Emily and Maria, the adventurous gals behind the bike accessory company Po Campo, like to “instill a sense of independence and love of exploration in every item we make by producing everything with pride in our home city, Chicago.” In that spirit, they shot a typical day of going through the to-do list, including the bike ride over through Chicago, which they have shared here:

More of Po Campo’s stylin’ bike bags.

Look! Mini Area Bruno beds! Anki Spets, founder of Area, was asked to design a table for the DIFFA (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS) Dining by Design event held in NYC. Anki designed a table setup with 10 miniature Bruno beds with Area bedding and little figurines in the beds reading the NY Times (the table sponsor).  She used different Area fabrics to tile the background of the booth.

They also gave each diner a piece of clay to be creative during dinner (a great little ice breaker!). Nice show, Anki! Love it!

Program your DVRs, set your TiVos and get the VHS tape ready to record, Kiersten Hathcock from Mod Mom Furniture will be on this Friday’s (4/1) 8pm/7pm central episode of Shark Tank on ABC. In the preview above you’ll see Kiersten for a second say “Everything is riding on this.” Ohhhhh the suspense! A hint as to how it went down,  ABC put out a blurb that says “sharks fight over mother’s furniture company.” Gooooooo Kiersten!

Today’s flickr fave comes from our industrious and creative pal, furniture designer Thomas Wold. Thomas collects and reassembles cabinetry and other furniture and creates spectacular assemblages. I’m especially loving the mix of colors and shapes in this one, and the fact that I can squint at the picture and get a peek at what else is going on in Thomas’s studio and try to guess what’s coming next!

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 »