BlueBird Hill

Clever Sink

Love this DIY pedestal sink using the Xavier Pauchard Marais stool and a simple white vessel basin. Would work great for a tight spot in a small bathroom.

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Pear Terrarium

...from decor8. She bought hers in Germany, but sourced one here. Looks good in her kitchen, too.

Nice

A little English cottage-looking built-in dogbed and boot storage.

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Spark Modern Fires

These fireplaces are relatively new (2005), and they are really taking off. The gas fireplaces are totally customizable, simple, and can be worked into almost any type of room. Below are some inspiration photos from Design Milk.

Stair Love

I would like to marry these stairs. Love the bookcase below.

Dreaming Camera Case

Cool, new camera case from MOMA. Love it.

Bocce on the Brain

So one of our new DIY projects is going to be a bocce ball court. Bocce began in Italy during the 19th century and is played on a court of crushed stone. You try to throw balls closest to the target ball (pallino). Initially bocce was only played in Italian communities, although people who secretly wish they were Italian and eat large amounts of pasta (like me) are also enjoying the game these days. Below are some bocce inspiration photos.

In Praise of the Anenome Coronaria...

on D*S. Pretty flowers.

Pinecones and Acorns

These are fun. From Coe & Waito.

Snowflakes Up Close

Most of us have seen snowflake closeups before, but they're still pretty cool. These snowflake photos were taken by Kenneth Libbrecht of CalTech, using a specially-designed snowflake photomicroscope. They show real snow crystals that fell to earth in northern Ontario, Alaska, Vermont, the Michigan Upper Peninsula, and the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. From New Scientist.

Mimosa.

Every year Pantone predicts a hot color. You're looking at 2009's which is Mimosa. I'm sure a bright happy color and memories of a delicious brunch cocktail might be in order for the next year.

Cozy Fireplaces

The weather has definitely turned. Here are some warm, cozy fireplace photos...

Coolest Showerhead Ever

How simple and smart. Love this Pluviae shower design by Matteo Dunn + Partners.

New Resolutions

This website is simple, yet very interesting and persuades you to check back on a regular basis...blog gold. Below are a few examples. On 2-1/2 Months To New Year's Resolutions:

"Not so normal resolutions at a not so traditional time.

Goals, aims, things to do, things to not do, all with as little words as possible. You might agree, you might disagree, you might relate, or you might not. Phrased in ways that don’t mean just one thing.

EMAIL ME YOUR RESOLUTIONS: Strange, funny, silly, ironic and the boring ones - the best will be featured once a week. Just drop me your name and resolution at ineedanewresolution@gmail.com - it’s a long one, so copy and paste. Be creative, live… you don’t have to be restrained to text or good old Helvetica if you don’t want to be."

Ether Chandelier

I have seen this chandelier all over the place (although never in person) and it is such a great-looking, unique fixture. The Ether Chandelier consists of crystal glass bubbles cascading from a polished steel disk. The disk holds the (halogen) bulbs which light up the chandelier. It even appeared on ABCs Dirty Sexy Money in the Darling's house. The price? Well, let's just say it will knock the wind out of you!

Tulips as Artwork

Check out these aerial shots of tulip farms back in May in the Daily Mail. Works of art! The first photo shows 60 million tulips flowering.They grow more than 3 billion tulips each year in the Netherlands, which are then exported mainly to the US and Germany.

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Your Cubicle Doesn't Look Like This...

Check out these extreme work spaces. Would you get anything done if you could get massages, play pool, or slide down a curly slide any old time? Well, I'd like to try! Some of these are from Google headquarters in Zurich.

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Grown Up Merit Badges

Remember Girl Scout badges? This is a very clever spin on the idea by artist Lee Meszeros. Each of these silkscreened, hand-painted and embroidered badges acknowledges someone's big accomplishment and comes presented on a card with badge information. You can even choose your own border color. Shown below are 'proud as a peacock', 'going out on a limb', 'leaving the nest', and 'getting back on the horse'. Each badge costs $25.

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Beautiful Flowers

The blog Sweet Paul is always fun to look at. He's a food and interior stylist and there are some beautiful and delicious photos on his site. Here are a few lovely flower ones from a photoshoot he did for Country Living. Love the painted tin cans as vases. Photos by Frances Janisch.

 

 

Owl Umbrella Stand

How fun is this? Available through Burke Decor for (gulp) $96.

Fun Online Store

So I just ordered from things from Delight.com and they were so cute...newspaper pencils (made from recycled newspapers instead of wood), and the ipod Lego speaker (which works REALLY well and never needs a battery). Here are some more things on the site (blooming tea, the NPR map, Solios, and the Lego speaker) -

Save Some $$

This website called Retail Me Not makes online shopping a whole lot more fun. The site has more than 13,000 mainstream shops (think Amazon, Victoria's Secret, Banana Republic, Barnes & Noble and Ann Taylor) and available coupon codes for online discounts.

Agate Bookends

These are beautiful, hefty, and the price is amazing ($36 - $54). Ebay store Joe's Rock Shop has some beautiful Agate bookends. We got a set for the little one's bookcase (since she is a massive rock hound), and we were SO impressed. Love these.

Art2Heart

This is a wonderful idea...Nance Miller, a teacher in Mill Valley, California, has created an art-exchange project called Art2Heart, which brings art to orphans around the world and then helps them create their own masterpieces. It's sole purpose is to connect underprivileged children with someone else in the world who cares. Draw a picture, send it to 559 Marin Ave, Mill Valley, CA 94941, and they will get it to a child who will send one back to you!

Pretty Centerpieces

I may not be getting married or in need of centerpieces, but that won't stop me from admiring these from Artfool, event and floral designers. Beautiful work. If I am ever in NYC and need a centerpiece or fabulous floral arrangement, I would definitely look them up. Clients include Vera Wang, the Four Seasons, The Whitney Museum, Martha Stewart and The New York Times. Pretty impressive.

Peony Floral Water

Here's a recipe for floral water: 24 ounces of distilled water; add 1/2 cup of vodka (who knew?!) and 2-3 peony blossoms. Place in a dark spot for a week. Strain mixture and pour into glass bottles, add 1-2 peony petals per bottle. A nice linen spray or a great way to scent a bath. Thanks for Garden Rooms for the recipe.

Amazing

Got these photos from my sister via her cool friend Marnie. They are entries in a Hirshhorn Modern Art Museum contest. The rule? Only one piece of paper. These are amazing!

California Photos

Yes, we have earthquakes and the housing is too expensive, but when you see photos like this....well, you see why people move here! Photos of the Golden Gate and Yosemite are by tychay on Flickr.

Recycled Magazine Mobiles

I really want one of these! These beautiful mobiles are constructed using imagery from recycled magazine pages. Each two sided piece is hand cut and strung with monofilament. Each mobile is a handmade and takes up to eight hours to construct. Between $85 and $200 and available at Frazier & Wing.