and two match your duvet or quilt. If you need help with choices, get in touch  with us for our free design assistance.  

5. The most fun part - the decorating! Add in a beautiful throw blanket to toss across the bottom of the bed, and layer in your pillows. We have a whole line of coastal style throws and pillows for you to choose from. 

Add in coastal style lighting, like chandeliers and lamps

For beach house lighting, we have a few favorite materials. 

If you want a more colorful look, try a seaglass-inspired lamp like this one from Jamie Clark. You can also go with an all-white ceramic lamp if you want a more neutral look or if the room already has a lot of color in it, or one with texture like this rope Poseidon Lamp from Jamie Clark. 

Shop the Jamie Young Clark table lamp online at Lavender Fields here

Shop the Jamie Young Poseidon Table Lamp online at Lavender Fields here

For chandeliers, we like ones with wood or glass beads to bring in an organic, natural feel. 

Shop the Jamie Young Blanca chandelier online at Lavender Fields here

We also have a range of rattan chandeliers and pendants - these work well in a coastal-inspired kitchen. 

Don’t forget the decor details

This is how you can finish your room, or how you can add budget-friendly coastal decor if a larger scale renovation isn’t in the cards for you right now. 

For bathrooms, we love our Pigeon and Poodle accessories. This Bali set is made of real water hyacinth and comes in two colors.

Shop the Pigeon and Poodle Bali water hyacinth bath accessories online at Lavender Fields here

For coastal inspired dining rooms, a little rattan on your placemats goes a long way - very Hamptons! 

Shop the Blue Pheasant Tisbury rattan placement set online at Lavender Fields here

Our Jamie Young Ariel Shells are a coastal decor must-have, and they come in 5 colors. 

Shop the Jamie Young Ariel glass seashells online at Lavender Fields here

For your walls, we love a coastal-inspired mirror, driftwood photo frames, and artwork from our Beach House artwork collection.

Shop the Somerset Bay Crescent Beach Mirror online at Lavender Fields here

Get in touch with us for coastal style interior design

If you’d like to shop our Coastal Decor collection, we have hundreds of items just for you.

For free design assistance, you can get in touch with us here, and if you’d like Lavender Fields to design your coastal space, get in touch with us today!