A couple weeks ago, while working at the Stewart, Tabori & Chang offices (Did you know that if you’re late with a book project, your editor might actually make you work in the office? It’s like study hall. Or detention. For me, it was detention.), I passed these books in a glass display case. If…
Carolyn Gavin and her husband, Derek, were almost instantly charmed by this 1892 Victorian home’s 10-foot-high ceilings and narrow footprint — it’s only 13 feet wide. In the 14 years that the couple has lived in this Toronto, Canada, home, they have completely gutted, renovated and transformed it from the basement to the third floor….
Over the past five or so years, there has been an amazing movement in the floral world toward loose, natural, garden-inspired arrangements. Inspired by Constance Spry, an incredible new community has grown from coast to coast that focuses on lush flowers arranged in a way that suggests natural growth rather than overly formal or forced…
I can’t even tell you how excited I am for spring. I know this hasn’t been a bad winter, but honestly, it isn’t the cold that bothers me. It’s the lack of sunlight. And now that sunset is officially at 7:25 pm, I’m feeling a lot happier. Of course, my happiness might also be due…
It’s already April, and I’m itching for some outdoor time. Though I don’t have any outdoor space myself, I love seeing the possibilities for small-space outdoor decorating (and dreaming a bit!). This patio is located in the Hollywood Hills and has an expansive view of LA, but when Jared Frank and Sam Jacober of Topsy…
Susanna and Jussi Vento’s apartment in Helsinki, Finland, is pretty tiny at just three rooms: two bedrooms — one master and one for the couple’s daughter — and a kitchen/dining room space. Rather than putting a sofa in the kitchen area, the couple opted for a long table, where they spend time with family and…
For my second style icon post (our first style icon was Georgia O’Keeffe), I thought we’d take a look at wealthy American art collector Peggy Guggenheim (August 26, 1898–December 23, 1979). (Her uncle, Solomon R. Guggenheim, established the Solomon R. Guggenheim foundation and museum.) Peggy grew up ensconced in New York City luxury, but it…
Image above: Classical columns on the front door drawn in chalkboard paint Living in a Nutshell (just released yesterday!) showed up in the office last week. We’re pretty picky about books here and can be particularly hard on craft books, but I literally found myself saying “wow” on nearly page. The book is packed with…
Grace and I discovered Ariele Alasko’s work through Jennifer Causey’s fantastic The Makers Project. Ariele lives close to our Greenpoint office, so one morning before work, Grace stopped by to meet Ariele and see her work. Grace fell head over heels for Ariele’s home, which she shares with Isaiah Palmer, a 3D visual effects artist and…
Photographers Lou Mora and Sarah Yates moved into this Los Angeles home with their two dogs, Ruca and Eleanor, just over a year ago. They’ve managed to create a little haven from the craziness of the city — at night they can even hear owls and coyotes. As photographers, their work takes them all over…
Tyler Karu Ready and Brendan Ready’s classic 1920s farmhouse is located on Ferry Beach in Scarborough, Maine. They are just yards from one of Maine’s most peaceful and beautiful public beaches. Brendan is a lobsterman, and Tyler is a designer who uses the work of local craftspeople and materials in her designs; she also loves…
Every year, as the calendar moves closer to tax time, my urge to procrastinate centers on an overwhelming desire to simply reorganize the files. I think I would be greatly aided in that effort by these solid brass index clips. They are made by a Japanese company that has been producing stationery since 1950. You…
Jessica Oreck is an amazing documentary filmmaker based in New York. But she’s never in the city for long. She’s always off on some exotic adventure: to Japan to make a film about beetle mania; following mushroom hunters in Poland, Ukraine and Western Russia; and lately the Finnish Lapland, where she’s documenting a full year in…
I discovered this book during brunch at Community Table in Washington, Connecticut. The food there is amazing, and the decor is a beautiful, modern Scandinavian, but I was completely distracted by the books on the shelf next to our table. (I am known to be a little book crazy.) And one book in particular caught…
I love pulling themes from our Sneak Peek archives; it’s fun seeing how people creatively respond to different problems. One of my recent favorites was our best of bikes, and after looking through hundreds of homes, I realized we had a lot of musical home dwellers. Everyone seems to have a guitar propped in the corner…
Today, one of my favorite bloggers — Joy Deangdeelert Cho of Oh Joy! — is giving us a little peek inside the nursery of her four-month-old baby, Ruby. Over Christmas, I learned that both of my sisters are pregnant (surprise!), and in anticipation of my new role as aunt, I’ve been mining Oh Joy! for…
I love traveling, but particularly after fall’s 30-city book tour, sometimes I like reading about travel even more. So I’m particularly excited for Wayfare magazine, a brand new digital magazine devoted to travel. The editors, designers and contributors take a very design-centric approach to travel; the magazine isn’t just about where to go but also…
[Today we're launching a new column inspired by the talented women that inspire all of us here at Design*Sponge. Our goal is to celebrate their incredible style and talent and perhaps introduce them for the first time to a younger generation of artists, designers and design-enthusiasts. Stay tuned for posts on amazing women, past &...
I’ve been awaiting this peek for quite a while. Ever since we saw a little of the spectacular transformations that Tara Mangini & Percy Bright accomplished on this 1915 Philadelphia row house (See Before & After: Percy’s Home Transformation Part 1 and Part 2), I was anxious to see the entire home. The couple has exquisite…
We’ve had lighting on the brain lately. Our new Design*Sponge office came with huge fluorescent hanging lamps that we avoid turning on at all costs. So Kate, Grace and I have been hunting for something cool and functional. While I don’t know if these pendants will cast as much light as we need, they certainly…
