I don’t care how comfortable glider rockers are. Really, I don’t. They look absolutely dorky and bulky. Glider rockers look like they belong in my paternal grandmother’s house… in fact, I’m pretty sure there’s one in there somewhere. So what if they’re de rigueur for nurseries? As we slowly figure out what sort of furniture we’ll be needing to welcome our new baby, all I want is an Eames rocker.
Or a reproduction of an Eames rocker. That’ll do just as well, thank you very much.
I know I have a favorite store every other week, but I can’t help falling in love with all the choice home decor shops out there on the web. My current favorite source of quirky, kitschy stuff for my little cottage is Three Potato Four.
Adorable, no? Three Potato Four is run by Janet Morales and Stu Eli, two hardcore collectors with backgrounds in the design industry. I’m a huge fan of their blog — in the latest entry, they show off ornaments they created that are just like the ones I made this year… just a whole lot better.
PS: If any relatives are reading this, we’d really love a full set of vintage blocks for Paloma this Christmas!
This movable kitchen vent from Murdock Young Architects in the Cutlet Townhouse in Brooklyn gives me the heebies.
The rest of the space is gorgeous, with the exception of the carpeted bathroom wall:
That cannot be sanitary.
If you need a break from all the holiday decor assaulting your eyeballs, check out Joel Dewberry‘s line of beautiful fabrics. Dewberry is a prolific designer, artist, and craftsman, though unlike many of his fellows, fabric is his medium of choice. I love how his fabric designs are all so different, yet they combine wonderfully, making them perfect for home decor and craft projects.
Pillow covers are easy to make… if you know how to sew and have a sewing machine, that is. And pillow covers are great fun. Say you have tired old pillows that still have plenty of life left in the stuffing. Don’t throw them out. Cover them up!
Ruby+Stella Home makes these fabulous pillow covers using colorful cottons created by fabric designers like Joel Dewberry and Amy Butler. If you’re looking for a cheap and easy way to freshen up your home decor, you could do worse!
Many moons ago, I posted about picture frame patterned wallpaper from Graham & Brown. I was kind of disappointed that the picture frames were only drawn on — I thought they should ideally have built-in pockets for photographs or artwork. Since then, I’ve been on the lookout for the next best thing.
Today, I stumbled upon it. Photojojo sells re-stickable wall decals in the shape of retro picture frames. Unlike the aforementioned wallpaper, you can actually use these frames to display photos.
And speaking of displays, my new favorite Flickr group is The Art of the Display, which I found via poppytalk. The group’s pool contains over 500 photos of awesome interiors and home decor inspiration that will help you make the most of the furniture and home accessories you already have. I’m absolutely besotted!
Ack! The apex of the holiday season is approaching fast! What would last-minute gift buyers do without Amazon’s 2-day shipping? My guess is show up shame-facedly at holiday gatherings where grab bags and white elephant games constitute the evening’s entertainment. When you know who you’re buying for, it makes sense to spend a little cash on holiday gifts, but when you’re anonymously wrapped package is going in a sack and may just end up in the hands of that guy from accounting who you cannot stand, why pay more than twenty bucks?
Here are six holiday gifts that won’t set you back more than two ten-spots.
As usual, click on the pics for more info. Remember, all is not lost. There is still time to buy holiday gifts for all the people on your list (loved and hated alike) without succumbing to the press of the crowd and the overwhelming atmosphere of the mega-mall.
I’m reading and posting snippets from my favorite home blogs on Friday evening, which means that with any luck I am currently working on the homemade Christmas ornaments I mentioned briefly last week. If I’m really lucky, I finished them all on Saturday (after wrapping all my Christmas gifts) and am currently sitting around my house in my jim-jams drinking hot chocolate. Yeah, right. Anyway, read on to see a few posts from the blogs I’ve been digging on lately.
You’d think serious cooks and food writers like Mark Bittman, author of cookbooks like How to Cook Everything and Bitten, would have huge fancy kitchens. Think again. Here is a photograph of Mark Bittman at home in his very own kitchen.
Here’s what Mark Bittman had to say about his very small kitchen:
The whole idea is that you don’t need a fancy kitchen. You don’t need fancy equipment, and you don’t need fancy recipes. When I show people my kitchen, they believe it. But I hate my kitchen also. I bump my shins on the dishwasher. There is not enough room to put stuff. It’s a terrible stove. It’s a terrible dishwasher. I don’t have room for the pots I’d like to have. I’ve cooked in much worse, though. I’m used to it. Someday I’ll grow up and get a real kitchen.
Heh. Him and me both… except mine will be a gift to The Beard because I personally don’t much like to cook.
I love the mix of fabrics and colors and styles in this living room designed by Stephanie Rossi.
My favorite part? The zing the staircase carpet gives to the whole room. Throwing a brown-red-orange accent into a predominantly black, white, and blue living room is just the sort of thing I like to do in my own home.
