Design*Sponge

Your home for all things Design. Home Tours, DIY Project, City Guides, Shopping Guides, Before & Afters and much more

products

Wednesday June 19th, 2013

artwork, products by Grace Bonney 1

New Artwork from Lena Wolff

I really love Lena Wolff‘s work. There’s something slightly dark about it, but still so beautiful and intricate and elegant. Her latest work was inspired by early American quilt patterns and it’s been an interesting (and gorgeous) direction to see her explore. Lena has a new show opening on June 26th at one of my…

Read More »

Friday June 7th, 2013

products by Grace Bonney 4

Hollywood Star Charts

A few summers ago I found myself on a hillside in Portland, Oregon having my star chart mapped. If you’d told me I’d be doing that a few years ago, I would have laughed myself silly. But over the last few years, my willingness to try new things and open my mind a bit more…

Read More »

Monday June 3rd, 2013

products by Grace Bonney 13

Tugboat Printshop Moon Print

I was a printmaking major in college, so a little part of my heart feels a tug when I see beautifully executed prints and carvings. This beautiful large-scale print, ‘The Moon” by Tugboat Printshop is a great example. This print was a collaborative piece of artwork between Paul Roden and Valerie Lueth. They’ve been running…

Read More »

Friday May 24th, 2013

products by Grace Bonney 9

Bold & Noble Geometric Prints + Weekly Wrap Up

We made it through design season and it’s time for a little holiday break. It’s as if the holiday gods know that the design industry could use a few days off after walking around The Javits Center row by row. We’re still prepping and loading posts on all the incredible furniture, textiles, wallpaper and cards…

Read More »

Wednesday May 15th, 2013

products by Grace Bonney 8

Belinda Marshall

It’s so hard for me to resist colorful swaths of paint like this, especially when it’s made available in affordable print form. These gorgeous pieces of art were done by Australian artist Belinda Marshall, who strives to depict calm, meditative worlds in her work. For me they’re expert studies in combining colors for soothing effects….

Read More »

Monday April 29th, 2013

products by Grace Bonney 6

Rebecca Newport Paintings

I can’t believe that April is coming to a close! This month has been all over the place in terms of weather, so I’m hoping that May will usher in some consistently pleasant- and sunny!- weather. Our May editorial theme is especially festive, so I thought I’d preview it a bit with these colorful paintings…

Read More »

Thursday April 25th, 2013

products by Grace Bonney 9

Maureen Meyer

I love discovering that an artist I admire lives right around the corner from me. After discovering that I basically share a bedroom wall with the amazing Faile Studio yesterday, I also found out that artist Maureen Meyer is a fellow Greenpointer. Originally from Germany, Maureen now calls Brooklyn home. Inspired by her background in…

Read More »

Friday April 19th, 2013

artwork, products by Grace Bonney 7

Leslie Lewis Sigler

When it comes to paintings, I tend to fall in love with two specifics styles: colorful abstracts and simple still lifes that focus on kitchen or food subjects. I have a small one of each in my home (A painted jar of pickles by Chelsea James next to my sink and an abstract landscape by…

Read More »

products by Grace Bonney 12

Kelsey Garrity-Riley

April is coming to a close and I’m going to be sad to see our green/nature theme go. We’ll always post those sorts of things, but I’ve really loved getting a chance to indulge in them a little more this month. One artist who shares my love of all things botanical is Kelsey Garrity-Riley. Kelsey…

Read More »

Wednesday April 3rd, 2013

animal love, products by Grace Bonney 16

Animal Love: Robins

Since we’re focusing on nature and the outdoors this month, it only seemed right to start off the week with a little ode to spring birds. A few weeks ago I started to notice the sound of birds chirping (over the noise of bus wheels screeching and my neighbors yelling at each other from across…

Read More »

Wednesday March 6th, 2013

artwork, products by Grace Bonney 40

Custom Family Portraits on Etsy

In honor of family month, I thought it would be fun to look at all the different options that exist for custom portraits online. From watercolors and line drawings to oil paintings and pastels, there are dozens and dozens of artists on Etsy that offer beautiful custom portraits for anyone who feels like the traditional…

Read More »

Monday March 4th, 2013

artwork, products by Grace Bonney 15

Pet Portaits by Sian Keegan

I’ve been so excited about this month’s theme (Family + Pets) because it gives me a chance to shamelessly indulge in my love of animals. Aside from photos on my fridge, I’ve never really kept portraits or photographs around my house. I have artwork on my walls, but I tend to keep photographs of friends…

Read More »

Thursday February 28th, 2013

products by Grace Bonney 7

Scissor Specimens

I spent all of yesterday working on a big museum-themed post for this afternoon, and now I’ve got framed objects and specimens on the brain. So when I came across these beautiful framed scissors by Cori Kindred, they reminded me of sweet scissor specimens captured in time. I love anything covered in a tiny floral…

Read More »

Tuesday February 19th, 2013

artwork, products by Grace Bonney 5

New: Artwork at Leif

I’m always excited to hear what Stacy at Leif is working on. Earlier this winter, we chatted about business life over chowder, and I got a sneak peek at the artwork she was planning to add to the site. Just like the jewelry, home goods and ceramics she currently stocks, she’d rounded up some incredible prints…

Read More »

Monday February 18th, 2013

products by Grace Bonney 4

10 Great Presidential-Inspired Designs

The imagery and visuals of presidential campaigns have always fascinated me. The way people’s faces, sayings or actions are turned into inspirational objects and images is an art form, so I’m always following the ways in which that has changed throughout history. Last year Max delved into the history of campaign buttons, but today I’m…

Read More »

Wednesday February 13th, 2013

artwork, products by Grace Bonney 20

Flower Constructions by Anne ten Donkelaar

Sometimes work is so beautiful, so detailed and so special that I’m stunned into silence. Looking at the work of Anne ten Donkelaar, I had one of those “so beautiful I can’t speak” reactions. Anne creates these breathtaking Flower Constructions, 3D collages made from a combination of delicate pressed flowers and cutout pictures of flowers….

Read More »

Thursday February 7th, 2013

artwork, products by Grace Bonney 5

Birthstones by Elisa Werbler

I’ve been keeping an eye on Elisa Werbler’s work ever since I met her at the RISD alumni sale last year. I love the way she layers color in her work, and because this is the month of pink and red, I thought it would be the perfect time to highlight her new Birthstones collection….

Read More »

Wednesday January 23rd, 2013

artwork, products by Grace Bonney 3

Mario Kolaric

There was a lot of diary talk here at D*S yesterday, so it only seemed right to start this morning with some beautiful artwork from Mario Kolaric’s Diary Fragments series. Mario had been working in notebooks, jotting down small ideas and concepts, for years, but decided in 2010 that he would display these smaller fragments…

Read More »

Monday January 21st, 2013

artwork, products by Grace Bonney 7

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, so before we start our normal schedule of home tours and design ideas, I wanted to take a moment to pause and honor the work and life of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. There are a number of ways to honor the achievements and messages Dr. King…

Read More »

Tuesday January 8th, 2013

artwork, products by Grace Bonney 4

Melanie Pankau

When winter rolls around in Brooklyn, it feels like there’s no bleaker place on earth. All of the industrial architecture in Greenpoint takes on an especially dreary air, and the building opposite our office windows starts to look like a set location from Resident Evil. To combat the winter blues (and the hoard of zombies in…

Read More »