Last week, buried in an upstairs closet, I found what were once tied for first place in the My Favorite Sunglasses Contest circa 1985 (the other pair was the purple slatted ones, like Kanye wore last year, and the runner-up was a splatter-painted pair of black and white Tom Cruise Risky Business wayfarers. These archives also included some state trooper Ray Bans from 1992.):

Oddly enough, the very same day, I unearthed this Polaroid from 1986, the last day of eighth grade. The theme was Hawaii day and apparently this is what I came up with:

From a fashion point of view, clearly I had never heard the fashion advice of “taking one thing off” before heading out the door at this point in my life. It was the big big eighties!

De-cluttering is a TRIP! But hmmm, I haven’t been able to toss either one of these items yet. I suppose in an uncluttered world, I would have the memory of the glasses because I’d scanned this picture, so I could get rid of the original and the glasses, right? But what if someone dares me to wear them all day in exchange for $100?

Another de-cluttering perk – I found 80 Euros, enough batteries to last me until the year 2100, cards from relatives who passed away a decade ago, three extra keys to my house and $75 in change. De-cluttering can be a really good thing when economic times are tough.

How are your organizing efforts going? Are you unearthing anything valuable? Anything that makes you laugh? Anything that makes you say “I cannot believe this crap has been taking up space in this drawer for this many years?”?

On Saturday I attended the Kirkwood Spring Fling here in Atlanta, and checked out every house on the home tour. It was a blast, and there was a wide variety of sizes and styles. The house that made me the happiest was perhaps the smallest one on the tour. It was a bungalow surrounded by post-WWII brick ranches. When I walked up onto the porch, the first thing I noticed was a figure by R.A. Miller, a favorite folk artist, and my mood elevated about ten steps – I could not wait to step inside. Bright colors, stripes, kitschy retro atomic age style and objects abounded. This place is more fun than Pee Wee’s Playhouse. Yet somehow it wasn’t too much. I am so sorry my pictures do not do it justice – all I had was a cameraphone. It was so much brighter and alive than it shows in these photos.

One of the owners is a printmaker by trade. To check out her work, click here.

Charley Harper Ford Times covers displayed in a grid.

This snowglobe collection is right next to the toilet, and it really worked!

I have a feeling the owner and I may have crossed paths at Kudzu or the old Victory Vintage at some point.

I love the way this Charley Harper print looks with the stripes. Also, if you look at the nightstand, they were simply topped with printed paper and a sheet of glass.

So sorry these pictures are so faded; they are not doing this great spot justice. It was so cheerful and retro-stylish that I half-expected Fred Schneider and Kate Pierson to be singing in the backyard of this shiny happy spot:

Thanks so much to Angela and Ryan for opening their home to the tour!

This is the Annie Residence, Austin Texas, by Bercy Chen Studio LP. I love the blues and grays next to the leaves and the way the glass reflects the trees in this shot. Here’s a little more about the project:

The house was built for two families in Austin and therefore is split into two living areas. The house consists of two pavilions connected by a glass hallway.

The design was greatly influenced by different regions and cultures. Both the use of the roof as an outdoor living space and the shading devices are derived from Moorish architecture. The body of water and the spatial continuity between inside and outside was inspired by Asian architecture. while the structural transparency of the volumes and the minimalist aspect of the interior was derived from Japanese pavilions.

The house is constructed of a modular steel frame. The frame is infilled with prefab thermasteel panels to minimize construction on-site waste. The structural frame is exposed, showing the construction process and articulating the house’s facades. The repetitive modular method, as well as the prefabrication allowed for greater efficiency during construction.

Thanks so much for subimitting this to our fresh new spaces group!

When it comes to blogging, I’m not too big on giveaways, unless it’s something I really believe in and would want to win myself. This is one of those times. The folks over at Simplify 101 were so pleased to see their e-course mentioned this week, that they are offering FREE enrollment in a week long e-seminar to two lucky Hatch readers! Because it starts in a week, the deadline for entering will be at noon on Wednesday, May 19. Just leave us a comment telling us you need help getting organized and you’d like to participate and we’ll pick new names at random on Wednesday. If you want to give any of the details about your mess, PLEASE SHARE! I’d love to hear it, because it makes me feel better about my own organizational stumbling blocks. You’ll need to have some time cleared each day to dedicate to getting organized. Here are some details and links:

Whether the state of clutter in your home has you overwhelmed to the point of not knowing where to start, or you’re ready to turbo-charge your organizing efforts—the simplify 101 “Help! I Don’t Know Where to Begin!” workshop, beginning Thursday, May 20, 2010, is for you! This workshop is designed to give new users a taste of simplify 101’s online workshops. Best yet, this workshop includes a coupon code good for $5 off your next workshop purchase! There’s a whole new way to get organized!

I cannot tell you how much I’ve accomplished since starting another Simplify 101 workshop;  it’s been very motivating. It literally makes you feel lighter and more free. If you are ready to start getting organized but don’t know where to start, leave a comment before noon (that’s east coast time) on Wednesday May 19. We’ll contact the winners that afternoon.

• image by Bosworth Hodemaker, via Houzz
  

So the other day I fell down the rabbit hole, browsing pictures of celebrity homes on InStyle.com, and I came across Kelsey Grammer’s kitchen in the Hamptons. All I could think of was Frasier’s ultramodern (minus Dad’s hideous recliner) Seattle bachelor pad. Now some song about tossed salad and scrambled eggs is going through my head.

I love those tiles, that ceiling, the blue and white, the touches of rich wood and the overall lightness of this kitchen. It looks like you could transport it to Sweden and besides its huge size, no one would know it came from the far end of Long Island New York. It’s just shocking to see something so traditional from a guy who I will always associate with one of my first exposures to a fantasy modern luxury abode. Knowing how much everyone in Hollywood moves, he probably doesn’t even live in this house anymore. This was the only picture I could find online of Frasier’s kitchen:

Hmmm, there weren’t enough design blogs around when Frasier was actually on the air, it’s tough to find pictures of that kitchen. However, during my search, I’ve learned that his couch was an exact replica of Coco Chanel’s, that the set included a Chihuly sculpture that had to be locked up ever night after filming because it was worth $30,000, that one of the paintings was by Robert Rauschenberg,  that there is an “I Hate Frasier Crane” site, that I can waste a lot of time ogling television set sites…I finally realized the only way to get a good shot of the kitchen was to buy the Season 1 DVD, which apparently has a tour led by set decorator Roy Christopher. Despite the great actors and my love for Cheers, I wasn’t a huge fan of Frasier (too much annoying bickering and canned laughter),  but I may just have to buy that DVD for the 9-minute tour, it sounds fantastic.

• First image by Paul Costello, as seen on InStyle.com
• Second image from ew.com