For those small space enthusiasts — or those forced by circumstance to live in small spaces — who don’t have much room for office essentials like desks and filing cabinets in their homes, but think that the foldaway desk from Ikea is just a tad too wee for comfort, I present this:

No, it’s not a chest of drawers or a mini dresser or a nightstand, though I suppose it could be used as such. Rather, it’s a complete desk designed especially with those without much room in mind. See?

Sold by Crate and Barrel, this unique space-saving desk is a clever way to make the most of small spaces.

When open, the top of the cabinet reveals generous storage space for a laptop, plus cubbies with removable dividers to stow paper clips, rubber bands and other smalls. Cord cutouts in back let you charge iPods, laptop and cell phones. Below are a storage drawer and one letter- and legal-size file. Integrated wood handles run the length of the drawers, which slide smoothly on ball-bearing glides.

At $499, it’s not exactly the kind of brilliant Craigslist find I treasured in my own days living in small spaces, but it’s not that high a price to pay for a piece of functional furniture that will actually fit into the bedroom of a tiny Brooklyn walk-up.

Good wines have good legs. Some men are leg men. When you’re in a solid spot, you’ve got a leg to stand on. And when it comes to original and funky furniture, you just can’t have too many legs. Interchangeable legs, that is.

The Showtime Multileg Cabinet designed by Jaime Hayon for BD Barcelona costs $4,950. For that price, you get your choice of colors. Pay a bit more, and you can get as many modules as you like. Oh, and did I mention the legs? Because the legs really are the selling point here. Inspired, apparently, by classic MGM musicals, the crazy, mismatched legs snap in and out of the cabinet so it never looks the same twice.

Available at The Future Perfect

So, does anyone feel like giving me a crapload of money? I mean donating DONATING… yeah, that’s the ticket… a crapload of money to, uh, a foundation promoting, er, beauty and culture in, um, my house? Because I need NEED to replicate Jenny B. Allsorts’* creative studio in my own home. For reals

What’s that? No one is raising their hands? Shame, that. I guess I’ll have to wait and try to finagle something almost as keen using the stuff I already have. Oh, and hope that Ms. Allsorts doesn’t come after me for using her photo without asking. It was just too amazing of a space not to show off immediately, and maybe if I pimp her Etsy shop, it’ll make things all right?

*The alias of one Jenny B. Harris, talented children’s book illustrator!

I have a good but casual relationship with many of my neighbors, especially since having a baby. Nothing encourages crossing the street or popping around the fence more readily than a fresh-out-of-the-womb infant! We chat about the weather and gardening and the baby, of course. We wave hello if we are in our cars. We occasionally lend one another implements like wheel barrows, and once, my neighbor Paul even took pity on our snowblower-less butts and plowed our driveway! And yet, there’s a closeness lacking that might be nice to have. If I needed a cup of sugar, I’d drive to the Stop & Shop rather than knock on a neighbor’s door.

With that in mind, I was intrigued by a post over at The Simple Dollar that explained how one could set up a simple neighborhood cooperative.

Household equipment Why not share a lawnmower with your neighbor? How about a snowblower? One great model for this exists in our neighborhood, where one person owns a snowblower and provides fuel for it, but is not in good enough physical shape to operate it. Thus, one of her neighbors actually operates the snowblower, using it to blow the snow out of both driveways (and often doing a large swath of the block’s entire sidewalk as well).

Gardening If two or three neighbors all have gardens, why not specialize the gardens and freely share the produce? This allows one family to focus specifically on a crop or two, making garden maintenance easier for all of the people involved. You can even carry this to the level of canning and/or freezing, agreeing to swap prepared garden products with neighbors.

There are other ideas in the post, though I’m not sure how readily I’d leave my baby with a neighbor or share cooking duties on a weekly basis. I would like to get to know my neighbors, however, as previous to this, I’ve been living in apartments for years and years. This was in the cheapest possible sections of Brooklyn, so there was a lot more wall banging and language barriers than friendly interaction. Now I’m curious to know how well you are acquainted with your neighbors.

Somehow I don’t think one could ever be truly unhappy in this house belonging to someone by the name of Jolante (who, coincidentally, took these photos). A little glum on a rainy day? Sure. But seriously depressed? The only depression that I feel when looking at these interior shots is that caused by my wishing I had the time to make my own home look equally put together.

Oh man, would you dig that sunroom? And that light fixture? And the ottoman thingy with the plants on it? Gorgeous!

Obesity and this unique house designed by Jo Crepain just don’t mix. Built in and around an concrete water tower in Brasschaat, Belgium using mainly glass, steel, and striking fluorescent lighting, there is a lower level in addition to the water tank itself.

Spend a few weeks jogging up and down those stairs, and you’ll (maybe) be slim and trim in no time.

My lawd, the winter is finally over for us here on Massachusetts’ north shore, and amazingly, we haven’t gone from intensely cold weather to intensely hot weather in one go like we do most years! There is actual springtime weather to be enjoyed! That means that on most weekends (and even some weekdays) you’ll find the Never teh Bride family parked out in its little slice of suburbia trying to green it up.

This year, we’ve planted romaine lettuce, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, banana peppers, red and green peppers, cukes, cantaloupe, strawberries, and a blueberry bush. The grass I battled with so valiantly last year remains in a state of unpleasant brownosity for whatever reason, bumming me out. But oh well! The weather is fine, and I’ve got a garden! What more could I possible want?

Oh right, kitschy yard stuff. I’m a big fan of bird baths and bird houses and little stone statues and big letters nailed to the sides of sheds. While all of the flowers in my yard — thanks, previous owner! — do give my property a lovely burst of color every year, they’re gone so quickly that I like to replace them with… what would one call it? Lawn decor? Backyard accessories? You know, things like this:

Like this all-weather Vaca pillow, for example. Made with real Guatemalan bovine feed bags, they’re made to withstand the elements.

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It’s undeniable that mod textured wallpapers are a lot more interesting than your average floral print wallpaper, but are they better overall? I have to wonder whether all of those surfaces eventually become magnets for grime — I have enough trouble clearing cobwebs from the corners, now I have to dust my walls, too?

Voted Eco-friendly Product of the Year by Interior Design Magazine, SHAN-Shangri La wallpaper is certainly striking. This 3D embossed wall flat is made from bamboo pulp and features an automatic pattern repeat so even klutzes like me can put it up with no problems.

In conclusion, it’s easy to install. It’s green. And it looks damn good. But all those ridges… will they trap as much dirt as I think they will?