Laura Kostelny

1 week ago | countryliving.com | Laura Kostelny

Twenty years ago, Mimi Pickard was looking to escape south London. “My husband Ed and I have three children, and we liked the idea of our kids going to school in the countryside,” she says. So it was Kismet when some friends mentioned they might be interested in selling their home near Guildford in Surrey (about 30 miles southwest of London).

2 weeks ago | mountainliving.com | Laura Kostelny

After a top-to-bottom refresh, an old-school Scandinavian chalet in Jackson Hole is recast as a contemporary classic. Sometimes the most dramatic transformations start with the simplest of intentions.

3 weeks ago | gulfshorelife.com | Laura Kostelny

Before mass production transformed mattress making into an automated process, artisans spent days hand-tufting beds that would last generations. Michigan’s Harbor Springs Mattress Co., which debuted a Naples showroom in January, revives lost techniques with a contemporary focus on sustainability. For the husband-wife duo behind the brand, Rory Karpathian and Dar Charlebois, the philosophy is simple: a mattress should be designed to be cherished, not discarded.

1 month ago | countryliving.com | Laura Kostelny

Living small has been a big trend for a few years now for a number of economic and environmental reasons. To meet the demand, many tiny house makers offer downsizing solutions that offer simplicity without sacrificing a bunch of the good stuff. But more-is-more living in smaller footprints is hardly a new thing. Studio apartments have existed since the 1880s. California bungalows hovering around the 1,000-square-foot mark were being built as long ago as the early 20thcentury.

1 month ago | countryliving.com | Laura Kostelny

Home ownership has long been a huge part of the American Dream because the benefits go far beyond the opportunity for financial growth. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), owning your own home can lead to “better mental and physical health, increased financial and physical health for seniors, reduced rates of divorce, and improved school performance and development of children.” Of course, everyone pictures the “right” house a little differently.