Passing by a park one day, we found a ready-made sculpture with a curiously-modern feel. Found art and inspiration comes frequently when you cultivate the practice of seeing. Here’s a trove of examples.
Read MoreSharing Excerpts of Books via Text Message
The other day, a friend texted smartphone snapshots from a book she was reading: whole pages, with passages she found illuminating marked in pencil. It’s one of the best uses for SMS messaging we’ve seen, as though our friend was putting the book into our hands or reading the paragraph directly to us.
Read MoreThe Popcorn Improvisations + a Free 6 Recipe PDF
A sensual description of Anson Mills’ Appalachian Heirloom Sweet Flint Popping Corn reminded of my popcorn improvisations, when I went haywire experimenting with different flavorings. Download 6+ recipes plus a ton of inspiration in a free PDF from The Improvisational Cook.
Read MoreStandards, a NON Digital Self Management System
Jake Lodwick created an online-customizable, free-print-out management system called Standards. According to Lodwick: In a matter of months, you’ll be a high-performing, self-directed Überperson – guaranteed!” We’re gonna try it!
Read MoreAnnals of Bad Design: Gigantic Glass Door Demands Clear Space to Open
The big glass picture window door looks great at first, affording an expansive view of the garden. But think of the arc of that door as it opens — a good 5 feet at least! You couldn’t have any furniture or planters in the way, because a door needs unobstructed space to open. The door then dictates…
Read MoreBed on Boxes, Files, Shipping Pallets and Other Platforms
This image of a charming plywood platform bed reminded us of the late Tobias Wong’s bed made of a mattress on top of a grouping of file cabinets. No need for an OFFICIAL bed, of the grand style seen on every home blog and magazine. A good mattress on a flat sturdy slab is a simple formula. And…
Read MoreHappy May Day!!!
There are many explanations for the symbolism of the maypole, around which people dance in celebration of May Day…Here are a few.
Read MoreMen’s Hairstyles from the 60’s and 70’s: Creativity Meets Self-Image
(Video link HERE.) Inspired YouTuber 2869rjh compiled this hilarious montage of awful men’s hairstyles from the 1960s and 1970s, via pictures from Retronaut. It’s a reminder of the wondrously-insane creations divised in the name of fashion and self-image. Here’s to human beings (or being human)!! via Laughing Squid
Read MoreClever Storage in the Realm of Laminate
Our new favorite blog Moon to Moon has a swell house tour of the lightly renovated 450 square foot apartment of architect Lukáš Kordík of GutGut architects. The major takeaway for us, aside from the pleasingly UNconstructed feel of the space, is Kordík’s use of laminate. First there’s the stylish turquoise kitchen cabinet with oven and storage built in;…
Read MoreLandscape Murals Create ‘Dreaming Walls’
We stumbled on the image above at Aqqindex and were instantly smitten at the opulent beauty of the muralled wall. At first we thought it was a collage. Then we found a second image and had to find out what the notation “Dreaming Walls” meant. Our hunt took us to an extraordinary series of photographs by Lucia Ganieva of a wonderful anomaly in home decoration.
Read MoreLOL Synchronized Air Swimming
(Video link HERE.) Fifth grade students at W. A. Porter Elementary School in Hurst, Texas came up with a stupendously imaginative entry for their talent show. They HAD to have watched a lot of videos to get was synchonized swimming was all about. But whose BRILLIANT idea was it to do AIR swimming. It made us…
Read MoreGoing OFF the Beaten Path of Home Design
Disappointed by the cheesiness of many of the mainstream products at a big furniture show, we wandered down a long corridor to the Pavilion of student work. THERE we saw some really interesting things made by design students: original ideas, good execution, sparks for our imagination, and some stuff we’d really love to take home. It reminded us of Niels Strøyer Christophersen’s very good advice about buying furniture.
Read MoreBriwax to Restore Wood, Wax Suede, and Other DIY’s
Over the years, we’ve become big fans of Original Briwax for a variety of diy projects, from waxing suede to cleaning and restoring wood that’s become dirty from use or age. Recently, we used Briwax to clean a burled wood mirror friends had given us years ago. We purposely cleaned half the mirror to show just what Briwax can do.
Read MoreDiy Terrarium Necklace or Barbie Bottle Garden
While following the trail of “bottle gardens“, we came across this oddly-compelling DIY: a tiny terrarium necklace. Needing little care once it’s made, it is a swell way to wear a bit of Nature. See the step-by-step how-to at Ecouterre.
Read MoreSalut Salon’s Brilliant Instrumental Acrobatics Ask WHY NOT?
(View video HERE.) Susan Dworski sent this as an antidote to “Blues”. Hamburg-based classical quartet Salut Salon perform “instrumental acrobatics” that push the limits of what violin, cello and piano are SUPPOSED to do. The inherent question that each new unexpected use of an instrument asks: WHY NOT?
Read MoreLady Gaga’s Flying Dress
We confess to not paying much attention to Lady Gaga (is it our age, or just interest?). But we are charmed, smitten and amazed at the crazy-wondrous flying dress she had commissioned. This video about it offers a compelling overview of clear possibilities in the realm of personal travel. Will we soon each be able to…
Read MoreA Cardboard Standing Desk to Buy or DIY
We recently came across another clever possibility in the realm of cardboard, one of our favorite materials, especially corrugated cardboard which is lightweight, durable, recyclable, and inexpensive: the cardboard standing desk. Recently a Kickstarter campaign, you can order one from Chairigami for $95, or copy the design analyzing the gif, below.
Read MoreDIY-ish Slab Wood Head Board
We’ve been mulling headboards for a while, thinking how wonderful it would be to have a huge slab of beautiful wood as a headboard, perhaps slightly angled leaning against the wall. We found an image that matched what was in our head and followed the trail to A Cup of Jo and read part of the tale.
Read More10 Untranslatable Words for What You Might be Feeling or Seeing
Recently, we stumbled on a post at Maptia of unique words from other cultures without real translations, compiled from Guy Deutschger’s book Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages. These words express very specific, often subtle states. When we read them, we found we knew the feelings well, but since English doesn’t really have…
Read MoreWeekend Fun: Oops Cookies
Brilliant entreperneur baker Lexi just reframed the odd-shaped-not-quite-as-intended cookies into something charming: Oops Cookies. Brilliant. Worth doing with all sorts of things that routinely go out-of-control. Here are our favorite cookie recipes that go OOPS while being delish.
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