Hangers may have gotten bigger, sturdier and reproduced in plastic, but for the most part, the design of the hanger hasn’t changed much over the years. They are a true example of form following function, and we love them. We need them. Case in point: I happened to catch a snippet of a recent episode…
Nothing makes us happier than the weekly (twice weekly if we’re lucky!) trips to our local outdoor farmers’ markets. With spring in full force, the farmers are flaunting their goods: brilliant radishes (French!), fresh eggs (We spotted turkey eggs last week!), lettuces and greens (Lamb’s quarters! Watercress! Wild arugula!), tall stalks of rhubarb, sweetly scented…
Bold, graphic Ikat fabrics in bright colors are the perfect way to ring in summer, but sometimes, they can be hard to find and too expensive. However, with this awesome DIY project from Elizabeth Chaffee, we can all make our own budget-friendly Ikats in any color we want! Cutting the stencil may require a bit…
SF Print by Marisa Seguin at Etsy Next week Amy and I are hopping on a plane and flying to San Francisco and Portland to work on a very last-minute passion project. We’re meeting up with our senior DIY editor, craft guru and Brimfield shopping buddy, Kate Pruitt to turn what started as a crazy…
Travelogues are some of my favorites types of summer reading. Even if I can’t get away as often as I’d like, it’s fun to live vicariously through someone else’s travel adventures. And if you can combine a great travel story with a beautiful cover like this one, I’m sold. “Greece on My Wheels” is the…
Speaking of Father’s Day gifts, if you have a Dad (or anyone else in your life) that likes to play cards, these beautifully designed, limited-edition playing cards from Jaqk Cellars are a fun option. These custom designed cards (made in collaboration with Theory 11) have gorgeous embossed details and are printed on imported French paper….
Father’s Day is right around the corner and if your Dad is like mine, tech gifts are an essential. My biggest problem each year is finding out how to get something cool that he hasn’t already gotten for himself. Shopping for early-adopters can be incredibly tough. But Kate is coming to my rescue this year…
The Young Girls of Rochefort is a ridiculously bright and bubbly musical treat from 1967. It’s vibrant, stylish and teeters on the verge of comical. With the sunny French seaside as a backdrop, it’s easy to suppress your doubts about the dubious plot and musical numbers; just open your eyes wide, and drink up the…
Image above: Illustration by Julia Rothman The staple of college dorm rooms and office desks everywhere, the Anglepoise lamp was invented in the 1930s by an English automotive engineer who specialized in the design of vehicle suspension systems. George Carwardine owned a factory in Bath where he invented a spring that could be moved easily…
After last week’s discussion about online design magazines and women in the media I came away with a familiar feeling in my stomach. It was the same worry and concern that inspired me to start the in-person Biz Ladies series that I did back in 2008. I’ve always known that I wouldn’t be able to…
Image above by Kristen4 at Etsy Today’s city guide comes to us from Aiden FitzGerald, a freelance writer whose work has appeared in the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald, Whole Living and Rhode Island Monthly. She currently lives in Little Compton with her husband, Charlie Barmonde, a ceramic artist. Aiden shares some of the many wonderful towns…
Lea Redmond’s “The World’s Smallest Post Service” project is one of my favorite outside-of-the-box business ideas ever. Every year I use her tiny mailing services for holiday surprises and love hearing from people who are blown away by opening up such a tiny package to receive a miniature letter they read with a magnifying glass….
When I was in high school I was one of those weird kids who really wanted to have glasses and braces. So many of my friends were suffering through having both, but not having what everyone else had seemed an even worse fate at that age. So when I turned seventeen and found out I…
One of my favorite parts of last month’s design week in NYC was an offsite show curated by Sight Unseen called “McMasterpieces“. McMasterpieces was a celebration of beautiful raw materials from the legendary McMaster-Carr catalog, an industrial parts supplier based in New Jersey. Artists focused on these basic but useful materials to create a wide…
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Spray paint has long been considered a quick and easy way to spruce up forlorn pieces of furniture, but if you are like me, you can spot — literally — a bad spray job from a mile away. Uneven lines and a spotty appearance are tell-tale signs of “I just want to get this done…
After a hectic life in Paris, Myriam Balaÿ-Devidal and her family decided to pack their bags and move to Nîmes. The southern France city known for 200 days of sun a year is located between sea and mountains with close proximity to Provence, and it quickly became the perfect home. The apartment, with spectacular high…
Just last week, Shaun Moore of MADE and Todd Caldwell celebrated ten years in their 1875 Victorian townhouse located in Toronto, Canada. They purchased the house during Shaun’s final term in design school, and it was pretty much a total wreck. The couple loved the building’s original architectural detailing, and they’ve been sure to keep…
This morning we travel to Aarhus, Denmark, to the home of multi-disciplinary art director, Ivan Hvam Hvam. With his work spanning visual identities such as CrossEyes — a new brand of eyewear — to Facebook campaigns for international clients, Ivan is recognized for his clean, Scandinavian design style. This style translates to the home that he…
Color blocking is a huge trend right now, and I am definitely on the bandwagon. French designer Caroline Gomez is all about colors, and her home is the perfect example of how to take color blocking and apply it to an interior space. I love both the stripe of yellow in the entryway and the…
