Jonathan Adler Palm Beach in Met home

Speaking of Happy Chic, J.A.'s Palm Beach home is on the cover of the November 2008 Met home. We've seen glimpses of this home in other mags, but twist my arm, I'll look at it again! So much fun and so much to love!... See the whole thing here.

blue munday: blue carpets

Feels like I haven't featured a "blue munday" in awhile- so... no time like the present! I just spotted this fun room from Point Click home's website (via AT:SF today). It's from Andrew Beers from Portland, one of the entrants in their Happy Chic home contest they held over the summer. I love love love the bright blue carpet tiles! It brings to mind another place I saw recently that had a bold blue carpet, the lounge at the Ivy Hotel in Sydney.Having it wall to wall, while totally fabulous, could become a bit much after awhile, so I appreciate Andrew's version- a bit more manageable, but still has a ton of impact!
(Ivy image from Vogue Living Australia May/June 2008)

crystal ice pillows at west elm

Totally digging the faceted design of these "crystal ice" pillows- love the color combos, but really really love the "putty" and soft blue colorways- available here.

handmade nation opening

totally looking forward to seeing this movie! (via dinosaurs and robots)

hello benjamin

mixing it up on the wall

I love the October 2008 cover of British Elle Decoration. Actually, I love the whole house that is featured. It's the home of Kate Hume's, in Amsterdam. The headline for the editorial is perfect: "quirky glamour."- I love all the limes/ochres/yellows paired with black and white, with little hits of turquoise.What really strikes me about the cover is the fact that she put a black cabinet on the middle of the wall, thus creating two spaces for separate art configurations. It adds such an unexpected architectural element. It breaks up the wide wall, yet the whole thing still feels very cohesive. I think it helps that she kept the colors very tight. It blends in nicely with the other art pieces.In her kitchen, I love the color of the cabinets and the tile half wall that is opposite of it. I especially am drawn to the collection of turquoise colored pottery above. Beautiful house tour and I'm totally inspired...

tgif mix tape

A friend emailed me about this whole mixwit thing awhile back, and I recently saw it again on Beachbungalow 8's blog- I got all excited and figured I need to try it myself! So... Happy Friday! get up and do a happy dance!

It's the gray pumpkin Charlie Brown!

So last year I was totally smitten with these gray pumpkins I saw in a store in Laguna. I had never seen gray pumpkins before and was fascinated by their beauty. Fast forward to this year and I knew that I must have one to cherish for my own. I stopped by Roger's Gardens (there's always something beautiful to see there) and lo and behold- the had a gray pumpkin bonanza! When I was a kid, my parents would take me to the pumpkin patch. (Halloween was a big deal to me) I totally had childhood flashbacks as I inspected each pumpkin looking for just the right size, shape, and finally picked one. I also snatched up a few little white mini pumpkins and one ochre colored little spooky looking gourd. I was thinking maybe I could create a little modern fall centerpiece for my dining table. here's how it turned out...It will be a nice transition before I bust out the holiday decorations from last year... are any of you adding any fall decor into your home?

skull and funny bones by flor

I'm sure this will be all over the blogsphere, but Flor recently came out with this Skull pattern and "funny bones" rug. I'm not totally sure how I feel about the scale of the pattern, but I LOVE that they even went there! More here and here.

Speaking of Charlie Brown...

Today in 1950, Charles Schulz's Peanuts was first published.

butterfly chandelier

I saw this butterfly chandelier/mobile at Pottery Barn Kids the other day. It was so pretty and uplifting. Even though it was for kids, I could see this working in an adult setting as well, perhaps above a dining table. Could be a fantastic decorating idea for a party too- (the holidays are coming up!) I think if you felt crafty enough, you could easily DIY this, maybe with different shaped elements thrown in, or different papers... but if not, you can get it here.

wunder toy pantonino

"wunder toy pantino" by Boletus

To Each his Home

I know we all love looking at modern home magazines and books. However, often times things can start to look the same, or at least- you start to notice the similar trends- the same pieces, etc... It's all good and all, but it gets me extra excited when I come across rooms that are completely original and full with the owner's point of view. There's a new book out called "To Each His Home- Inspired Interiors as unique as their owners." Written by Bilyana Dimitrova, it's a refreshingly fun book that highlights eight homes that "unabashedly express the personalities of their free-spirited owners." I always admire people that have no fear and make their home... theirs. I was most intrigued with the home of Lenny Weiner. It kind of reminds me of that house in Great Expectations, where everything was covered in cobwebs... except this place is full of life and greenery. But it's almost like the houseplants have taken over! All the homes in this book are full of colors, stories and life. Some are kooky, some kinda creepy, (and some border on just plain scary!)- Even if everything isn't to your taste, you can take inspiration in their creativity. The fact that these people have been able to transform four walls, surround themselves with things they love, and make it into their ideal vision of "home", I think deserves kudos- (I'm available to be invited to the dinner party anytime!)

mundays.

i'm having one of those mornings...

 

by Jenny Holzer

Feelin' Green... (well, olive)

The October 2008 issue of Metropolitan Home has got me feelin' olive right now. Olive is such a great and sort of unexpected neutral that seems to work with almost everything. It tones down combos that may be a bit too bright, warms up areas that might be a little cold, and right now, it's perfect for fall! I love how the olive touches in the cover feature home, (by designer Shamir Shah), really make the spaces. In the cover shot, those olive pillows add just the right amount of unexpected pop (and I love that they added the turquoise asterisk on the bottom left- which could easily be translated into a vase or something...) Also, in the bedroom, the muted olivey colored nightstand/dresser keeps the whole space from feeling to boring/neutral. Paired with the white, just makes everything feel really fresh. I also love how it looks paired with blue, as shown in this Atlanta home, also in the October issue. Over at Crate & Barrel, they have these beautiful vases in the olive-y family, as well as these two great textured pillows (here and here- although this velvet one is pretty snazzy too). Hm... may just need to add more olive into my home's diet...

TGIF huge video break: fabulous, sexy and mysterious

It's friday! woo hoo! why not have a fabulous, sexy and mysterious weekend... (of course, all while smelling amazing...)

Rachel Perry Welty

This morning, I was going to cut up my yummy fuji apple and I had to stop and peel off the sticker. It reminded me of this article I read in the recent Readymade Mag on artist Rachel Perry Welty. They featured this piece called "Fruit Bowl IV." It's composed of tons of little fruit stickers that Welty "cuts, twists, and tapes into highly detailed collages..."- It's pretty amazing to look at. A little googling found a few other pieces. I love these doodled on take-out containers! more here. (via Readymade)

I need confirmation!

I need confirmation! Ok, so I have a small confession (again). I've kinda been addicted to facebook lately. I started out as a myspace-r, but some of my friends sucked me in, and now... fully addicted. I put up Happy Mundane as a blog but I need to be "confirmed"- so... if you're a facebook-er- let's be friends! and confirm Happy Mundane!

Carved Animal bookends

These carved animal bookends from Roost would make a fun addition to any bookcase. Totally reminds me of something you'd see at Mr. Toads Wild Ride!

(My favorites are the rabbit, squirrel, and beaver) I'm thinking they might also look amazing painted in a bright glossy color, though the natural wood is quite charming... Available at Velocity

Snow & Graham 2009 calendar

Beautiful letterpress calendar from Snow & Graham at Delight.com!

More here.