I’ve realized more than once that British style (and designs hailing from that part of the world) is a recurring theme in the renovation. There is my love affair with Farrow and Ball paint, which appears throughout the apartment. Then, of course, there’s our British architect Simon Arnold (who is now, lucky for us, installed in Williamsburg, Brooklyn). The inky black walls we’re experimenting with in our master bathroom were inspired by a weekend spent at Blakes in London. And then there are the bath fixtures. The faucets from the British company Perrin and Rowe are nothing short of perfect, and remind me of a romantic weekend spent at, say, a suite at Claridges. In pursuit of those designs here in the U.S. I stumbled upon the company Rohl. They distribute faucets and showers (and some really insanely beautiful farmhouse and pedestal sinks) from small European manufacturers, (including Perrin and Rowe) who are known for their craftmanship. The prices are high for Perrin and Rowe, so we splurged on just one set from their Holborn collection for our powder room (pictured below).

The look is sleek but still traditional. In the master bath we decided to go with Michael Berman Graceline faucets (pictured below), a California designer with a slightly industrial edge to his faucets and showers (and distributed by Rohl). The design was inspired by transatlantic ocean liners of the 1920s and 1930s, reminiscent of old Hollywood.

In our daughter Bea’s bathroom, we opted for Rohl’s Architectural series (pictured below).

I love the bold cross pattern handles for her—it feels grown up but still whimsical and fun. The happy discovery along the way, with this deep dive into the world of faucets, is that Rohl’s designs are just as fabulous as the higher priced lines. So all in all a win-win situation. Oh, and did you know that if you go to the store kitchen and bath emporium Pirch, which has stores across the country (and most recently in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood), you can literally turn on all of the faucets and see if you like the way they work?

It was kind of a revelation for us. They even have chefs making pizzas out of their ovens, so you really get a sense of what you are buying. Genius.

The faucets are being installed now and I cannot wait to share the final product with you next week!

Let’s face it, there are few things less sexy than appliances. Professionally, I’ve looked at so many, as various manufacturers invite home editors to view new models when they are released. But, as someone who loves to cook, I’ve always dreamed of having a Wolf oven and a SubZero refrigerator. The remodeling (and reimagining) of the kitchen in this home was incredibly important to us, so we knew that a sizeable part of our renovation budget would be devoted to that area. We sprang for the fantasy oven and fridge, and in the few days that we have been back  in the apartment (the last plumbing fixtures and lights are being installed, and the larger pieces of furniture will arrive soon), I can honestly say that they are total game changers. Sure, the look of those chunky red oven dials makes my heart skip a beat.

But now boiling a pot of water for pasta takes a fraction of the amount of time that it used to. The oven is just solid and it is indeed the quintessential hearth. From a design perspective, the kitchen opens into the main living space in the apartment and that Wolf oven has a very deserved pride of place.

Observations on the SubZero refrigerator in this short amount of time are all glowing. It has definitely kept our vegetables fresher for longer, and it is quiet, unlike other fridges we’ve lived with in the past, which have grunted and gurgled all day (and night) long, prompting all sorts of “what was that?” moments. I’ve never had a panel-ready fridge before. Here is what it looked like when it first came without the panel attached.

RELATED: Editor-Tested: How One Storage Service Made Moving Easier Than I Ever Thought Possible

The first image in this story (see above) shows what it looks like with the panel.

It is seamless with the rest of the (deep blue!) cabinetry. There is a funny, cool detail when you open it, too (see below).

RELATED: Editor-Tested: How Tile Can Completely Transform Your Home

There are printed acrylic panels in a little nook inside the fridge with directions on how to operate it properly, and then guidelines on food preservation, with a list of vegetables and how long they may typically be stored. Who knew that bok choy should last in the crisper for three weeks and fresh ginger for six months?

Sorry to gush, but having these two spectacular workhorses in the mix has been a source of true domestic contentment, even more so now that we are cooking for our little girl. Both appliances were totally worth the investment.

When Glee Alum Lea Michele isn’t shooting her TV series, Scream Queens, she’s nesting in her L.A. sanctuary hanging with friends and cooking up a storm. The tranquility surrounding the four-bedroom home, nestled in a canyon in West L.A., inspired her to purchase it in 2015. Up until then she had been living in Hollywood, and “that became very suffocating for me, with all the tour buses around,” she explains. “I needed a home that would allow me to recover and breathe and recharge. I fell in love with this place the minute I saw it, just being so far from people, and really being in nature and in the mountains. It’s spacious, and you see so much green. This house is healing.”

Now, by all measures, the 30-year-old has her own oasis of calm. On a recent sunny afternoon, she pads around the house barefoot, her long hair loose around her shoulders. She wears a flowing teal blue cross-back sundress by Natalie Martin, a designer she discovered through fashion stylist and interior decorator Estee Stanley (“Estee said to me, ‘Oh my God, you need these dresses in your life!’ ” says Michele, laughing). Stanley also helped her set up her new house, creating white, airy rooms appointed with comfortable seating, plus the occasional Buddha statue and crystals given to Michele by friends. “I accept them from people I care about and believe have good energy themselves,” she says.

VIDEO: Go Inside Lea Michele's L.A. Home

Click the image above to get lost in Michele’s utterly divine home, and shop the look here to create your own serene abode.

“When I sat down to start this book, I had been polling my friends and colleagues on what sort of cookbook they were looking for,” writes Gwyneth Paltrow in her new release, It’s All Easy ($20; amazon.com), which comes out today. “These friends all seemed to have a common culinary yearning: they wanted a collection of recipes that they could prepare easily. They wanted to find themselves in the kitchen at the end of their overextended day and be able to prepare something delicious and quick.” With this apt description, we recognize ourselves. If you do too, we highly suggest you pick up a copy of the book.

Here is a highlight, below—a recipe for Singapore Rice Noodles—along with Paltrow’s commentary. And be sure to check out the May issue of InStyle, where we map out a brunch menu for Mother’s Day (May 8!), featuring a handful of dishes from the book that are light, delicious, and super-easy to prepare.

Singapore Rice Noodles

Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Under 30 minutes

Serves: 4

These pan-fried noodles are gluten-free, full of veggies, and kid-approved (my kids inhale this). The prep does take some time, but once you’re cooking, the dish comes together quickly, so be ready with all the ingredients. Add chicken, shrimp, or beef for a little extra protein, and if you don’t have a wok or a really big nonstick pan, use two smaller pans—these noodles don’t like to be crowded. Pan-frying noodles is not an exact science, so trust your instincts and add a couple more glugs of oil if things are looking dry or starting to stick.

Ingredients:

3½ oz. thin rice noodles (such as Eden Foods bifun noodles)
4 tbsp peanut oil
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
½ cup finely chopped broccoli
½ cup chopped green beans (½-inch pieces)
½ cup fresh or frozen peas
7 oz. firm tofu, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 tsp madras curry powder, or more to taste
1 large egg
¼ cup tamari
2 scallions, thinly sliced
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Salt, if desired

RELATED: 14 Times Celebrities Fed Their Kids the Cutest Food Possible

Directions:

1. Soak the rice noodles in hot water for 10 minutes or according to the package instructions.

2. Meanwhile, heat a wok or large nonstick sauté pan over medium-high heat and add 1 tbsp each of the peanut and sesame oils. When the oils are hot but not smoking, add the onion and cook, untouched, for 1 minute to sear. Reduce the heat to medium and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes more. Transfer the onion to a bowl.

3. Add the broccoli, green beans, peas, tofu, and another tbsp of peanut oil to the pan. Sauté over high heat until the veggies are just cooked through and the tofu is beginning to brown (about 2 minutes); transfer the veggies and tofu to the bowl with the onion.

4. Add 1 tbsp of the peanut oil, the remaining 1 tbsp of sesame oil, the soaked and drained noodles, curry powder, and 2 tbsp water to the pan and stir to combine.

5. Make a hole in the middle of the noodles, add the remaining 1 tbsp peanut oil, and crack in the egg. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon and let scramble until almost cooked through, then mix in with the noodles.

6. Add the tamari, scallions, and cilantro and stir everything to combine. Taste for seasoning, add salt if necessary, and serve.

It was a breezy spring day early this week, and Drew Barrymore held court in a midtown Manhattan restaurant to present the latest addition to her portfolio of Barrymore Wines—a well-priced, refreshing rosé that got us very excited for summer dinner parties and general lounging with friends.

“This wine is fruit-forward, creamy and citrusy and not too sweet,” she said, addressing a hodgepodge of New York City’s top wine merchants. Dressed in a white floral printed dress and a pair of appropriately pale pink suede pumps, Barrymore lifted a glass, toasting the group and adding that she and winemaker Kris Kato intended to “just make people happy” with this yummy new entry. One sip later, it was a fait accompli. See for yourself by picking up a bottle for $18 at carmelroad.com. 

It was a recent spring night in the Hollywood Hills and actor Kyle MacLachlan was throwing a party at his home. This was not your average sit down, however. It was a dinner for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (aka LACMA) to celebrate its Collector’s Committee—and the theme of the event was Shakespeare. The concept is not a random choice for a thespian who owns a vineyard producing a wine called Pursued by a Bear (the name references a Shakespearean stage direction in the play A Winter’s Tale). And beyond that, 2016 marks 400 years since Shakespeare lived. The stars aligned for an evening of tributes to The Bard, and a number of visual flourishes that you might want to borrow for your own impromptu evening of celebration between now and the end of the year when the anniversary still applies.

Click through the gallery of photos above and steal a few of the clever, super visual ideas dreamed up by MacLachlan himself, who happens to have a distinct talent for witty entertaining. Some secret weapons appear on the photo above, namely a guest with star power like Amanda Seyfried (she is MacLachlan's co-star in the upcoming reboot of Twin Peaks, premiering in 2017), and two of Los Angeles’s top chefs, Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo of the hotspot restaurant Animal.

RELATED: 20 Best Party-Throwing Tips Ever

When we managed to buy the place next door and connect our one-bedroom with the adjacent one-bedroom, my fantasy was that we (and that means my husband, Josh, and 2-year-old daughter, Bea, and I) could stay in one half of the apartment while the other half was being demolished. Our architect, Simon Arnold, looked at us as if we’d lost our minds, or, as he might say in his British accent, gone mad. No such luck.

Instead, we had to pack every last book and bauble and get it off the premises. The odd thing with this move is that we didn’t need to haul our stuff from New York to California, as one might with a traditional change of location. Instead, we just needed to get our belongings out, and then back again. One of my colleagues here at InStyle had just written about a new service called MakeSpace that ended up being the ideal solution for our situation.

For the unfamiliar, MakeSpace is a storage company with branches in N.Y.C., Chicago, D.C. and L.A. that drops off stacks of shiny green plastic bins at your door, and then retrieves them, so you never have to roam the creepy halls of a storage facility, rattling your keys and hoping that you will someday live to see daylight again. Once your bins get to MakeSpace’s HQ, the company photographs them opened up and posts numbered snapshots of each one to your private page on their website that you can easily access for reference.

They also store furniture and even drop stuff you want to donate to Goodwill. It costs a fraction of what a mainstream moving and storage company would charge, too. I know others who use the service to hold onto their skis and Christmas decorations off-season, but for us it was a handy way to hack our move.

How do you join two one-bedroom apartments and have it feel like one continuous space? In our 1926 building, the rooms are charming and somewhat eccentric. Our architect, Simon Arnold of Arnold Architecture, showed us three different layouts and one was clearly the winner. With the plan we’ve ended up going with, only a single wall would have to be removed. The space that was our living room for so many years would become a master bedroom, and the adjoining kitchen would be transformed into a master bathroom. Our new kitchen would be in the recently acquired space, and expanded greatly from what was already there. And the bathrooms? Well now there would be three. Yep, I was living the dream.

One way of connecting the spaces was through color. Now, if you count European home magazines as one of your guilty, undeniable pleasures, then you have probably heard of the English paint company Farrow and Ball. I’ve been writing about them for years, and the depth and nuance of their palettes are truly special. When you walk into a room and immediately wonder, what is this divine color? well then you have probably entered a Farrow and Ball-painted space. My fantasy with this apartment was to be adventuresome with the choice of hues, but still have the rooms hang together as one. I knew that dark greens and deep blues would be the anchoring tones—they make me and my husband happiest, and to be honest, he was willing to let me take some risks, and for this I am forever grateful. The main living and dining areas would be fairly neutral, an interplay of varying shades of white.

The kitchen cabinets and entryway a deep, almost-black navy called Hague Blue. In the bathrooms, greens would dominate, and one in particular called Chappell Green (except in my daughter’s area, where a pale rosy tone called Pink Ground was the theme). With all of these ideas in mind, I invited a color consultant, Erica Silberman, who works out of Farrow and Ball’s Flatiron showroom to come with her book of color swatches and assess my basic choices, then help me select the exact paints that would work best in each space.

She was incredibly knowledgeable, reeling off the pigment names in each of the whites I was considering, assessing the light (northern throughout) and generally helping to make the best choices. I would highly suggest building the oh-so-worth-it expense of a visit from a knowledgeable color consultant into your budget if you can. It helps avoid mistakes down the road which are far more costly. Another option is to get your hands on their newest book called How to Decorate ($26; amazon.com) which is a veritable handbook on how to make color decisions for your home. I was riveted, and found it extremely helpful.

I’ve interviewed many decorating gurus, and there is one truth that arises in conversation time and again: you can really have some fun in the bathroom. For me, the excitement begins with the choice of tile. I happened upon a fabulous Moroccan tile resource that was akin to a constant romp through a candy store—a storefront in Manhattan’s Flatiron area called Mosaic House. Over the past few months, my husband, Josh, daughter, Bea, and I have been stopping into the place more times than I’d like to admit. For Bea it is an opportunity to play with gorgeous, colorful square mosaic pieces that look like jewels.

For Josh and me, it is a time to dream about color, pattern, and travel (he is a photographer and a director, so between the two of us, Mosaic House is playing to a rapt audience). I would have loved to have gone crazy with actual mosaics, but they were more than our budget would allow.

We have been working with a woman there named Lola (pictured above), who is like having a cool artist girlfriend with incredible taste and a vast knowledge of tile. She also oversees the Pinterest account for the store (along with her own, @lolamakesnyc), which ended up being an endless source of inspiration. She had suggestions of ways to emulate intricate tile patterns without the expense, like this idea below courtesy of the French photographer Garance Doré, comprised of various cut pieces of cement tile. It is the same color scheme that I’d imagined for Bea’s bedroom and bath so it was of great interest.

We played around with this collage idea using various super saturated pieces of tile for Bea’s bathroom, and in the end it didn’t look quite right with the proportions of the room. In the end, we’ve opted for these cement tiles with a gray and milk-white striped pattern, which would offset pale pink walls (stay tuned for the final results!)

For another bathroom (which also serves as a laundry room), I fell in love with a black and green tile that felt like a stolen glimpse into an Italian villa. With this tile I knew that doing the laundry would be more than a pleasure. Lola showed me a photo of the floor in the restaurant Republique in L.A. that they’d also worked with, using a similar tile. It looks so graphic and chic, I was doubly sold.

For the master bathroom, Josh and I had always fantasized about painting the walls a shiny black. We’d once stayed at Blakes in London, an Anouska Hempel triumph, where the bathrooms are painted ebony, and the effect is super dramatic. This was our big chance to give it a go back home in N.Y.C. We found a shiny bottle green tile to offset the darkness and reflect the natural light through the windows. It also spoke to the color palette of the geometric tile in the laundry room, so the choice would make the overall picture cohesive.

Our contractors are laying the tile as I write this, and I cannot wait to post the final results. The verdict? It is most definitely a stupendous idea to freely explore your design dreams in the loo.

I’ve realized more than once that British style (and designs hailing from that part of the world) is a recurring theme in the renovation. There is my love affair with Farrow and Ball paint, which appears throughout the apartment. Then, of course, there’s our British architect Simon Arnold (who is now, lucky for us, installed in Williamsburg, Brooklyn). The inky black walls we’re experimenting with in our master bathroom were inspired by a weekend spent at Blakes in London. And then there are the bath fixtures. The faucets from the British company Perrin and Rowe are nothing short of perfect, and remind me of a romantic weekend spent at, say, a suite at Claridges. In pursuit of those designs here in the U.S. I stumbled upon the company Rohl. They distribute faucets and showers (and some really insanely beautiful farmhouse and pedestal sinks) from small European manufacturers, (including Perrin and Rowe) who are known for their craftmanship. The prices are high for Perrin and Rowe, so we splurged on just one set from their Holborn collection for our powder room (pictured below).

The look is sleek but still traditional. In the master bath we decided to go with Michael Berman Graceline faucets (pictured below), a California designer with a slightly industrial edge to his faucets and showers (and distributed by Rohl). The design was inspired by transatlantic ocean liners of the 1920s and 1930s, reminiscent of old Hollywood.

In our daughter Bea’s bathroom, we opted for Rohl’s Architectural series (pictured below).

I love the bold cross pattern handles for her—it feels grown up but still whimsical and fun. The happy discovery along the way, with this deep dive into the world of faucets, is that Rohl’s designs are just as fabulous as the higher priced lines. So all in all a win-win situation. Oh, and did you know that if you go to the store kitchen and bath emporium Pirch, which has stores across the country (and most recently in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood), you can literally turn on all of the faucets and see if you like the way they work?

It was kind of a revelation for us. They even have chefs making pizzas out of their ovens, so you really get a sense of what you are buying. Genius.

The faucets are being installed now and I cannot wait to share the final product with you next week!

Let’s face it, there are few things less sexy than appliances. Professionally, I’ve looked at so many, as various manufacturers invite home editors to view new models when they are released. But, as someone who loves to cook, I’ve always dreamed of having a Wolf oven and a SubZero refrigerator. The remodeling (and reimagining) of the kitchen in this home was incredibly important to us, so we knew that a sizeable part of our renovation budget would be devoted to that area. We sprang for the fantasy oven and fridge, and in the few days that we have been back  in the apartment (the last plumbing fixtures and lights are being installed, and the larger pieces of furniture will arrive soon), I can honestly say that they are total game changers. Sure, the look of those chunky red oven dials makes my heart skip a beat.

But now boiling a pot of water for pasta takes a fraction of the amount of time that it used to. The oven is just solid and it is indeed the quintessential hearth. From a design perspective, the kitchen opens into the main living space in the apartment and that Wolf oven has a very deserved pride of place.

Observations on the SubZero refrigerator in this short amount of time are all glowing. It has definitely kept our vegetables fresher for longer, and it is quiet, unlike other fridges we’ve lived with in the past, which have grunted and gurgled all day (and night) long, prompting all sorts of “what was that?” moments. I’ve never had a panel-ready fridge before. Here is what it looked like when it first came without the panel attached.

RELATED: Editor-Tested: How One Storage Service Made Moving Easier Than I Ever Thought Possible

The first image in this story (see above) shows what it looks like with the panel.

It is seamless with the rest of the (deep blue!) cabinetry. There is a funny, cool detail when you open it, too (see below).

RELATED: Editor-Tested: How Tile Can Completely Transform Your Home

There are printed acrylic panels in a little nook inside the fridge with directions on how to operate it properly, and then guidelines on food preservation, with a list of vegetables and how long they may typically be stored. Who knew that bok choy should last in the crisper for three weeks and fresh ginger for six months?

Sorry to gush, but having these two spectacular workhorses in the mix has been a source of true domestic contentment, even more so now that we are cooking for our little girl. Both appliances were totally worth the investment.

When Glee Alum Lea Michele isn’t shooting her TV series, Scream Queens, she’s nesting in her L.A. sanctuary hanging with friends and cooking up a storm. The tranquility surrounding the four-bedroom home, nestled in a canyon in West L.A., inspired her to purchase it in 2015. Up until then she had been living in Hollywood, and “that became very suffocating for me, with all the tour buses around,” she explains. “I needed a home that would allow me to recover and breathe and recharge. I fell in love with this place the minute I saw it, just being so far from people, and really being in nature and in the mountains. It’s spacious, and you see so much green. This house is healing.”

Now, by all measures, the 30-year-old has her own oasis of calm. On a recent sunny afternoon, she pads around the house barefoot, her long hair loose around her shoulders. She wears a flowing teal blue cross-back sundress by Natalie Martin, a designer she discovered through fashion stylist and interior decorator Estee Stanley (“Estee said to me, ‘Oh my God, you need these dresses in your life!’ ” says Michele, laughing). Stanley also helped her set up her new house, creating white, airy rooms appointed with comfortable seating, plus the occasional Buddha statue and crystals given to Michele by friends. “I accept them from people I care about and believe have good energy themselves,” she says.

VIDEO: Go Inside Lea Michele's L.A. Home

Click the image above to get lost in Michele’s utterly divine home, and shop the look here to create your own serene abode.