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Fresh orchids give great bang for your decorating buck. Especially, says interior designer Matthew Swingly, when you buy them at Ikea or Whole Foods.

Swingly, who is with McMaster Wallace Interiors in DC, doesn’t think every item in a room has to be expensive—just look it. A fan of Ikea’s orchids, he calls to ask when a shipment is coming in; the plants are about $13—“much cheaper than at a florist,” he says. He sometimes has to pick off wilted foliage and stick the flowers in a nicer pot—which he gets for less than $10 at Ikea.

While orchids at Whole Foods can be $25, they’re a great value: They come in nice pots and rebloom beautifully.

“My inspiration came from purchasing and decorating my own condo on Capitol Hill,” says Lisa Cannon, who launched Condo Cool in 2004, a business that offers affordable interior design. “It took a lot of work and research to find furniture and lighting that fit into an unusual modern space.” As soon as Cannon realized there was a niche market for accessible interior design, she took design courses at the Corcoran College of Art + Design. She also worked for a year at RH Studio in Georgetown, the modern sibling of local furniture chain Random Harvest.

Condo Cool targets those who don’t have the budget to hire an expensive interior designer. For $100 an hour, Cannon rearranges furniture and helps customers choose paint colors and dramatic lighting. Whereas most designers purchase items for their clients and charge fees for each, Cannon’s clients make the purchases on their own based on her suggestions.

Most of her clients are young professionals or empty nesters who have recently downsized. “People usually aren’t happy when there is too much clutter. They have a tough time editing their furniture and accessories. They want multi-use pieces, such as a storage cube that can double as an ottoman. Many people know what they like but have trouble pulling it all together.”

Cannon suggests checking out magazines like Metropolitan Home, Elle Decor, or Blueprint for decorating ideas. While she says stores like Crate & Barrel have quality mid-range home goods, she suggests shopping for unique pieces at independent stores like Go Mama Go on 14th Street in Northwest or the flea markets in Eastern Market.  

With Joe Gibbs’s retirement, Mark Brunell’s future with the Redskins looks bleak. Regardless, it appears that the backup quarterback plans to stay in Washington.

After selling a custom home on more than two acres in Great Falls for $3.5 million, he spent $3.7 million on this new home less than five miles away. The new house has five bedrooms, eight baths, and a four-car garage. His old house, built in 2004, has seven bedrooms and nine baths.

Gibbs and the Redskins chased Brunell in 2004 and signed him to a $43-million, seven-year contract. But after a half season of inconsistent performances, he was benched in favor of Patrick Ramsey. Brunell’s now third in line at quarterback, behind Jason Campbell and Todd Collins.

We asked Carolyn Thomas, bathroom designer at Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen & Bath in Bethesda, for remodeling advice. Thomas has a bachelor’s of interior design from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in interior design from the University of Maryland. Thomas is also a certified bath designer with the National Kitchen and Bath Association and has been at Gilmer’s firm since the late 1990s.

What trends are you seeing in bathroom renovations?
“People often renovate the bathroom once their kids are grown and out of the house. They want to create luxurious showers with an area for a bench where they can sit and bathe, especially as they get older, so hand showers are almost a necessity. Some showers have his and her ends, or one side will have a stationary shower head with body sprays. These days most people want clear frameless glass enclosures. A lot of people want larger bathrooms and bump into the master bedroom to make a master suite with large closets and more storage space.
“People are moving away from the traditional styles of the past and want things that are simpler. Tile is becoming incredibly textural; there are lots of varieties of mixed materials—slate and glass together, matte or highly polished finishes, flat beach pebbles. There isn’t a lot of variation in the color palette—smaller rooms look bigger with a monochromatic color scheme.”

What are common mistakes people make when renovating a bathroom?
“A lot of people don’t understand how the plumbing is connected. They think they can move the toilet across the room, but in most situations you can’t. You can do it for a tub or sink, but not the toilet. Sometimes, when people renovate themselves, they don’t understand how to coordinate all the elements: sink, toilet, faucets, and tile. Bathrooms should have an overall visual continuity.”

How long should someone expect a bathroom to be out of order when renovating?
“Per square foot, the bathroom is the most costly and time-consuming room to remodel. Electricians, plumbers, contractors, and tile-setters have to work on a rotating basis because bathrooms are usually small spaces. Two workers cannot be in there at the same time. I tell my customers to expect the bathroom to take six to eight weeks minimum.”

Many twentysomethings decorate with hand-me-down furniture and Craigslist bargains. Jennifer Dusenberry’s one-bedroom apartment in DC’s Cleveland Park is more creative.

The colors—mostly reds and oranges—are bold and warm. She’s mixed the circular motifs and clean lines of midcentury modern design with older, more detailed pieces. In her living room, a simple round table lamp sits next to an antique Chinese rice scoop.

In November, Open House reported that Washington Post Company chair Don Graham was rumored to have purchased this brick townhouse near Dupont Circle. Now we’ve got the price tag: $2.8 million. The house last sold in August 2006 for $1.6 million.

On November 9 Graham announced that he was separating from his wife of 40 years, Mary Wissler Graham. Earlier in the fall, the Grahams bought a $4.65-million pied-à-terre overlooking Central Park in Manhattan.

Word in real-estate circles is that Don Graham just bought this brick townhouse near Dupont Circle. The house is assessed for $1.3 million and last sold in August 2006 for $1.6 million.

On November 9 Graham announced that he was separating from his wife of forty years, Mary Wissler Graham. Earlier this fall, the Grahams bought a $4.65-million pied-à-terre overlooking Central Park in Manhattan.

The couple's home on Cleveland Park’s Newark Street, valued at $3 million, isn’t on the market—yet.