Now that The Beard and I are on the verge of having a bedroom again, I find myself inspired by this bedroom in the tiny apartment now deceased Canadian designer Tobi Wong lived in from 1998 to 2003. Specifically, I find myself drawn to the bed, which is nothing more than a a futon mattress placed on a large piece of plywood balanced on five steel filing cabinets.

Maybe I wouldn’t use filing cabinets… how about two beautiful desks or dressers that one could use to contain all of the detritus of living? Or similarly, a few low-slung benches with drawers? All in all, there are lots of ways to create a DIY platform bed that looks cool and gives you some serious extra storage space, and most of them aren’t as industrial as this.

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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There are lots of wacky keyholders out there, and here is another. I can’t decide whether I like the giant novelty key keyholder or not, but it’s not exactly unattractive.

Now let’s all think of other giant versions of things that can be used to store the normal sized versions of those things. A giant egg in which to put eggs? Huge fruit bowl shaped like fruit? Any ideas?

They may not be insanely comfy, but vintage theater seats and stadium seats can be an awesome addition to a super chill household. That’s where I think they belong, anyway, because old stadium seats that have been refinished are still going to be less than perfect. Unless you’re the cool kind of person who thinks unperfect is perfect, dig?

These vintage theater seats were salvaged from a movie theater in Chicago that closed down in the 50′s. Awesome. And they’re for sale for $950 at Rhapsody Attic , which is awesome if you happen to have a thousand bucks around. Plus shipping. A whole lot of shipping.

How can you not love these?

(Images via Rhapsody Attic and Penny’s Enchanting Home)

As weird chairs go, I suppose this one could be weirder, but at least it can double as a dish drainer in a pinch. What’s the strangest chair you’ve ever seen?

But whoever you are and whatever you do, DO NOT DO THIS:

Seriously, don’t. I’m so adamant about this that I’m not even going to tell you where you can buy it.

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 count one, two, three… four patterns in this pretty pink and gray bathroom. There’s the flamingo (or as my daughter calls them, flamenco) wallpaper, two hand towels with paisleys, a third hand towel featuring a different pattern, and the the pattern on the tablecloth, which could be anything for all I can see. Mixing patterns – or mixing too many patterns – is sometimes considered a decorating no-no, but if your patterns come from the same palette and aren’t crazy complicated, you should be golden!

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How do you get a chair from a couch? It’s easy when you get it from Couch, founded in 2008 by designer Deborah Swift. Inspired by antique furniture and opulent fabrics, she created a line of lovingly restored period furniture that is upholstered in luxe, jazzy fabrics.

The Valbonne Chair (£495), a French armchair with black ebonised frame, is a lovely example of the kind of design Couch is known for. I’ve featured patchwork furniture once or twice before – specifically items from Squint – but I think I like Swift’s designs the best.