Modwalls Tile

ModDotz in Palm Beach Blend

Wow, this back to work thing is really causing me to neglect my little blog here. I was so excited last weekend because I had so many things to share with you all this week, and here it is Thursday, and my first chance to sit down and finally do it. Never mind the fact that I need to remember what it I had to share in the first place. Luckily, there was no chance I could forget Modwalls tile. I absolutely love it! They have subway tile, penny tile and more at reasonable prices and in fabulous colors and color blends.

Lush in New Leaf Blend

There is literally something for everyone on this site whether you want to bold and boisterous or calm and collected. And perhaps the most amazing thing they offer is custom color blends for their 3/4" Brio tiles so that you can create exactly the color combination you want and with a minimum order of only 20 square feet.

Lush in Hamptons Blend
However, what lead me to the Modwalls site was the tile designs by Henry Road which are just lovely. From simple circles to modern blooms, it's unlikely anyone else on your block will have these wonderful tiles.

Henry Road Lush Circles in Dune/Cloud

So if you are dabbling in the idea of re-tiling a space, definitely check out Modwalls.

Etsy Pick of the Week: Vintage Wallpaper Lampshades

These stunning lampshades are handmade in Florence, Italy from vintage Italian wallpaper, circa the 1970's. Is there really anything else to say? Oh yeah, for only $137! Shipping is a little pricey, but for under $200 you could have one of these amazing shades delivered right to your door to use on a table lamp, floor lamp, or on its own as a pendant lamp (my personal preference). Check out Etsy store Drawflowers for information and additional patterns as well as other vintage wallpaper products.

All Clear

Plexi-Craft X Table

If you are having trouble seeing the images in this post, it is not your imagination. Clear furniture made of acrylic, lucite, plexi-glass and more has been trending for a while now and for good reason.

Louis Ghost Chair

First of all, it goes with anything so you don't have to worry about matching fabrics and paint colors which is one huge bonus.


Peekaboo Nesting Tables
Secondly, it doesn't distract the eye from anything else that you may want it to focus on. Have a fabulous piece of art or fantastic rug you want to be the center of attention, these clear pieces won't compete with it.
Acrylic Coffee Table
These pieces also are great in small spaces. Need seating in your tiny apartment, but don't want your space to feel cluttered? Go with something like this.

Magino Acrylic Stool/Magazine Rack

And just in case all of this wasn't enough, it's also super easy to clean. Just wipe it down with a wet cloth. I suddenly feel so light.

Etsy Pick of the Week: Wallpaper or Wall Decal?

Vintage Flower Blooms

By now, everyone has probably seen the craze of using vinyl wall decals in rooms. I have mixed feelings about them. On the one hand, they certainly are easy to install and add a new dimension to a room, particularly in a rental or somewhere you can't paint, but on the other hand, I feel like everyone and their mother has jumped on the vinyl wall decal bandwagon and most of them are pretty similar to the next. I have a giraffe wallpaper cutout on my daughter's wall and feel like it somehow has a bit of a different effect because it's wallpaper and not a decal, but really it's a fairly similar look. In any event, I was pleasantly surprised to find a vinyl wall decal that was refreshingly different than the rest of what's out there on Etsy this week.

Paisley Doilies

Etsy store, Byrdie Graphics' one of kind larger scale decals are available in sets (quantity per set varies depending on size of the design) so that you can create the look of wallpaper. Each design is available in several colors and because they are going on your wall, your wall color adds another dimension making the design truly custom to only you.

Bloom

I think this concept is really great for anyone who wants to try wallpaper but is afraid too. I happen to LOVE wallpaper, but it is definitely not a simple decision in choosing which one to go with. This takes a little bit of that stress away and is WAY easier to install. Shabby Floral Flock Damask

I also like that you can vary the direction of the decals to create and even more unique pattern and you can adjust the distance between decals for the perfect ration to fit your space.

Mod Squares

So if you like wallpaper, but aren't allowed to hang it or don't want to make the commitment, I'd say give this a shot. The designs are appealing, the installation is simple, and you'll have an entirely new look to your space. What do you have to lose?

Josef Frank

Butterfly

As you may have noticed today, Google's home page pays hommage to the fabulous textiles of Josef Frank in honor of what would be his 125th birthday. With most of his patterns being created in the first half of the 20th century, he was well known for defying the standards of mondernism in the 1940's and beyond.

Green Birds

What I find most striking about his textiles is the amazing use of color, and the fact that they are so timeless. One can just as easily envision them in a house in 1940 as they could today.

Blue Jungle

The widest selection of these textiles that I've found for retail sale is at Just Scandinavian where you can choose from over a dozen patterns and purchase the fabrics by yard ($250/yd).

Dixieland

It's always nice to take a look back at the work of the masters. Enjoy!

Library of Design

Over the past few months, my son and I have made a ritual of going to the library of every 3 weeks to pick out new books (usually of the firetruck nature) and a DVD, but rarely have I taken a look anywhere else in the library. I don't know why, but for a long time I felt like libraries were so out of touch...maybe because you can find just about anything you're looking for online now or maybe because Barnes & Noble and Borders have made going to the book store a full on afternoon's worth of activity where you can lounge in a club chair and sip your latte. I love hitting the bookstore and browsing through all the beautiful photos in the design and entertaining books, but it takes about 30 seconds before I've found 3 books I'm ready to take home for $100. I digress...anyhow, last night I was feeling brave since I only had one child in tow and decided to drag my son into the adult section of the library in search of the business books, and on the way a book about color on a return cart caught my eye which led me around the corner to rows and rows of books on architecture, antiques, furniture, indoor living spaces, outdoor living spaces, lighting, living rooms, kitchens, baths and the list goes on and on. I don't know why it caught me so much by surprise. It was only a few years ago when I was hitting the library to do research for my Interior Design classes at RISD, but I suddenly just wanted to sit there and peruse every book in the aisle. Alas, the 4 year old only allowed me to grab a few that I thought were interesting before we headed home. I chose The Outdoor Living Room by Martha Baker because I liked the cover, a book by one of my favorite design blogs, Apartment Therapy, and A Short Dictionary of Furniture by John Gloag because I love looking at old furniture sketches.What's my point? My point is that I hear people say over and over that they need inspiration for a space. I see people spending loads of money on books and looking at them a few times, only for them to collect dust for many years. There is an entire world of design at your finger tips in your local library. I have had a lot going on lately and have been a little less than inspired, but I realized last night that everything I need is right there. And as an added bonus it's free and better for than environment.

Mini French Chairs

What could possibly be better than a comfy French salon chair? A comfy French salon chair in miniature! Restoration Hardware's child sized chairs in classic French styles are just about the most adorable things I've ever laid eye on for a kids room, or even a living room that you don't want to look like a kids room even though your kids have taken over your house. I'm just dying to get the Mini French Salon Chair for my daughter's room.
The Mini French Vintage Chair would be just perfect for a little girl's vanity. And the Mini French Wing Chair would be fabulous for the little boy in your life. I think I would have the camera out every time my son sat in this to read a book. Wouldn't it just be adorable? This one would definitely be great in pairs too. Oh, it's going to be hard not to click the "buy now" button on these.

Etsy Pick of the Week: Jill Rosenwald Vases

If you don't believe in love at first site, then you must not have ever come across Jill Rosenwald's vases. The moment I laid eyes on them (all of 3 minutes ago) I knew they had to be my Etsy Pick of the Week. Why do I love them so much? Well, first of all the nice clean lines of the cylinder shape; second of all, the modern graphics; and third of all, the amazing colors. Plus, do you see how she picks a perfectly fun contrasting color for the interior of the cylinder. I would be happy with any of them, but if I could get my hands on all of them, I might just burst with excitement. As an added bonus, the prices are reasonable. If you need a wedding gift this summer, I think I just found it. I wonder if my husband would get the hint if I posted this picture on the fridge just a few weeks before our anniversary in August.

Customize Your Play Set

For my son's birthday last month, we got him a slide set, but I hated the standard issue cover that came for the tower part and decided to have my husband, who works for a sailmaker, make a sailcloth cover. I originally envisioned a more modern white sail with blue numbers on it, but he found an old blue canvas sail and decided to use that which works well too. But it got me to thinking about why we settle for the same old thing that maybe works, but isn't the most attractive thing we've seen instead of really making this otherwise not very exciting, but very large item in our yard really fun visually. There are so many fabulous outdoor fabrics out there, why not use them on our play sets! Here are a few that I think would look pretty phenomenal.

Trina Turk Trellis in Pool
Donghia Lifeguard
Seacloth Boardwalk Scalamandre St. Barth's Stripe
Scalamandre Antiqua

Keep in mind that these covers will only last a few years so you will have to replace them every once in a while, but I think if you bring them in during the winter, you could probably extend the life by quite a bit. I think the bigger and brighter the print, the better on these so don't settle for standard issue boring. Customize your play set!

4th of July Decorations

It's not too late to deck your house out with 4th of July decor. With the oldest 4th of July Parade in the country celebrating its 225th anniversary this year and it being just two towns away from me in the quaint seaside town of Bristol, RI, I decided to head over and look for a little inspiration to share with you. I'm pretty sure there is a town ordinance or something that insists that if you own a business or home on the parade route you must decorate your house. Even the traffic lines on the main road, Hope Street, are painted red, white and blue all year long.

Wishing you all a sun filled, lobster filled, friends and family filled weekend!

Happy 4th of July!