too cool for this year.

it's the end of a cool year, but the beginning of a super cool year, design~wise, daring~wise, and to entertain new possibilities, new designers, new ideas, new products, all too cool for this year, but perfectly cool for a new year to come!!

pick a shape. any shape. there is something super special about these oh~so~industrial, yet soft and simple pendant lights offered up by roger pradier. you can place them, hang them from those great hooks, they are appropriate for outdoors or in. these pendants are somewhat nautical and somewhat construction site to me. i just think they are too cool for this year, perfect for a cool new year!



origami cool lighting, by joon & jung. imagine one of these or a sprinkle of these on your bedside night stand? completely cool and dreamy!

there is something very cool, very ethereal about these paper alarm clocks offered by joon & jung. they are green to be sure, they are ghostly, they display time in a distorted way, a very cool way.


what is oh~so~cool~for~kids (or for us? ;) is this wallpaper offered by cox & cox, made up of millions of tiny dots just waiting to be connected. how perfect is that? i mean for kids right? ah, yeah. not for me or anything ;) yeah.

if you are in search of the ultimate in cool, the ultimate in the furniture/unusual, then meritalia has products for you. conversation pieces. sensational pieces. out there, and cool enough for a modern new year to come. definitely. while i'm not sure this would be the sofa for me, i had to share it for how completely ringing in the new year cool it is!


scandinavian wallpaper & decor presents lovely, edgy and unusual wallpaper and wall treatment options. contemporary or classic, scandinavian wallpaper will help you ring in a very new cool design year!


these cool, smooth...larger than life pebble~esque ottomans offered by tacchini are imaginative, so simple in their design genius that you are drawn to them easily. i want to sprinkle these around spaces, stack them, pile them, plunk on them.


the pieces offered up by bius are transformative somehow. a cross between a fashion statement and a design masterpiece. their pieces are seductive, sensual to all senses and oh~so~cool to ring in this new year with design perfection.



what i've most loved this year about blogging is the ability to share anything and everything in the world of design or designers with you. i love to search out the inventive, the innovative. to research who is doing what, and how? who is pushing the limits, testing the waters and just moving us in some way. even if you don't enjoy all of these picks or imagine them in your spaces, they've hopefully moved you. they certainly moved me to be sure. isn't that what it's about? isn't that cool? yeah!

on that note friends, hip, hip~hooray for this past year, but let's jump up and down even higher for the new year to come. i have a feeling about 2011. it's going to do things, we are going to do things. it will be amazing. it will be cool. happy new year & enjoy!!!!

innovative re~use in architecture.

this waterhouse hotel, found via the wonderful yellowtrace blog, in shanghai offers up a visually compelling, sensory stimulating, comfortably wonderful aesthetic and appeal. i don't usually post about buildings, typically i post more about interiors, in fact i feel a bit like my friend dale over at hd inspirations,(who reviews the most amazing buildings, hotels etc. if you are ever interested!) but this hotel had me at innovative. it had me at re~use. it had me at that roof top dining spot. let's go!...
(click in images for larger view)






one thing, a major thing in design that stops me, that i think is perfect really is the mix of old and new. another element when designing that i'm not only fascinated by but think is genius is re~use of materials, by either exposing vintage skins of older buildings or bringing in chunks, parts, pieces of older spaces to newer spaces. it is fabulous, it is conscious effort to waste not and it works!

how about you? when designing your residential or commercial spaces, do you enjoy mixing old and new? i know i've asked you before, but there is something for me, when mixing the two, that feels right. by exposing the old, the vintage, the gently worn, you expose warmth, a soul, a history that you just cannot often get with new materials or objects. do you agree? i'd love to hear your opinion! and if you have mixed or re~used vintage next to new and sleek, i'd love to hear how and where you did. so fun for me! enjoy, and if you're heading to shanghai, look out for this amazing waterhouse hotel with equally amazing views!!

harmonic spaces.

it started with this space, via rum, with literally the word "harmony" pulling it together. i wanted to share other harmonic spaces, in my view, all in their own way, all for different reasons. for all of you traveling today, (i saw so many people on the news still trying to get home from their holidays, stuck at airports!) or trying to! breathe, you'll be back to your harmonic spaces soon ;)











(all others via tumblr)

what is it about your spaces that make it harmonic to you? have you changed your lighting, or moved a big piece or a super small piece in your home (or maybe even your commercial space) and thought...that's it! so much better!? hmmm. for me it's definitely about lighting and positioning. i'm drawn to super soft lighting, especially at night, it calms my space, promotes it, displays it and softens it. placement of your "things" is also important, for it creates a flow, a dynamic, a mood, a path. i find sometimes i can move the simplest of "things" and the space will feel a little more right, a little more approachable. i love that! tell me about your harmonic realizations or experiences, i'd love to hear ;) enjoy!!

space divide. freedom of creation.

freedom of creation is perfectly named for the textural, inventive and just really pretty wall treatments they offer. how would you use their macedonia space dividers? imagine the possibilities? my little cottage is too small to partition off spaces, but in the right setting, residential or maybe more especially commercial, the sky is the limit with freedom of creation!



freedom of creation also offers up uber~eclectic amazing lighting and small furniture pieces with plenty of textural elements to go around!





sometimes***if you take a good look around your space, either your home or your commercial spaces, it's lacking something, texture, color or pattern. also, by dividing, or sort of creating paths, these wall treatments by freedom of creation could really bring it out, make it shine, make it different, which, makes it special. i'd love to hear your ideas and whether or not you could stand a little texture, like these textural pieces from freedom of creation, to come your way. enjoy!!

serenity now.

hi! how was your christmas friends? for us...busy, busy, but fun, fun! i figured we all could use some serenity now! some spaces to breathe in, to reflect, to plunk in a chair and put your feet up and read spaces. am i right?






(via owi.)
thought so. so. ease into this monday morning, after your fabulously fun weekend with some after christmas design eye~candy. today feels quiet where i live, my son is sleeping in, we still have our tree up (we put it up so late i want to enjoy it a bit longer!), it snowed all night and the sky is still a milky greyish~white. today calls for a long walk (to stare at the sky), cups of tea in front of the tree, reading and finishing up college applications with my son. are you back to work or getting to relax? tell me! however you are spending this monday after christmas, enjoy!!