After my last video, I started to get more curious: How good is Green Sweet’s stain repelling technology?  Sure, it worked on Orangina, coffee, and red wine.  But would it work on tough stains like ketchup and barbecue sauce?
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Considering that we use our beds and pillows every day, very few of us think about properly protecting them.  But between the inevitable accidents, allergies, and concerns over dust mites and bed bugs, it’s a good idea to be proactive.  Here are a few simple solutions to keeping your bedrooms clean.

1. Keep your bedroom cool and dry.
2. Eliminate clutter.
3. Choose a hypoallergenic mattress.
4. Use mattress, pillow, duvet, and featherbed protectors (more on that below).  They offer protection against spills and accidents, and reduce the amount of sweat, dirt, hair, and body cells that make it onto your bed.  If bugs are a concern, wrap your mattress, box spring, and pillows in allergen-blocking bed coverings.
5. Air out your bed for 10-15 minutes before making it each morning.  If you have a ceiling fan, turn it on to circulate air.
6. Wash your linens once a week, using your regular detergent or Linen Wash.  Wash your pillows and duvets with Down Wash as needed.
7. Vacuum regularly.  Vacuums with double-layered micro-filter bags or a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters are best for containing dust.
8. Keep your windows closed, or install screens in all your windows.
9. Keep food and drinks away from your bed.
10. Have your pets sleep on a separate bed.  Even the best behaved pets walk outside, drool, shed hair, and have the occasional accident.

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Previously we’d told you about Garnier-Theibaut’s Green Sweet technology: It’s a nanoparticle coated fabric that repels liquids and stains, just like leaves in nature repel water.

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Late last year, we traveled to Marrakech, and it was a revelation.  Behind dusty doors, we got to peek inside lavishly planted courtyards full of bright pink bougainvillea, olive groves, and lemon trees.  Imagine waking up to this after hours and hours of flying:

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TRADITION

There’s an old Scandinavian tradition that when a woman got married, her parents would give the couple a new down duvet and pillows made by her mother, with a coin sewn into the duvet for good luck.  At St. Gèneve, this charming tradition continues.  All St. Gèneve down duvets have a coin sewn in, with the same spirit of good wishes.

HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR DUVET

Higher quality duvets are more versatile: they will be warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer than lower quality duvets. This is because higher quality down is better at insulation, lightness, and breathability than lower quality down. The table below illustrates how this works.

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You’d be surprised how often we are asked this question.  And we are happy to say that you can get Thomas Keller’s dinnerware here at Gracious Style.

Eating at one of Thomas Keller’s fine restaurants – like The French Laundry in Napa or per se in New York – is truly a magnificent experience.  People have flown half way across the world just for that experience.  But he has created a set of dinnerware that lets you re-create the experience at home — if you’ll do the cooking.

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If you live with pets, we bet you’ve had to part with a rug or two after the why-didn’t-I-see-this-coming happens.  But you’re not alone, and we promise you there’s a way to keep both your adorable pets happy and your home looking stylish.

Here’s our primer on how to pick the perfect pet-friendly rug.

Materials

1. Indoor/outdoor rugs are the best choice.  They’re virtually chew- and scratch-proof, can handle lots of foot traffic, and easily wash up with a little detergent and water.  And don’t worry, the new ones are so soft, you could easily walk on them with bare feet.

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My den had a problem.

Even though it had gorgeous views and comfortable furniture, everybody just walked right past it.  This seemed like a great place to spend an afternoon, but nobody — not even I — was tempted to do that:

Fortunately, there’s an easy, step-by-step process to turning a den or family room into an inviting, stay-for-a-while space.  Here’s the recipe:

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Did you know that Neville Jacobs (yeah, the dog) has his own book and over 200,000 Instagram (@nevillejacobs) followers?  Talk about overachiever!  How many of us could say that?

So I was thinking:  what if I were a smart pup like that?  Surely, I could get my paws on a platinum card!  Everybody knows that’s easier than writing a book.

And then, I’d surprise all my friends with something cool.  So these are what I’d get, if I were a world-famous model dog.
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Walk into any room.  Does it feel comfortable or unfinished?  Does everything tie together, or does it feel jarring?

Chances are, the difference is in the rug.  As one of the biggest items in any room — larger than all the furniture and the art — the rug defines the room.  The right rug can define your space, bring your design together, and warm it up for people to relax and linger.  The wrong rug can look oddly out of place or contrast harshly with the rest of your room.

But choosing a rug could be a bear, with all the materials, sizes, colors, and patterns.  And choosing rugs for a whole new house?  Ugh!  After doing that numerous times, I decided to jot down what I’ve learned, spoke with several rug makers, and looked at how we live today.  Finally, I also read up on what the world’s top designers suggested (which I summarized here).

In the end, I came up with these simple, room-by-room guidelines on how to choose an area rug for your new house.

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