I never really thought I’d have a favorite ‘before & after,” but I definitely do and it has to be Sandra Foster’s amazing tiny DIY Victorian cottage! She took a 9-by-14-foot cottage (an old hunting cabin) that happened to be on her property and renovated it herself for a mere $3,000 – a figure that includes furniture and accessories.

The part I like best about Foster’s story is that she’s not a professional designer (she’s a fiscal administrator), she’s not rich (Foster’s other house a trailer), and the whole thing was a personal labor of love – and when I say personal, I mean that Foster DIY’ed it to the max. While she may be just a little bit on a higher plane than most of us when it comes to using the contents of a toolbox, her amazing little cottage makes me feel like I can do just about anything I set my mind to!

There are a couple more pics under the cut, but I definitely recommend checking out Foster’s blog and the NY Times slideshow for lots more sweet photos of this DIY marvel!

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I have to say that I am all at once inspired and mortified by this amazing girls’ room put together by Christina of Full House – inspired because oh em gee she did everything for less than $250 and mortified because I’d started to feel like my daughter’s room was coming together just a little bit and good lord it certainly is not in comparison.

I cry that I was not born with the gene that lets some people do amazing things on a tiny budget. But to all of you I say if you’ve got it, flaunt it! You can see how Christina did it here at Little Green Notebook!

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.

How cool is this multi-drawer and multi-door sideboard from Boco Do Lobo? It’s described as being quite versatile, fitting into various decor schemes because its features various styles of drawers and doors, as well as a variety of materials (glass, wood, leather, lacquer, mirrors, and metals).

As you’d expect from a no-doubt wildly expensive piece of furniture such as this, the Mondrian sideboard features hand-carved this and thats, handmade brass pulls, cut glass knobs, luxe fabric lining in different colors, and so on. When it could be had, it could be had in white and black.

The more current version, the Soho sideboard, has a collection of wood drawers finished in mirror and black glass with etched detailing, gold leaf, diamond matched rosewood veneer, high gloss blue lacquer and white lacquer with hand carved relief patterning.

Wouldn’t it make a fun home for crafting and sewing supplies?

Aren’t these just yummy? I love baby furniture that doesn’t look like babyish, and these beautiful changing tables from The New Traditionalists definitely fit the bill. Their elegant changing table designs are crafted to work in the nursery and then (with the help of removable changing trays) become part of a kid’s room or even move into mama and papa’s bedroom or the dining room.

Did I mention you can choose custom finishes and color combos? My fave is the first shown, in the walnut with ‘hot lips’ lacquer, but all of The New Traditionalist changing tables (along with the cribs and grownup furniture) are worth a look!

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)!

Plastic cheap? Perish the thought! Sometimes plastic can be downright pricey.

Kartell Frilly Chair by Patricia Urquiola

Pink lucite tables

Tube Top Colors Table Lamp by Pablo

Pink lucite tray via Living Etc.

Pink table by Yuka Izutsu for MoCo Loco

Mod? Modern? Retro? Reproduction? I just love it when can’t tell just by looking whether a piece of furniture came off the assembly line yesterday or some forty years ago. That’s precisely how I feel about the Hara armchair. Designed by Giorgio Gurioli for Kundalini, it’s described as a “bio-energetic” seat (which means goodness knows what when it comes to furniture).

I just know I dig it. The Hara armchair comes in white, black, orange, red, chocolate, beige, aquamarine, light green, and my fave, bougainvillea. It’s suitable for indoor or outdoor use, since it’s made of lacquered fiberglass treated with UV-protectant. Did I mention it costs the big bucks? Think $4,500, plus shipping.

You’d think they’d hook you up with free delivery!

The cute all apparently got sucked into Martha’s Vineyard, where there are more than 300 dainty rainbow-hued Victorian-style cottages with elaborate balconies, turrets, cornices, and gables with all manner of adorable details.

This is the Oak Bluffs neighborhood – formerly campgrounds for Methodist church group retreats, the houses themselves were built in the mid-1800s by members of the church community and to this day surround a open-sided wrought iron tabernacle that seats thousands.

Color abounds here, as do themed embellishments like balcony cut-outs shaped like everything from gingerbread men to grapes to Martha’s Vineyard itself. And the houses, of course, wear their colors and cut-outs with pride, sporting names like Sea Shrimp Cottage and Big Enuf.

The one downside to all the tooth-melting sweetness you’ll find in Martha’s Vineyard is that the gingerbread cottages are often (though not always) extremely close together. I’m talking about distances like six inches between exterior walls – you might as well be living in a townhouse.

Photos via: 1, 2, 3

Need a bitty rug for your house or apartment? You could definitely do worse than these 3′x5′ area rugs from Urban Outfitters – especially since they are lurking in the clearance section for a mere $19 each.

How about a woven cotton rug in a gingham stripe design with a playful fringe at either end?

Or, my favorite, a pretty sweet flower print low-profile cotton rug in a dreamy chartreuse?

Finally, for the mod squad out there, how about an eye-catching, free-form agate-inspired rug with tonal stitched edging? Also in cotton, in case you hadn’t guessed.

The only downside to these rugs is that the pattern is printed on, not woven in. But at $19 that’s not much to complain about, and a wee rug like this can easily live on in usefulness as an entryway rug or pet bed when you tire of the pattern.