cheap + great
Ethan Greenbaum
Artist Ethan Greenbaum‘s work gave us lots of idea for home works made of concrete block. He has figured out ways to make them seem both light and somehow charming, by using plasticine and colored acrylics instead of cement as grout. Plasticine is a kind of clay that won’t harden so maybe it actually IS a good idea for certain homemade pieces where you don’t want the commitment of concrete, or it’s permanence. We love the idea of painting the cement grouting with Greenbaum’s whimsical colors, to transform a dreary block wall.
We also love Greenbaum’s plasticine-covered block structures; although the always-soft plasticine might not be feasible in the long run, it makes us wonder what would be: what could we coat concrete blocks with to give them a surprising and less heavy look, while preserving blocks’ elemental form ? And his idea of combining blocks of different sizes is a revelation, making us see ever more possibilities for “random” assemblages of concrete blocks as table bases, bed platforms, odd storage units… read more…
02.15.11 |
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in art, cheap + great, elements, hard, inside, materials, outside, people, resources, soft |
Yann Arthus-Bertrand
A valentine doesn’t have to be for someone you are lovers with. We’ve discovered that the commercial “lovebird” notion pretty much shuts out the millions of unattached folks and can make them feel pretty alone. Why not send alt-valentines to people you care about, like the sweet card we just got that says “Valentine’s Day is a good time to remind special people that they are loved. So, Happy Valentine’s Day and consider yourself reminded!”
We’re thinking impromptu email valentines made with found digital images. Any one of the series of Hearts of the Earth at Obvious.org, like the one above, would be lovely to receive in an email.
Search “heart” at Flickr, Google Images, or and you’ll find a trove. Here is one of our favorites: read more…
02.12.11 |
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in cheap + great, family + friends, gifts, resources |
Maison Martin Margiela
We love this array of shabby mirrors found on Emma’s blog, a relief from the perfection of new framed mirrors. It reminded us that purposeful groupings of beat-up things can turn them into something…ELSE, somehow increasing their perceived value (and made us think about taking old mirrors OUT of their frames)…
…Then, because when we start thinking about things, more versions appear, we found this video by the wonderful Pascal Anson, who always puts a nice spin on home-furnishings done on-the-cheap.
Here rather ordinary mirrors become a big statement en masse. read more…
02.01.11 |
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in cheap + great, elements, how-to, inside, reclaim, resources, walls + windows |
Dirty Bils Interiors/Etsy
The other day we stumbled on some oddly wonderful, sculptural bookshelves made of black pipe. They’re for sale at DirtyBils shop on Etsy for $79, a fine deal, we’d say. But as we looked closely at the pictures (below) we couldn’t help thinking “Why not monkey around with this great idea”, and started searching for resources.
We not only found a source for gorgeous black pipes and fittings... read more…
01.25.11 |
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in cheap + great, copy this!, elements, hard, how-to, inside, materials, resources, storage, why not? |
We just discovered BBC’s World Routes, a new archive of world music, an eclectic and unusual collection of indigenous music. You can sample the sounds of more than 40 countries, from Brazil, Corsica, China, Cuba, to Iran, Mozambique and Turkey. We’ve just spent an hour listening to Appalachian music, much of it acapella, and the Bambara Blues of Mali.
Commentators from BBC Radio 3 traveled through each country, including several conflict zones, to record the music. They set the scene with cultural details and history of the music you’re listening to. If you’re not in the mood to hear the interspersed descriptions or interviews, you can just move the music player’s slider to jump to the music.
This is an exceptionally rich archive, perfect for listening to when you’re driving, cleaning, cooking, crafting, hanging out on a weekend…
01.14.11 |
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in cheap + great, community, inspiration, music, resources, resources blogs + sites, sightings |
Tracy Shumate/Covent Garden
We found this good idea in Covet Garden, an appealing online shelter magazine that features spaces of real people (slightly ripping off The Selby‘s questionnaire). Here, Photographer Tracy Shumate’s converted factory space…”Necessity being the mother of invention, Tracy uses large MDF panel covered in chalkboard paint
to hide her unsightly electrical panels.”
Here’s another iteration we found in Annaleena’s Hem: read more…
01.12.11 |
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in cheap + great, copy this!, elements, inside, inspiration blogs + sites, materials, resources, walls + windows |
Annaleena K Photography
We hadn’t realized how beautiful black masking tape
could be – we actually hadn’t realized there WAS such a thing – until we saw it used to hang a poster on Annaleena’s Hem. The black takes it out of the realm of masking tape and into a bold, intentional, very cool, happily impermanent, unframed picture hanger. read more…
01.03.11 |
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in cheap + great, inside, materials, projects + play, resources, tools, walls + windows |
Maria Robledo
About a year ago we wrote a post about all the things you could eat on, or with, potato chips. One, of course, is onion dip. In our version, it’s made with REAL onions, caramelized until brown (easy), cooled, and stirred into sour cream. It’s from Sally’s award-winning cookbook The Improvisational Cook
, which will be relaunched in paperback on February 8th. We’re reprising the recipe here because it’s the perfect New Year’s Eve-and-after accompaniment to champagne and celebration; serve with excellent potato chips (we recommend rosemary-and-olive oil). read more…
12.29.10 |
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in celebrations, cheap + great, family + friends, food, recipes, resources books + zines |
in natural makes a worthy version for $16.99 for a classic 11 x 14 inch rectangle. We love Curiel’s stack: 
(which you can get in colors) and you’ve got a swell coffee table (with magazine storage built in)… 
