diy projects by Amanda Brown 20

upholstery basics: boxed ottoman

The last time we met, we got out our sewing machines and tackled boxed cushions. I have a feeling your pets (and you) have recently found a comfy and fashionable place to perch. So what better way to finesse our sewing skills than to try, try again. I found this stout coffee table at a thrift store and thought it would look so much better with some padding and this great geo fabric by Lulu DK. With the skills we learned last month, a little elbow grease and a staple gun, this table went from stodgy to stylish in a few short hours. — Amanda

Read the full how-to after the jump!

before and after by Kate Pruitt 13

before & after: embroidered wardrobe

I recently re-watched the film Objectified, and this time around, I found myself inspired by Dutch designer Hella Jongerius, particularly when she said that what interests her most as a designer is how to bring identity and character to something that is produced industrially. You can see this vision so clearly in her work; she brings a humanistic, hand-crafted touch to all her designs, including the pieces available en masse at IKEA. It’s not surprising that people are so drawn to her designs and those little details that speak to our experience of culture and memory, delighting our senses of sight and touch.

I instantly fell in love with this wardrobe makeover by Diana; it’s so inspiring to see how radically different a piece can look once it’s been worked over by a pair of creative human hands. If this piece had been in my childhood bedroom, I think I would remember it fondly to this day. It has a cheerful, vibrant, folksy feel to it. And I can’t say this with any authority, but it seems like a piece that would make Hella smile. Nice work, Diana! — Kate

Have a Before & After you’d like to share? Shoot me an email with your images right here! (Low res, under 500k per image, please.)

Read the full post after the jump!

Read More

before and after by Kate Pruitt 30

before & after: painted pattern floor

When floors are in bad condition and refinishing or renovating seems out of the question, people often try to downplay their floors by painting them a neutral color or hiding them under various rugs. However, I’m becoming increasingly convinced that if you can find a pattern or color you really love, the best cure for a mediocre floor can be a bold, eye-catching treatment instead. Take this pretty patterned-floor project by Carrie of Lovely Etc., for example.

Carrie ripped up the old, gross carpet in her living and dining rooms to find a plywood subfloor. She originally planned to paint the subfloor to tide her over until they could install hardwood flooring, but she loves the look of the paisley pattern so much that she has decided to save that money for other home projects instead. This project clearly requires patience, but the results are lovely. Instead of hiding under a rug, this floor is now the statement-maker in the room. Nice work, Carrie! — Kate

Have a Before & After you’d like to share? Shoot me an email with your images right here! (Low res, under 500k per image, please.)

Read the full post after the jump!

miscellaneous by Grace Bonney 39

d*s radio: feedback + suggestions?

Image above via Caren Alpert

I’ve been dreaming about writing this post ever since I first stepped foot inside the Heritage Radio studios in Brooklyn. I can’t even describe how happy and lucky I feel to announce that this spring, I’ll be hosting my own radio show! It’s been almost nine years since I put down my headphones and left my radio station days behind me at William & Mary (where I hosted an embarrassing but fun jam band show every Friday), and not a day has gone by that I haven’t missed it. I’ve always felt comfortable in a radio booth, and I love that radio lets you embrace deeper conversations and really focus on what people are saying.

For a while now, I’ve really wanted — and needed — a place where I could discuss design and craft in a more serious, meaningful way. I sometimes discuss serious topics and opinions here, but I’ve always felt they needed a more appropriate home where they could be fully fleshed out in real-time conversations. Aside from Debbie Millman’s excellent Design Matters podcast, I think the design community has a gap in great radio programming, so I’ve made it my goal to create a place where each week, makers, artists and design enthusiasts can gather to talk, ask questions and learn more about the community we all love and support.

But before I start my first show (did I mention the studio is in a series of old shipping containers connected to Roberta’s, the best pizza place in Brooklyn? Score!), I wanted to see what you guys, and everyone in the design community, would like to talk about or listen to. It would mean so much to me if you could share your opinions, thoughts and feedback to help me ensure that this show speaks to the issues, interests and concerns of the group as a whole. Here are some points I’d love your feedback on:

1. What kinds of topics would you like to see discussed in a design/Design*Sponge radio show?

2. What people would you like to hear interviewed?

3. What type of conversation/subject matter do you think is missing from the design community as a whole?

4. What sort of additional content (outside of each show) would you like to see included (e.g., slideshows, blog posts, videos, in-person meetups coordinated with each radio show episode)?

5. Would you like the ability to write/tweet/call-in questions on air to be answered?

6. Would you be interested in attending an in-person radio show event or taping if it came to your town?

7. Do you have any additional formatting or content feedback you’d like to see implemented?

8. In what formats are you most likely to listen to a radio show: live on internet radio, downloaded as an MP3 or embedded in a blog as an audio file?

I would greatly appreciate any and all feedback you have time to give. This show and this medium mean so much to me, and I really look forward to doing my best to create a show that celebrates and explores the creative community to which I’ve dedicated my professional life. Thank you so much, everyone. See you on air soon! xo, grace

accessories by Grace Bonney 23

d*s on pinterest!

Living room image above via Emily Summers + Coleman Coker via Fauxology

I’m excited to announce that D*S is branching out this week with two fun new projects. The first is the creation of a Design*Sponge page on Pinterest! Despite working online, I can be slow and skeptical about adopting new tech or social networking platforms. Just ask AC — it took me two years to get into Twitter, and now it’s a huge (and hugely enjoyable) part of my day-to-day life. Amy has been asking me to consider Pinterest for a while now (along with a lot of you reading), and I’ve been resistant for several reasons. First, I’ve always seen D*S as my own personal Pinterest — a place to talk about and share the things I love, both in pictures and words. Second, I’ve been pretty vocal online about the problems I had with images being taken from original content creators (bloggers, photographers, stylists, etc.) and re-pinned without any credit or support for the maker. That said, my opinions on Pinterest changed pretty dramatically after this year’s Alt Summit.

Ben, the founder of Pinterest, gave an honest, passionate and realistic talk about the beginnings of his business and what his goals for it were. I responded so strongly to his beliefs as a business owner and the respectful way he handled the crowd feedback (including the issues I mentioned above) that I came home and started talking with our team about creating a page and, if we did, what our reason/goal for it would be.

In the same way that Twitter has given me a new and different way to communicate with the community I love, we’ll use Pinterest to do something slightly different than what we do here on D*S. We’ll keep the same guiding principles behind the main blog but extend them by using the boards to give you real-time look into our main team’s design interests.

Here’s what we’ll be doing: Each month, we will pick two main trends we’re loving and gather images that best exemplify it. We talk about trends here on the blog, but we don’t get to flesh them out on a daily basis, so I’m excited to have a place where we can explore two distinct trends in a deeper way.

Image above: Neil Conley

To start, Kate and Amy have created boards celebrating our current obsessions: NAVY BLUE & COPPER. While we’ve discussed these in posts before, on our Pinterest page you’ll find dozens of extra images and ideas that you won’t see on the main site. Think of it as our own personal design obsessions organized and arranged in a way that lets you fall a little deeper down the trend rabbit hole. Click here to check out this month’s selections and see what else we’re interested in. I know I’m going to be pinning some new copper images today; it’s my favorite look to obsess over these days. xo, grace

*For those who’ve been asking, we will be adding a “pin this” button to D*S in our next round of website revisions.

products by Grace Bonney 5

nautical inspirations from fleabags

Morning guys! We made some major headway on our new D*S office yesterday, and part of that progress involved investigating nautical hardware and lighting. Amy and I have a soft spot for nautical themes, so the Fleabags team became kindred spirits when they announced that their new collection was inspired by Baltimore ports, the Chesapeake Bay (my home area!) and fishermen. The navy blue and red color palette is one of my favorites, and their new line of hemp/organic cotton clutches/iPad travelers are just gorgeous. They’re clean, classic and modern — a powerful trio of qualities that inspires me to move from admiring to purchasing. You can check out their latest designs and shop online right here. (Each bag is handmade in the USA and part of a limited edition.) xo, grace