House Beautiful Mar-14

Ceramicware With their exuberant blooms inspired by antique botanical prints, these pieces bring the joy of nature to the table. Field of Flowers Collection, $35–$148 per piece. juliska.com. 1. Chair The woven rush seat and back blend in just about anywhere; the subtle stripes add a little kick.Carson Side Chair, 20" W × 22" D × 34½" H, $495. serenaandlily.com. 2. Doormat Durable coir silk-screened by hand with a motif that's the universal symbol of hospitality. Pineapples Doormat, 24" ×36", $34. garnethill.com. 3. Bowl The perfect hostess gift: a petite crystal bowl packaged in a lovely tin. By Waterford. Lismore Mini Party Bowl, 1½" H × 5" Dia., $75. bedbathandbeyond.com. 4. Plates With a crisp gingham border and gold trim, they can be dressed up or down. In Vichy…

"In Turkey, the sea is so clear and so bright—a true ocean blue, like this color. You see the same blue in the tiles in the Blue Mosque. It has endless depth, and that makes it very calming. I'm imagining it in a high-gloss finish in an entry or a library. After all, it's only paint. Take a risk and go for it!" DAVID PHOENIX GLIDDEN PREMIUM CARIBBEAN SEA GLB02 "When you think of the color of a lake, you have to think about trees and shadows and clouds. It's muddled, like this gray-blue. It's not a clear jewel tone, like the ocean. The ocean, with its breaking waves, is all about energy. Lake water is more soothing. It laps at the shore. This gray-blue kind of washes over a…

KELLY WEARSTLER MY SOUFFLE CHAIR IS super-comfy, and the scale is great. It's an occasional chair that works well in any environment. MURCHISON-HUME cleaning products are all-natural, so I feel totally at ease letting my kids run around barefoot. LEFT: Wearstler layered textures, shapes, and materials to create a sumptuous bedroom in a New York City loft. "The homeowners wanted a space that felt sexy, but where they could also just hang out," the designer says. The furniture is a mix of vintage and custom—French 1970s light fixtures, a one-of-a-kind leather-upholstered bed. The stained- walnut walls are finished with wax. MY IDEAL HOSTESS GIFT? The bronze-and-gemstone bottle opener I designed, because it's equal parts decorative and functional. I TAKE HUNDREDS OF photos each week; they're the first steps in my…

LAUREN NELSON QUICK FACTS LIVES IN San Francisco TRAINED WITH Erinn Valencich OPENED Lauren Nelson Design in 2008 WEBSITE laurennelsondesign.com "Every room needs balance—shiny with matte, heavy with light. Getting the right balance in a space is what makes it feel like home." Above: For a San Francisco dining room, "everything came together around the vintage N.O. Møller chairs," Nelson says. She designed the mahogany table to accompany them and chose the rug for the way its organic pattern echoed the chairs' curved backs. The wave artwork adds another playful shape to the mix. Right: The homeowners love to entertain, so Nelson turned a nook in the room into a relaxed, versatile space for cocktails and conversation. "The sofa shape is low and casual," she says, "but the tufting…

ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN! SCAN THE PHOTO—YOU CAN ENTER THE CONTEST ON YOUR MOBILE DEVICE BLACK MAGIC 518-7 PITTSBURGH PAINTS Manor Hall Interior COBALT GLAZE 570B-7 BEHR PREMIUM PLUS Ultra Interior CIDER TODDY 216-7 PITTSBURGH PAINTS Manor Hall Interior HANDSOME HUE 570B-6 BEHR PREMIUM PLUS Ultra Interior NAME THIS COLOR AND YOU COULD WIN! 1 Come up with an evocative name that describes the color at left. Please include your reasoning in a sentence or two (50 words or less). BE INVENTIVE AND HAVE FUN! 2 Go to HOUSEBEAUTIFUL.COM/NAMETHISCOLOR—or scan the photo above with your mobile device—to enter, from February 7 through March 13, 2014. 3 We'll pick a winner who will receive a $100 AMERICAN EXPRESS GIFT CARD! Three runners-up will each receive a copy of House…

BARBARA KING: There's a lot of graphic action here, including on your arm. SETH STEVENS: I really do like graphics, and I love black and white and gray—my favorite paint color is Farrow & Ball's Pavilion Gray. It's a palette I use all the time, usually with a pop of red. There are colors that come and go, like purple or teal or orange, but these colors are timeless, and I'm a big advocate of timeless—even in the way I dress, right down to my carryall bag. It's a classic mason-bag design from a line I had that I'm relaunching, but personalized with a hand-drawn snake, my Chinese zodiac animal. Is the tattoo your walk on the wild side? Here's the deal: The image on my arm represents my astrological…