If you’re reading this, you’re probably like me. You enjoy catching design blogs online, but there’s nothing you love more than a big stack of glossy beautiful home design books. I mean, dragging your laptop to the beach is so Sandra Bullock in The Net. Unfortunately, with the shuttering of so many favorite design mags (H&G, Met Home, Domino, Cottage Living, Oprah at Home, InStyle at Home, to name a few), the choices appear to be shrinking. This is where I’m finding regional magazines are filling a need for me. Whenever I’m in an out of town airport, I pick up their regional home design mags. A few favorites:

1. Maine Home and Design: Full of beautiful architecture, stories about Maine craftsman, a dash of Maine history, and gorgeous photography, from the likes of Brian Vanden Brink, one of my favorites.

2. DESIGN new england: Another scrumptious glossy that covers a range of styles, from traditional colonials the most cutting edge LEED-certified architecture, from buttoned-up Beacon Hill townhouses to to funky artist’s studios in Provincetown. There’s something for everyone in this magazine. Like Maine at Home, it’s also full of scrumptious photography. The last issue I picked up also included features on Dominque Browning’s Rhode Island gardens and Sigrid Olsen’s post-fashion designing lifestyle on Boston’s North Shore. That reminds me, I need to go order Dominique Browning’s book about her life after H&G shut its doors. See, it’s all coming full circle!

3. Last time I was in town I picked up New England Home. My socks were blown off. I am so jealous of Lee Bierly and Christopher Drake’s house on Martha’s Vineyard I cannot even stand it. Seriously, go check out the interiors of the house shown above here. Here’s a teaser of the kitchen:

4. Down East. This classic Maine magazine has been around as long as I can remember. It captures the spirit of the beautiful coast, the deep woods, the seemingly endless lakes, the ghost stories of lighthouses, the once-bustling mill towns that are starting to bustle again, the history, the delicate environment and everything else that is Maine.

cover of Maine Home + Design by Irvin Serrano

image two from DESIGN new england, photo by Peter Vanderwarker

images three and four from New England Home, photos by Michael Partenio

I recently spied this photo in our Fresh New Spaces Group on flickr, from flickr member lakbdesign/fergusandme She left this caption underneath: “I found this screen at my favorite consignment shop last week and promptly fell in love with it – it has sailing ships and charming flagged towers and pretty, graphic clouds and whitecaps, and best of all, a saltire.” I love the screen too. Its a unique element that draws the eye right to it and gives the room an eclectic jolt. I love the way it’s placed and that it’s not a typical framed painting. I also love the playful relationship it has with that gorgeous chandelier. The room is soft and calming, and full of interesting textures. It’s such a perfect balance, right down to the basket in the fireplace.

Just for fun, let’s check out the maritime details revealed in this angle:

Somehow this room has a kitschy seahorse lamp in it (LOVE IT!), yet it manages to remain very sophisticated. Thank you for sharing these lakbdesigns/fergusandme! Oh, and to learn more, check out Lynn-Anne’s blog. Her house is amazing – I’ll give you a teaser: Polar Bear Wallpaper.

As you well know by now, I am always trolling the web for inspiring work spaces. I am very jealous of this one, by Designs by Shoshana. It’s so clean and organized that you don’t even notice that monolith of a printer! Did you even notice that the wall files are, well, on the wall, or that they are files? They seem to fit right into the composition of artwork. The white holder and simple manila folders help it blend right in as well? I have to say my favorite part of this room is that gorgeous inspiration board. It appears to be a frame full of glass cloth, with foam core or cork behind it.

image via houzz.com

Today’s interview comes from Brian Everett from EVRT Studio. Known for his use of color, texture and layering techniques, Brian offers simple yet bold prints to add a little somethin’ somethin’ to your walls. Oh, and he really likes dessert. Enjoy!

Tell us about the process of starting EVRT Studio and how you got where you are today.

It really all started while I was working for a Home Decor & Gift company as a product designer, and an amazing opportunity through them. We had contacted the retailer CB2 in order to show them a line of stretched canvas prints we had done for our own product line. They loved them so much, they were interested in some custom work. I was sent to Manhattan, and spent 3 or 4 days just wandering the city with a camera and a backpack full of gear. It was an amazing experience to see the city like that. CB2 picked up three prints as a result of that trip. I later left the company but kept my contacts at CB2, and luckily they were excited to continue working with me. I didn’t even know it, but EVRT Studio was born!

What do you use as inspiration for your designs?

I would have to say most of my inspiration stems from what is going on around me in everyday life. Nature is also a big influence on me. Before I studied Industrial Design in college I was actually studying Forestry if you can believe that!

I love your use of bold/bright colors and layered effects. Tell us about your creative process and how your pieces come to life?

Most of the time it begins one of two ways. Photography has been a big part of my life for a long time, and sometimes I get an idea for a new print from a photo I have taken. It could involve extracting a portion of that image, or using the entire image, and re-imagining it in another form. For example, the Vases Print was inspired by a photograph of colorful glass vases that were overlapping each other. Most of my other ideas originate from sketching my thoughts. Actually, every print I design starts with a rough sketch to get the proportions right. All the details are slowly worked out, and I experiment with colors. Textures are added at the very end.

Four sites/blogs you visit daily:

Not counting my Twitter and Tumblr feed, my four favorite sites would be Archdaily, Contemporist, Design Milk, and Design Work Life.

What was the best advice anyone ever gave you?

In college, my Industrial Design professor always told me to worry about the details later, when getting started on a project. I often get bogged down in the details, far too early on, when I know I can figure that part out later and adapt it to a design.

What’s your favorite color or material?

Right now I am really into Orange. And I love seeing contrasting materials, such as soft textiles next to painted steel.

Favorite interests outside the design world?

Music. I am obsessed with Music; it’s what keeps me going most days. In fact, I used to be in a small two person band in Read the rest of this entry »

We hope everyone is enjoying a beautiful day off and is able to spend some time outside! My drafting table is going to sit here just like this, gathering dust today, while I soak up some rays and pop open a few cold Coronas:

What are you all doing today? I hope it’s something ridiculous and/or decadent!