Repurposed teacups? Yes, please! This is a fun bit of DIY that anyone with unused pretty teacups or a thrift store nearby can do without much trouble. The things one can make from a teacup range in difficulty from easy projects (think tiny planters for succulents) to involved projects involving wiring and cutting, so no worries if you’re not all that crafty. Here are seven ways you can repurpose your teacups and prettify your environment at the same time.

I wrote about Domestic Construction’s teacup chandeliers way back in the day, but at $60 for one DIY is the order of the day (at least in my household). DIY it with some thrift store teacups, some Ikea pendant kits, and something to hang ‘em from.

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For those of us who love old design and sweet design and timeless design, but also DIY ingenuity, how totally boss is this Eames Hack? Eames chair turned high chair? Yes, please!

From the artists:

Through physically invasive alterations, these once iconic, elite, forms are liberated from their old, restrained image. The project is not a critique of the Eames, but rather a fulfillment of their original ideals.

This project was produced as part of a three day charette in the Department of Industrial Design at The University of the Arts, Philadelphia. The theme of the charette centers around Remake and DIY culture. The purpose of this charette is to explore the role designers have in respect to this emerging culture. The team members for this project are as follows: Jared Delorenzo, Tim Peet, Alexandra Temple Powell, Tom Reynolds, Alie Thomer, and Andrew McCandlish.

From a parental perspective, however, my main criticism of the Eames chair as a high chair would be good luck getting a tricksy toddler’s legs through those holes when she was pitching a fit.

I’m loving this adaptation of the original 706 telephone (the first plastic telephone in the UK) has been vibrantly decorated in colored flock that makes it both useful and surprising with its unexpectedly velvety feel.

The line of Flocked Phones by Johnny Egg features three different colors of flocking, and each flocked phone includes a traditional rotary dial and bell-ringer and supplied ready for use with a modern telephone socket.

I have no clue how or wear to buy these – other than ‘in Thailand’ and ‘using Thailand money’ or here – but the whole collection is just too cute not to share. It’s Propaganda’s Use Me line, featuring dishware, laundry stuff, bags, and other odds and ends that are ready to do your bidding with a smile.

Adorable! I’m in love!

This post is for my mom, who you may or may not know was a sponsored competitive surfer back in the day and still likes to hang ten as often as possible. I could see some people thinking that maybe, just maybe, decorating with surfboards might be juvenile or campy or just a little too Gidget for good taste’s sake, but if you are decorating a beach house or you’re a surfer and proud of it, why not? The best part of decorating with surfboards is that you can have a lot of fun with it – whether you’re outfitting your home with the real thing or replicas, you can’t go wrong! What can you do with a real surfboard other than surf on it? Surfboards make great headboards, wall art, floor art, coffee tables, and more.

Annie Selke went the real surfboard route with a sweet living room table, and you can, too. DWR was carrying a hand painted surfboard by James Victore, but I’d recommend something in yardsale chic for anyone who isn’t sure where their beachy decor is headed. For something in between, try a monogrammed surfboard from London L Surf!

Other ideas in the not-real category include cheeky surfboard rugs, which make great runners in hallways or bathroom rugs, surfboard hooks for your sandy post-beach towels, the ever present vinyl wall decals (like the one above from Dezign With a Z), other wall decor like personalized surfboard signs from Hangups By Teri, and of course, hip surfboard-themed bedding (like the one above from Bubba Bling)!

I can’t recommend Build Blog’s analysis of couch cushion architecture highly enough. As something who is looking very much forward to building couch forts with my daughter once she’s old enough to understand that pillows and cushions aren’t just pads upon which to throw oneself as hard as possible, I loved both Part I and Part II of what should really be an ongoing series.

How could you not love a critical analysis of couch forts? Especially when it reads like this: “A clear derivative of the Miesian box, this handsome project is ‘informalized’ with the use of colorful, freeform roof panels.” (i.e., blankets) and “As a side note it’s always disturbing to see the finish details carried out with such haste in the presence of true structural achievement.” (referring to a hastily tossed blanket)?

There is a rule in my house that says we cannot buy any soap, no matter how cute and amazing. It’s circumstance, not anything against soap. For whatever reason, at Christmases and birthdays, The Beard and I have been the recipients of an inordinate number of soaps. Black soaps from Spain that my uncle maintained were good for pregnant women. Bear shaped soaps meant for the baby. Olive oil soaps from Greece, eco-friendly soaps with hollowed out centers to decrease waste, and even one clear soap in a bag with a toy goldfish in the middle. And then, you guessed it, I gave soapmaking a try.

And normally, this soap moratorium doesn’t weigh heavily on my mind. In fact, I can honestly say I hadn’t thought of it at all until, that is, I came across Soapylove. Soapylove, created by Debbie Chialtas, began as a hobby and evolved into a line of soaps, a shop and an Etsy shop, a magazine for soapmakers, and a book! But as cool as the Soapylove story is, the Soapylove soaps are even cooler!

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How cute is this white crested treeswift birdhouse from Anthropologie? Furthermore, it’s weatherproof and it’s cast from the Balinese baskets that hold betel nuts, which are offered to visitors as a sign of hospitality. And even better, it’s on sale for only $19.95! Alas, with renovations finally underway, I cannot simply buy any birdhouse that strikes my fancy, but if you happen to be in the market for a birdhouse for a special little bird, why not snap this one up in my stead?

Who else wants a Hare mat? Because I can’t be the only one! The Hare mat, designed by Ed Annink for Droog, makes use of the fact that Gerd Arntz‘s amazing statistic pictograms are free of copyright and re-purposes the image of the hare and of the hippo.

Oddly, those two animals have appeared together before here at Manolo for the Home, which makes me wonder what their relationship really is.

Sometimes a house has just the right amount of doors and windows and eaves and things to fill up all the space one needs to fill to please the eye. And sometimes a house doesn’t – ours, for example, has a big dead zone between a first-floor bedroom window and the front door. There’s just nothing… nothing but boring blank siding. Until recently, we filled the space with a Penn Dutch hex – one indicating friendship, supposedly – but it’s begun to look a bit worn around the edges in recent months. But what to put in its place? Hanging plants? We can’t afford to put in another window there or push out the front door at this time. At some point, signs came to mind. Specifically, signs that advertise who lives in the house to which they’re affixed.

The thing is, though, I eventually nixed the idea. While it’s easy enough to find out who lives in my house – search for the address online or have a peek in the mailbox – do I really want to advertise that the so-and-so lives here and, oh yeah, we got married in such-and-such a year? Not to mention the fact that it feels a little hokey-boasty to me. What do you think? When you see a sign that says something like “The Johnsons – Established 1994″ or whatever, how does that strike you?

Love ‘em? Find em here: 1, 2, 3