Friday, January 22, 2010

Best of 2009, ID mag

I love Interior Design Magazine. Although mostly displaying projects by large commercial firms, it does feature the best of the best. And the Annual Best of Year issue is my favorite. Check out my favorite images from Best of 2009.


Best of Year Winner, Office: OWN — Belzberg Architects: Belzberg Architects Office, Los Angeles
How much do you love the fluorescent lighting?


Best of Year Winner, Casual Dining — Aidlin Darling Design: Wexler’s, San Francisco
Love the Tolix chairs, concrete bar, and gorgeous ceiling treatment.

Best of Year Winner, Hospitality: Hotel- Resort- WOHA by Alila villas Uluwatu.
Horizontal wood is my favorite. What a relaxing sitting area.

Best of Year Winner,Education award- Clive Wilksonson Architects, San Diego.
How much would you love to learn in this kind of environment. Of course, I love the Pantone chairs. But the best feature is the ceiling.

You can see more of 2009's best here. Enjoy!




XOXO,

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Esty Find: Matteart





so cute, so retro. love his prints
Fab for a living room, nursery, or funky master bedroom.

Gustavian the III



Isn't this a gorgeous bed?!?! It's called the Gustavian from Viva Terra for about $1800, but I wonder if you could make the headboard yourself? Looks like a difficult DIY project, but definitely do-able. Perhaps you use wood glue and clamps to make a big piece of wood out of reclaimed pieces. Then use a saw to cut the curved shape you want and stain that puppy and attach it to the wall. What do you think? Would this be an easy DIY?

Pouffy




Remember the Urchin Knitted Poufs that were circulating the blogosphere about a year ago? I really liked them then, but now I love them and want to learn to make my own. Can't be that hard, right?




Pretty colors. I like the rust and the teal the best.


check out those knitting needles!!!


Well, thanks to Pickles DIY pattern, you can make your very own! I taught myself to crochet this fall, and am still wanting to learn to knit. This just may be the perfect project to learn. I promise to post pictures, if I do indeed complete this project (no holding your breath!). Email me and Pickles with pictures if you attempt this!

Here's the pattern, reposted from Pickles:
What we used:
Eskimo, 18 balls (Or yarn suitable for US #13 needles)
Acrylic yarn would probably be a really good alternative, as it´s a piece of furniture
US #19 circular needles, like this
2 cheap duves (feather and down)


How we did it:
Cast on 35 stitches using three threads.
Knit the garter stitch until you´ve knitted all the balls, and there is just enough yarn left to asseble the stool.

You now have ONE rectangular piece.
Cast off loosely.

Assemble the short sides (35 stitch side) as neatly as you can.

Assemble the first long side. This is supposed to be the top or the bottom of the stool. Put the needle through the end stitch of every second row and tighten, tighten, tighten! Repeat on the rows in between and tighten until there is no whole in the middle.

Stuff the duves into the stool. We tried to make a ball of the duves before we stuffed it.

Assemble the other end in the same manner as the first.

And there you go! Your first knitted furniture perhaps?




The only thing is the stuffing... the pattern says to use old duvets... I don't have any old duvets and am certainly not going to buy new ones. The leather moroccan ones we sat on in San Miguel de Allende were filled with scraps of clothes and blankets. What would you fill it with?

Monday, January 11, 2010

Bar Armoire





I was recently thumbing through the spring 2010 Pottery Barn catalog and I came across this bar armoire. I love the idea of a bar armoire, where you can close the doors to put everything away. Or open it, and there's everything you need to entertain.

I don't really have $1300 to spend on housing for my liquor, so I am thinking I could make one of these myself. Here are the steps.

1. Find an armoire in the correct size.
Craigslist Houston has this one listed for $75 (which happens to have a marble top)




or one like this, from Craigslist Dallas that's a little shorter, but still tall enough (should be at least bar height).



2. Deconstruct the interior (ie, take out all the weird existing shelving!).

3. Construct wine rack shelving at the bottom. You could use wood at home depot or lowes and cut pieces to fit. Then use wood glue and a nail gun to secure pieces together in a grid pattern. Also install wooden shelves (again, use wood from home depot or lowes and metal brackets) at desired height for bar tool storage.

4. Now give the inside a good sanding and a fresh coat of white paint. This makes it look clean and bright- the perfect background for your pretty bar things.

5. Using a nail gun/staple gun, attach wine glass holder onto the upper inside of the armoire. I mean, really go to town with that staple gun. I'm sure there are actual instructions for attaching the glass rack, so I guess you could follow those...


like this one from Target for $25.




or this smaller one, depending on the size of your salvaged armoire....

5. If the exterior wood color is less than appealing, give the whole thing a fresh coat of paint and seal with poly. Maybe a bright teal color, with the edges distressed a bit, like this buffet I saw at Star furniture, of all places. I can't get it out of my head. Try Vintage Teal or La Fonda teal from Valspar.





7. Update the hardware, if you so desire.

I like this cowardly lion knob from Anthro....





and this initial knob...



or this twisted twig pull.

5. Fill new bar armoire with drinks, supplies and cute organizers like these:



or this rattan tray from Pier1 for $18




I love the idea of a dark black armoire with a gold tray inside and lots of sparkly wine glasses. This tray is on holiday clearance from Pier 1 for a whopping $2.50.



fun little things.



Sounds like it's not too difficult, right? I think this could be an easy transformation to an ugly existing armoire that wants to be a bar. Send me your photos, if you attempt this DIY project yourself.

DIY Chandelier by Lindsey Adelman

WOW. What an incredible chandelier! Don't you think?

Lighting designer Lindsey Adelman has DIY instructions for this fantastically industrial/mid-century modern beauty.


Photo from Brick House. Love the light with the Eames chairs.






Photo from Le Boeuf. Love the addition to the minimalist kitchen with the potato chip chairs.




Brick House said it cost about $120 and one trip to Home Depot, and two days of labor. The instructables include links for ordering all the parts. I am seriously considering making one of these for myself and would recommend that you do too! Designer lighting for a STEAL! Can't get much better than that!