A dilemma in the kitchen

Home improvement is going really well thanks to Alex. He painted the master bath and re-grouted the tiles along the edge of the tub and also painted the mirror and light fixture so they look fresh and clean. This weekend he worked on the kitchen. This is what I'm working on now. Originally I wanted kind of a southwestern theme but I didn't the typical adobe-mustard-turquoise color palette. Plus, we are thinking of painting the kitchen a bright tomato red...

Here are some ideas I got from the Color Hunter, which is a great sight for searching color palettes based on key words and photos from Flickr.

The Painted Desert - I love the red but this is too typical of a color scheme.

This one's called the Flickr Express. The dark color on the left is a deep forest green.

I like this one, called Diorama but the colors might be a little too muted. I picked this one because I was also considering painting the kitchen a jade green at one point.

This is Bryce Canyon - I think this is what I will end up going with. The blues flow nicely into orange and brick red. It's a little too Burnt Sienna for me though so I might choose a red that is closer to red-orange.

Mudstuff on Etsy

Siamese Mouse

Rhino Baby

Little Mouse/Tiny Mouse

Good Times/Bad Times Baby

Mudstuff was featured on Etsy's front page today. Honestly - if it weren't for the "Handpicked Items" I wouldn't be able to find half of the awesome shit I've seen. These little sculptures are all made of concrete and then stained by MUD in Seattle, WA.

Slightly creepy - I love every piece, especially the rhino baby and Siamese mice.

Oh damn...

Look what I found!

Awesome vintage racehorse toys from BROOKLYNrehab on Etsy. Remind me of those arcade games at carnivals and country fairs where you roll rubber balls into holes to make the horses bob towards the finish line...


Porcelain nuts and a trio of mini forest animals by kg + ab on Etsy. And also sometimes at the Brooklyn Flea! I love that these are completely white. They stand out. I especially love the little fox, with his tail sticking up!



Loch Ness monster on wheels, a heart factory, a cloud factory. By PearsonMaron on Etsy.

Son of a bitch!

These adorable miniature ceramic houses are made by thelittelreddoor on Etsy. I think I need a little row of these on my bookshelf, no? Totes precious against a golden yellow. Yes, I think so. Now to find mini ceramic animals.

Scenes from a new apartment

Closeup of our bookshelf that lines the living room wall, newly painted Golden Orchards. The books are all by Aaron Cometbus, introduced to me by RL a few years ago. I'm most grateful for this discovery as he's become one of my favorite writers and heroes.

The horrible Pepto Bismol master bath, newly painted by Alex. The color is Poolside Blue - it's actually a little darker and it's the perfect shade of aqua, inspired by Miss Deb's post over here. See the #5 photo.

Our new occasional table purchased today at the Brooklyn Flea from La Mesa Grande of Scranton, PA. We saw the table last week when the Flea was nearly empty... But we didn't buy it then because were indecisive about it. A week to think about it is long enough - he still had it and even offered to put a shelf on it for the baskets! I found these old berry baskets at King's County Salvage, who are usually in the sand pit - they're a little dirty and stained with berry juice but I love them! They're perfect for the table and good for putting keys, wallets, etc into them. And one of them is great for putting all our NYC subway/bus/bike maps into. The table is made from antique barn wood and he will make you a custom piece if you can't find what you're looking for. Some great farm tables, cabinets and chairs. It's good karma wood!

Heartburn, nausea, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea

That's what my new bathroom makes me feel. So I've been talking about this for the past couple of weeks but we finally moved yesterday. It was a harrowing experience, much less for me than the actual movers. Alex had already taken up about 20 boxes and stacked them on the stairs leading to the rooftop in an exercise of magical Egyptian pyramid building. The morning of we were still scrambling to get last minute stuff and we thought we left much to be done...

We had to call in last minute movers because of a misunderstanding. Having two sets of movers moving up and down, we needed a maestro to conduct everything! There is still much cleaning and organizing and trading of fridge contents to be done. But the first thing I want to start working on is the master bathroom, pictured above. I didn't realize it had been painted Pepto Bismol pink, including the ceiling!!!

Here is my Polyvore set that I just made to keep track of my ideas for the bathroom. I want it simple and NOT PINK.

I need to paint the walls a light turquoise color as I want this to be the main color of the bathroom, with touches of khaki/sand. Then I can stop hyperventilating when I walk in there.

Home sweet floor

So I'm driving myself crazy with this move coming up. Not from the packing, but from design ideas! So bear with me, this will have an interior design slant of sorts for the next few months.

Here are my ideas so far...
For the bedroom & connected bathroom, I want the beach. A flax/khaki down comforter and apricot jersey bedding. Bright blue, peacock and yellow linens.


All bedding from The Company Store, where all my current linens are from. Very well made and they always have great sales.
I saw this pretty garland on Etsy by Sepia Art Studio...

...but then I realized I was basically going to be paying $25 for twine & rags. So I will make my own as I too have twine and beads and can get seashells for a buck or so via Etsy, my latest addiction.

I'm on the hunt for photos of surfers, the beach and underwater things. Also hollowed out sea urchin shells and things in shades of sea glass and sand. Since it will also be my work area I want it to be calming.

In the kitchen and dining area I'm thinking of a southwest theme with a little Dia de los Muertos thrown in:


This is from Gothic Cabinet Craft. I really wanted an old vintage farmhouse table but the prices were exorbitant. Add "reclaimed" to any piece of furniture and it automatically triples in price! The design is pretty typical which is why I would get it in the distressed green finish. We have space big enough for this which is exciting. No more eating in front of the TV! As for chairs we will pick those up as we go - they're easier to bring home from flea markets and mismatched ones are ok.


I have always loved these tissue banners. These are by Ay Mujer! on Etsy, handcut and she also does custom orders.


I like how the wood comes through. If you look at other photos you can see that it is on a house-shaped piece of wood with a tin roof that has scalloped edges. And the pink is a nice pale shade too! By Aeonia.


Another Etsy find, by DavidM9637. This will be great in the kitchen as a spice rack and place to hang my aprons.

As for dinnerware...
I'm finding a couple of sellers on eBay and Etsy who have small collections of these cheerful Marimekko dinner plates. They're being sold 2 and 3 at a time so I have to be patient and collect them all

I also love love love these Spin Art plates (called the Right Rounds) by Nuno Studio of Brooklyn! She does great work, like lavender plates with armadillos or white plates with turquoise line drawings of bivalves.

And that's just the beginning. Exciting but daunting at the same time!

Orla Kiely at Target!

UK designer Orla Kiely's housewares drop the first week of February at Target stores nationwide. I've only seen her things at Anthropologie so far but I love the simple, bold designs and bright colors. I'm definitely going to try to score a new dinnerware set. Happy birthday to me! (in about 2.5 weeks, ahem!)

Mostly naughty

Been a fan of Branch Home for a while, with their wonderful home products. Sustainable and natural and good for the soul:


These adorable felt manta rays are handmade in Nepal. I have no idea what I would do with these in my home but they are my favorite sea animal and I love them. I never see any ray products being sold so this is extra exciting.


And look underneath! Great detail for such a simple product. I love love love. They're like little raviolis of the sea. With teeth!


More from Branch Home, these adorable handmade pillows made of hemp and stuffed with natural feathers and down. Made by K Studio, a mother-daughter team in Grand Rapids, Michigan.


I FINALLY FOUND THEM! Earlier this year when we were in San Francisco, Alex and I stopped into a little home design store right next to Ici (ice cream) on College Ave in Berkeley. I adored these hand felted pebbles from South Africa but didn't buy any, and have since been looking for the name of the store so I could find out how to get them. And here they are. These are different from other felted pebbles you might see, as there are no actual pebbles. They are soft and light and can be used as decoration or a pin cushion.

Check these awesome Bamboo products by Bambu - I kind of want everything.

More things I want

49 Mile Scenic Drive sign by wexfordgirl on etsy. Saw these all over San Francisco and fell in LOVE with their simple design and bright colors. They make me happy. I'd like to do the drive one day and photograph all the signs, though I believe many have been stolen. And why not, they are awesome!

Another rendition in linoprint also available in orange. From The Curiosity Shoppe via SFGirlByBay via BonBon Oiseau. I love the how the blogosphere works!

Another one via SFGirlByBay, a page from Eli, No! an unpublished children's book by Katie Kirk. Love the simplicity and colors, again. This style of design makes me happy happy joy joy.

Apothecary jars from Design Within Reach, number one on my "If I ever get married this place would be on my registry" list. What to put in them? Or would you even put anything in them? The possibilities are endless.

Home sweet home

Now that we are back home I want to focus a little bit on home improvement. More like home decor anyway. I just got a couple of pieces to put up in the living room:
This is a piece by Mister Rob Ryan from the UK. He has beautiful laser cut paper products which he makes into tiles and prints. This is a small piece that's emo without being too cheesy. Like me, hopefully. But who am I kidding, I am a wallower.
This is a print by David Moore of an old WWII poster from England that was never posted. There are a ton of these floating around, re-made by different people but I liked these colors best. I got this for Alex, to remember not to stress too hard.


What I really love are these paintings by SF artist Ian Johnson. I first saw his work about four years ago in San Francisco at a group show curated by Derek from Park Life (before Park Life was born). He usually does old jazz musicians but he has portraits of Haruki Murakami and William S. Burroughs (below, I think) as well.

I like the mixture of realism in the figures and acid trip in the background. Kind of like a mullet - party in the back!

The original paintings are a little much for me right now but I will settle for a print. If they will ever make more. Aha.

The dish

Short slideshow from NY Times about dishes. Sarah Cihat, of Rehabilitated Dishware, lists a few dishes she'd use in her own home. Above, Patricia Urquiola for Rosenthal.

Related article here.

Some dishes by Cihat:

Inter-love

My new favorite blog, Chez Larsson. Maintained by Benita from Sweden, I first learned about her on Apartment Therapy. She has a great, clean design ethic that is fresh and inspiring. And great inspiration too, for project and home decoration. Her blog is wonderful, including how-tos for small projects and great ideas for interior design.

Check it out!

Smallest/coolest

Greenpoint rental 420 sq ft: Love love love this kitchen. The exposed brick, the little breakfast bar with storage, all that natural light.

Midtown east rental 650 sq ft: I love the color of the wall against the blond parquet flooring. Really opens up the room and adds a homey touch.

Greenwich Village rental 200 sq ft: I love how this is one room transformed into two.

Apartment Therapy's Smallest, Coolest Apartment Contest is under way. I love seeing how people maximize their mini. Images are from Gothamist via Apartment Therapy.