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.

LOVE the round-up of kid workspaces over at remodelista. Here’s a taste:

image from Elle Interiors, via remodelista

Today I have been admiring this Gastown loft in Vancouver B.C. that I found in our fresh new spaces group on flickr. Thanks so much to flickr member to be, inspired for sharing this! At first, you might browse on by and think “oh big whoop, another gorgeous loft with big windows, exposed brick and beams and huge open space.” However, look closer. This owner really knows how to balance things to perfection. It’s not too rugged, not too sleek. Not too modern, not too eclectic. It’s just right:

This loft strikes a great balance between sleek, modern furniture and some classic glitz; between structural elements like ebony wood cabinets and more worn patinas, like the exposed brick walls and slightly rough-hewn posts. Sticking to the a neutral color palette allows the wide array of textures to stand out.

For more about this loft, link over to this post at To Be, Inspired. Also, this post is hilarious. If you want to learn more about the owner, Sally, click here. She is someone I would love to hang out with!

both images from flickr member to be, inspired, specifically, Ryan. Doesn’t this beautiful photography enhance the palette and style of this space even more? As I watched the slideshow from our group, every one of their photos was obviously theirs.

Labor Day is over. This is when I start to think about switching up my bedding to cozy up for the winter – I like my room cold with lots of blankets to snuggle up in, and I find it’s the easiest way to switch things up when I get bored. Since I am trying to incorporate being more eco-friendly into my life, I decided go for 100% organic cotton and thus browsed DP’s sustainable bedding section.

The easiest way to keep your bedding different is to keep a neutral duvet cover and shams, and switch out your throw pillows, quilt, and/or blanket. Unison’s Larch print provides such a graphic punch that I’m picturing it changing up my bedding, and then once I get antsy to change things up again up there, throwing it over the back of my sofa to give my living room a new look.

Yesterday I gave you a peek at some of my friend Lucas’s clever artwork tricks. Today I thought I’d show you his balcony, which is in this flickr set. This loft is right around the corner from The King Center in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward. Lucas has really made the most of his balcony. It overlooks Freedom Parkway, Downtown, and Midtown. I was at a party at Casa Luca last week and at one point there were at least seven of us seated comfortably out there.

He has softened modern pieces with pillows, plants, and a rug. At night, he brings out his rechargeable lanterns from Vessel (on the chair in the top photo). Once you lounge on this daybed, you NEVER want to get up. The fabric is weather-resistant, and he also has a cover for it.

Lucas likes to take some time out to enjoy The View. And when he turns his head sideways, he gets this view. Not too shabby!

I stopped by my friend Lucas’s loft in the Old Fourth Ward today and took about a million pictures. Between the funky flash and the fact that I was dizzy, I’m not thrilled with the results, but the ideas are so good I had to share a few with you immediately anyway. I’ll share more of a house tour in a later post after some photo editing attempts, but for now, here are a few of his great ideas.

Aren’t these ticket stub shadowboxes a great idea? I have ticket stubs floating all over my house, some in scrapbooks, some on bulletin boards, I even saw one in my laundry room the other day. I’d love to get them all in one place, as each one carries different memories (side note: perhaps I’ll blow up the one from the Depeche Mode concert this past month – that show was AWESOME! OK, back to Lucas…) Lucas is a singer-songwriter and goes to see live music ALL the time. I even spy Suzanne Vega’s signature on a stub in his collection.

Lucas has a knack with IKEA frames. The piece above was bought from an artist in Provincetown, and he gave it more of a presence with an inexpensive black frame. The piece below is a tangle of old guitar wires that he was gathering up to toss out. When he saw they had formed a heart shape, he popped them in another frame:

Every surface around the loft is well-curated. Living in a small studio instilled the feeling of only keeping things you need and love around the house. Lucas entertains a lot, and I noticed he utilized trays and modern tray tables all over his home for various things. He keeps his bar beautiful with fresh flowers and candles.

A TV-related tree, currently some sort of shrine to Carrie Bradshaw!

Again, sorry for the photo quality. I’m not sure what happened there, and I feel like they don’t do the art or the space justice! Luckily, I have a bunch of photos from Lucas himself which are much better than mine. You can sort through them all in this flickr set if you’d like a peek before the house tour post!

Oh, and in case you were wondering about the note in the shadowbox, “U Cute” was a note left in grease pen on a Burger King bag by a toothless cashier who was staring at Lucas so much that he said “I was afraid he was gonna cut me.” It was only later as he picked up his burger detritus that he saw the note and it all made sense! Did I mention that Lucas is hilarious?

I’m so glad I started following Dwell Studio on Twitter. Otherwise, I might have missed the blog post about Dwell Studio partner Jenna Chused’s feature in Martha Stewart Living! Her apartment is impeccable without being intimidating; for example, I love the way she used this school chart as art:

And I have some serious kitchen envy over this one. Wow, the power of a rug! This kitchen is strong like bull (as my father would say):

Check out the rest of the slideshow over at Martha’s place – I promise it will be worth your while! Also, you can get your own Dwell Studio style by browsing over here.

Photographs via marthastewartliving.com. Photographer name was not listed; if you know it, please comment so that I can add it to this post.

I haven’t done any new lazy environmental improvements lately. There, I admit it. You know what? It’s hard coming up with one every week, especially in lazy summertime. It’s hot down here, it’s all I can do to drag the overstuffed recycling bin out to the curb every other week. Therefore, I don’t deserve to pick a sustainable product of the week. Now if only they would make the Panton chair out of recycled plastic, we might have a homerun. Apparently, they don’t. However, I don’t see how anyone could ever throw one of these away, so you know, at least there’s that.

To my point, I was collecting images of this chair on another website the other day and realized that the Panton chair pops up absolutely everywhere. Although a mental buzzer has gone off whenever I’ve seen one,  I could not believe how many different styles and materials coordinate with this crazy plastic chair. It must inspire people to see how many different ways they can make it work. This shot from Nicole Hollis is one of my favorites:

As is this shot of some hot pink ladies lounging gardenside from desiretoinspire (pssst: Kim, I’m so glad you finally got yours, and they look smashing!):

desiretoinspire has a great collection of Panton chair shots here.

This post would not be complete without the St. Bartholomew’s Church shot:

I tend to be more impressed with these when I see them en masse, but sometimes a single chair makes a powerful statement. Are you a fan? Would you use a group of them at your table or just one or two at the head/ends? Would you get them in the same color or mix it up? Use them indoors or outdoors? Or would someone have to pay you a million bucks to put one in your house? Let us know in the comments.

• first image from designpublic.com
• second image from Houzz.com
• third image by Helen Fickling via desiretoinspire.net
• fourth image by flickr member diamants dans la poussiere

Petunia Pickle Bottom co-founders DeNai and Braden share an incredible tour of their home and design style. Keep an eye out for the school map of the United States, the oversized Chinese ceremonial mask and the mushroom collection. Without question, I could live here and feel well traveled, educated and at peace. Beautiful job, guys! If you want to learn more about PPB, check out our designer interview. Enjoy!

Maybe it’s the fact that in my professional life vibrant color and pattern are my signature style at Petunia Pickle Bottom that make my personal life at home a monochromatic world.  My rule of thumb when putting together a room usually begins with one object.  I am a fan of flea markets or something with a little history.  So when I begin to style a room, it is usually a unique found object that sparks my imagination.

Our home was built in the 1920’s and still has a considerable amount of the original details.  Our family room is where we like to hang out by the fireplace, read books to the kids on our comfy couches, take a nap or set up train tracks to circumnavigate the room.  When I first saw this room, I was struck by the 8’ window and high exposed beam ceiling. It was light and bright so I chose colors that would naturally illuminate.

The focal point I designed around was the natural wood Roost buck head flanked by archival school charts (lobster and bird) that stem from my father’s days as a college biology professor. My recent obsession with mushrooms covers the fireplace mantle.

Friends joke our kids will have nightmares from the oversized Chinese ceremonial mask that hangs in our dining room. Found at an antique store in historic downtown Ventura, she’s become part of the family. We think it was used in the movies or carried in a Chinese parade.

The red lips of the mask were the perfect color to pair the walls, a vintage red wood telephone booth door filled with glass, and our custom table crafted by my husband.

My 3-year-old son Sutton’s room was recently converted to a “big boy” bedroom.  Years ago I found a stunning oversized school map of the United States (chalk printed so you can write on it) that I knew would be perfect for a child’s bedroom. We held onto over the years and it served as the perfect centerpiece for the “Traveler’s odyssey” theme for my son’s room.

Complete with a flying ship, globes, suitcase, guitar, army blanket, old books, and Read the rest of this entry »

I just found Coastal Living on Twitter today and have whiled away about an hour after being sucked into their website. Here are the original images that got me started on my intense browsing. They make me long for the ocean:

Love the Bertoias with the Saarinen tulip table, the blue, the wood, and most of all the view:

Love the way these Emeco chairs work in this shot:

I’m totally going to steal this color palette!:

The stainless steel countertops really work well here. Even though this kitchen is sleek, it’s still warm somehow:

all photography from CoastalLiving.com. Photographers in order are:

• Brian Vandan Brink
• Lisa Romerein
• Roger Davies
• Brian Vandan Brink