a little do it yourself

i love architecture. i always have. i have a dozen or so pretend houses in my head at any given time, a habit i formed by the time i was in kindergarten. my first serious pretend house, that i worked on from about age 6 to 8, was 3 or 4 stories tall and the front was a huge glass atrium with stone floors, a babbling brook, a bridge to the front door, and balconies across each floor overlooking it all. now that i have grown up, i realize that house would be the temperature of an easy-bake oven in the summer, impossible to heat in the winter and the babbling brook would most likely smell like an indoor public pool. live and learn. these days i draw multiple re-designs of the houses i live in using the existing footprint. sometimes with additions, sometimes not. these drawings are from my last house using the existing footprint with a garage addition. it is 3500 sq feet of stone and shake with copper flashing, eyelid dormers and a glass roofed conservatory room. it is sooo pretty in my head, planned out to the last hinge and doorknob. maybe someday i will get to bring one into the world just the way i see it.
p.s. in real life this footprint belongs to a 1952 flat roofed attempt at mid century modern. (yes, a flat roof in new hampshire and yes, it leaked when we bought it but not after we reinforced the seams and no, i never shoveled the snow off it).

singapore modern

check out the fantastic twenty five foot door in this architect's shotgun singapore home. i love what he has done with the proportions in this small space. photographs by richard powers for living etc. january 07.

my favorite silverware

from cutipol portugal.

not exactly in the budget...

but very pretty. wedgwood. i would like to plant a group of blue green succulents in the inky blue bowl below. i think it would look really lovely. photo above from australian vogue living.

color

ullabenulla

ok. this photograph by agatha katzensprung makes me want to jump up and down. i have been lurking all over ullabenulla's incredible site the last couple of nights. i have to admit i am the worst at blog surfing and could have a much more intresting site if i would follow links around more often. not only did i find this stunning agatha katzensprung photograph via ullabenulla, but there is also a list a mile long of beautiful links to visit. i have been visiting the links alphabetically so as not to miss any and i am currently on the letter c. another beauty, this time by simone shubuck (below), also via ullabenulla.

wicked clever

take a look at these two brilliant space savers. the "bridge" kitchen above is from xera. the tap folds down so the countertop can slide over the entire unit when not in use. when the two are separated, the countertop functions as your dining table. in the bathroom below, on which i sadly have no info, the possibilities are just endless. from clever chic as shown to over the top lavish. i'm a fan.

my dog ate it

can you believe it? in a freakish, completely out of character loss of all old dog that knows better sense, maxwell pigdog, aka piglet (right) ate my halfway beaded handbag front. @*%#** !?! 13 years and never has he done anything but take peanut butter sandwiches from the hands of children who are slow peanut butter eaters and do not pay proper attention to their peanut butter sandwiches. no peanut butter was involved in the beading of this bag. piglet, what the @#$%# ??

doors and windows

big love for these windows and doors used by london designer veere grenney. i appreciate the polished brass handles on the industrial black metal. he made a home for himself by combining two garages in the holland park area. these days, i imagine it would be hard to afford even one garage. i think the brickwork courtyard/entry is beyond fabulous. i can imagine the experience of coming home and entering my tiny house in the city, passing under the pergola. with all the windows it must glow like a little firefly at night.

oh baby

i have been waiting for a way to work in this felted, unbleached merino wool cocoon by the lazy environmentalist FOREVER. well, maybe just a month, but with absolutely beautiful things and apartment therapy talking young ones, i figure now is the time. the nursery for my pretend baby of unknown gender follows...these natural linens with red accents will look great in my baby's sleek custom brass baby bed with walnut top rail. the teardrop light by uber-fabulous bodo sperlein will hang with a couple of early birds by perch from velocity art and design, all at different heights and on a dimmer of course. because the antique armenian dog rug is fragile, i will hang it and the dada mule poster by legendary hatch show print on the wall and put this neat-o labyrinth rug by amazed under foot. pretend baby can follow the path with his/her rocking rabbit and jetliner espresso toys by playsam. we can prop up in the wingback with this paris tokyo cushion cover from conran shop and snuggle with a good book and this cotton throw from klippan. you can find pretend baby of unknown gender, my half and more than half grown babies, my husband, this pretend room and myself in the house with the moat a couple of posts down. so, if you are ever in house with moat area of france, stop by! we'll leave the light on for you....

interesting graphics...

mercedes jaen for aerolito

admir jukanovic

i like deconstructed lighting, particularly ingo maurer style. these lights, bingo ingo (above) and would you voodoo (below), by admir jukanovic caught my eye. the voodoo lamp reacts differently depending on where you place the pins. i have to appreciate that. i enjoy interactive product. my favorite though is on his wesite. look for the pendant lamp with the arrow shot through it. delightfully diffrent and very interesting when lit.

just beautiful etc....

amazing and seemingly unfair. photographs by frederic-leon ducout for art and decoration.

les bucoliques

love this cushion! les bucoliques.

collett zarzycki

collett zarzycki architecture and design. in my top five favorites. they have a beautiful portfolio on their website.

black and yellow

inspired by absolutely beautiful things, a black and yellow room from the 70's. still completely lovely today. i particularly like the rug.

Barnstormers

wow

david wiseman

i know i have posted this david wiseman ceiling before, but i love it so much i had to post this new photograph that shows more of the room. i think it is even more stunning when you can see the installation in context. the ceiling is in a 1920's georgian home in highland park, a project by la designer rodman primack. i love it so much i want to hug it. given the chance, i would also hug the vase below.

sfgirlbybay

have you seen sfgirlbybay lately? i'm sure everyone knows about her. she has one beautiful thing after another, many of which i have never heard of so it is very exciting for me. check out the all the great posts and fabulous links including the small stakes poster shop (above). i am completely nuts for this sold out poster = bummer! i am REALLY inspired by the artwork of the small stakes. i am trying to work out a schedule to take a printing class at the local art school. printing is fascinating to me and i can not wait to learn how to put my own design to paper. i am thinking it will be so much faster than a needle and thread. also, look for her post on emma rose papery and their letterpressed goods (below). pretty!

i'll take a one way ticket...

old dubai. photographs by nicole katz for 34.