Manolo for the Home » Art

Whatever It Is, It’s All In How You Use It

Christa Terry — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 11:23:24 +0000

Today I’m loving the idea of painted silverware as easy DIY decor in the kitchen or dining room or wherever. Because sure, it’s a little hokey, but it certainly fits in with the themes of cooking, eating, and drinking. If you have blank walls in the food prep or food consumption zones of your home, you could do worse. Or not – what do you think of these?

Pretty pastels spoonage via suburban bohemia

Adore the color combo chosen by Crap I've Made

No time to DIY; find these at Ladies and Gentleman Studio

A fun flatware display from The Starter Home (with step-by-step instructions)

Inspiration: Old School Cameras!

Christa Terry — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:02:23 +0000

28 Camera Drawings by Christine Berrie

Cute vintage 35mm Kodak Film canisters

Camera coasters from Etsy's mediumcontrol

Cameras themselves, as art

Or the image of cameras and camera accessories as art

Salt and pepper shakers from Chiado Design - possible DIY?

I can’t even remember the last time I bought a roll of film, can you? Have you ever used a film camera or is digital all you’ve ever known? (Goodness, even asking that question makes me feel ancient.)

P.S. – Darlings, did you know Manolo for the Home is on Facebook? Like it!

Inspiration: Birds!

Christa Terry — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 11:00:24 +0000

Birds as decor… what do you think? I’m not suggesting that anyone go out and go crazy with avian accessories. Collections, especially those centered around animals, can sometimes diminish the value of the items within it. Instead of being the person with the wonderful collection of curious, you become the Bird Lady. That woman with all those birds. That’s not where I, personally, want to be, and my guess is you don’t want to be the Bird Lady, either. So buy a bird or two in cushion form or a wee adorable figurine, but don’t go overboard with the bird decor (as opposed to decor for birds) lest you find yourself pigeonholed for life.

A beautiful handmade rocking bird from BODIE and FOU

A birdcage cushion from Rose and Grey

A unique decorative birdcage photographed by Tamar

Snow Bird shelves by Marisko Studios

Barn swallow cutouts by Hammerpress

A lovely bird duvet cover

Bird plates from Areaware

Slipcovers for the Knit Obsessed Among Us

Christa Terry — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:30:34 +0000

I have five cats and one kid, which means slipcovers are non-negotiable in my household. However, I’ve been led to believe that some people slipcover for the fun of it, perhaps to refresh older furniture or to make decor updates on the cheap. For not exactly cheap, but possibly less than the cost of a new armchair, you can get a hand knit slipcover for your favorite armchair that will make it every bit as cozy as that old favorite sweater of yours that is now only appropriate for use inside the house.

Cozy. But a crumb magnet.

These hand knit slipcovers for armchairs and cushions and ottomans (and lamps) wouldn’t work for me, I’m afraid, since my slipcover use is intended to make my furniture less of a cat hair/stain magnet. But if you can’t get enough of all things knit and want to make your furniture more difficult to keep crumb free, then BiscuitScout‘s hand knit slipcovers may be just what you’re looking for.

While the whole look isn’t my cup of tea, I can certainly see the appeal. What do you think? Too gimmicky? Or who cares, so long as it’s comfy?

Inspiration: Buddha

Christa Terry — Tue, 10 May 2011 11:20:53 +0000

Who couldn’t use a little more Zen in their lives? Buddha is here to help, thanks to factories and print shops all around the world churning them out like crazy. You may not be able to find Zen in the short term, but Buddha? No problemo, samanen.

Beautiful silk Buddha pillows from Zen & Bhakti and ARTE ETRA

DIY Buddha busts from Pudel Design

Pocket Buddhas... squeee! (by @!)

Buddha wallpaper from Artistic Homeowner

Gorgeous Buddha canvases from redhomedecor

And awesome Buddha lamps from SKK Lighting

Where in your home do you find your little slice of Zen?

The Secret of the 2.5 Dimension Bookshelves

Christa Terry — Mon, 09 May 2011 11:43:19 +0000

Designer Bjørn Jørund Blikstad’s unusual bookshelves, known as Imeüble, fool the eye and bend the mind. At least from far away. As optical illusions go, at least these colorful and weird bookshelves serve as storage, as well as acting as art. Blikstad’s creation appears to be 2D from far off – and even in the pictures, my brain is trying to tell me two things at once – but Imeüble exists squarely in the 3D realm.

But it’s all smoke and shadows – every nook is capable of holding books and plants and whatever else needs storing.

Every square is a shelf!

And yet my brain says Q*Bert

This project is apparently Blikstad’s attempt to understand the concept of storage by “looking at it, not as a practical issue involving the storage of known objects, but in sync with our memory; comparing the mental storage capacity with the actual.”

I don’t know if I get all that from it, but still. Very cool, no?

Repurposed Dino Planters Bring RAWR Into Your Life

Christa Terry — Fri, 06 May 2011 11:12:22 +0000

I am so loving these amazing dinosaur planters from Plaid Pigeon… they’re made of repurposed dinosaur toys, hand painted and sealed (complete with drainage holes), and the succulents inside are hardy enough to survive life with everyone from the green thumb set to the black thumb set.

If these came to live at my house...

both the cats and my darling daughter...

would go absolutely out of their minds!

Inspiration: Bespoke Printed Furniture By Zoe Murphy

Christa Terry — Mon, 02 May 2011 11:10:59 +0000

If there’s one person out there designing furniture using all of my favorite things, it’s British textile designer Zoe Murphy. Her repurposed mid-century modern furniture pieces and printed vintage textiles are just a treat for the eye! She applies prints she draws of her home town and gorgeous patterns, along with happy colors, in unexpected ways. At least I find her furniture designs unexpected!

Zoe Murphy is my new favorite person

Get a load of those colors...

She even makes art, suqeeee!

Did I mention she makes art for walls, too? Murphy keeps a blog if you want to see what she’s up to these days!

Sushi Furniture That Looks Good Enough to… Sit On? Love it lots!

Christa Terry — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 11:49:27 +0000

Looking for seating that’s trend-friendly and different and modern and also inspired by food? Then how could you not dig sushi furniture from Sushi Style by Mimi Tin? These definitely don’t fall into the category of ‘cheap and funky gear that’s all but disposable.’ Tin uses silk thread to weave the designs on her entire line of sushi furniture, from the multi-purpose ottomans that can be used as a chair or, when you remove the “seaweed wrap,” as cushions to child-sized sushi beanbags and other fun things.

Mimi Tin, of Sushi Style

The Cali ottoman

The Carrot ottoman

And poufs!

As you probably guessed, this particular sushi furniture isn’t cheap, but I was actually surprised to see that it doesn’t cost more. An ottoman and cushion set – sushi wrapped in seaweed, I mean – will run you $625. And if that feels a bit steep in the context of your current circumstances, you can always sate your appetite for sushi furniture with one of Mimi Tin’s adorable sushi poufs!

Yes or No: Are Decorative Plates Just for Grandmas?

Christa Terry — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 11:17:50 +0000

I guess I’ve been a little obsessed with walls and wall art the latter half of this week. So I promise this will be my last post about walls and things that go on walls for at least a fortnight or so. What got me thinking about decorative plates was these decorative plates that used to adorn my grandparents’ walls – they were illustrated with extremely striking images from old Russian folk tales and they were my introduction to stories like The Snowmaiden and Ivanushka the Simpleton. These particularly decorative plates were really very beautiful – I think they were issued by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and were based on paintings by noted artist Boris Zworykin. But even so, when I think decorative plates, my brain always jumps to the dorky commemorative plates that were advertised on TV when I was a kid.

In other words, I have mixed emotions about decorative plates. But after looking around a bit, I’ve found that a plate display can be pretty cool, especially when you’re using cool plates and not weird commemorative plates featuring politicians, baseball legends and dead Hollywood icons. Here are a few examples:

I'm liking the swoop

Pretty!

Fun decorative plate designs by Christopher Paul

So what do you think? Can decorative plates move past their terrible 1980′s incarnations, back to the days when people who just hang pretty plates up in lieu of art or photographs? Or have they been ruined by their association with people who can’t stop buying Franklin Mint products?