Whew! After Brimfield and three long days at the Javits Center I am ready to put my feet up and work in pajamas for a day. My entire sofa is covered in flyers, catalogs and press kits from all the shows and this morning I’m dipping back into my ICFF bag for more of my…
Maybe it’s the promise of warmer weather, but for some reason, Amy, Grace and I found ourselves drawn to vintage sportswear and various recreation accessories that reminded us of Boy Scouts, summer camp and preppy-clubhouse style. On the first day, it seemed like every young male we saw was walking away with an old-school bicycle…
Before there was Days of Heaven, there was Badlands. Both share a brilliant writer and director in Terrence Malick, and both hold me completely spellbound with their dusty views of the darker side of romance. Badlands is a soft-focus portrait of a teenaged girl and her drifter boyfriend who embark, almost accidentally, on a killing…
Today’s Biz Ladies post comes from Regina Morrison, owner of a small handmade-accessories business, Acute Designs, and a freelance writer. Currently living in San Diego with her husband and two crazy dogs, Regina recently escaped her 9-to-5 job to actively pursue life as a handmade business owner. Today, she shares some tips for the shy biz…
Image above: “Watching the Bathers, Atlantic City, N. J.” (1908–1909) via the NYPL Photography Collection, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs Today’s Atlantic City Guide comes to us from Shannon O’Neill, a librarian, archivist and native New Jersey-an. Having spent the past 10 years living in New York City and…
After yesterday’s ICFF post, it was interesting to go through the National Stationery Show in the same building. More than a few people came up to me to ask if I was preparing a video about stationery, but I was happy to say that it definitely wouldn’t require that sort of response. While this year’s…
Amy, Grace and I were discussing the inevitable “tunnel vision” that occurs at big shows like Brimfield, and the point really hit home when a woman came rushing up to us and asked in desperation, “Have any of you seen any large gas-station signs for sale anywhere?” The inquiry made us a) incredibly curious as…
After yesterday’s discussion about ICFF, I’m happy to move on and focus on the people who produced pieces that I really enjoyed. From hot-pink velvet sofas and copper lights to magnetic curtains and outdoor dividers, there’s plenty of beautiful design here for everyone. I hope you enjoy these next 20 designs as much as I…
Emma Reddington moved into this 1905 Toronto Victorian just over three years ago. She was instantly attracted to the home’s detailing — like the 12-inch baseboards and original wainscoting, fireplaces and solid wood doors, not mention the 10-foot ceilings throughout. In decorating the home, she worked to highlight those original details while also bringing a…
Recently, we were lucky enough to have Meghan McEwen of Designtripper give us a special report from New Orleans during a design-centric road trip, and today, we’re thrilled to have her back for a sneak peek of her Detroit home. The old Victorian house, built in 1893, is located in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit. There…
Rigetta Klint is the designer and creative manager behind the virtual department store Slow Fashion House. This Dane who now calls Sweden home has long been a proponent of “slow” — slow living, slow food, slow fashion — before the idea of “slow” was invented. She prefers to call it “old-school luxury.” To Rigetta, this means…
This week’s color schemes and roundups are pulled from the lovely home of Emma Straub and Michael Fusco. Emma and Mike live in Brooklyn and are often busy designing and silk-screening posters for their business, M+E. The first image is from Emma’s office; I was drawn-in by the peachy pink walls, which look fantastic with…
Good morning! Grace, Kate and I had a fantastic time at Brimfield and we wanted to break down the trends that we came away with – things that we gravitated toward. Confession: I was one of those girls with an extreme horse obsession brought on by my favorite camp horse, Velvet, and a full run…
Disappointment aside, there were some designers showing at ICFF that I really enjoyed. Not just because they were creating things that were beautiful, but because they were making things that made me smile, laugh, ask questions and want to interact with their work. That sort of curiosity is always the hallmark of interesting design for…
I wanted to start off this week’s ICFF coverage with something uplifting and exciting and full of exuberance about what I’d seen at this year’s show. But sadly this year’s ICFF wasn’t the show I hoped it would be. I spent most of yesterday agonizing about how to handle the coverage and at the end…
I don’t recall exactly when the switch occurred, but sometime in the mid- 80′s, our house went from being a butter-eating domain to a margarine-eating one. I can’t really blame my mom, as margarine was all the rage back then. Right along with Jazzercise and “Just Say No,” consuming margarine was de rigueur health-wise at…
Image above: My favorite lighting at the show. These lights were made from industrial whisk attachments that go on mixers. So awesome. Today kicks off Design Week in NYC and after Brimfield my feet are already panicking at the idea of more walking. But I’m strapping on my comfy shoes and heading out to NoHo…
I’ve mentioned before that I live in an area that is flanked by woods and fields. Every season, I see cars parked along the road, their owners foraging for whatever has popped up. Sometimes it’s porcini mushrooms, sometimes it’s chestnuts, other times it’s chicory, and in April and early May, it’s wild asparagus. In Italy…
Boy, do we have a treat for you today! Molly Wizenberg of Orangette and A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table fame is sharing her current favorite drink, the Americano, with everyone here at Design*Sponge. If you are not familiar with Molly, as I was only a few months ago, you are…
Hello, flower fans! “M” is for magical coral pink hydrangea (that is really what the Dutch importer calls it!), an absolutely ethereal hue of hydrangea. This version of one of my all-time favorite blooms was too gorgeous to pass up at the market, so I fudged the letter “m” just a touch. One of the…
