by its own design: good design

Showing posts with label good design. Show all posts

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Last night I had a good time setting up my Christmas Wish List and sent it around to my family. It's always fun to troll through the things that have caught my eye through the year, and to point people in the right direction. Heath Ceramics teapot, Donna Wilson's Nos Da pillow, Rifle stationary, a subscription to the Australian magazine Inside Out, and Lauren Manoogian's gorgeous necklace are amongst this year's faves.

World War II Posters

Some things that I stumbled upon in doing research for my novel: posters from World War II Britain. My manuscript takes place in 1940 London, and these images of wartime posters are really helping me set the mood. Found at the Imperial War Museum's online shop. Did you know that the famous "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster was never actually used during the war? It was discovered later and has only recently risen to its current cult status.

Georgian Bliss

This gorgeous Georgian home in Oxfordshire, UK is kind of like my ultimate fantasy. Traditional marries Modern, producing a clean, yet sprawling family house that any Anglophile would love. Architecture: Michaelis Boyd. Photography: Simon Brown. Interiors: Sarah Delany. via: Remodelista

X House

This is a fabulous house, spotted at Dwell, well thought through and designed to embrace a no frills attitude. Since I'm feeling kind of sluggish today, I'm going to let the fabulous pictures speak for themselves. Photos by Christopher Sturman for Dwell.

My favorite Tile

I snapped a picture of this tile that has been in my grandmother's kitchen as long as I can remember it. I lovelovelove it. So very much because not only is the pattern beautiful it signifies a whole lifetime of childhood memories, and conjures up the long summer days and the sandy feet that would stand on it. That's what good design does. It exists on its own but signifies something else.

Carrosserie Font

I LOVE this font, Carrosserie. LOVE. -via design work life-

The Fixation Continues

This house, in the western France, is slightly larger than your average Scandinavian Cabin, but made out of renewable materials and fully equipped with solar panels, geothermic heat and a wind turbine. Did I mention that the living spaces were inspired by traditional Japanese rooms (see the sliding doors/windows) and the Japanese idea of living in harmony with nature? And yes, there is grass on that roof. Ooh la la, indeed. To view more photos visit Cote Maison.

Pre-Fab Houses, part 1

A while back I posted about Rocio Romero, an architect who builds pre-fab houses. I'm way into the pre-fab idea of small spaces, small consumption and low costs. Over the weekend Alex and I drove south of San Francisco along the coast and fell in love with California for good. I became obsessed with the idea of buying a beautiful but inexpensive tract of land somewhere on California's central coast and then building a small, inexpensive pre-fab house. This is the Weehouse by Alchemy Architects, one of many wonderful pre-fab options out there. It's not the most "green" of the pre-fab options out there but definitely the smallest.

Let There Be Light

My friend Evelyn and I went to the SF MOMA yesterday to check out the Richard Avedon exhibit (more on that later) and saw these great teak candlesticks in the museum's store. And at $28.00 and $22.00 a piece they aren't that expensive, which is even more the reason for me to get them.

Plain English Kitchens

My sister is visiting the states with her family and she asked me if I'd ever come across the kitchen design firm Plain English. I've seen its ads in World of Interiors, but if you have a moment you should peruse the site. Their work is simple, modern and timeless, and beyond beautiful. Man oh man, I mean, I can dream, right?

Yes, Please.

A gorgeous Chicago home over at Design*Sponge. I'm sort of obsessed by grass cloth and sisal right now and love how it features in this home on both the ground and as a headboard. Such a nice simple way to add natural elements and fibers to your house without screaming organic.

Russel Wright

Sorry for the light posting recently. I'm just having so much fun playing in the mountains. Oh man, do I miss living in the Rockies so very much. But... I've walked by the Russel Wright exhibition at the San Francisco Airport like four times now, and am finally posting about it. Beautiful, classic mid-century stuff that has recently been re-released by Bauer Pottery. Don't you just love that teapot?

Tablo

This little Tablo tray table from Design House Stockholm is lovely. Not to mention extremely convenient and somewhat affordable!

Tiles by Textiles

This amazing company hand paints these tiles that are inspired by antique textiles. I seriously covet these Amish wall tiles. But then again, I love everything Ikat...

Modern and Victorian

This house in San Francisco is a very beautiful old Victorian. Seeing as I just moved into a beautiful old Victorian, I'm taking notes. I'm especially impressed with how the owners, Jill and Jason, managed to strike such a lovely balance between the antique architectural details and their clean and modern aesthetic. {seen at Design*Sponge}

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