I had the incredible opportunity to hang out at the HGTV Dream Home in Sonoma, Calif., at the big load-in day when all the furniture arrived and let me tell you, it was exciting!
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ShareI had the incredible opportunity to hang out at the HGTV Dream Home in Sonoma, Calif., at the big load-in day when all the furniture arrived and let me tell you, it was exciting!
ShareEver since The Inconvenient Truth hit mainstream America, there’s been a huge push to change to compact fluorescent light bulbs, recycle, recycle, recycle and of course, to stop using plastic bags. Several companies are taking our responsibility for the earth to a very stylish level, providing reusable bags with unique designs. If you haven’t taken the plastic bag challenge yet, then hopefully these chic options will be just the inspiration you need. Plus, think about how much cuter you’re going to look walking out of the store.
NYC Built’s Market Totes are perfect for when you just need to run in and grab a few things.
B. HappyBags’ totes are so cute; they could double as a purse or a bookbag.
Reisenthel’s carrybag not only helps save the earth, but you can use it throughout the entire store to do your shopping.
Start your kiddies on the early green path with these adorable, kid-inspired options from Envirosax.
ShareOkay, I’ll admit it. I’m obsessed with bathrooms. More specifically, I’m obsessed with sinks. Whether touring a friend’s new home, staying in a boutique hotel, or even browsing this site’s ideas, I make a b-line for the bathroom to eyeball the goods.
An odd fixation maybe, but if you saw my minuscule bathroom and my pathetic sink, you’d understand. Actually, I can’t even call it a “sink.” It’s a mini-sink: a 10 by 10-inch basin attached to a wall. No countertop or vanity, just an equally small medicine cabinet above. Don’t even get me started on the salmon color! (I’ll spare you the picture.)
This week, my sink envy went into overdrive when I saw this beauty from eco-architect Michelle Kaufmann:
Made from recycled porcelain (material otherwise bound for landfills) and concrete, the mkPURE sink is too chic for words. How it melds into the countertop area is just magic. It looks like it’d be simple to clean, too. With a $1,950-plus price tag, this sink is a little rich for my blood (and probably my landlord’s), but it definitely gets a spot on my dream home wish list.
A structural or atypical sink can be such a centerpiece in the bathroom. Sure, your toothbrush holder or cosmetic case might mar its grandeur, but hey, that’s what cabinets are for — hide the realities! We spend a lot of time in the bathroom so why not surrounds ourselves with some design stars?
But surely, I’m preaching to the choir. Here are some other eco-lovelies I’ve been eyeballing lately:
Signature Erosion Sink by Gore Design Co.
Of course, my tiny bathroom might benefit from this creative solution:
What sinks, conventional and creative, have you been lusting after lately?
ShareI’m always drawn to the unusual and offbeat in the gardening world, so Halloween presents the perfect opportunity to highlight any spookiness in the garden. Of course I’ll have the usual orange, relatively round pumpkins on our deck and scary gargoyles tucked into the potted cuphea, but I also love the looks of the slightly-less-ordinary, like this peanut pumpkin:
Decaisnea fargesii is sort of creepy — the clusters of twisted blue bean pods give the plant its common name, dead man’s fingers. The bat plant doesn’t bloom in October, but it’s the perfect (though sometimes temperamental) conversation piece in the summer:
Black foliage (actually, very dark purple or brown) is pretty easy to find in the plant world. During the growing season black mondo grass and other dark plants serve as a perfect foil for the many types of chartreuse shrubs and annuals.
Plants like Sedum Dragon’s Blood don’t look all that scary, but a name tag may do the trick. It’s all about suggestion: Only at this time of year can I look at crested celosia, and think, wow that looks a brain:
Read more about Creepy Halloween Gardens then tell us what’s spooky about your yard. We’d love to see pictures, too: upload them at Rate My Space.
ShareI’ve been thinking a lot about decorating bedrooms lately, this time for my son.
When we were buying bedding for the crib, we settled on Dwell Baby. We got the motif crib set and have been very pleased with its kid- and adult-friendly colors and patterns:
For a more traditional but still-stylish approach (think toile and sweet ginghams) I like Whistle and Wink, which I found through the excellent baby style blog Droolicious.
Now that our crib is in order, I’m coveting blankets for the winter from Huckleberry Friends.
I think this one has my son’s name on it:
Got any tips for decorating nurseries? Share them below or post your baby-room pictures at Rate My Space.
ShareThere are still two months left in 2008, but I’ve already started to drool over the 2009 calendars. With so many cute options out there, I admit I’m going to have trouble just buying one.
Here are my favorites so far:
Fun and modern, pspapergood’s calendar is going to add a splash of color to my desk next year.
Typography fan? OrangeBeautiful’s calendar features some of the all-time favorites.
This calendar is perfect for the kid in you. It’s a poster-sized calendar with a bubble to pop every day.
Sugarpaper’s letterpress calendar is the most elegant of the bunch. It even comes with its own silver easel.
With its whimsical drawings, behappynow’s 2009 calendar has plenty of room for writing down your important events and notes.
Uncommon Goods’ Step Perpetual Calendar isn’t a 2009 calendar, but it looks really cool and will last forever.
What calendars have caught your eye for 2009? Share in the comments.
ShareAs a young renter in New York City, I don’t have a lot of freedom (or discretionary income or storage) to redesign my apartment every season. Instead, I flag pages in the latest Domino or bookmark Style Saves the World for my mental wishlist. But lately I’ve been living vicariously through my parents, who have leveled their old cookie-cutter rancher to create a custom dream home — hand-constructed and designed by them.
Being a green-leaning gal, I’m always sending my Mom links to the latest on reclaimed wood flooring, alternative backsplashes, or forward-thinking granite countertop alternatives. But when I saw these recycled glass curtains from Bedrock Industries, I fell in love:
The windows in my dark, ground-floor apartment wouldn’t do these structural “curtains” justice (or afford me much privacy), but my parents will have a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows in their great room — all looking out on the back 40 acres.
There are colorful, pop-arty curtains that might please the palette-pushing folks, but the simple white rectangles, both big and small, feel serene, and the striation adds some unique texture. As standalone screens, they might be a nice addition to other rooms and help carry the glass aesthetic throughout the house.
Needless to say, Mom just got the link. She’s an art glass fanatic already so I don’t think she’ll need much convincing.
Do you use — or reuse — glass in any interesting ways in your home? Any ideas to share with my mom?
ShareWhere does inspiration lie? I guess if you’re here, then you’re pretty much clued in that it can be anywhere.
I’ve been inspired to design rooms in my home around a business suit, the color palette on a bottle of conditioner, and, a couple of years ago, a retail store’s windows.
I currently live in what, decades ago, used to be a slaughterhouse. (Creepy, right? I can happily report that it’s not haunted — that I know of.) As a result, I’m lucky to have some pretty lofty ceilings. But with 15-foot ceilings comes a challenge: finding something to be a focal point in a room. Your average wall art runs the risk of getting lost in a sea of Sheetrock.
Perplexed with the task of finding something with positive impact that wouldn’t negatively impact my wallet, I took to the streets of Manhattan, a city whose stores, restaurants and hotels always seem to provide some amazing ideas.
Then I passed Anthropologie, a retail store that often has some pretty creative windows. It was there that I saw past the items on display and noticed the wall behind them. It was a beautiful combination of blues and creams, with just a hint of amber washed in here and there.
I knew then, that this was the look that I wanted in my living room. But how?
Canvasses that big can be expensive if they’re already stretched (hundreds of dollars, not to mention I’d never get it in my front door!), so I enlisted the help of my housemate Dennis, who used to work at a frame store, and was up for the task of making the biggest canvas support of his life. Then it was off to the hardware store to buy the wood, and the art supply store to buy a big piece of canvas.
The whole thing was put together right in my apartment, which yes, has high ceilings, but not a ton of square footage. The construction of the project crept into the living room, the kitchen and every surface that could collect sawdust.
I knew I’d never match the look of the store window perfectly (and no, I didn’t plan on putting the store name on the painting….I wasn’t going to be THAT literal!) but I knew the feeling I wanted to create.
Rather than pay the costly prices found on paint tubes from the art store, I went for latex wall paint at a nearby Home Depot and Lowes. With the help of Dennis, and even my mother, who was visiting for the weekend, we dabbed and blended away at the monstrous canvas. Everyone made a contribution to the final look. There was a pretty strong incentive to finish the piece…I couldn’t get it out of the apartment that easily!
I couldn’t be happier with the result.
Not only did I achieve the look I was hoping for, but it is also a reflection of the people close to me who rose to the challenge of doing something big and creative together. Still, when I look at the after photo I’ve posted here, I can’t help but want to edit out the little cube and plant, which are no longer there. Today, a long sofa sits in front of the piece.
If you have been inspired by a store window or hotel lobby — you name it — or if you’ve had a great time getting friends and family in on a design project, post a comment and share it!
ShareAs a Director of Original Programming for HGTV, I get to watch lots of my favorite shows every day of the week — after all, it’s part of my job! And yet, I still hem and haw about the spaces in my own home…and today’s dilemma is this: “To granite or not to granite — that is the question?”
I know one thing’s for sure — I hate my laminate countertops. They came with my house when I bought it three years ago…and they’re one of the few remaining eyesores that continue to haunt me every time I walk into my kitchen.
According to the shows Designed To Sell, Secrets That Sell and My House Is Worth What? — all shows that I manage — kitchens and baths sell homes. And you can’t go wrong with granite, manufactured quartz or any stone countertops that will appeal to the mainstream home buyer.
Personally, I LOVE concrete countertops, but in a city like Knoxville (where HGTV is based), that is just not a mainstream-enough type of surface. So instead, I’m opting for some sort of stone — still not sure which one…and haven’t committed to color just yet.
I’ve been checking out some cool sites for inspiration including this countertop guide, which offers a grid that helps you compare all sorts of countertop types based on your particular needs. I’m hoping you’ll find it as helpful as I did. I also loved watching the Kitchens & Baths 2008 special on HGTV (which re-airs on October 27 at 4/3c) to get even more state-of-the-art ideas.
If you LOVE or HATE your countertop options, please let me know…and if you have pictures, even better. I’d love to see them!
ShareA few weeks ago, I posted about decorating with gray and am excited to see that most of you share my love for the pewter neutral. A few of you asked where Candice found those amazing chairs, so I did a little research. They’re actually from her collection for Norwalk Furniture, and they have over a thousand fabric choices.
Pyper chair from Norwalk Furniture
Of course, I had to find a few other options for you, just in case you don’t have a Norwalk Furniture close by. Happy shopping!
Azure Chair from Crate and Barrel, Barclay Upholstered Chair from Restoration Hardware, Bradford Chair from Ballard Designs
Carlyle Chair from Williams Sonoma Home and Turquoise Leather Chair from Horchow
Do you have any other great chair finds you want to share? Post them in the comments.
Did you know you should rotate your rug 180 degrees every
Pick up this cool blue lantern ($45) for your next
Dip flat pencil erasers in a colorful ink pad and go
Cool pillow trick from an expert shared in #hgtvmagazine:
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