miyake’s air sculpture + a great floor painting idea

(Video link here.)  We love this installation at one of Issy Miyake’s stores: computer-controlled electric fans sending little gusts and sculpting an ethereal fabric. We wish we could translate the idea to home but think it’s beyond our reach. BUT we could take the idea of the etched-looking floor that we saw early on in…

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help ‘improvised life’ win a homey award!!

The yearly Homie Awards recognize the best home design and cooking sites, selected by popular vote. Although we are often told ‘improvised life’ defies categories (on Remodelista’s Newstand we’re listed under ‘D-I-Y and Renovators’; in The Say100, we’re in ‘Shelter’), we invite you to VOTE for ‘improvised life’ in the Homie’s Home Design and How-to categories. Just…

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pablo neruda’s poetic houses (+ his ‘ode to the present’)

Last October, we wrote about our friend’s advice to start the day reading something uplifting or illuminating rather than jumping online; since then, we’ve put the idea into practice. More often than not we read poetry, often out loud, and lately have found ourselves totally smitten with the odes of Pablo Neruda, which express a zen-like awareness…

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cheap, great ikea find: smarta bowl

A recent CHEAP, GREAT Ikea find: the Smarta bowl. We bought the 8″ one for $6.99 and then went back and bought the 10″one ($12.99), great for big salads. They’ve got a lovely, very modern shape and looks much more expensive than they are. We’ve found a million uses for them, like plunking in hyacinth…

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alexander calder’s inspired bathroom improvisations

…a bit of inspiration from one of our favorite books, Calder at Home: The Joyous Environment of Alexander Calder, by Pedro Guerrero. The book documents the artist’s amazing way with the most ordinary household objects, including le toilet. Who else would think to paint the underside of a toilet seat and make a visual SURPRISE, or a…

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for stylish d-i-y shipping pallet furniture: paint it black!

We’ve checked out A LOT of d-i-y shipping pallet furniture, and have been contemplating possibilities for plywood shelving with unfinished edges. Today we realized the simple key to keeping these recycled wood creations from bordering on “granola” and making them more stylish: paint them. White is always reliable (dig this white-painted coffee table), but black…

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