Zigzag Pillows
I love these:
Too bad the navy is sold out. But the khaki may be perfect for the daybed in the office.
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May 30, 2008
May 29, 2008
Looking Sharp
Bottna Mug
I work in a beige cubicle. In a generic office building. On a suburban street corner surrounded by strip malls. Not that I'm complaining ... but, visually, there's little to get excited about around here. Which is why even the tiniest of design details — like this pretty little mug featuring the Bottna pattern — can make my 9-5 a little brighter:
The fact that it's usually brimming with coffee also helps.
May 28, 2008
Animal Alphabet Poster
Lorena of Petit Collage just released this new poster:
If we had a kid (and a kid's room), I'd be all over this.
P.S. In case you missed it, I did a house tour of Lorena's place for Apartment Therapy last year. It's definitely worth sitting through the wonky AT slideshow system to see her lovely home.
May 27, 2008
Another Fabric Source
Serena & Lily is a baby- and kid-centric design company based in the Bay Area. In addition to bedding, furniture and other cute goods, they sell their fabrics by the yard.
Adventures in Wallpapering, Take Two
On Saturday, Christiana (of Ferm Living) came over for the wallpaper project do-over. Prior to her visit, I ripped off the wallpaper that Elizabeth and I had installed. It was surprisingly easy! (The task may have been helped along because — following the advice of the guy at the local paint/wallpaper store — I applied a coat of some sort of special primer.)
It took Christiana and I about an hour to complete the re-wallpapering of the 8'x3' area in the entry. Figuring out the cut-out and trimming the left side were the really tricky aspects of the job.
My sister has this lovely cabinet that she wants to give us, and Jon and I were planning to place it against this wall. But now the wallpaper just looks so good, I don't think I can do it.
May 23, 2008
Tea Time
I haven't been feeling 100 percent this week, so I'm happy to be staying close to home this holiday weekend. I will probably be drinking lots of tea — especially since just looking at this Cath Kidston tea cosy makes me smile.
Also: The tea I picked up from the Chocolate Bar is really good.
May 22, 2008
Just Right House
In June's Home magazine, interior designer Jeff Andrews' L.A. home is featured as the "Just Right House."
I especially love that his guest room doubles as a dressing room. I proposed that to Jon, but he vetoed that idea.
May 21, 2008
In the Bag
One of many souvenirs I picked up at ICFF's designboom Mart:
This lovely handbag is by Elvira Vroomen, who also makes some fantastic felt bags. Since I'm allergic to wool, I opted for the embossed leather version. I was won over by the clever design, but knew I had to have it when I saw that it has two zippered compartments inside.
Looplaa Lighting
How cool are these pendant lamps by Rachel O'Neill? They're made of velcro. Yes. VELCRO.
Seen — and drooled over — at ICFF.
At Home with Lisa
A couple of months ago, Lisa (of Good on Paper) graciously allowed me to visit the condo she shares with her husband, Nick, for an article. It's running in today's SF Chronicle, and the photo of the couple beneath two framed prints is too cute:
It's too bad there aren't more room shots to accompany the story. But the condo was in the process of being sold when it was photographed, so it was more staged than when I visited.
May 20, 2008
The Paper
Dear Editors at Television Without Pity:
Please add MTV's "The Paper" to your list of shows to recap. It is awesome.
Thank you.
NYC Highlights
- The salted caramel hot chocolate at Amai — which absolutely hit the spot on a rainy Friday afternoon.
- Meeting some of my favorite bloggers in person.
- Pretty Mayle dresses that will be perfect for those days I have to wear grown-up clothes to work.
- The dessert sampler at Mercer Kitchen. Everything on the platter was seriously delicious.
- Celebrating Joy's birthday.
- Walking around Javits for NSS and ICFF with Jill.
- Finding out over breakfast at Norma's that a friend is 13 weeks pregnant.
- Drinks at the King Cole Bar in the St. Regis — just a few hours after watching that scene in "The Devil Wears Prada" where Andy gets the Harry Potter manuscript from Simon at that very bar.
- Dinner at Yakitori Totto, which is always good.
The biggest highlight of the trip was simply spending time with my sister/BFF. And, since Jon wasn't there, I had to pick up a few souvenirs for him:
The bicycle seat shower cap was a designboom Mart purchase that I couldn't resist — even though Jon doesn't really ride his bike in the rain. And the candy bars are from the Chocolate Bar. (The bottom one is illustrated by David Horvath of Ugly Dolls fame.)
100 Wishes
I couldn't resist picking up a roll of wish tickets at Cursive (inside ABC Carpet & Home) last week:
The little tag says: "If I had a hundred wishes, I would give them all to you." The blue and pink versions are available online right here.
May 19, 2008
Back in Sunny California
I just got back from four days in NYC filled with lots of yummy meals, meet-ups with good friends, some excellent shopping, and productive visits to the NSS and ICFF shows. More on the trip later ... Right now, I'm going to get outside and enjoy the sunshine!
May 15, 2008
In the House
When I saw Jill's collection of house drawings over at Together Gallery, I had to ask if she would consider a commissioned piece of my own house. I was thrilled that she agreed, and even more thrilled when I received the drawing yesterday:
I love the way she's captured our house with her unique style of illustration. And this is definitely something we'll proudly display for many years to come — no matter where we live.
May 13, 2008
Charlotte Crosland
I am a huge fan of Neisha Crosland's work, but didn't realize until recently that she has a very talented sister, Charlotte, who is a London-based interior designer. You can spot a lot of Neisha's fabrics and wallpapers in Charlotte's rooms:
By the way, Charlotte's home is featured in this month's issue of Easy Living. I picked up a copy just for that spread.
May 12, 2008
Shoe Storage
I am always on the lookout for clever shoe storage solutions. And today, this Apartment Therapy "Small Cool" contest finalist caught my eye:
Simone's Gastown Space
All of those heels look so cool up there, but I'm afraid mine would get terribly dusty — especially since, despite owning tons of them, I hardly ever wear high heels anymore.
May 09, 2008
Mixed Co.
One of the booths I'm most looking forward to at next week's National Stationery Show is that of Mixed Co.:
Last year, some of the super-talented ladies who make up this collective shared a booth that was one of the best I saw at Javits. And I can't wait to see what they've come up with for this year's show!
May 08, 2008
Good Timing
I just received my delivery of Lara Cameron's "Rainy Day" fabric and Amy Butler's laptop cover pattern.
May 07, 2008
Adventures in Wallpapering
Please excuse my bad photography, but I wanted to share a bit of our newly wallpapered accent wall:
This was the first time Elizabeth or I had ever wallpapered anything and it was ... uh ... interesting. Much harder than I thought it would be — considering the wall is only 8 feet tall and 3 feet wide! But, as with a lot of older homes, nothing was straight. And there was a cut-out in the corner. And did I mention that neither of us had ever done this before?
Jon and I are contemplating a do-over, but a cabinet may end up covering most of the blemishes anyway.
(Pssst ... In the background, you can see the dining room chairs that we finally decided on.)
May 05, 2008
Opposites Attract
It ain't fiction, just a natural fact.
Case in point: At around 9:30am yesterday, Jon was just about to start his triathlon — which he has spent months training for (you know, eating right, exercising, etc.). At around the same time, a couple hundred miles away — back at home — I was pulling into the McDonald's drive-thru to pick up one of my favorite breakfasts. Two hash browns, a cinnamon melt and an orange juice.
May 02, 2008
A Peek at Wallpaper Production
I've been doing a lot of wallpaper research over the past few months, and just today, noticed that Hanna Werning has a link on her site that offers pics of the factory where her designs are produced.
One of her finished products:
The process:
See more photos here.
May 01, 2008
May Flowers
More roses from our yard:
I had forgotten how nice it is to have fresh flowers around the house — even nicer when you can pick them yourself!