parris pillows.

parris wakefield is designing bold swirling patterns. and for pillows. parris describes her pillow patterns like this: "our cushion patterns merge crisp transparencies with graphic kaleidoscopes."

especially during winter, these pillows would be a colorful addition to your couch, or favorite chair. giving you a boost of painterly color & texture. just saying...enjoy!

rachel powell wallpaper. a fun way to start the day.

happy monday friends! i wanted to share with you this morning the quirky, screenprint inspired wallpapers offered up by rachel powell. & rachel powell makes wallpaper fun. hey, john deere tractor screenprinted wallpaper? now that's what i call fun ;)

rachel's designs lend themselves to spaces, residential or commercial, in which you want to add flashes of fun. even if you papered one wall, in a kitchen, bathroom, child's room, you name it, it would be one of those experiences where friends, family, customers, would have to look closely...and then ask you are those seriously tractors on your wall. to which you'd reply...yes. yes they are. enjoy...

about julie kouamo.

happy sunday friends! how are you? i'm taking a break...looking out from the warmth and safety of one of my favorite bookstores, sipping on hot coffee, to a very snowy day. high winds and snow flying everywhere. we've had a snowy winter in new england but a pretty one because of it.

i wanted to share with you a special find. textile designer julie kouamo. with french and camaroonian roots, julie's textile pieces flow from "figurative to abstract" and are bold, emotional designs. oh, and i love them!

i am also super drawn to the style of these chairs. how the fabric transforms them, adds to them. giving each piece a unique character, feel and sense of being in the spaces they are inevitably placed and enjoyed. i'd like to walk into a room and see julie's textiles every day. that would make me smile. enjoy!

nikari. well made wooden furniture.

this finnish furniture line, nikari is making me nostalgic for a trip taken. a few years ago now i visited finland and a friend there. i only had time for a one week stay, but i fell in love with the culture and finnish design style. and all of the wonderful outdoor cafes! fins cannot wait to get outside once the weather is finally warmer and my friend and i were no exception as i had flown there in the spring.

this well made furniture is evocative of true finnish style and the designs, as nikari states are "deeply rooted in nordic tradition." nikari goes further in its intention... acknowledging that their design concept is "restrained and serene" and that the design "respects the essence of wood."

i seem to be in a stage of simplifying my life but also drawn to simply beautiful design such as these pieces offered up by nikari. what design styles have you been craving as of late? i'd love to hear! enjoy...

softline.

happy friday friends! you made it through another week! i hope your week, and your valentine's day were everything you hoped it would be. i wanted to share with you some soft lines and bright color to end the week. and conveniently this company's name is softline...

i'm very drawn to the extreme simplicity of shape in each piece. softline describes what they offer as "designer functional." this furniture is super fun for a friday because if you are looking around at your spaces, residential or commercial and noticing that you really need the addition of a piece that's unusual, innovative, interesting or maybe you only need it for the color it adds, then softline is a great place to start.

how are you today? i was feeling a touch run down and tired the last couple of days. but yesterday, i went for a sunset run (even though didn't want to) and it gave me a boost that i was desperately needing. plus it was beautiful. i'm off to have lunch with my son today near his college. i hope you have a really great friday and are getting ready for an even better weekend...enjoy!

love.

happy valentine's day to everyone out there that believes in love. you know you do. i do too.

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one thing i've come to realize lately is that love comes in many instances, forms, shapes & ways, and at times it can be fleeting. and i've also realized that in the last couple of years i've been over analyzing love. as if there is some right or wrong reason it is there or it isn't. i do truly think that if you project love, it will find you. it's one of those amazing reciprocal feelings.

so this valentine's day i pledge to just be. be open to love. to project more love. happy valentine's day friends! let's raise a glass to this day, to love! enjoy...

just a cool coffee table.

the studio/shop/think tank ehoeho offers up alot of imaginative product but this "one two table" and the "one two three table" (2nd image) are two of my favorites. part utilitarian, part sculptural, it's the design that shines here. but it's also the wood...

and in talking about the wood, ehoeho reminds us that "while it is beautiful in its texture wood is one of the most difficult materials for a designer to master, because it is virtually the only building material that is vegetable rather than mineral. with this vegetable origin, comes a host of issues relating to directional properties, strength, stiffness, grain patterns, shrinkage, distortion, insect damage and fire."

i've been drawn to a few amazing designs lately that are utilizing wood, and some in their very raw element. the wood left to take center stage, uncompromised & alongside the design. wood never becomes insignificant in the world of design. it is primitive, classic and lasting. and that's a good thing. enjoy!

pins.

i realized recently (ah, a little late) that there is much inspiration to be had with pinterest. and i also realized that i really haven't been keeping up or even beginning to set up my pinterest site and maintain it. i'm on a pin hunt for some new favorites and i'll be adding to my boards daily from now on. i'm still in the organizing stages of my site (i know! i'm waaaaaay behind the ball on this one) but hey, better late than never!

for now, here are some favorites pins from 2modern's pinterest board. like many others, full of really great inspiration.

being in graduate school hasn't left alot of time for goofing off and surfing the web. especially pinterest. i'm down to one last course, so i'm enjoying a touch more freedom and time to discover new and amazing ways of enjoying inspiration. i hope you are too! enjoy!

side furniture.

this afternoon, i really like this sort of floating, wall mounted storage shelving which thonet offers up and labels as "side furniture."

it's a tubular, steel rack which houses covered coat hooks helping to keep its clean and linear look. a really great idea/piece for an entryway or laundry room or a child's room...or just about anywhere you need to stow things. plus, it just looks good. bonus! enjoy!

the hen house & the isle of skye.

i don't know alot about my ancestors, but one thing i do know is that they hail from the isle of skye, in the scottish highlands. i'm half scottish...and this "hen house" by rural design architects is pulling at my ancestral heart strings. and guess what makes this amazing house in this beautiful setting even better? you can rent it...

rural design architects bill this as a "small holiday house" and advises viewers and those entertaining renting it, to inquire here, whether the "hen house" is pulling at your ancestral heart strings or you just really want to go there.

the building was lifted and built on "piloti," which according to the architects "released the design from convention" and allows for open & stunning views north to south. when do we go? no, seriously? ;) enjoy!

orange and lace.

this is a dreary monday. we are recovering from a blizzard (which incidentally made everything white & beautiful,) but today is drizzly and raw and everything out of my window looks blurry and bleh.

so, in between working on course work, i stumbled upon this pretty orange and lace dress. it would make for a sensational do~it~yourself idea for a valentine's day outfit. don't you think?

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plus, it brightened my day. so there. ;) enjoy!

sergey makhno interiors.

happy monday friends! i wanted to share/feature the work of sergey makhno today. a self-described artist, architect, designer and workshop project manager, sergey, russian born and educated, believes that "his imaginative vision is a combination of contradictory backgrounds and creation of artistic mixes from seemingly incompatible things." well put. i also see sergey's style as a mix of somewhere between architectural digest and the star trek enterprise. that's a compliment...

i have an affinity for sergey's design of the bedroom, because i think he does. to me, his bedroom creations are really his most fabulous room, the room he appears most comfortable rendering. the beds float, the lighting is other worldly, the texture and color palettes, subtle but sexy. just really great!

if you are drawn to this eclectic modern mix and twist on interiors, residential or commercial, or in need of very unusual and inventive inspiration for an ongoing renovation, check out sergey's site and more of his work here. his site offers alot to see!

how was your weekend? i was socked in with TONS of snow as we are winding down and cleaning up from a blizzard in new england. but as they say "when in rome," i made the best of it, i went sledding yesterday (laughing all the way) caught up on quiet time, and sloooowwwwwed down. in fact we had to. there was a driving ban (yes i said driving ban) for nearly 24 hours in my state to allow for the clean up. so like i said, sledding was really the best option. and a fun one! enjoy...