I’ve been watching Man Shops Globe screeners all week and all I can say is I wish I had this guy’s job. Or I at least wish I were his sister-in-law/travel partner. Or had his frequent flier miles. Keith Johnson travels the world buying furniture for Anthropologie stores. I now understand why their one-of-a-kind pieces are so expensive, though he didn’t really seem to be much of a negotiator. I imagine having cameras follow you puts a cramp in one’s negotiating style.

I was afraid this would screen like one long Anthropolgie commercial, which, let’s face it, it is, but it’s a damn good commercial. It’s totally entertaining, and I’ll take it over Pepsi or Ford product placement any day of the week. The most heartwarming part is are the great stories of how collaborators came together, and how an order from Johnson can change someone’s livelihood and life. I think my favorite episode is when he visits a design school exhibition in Holland and then heads over to Axel Vervoordt’s Complex.

I recommend watching this on a DVR, as some of the camera work is a little jumbled, and you’re going to want to hit pause when they are scanning around the flea markets and shops in order to check out the goods. The show premieres tonight on The Sundance Channel at 10 p.m. I was able to catch the first episode a little early on On Demand; this may vary depending on your cable service but if you can’t wait until tonight, give it a shot.

All images from sundancechannel.com

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.

If you didn’t pick up a New York Times today, check out the Home Section online. Here are some links to my favorite features this week:

1) I’m loving the slideshow of this modern Sag Harbor home (here’s a sneak peek, the interior floor is actually outdoor decking):

Isn’t this photography as crisp as the architecture in this one? I absolutely love it! The photographer is Michael Weschler.

2)If you like your coastal home a little more beachy, try shopping with India Hicks, queen of the shells.

3) If you’re still depressed about Flint Michigan after watching “Roger and Me,” find a little bit of hope by reading this article.

4) More hope from some industrious interior designers who are riding out the recession is here. Personally, my favorite e-decorator is Vanessa De Vargas. For more information, click here.

top photos by Michael Weschler for The New York Times.

Flint photo by Fred R. Conrad for The New York Times.

I loved this story in the AJC the other day, mostly because it is a good commentary on the untainted, not-yet-too-cynical, fresh approach that companies are likely to get from student designers. Staybridge Suites has decided to hire Savannah College of Art and Design students to design its hotel rooms.

“Every three years we work to evolve our standardized room program,” said Robert Radomski, vice president for global brand management extended-stay.

Normally, he said, the company would go to tried-and-true professionals who have years of experience, But sometimes, he said, their ideas can be recycled and they often must juggle multiple assignments, making it hard to focus on one client.

“This time around when the cycle came due . . . we were thinking we’d like to take a different approach,” he said…“They represent the next generation of designers and the next generation of travelers.”

This post does not seek to disrespect or devalue the work of experienced professionals!  I just loved doing student projects and get excited when I see people tapping students for fresh ideas. For example, The Beltline Project in Atlanta started out as Ryan Gravel’s thesis project at Georgia Tech.

Do you have any student projects you’d like to share with us, either current or from way back in your portfolio archives? Do you have any good student project stories, good or bad? Share them with us in the comments section!

I haven’t, but I’m dying to! What did you think?

I’m a huge fan of Bill Cunningham, and he has a charming video here about the fashions he’s seeing on The High Line.

Speaking of fashion, check out the High Line Merch here. I love the Trina Turk green and white print hat:

Keep up with High Line news over at The High Line Blog and the ever-growing Friends of The High Line flickr group pool. This shot is from flickr member ljpsf.

top two photos from thehighline.org

In this economy, a lot of couples who have broken up are still stuck living together, and the movie The Break-Up certainly showed us how disasterous a situation that can be (I may have held out for that apartment too; it was gorgeous). However, it seems things can work out a little better when it comes to a second home.

Last week I was fascinated by this article about a couple who restored a lake house together and planned on getting married there, but broke up before the special day. They divvied up their weekends and decided to have the wedding party without the wedding. Although they plan to sell the house eventually, I thought it was really nice that they decided to share it. It also seemed to me that they must have started decorating the day after reading Jonathan Adler’s My Prescription for Anti-Depressive Living – mid-century bottles, Rex Ray artwork, shag rugs, silhouettes, retro ceramic lamps, and even an Adler Liza pillow.

To see a short video about it, click here – the decor is really fun to look at, and the story is sweet and bittersweet. For the full article, click here.

Do you think you could handle sharing a second home with an ex in order to save your access to the real estate?

lake house photos by Fred R. Conrad for The New York Times

The Break-Up image from here.

I just wrote a post for my other blog that is sort of my frivolous fun thing with no focus, no technical know-how, no cool graphics or layout, with more Atlanta-centric talk and with about 12 readers if you include my mother, but I simply had to share this creative, trashy, and YOUR FACE political incident that’s going on in the way-outer ‘burbs of Atlanta.

IN A NUTSHELL: A mayor ratted out a City Councilman to code enforcement for having a messy yard. In getting it up to code, said Councilman saved the toilet that was formerly on its side next to the driveway, and decided to make it a planter, which he calls “folk art.”

The Councilman could spin this as part of a green design as it is an example of reuse. Perhaps it’s a message to the Mayor.

photo by Shane Blatt for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. I wonder if as he set up his shot, he laughed and said to himself, “I can’t believe the s*** I have to do at this job!”

Last week we talked about the changes in Facebook’s policies. I noticed today that there is an update:

For more information, check out the facebook blog.

I was sad to read that J. Max Bond Jr. died on Wednesday. Mr. Bond had an illustrious career as an architect and educator, in spite of being told by one of his Harvard professors that he should forget about it because he was African-American. At the time of his death, Bond was working on the National September 11 Museum at the WTC. One of his many projects was the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Social Change here in Atlanta. I did not realize that he was related to Julian Bond until I read his obituary on Thursday (in 2004, Julian Bond was inducted into the Civil Rights Walk of Fame, part of the same property as the MLK Center). To learn more about J. Max Bond Jr., his remarkable career and family, there is a concise but informative summary with links here, and you can read the obituary in full over at NYTimes.com. I have to share the last two paragraphs, which really got to me:

Despite these insider’s credentials, Mr. Bond never lost an outsider’s perspective, applying it critically in 2003 to early plans that called for public spaces high up in the new skyscrapers at the World Trade Center site.

“It’s always been difficult for young blacks, for young Hispanics, for anyone who looks aberrant to get access to the upper realms of Wall Street towers,” Mr. Bond said. “For a city of immigrants, the public realm is more than ever now the street.”

photo swiped from University of Michigan Visiting Faculty page

1) I cut this Boston Globe Magazine story out of the paper over the holidays and just found it wedged in a Soduku book in my carry-on. It’s about Nicole Freedman, whom they are calling “The Spokes Woman.” Freedman has a background in urban planning and is now Boston’s Bike Czar. rallying for bike share programs (like this one I told you about in Paris) and better bike lanes.

2) On a related note, here’s a clever bike lane light post over at Shelterrific. It’s from Good magazine, where we learned about guerrilla bike lanes a few months ago:

3) This image over at swiss miss brightens up a rainy day:

4) Melissa Hom turned the camera around on one of our very favorite photographers/bloggers Todd Selby – I spied him in his own home over at New York Magazine. By the way, any headline that mentions A.C. Slater will grab my attention every time! That magazine has some of the best article titles.

5) What do you think of “log” cabins made from concrete logs? I’m with Joe Campeau who says “Architecture 101 says respect the integrity of the materials…material should represent itself and not another material. Simply put, they’re fake.”

Yea or nay on the logless log home? I suppose we could get into a big semantic argument over the definition of “log.” Does it imply a shape and color to you or material? What do you associate log cabins with (it’s Laura Ingalls Wilder for me all the way)? Would you forgo the integrity of the material in exchange for low maintanence? Wouldn’t you rather have a house that celebrates its material like this one?

2) from Good, via Shelterrific

3) photo by Sam Spenser via szymon via swiss miss

4) photo by Melissa Hom for New York Magazine

5) photo by Janie Osborne for The New York Times