paying it forward.

belle maison gives back on tuesdays on her blog and i was inspired and moved by her recent post where she came up with a fun challenge... paying it forward with random acts of kindness. you know that feeling when you order something on line or someone in your family sends you a gift through ups or the mail and you're getting home from work and you see something on your doorstep...i feel like a little kid sometimes but those simple things make me excited. paying it forward will do just that, get people excited to see a little something on their doorstop! here's how the exchange works...(i've copied and pasted from belle maison because she worded it perfectly!)"The exchange focuses on doing an act of kindness without expecting anything in return other than that the recipient will, in their turn, pass the kindness along and pay it forward. I am going to agree to send something cute, fun and thoughtful to the first 3 blog owners who post a comment on this entry. In turn, those three will post this information and pick 3 people they want to send something to and so on. (Due to postage costs, I can only pay it forward within the United States - sorry!). If you are interested in participating, be one of the first 3 blog owners to leave a comment! The little something that is sent can be something you made, bought, were given or found. Just make sure it's something that will make the person smile! There aren't any cost restraints but try not to go crazy! If you'd like to join in, be one of the first 3 people to leave me a comment. By doing this, you must promise me that you will then post about this on your blog, link to me, and then send something to the first three people who sign up to play along through."

I went for a run after reading julie's post on belle maison and i have to say that someone taking time out of their busy schedule to create a fun and inspiring way of communicating made my day. I thought about her post off and on through my run and in the end realized that this blogging thing we've all got going on connects like minds, inspires different minds and sometimes just makes our day! Have fun.

it's wine time baby!

unica home. a site offering something for everyone either by designer or by product. they also offer wall mountable racks in similar designs if that works better. a great site to surf.
container store... more of a classic version wine rack. they offer a variety of ways to stay organized and do we all need that? that's what i'm talking about!
wrapables offer the ability to create a rack in different sizes and shapes by either taking away or adding to your rack. molded from transparent abs polymer, it comes in a range of colors too. think of a large restaurant, if you built it large...what a great wall treatment you would build.
zinc details carries this one below. i love the silhouette shape mimicking the bottle. very curvy and organic in style.

modern cellar offers the racks below, if wood is what you're looking for they have it. how great to be able to mount your wine rack on the wall, filling in as an artistic piece as well.


the wine racks below are from umbra, another great site for other ideas too.


dwell, one of my favorite mags (i know, i've said it a million times) offered up a great spread in the current issue (september) of wine racks, fun and functional. and since it's almost the long weekend i figured i'd share with you their picks. when you don't have the wherewithal for a wine cellar, either it's the space or the benjamins, these little racks are compact, decorative and useful. that's as long as you can keep wine long enough to stay in the wine racks...sometimes that's the main issue! have fun ogling these pretty contraptions...and maybe pick up that mixed case of wine you've been thinking about and with a place to display it...no reason not to. cheers!

furniturea (fur-ni-chur-ah)

if you've ever been to portland maine you know what i'm talking about already, if not, you must explore portland...you'll fall in love. i'm not far from boston and it's to me like a mini boston. fabulous unique shops, everything within walking distance from one another, right on the water and full of brick...like i said a mini boston! it's one of those cities that once you are there you feel you could stay forever, at least i could. furniturea was born in 1992 by brian haddock and officially opened in portland in 2006. after studying art and photography in college, brian had an opportunity to learn the craft of woodworking, then primarily working for maine cottage furniture. brian is now out on his own "creating furniture one piece at a time in his portland maine workshop and is available exclusively through his website and his store in portland." with all the fancy foo-foo furniture i seem to be seeing lately with everyone trying to out "mod" everyone else...furniturea goes back to the drawing board creating clean, pure, simple lines. you appreciate the piece for the quality, the craftsmanship, the elegance of it. this furniture makes you take a breath. added to any space it's not going to show anything up, interrupt the space or take away from that space. it will be and be beautiful!

relish.

portable, smokeless, ventless gorgeous little fireplaces!





this onion inspired wool and flannel spread is fabulous, i've really not seen anything like this in bedding before, i love the texture.

my feet were getting happy looking at this rug...barefoot on this would be a must!


"a small boutique in portland, oregon with big ideas." i stumbled upon relish through dwell magazine. what first caught my eye were these totally portable stainless steel fire places. "the perfect solution for the urban condo or home without external venting. this fireplace is smokeless and runs cleanly on ethanol (corn-based liquid)." relish offers it up in different sizes and looks, short and wider to tall and skinny. very cool. or should i say warm? i was also drawn to their many decorative accessories and found them more unique and unusual than some i've seen recently. trisha guido founded relish in 2001 and celebrates vision, new methods and materials and emerging artists. she strives to inspire, showcase and promote organic, modern designs that while hard to find in the united states originally...are very easy to find at relish. so relish them!

pillow talk.

"I always say shopping is cheaper than a psychiatrist." (tammy faye bakker) although you have to weed through some of the more odd attractions at urban outfitters, they pull me in sometimes with their whimsical, retro, fun accessories. i also have a pillow problem. i happen to love them and always have too many on my couch but i just can't decide sometimes! pillows can accencuate and refresh the look of a piece of furniture, adapting it to a particular season or just plain sprucing it up when you are getting bored. placed properly in the right design space these pillows and cushions would add that punch of color, youth and spice that you might be looking for. I love the wooden floor platform and cushions. some come in velvet solid colors or patterns like the one seen here. just some fun easy looks for a monday! check in tomorrow for another new and interesting post.

book love.

i wanted to spread some inspiration through my favorite line of design books from teneues. when i'm at the book store, they are the first ones i go to for new ideas. my favorites are the hotel and restaurant design books that they have. some are small and chunky, some are large coffee table books. "filled with dramatic effects, innovative lighting, and infinite solutions to the challenges of space and material, these hot spots, meeting places and intimate venues are designed to suit the ever-changing moods of selective and fickle clientele." seriously though, not everyone is designing a hotel lobby or restaurant bar but if you use these books for selective inspiration...another words, pick out those objects of materials that stand out on any given page. teneues photographers are amazing,they basically smash your face into the pages forcing you to understand that there is so much more out there than the ordinary when it comes to designing. i've researched materials, lighting, flooring and accessories from parts of pages in any of these books. or take notes, put those sticky tabs on wall treatments you admire or a rug that you want to find, i'm telling you...you'll be addicted. enjoy, they have alot of books...

glo canvas.

I love this new take on the chandelier or the lampshade. with my lighting obsession, i'm always on the prowl for the new and unusual. well at duffy london i came to a screeching halt. how fun to hang a canvas really anywhere in your home or office and create a lighting source at the same time. fun, subliminal and interesting to admire. the images to me are almost ghostlike in nature, they are there but not really. it's not the three dimensional chandelier we are all used to seeing but flat and glowing beneath canvas. at duffy london "our state of the art dying-sublimation printing technique gives the impression that our canvases are traditionally silk-screened but with the flexibility that digital printing provides."
duffy london will also work from your own personal photographs and create a glo canvas just for you, how personal is that? maybe a big beautiful face of your new born baby or a family reunion photograph or anything else that is important in your life, important enough to glo! happy friday y'all!

rose and radish.

i would need these pillows everywhere, smarin makes larger ones to sit on too!

i so want that swing! you're never too old.


rubber planters and vases...what a great texture.






things i love right now from the rose and radish site...such an eclectic variety of household items, fun, quirky and utilitarian as well. from the rubber vases or pots which come in a variety of size and shapes to the wooden wooden bowls with acrylic stained centers. i suppose i'm loving the textures of the products offered by rose and radish. one of my favorites are the pillows which look like beautifully round stones, aptly named their livingstones collection from smarin design. from their description of this product, it sounds like they are in high demand. click on smarin design and you'll be taken to her site where you will be wowed! she's a french designer and having fun with her line of plays on nature. from rose and radish i also fell in love with their collection of wallpapers also playing on nature. birch tree designs have been popping up everywhere from life-sized replicas in hotel lobbies and bars to wallpaper. something clean and crisp and ethereal about birch trees. just wanted to share some rose and radish inspiration today, check them out and check out the great leads to some of their designers like smarin, worth the trip!