Although I try to eat veggies and fruit as much as possible, all too often our weekly produce ends up withering away in our ancient fridge “crisper” drawer. I spotted a better way to store those fresh peaches and get a summery design kick to the countertop at my stylish friend Marianne’s house this weekend. Placing produce in a pretty basket (she got hers here) keeps it at room temperature and moving faster from kitchen to table. How can you resist fresh strawberries staring you down?
Archive for the ‘What Do You Want To Do?’ Category
Putting it all in one basket
Posted in Organization, Reinvent It, Shop It, Tabletop on July 22, 2009| 6 Comments »
Alison Shaw Photography
Posted in Art, Shop It, Walls on July 20, 2009| Leave a Comment »
I was first introduced to Alison Shaw’s work when visiting a friend on Martha’s Vineyard in the early ’90s. Since then, Alison’s West Tisbury Lamb has become one of my favorite baby gifts. But it wasn’t until I visited her site recently that I realized the breadth of her work. Ranging from abstract seascapes to striking black & white architectural images to the colbalt blues of her collection from Greece, Alison’s portfolio includes sheer beauty for walls. As a fledgling artist myself, I’m particularly drawn to her images from artists’ studios, proving that a messy space — in and of itself — can be stunning.
Posters, notecards, and books available online. Fine art photography prints available at Alison’s gallery in Oak Bluffs, exhibits listed here, or by calling 508-696-7429.
Images: Alison Shaw
Night Night, Amy!
Posted in Décor, Shop It on July 14, 2009| 3 Comments »
For those of us who are fans of the bright, modern, fresh designs of Amy Butler (I sometimes wish I had a daughter just so I could dress her in clothing made with Miss Butler’s fabrics), there’s something new to covet — a just-released line of bedding available at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I had heard word from fellow home design bloggers that Miss Butler would be releasing a line this summer and have been checking in on her site ever since. Thanks to a late-night Twitter check-in tonight, I hear it’s finally available online! Five collections, delicious colors, 400-thread-count sheets and 100% organic…get a good (and beautiful) night’s sleep!
Image credit: Amy Butler Design
Butterfly Chairs
Posted in Furniture, Outside, Shop It on July 13, 2009| 2 Comments »
I don’t know if they’re making a resurgence, or if the great lounge chair from my childhood home just happens to be everywhere I am right now, but Butterflies seem to be following me. First, a month or so ago while passing through Urban Outfitters — a foldable version with a leather cover. Then in a Ralph Lauren Home ad while reading the Sunday Times. A few weeks later, two set side-by-side as the seating area in a newly-opened local clothing boutique. And finally, the very chair from my childhood on a recent visit to Vermont.
Butterfly chairs, designed by Argentinian architect Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy in 1938, became commercially available when Knoll began producing them in 1947. Since then, numerous manufacturers have produced versions of the original design, and today you can find them a retailers ranging from Modern Furniture Classics to Circa50 to PB Teen.
It’s shape and endless cover choices means the incredibly versatile Butterfly can give a room a strong design statement and be used nearly everywhere. In my house growing up, our Butterfly chair played a leading role indoors, but they can make a really stunning set up outside too, just check out the patio at the Parker Palm Springs…
Image credit: Apartment Therapy
The Beauty of Built-Ins
Posted in Furniture, Make It, Organization, Reinvent It, Walls on July 9, 2009| 5 Comments »
I’ve been in love with built-in bookshelves for as long as I can remember. Maybe it’s that they remind me of my childhood home, or maybe it’s just that I knew from early on, without really knowing, that built-ins can be a beautiful way to maximize a space and make it feel positively custom. Whatever the reason, I have been ripping out pictures of built-ins and fantasizing about them since I started hoarding home design magazines a decade ago.
So my dream finally came true when after spending more than two years talking incessantly about how the knee-wall in our master bedroom would be the-perfect-spot for built-ins and making grand promises of how my ever-growing piles would transform into neat, useful, and dare I say, decorative additions to our room, my husband finally gave in.
Enter Bill Jones of FreshAir Millworks, carpenter extraordanaire. In one short week (and only one day in our house for the installation), Jonesy whipped up a new piece for us that delivered exactly the vision I had every night as I fell asleep staring at that wall. I don’t know why it took us so long to move on this project — possible fear of working with a contractor (we’re newbies), not knowing how to access a contractor without getting ripped off (personal referrals are key), or just getting up the gumption to spend a chunk of money on something so — well — permanent (that’s a hard one to swallow unless your absolutely sure what you want). But the whole process of working with Jonesy was so easy, that it’s hard to stop coming up with projects for him now.
Want a little bit of FreshAir Millworks for your home? Contact Bill Jones at (508) 587-1109.
Watering-Can Shower
Posted in Make It, Outside on July 6, 2009| 1 Comment »
Now that summer has finally arrived (better late than never), I’m looking forward to long barefooted days outside. Although the kid-proof rug in my mudspace is terrific for stopping tracked-in dirt, after my boys spend a couple of hours digging in the yard excavating dinosaurs, they’re ready for a wash-down. Rather than giving their toesies a full-force hosing, I love this stylish and sensible idea from Martha Stewart. Place a teak bath mat (a great slip-free surface) and a full watering can by the back door to rinse off dirty or sandy feet before coming inside. Another dual-use option is a galvanized boot tray, souped up with drilled-in drainage holes and filled with smooth pebbles — should the rain come again (and you know it will), bring it inside and use it as a parking space for your wellies.
Image credit: Martha Stewart
Goofproof Gardening
Posted in Grow It, Outside on June 30, 2009| Leave a Comment »
With crossed fingers that the sun will come out and stay out, I plan to hit my local garden center at the end of this week. I’m notoriously bad about getting plants into the ground early in the season (somehow Massachusetts’ unoffocial gardening start date of May 15 always comes and goes without a second thought), but I’m not feeling so bad about it this year given the rain-induced plant mildew that seems to be appearing. Anyway, Real Simple’s list of 10 almost-impossible-to-kill “goofproof” plants will definitely come in handy as I put together my shopping list:
- Verbena (full sun, heat-tolerant, let dry out before watering)
- New Guinea impatiens (partial sun, partial shade, keep moist)
- Geranium (full sun, heat-tolerant, drought-tolerant)
- Euphorbia (full to partial fun, partial shade, drought-tolerant)
- Purple fountain grass (full to partial sun, partial shade, heat-tolerant, let dry out before watering)
- Coleus (partial sun, partial to full shade, heat-tolerant, keep moist)
- Calibrachoa (full sun, let dry out before watering)
- Sweet-potato vine (full to partial sun, partial shade, heat-tolerant, let dry out before watering)
- Begonia (full to partial sun, partial shade, heat-tolerant, drought-tolerant, let dry out before watering)
- Lantana (full sun, heat-tolerant, drought-tolerant, let dry out before watering)
Image: Cabaret White Calibrachoa
Image credit: Real Simple.com
French Bull Picnic Set
Posted in Inside the Mudroom, Outside, Shop It, Tabletop on June 29, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Over the weekend I heard a depressing statistic…here in Boston and the surrounding area, we’ve had a grand total of three days of sun in June. Since we don’t, in fact, live in Seattle, I think enduring the ongoing deluge deserves some sort of medal, or at least this sassy and summery picnic set from French Bull. The heavy duty insulated backpack is filled with non-breakable service for four, cutting board, salt & pepper shakers, corkscrew, bottle opener and an oversize blanket — ready for the moment that the sun comes out. Tomorrow?
French Bull Blanket Picnic Set, $150
Image credit: French Bull
DIY Art: Downloadable Vintage Prints
Posted in Art, Make It on June 26, 2009| 2 Comments »
If you’re looking for a no-cost way to update your walls, click over to Vintage Printables and start shopping. Don’t be scared off by the sometimes clunky site — it’s chock-full of fabulous high-resolution, downloadable, free images that have been hand-selected by “Swivelchair,” a biopharma worker who has a serious love for collecting out-of-copyright scientific illustrations. Luckily for those of us who would rather hang WPA-era posters on our walls than detailed drawings of the human heart, “Swivelchair” has collected those too. Botanicals, travel posters, curiosities — you name it, and Vintage Printables has probably got it.
So have fun choosing, then bring your selections to your local copy center and print ’em out poster size, or go cheap like me and use your own color printer and an old frame that needs a new tenant.
{Thanks to Design Mom for sharing this great find!}
Built by IKEA, Updated by Bemz
Posted in Furniture, Reinvent It, Shop It on June 24, 2009| 1 Comment »
I’m a big fan of slipcovers. In theory.
When my husband and I bought our first “real” living room furniture (read: not a hand-me-down futon on an unfinished frame with splinters that I slept on beginning my sophomore year of college) every piece was slipcovered. Dirty? Throw it in the washer! Bored with the look? Order another one! The washability was great, but when we did, in fact, get bored with the look, I dicovered it was going to cost $750 to get a new slipcover for an $800 club chair. If only I had bought that chair at IKEA and then, if only I had known about Bemz, things would have been different.
Bemz, a Stockholm-based company whose products can be found only online, specializes in custom slipcovers for the most popular sofa and chair models from IKEA including the Ektorp, Klippan, Lillberg and more. The fabric offering is vast (but not too vast — a plus in my book), and prices are reasonable (a slipcover for a 4-seater Klippan sofa is about $200), but the real clincher for me is that Bemz offers slipc
overs in Marimekko prints.
If only I had known. Our big ol’ club chair would’ve been from the IKEA PS collection and covered in Marimekko’s Unikko poppies…or maybe navy linen…or orange cotton…
Image credits: Bemz
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