How fun are these deer heads created by Jennifer Khoshbin of Ruby’s Lounge? Using resin, she crafts colorful specimens of wildlife… her take on traditional hunting and an exploration of the authenticity of nature. As she puts it: “Because we’re all hunting for something. We’re all collecting our own modern trophies. What are yours?” The deer heads in her shop cost $345.00 and are currently made to order in about two weeks.
After checking out Martha Stewart’s Blue Collection, I thought I’d check out what else that ex-con crafter has up on Amazon and elsewhere. As it turns out, there’s quite a lot. Blue gear from Martha Stewart is just the latest color in a kitchenware collection that features green, red, and white pots, pans, colanders, and more. I’m no big fan of Martha Stewart — I feel like she’s perpetuated a standard of hospitality that’s hard for most working people to replicate — but I do like her gear.
The colors are fun, the quality is comparable to other similarly priced kitchenware, and you can be sure that your prep bowls will coordinate with your colander. If you haven’t guessed by now, I’m a huge fan of coordinated color, especially if a room is going to feature a lot of different colors. It’s not difficult to do — just remember theses tips: Repeat colors at least three times in a space and distribute each color evenly.
(As always, click the pics for more info!)
This playful piece of seating designed by Holly Palmer and available through Mocha in the UK was inspired by the images and ideas in Alice in Wonderland. If you can’t find a place for it inside your house or apartment, don’t fret. The teacup chair is made of bright and durable roto-molded MDPE plastic, which means it’s suitable for outdoor use.
Frank O. Gehry’s Wiggle chair is the upscale version of the cardboard furniture I featured last week. How upscale? A thousand dollars will buy you a piece of Gehry’s 1972 “Easy Edges” series, which included the Wiggle chair, a side chair, a dining table, and the smaller side table. But is it worth it? You decide… Approximately 60 layers of cardboard are held together by hidden screws with a fibreboard edging, making this chair sturdy and physically appealing. It can actually hold thousands of pounds, and the chair itself feels almost velvety to the touch. Personally, I like everything about the series except the color. Cardboard, as we recently saw, doesn’t have to look like cardboard.
Available at Hive Modern
Ross Russell doesn’t throw any stones. After deciding that he’d made plenty of money, Russell built his own sliding glass house that can be customized with the press of a button.
The entire 20-ton shell –- 52ft long, 20ft wide, and 23ft high –- slides on rails, allowing Russell to control exactly how much sunshine and shade his home receives.
It was tricky to design. Obviously, nothing can stick up through the roof of the house below – so no chimneys, television aerials or even gutters. (The rain instead runs down behind the timber slats to soakaways at ground level.) To keep out the wind, the moving part hovers close to the fixed part and is sealed with red nylon brushes – rather like the draught-excluders on letter boxes.
The whole thing moves very slowly and beeps like a truck backing up to ensure that no one is squished in the mechanism. But there have been minor mishaps that taught Russell and his family to be very careful when the house’s motors are active. I, for one, have to wonder how long the mechanism will last before needing to be repaired or replaced. Normal home maintenance is troublesome enough without having a 20 ton structure on rails to contend with.
Sustainability is super cool when David Sears Design makes it happen. Dedicated to “beautiful, intelligent and environmentally responsible” furniture, Sears began his career in woodworking in California, where he renovated period houses and had a cabinet shop before turning his attention toward furniture design. His Cube Furniture Collection (now available at EcoModern Design) marries function and form in an eco-friendly package that reflects Sears’ signature style.
When The Beard and I first moved into our little house, I remember waking up to the sound of a summer breeze blowing through our next door neighbor’s wind chime. It was a gorgeous day, and the tinkling of tiny bells just added to the ambiance. Even though our home was filled with unopened boxes and half-painted walls, those ringing chimes spoke to the beautiful life we were going to have.
Cut to me trying to work on some very, very hot summer days with the dingle-dangle of that dang wind chime clanking away in my ears for hours. It wasn’t quite as beautiful then! In fact, it was downright annoying.
The thing about wind chimes and bells is that as much as you or I might adore the sound of them, our neighbors might prefer to listen to the wind rushing through the trees or even silence. I always feel a bit wary of hanging anything outside my home that is going to make noise, simply because I know how I respond to unwanted sounds… and, hint, grinning and bearing it is not my way. On the other hand, maybe everyone who objects to chimes and bells that ring-a-ding-ding at a reasonable volume should just chill the heck out. What say you?
As a follow up to Monday’s post about cardboard furniture lovingly crafted by people who take the DIY thing to a whole new level, I thought I’d share one of the more clever entries in designboom’s cardboard folding chair contest. Johan Carlsson of Denmark created this neat little cardboard chair — dubbed YOC or ‘your own chair’ — that doubles as a shopping basket when you’re not resting your weary toesies.
The designer had this to say about his cardboard creation: “YOC is designed for being in the city walking. In the urban landscape less public space are provided for sitting down. public benches are being moved away or replaced with a ‘leaning pole’ but the need of sitting down remains. YOC serves both as a carrying bag and as a stool to be used while rambling, shopping, waiting or when ever you want to sit down.”
Now I’m asking myself why I couldn’t have had my very own YOC when I lived in Manhattan…
For an inexpensive way to brighten up mealtimes — especially in the wintertime — you can’t beat these melamine plates from Crate and Barrel.
Graphic florals pop on bright backgrounds, and the cute color combos make them fun to mix and match.
At $6.95 each, these plates are as easy on your budget as they are on the eye.
I waver where pink is concerned. Whereas I know I’m definitely not into the whole bubblegum thing that I’ve posted about before, pink in smaller doses can pretty up an otherwise drab interior. On the other hand, it’s still so girly — case in point: I had a daughter, and suddenly my overwhelmingly gender neutral layette was immediately pinkified by friends and relatives.
The interior above — featuring fabric from Designers Guild — contains just enough pink to make a statement and, barring the fact that it’s just a tad too plushie for my tastes, I am definitely digging on the overall color scheme. There’s something a little retro about this living room, what with the thick furry couches and carpeting, but the jewel-like colors add excitement. Of course, you can achieve the same effect without ever introducing pink into your home’s color scheme with vivid and vivacious blues or greens or purples. Pink is just one place you might consider beginning your journey.
To help you start, here are six pink pieces that will add some va-va-voom to your office, kitchen, bedroom, or living room:
If you like what you see, click the pics for more info!