Tufted furniture is undeniably awesome – a few well-placed tufts can turn what would be a blah headboard or bench or couch into something really visually appealing. A wee bit harder to vacuum? Well, sure, but not all that much more difficult to keep clean. The bad news is that tufting can come at a premium – the good news is that I found a great tutorial at Apartment Therapy that will have you diamond tufting in no time at all. Until you get the hang of it, though, here’s some sweet tufted inspiration to stimulate your aesthetic appetite!

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“…I think Thomas Wold just solved our furniture hoarding problem!”

“How’s that?”

“Well, so far as I can tell, the solution to our problems isn’t taking home less furniture.

“So what *is* the solution, then?”

“We’re just not making the most of our vertical space!”

While a dish called Mushrooms Three Ways would indeed be divine, I am of course talking about mushroom themed decor. Now, no one is suggesting that you fill your home to the brim with mushrooms like the mother of an ex of mine did with country-style ducks (again, not a dish, sadly) all year round and in the wintertime, snowmen. But a mushroom as a showpiece? It’s just unusual enough to work! Here are three examples that I found in my virtual travels and loved enough to bookmark:

In designer Masako Sato own words: “During the rainy season, it’s very humid in Japan. One day I found moldy wall in my room. I was worried if mushrooms were coming up. But at the same time, I imagined how funny mushrooms are growing on the wall. Some people drive nails into walls, but I don’t like it. It may damage my clothes and myself when get caught on and even looks painful. Mushroom Hook is made by silicone rubber. It is soft and welcome your return home.”

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As someone with a toddler and a teeny tiny kitchen, I’m just a little obsessed with high chairs. We were originally using a bulky secondhand Graco (for which we were extremely grateful) and then a slightly smaller, but still overwhelming Fisher Price high chair (for which we were also very grateful), and someone in my family was kind enough to buy us an amazing red Stokke Tripp Trapp. Of course, we’re eternally grateful for that!

Naturally, because my Tripp Trapp is red, I love seeing other moms’ red high chairs, whether it’s a fancy pants Bloom or something homier, like the above high chair, painted by red by the gorgeous voice behind The New Domestic. I’m waiting to hear back re: what paint she used, because I’ve come into possession of a Jolly Kids high chair and want to paint it red to match the Tripp Trapp.

What should you walk away with after reading this post? Consider that whether it’s a high chair or a tallboy that you’re looking for, make it a good one. And if you can’t find exactly what you can see so clearly in your mind’s eye, there’s a good chance that you can take something similar and turn it into what you were looking for.

Image seen on Melissa’s Wild Parma Adventures

It’s probably not often than one comes into possession of a full-sized card catalog cabinet, but it happens now and then, as it did to the Lentine Family of Dream Book Design. And, oh my gosh, I just cannot believe how they spruced that bad boy up. Seriously, I am salivating over here.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Curious as to how they did it? I was, too. Luckily, the Lentines are sweethearts and posted a pretty specific tutorial that includes the supplies they used and how they used them. You know, just in case you end up with a card catalog on your hands.

Images via Dream Book Design

P.S. – Happy birthday to me!

Here are two things that tickled my fancy today:

First, the Spilt Milk Bowl by Fred and Friends. Made of silicone, it is malleable and durable, easy to clean, and a great size for cereal or one-portion dishes. The perfect gift for the cereal addict in your life.

And then this, a customized IKEA ‘lack’ side table that offers up 3025 cm^2 of organic green space by ISO 216. I’m thinking you could easily DIY this with a little no-frills patio table, some plastic edging, dirt, and grass seeds. Voila! Your very own lawn!

Let’s get serious for a minute, shall we? Thanks to the CPSC, I just found out that one child dies every two weeks due to furniture tipping over. One every two weeks! I love furniture, but ugh. And apparently that number is on the rise, which means something has got to give. Sometimes, when furniture keels over, the worst that happens is that you lose some books and objets d’art. But when you have kids, and they’re the ones doing the tipping, you can lose something so much more important.

Scary stuff, no? So if you have kids, take a few minutes to check your furniture and appliances to make sure that they’re secure and stable.

• Furniture should be stable on its own. For added security, anchor chests, dressers, TV stands, bookcases and entertainment units to the floor or attach them to a wall with an anti-tipping straps.
• Place TVs on a sturdy, low-rise base. Avoid flimsy shelves. Always check weight limits when buying a new TV stand, and don’t use dressers as TV stands.
• Push the TV as far back on its stand as possible. To avoid temptation, push other interesting objects like DVD players and lamps as far back on furniture as possible, too.
• Place electrical cords out of a child’s reach and teach kids not to play with them. Avoid cluttering up outlets or using power strips as much as possible since these can make it easier to pull multiple items off of shelves.
• Keep remote controls and other attractive items off TV stands so kids won’t be tempted to grab for them and risk knocking the TV over.
• Make sure free-standing ranges and stoves are installed with anti-tip brackets.
• Install drawer stops so kids can’t pull them out more than two-thirds of the way, and choose furniture with wide, flat bases instead of legs.

Can the parents or caregivers out there suggest any I may have forgotten? Pretty please?

I’m having an ‘I want’ day – ever had one of those? It’s partly a matter of circumstance, as all kinds of situations conspire to show you awesome stuff (often it’s awesome stuff you can’t afford). And of course, it’s also a matter of attitude. You have to be in the right frame of mind to have an ‘I want’ day. On an ‘I want’ day, some stuff that would normally evoke nothing more than admiration now temps you mightily.

And so what is it that I’m wanting today? A REEVESdesign Louis Collection dining table!

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“Who doesn’t love a comfy, distressed, brown leather sofa?” is a question I saw once in a magazine, and the answer is me. I love comfy leather and I love distressed leather, but brown? *yawn* If your home is decked out in an amazing brown palette, that’s one thing. But why not get a little more colorful? Before I begin, I have to say that this post is for Kai Jones, who said: I would love to see a variety of options in leather furniture. Due to allergies I am supposed to only have plain wood or metal, or leather-upholstered furniture. Your wish is my command! (Variety? Yeah, I can do that.)

The benefits of leather furniture go beyond not absorbing dander and mites and such – leather furniture can be wiped clean with a damp sponge instead of needed a full shampoo, Aniline leather in particular can be deliciously soft, leather warms to your body temp on chilly days, and leather furniture is really, really durable. It’s not entirely maintenance free, of course, but what in this life is? I certainly wouldn’t kick a sweet red leather sofa out of bed.

Leather furniture can be traditional and classic and awesome, which I think is the main source of leather’s long lasting charm. How nice would it be, do you think, to curl up with a good book in this orange leather chair? Just keep in mind that all leathers are not created equal – after Aniline, there’s the sturdier but less soft semi-Aniline and then the extremely durable coated leather, which could be softer. (via)

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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.