today i’m leaving early to go for my first wedding dress fitting (while ac is out of town for his bachelor party) so i wanted to share this beautiful sneak peek from toni brogan of catskill kiwi to make up for the shorter posts (sorry!). yesterday toni shared her beautiful before & after plaid chair…
i love helen friel’s work. whenever i look at paper artists’ work it makes me think, “why can’t i make things like that with my scissors?” i look at helen’s beautiful silhouettes and am reminded that if i started cutting i would end up with something that looks more like this. so i was excited…
Tortoise in Venice was opened by husband and wife Keiko and Taku Shinomoto at the end of October 2003, after they moved to Los Angeles from Tokyo. The Shinomoto’s envisioned a general store full of beautiful and practical items. They describe the “Tortoise life’ as “‘things’ which have been here for long time, ‘technique’ which…
Susumu Tsuchihashi at Fulfilled in Beverly Hills has a new way of serving imagawa-yaki. These waffle-like pastries are traditionally filled with sweet azuki bean and are Japan’s version of comfort food. Susumu has given this treat a fusion style and created a beautiful place to serve it in. I visited Susumu to taste the new…
Blythe dolls are popping up everywhere. Gina Garan’s book “This is Blythe” came out in in 2000 and nine year later images of Blythe are everywhere. I took this photo in Tokyo last spring. Target chose Alexander McQueen for their Design Collaborations Series. McQueen chose Blythe to be his model for the ad campaign. Blythe…
newlyweds kc and sara giessen refurbished this donated dining table in such a fun and playful way i couldn’t resist sharing. they took a standard wooden table, the kind i remember growing up with in so many different houses, and painted on this fun plate and silverware pattern. i love simple projects like this where…
Scenes: Parisian flower stalls and cemeteries. Eric and I are scouting around in Paris this week, stopping to snoop around in all the flower stalls and trekking though cemeteries. Nothing like a little death and flowers in the afternoon. Or apéritifs and oysters at the Ritz in the afternoon. Or shoe shopping in the afternoon….
surya from wee gallery sent over this beautiful before & after. after picking up this gorgeous orla kiely tablecloth at target, she couldn’t bring herself to use it on the table because she and her family, “eat indian food a lot and the tumeric and curry stains are impossible to get out.” so she decided…
for this before & after makeover, d*s reader toni brogan of the catskill kiwi combined two of my favorite things: a chair with good bones and plaid upholstery. plaid can feel a little upper east side, preppy and conservative, but i love the way she’s integrated it into the decor in her living room. for…
normally i’m not a fan of messing with a classic, but when it’s a knock-off, and the new fabric is this cute i’m totally game. brad dufton from colorTHEORY sent over this fun chair makeover that he did for his friend peter. peter’s eames lounge chair knock-off was in a need of an upgrade so…
good morning! it’s a beautiful day over at the guest blog and julie wolfson is focusing on cherry blossoms! inspired by her visit to japan during cherry blossom season, today julie is sharing some beautiful pictures from her trip, as well as cherry blossom inspired home products. click here to check them out!
Last spring I spent a week on Tokyo and Kyoto during cherry blossom season. My friend Karen and I took over 800 photos that week. Many of the images from our trip are filled with the beautiful pink flowers that were gorgeous to look at, but I must admit made me sneeze. My allergies wont…
tax time is fast approaching, which means many of us are busy kicking ourselves (once again) for our lack of financial organization. every year we swear we’re going to keep track of all our expenses and hold on to every receipt. well, it’s our belief that if you create a system that is simple and…
trendy or not, i will always have a soft spot for faux-bois. used sparingly, the look of wood grain is so chic and can be applied simply with tools like these. so i was instantly smitten with this faux bois diy project sent in by tiffany melanson of the other tiffany. tiffany admits she’s never…
it’s always a good sign when you’re overwhelmed by heartfelt emails from an artist’s friends telling you how talented and amazing she is. such was the case with jeanie nelson of the paper nut. i’ve heard from too many of her very sweet friends to count, each one with a kind email about how wonderful…
this third project using paint is good for people who like to change their house around a lot. these mirror stencil designs are easy to put on and take off, and they leave no marks on the mirror so you can change the design over and over again. if you have any contact paper left…
last month i flew to toronto for the interior design show and got to hop a ride on porter airlines. when i mentioned flying to toronto everyone said, “ooh! are you flying porter?” and proceeded to tell me how cool and well-designed the entire airline was, from the stewardess uniforms to the boarding lounges. i…
this morning i’m living in a trifecta of small world-ness. first i heard from stephen orr, who used to work with me at the house & garden and domino, then i checked out his site and fell in love with these gorgeous paper florals that his friend johanna burke created (doesn’t she sort of look…
this morning i woke up with jolene in my head because of last night’s american idol. if anyone else is watching- how much did anoop rule last night? i love his college acapella vibe (and how genuinely proud he seemed to have come back from such a harsh week before). so i’m having a hard…
When I asked my friend Kit Scarbo (you know her as Kit Pistol from Project Runway) her thoughts on contemporary Japanese design, she said, “You have to meet my friend Esther!”. Esther Kim is a Korean American who spent much of her childhood living in Japan. Her amazing drawings have been featured in several magazines…
