Last weekend the creatives over here at Design Public redesigned the site. I was cut off from you for about a week, and I have to say, it made me feel a little panicky. I had this big burst of creativity last weekend and I couldn’t get into the blog and to write and upload and link and share! and it was a bummer! I missed you!

So, my WordPress is all updated and turned about and it’s taking a little getting used to – it’s making me cross-eyed at the moment, but I’m sure I’ll find there are very good reasons why everything moved around, and I’ll wind up thanking my lucky stars for it. I’ve been looking at the new design for a week and although I am always scared of change, I’m digging it (BTW, I had nothing to do with it, so it’s as new to me as it is to you). I am a big believer that less is more, especially on a website. Especially on a website full of modern products.

But enough about what I think, what do you think? Is there anything about the old site you miss? Is the navigation easy and intuitive? Is there anything you’re finding tricky to figure out? Let us know in the comments section. The main reason we started a blog was to create a little community and be able to receive feedback with ease.

I should have known I’d come upon another wonderful Panton Chair shot at Living etc.:

image via Living etc.

P.S. The architect on this project was Steven Whiting

I’m giving flickr a rest today because frankly, I can’t seem to stop surfing Living etc. It’s been to long since my last visit over there. People keep using Panton chairs in such great ways. My new favorite is this rhapsody in blue over at Living etc. This is a modern cottage in Melbourne Australia and this space rocks. Love the crazy nest/beaver habitat of a chandelier. Love the use of the navy chairs. Love the light ceiling abutting that dark wall & matching cabinets. Love the floor, love the table, love the contrast of the modern, curvy plastic chairs with the slightly rough hewn, blocky table. What the hell is that flower arrangement? I must love it as well, as this all just works.

To pick up some Panton chairs of your own, click here. They are $260 each.

image via Living etc. Are there many magazine sites with better galleries than Living etc.? My only wish is that the images were larger, but that’s a very minor quibble. I love the quality of all of their picks, and the site architecture is great. Let’s hope the shelter mag blight does not reach them.

O.K., so these table legs from Home Depot are not all that sexy. However, ever since I admired Priscilla Locke’s studio a few weeks ago I have had them on the brain:

from The Locker

My cryptic notes on this picture source say “colombe steven via destoinsp” This means I swiped it from Desire to Inspire, but I’m not sure about the rest. Let me know if you can help me clarify!

My notes here:francesca harris sunset WS. I think I’ve decoded it – photographer name, magazine (Sunset) and WS means “Work Space”!

From Living etc.

Notes here: “cordelia de castellane ws hg” House & Garden?

from Natural Curiosities

from Living etc.

from Nate Berkus

Here are a few cuter cheap versions if you want to try the look out yourself. The yellow one is from Home Depot, and the silver ones are from Lowe’s.

I grew up in a flyover state (Ohio), and they must be on my mind this week. Yesterday I was thinking about midwestern Seed Bombs, and today I’m taking a virtual house tour in Kansas:

Kirstie Alley was on Oprah the other day, talking about how her first job was being a housekeeper at a wealthy family’s home (she recommends cleaning bathrooms with gallons of cheap vodka), and her second job was at an interior decorator who was high on cocaine a lot of the time. She talked about dreaming of owning this house in her hometown of Wichita Kansas, which was the headquarters of the historical society at the time. She decorated it herself, and there is a fun tour of it over at Oprah.com. Personally, I love the bedroom below, and I love that Kirstie is not afraid of loud, bold wallpaper. The kitchen is beautiful, but because it wasn’t all that large, Kirstie bought the house next door, transformed the entire downstairs into a kitchen, and built a bridge between the two houses. You can see a lot of nods to traditional design and a few moves that seem kinda eighties, but who cares? Kirstie is hilarious and my dad and I sat and watched the segments of her and cracked up the entire time.

all images from Oprah.com