Manolo for the Home

Aren’t these prints cute? I know, cute isn’t for everyone, but if you have the right sort of aesthetic already in your home or you aspire to adorableness, then cute could be for *you*. For wall-ready adorableness I’m currently digging on EightHourDay, creators of, among other things, letterpress and screen print art featuring vintage-look designs in bright, eye-catching colors.

Did I mention that they’re cute? Because they are!

Eighthourday is a Minneapolis design boutique and a husband and wife team. You can find selected prints on Etsy, where the price is definitely right (though you’ll have to find your own frames). Their Flickr page is definitely worth a look. Fair warning: It’s not ’stuff for the home’ but rather plain old good design.

Vintage pottery is just plain fun. It’s fun to collect. It’s fun to display. And it’s fun to use, because if it’s going to take up space in your home you might at well enjoy it. Plus, as collectibles go, it’s easy to find and inexpensive to buy (especially on eBay). What’s not to like? You can base an entire room around a cool piece of vintage pottery, especially if the piece has great color or lines.

What’s not to like? You can base an entire room around a cool piece of vintage pottery, especially if the piece has great color or lines.

I’m not advocating smoking, but if you’re looking for ashtrays that don’t scream truck stop, vintage is the way to go.

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I’m loving the 1840s farmhouse the painter Sean Scherer shares with his partner, Marc Mayer. It’s rather deceptive — outside it has all sorts of rustic charm, while the inside is home to botanical, zoological, and anatomical artifacts. Mercury glass shares space with transferware and precise renderings of human guts. Where else can you find an old slaughterhouse table share space with midcentury Scandinavian ceramics and newsprint wallpaper all in one space?

I stumbled upon this room created by the writer of Inside A Black Apple and was immediately hooked on the idea of grouped framed silhouettes. It didn’t hurt that I’d just been asking myself if I was capable, with my limited shop-fu, of creating a silhouette of her wee little head. I can’t answer that (yet) but that doesn’t mean I’m not on the lookout for framed silhouettes from other sources. Etsy, perhaps?

Isn’t this bedroom just divine? I love how all of her framed silhouettes are grouped into one corner. That said, silhouettes aren’t just for bedrooms! Far from it. Below the cut, you’ll find some silhouette inspiration that ranges from classic to eclectic. There’s even some plaid in there!

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I usually go in for nice hotels, unless I’m traveling by myself in a foreign country, in which case I usually like to check out the cheapest option. Usually that’s a hostel calling itself a hotel, and sometimes there’s a pool. Here in the States, my preference is for accommodations in which I don’t have to worry about touching the bedspread for fear of catching a venereal disease. (Seriously, don’t touch hotel bedspreads any more than you have to.)

Now the Madonna Inn on the Central Coast of California… does it fit my criteria? Well the thing is that I can’t figure out if it’s a nice hotel trying to look like a cheesy hotel from the 60s or an actual cheesy hotel from the 60s trying to market itself as a retro kitschy nice hotel!

JUST HEAVEN: “This celestial room is embraced by golden cherubs and kissed in shades of blue to create a little heaven here on earth. An enchanting staircase winds upward into a private viewing tower above the king bed…where gentle rays of sunlight filter through multi-colored glass during the day and soft touches of moonlight linger at night. Graceful French-style furnishings fashion an affectionate ambiance in this heavenly creation for two.”

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