Room Almanac

Eleanor Marsh

Interiors & Decor WriterColor, Materials & Room Design

Eleanor Marsh covers interiors and decor for Room Almanac, with a focus on color, materials, lighting, and the decisions that make a room feel coherent. Her guides look closely at proportion, finish, undertone, and how individual choices work together in a finished space.

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Latest from Eleanor

A kitchen with deep oxblood red shaker cabinets on two walls, honed white marble counters and backsplash, brass knobs, and a pale oak floor in side daylight.

Kitchen Cabinet Colors Chosen for the Room They’re In

Fifteen kitchen cabinet colors, each chosen with the counter, the floor, the tile, or the light in mind.

November 5, 2026 8 min read

A living room with warm white walls, rust and cream floral curtains, an armchair in a rust and cream ticking stripe, and a cream sofa with two small-patterned rust cushions.

Styles & Trends

How to Mix Patterns in a Room So Each One Shows

Patterns look busy when the eye can't separate them. How scale, color, pattern type, and placement keep each…

November 4, 2026 4 min read

An entrance hall with deep inky teal board and batten paneling rising two thirds of the way up the wall, warm white plaster above, an oak bench, and a pale stone floor in side daylight.

Color

Board and Batten Walls Beyond the White Half Wall

Twelve board and batten walls, each changing one choice: height, spacing, direction, color, the cap, or the material.

November 4, 2026 7 min read

A living room with soft butter yellow walls, a denim blue linen sofa and curtains, and tomato red in a cushion, a lamp base, and a framed print.

Color

The 60-30-10 Color Rule in Walls, Sofas, and Cushions

What counts toward the 60, the 30, and the 10 in a furnished room, with two rooms worked…

November 3, 2026 5 min read

A long oak coffee table in front of a deep blue velvet sofa, with two books, a small stoneware cup, and a brass tray grouped at one end and the rest of the top clear.

Decor & Accessories

How to Style a Coffee Table and Still Have Room for a Mug

Coffee table styling starts with the table's use. Where the group goes, how high it can be, and…

November 2, 2026 5 min read

A burgundy velvet sofa in the evening lit by two brass table lamps with linen shades, casting warm light across warm white walls.

2700K, 3000K, or 4000K Bulbs, Room by Room

2700K in living rooms, bedrooms, and dining rooms, 3000K in kitchens and bathrooms, 3500K to 4000K at a…

October 29, 2026 4 min read

A Japandi living room with warm sand limewashed walls, a low pale oak sofa with oatmeal linen cushions, a dark stained oak coffee table, and unlined linen curtains at the window.

Styles & Trends

Japandi Living Room Ideas With Low Seating and Bare Wood

Most of a Japandi living room happens below the windowsill. Low seating, two wood tones, plaster, paper light,…

October 29, 2026 8 min read

A brass floor lamp with a pleated linen shade lit beside the arm of a moss green velvet sofa, against a coral limewashed wall.

Floor Lamp Height Beside a Sofa, a Chair, or a Bed

Set the lower edge of the shade about at seated eye level, roughly 40 to 46 inches beside…

October 28, 2026 4 min read

A dining room with warm white walls and a ceiling painted a deep plum, a glass globe pendant hanging over a pale oak table with six chairs.

Color

Ceiling Ideas for the Surface Nobody Decorates

Twelve ceiling ideas, from a colored or high-gloss ceiling and wallpaper overhead to beams, coffers, a lit tray,…

October 28, 2026 7 min read

A built-in home bar in a living room, with chocolate brown high-gloss lacquered cabinets and shelves, a honed brown marble counter holding a decanter and glasses, and two brass wall lights switched on.

Make Room for a Home Bar

Where a home bar can go in an ordinary house, and the counters, mirror, tile, paint, and light…

October 27, 2026 10 min read

A long travertine-topped sofa table on slim blackened steel legs behind a stone linen sofa in a warm gray living room, its top just below the line of the sofa back, with a ceramic lamp on it.

A Sofa Table Stops Just Below the Sofa Back

A sofa table sits level with the top of the sofa back or an inch or two below…

October 22, 2026 3 min read

A bathroom with peach glazed square tile and warm white plaster above, a white alcove tub, and a white waffle cotton shower curtain hung from a brushed nickel rod a little above head height.

The Liner Decides How High the Shower Curtain Rod Goes

For a standard 72 inch curtain over a tub, hang the rod about 75 to 77 inches above…

October 22, 2026 4 min read