House Industries: Artist Proof vol. 2

For those graphically inclined, I just got my copy of the latest catalog from House Industries, highlighting their Artist Series vol.2 of stock images. This latest collection includes some great vintage inspired patterns, textures, and backgrounds. I love the rich groovy jewel tone colors they have on the front cover, and all the bronze metallic accents they put in. Also interesting is all the collaborative project/merchandise pieces they have throughout the catalog that are for sale. There are a ton more that are not featured on the site, but are showcased in the catalog.
Click over to their site- tons of pretty color and pattern inspiration...

Corn Zipper

I love corn. I used to love doing the whole "typewriter" thing when eating corn on the cob as a kid... (ok, I still do...) But as I've gotten older (no comments from the peanut gallery) I've found that the whole picking corn out of your teeth thing started to get kinda cumbersome. Then I saw somewhere people would cut the corn off the cob with a knife and then eat the pile with a fok, which seemed so much more... civilized? Anyway- now I see this handy gadget (via Outblush) and ... MUST... HAVE!! Any of you use one of these? Do they work?

Treestitch Design

I just posted this on IKW, but for any of you Paul Frank fans, click here for more...

Blue Munday: Graphic Blues pillows

Happy Munday! Summer is in full effect here, and I'm yearning for poolside lounging. I love this graphic pillow that totally sets the tone with it's retro-inspired wavy stripes.

WYWO 2.4 the finale

So FINALLY, here is the end result of my parentals family room redo. Pictured above is the before (here's the link to an explanation)....And here is the after.(Here is link one, two, and three for refresher.) Now, it's not a major overhaul, but at least it feels more cozy, and definitely has more color. As I mentioned, I couldn't really move the furniture placement, and I was forced to keep the TV where it was due to the cable box location. Since I had only really had one weekend to complete this, the biggest thing I did was move the piano out (that sucked. I highly recommend hiring a professional!), and replaced it with more shelving/storage. I also added some paint to the walls for contrast. The artwork above the black bookcases really tied everything together for me, after using the pillow as initial color inspiration. The parentals were happy though, so I guess it's all good.
In case any of you were wondering, here's how I made the branch artwork above the wall. I simply took an old branch, hot glued some wooden "biscuits" that came in a prepack at the craft store... I actually was contemplating leaving it just natural, but the room called for it to be painted darker- so I spray painted it with a mixture of three metallic spray paints, a dark bronze, a shiny gold, and a medium matte- gold. I then sprayed/misted a little black on it to "age" it a little. I mounted it to the wall by placing some strategically placed nails under certain branches. It's so light that it held up fine. For the rest of the stuff, I got most of the accessories from Target (the two matching lamps were a major steal- Victoria Hagen lamps on clearance for $15 each!) or HomeGoods, and as mentioned, the big pieces from IKEA.

It's been an interesting exercise doing this room, since this is the room my parents use the most. Here, there were many instances where I had to make a conscious choice to not get something I may have put in my own home, because I knew my parents might not necessarily share the same sentiment...or "get it." Anyways, I guess that's all part of the drill when you design a space for someone else. Next up, I've been asked to attack the master bedroom or the downstairs guestroom. Stay tuned...

light blue folder mood board

If any of you have been following the MoodBoard Contest over at Decor8, you may have noticed yesterday's entry by Starlee Matz. I just love how she used a file folder as the ground for her mood board, and I love the idea that you could just fold it up and stick it in your filing cabinet for easy storage and future reference. (Although, I suppose any 3-D elements might be a problem... oh well, you could always scan/photograph them) I suppose this is similar to how doctors compile their info in those big folders, but I just never really thought about using it for something more creative. Anyways- She did a great job and I love the colorstory. Have any of you used a file folder for a moodboard?

Tejo Remy's playground fence seating

I've posted about lace fencing, but here's another fence from Tejo Remy that takes the fence and adds an additional function- seating! (via Inhabitat)

Bulletin board inside cupboard

I've always been one of those people that likes to put stuff on their refrigerator. Lots of magnets and fun things. I love moodboards and bulletin boards and love having things that inspire me around. However, I can see that it doesn't always make the "neatest" impression, and in a small space, the more you can hide visual clutter, the larger it looks. My kitchen is pretty small, and as mentioned, I had my tchotchke's and random clippings on the fridge. Recently, I had the honor of having part of my kitchen photographed (more on that later) and during the photoshoot, I was really bothered by seeing all that "stuff" on the fridge. So I removed it, but then never put them back up. I really enjoyed the cleaner appearance, but still struggled as to where I would put up my little happy notes and stuff. Well, that has all changed now that I saw this idea in the July 2007 Living Etc. I absolutely love this idea of utilizing the INSIDE of your cupboards to tack up things. Every time you open up the cupboard, you'll get a nice visual surprise and when you're done, it goes out of sight! I'm totally going to do this. I'm just wondering if I should maybe put a thin layer of cork, or just tape it like they have in the picture (I'm thinking I'm going to opt for the simple "just tape it" solution.) Has anyone else done this? Does anyone like to keep stuff on the fridge? or nothing at all?

Blue tuesday: Bold bright color

Hello! Nothing like a big jolt of bright bold color to awaken your senses. Behold the July 2007 cover of House&Garden magazine. As much as I love color, (and obviously blue) I'm not sure I could have my whole house this vivid. I'm also not so sure about the photo real artwork above the couch- but otherwise, the colors do make me happy. And apparently, it also makes the homeowners happy- and that's all that really matters right? I do also enjoy the little details that designers William Diamond and Anthony Baratta used throughout the house, such as the alligator pillow and the argyle carpet. Also love the fabric selections spread that the magazine showed right after that story. What do you think?

Box furniture

I love these witty "box" seats designed by Pieter Jamart for Sixinch. They look like "fragile" cardboard boxes, but they're obviously not. I'm not sure what they're really made out of, but clever nonetheless...

Coin Counting Money Jar

I totally want this. It borders on being one of those "why didn't I think of that?!" things... Could be a fun father's day gift? (via Redhotshop@Target)

Scottsdale: the Sugar Bowl

Happy friday folks!!- So more on my Scottsdale adventure... first, let me say that in addition to the cupcake addiction I have, the other thing that has me utterly powerless is ice cream. So, of course, what do I pass by while walking along the streets of downtown/oldtown Scottsdale? The Sugar Bowl.The Sugar Bowl is total old skool classic soda fountain/ice cream parlor. Family Circus comic illustrator Bill Keane counts it as a local favorite and even has included it in several of his comics. The decor looks like it hasn't really been touched and I completely fell in love with the charm. The menu and napkins are fantastic. I ordered the "Gosh-Awful-gooey banana split". YUMMMMEEEEEEE...... enjoy your weekend!

painted trees?

One odd thing (maybe just odd to me, I guess) while driving through Scottsdale, was that I saw a bunch of trees throughout all the neighborhoods that were painted white from the bottom up. It actually looks kinda neat, but I'm assuming there's a more practical reason for it? Perhaps to prevent some sort of damage from bugs or disease or something? Can anyone clue me in?

Ice Breakers "Center" gum

I like this funny green guy illustration. Gum's not bad either.

Hotel Valley Ho

So, as I mentioned earlier, I spent this past weekend in Scottsdale, AZ. I stayed at the fabulous Hotel Valley Ho, and had a great time. The hotel really did a stellar job of blending retro styling with a modern aesthetic. Everything was new, but they kept a lot of the integrity of the original, by keeping much of the original color scheme and preserving a lot of the architectural details, such as the cast concrete tiling that is throughout the hotel. The journey to the room was fun as you passed through an additional outdoor seating area. It acted as a great meeting/waiting place if you had other friends staying at the hotel. The hallways were carpeted with fun accent circles. What I loved best was the thought they put into the room. I already mentioned the bathroom, but the other nice feature was the long extended table that acted as vanity and desk. It's so nice to come into a room and have a big area to plop your stuff down on. I'll be posting some more of the fun things I saw in Scottsdale, but here's a link to my flickr page of more shots of the hotel.

Mark Luthringer

I am so thrilled to have come across the work of photographer Mark Luthringer, via the Dwell blog. He is having an exhibit right now in San Francisco at 3A Architecture entitled "Ridgemont Typologies." The images, or rather series of images, he is showing in this collection, I personally find both compelling and somewhat comforting at the same time. A little digging at his website and I found more amazing images- I also really love his "40 monuments to progress" series and "Latent" book. Also worth noting is he includes an artist statement on each group, definitely worth checking out!
Image from MarthLuthringer.com

blue munday: mood lighting

I'm still in Arizona, and will be travelling monday back home. While here, I've seen lots of great things, and am impressed at how much modern there is in this desert town. Originally, I was debating on staying at the new Mondrian, or the more retro Hotel Valley Ho. I opted for the Valley Ho, and really glad I did. The place is a lot of fun and they did such a great job of mixing old and new. One of my favorite things is the bathroom. I've posted about mood lighting before, and when I opened up the bathroom door at the Hotel Valley Ho, there was this curious label above the light switch. There was the word "MOOD". I flipped the switch and was pleasantly surprised that there was a cool blue light above the tub!They also used a really great turquoise/teal color on on the accent wall .
It was really visually refreshing and such great color inspiration for the summer...

56 new spot colors!

oooh... pretty... Pantone has just released 56 new spot colors. As a design geek, this excites me. Check out the fun animation at their website.

The white zone is for loading and unloading

I'm going to be travelling a bit today, so my posting will be a little weird- however, I should be interweb-connect-able, so hopefully I can post a bit over the weekend. Heading off to Scottsdale/Phoenix, so thank you to those that emailed and left suggestions- will definitely keep you posted! In the meantime, Bloomingdales recently opened a brand spankin' new fabulous store here in OC, at South Coast Plaza. The space is quite impressive, and for the grand opening, they sent out these really nice invitations. I really liked the graphics on them, and they co-ordinate with the shopping bags too (uh... not that I bought anything already... um.... yeah...). I love the crazy overlapping semi-clashing patterns and the silhouette. Great colors too. Did anyone else get one of these? I'm wondering if it's just their standard grand-opening graphic or if it was special to South Coast Plaza.