Destination: Madonna

Thanks to Leah at MoreWaystoWasteTime, I now know that my next road trip with end with a stay at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, California.

I will either stay in one of the craZy rock rooms, such as...

Rock Bottom

Or in an overly saccharine room, like...

Old Fashioned Honeymoon

Or a room that both thrills and scares the crap out of me, like...

Tack Room

Thanks for the tip, Leah!

Bonus Bone: Giuko 1

Guiko 1, at Lightology

The silhouette on this suspension light is incredible. It is both weird and sexy.

For these reasons, I, Cardboard, declare this a Design Boner.

Decidedly Anti-Green

I've been thinking a lot about carbon footprints lately. I'm trying to remember to switch off lights as I leave the room and I usually wash my clothes in cold water. I'm growing conscious of my own green habits (or lack thereof) so it makes sense that I'm also watching others. I often see people on train platforms throw their newspapers in the trashcan instead of the recycling bin (only about 10 feet away). Well, not people. Person. I see one person do this. (You know who you are, Turquoise Crocs.)

The main reason for this post, however, is that this morning, I witnessed a Zipcar parade. I've heard good things about Zipcar and their competitor I-Go. No matter which company you prefer, the whole car-sharing concept is a great green idea. You must then understand my disappointment when I saw 3 Zipcars driving down the street, with balloons trailing from the backseats and the lead car on loudspeaker, puttering along in a gas-guzzling promotional parade. I'm all for self-promotion and I even enjoy parades but this stunt was pathetic, contradictory, and the only thing it advertised was wasted resources.

Boo, Zipcar! Practice what you preach!

Cockatiel knob

Cockatiel knob, available at Anthropologie

These lovely little knobs featuring a cockatiel remind me of an Audubon painting. They would look very sweet on a cute little vintage dresser or cabinet.

6 & 7

Here are our weekend photos. Visit flickr to see the entire 6 & 7 collection.

Cardboard: left, Porcelain: right

Original inspiration by Stephanie & Mav at 3191

Xenia Taler tiles and boxes

I spotted the beautiful tiles and boxes by Xenia Taler over at design*sponge. Cardboard and I have been gushing over the ones we love, which is practically all of them! In the words of Cardboard they're "so friggin' pretty!" We are particularly taken with the boxes and the round tiles. Here are our favorites:

Goldfish tile

Blossom branch tile

Dachshund box

Tree box - autumn

Bonus Bone: Blossom & Bill tray

Blossom & Bill tray, available at IKAK

The Blossom & Bill tray, designed by Sandra Isaksson, makes me laugh. They look like the Woodstock version of Adam & Eve. The cartoony boobs and chest hair just crack me up! I giggle at this tray the same way I giggled at the word fart when I was a little girl. FART! CARTOON BOOBS! Is there anything funnier? I don't think so!!!!

For these reasons, I, Porcelain, declare this a Design Boner.

The "New Tent"

We've all seen and "yeah, right"'ed the DWR Airstream. Cute but $50,000 worth of cute isn't within reach for most of us. Yet, it seems, it's started a trend.

Coming in at half the cost of the DWR model (and probably half the size) is the Sundance Teardrop Trailer.

Sundance Teardrop Trailer, $24,000

Sundance states that their answer to the 1940's American road trip is "tricked out" with all kinds of goodies. The interior is crafted with maple and the exterior is made of ever-shiny aluminum. There's a full-size mattress, LED lighting, a foldaway stove, a hand pump faucet, and all kinds of little cubbies and cabinets. Basically, it's the fort you would have built as a kid, had you had already earned an degree in engineering. Of course, there's an extra delivery charge so you should probably start your cross-country journey by driving the SUV straight to the Sundance warehouse to pick this gem up.

Thanks goes to Mama Cardboard for finding this item and providing the title quote!

What's Up, Delia's?

I found some pretty cute stuff at Delia's just now. If you agree, take advantage of their housewares sale.

Terry Anchor Pillow, $26

Asian Floral bedding, $12-$29

Moroccan Linen Cuff Curtain, $30

Victorian Chandelier, $55

Victorian Birdcage Comforter Cover, $40-$57

The Prizes!

The moment you've all been waiting for is here: the unveiling of our birthday sweepstakes prizes!

We hope Lisa & Shirley enjoy these products as much as we did. We also hope that the rest of you aren't too sad that you didn't win. Who knows, maybe you're even a little relieved (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). But if you do happen to think paper speakers and veggie-inspired dishware are the bee's knees, just you wait until next year!

Lisa J. from Cheverly, MD won Porcelain's MUJI cardboard speakers!

Materials: cardboard & electronic doohickeys, foldable & portable
3.25" h x 3.5" w x 3.25" l
Made in Japan
To be used with portable music devices, such as your old Walkman from 1989 or a fancy new iPOD

Shirley Y. from Bala, PA won Cardboard's lettuce bowl!

Materials: Glazed ceramic, removable lid
9" h x 10" w
"Stella Luikis, June 1973" (signed on bottom)
Original contents included:
1 Jones Soda bottle cap
1 package of Sour Patch candies
1 packet of Smooth Move (laxative tea)
1 hair band
1 packet of plant food
6 Jolly Rancher lollies (5 watermelon, 1 cherry)

Design Debate: Narrow-Slat Bench

Porcelain & I usually agree on matters of design. In the very least, we understand each other and validate the other's point. Yet we are Porcelain & Cardboard, two extremely different entities, and areas of contention are to be expected. Sometimes we just don't see eye to eye. We tussle via email, we tend to get snarky, and we never back down. Welcome to the quick, dirty, and grammatically incorrect world of...

Design Debate: Round 1

[ding!]

Porcelain:
i'm liking this bench...

Narrow-Slat Bench, at West Elm

Cardboard:
yeah? i'm having an issue (or issues?) with this bench. it's okay and all but the first thing i think about when i see this bench is that time when Formica spilled red wine through the similarly-slatted coffeetable at TMK's wedding shower. granted, this is a bench (not a coffeetable) and you probably won't be drinking red wine when you're putting on your wellies but you might and then i fear you'd be in for some trouble. also, the sharp angle of the legs is freaking me out...

Porcelain:
yeah i would not use this as a coffee table. something to put in a hallway by the front door or at the end of a bed.

Cardboard:
those crazy chrome legs definitely do NOT whisper "boudoir" to me.

Porcelain:
it would fit in with a very sleek, minimalist bedroom. not some fancy rococo boudoir.

Cardboard:
but if you sleep in a "sleek, minimalist bedroom," your bed is most likely only about 19cm off the ground. so that would make this bench way too high to sit at the foot. i know - you could use it for your headboard and have a nice built-in shelf!

Porcelain:
dude, 19cm is only about 7.5in. and most modern mattresses are way thicker than that. and let's not forget about pillowtops. my mattress doesn't even have a pillowtop and is 15in deep. i'd say even if they get the plushest of pillowtop mattresses and have the lowest of low platform beds, the bench will be about even with the bed.

Cardboard:
my 19cm platform bed was an exaggeration (but an interesting concept...). so let's say you have no frame of any kind - that you're one of those artsy sleep-only-on-a-mattress-because-i'm-so-grounded-and-fantastic, then what? but wait...now that i think about it, we're back to square one because bedrooms, be they boudoiry or be they modern, they will all see their fair share of red wine and -oop- there you go, spilling it through the slats.

Porcelain:
what you do in your bedroom is not the same with what others do in theirs! tipsy red wine drinker!

Cardboard:
i'm just sayin'

(gimage: tipsy red wine drinker) *

WINNER: Porcelain.
Between the time when we actually had this debate (last week) and posted it (just now), West Elm has sold out of this item. Cardboard has been over-ruled. This item is hot.

* Gimage = Image found when stated phrase searched in Google

Oh, Hardwood!!!!

Last night my husband, Hardwood, and I were looking at photos of a condo we really like. We noticed that in every single room there was a ceiling fan and each one was different. I think we only liked one of them.

This morning I sent him an email suggesting we replace the ugly fans with this one:

Ball Fan

Hardwood's response back was that he wanted this one:

52" Craftmade CXL Fan - Brushed Nickel

Oh, Hardwood!!! That's why I love ya!!! You always know how to make me laugh!

6 & 7

Here are our weekend photos. Visit flickr to see the entire 6 & 7 collection.

Cardboard: left, Porcelain: right

Original inspiration by Stephanie & Mav at 3191

Bonus Bone: Mimi Kirchner

the Reading Series

What first attracted me to Mimi Kirchner was her series of fabric postcards entitled Reading. Kirchner, a Massachusetts textile artist, has such a magical way of combining pattern, color, and form. I see each card as a mini-masterpiece, sweetly homemade yet expert in execution.

Boyfriend #1

After falling in love with the Reading postcards, it is only natural for me to seek out more. Kirchner's certainly got her hands full. She constructed another postcard series called Babies, which was inspired by infant photos in Flickr. She then stitched together an armful of huggable Boyfriend dolls. She's got felted bunnies, fairytale characters, and classically-made dolls which are anything but traditional.

Bridgit

For these reasons, I, Cardboard, declare this a Design Boner.

And the winners are...!

Lisa J. from Cheverly, Maryland wins Porcelain's gift!

Shirley Y. from Bala, Pennsylvania wins Cardboard's gift!

For those who sent in their name but did not win, thanks for playing! The unexpectedly BIG turn-out made us feel all warm and fuzzy. We'll have to give things away more often!

However, please realize that the deadline has now passed. Emails continue to trickle in...

I know you're probably dying to know what items we chose to gift away. We want Lisa & Shirley to be surprised when they open their parcels though so we won't be posting photos right away. Check back in next Thursday to see what fine accessories slipped right between your fingers.

photo credit: Stock.xchng

In Memoriam

Julie Thoma Wright 1958-2007

Don't forget!

Just a reminder that our birthday sweepstakes ends at Noon CMT today! If you haven't gotten around to it yet, send us an email to win one of two great prizes!! Winners will be announced and emailed this afternoon. Good luck!

photo credit: PQI Events

Fit for the Queen (of Hearts)

Red Velvet Antique Floral Dishware, at Wrapables

My heart beats for this porcelain dishware! The scarlet-on-white and oversized scrollwork demand instant attention. The irregular pattern, however, keeps things loose.

I think they'd be perfect for tea and tasties at my Alice in Wonderland garden party.

Woven nesting totes

Woven nesting totes, available at Crate & Barrel

I have a big storage hutch in my painting studio that holds all sorts of crap. Some of it is contained, but some of it wants to make a break for it when I open a door. So I've been hunting for some nice looking baskets to hold paper and photos. To complicate this search further, I've been looking for something eco-friendly (and that doesn't break the bank). There are a lot of great and stylish options out there, but a lot are made of PVC and I've been on a big anti-PVC kick as of late. (Really bad stuff, check this out!)

I think I may have finally stumbled onto some that pleases my eco-friendliness and my aesthetic with these woven nesting totes from Crate & Barrel. They're made of water hyacinth which is a good green material and the lacquer finish is non-toxic. The only thing that makes me pause is the handles are faux-leather, which leads me to suspect that it might be PVC. Dang! But 2 out of 3 ain't bad!!

I'm in...AT!

AT's "Small is Cool" Men's T

"Yesssssss!" [pumps arm enthusiastically in the air]. "I got it!"

Today, ApartmentTherapy:Chicago announced that I earned one of the contributor slots on their ever-insightful blog. The really cool thing is that Sarah also got the job! Hurrah! No hard feelings! Sarah posted for the first time today and I post tomorrow at 11:30am, sharp. I knew about this last week but wanted to keep quiet until it had been officially announced AND until I had drafted a few posts. How embarrassing would that have been if I told all you guys that I got it and then everything designerly fell straight out of my head?

And so for my humble acceptance speech, I would like to thank Porcelain first for allowing me the option (and providing overwhelming support). I thank my mom for the proofreading, AT for giving me the shot, and all my friends, real and bloggy, who made me realize that I can do this (and then got genuinely excited for me when I did). If I wasn't so busy trying to get a handle on my new part-time job, I would so bake some of these for all of you:

CutestCupcakesI'veSeenInMyLife...Ever

Seriously, check out the close-up:

Thanks for the tutorial, Vegan YumYum!

6 & 7

Here are our weekend photos. Visit flickr to see the entire 6 & 7 collection.

Cardboard: left, Porcelain: right

Original inspiration by Stephanie & Mav at 3191

Bonus Bone: Ferm Living

Feather wallpaper, available at Ferm Living US

Leaf wallpaper, available at Ferm Living US

Sparrow wall sticker, available at Ferm Living US

I have been lusting after Ferm Living's wallpaper ever since I first saw it in blogland back in December. I was so taken with the bold colors and fun graphics. I totally want a wall in my new home covered in the sexy peacock feather wallpaper. There was just one big problem, they were only available in Europe. NOooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!! But not anymore, they now have a US based site. It looks like shipping begins on June 15, so get your credit cards out!

For these reasons, I, Porcelain, declare this a Design Boner.

Birthday Sweepstakes!

Enter to Win!

In honor of our one year blog birthday, Cardboard & I wanted to do something special and fun. We also wanted to let you all know how much we appreciate your virtual company. So we decided to have a give-away!

Each of us will select one item from our homes to be gifted to two lucky winners!! You won't know what it will be, heck, we don't even know what it will be right now! It's just like one of those $2 mystery packages you can buy in Chinatown. It might be something close to our hearts, something silly, or a big box of chopsticks. We promise you this - it won't be smelly and it won't be gross but it's totally going to make you smile.

SORRY - the sweepstakes is over!
Deadline: Thursday, June 14th @ noon CST

*We will NOT give out your address. It is safe. In fact, we'll delete it after the drawing.
**We are willing to ship to Canada and internationally!

"Happy Birthday, dear design boner...."

l-r: Katie (aka Porcelain), Jessica (aka Cardboard)

Today, design boner is one year old! We can't believe how time has flown by. It's been such a lovely, uncomplicated adventure and we feel closer to all of you. Since we've survived the year (uncyberstalked), we decided to open up a little bit and introduce you to the real us.

Porcelain is...
Katie is a Sagittarius and is attracted to water signs. She knew Jessica (Cardboard) was a kindred spirit when they discovered their love of dancing movies (specifically Strictly Ballroom) and tater tots. Katie shops at Dominick’s for most of her groceries, watches British mysteries, and puts a pot of coffee on first thing in the morning. She’s a painter with a love for interior design and pattern. She identifies herself with porcelain because it can be both fragile and tough.

Cardboard is...
Jessica lives in Chicago and likes it. She met Katie (Porcelain) at work but insists that they truly became friends by bonding over dance parties and America's Next Top Model. Jessica enjoys tennis, gummy bears, and getting her hands dirty. She defines herself as a writer with an artistic eye but she'll always admit it when she doesn't know what she's talking about. She identifies herself with cardboard because its potential is endless but its ego is small.

If Jessica could receive one gift for her blog birthday, she would ask for the Indie Dining Table at CB2. If you buy it for her, you are guaranteed a delicious dinner and (at least) one raucous game of Pictionary. If Katie could receive one gift for her blog birthday, she would ask for a white Eames Molded Plastic Rocker from DWR. If you buy it for her, she will serve you cookies and juice and read to you from several storybooks.

Collectively, though, design boner's only birthday wish is that you continue to click our way and keep on reading. Thanks for making this a great first year!

Buy PrairieMod

Sullivan Chicago Stock Exchange Elevator Grille, $30

PrairieMod, one of our local design blogger BFFs, just announced that they've opened an online store! They're starting small but continuously on the hunt for merchandise that promotes the PrairieMod lifestyle. Right now, they've got the standard t-shirts & coasters but they've also got these mini-screens that we just love! Each laser-cut screen (available in cherry or maple) measures 8.5" x 4" and is the perfect ornament to hide a computer screen or cast shadows on the wall next to your favorite lamp. Such a simple idea and so beautifully executed. Click over and check out the goods!

Japanese Stylized Leaves, $30

Piano Alternative

Piano, 2003

Bamboo wants to get a piano for the house. This one made of cardboard by artist, Shannon Goff, probably wouldn't sound too melodic but it sure would be appropriate. And I'm certain it'd be easier to move!

See more life-size cardboard creations and lots of other fun stuff at the artist collective, Telegraph Art.

6 & 7

Here are our weekend photos. Visit flickr to see the entire 6 & 7 collection.

Cardboard: left, Porcelain: right

Original inspiration by Stephanie & Mav at 3191