Manolo for the Home

Etsy is one of my go-to destinations when I’m looking for cool stuff to feature on Manolo for the Brides, but it never would have struck me to look there for furniture. After all, shipping charges must be outrageous, right? And who wants to buy furniture you can’t inspect first? I’m not so sure anymore — a short search for furniture netted me all sorts of chill chairs I’d be more than pleased to install in my own home.

Here’s a sampling:

This “Swanky Louis XVI chair” is brought to you by Dinwiddies,maker of funky purses, pillows, skirts, and more. I’m personally in love with the giant stuffed olive.

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As dedicated to simplicity as I am, I’m still guilty of keeping some things around just because they’re fun to look at. For example, I found a vintage matchbox in my (currently) non-working nineteenth century vintage sewing machine, and I decided to place it in a prominent spot atop my bookcase. I have pitchers I never use and Japanese bowls too small to serve any useful purpose. And yet I keep them all because they bring me joy or inspire me or remind me of relatives far away.

So, yeah, just what I need…more glass, knickknacks, wall decorations, and balls. If I had to choose just one of the pretty things above, I think I’d go for the pears, though my cats are currently gathered around my desk begging me to get the vetiver balls instead. I suppose I could put them in the empty hand turned vase that right now does nothing but serve as a receptacle for handmade paper eggs.

What can I say? I’m a slave to my eyeballs.

If safety is your first concern, why can’t beauty be a close second?

Back in the day, I lived in a grand old New York City apartment in a part of Brooklyn teeming with gang activity. That’s why the rent was so cheap, of course. We had multiple locks on the doors and one of those little chain things that’s supposed to let you chat safely with people you don’t know — even though it’s painfully obvious that one good shove would rip it right out of the wall.

The clever security device above was designed by Oleg Morev (of Art. Lebedev Studio) as part of ThinkGeek’s annual April Fools catalog, but I don’t care that it wasn’t real. I don’t care that I live in a safer-than-safe suburban neighborhood. I don’t care that I’m shite at solving mazes unless I run them backwards. I want one anyway!

I’ll admit that my skills sometimes fail me when I’m trying to tell wood and really good laminate apart by just looking. Some laminate flooring (Wilsonart’s, for example) looks as woody as can be. What usually clinches it for me is those tiny gaps–laminate planks tend to fit together snugly while older wood planks are just slightly less than perfect. My deductive system isn’t perfect, however, and both types of flooring can look truly spectacular.

So which flooring material would win in a cage match? According to this chart from Floor Facts, there are strengths and weaknesses on either side. Laminate floors are extremely impact-, scratch-, burn-, fade-, and stain-resistant. Wood, on the other hand, is easier to repair and tends to look that much nicer. Laminate cannot be refinished but it’s easy to install. Wood lasts longer, but isn’t always DIY friendly.

If two flooring types enter the cage, but only one can leave, I think that wood would emerge as the victor, simply because it looks good and it lasts (and lasts and lasts). My grandparents live in a home built in an early nineteenth century barn, and both the dining room floor and the kitchen island were built using wood from the original threshing room floor. After many, many years, that wood is still as warm and as beautiful as ever.

Amsterdam based designer Monique Goossens creates playful, homey art pieces that are delightful in their unexpectedness.

Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find out much about Ms. Goossens. Her web site is nothing more than a placeholder for what I imagine will be some wonderful content. For now, I’ve placed some photos of her lovely stuff below the cut.

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