Alissa and I have both been under the weather for the past week and with HORNE, our friend’s wedding and day-to-day life, we haven’t had an abundance of time to take care of ourselves. The one thing we did do, which really helped, was drink a lot of green tea with honey. So, when our…
This week, I thought I would focus on cookbooks with great food photography, since photography is becoming a bigger part of the food experience these days. There are a few new books out this season which I believe raise the bar in cookbooks. Why? They do not just deliver recipes. They deliver an entire food…
This is the second part of the New Zealand-based Our Kitchen team. Last week we featured the Vegetable Torta by Sara and Emma in Auckland. This week we have Cookie Cream Sandwiches (with cinnamon-chocolate semi-freddo!) from Adam, Lauren, and Susie in the Dunedin kitchen. Notwithstanding their different locations, the team keeps their food blog going…
I’m what you might call a bit of a “timid” imbiber, when it comes to alcohol. If it doesn’t taste good, I won’t drink it. If it has to be downed in quick shots, it’s not really my gig. If it must be sipped, savored, and consumed with attention to flavor nuance, however, then I’m…
with the mainstream publishing industry struggling these days (r.i.p, gourmet), it’s been wonderful to see so many independently and self-published magazines and books on the market. one of the self-published magazines i’m most excited about is a new food journal called “remedy quarterly“. remedy describes itself as “stories of food, recipes for feeling good” and…
since this is portland oregon and it rains a lot, we’re always thinking up ways to use or divert all the water we’re faced with. many businesses and homes are beginning to incorporate rain gardens in their plans. the hawthorne hostel is the most obvious example in town. the city itself teaches free rain garden…
After posting pics a few weeks ago from Lauren’s garden, we had a feeling that readers would be interested in the hanging plants she had on display in her backyard. Turns out Lauren crocheted the clever containers herself, and she’s given us an easy to follow pattern so readers can create their own hanging gardens….
today’s final before & afters are devoted to kitchens, bathrooms, home exteriors and a seriously sweet pink living room. first up is lauren from pure style home. she rescued both her kitchen and nook from serious blah-dom with wallpaper, wainscoting, a chalkboard fridge and a beautiful chandelier. well done, laura! click here for more info…
d*s reader erin riddle sent in this lovely laundry sink makeover. when erin moved into her home she used this space as a storage space for tools and cleaning supplies, but erin wanted a space that would serve as a cute spot to work on laundry. working on a budget, erin took off the cabinet…
today’s first before & after comes from d*s reader andrea dean in the uk. she recently made over her bathroom on a tight budget and the result is a clean, bright space that would do any modern apartment justice. great work, andrea! photos courtesy of david giles photography. [have a before & after you’d like…
speaking of calm simplicity, i’m also loving this super-minimalist letterpress calendar from designer beverly hsu. beverly fell in love with letterpress printing while studying at carnegie mellon and decided to create a calendar using twelve different decorative types that she discovered in various typecases in the school’s letterpress lab. each decorative piece represents a day…
when life and work are crazy sometimes it’s nice to focus on something simple. i’m loving the zen-like simplicity of these leaf photographs from artist jeff friesen in nova scotia. they’re such an interesting, peaceful contrast to yesterday’s bold sailboat prints. you can check out jeff’s collection of autumn-leaf ships right here at etsy. ps:…
located in the west hills, the japanese garden is my favorite public garden in town. besides the gorgeous plantings and tons of moss, i also especially love the pathways. like everywhere else, we in portland have become obsessed with vegetable gardening. this past summer raised garden beds were popping up all over the place: in…
while working on the projects for the design*sponge book, i made a lot of trips to the craft store…let’s not say a number, but too many! every visit i rushed past the rainbow haze of the kid’s section to get to the serious adult stuff like balsa wood and X-acto blades…i know, i’m super hardcore,…
inspired by erik’s recycled wine bottle torches, lindsay and taylor from purr design decided to create these beautiful wine bottle vases in their home’s dining room. i love the way they set off the area with a painted square, and today you can learn their full how-to steps for the project! thanks so much to…
today’s first diy project comes from margie of resurrection fern in ontario. she created these stunning crocheted lights using twine and a little spare time. i love the final result and the way the light glows through the fibers. CLICK HERE for the full project steps!
having grown up at the beach, i will always have a soft spot for anything water or nautical related. so when i saw brainstorm‘s new print i fell for it hook, line and sinker (sorry, bad water pun not intended). you can pick up brainstorm’s new “red sky” print, along with a number of other…
i’m intrigued by the idea of backyard chickens, but i don’t use eggs or meat in my kitchen. plus my wanna-be-bird-hunting dog would torment them! more than the fantasy of having chickens though, i think i’m actually more obsessed with which fantasy coop design would be the best fit in my garden. elisabeth bentz recently…
oh boy, the book rush has set in and my brain is officially starting to melt. so my apologies if my posts are a bit on the short or slightly incoherent side for the next week and a half. before we get into diy projects, i wanted to kick things off with this lovely new…
over the next two weeks, the d*s team and i will be working some serious overtime to finish up the text, images and details for our very first d*s book. we’re so excited to see how everything is shaping up (it. looks. SO. good! i can’t wait for you to see it!) but we may…
