via pierstaylor
Home sick and I'm spending most of the day making a dent in the couch and pinning every possible thing on pinterest. I spied this renovated farm and decided I would like to be teleported to this time and place. The Bertoia chairs and poppies are especially amazing.
I spend a lot of time thinking about publishing on mobile phones and tablets and have downloaded and played with many apps that shovel print content to the tablet format. Most magazine to digital apps haven't been that thrilling. Zinio was one that didn't excite me all that much. I mean, who really prefers swiping a smudgy iPad screen to flipping through glossy pages?
That boredom turned around when I noticed they also sell subscriptions to non-US magazines. I used to occasionally treat myself to UK-based Living Etc but at $10 or so an issue it was a rare pleasure. And at $100+ for a print subscription it just wasn't going to happen. On Zinio I can subscribe for 32 bucks and change! There's no long wait for the printed mag to fly over the Atlantic to your home, and, you don't have to buy into the Apple hype machine and get an iPad -- you can read publications on zinio's apps for iOS, Android and your desktop.
Here are a couple pages from my favorite story in the August 2011 issue. They are from a lovely townhouse in London. I will eternally be a favorite of the combination of old architecture and white walls with modern decor. Sure I'd prefer to rip these pages out of a magazine and pin them to an inspiration board, but I'm no purist -- a screenshot and pinterest will do.
Yeah, this sounds like an ad, but it isn't. I just love the magazines this app gives me access to and wanted to share it.
I've been prattling on about my office for a bit now, but thought I'd explain why this project is next on my list.
I recently had an e-consulting session with Erin Loechner of Design for Mankind. My goal was to figure out a way to get out of a rut. It worked, but not in the way I originally planned. The rut I thought I wanted to get out of isn't the problem. What I really need to do is work on projects that let me get back in touch with my creative side.
Working from the kitchen table or the wee laptop desk in the TV room isn't cutting it. And I really need to get my books and other things unpacked and at hand.
My job this week, is to empty the room of all of the crap important stuff you see pictured above and prep the walls. I also have the lofty ambition of getting some paint on the ceiling and walls this weekend. This will probably be my last post about this room until I've made some progress. For a sneak peek at what will be going back in the room you can keep an eye on my home office and studio board on pinterest.
One of my schemes for my office involves a large expanse of bulletin board. Of course I'll use the space to pin up images and other things that inspire me or just strike my fancy, but I also want to use it to organize my ideas.
The Walt Disney Studio is created with coming up with the idea of storyboards. They pinned up drawings, moved them around and discarded ones that weren't cutting it to help develop the storylines for their films.
I'm no Walt, but I have ideas and I'm finding that saving notes and clippings on my computer isn't the best way for me to refine them. So, when I get my office together I'm going to have a space to pin my ideas on the wall, sort them out and make them happen!
via homedesign.marthastewart.com
I love the wall of bulletin boards that lines Kevin Sharkey's office at Martha Stewart Living OMNIMEDIA. I plan to do something like this, but on a smaller scale for my smaller space. Homasote - here I come!
UPDATE: Another fabric-covered homasote inspiration board by From the Right Bank
My life has been much too busy to do much of anything inside my house, so instead I'm dreaming of future plans for the exterior. A fence is high on my list. I like my neighbors, but I'd love some privacy from the neighborhood kids who use my yard as a thoroughfare from the convenience store to get up to whatever shenanigans they get up to in a nearby park.
I'd also like to have a wee fence along one side of my front yard where my neighbors have a rickety wire fence to pen in their collection of corgis. As per usual, the standard fencing you see at the big box stores doesn't appeal to me. Morgan from The Brick House with the beautiful slat wall pictured above has some great ideas (as always) for a similarly awkward run of fence. She was inspired by Minneapolis landscape designers RO/LU, who I would hire in a second if I had the cash. Visit her post to see her ideas in their full SketchUp glory.
And to keep it all in context, here's the style of fence I'm thinking of for my eventual backyard landscaping extravaganza.
What do you think?
via kerfdesign.com
When I'm living in my "forever" home I'm hoping that I can use Kerf Design to build my kitchen cabinets. Here's a lovely kitchen they did in a Seattle home that is now for sale.
Photos like this make me long for a different climate and a big bank account.
As you may have noticed, I've not made a success of Wallpaper Wednesday. Instead, I'm going to call it wallpaper whenever so I'm not tied down to a particular schedule.
I've had Turner Pocock's Tennis wallpaper (can't link directly to it because it's a horrible flash site) saved into my clippings for quite some time. It's not a paper I'm likely to use, but I love the print and the green and yellow colorway is fresh and fun. They also have a cricket version if you are so inclined. I snagged the image above from Apartment Therapy's US Open Warm-Up. The tournament starts next week and all I have to say is VAMOS Rafa!
The big wallpaper news this week (at least in the blog world) is the launch of the Oh Joy! collection for Hygge & West.Hygge & West has been famous for offering Ferm LIVING's wallpaper, as well as work by daydream wallpaper designer Julia Rothman.
The Oh Joy! wallpaper collaboration with designer Joy D. Cho features neutrals and touches of metallic. The collection, though somewhat girly, would work with a lot of interior design styles. There's been a fair amount of chatter about this wallpaper collection so I'm looking forward to seeing an avalanche of photos of people using it in their homes.
This week's roundup of wallpaper links:
Yeah it's Thursday, but life got in the way of posting Wallpaper Wednesday on its rightful day. Sorry about that!
I saw this lovely wallpapered hall on two of my favorite blogs: From the Right Bank and Door 16. The photograph is from an amazing home redesigned by architecture firm envelopeA+D.
Lately, I've really been enjoying the combination of modern design elements like this abstract wallpaper, art and Eames Hang-It-All paired up with vintage or antique elements like the moldings and textured wainscot.
The wallpaper here is a lot of fun. It sort of reminds me of Tron or the video games I used to play on my colecovision when I was a kid. Anna from Door 16 ID'ed it as Julia Rothman's Pieces Wallpaper.
It definitely looks like the same paper, but in a different colorway. I think I might have a sample of the version shown in the hallway stashed away somewhere. I was thinking it might be fun to use on the ceiling of my living room, but less flashy heads prevailed and it's in the process of being painted a nice light grey. This silver version of the wallpaper still calls to me though. Perhaps I'll find somewhere to use it one of these years.
Update! La Résidence! pointed out in the comments that the wallpaper is actually Angles by Erica Walkerly. A new angular foil paper for me to obsess over is always welcome.
Would you ever use a foil wallpaper like this or are you more of a floral person - or perhaps you're so bitter that you'll never paper a wall again? I'm curious because I'm stuck in between wanting to paper everything and thinking it's a terrible, rotten no good idea.
Here's a round-up of wallpaper-related links I found during recent blog wanderings:
Like most bloggers who are at least somewhat interested in interior design, I clicked and scrolled through the new issue of Lonny that was posted sometime in the wee hours of the morning.
I wouldn't have expected that the photos from Cath Kidston's home would include most of my favorites, but this shot of her garden sends me. This one is going in my archive of inspiration images for my back yard.
I also LOVED the paint she used in her living room (Benjamin Moore Bull's Eye Red) and the juxtaposition of abstract art, bright colors and traditional architectural details and furnishings.
I had to include this shot of her Disney-bedecked fireplace.I'm a Disney fan, but I'm not one to display Mickey throughout my house. That said, this shot made me smile.The contrast between the serious architecture and the cartoon print is a lot of fun even though I wouldn't put it up in my home.
The other layout I really liked was inspired by Lauren Moffat's collection. Mostly because I absolutely, positively have to get that cape! It would be perfect for fall in Minnesota (crossing my fingers that we'll get a proper autumn this year).
Did you have any favorites from this issue of Lonny?
via www.sproost.com
The Sproost find your style tool has been around for awhile, but I figured I'd give it another go and see if my results had shifted at all in the 7 months(!) that I've now been a homeowner.
I'm not surprised to find out though that I'm still pegged as 100% Vintage Modern. Here's how they describe it.
Vintage Modern
Flea Market anyone? You know you are drawn to modern furniture and interiors, and yet you really don't like a space that feels cold and sterile. And who could blame you? And that's why Vintage Modern is so appealing to you. Though the backdrop of the room, the walls and windows, are many times white or monochromatic, the furniture and accessories have the color, shape and texture to bring the warmth into the space. The great thing about Vintage Modern is ease of mixing different styles in the one space. You can have a new modular sofa mixed with a great pair of chairs that your grandmother purchased in the late 1950's and the new and old work appear as though they were destined for each other. What's great is that even if you don't have time for swap meets and garage sales, so many of the pieces from the mid-century were so great that they have been remade and mimicked year after year.Materials
The other great thing about Vintage Modern is how low maintenance it can be — fabrics such as cotton, microfiber or ultra-suede and leather all look great and function even better. So whether you are having a cocktail party with friends, or kids are in the picture, the room and the furnishings can handle it. Because the style harkens back to the early twentieth century, the innovative developed during that time are very popular: acrylic, plastic and fiberglass, chrome and steel, and molded plywood. Concrete floors, countertops and furniture are also very popular and lacquered finishes are very common.Colors
When it comes to color, walls are seen as backdrops for the room. Neutral tones of gray, white, beige and brown are very common and black is a common accent color. Pops of color on the art, furniture and accessories can vary dramatically based on the person, however very common colors are teal blues, army greens and yellow as well as deep oranges and bright reds.
Yup. Pretty much sums me up. What style did you get when you took the quiz?
This isn't a DESIGN blog. It's a chronicle of my adventures in fixing up and decorating my first home -- a circa 1953 rambler.
