Author Archive
Posted by Chris Gardner to Uncategorized on
22 July 2010, with 3 comments so far.
In the last few years, industrial designers have continued to push the boundaries of material and texture towards creating amazing new home decor products made from things that were previously impossible. But, many of these designs rely on expensive machines and manufacturing techniques that have kept them out of reach of the average DIYster.
So, it’s always reason to celebrate when some clever soul comes up with a project that rivals those high-end efforts. And, oh boy, is this DIY woven wood lamp one of ‘em. Strips of wood veneer (available at woodworking shops, or as edge-banding at your local home improvement center) are wrapped and glued around each other, housing a single bulb powered by an IKEA Hemma cord set.
Just be sure to use a low-watt bulb, and then bask in its warm, wooden glory.
[Via: Poppytalk: DIY with Bookhou: Woven Lamp]
Tags: diy, How-To, lamp, wood, woven
Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Posted by Chris Gardner to Uncategorized on
20 July 2010, with no comments so far.
Furniture, like the best things in life, comes in a variety of flavors. But normally, once you’ve committed, you’re living with the piece for the long haul, or at least until you’ve used it enough to justify whatever you’ve spent.
Not so with the Darwin chair by Stefan Sagmeister, presented at Design Miami/Basel a few weeks ago. The chair features 200 uniquely patterned sheets that can be torn off as they wear.
(more…)
Tags: chair, design, Furniture
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Posted by Chris Gardner to Uncategorized on
19 July 2010, with 2 comments so far.
Blank, white walls can intimidate even the best of us. On the outside, we say, “Oh, it’s modern, it’s classic, it’s, so…Scandinavian,” while our insides are shrieking, “Oh my gosh, it has such potential! I don’t wanna mess this up,” or, at other times, “I’ve got nothing.”
Liz from Paislee Press, who in her bio claims her “fondness for white space and uncluttered counter tops,” decided she had one white wall too many, a choice blank space betwixt two bookshelves in her office:
So, she created a stylish photo wall display that rivals the best we’ve seen. Liz says:
I decided to go with a square format so I could include both photos and layouts in the mosaic arrangement. All of the photos were printed with a white border. I like how the white borders “frames” each individual photo and also acts as an anchor, visually bringing together all of the photos. The layouts were printed without the borders.
And the best part? She’s created a free, downloadable template so you can easily format your pics in Photoshop!
See it all on the Paislee Press
[Via Creature Comforts]
Tags: art, diy, photo, wall
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Posted by Chris Gardner to Uncategorized on
14 July 2010, with 4 comments so far.
Ten years ago, an 1869 brownstone in the East Village was to be boarded up with a check-cashing operation filling its ground floor.
Go to this same spot today, and you’ll find a clean white condominium, and if the weather’s nice, you just might be able to see the entire second floor. From New York Magazine, in regards to the architect:
Peterson…imagined the brownstone tilting back and up like a garage door, updating the traditional parlor-level balcony into a 21st-century porch….The architect went to Stone Panels in Coppell, Texas, to source ultralight brownstone, which weighs three and a half pounds per square foot rather than 60. A thin veneer of real stone is bonded to a three-quarter-inch aluminum honeycomb, and the resulting blocks can be used like quarried rock. The hardware on the moving wall is custom, and McLaren Engineering Group, the firm Peterson eventually hired, also works for Cirque du Soleil.
The resulting space is still the original 16 ft wide, but now opens up to hear the bells of St. Mark’s and the din of nearby Stuyvesant Square.
Whatcha think? Has anyone actually seen this space in person?
[Via BoingBoing]
Tags: apartment, architecture
Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Posted by Chris Gardner to Uncategorized on
13 July 2010, with 2 comments so far.
A quick bit of mid-century trivia from Make It! Mid-Century Modern, a How to Guide:
The word mobile conjurs up two images: the tinkly contraption hanging above cribs in nurseries ‘round the world, and the work of Alexander Calder….His early experiments with wire sculpture and kinetic toys eventually led to his famous kinetic sculptures, dubbed by friend Duchamp as mobile, meaning both “movable” and “motive” in French. Over the next decade, Calder perfected his articulating mobiles, capturing the realtivity of weight while exploring the movement of wire and steel in time and place.
So, see? The mobile fits in your fresh-modern lounge just as well as it fits in your nursery. And…da dum da! They’re totally easy to make at home.
Heather from Dollar Store Crafts whipped up this geometric guy, taking her inspiration from JennSki’s print of a mod mobile. She used some fancy cuttin’ software contraption, but it’s nothing that a trace and pair of sharp scissors couldn’t handle.
[Via Dollar Store Crafts]
Tags: How-To, mobile, paper
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Posted by Chris Gardner to art on
9 July 2010, with no comments so far.
Artist Don Lucho decided he wanted an entire apartment made from nothing but cardboard, and so artist Don Lucho built an entire apartment made from nothing but cardboard, complete with dirty dishes and sneakers on the floor.
“Casa de Carton” is rife with details – a roll of toilet paper, a stack of books on the nightstand, utensils hanging from the wall, and is certain to make anyone who enters feel like they’re inside a drawing, perhaps even two-toned and line-arty, themselves.
Looks like this dude’s been up since November! How did we not know about this yet? C’mon, internet! Do you instant gratification magic!
[Casa de Carton: Don Lucho on Flickr, via Laughing Squid]
Tags: apartment, paper
Posted in art | No Comments »
Posted by Chris Gardner to Furniture and Salvage on
2 July 2010, with 3 comments so far.
It seems the craft and style blogosphere is on an infinite quest to come up with as many alternative ways to create DIY headboards as possible. At least once a week, someone’s come up with a way to use magazines or post-its or bicycles as a focal point to set their snuggly space apart.
So, this hack, which takes an existing headboard and makes something from it, is both welcomed and refreshing. Kate of Centsational Girl came up with this unique approach for creating a coat rack.
“A little while ago, I bought a spindly old-fashioned twin headboard at the local thrift store with every intention of turning it into a bench. I’d seen the idea traveling around on some blogs, and loved it.After some thought, I decided I had less use for a bench, and greater use for a coat rack in my guest space. I had a bare wall, so why not fashion the headboard into a rack for scarves, sweaters, jackets, robes, or hats for my guests?… Now, the twin headboard has been transformed into an architecturally decorative piece, providing both form and function.”
[DIY Headboard Turned Coat Rack]
Tags: coat, headboard, rack
Posted in Furniture, Salvage | 3 Comments »
Posted by Chris Gardner to Decorating and Lighting on
30 June 2010, with no comments so far.
There’s nothing better than a double-duty DIY project—one how-to, two uses, infinite glowbasking.
This double header uses just a bit of fabric, an embroidery hoop, and a string of lights to create a mod windsock/garden lantern. “During the day, it will add interest & texture. At night, it gives off a soft, ambient light that glows like a firefly—a nice touch for a summer evening lazing outside.”
Jan, from the organic fabric company Daisy Janie, provides a fine how-to that you can whip up in about an hour. Spend an afternoon, and you can fill your outdoor space with soft glows and bold graphic punches. Your yard will never have looked so mod!
[How to make a fabric windsock garden lantern, via craftzine]
Tags: garden, lantern, yard
Posted in Decorating, Lighting | No Comments »
Posted by Chris Gardner to Decorating on
25 June 2010, with 5 comments so far.
The whiteboard is a brilliant tool for capturing ideas, making lists and leaving reminders, and facilitating brainstorming and education. But, it leaves A LOT to be desired in terms of aesthetics, and we’re pretty sure it won’t be winning any home decor or design awards anytime soon.
Unless one came up with a dry erase board that could serve double-duty as a piece of wall art once you’ve erased your final to-do. Well, one has done just that, Brittni from Paper N Stitch.
“I am constantly writing notes and messages to myself to help me remember what I have going on for the day. But my office is also my bedroom, so an ugly dry erase board is just not an option….I wanted something that could pull double-duty, and that’s when I came up with this…an idea for a pretty dry erase board that serves as wall art when not in use.”
[Tutorial: Double Duty Dry Erase Board]
Tags: How-To, organization
Posted in Decorating | 5 Comments »
Posted by Chris Gardner to How-To and Lighting on
21 June 2010, with no comments so far.
There must something about the chandelier that allows its material to appear instantly elegant, no matter from what it’s been made. Just see the blogosphere’s infamous tampon chandelier and the human bones chandelier at an ossuary in the Czech Republic.
Thankfully, these DIY large-scale light fixtures are created from something much more accessible —the standard paperclip. At a dollar a box, paperclips can be strung together in all kinds of arrangements to make, from the looks of it, a pretty big impact. For a bit of assistance, check out these instructions from Etsy seller Re:Design Technologies. “For the handy DIY’ers out there, I bring you the Paper Clip Chandelier Frame “Master Key” Tutorial—everything you ever needed to know about the concepts, theories and methodology behind the Re:Design Technologies Paper Clip Chandelier Line.
This 12 page tutorial covers the basic concepts of working with the unusual materials used and illustrates the steps that I take in constructing all four RDT paper clip chandeliers seen on Etsy; Romanesque, Operetta, Helianthus and Moderna.”
$6.50 for one, or $15. for all four.
[Re:Design Technologies - Paper Clip Chandeliers; via Dollar Store Crafts]
Posted in How-To, Lighting | No Comments »
Posted by Chris Gardner to Decorating and How-To on
4 June 2010, with 1 comment so far.
Some of my favorite DIY projects are those that are really quite obvious and nearly anyone can do, they just needed some thoughtful individual to put two and two together and take photos along the way.
So, add this super quick and easy painted glassware tutorial to your “I should have thought of that” list, and then go grab some glasses and brushes, and whip some up!
Catherine from The Beat That My Heart Skipped says,
“I collected up a bunch of spare glassware, including bottles and glasses, and decided to give them a lick of paint on the inside. I was quite surprised by the results. If you use a similar palette for the different containers, and try to use glassware with different textures on the outside, the result is a set which is matching in tone but varied in texture. Which—I think—looks pretty effective. Also, using [matte] paint looks great because when you paint the inside, the glossiness of the glass really shows, which makes for another interesting contrast.”
We would have to agree!
[Get the whole tutorial at Catherine's blog: DIY Pastel Painted Glassware]
Tags: glassware, How-To, paint
Posted in Decorating, How-To | 1 Comment »
Posted by Chris Gardner to Decorating on
28 May 2010, with 3 comments so far.
Psst… have you heard? Clouds are the new moustaches, which were the new cupcakes, which were the new owls, which were the new bird silhouettes, which were the…. Whatevs. Clouds are cool, and they bring a fine element of the outdoors and some playfulness to your home decor.
To get in on the nimbusness, try this quick and easy DIY cloud rug how-to from Lifeflix.
“I purchased a yard of “Grey Shaggy Pile Faux Fur” fabric from this ebay seller (they also have a website). At first I was afraid the fur was too long, more hairy than puffy… but now that I’m done and the rugs are in place, I love the way they look and feel! Keep in mind that because I painted my floors using paint with an eggshell finish, I didn’t need to attach a non-slip backing to my rugs. Depending on what type of floors you have, you may need to add some sort of anti-slip pad or stickers to the bottom. Ikea sells really cheap anti-slip pads.”
The trick seems to be in Fray Check, a liquid seam sealant for fabrics, available at the craft store.
[How to: Faux Sheepskin Cloud Rug at Lifeflix, via Creature Comforts]
Tags: cloud, clouds, diy, floor, How-To, rug
Posted in Decorating | 3 Comments »
Posted by Chris Gardner to Uncategorized on
27 May 2010, with no comments so far.
I love other people’s children. But I’d love them even more if they were snuggling atop an tiny Eames lounge or enjoying a coloring book in a Saarinen womb chair.
Turns out, I can get my wish. Little Nest is an Australian company that makes tyke-sized modern kids furniture. Even more adorably, they give each model a kiddish twist on the name: so the Swan chair becomes the Cygnet, the Egg Chair the Yolk, and the Bertoia wire chair the Little Bert.
There are lots of understandable debates in the mid-century communities about originals vs. knockoffs, respecting artist works vs. their extremely high prices, etc. But these things are so adorable, you’d think Charles and Ray and Eerio and Arne might just be okay with it.
[See them all at Little Nest]
Tags: Furniture, kids, mid-century
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Posted by Chris Gardner to Decorating on
24 May 2010, with no comments so far.
Joel Pirela of Blue Ant Studio–an outfit known, among much other work, for their alphabets of mod furniture silhouettes—had a large textured wall that he and his family simply hated. Sick of using square panels and wall art, they came up with the simple solution of installing 4×8′ sheets of birch plywood onto the wall, secured with visible hardware. The birch panels create a brilliant and warm backdrop that shows off their impressive collection of George Nelson and other great mid-century clocks, and stands up well to their striking Nelson bench, Noguchi table, and Eames chairs.
[Via Design*Sponge]
Tags: baltic birch, birch plywood, clock, decor, midcentury, Nelson clock, plywood, wall
Posted in Decorating | No Comments »
Posted by Chris Gardner to Decorating and How-To on
14 May 2010, with 4 comments so far.
The jar lid screwed to the underside of a shelf is a popular tip for space-saving home organization, but the goal there is usually to see and access what’s in the jar itself. This through-the-table vase by Tomokazu Hayakawa offers a fresh spin—hide the jar under the table and use it to nourish floral blooms.
Simply screwing the jar lid to the bottom of the table and then drilling a hole through the table and lid (the post suggests IKEA’s Vika Furuskog) makes it simple to support a single flower, or several in series.
[Read more at IKEA Hacker: Table Vase]
Tags: flower, How-To, ikea, ikea hacks, illusion, table, vase
Posted in Decorating, How-To | 4 Comments »
