Today I’m loving the idea of painted silverware as easy DIY decor in the kitchen or dining room or wherever. Because sure, it’s a little hokey, but it certainly fits in with the themes of cooking, eating, and drinking. If you have blank walls in the food prep or food consumption zones of your home, you could do worse. Or not – what do you think of these?

Pretty pastels spoonage via suburban bohemia

Adore the color combo chosen by Crap I've Made

No time to DIY; find these at Ladies and Gentleman Studio

A fun flatware display from The Starter Home (with step-by-step instructions)

28 Camera Drawings by Christine Berrie

Cute vintage 35mm Kodak Film canisters

Camera coasters from Etsy's mediumcontrol

Cameras themselves, as art

Or the image of cameras and camera accessories as art

Salt and pepper shakers from Chiado Design - possible DIY?

I can’t even remember the last time I bought a roll of film, can you? Have you ever used a film camera or is digital all you’ve ever known? (Goodness, even asking that question makes me feel ancient.)

P.S. – Darlings, did you know Manolo for the Home is on Facebook? Like it!

Birds as decor… what do you think? I’m not suggesting that anyone go out and go crazy with avian accessories. Collections, especially those centered around animals, can sometimes diminish the value of the items within it. Instead of being the person with the wonderful collection of curious, you become the Bird Lady. That woman with all those birds. That’s not where I, personally, want to be, and my guess is you don’t want to be the Bird Lady, either. So buy a bird or two in cushion form or a wee adorable figurine, but don’t go overboard with the bird decor (as opposed to decor for birds) lest you find yourself pigeonholed for life.

A beautiful handmade rocking bird from BODIE and FOU

A birdcage cushion from Rose and Grey

A unique decorative birdcage photographed by Tamar

Snow Bird shelves by Marisko Studios

Barn swallow cutouts by Hammerpress

A lovely bird duvet cover

Bird plates from Areaware

I have five cats and one kid, which means slipcovers are non-negotiable in my household. However, I’ve been led to believe that some people slipcover for the fun of it, perhaps to refresh older furniture or to make decor updates on the cheap. For not exactly cheap, but possibly less than the cost of a new armchair, you can get a hand knit slipcover for your favorite armchair that will make it every bit as cozy as that old favorite sweater of yours that is now only appropriate for use inside the house.

Cozy. But a crumb magnet.

These hand knit slipcovers for armchairs and cushions and ottomans (and lamps) wouldn’t work for me, I’m afraid, since my slipcover use is intended to make my furniture less of a cat hair/stain magnet. But if you can’t get enough of all things knit and want to make your furniture more difficult to keep crumb free, then BiscuitScout‘s hand knit slipcovers may be just what you’re looking for.

While the whole look isn’t my cup of tea, I can certainly see the appeal. What do you think? Too gimmicky? Or who cares, so long as it’s comfy?

Who couldn’t use a little more Zen in their lives? Buddha is here to help, thanks to factories and print shops all around the world churning them out like crazy. You may not be able to find Zen in the short term, but Buddha? No problemo, samanen.

Beautiful silk Buddha pillows from Zen & Bhakti and ARTE ETRA

DIY Buddha busts from Pudel Design

(more…)

Designer Bjørn Jørund Blikstad’s unusual bookshelves, known as Imeüble, fool the eye and bend the mind. At least from far away. As optical illusions go, at least these colorful and weird bookshelves serve as storage, as well as acting as art. Blikstad’s creation appears to be 2D from far off – and even in the pictures, my brain is trying to tell me two things at once – but Imeüble exists squarely in the 3D realm.

But it’s all smoke and shadows – every nook is capable of holding books and plants and whatever else needs storing.

Every square is a shelf!

And yet my brain says Q*Bert

This project is apparently Blikstad’s attempt to understand the concept of storage by “looking at it, not as a practical issue involving the storage of known objects, but in sync with our memory; comparing the mental storage capacity with the actual.”

I don’t know if I get all that from it, but still. Very cool, no?

I am so loving these amazing dinosaur planters from Plaid Pigeon… they’re made of repurposed dinosaur toys, hand painted and sealed (complete with drainage holes), and the succulents inside are hardy enough to survive life with everyone from the green thumb set to the black thumb set.

If these came to live at my house...

both the cats and my darling daughter...

would go absolutely out of their minds!

If there’s one person out there designing furniture using all of my favorite things, it’s British textile designer Zoe Murphy. Her repurposed mid-century modern furniture pieces and printed vintage textiles are just a treat for the eye! She applies prints she draws of her home town and gorgeous patterns, along with happy colors, in unexpected ways. At least I find her furniture designs unexpected!

Zoe Murphy is my new favorite person

Get a load of those colors...

She even makes art, suqeeee!

Did I mention she makes art for walls, too? Murphy keeps a blog if you want to see what she’s up to these days!