Sunset

Here's How to Have the Most Fun Apple Picking in California This Fall These charming hamlets in California offer u-picks, cideries, pies, and cute hotels making for a perfect fall weekend of apple picking.Read more in the comments.

The Hotel Staple Some Properties are Stealthily Shedding Many hotels are getting rid of televisions in rooms for a screen-free lodging experience. Insiders share the reason behind this change.Read more in the comments.

That retaining wall may not be the prettiest part of the garden, but that doesn’t mean it needs to go. This fall, landscape designer Molly Sedlacek of ORCA has a better idea: work with what you’ve got.

If a wall is structurally sound, a few thoughtful updates can make it feel far more at home in the landscape. One of Sedlacek’s tools for the job is Earth Coat, ORCA’s new mineral wall finish, which uses earthy pigments and texture to help existing stucco, CMU, and concrete feel more connected to their surroundings.

From there, it’s about building a cohesive material palette and layering in vines, natives, and understory plants to soften hard edges. The idea isn’t to hide the infrastructure. It’s to help it belong.

Ready to give that tired wall a fresh start? Grab all six ways to rethink your retaining wall, at Sunset.com.
_______
Photos/Video Courtesy of ORCA

Palm Springs has a boutique hotel for every vacation vibe.

Want to unplug? Find a tranquil hideaway. Planning a design pilgrimage? There’s midcentury magic around every corner. Traveling with friends? Bring on the poolside party. Looking for romance? Check into a dreamy desert retreat.

The 80 independent properties in the Palm Springs Preferred Small Hotels collection each have their own personality, from wellness-focused stays to colorful, design-forward escapes and LGBTQ+-welcoming gems.

Consider this your sign to plan that Palm Springs getaway. Find your perfect stay at Palm Springs Preferred Small Hotels at the link in comments.

Are Gray Floors Ever Okay? Designers Share Their Honest Opinions Gray, cool-toned floors are an outdated design trend everyone is sick of. Designers share what they really think of the gray floor trend.Read more in the comments.

What if your home could grow with you?

This colorful Menlo Park renovation was designed for a family whose needs will keep changing as the kids grow, grandparents come to stay, and life inevitably shifts.

Rather than simply adding more square footage, OFA | Architecture & Interiors reorganized the existing home to make it work harder and feel more like the way the family actually lives. Bold color, layered surfaces, flexible storage, and playful details bring personality to the practical stuff. A custom pegboard wall in the entry, for example, can be rearranged as everything from backpacks to sports gear to artwork changes over time.

Out back, a new 540-square-foot ADU replaced a defunct garage, creating a private space for visiting grandparents today and the possibility of multigenerational living down the road. It’s a home designed around real life: active, colorful, a little messy, and built to keep evolving.

Take a step inside at Sunset.com.
______
Design: Ogawa Fisher Architects
Photos: Cesar Rubio Cesar Rubio

A Colorful Multigenerational Home Strikes the Perfect Balance Between Practical and Joyful This colorful Menlo Park house and ADU was designed with adaptability in mind so it could grow with the family who lives inside.Read more in the comments.

Treat Yourself to These Fall Candles (And No, They’re Not All Pumpkin Spice) What better time of year to update your home than the fall? These fall candles will make your space so cozy and smell good, too.Read more in the comments.

Think your work belongs in the next chapter of Western design? We want to see it.

The 2027 Sunset Western Home & Design Awards are now open, celebrating the designers, architects, landscape pros, and makers shaping how we live across the West.

Enter your best work in residential interior design, landscape architecture and garden design, residential architecture, kitchen design, or product design by Western makers and studios.

Every entrant will be included in our annual Home & Design Directory on Sunset.com, while winners will be featured in the April/May 2027 issue of Sunset.
Submissions are open through November 6, 2026.

Have a project that captures your vision of living well in the West? This is your year.

Enter now at https://awards.sunset.com/

___________________
Photos:
(1, 8)THomas J. Story (2) Topophyla / Caitlin Atkinson (3) Heliotrope Architects / Andrew Pogue Photography (4) Jessica Alpert Design / sam-frost-photography (5) HERE architecture + interiors / Kara Mercer (6) Studio John Sharp / Douglas Friedman (7) Courtesy of OUTERclé

It's Never Been a Better Time Than Now to Stay at a Dude Ranch Why trail rides, rustic lodging, and campfire cooking add up to the ultimate luxury getaway. These are the best dude ranches to visit.Read more in the comments.