Design*Sponge

Your home for all things Design. Home Tours, DIY Project, City Guides, Shopping Guides, Before & Afters and much more

January, 2008

Thursday January 31st, 2008

before and after by Grace Bonney 44

before and after: mid-century hutch

seeing as last week’s before and after hutch was such a big hit i thought it was only right to share another fantastic hutch makeover from d*s reader and blogger kimberley. kimberley sanded and re-painted her hutch a sleek, glossy white and then filled it with all sorts of mid-century accessories (including one of the…

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before and after by Grace Bonney 18

before and after: dresser

cara and mark of sewbettie sent in this fantastic before and after dresser project. what was once a normal, fairly drab wooden dresser is now a clean sleek piece that blends effortlessly into their room. details: carla drilled holes into the dresser and added decorative knobs (below). she explained that “the dresser is really larger…

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before and after by Grace Bonney 9

before and after: SITE chairs

mackenzi farquer of the wonderful long island city store site sent in these fantastic before and after chairs. when she was opening her shop she found this set of old restaurant chairs that had great shape but were in “sad” condition. so mackenzi stripped them and painted them in oil paint for durability (“in just…

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furniture, kids, products by Grace Bonney 19

10grain

i don’t normally do a lot of kids and baby posting around here (i get the most angry emails when i do. mostly a lot of “don’t turn into a yuppy baby blog you jerk! we don’t all have kids!”) but i couldn’t resist posting some of these gorgeous pieces from eric pfeiffer’s 10 grain…

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guest blog by Grace Bonney 10

Etsy- the place to shop

today i wanted to post about the retail website that has taken the design world by storm since it launched in 2005. etsy is described as the place to buy and sell handmade items, and it seems anyone who’s anyone is opening a store. obviously the really big players are excluded as items must not…

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miscellaneous by Grace Bonney 9

perfectbound: tone on tone

julie and kathryn from perfectbound have such wonderful eyes for color. i’m still in awe over this fantastic turquoise composition they posted earlier this month. thankfully they’ll be guest blogging for d*s next month and bringing some more beautiful color to the site. click here to check out perfectbound.

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guest blog by Grace Bonney 3

Urban Outfitters – trend barometer

if there’s one website i like to check religiously its urban outfitters. now i know some people have called them urban counterfeiters, but recently they have been working with some great designers, such as the briliantly talented julia rothman. i like to keep up what urban outfitters think is cool and its a great reflection…

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Wednesday January 30th, 2008

diy, diy projects by the curiosity shoppe 86

diy wednesdays: laptop cozy

diy wednesdays: laptop cozy

Recently we’ve been on the hunt for a laptop sleeve. Nothing fancy, just a simple way to protect our MacBook on its journeys around town. The quickest, easiest, and cheapest solution we could come up with was to make a no-sew Maloo-esque “wrap” out of colored felt and Velcro dots. Now our little laptop is…

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diy, diy projects by Grace Bonney 24

diy project: retro cannisters

diy project: retro cannisters

derek and lauren‘s diy wednesday post is coming up at 2 today but i had to share this fantastic project sent in by d*s reader heather smith-prisco. inspired by a gorgeous set of vintage canisters she saw on modish, heather decided to make her own diy version. taking design cues from the canisters she saw…

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diy, diy projects by Grace Bonney 34

diy project: jewelry shadowbox

diy project: jewelry shadowbox

i’m the type of girl who has a real soft spot for earrings. bracelets and necklaces aren’t so much my thing but man can i collect some earrings (and a few cocktail rings). but inevitably i lose one of the pair and go searching throughout the house to find the little nook where my cats…

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guest blog by Grace Bonney 8

Scrapbooking: can be cool

after revealing myself as someone who has a dollshouse – next i wanted to convince you that scrapbooking can be cool. if you thought it was all gingham and embellishments,think again. there are some really great designs to found in the world of scrap papers. i collect 12×12 papers, and love looking on scrapbook websites….

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diy, diy projects by Grace Bonney 68

diy project: dining table

diy project: dining table

i’ve always loved the idea of having a recycled door as a dining table and thanks to d*s reader and designer julia crawford, i’ve got a manageable diy project now to make that happen (when we live in a house big enough for a long table). julia created this wonderful dining table by using a…

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products, textiles by Grace Bonney 3

new: judy ross

judy ross is showcasing a fantastic collection of new pillows at this week’s gift fair. top on my list? these gorgeous metallic thread pillows in warm gold/brass tone. if you’re hitting the show you can visit judy’s pillows (and judy) in person at booth #4165. until then you can find more information on judy ross…

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guest blog by Grace Bonney 6

Typography: Deco Fonts

chances are if you are working with any kind of 2d design, especially paper goods or web design you will be using typography. two trends popular at the moment are for decorative circus or western fonts, and also for hand drawn type. ive put together some lovely examples here, starting above with this bold artwork…

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Tuesday January 29th, 2008

guides, lighting, product, products by Grace Bonney 24

sconce roundup

sconce roundup

d*s reader kristin just moved up to lovely beacon, ny with her husband and needed some help with finding some great sconces for over her mantle. so i thought it would be fun to do a big roundup, especially since i’ve been trying to do some more lighting posts lately. i’ve chosen a wide range…

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products, textiles by Grace Bonney 2

new: agnes and hoss

the gift fair looks like it’s shaping up to be a good show this year. hopefully i can get a last minute press pass and check things out in person- i’d love to see these new pieces from stephanie waddell of agnes and hoss. stephanie is introducing a new pattern called pipe organ coral that…

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guest blog by Grace Bonney 3

Best of British

i wanted to use this opportunity to highlight some of my favorite british designers. starting of with orla kiely, a dublin born, london based, fashion designer whose print designs are recognized all over the world. orla produces seasonal collections of clothes, bags and homewares all in distinctive graphic prints. the stem print above has become…

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