Bird feet. Yup, bird feet!

Bird Feet, at Rare Device

Kind of creepy but also, for some reason, I think they are a tiny bit cool.

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

Weekend Flings

• Perfect Genius in Street Art
• One Fancy Tub
• Miranda July is Magical (seen above)
• Kit Homes = Adorable
• A Taste of the Athletic Beauty that Defines Corpo Dance Company
• Subway on Steroids
• Cardboard's Latest Addiction
• A Tour of Pam's Personal Birdcage
• Your Normal Pajamas: Part I

If you're new around here and have no idea what this list means, click HERE for a brief and witty explanation.

Hard to Shop For? Take Seriously

King Tut Life-Sized Cabinet, at SkyMall, $895

Looking for a gift for that special person who insists they don't need anything...

I'm pretty sure they haven't seen this.

Bonus Bone: French Hermetic Terrines

French hermetic terrines, available at The Container Store

For the past couple weeks Hardwood and I have been battling an ant problem in our kitchen. We keep a pretty tidy home, so this made us super paranoid that we were dirtier than we thought. And it just seriously grossed us out! It took us awhile to find where they were entering our unit (from the basement), but knock on wood, we conquered those suckers thanks to Terro!

One night when we just couldn't take it any more, we stocked up on ant bait at Home Depot and swung by The Container Store to buy a bunch of glass containers for some of our dry goods. We hadn't noticed any ants in the pantry, but we really did not want to take any chances. We already have several glass containers storing spices, herbs, flour, sugar, etc, but it was nice to finally get some more containers for random bits. After filling the jars, I got a total Martha Stewart-high from the beautiful organization. No more garish boxes, just the beauty of glass and food stuff.

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

Style Time

Fabric Clock, at Suck UK

Now this is cool. It's a digital clock, constructed from walnut veneer and stainless steel. The cool part is the face - it's fabric and it's interchangeable. Feeling a little romantic and waking up to opera? Cut out a piece of flocked damask and affix it to your clock. Maybe you prefer NPR and a smart pinstripe? Done. You can even match your clock to your bedding.

The product is not yet available but is currently quoted at...yikes...$200. Maybe this can inspire a less expensive DIY.

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

S-H-O-P-P-I-N-G: IKEA

Porcelain and I took a trip out to IKEA last Friday. We reserved our I-GO and, in spite of the quick and nasty blizzard, made our way - slowly - out the to the 'burbs. We started the day with the hot mess of a BK breakfast, a pre-suburban shopping trip tradition. While in Burger King, we had a brief sad/crazy moment when Porcelain spotted a fellow diner "feeding" french toast sticks to two framed photographs that shared his tabletop. Really sad = if the photos were of deceased loved ones. Really crazy = if the photos were of Joe Rogan and Elmo.

Please enjoy this smattering of IKEA photosnaps. I especially want those of you without a local IKEA to imagine you're here with us, giggling at fake toilets and towering over the teeny tiny scales.

INSJÖN Bathroom Accessories

KIVSTA Velvet Shades

The main reason for this trip was so Porcelain could pick up a LACK bookcase (in white). She did that and had a few minutes of fun in the lighting department with a stuffed shark.

I want to know who has the design guts to wire a whole wall of those blue shell lights (haha, called SMILA SNÄCKA) in their bathroom or along the ceiling of a walk-in closet? I challenge thee!

HEMNES Chest

I'm still scouting out a sideboard and almost caved for this HEMNES chest in the "As Is" section. It was marked down from $250 to $174 and looked in near perfect condition. Alas, it's all drawers - no doors - and, therefore, not ideal for dish and glassware. It's also pretty ginormous and I'm trying to pair down on large furniture. Guess I'll have to keep looking...

See more IKEA photos HERE.

Weekend Flings

"Cadbury Egg" by Duane Keiser

• Happy Easter! (seen above)
• Mama Cardboard's Daring Bath
• Best of YouTube: How to Dance at a Rave
• Easter Egg Towels
• Great Lakes: Porcelain's Next Dinner Out
• The (Unconstructive) Criticism of Trevor's Clever Idea
• Smoky + Roasty = Delicious!

If you're new around here and have no idea what this list means, click HERE for a brief and witty explanation.

Pretty Pretty Iittala

Iittala Aino Aalto Large Tumblers, at FinnStyle

I recently made an impulse buy of one of these Iittala Aino Aalto glasses. Bamboo, my roommie, had just complained about us having no medium-sized glasses and this nearly 12-ouncer fit the bill. Plus, while browsing through all the lovely glassware at The Sweden Shop, I kept coming back to Iittala's shape and the unique blues.

It took me many, many minutes to decide between the Blueberry Blue (top row, left) and the Sea Blue (middle row, left). Both of these shades seemed really fresh and new to me. The Blueberry was smoky and the Sea was brilliant. I finally decided to take home the Sea shade because I feel my kitchen could use a jolt.

When I get back there, I'll probably buy another glass. I paid $12.50 to The Sweden Shop for the single glass so it's comparable to the "twofer" FinnStyle sale price. But, if I go back, I'll have to reserve at least an hour for trying to decide on color all over again because the Sand (bottom row, middle) is also very nice...

Missoni, Why Must You Tease Me?

Missoni Throws, at auto

I [heart] all three of these Missoni throws so much. Missoni usually goes craZy with the color and pattern and, although these are blankets are expressive, they're not overwhelming.

The $270 price tag is the only reason I'm not entering in my credit card info into the interwebs right now.

Note to self: Add this product (#43) to the list of reason to get a better paying job.

Lucky Crackers

Cracker Storage Container, at The Container Store

I'm pretty sure that a graham cracker storage system is what Porcelain would call "redonk."

Bonus Bone: Droog Hare Mat

Droog Hare Mat, at Dutch By Design

Easter Sunday used to mean waking up to a pastel basket full of egg-shaped jelly beans and a plushy toy (pig for me, ducks and bunnies for my sisters). These days, my home doesn't see much edible candy grass or bunny-shaped chocolates but that doesn't mean I can't be both designy and a little festive.

This Droog door mat is the perfect way to add a touch - a hare - of Easter fun into your decor without going over the top. In fact, the mat is cute enough that it could stay out all year long, reminding us to keep it going - quick, quick, quick - until we come home and we can finally rest.

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

Pixie Candleholder

Pixie candleholder, available at Crate & Barrel

I love these playful, inside-out, outside-in candleholders from Crate & Barrel. I also love that you use tealights in them. Cuts down on the waxy drips. 'Cause we all know what pain that is to clean up!

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

Weekend Flings

• Filing: A Japanese Organizational Book We Want in Our Own Designer's Library (seen above)
• Purdy Chicago Wood Stuffs
• Just Will Click for Flowers
• Air Plants: Pro-Water & Anti-Dirt
• Happy Birthday, Zingerman's!
• Thoughts on a Porto-Tub
• (Find Someone to) Save Polaroid
• What are Your Bathroom Rules?
• Breakdance: You Can Do It!

If you're new around here and have no idea what this list means, click HERE for a brief and witty explanation.

Bonus Bone: Scrapile dining table

Original Dining Table, by Scrapile

Wood detail

I love wooden dining tables. I think it stems back to the big pine table we had in our kitchen growing up. It was where we had family dinners every night, did homework, and chatted with Mom when we got home from school. It was the social hub of our home.

I saw this dining table in a recent Elle Decoration UK and fell in love. I also love tables that make a bold statement. As I learned more about what goes into making this table, I loved it even more for its green design. Scrapile collects and repurposes discarded wood scraps from New York's woodworking industry. I love the stripes from all the different types of wood they used. Such a beauty!! I'd love to have this be the social hub of my current home.

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

Gimage: Syncopation

"Syncopation" *

Porcelain & I just had the final class of our new recent obsession: latin/ballroom dancing. Our mentor, Tina Mangos, opened up a whole new rhythmic world for us. One of the tactics we learned was syncopation - the ability to break step, throw in your own "shine" moves, and then jump right back in time with your partner. We are so in love with this hobby/skill/life change. Thanks, Ms. Mangos!

Yet the class we took was brand-new and in a relatively experimental location so we want to spread the word. The next session starts in early April but Porcelain & I are afraid that it might be the last (if we don't get more dancers up on that dance floor). Tina straight-up told us that we need more people, especially those types of people who wear wide-legged pants and their hair slicked back (ie: dudes).

So, to spin this plea in the direction of interior design, please check out our gimage (above) for FLOR's "Syncopation." But if you less about carpet and more about looking foxy like this...

"Syncopation" *

...shoot us an email and we'll give you the scoop on the most entertaining dance class in town.

* Gimage = Image found when a stated phrase searched in Google

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

Weekend Flings

Song, Song Blue

• Stuff White People Like: The FULL List
• [Mostly] CoolTiles
• Estina54 is My New All-Time Favorite (seen above)
• Recycling or Ripping Off FLOR?
• "I Can't Microwave This..."
• Whose House is This?!
• Pizza, Parts I-IV
• So Lonely They Didn't Even Get One Comment

If you're new around here and have no idea what this list means, click HERE for a brief and witty explanation.

Bonus Bone: Fantastic Man

Fantastic Man, Issue No4

A friend at work just turned Porcelain & I onto the best men's magazine ever: Fantastic Man. The photography and styling are reasons enough to flip through it. Except we haven't actually looked at a copy of this "Gentlemen's Style Journal" because it's published in the Netherlands. But by looking at the website, we can tell that it's a haute hodgepodge of International Male meets Karl Lagerfeld, for a quick dash into American Apparel, before heading off to Dieter's Dance Party.


Porcelain & I are desperate to track it down stateside so tell us if you see it. If we come up empty, we'll have to consider splitting the subscription. The annual rate is pricey: $41 for only two issues. But for the chance to read about the fashion prowess of "pyjamas" or a tribute piece to "The Chest," we might just turn (our heads) and cough (it up).

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

Sinkwood at West Elm

Driftwood Table Lamp, at West Elm

To me, the base of this table lamp looks less like driftwood and more like used tissue. Somehow I don't ever think dirty snot rag chic will ever truly catch on.

And what's up with the styling in this photo anyway?

"On the left," I can almost hear the director say. "Just stick that yellow weed thingy here...lean it then!...shoot the booger lamp quick and we can still make happy hour."

Sweet Juniper prints

Mies van der Rohe, Lafayette Tower West

Dequindre Cut

Untitled

Jim (the artist formerly known as Dutch) from Sweet Juniper is now selling prints of his photographs on Etsy. Jim has a pretty amazing eye. His photos are saturated with color and the man knows how to frame a shot!! The work is very affordable ranging from a mere $15 to $30. He also noted on his Etsy site that if you see any photos from his flickr stream that you'd like him to sell send him an email.

Springy curtains

Fredrika fabric, available at IKEA

Spring was flirting with us this past Sunday. The temps were in the mid 50s, I cracked up a bunch of windows around my apartment and I wore a jean jacket to the grocery store. Life felt good and rosy! But spring got cold feet (literally) and ran away. I'm trying to find ways to tempt her back. Perhaps she'd like some fun, tulip patterned curtains that she can run her springy breezes through! I'd gladly make a set just to have her come back.

Tea Season

Moroccan Tea Glasses, 6 for $30

These glasses from Cost Plus are so pretty, they make me skip right over spring and wish desperately for summer.

Beds

Elan bed, available at Crate & Barrel

Malm bed, available at IKEA

Tatami bamboo bed, available at CB2

Case study bed, available at DWR

One night a couple weeks ago I was hogging a bunch of pillows. When Hardwood came to bed he asked for his pillow back. I groggily woke up and realized that a few of them slid down between the wall and the mattress. I gave Hardwood his pillow and crankily told him this is why I hate our bed!

Our mattress sits on an sturdy wooden futon frame. It's not your normal flimsy, cheap metal futon frame. This thing is built like a brick house with nearly two inch thick wood slats and only about a quarter of an inch between them. But it has no headboard or footboard to help keep the mattress in place, so it shifts easily from any movement. I've been trying to convince Hardwood to get a new bed frame for quite awhile. Something that looks good and will help keep the mattress stay put. I understand his reluctance, what we have now is a really well made piece of furniture, but the damn thing has got no style at all!

I took a look around and there is a definitely pattern to what I like: simple, modern, yet a little bit rustic. My favorite is the Elan bed from Crate & Barrel. I love the pattern of the wood grain on the headboard. Hardwood really likes the Malm bed and its matching side tables when he saw it in Modern Craft's house tour. I saw the Tatami bamboo bed at CB2 and loved the bamboo woodgrain. Although, I'm sure we'd be cursing after banging our shins against the metal base. Oucharific!!! The Case Study bed is a classic, but we have a rather thick pillow top mattress, so I don't think the two would work together so well. And buying a new mattress is not in the cards right now, since we purchased our current one only a couple years ago.

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

Weekend Flings

[heart]

• We Don't Even Eat Bacon But This Greases Us Impressed
• *Verito*: Our Latest Flickr Contact's Favorite Wall (seen above)
• Sale Time at Lisa's Loot!
• Amy + Bunnies + Cupcakes = Best Advertising Campaign Ever
• Just Breathe: Cool Colors in the Bedroom
• Homemade Green Tea Marshmellows?! Yum!
• Slipper Chairs, Redefined
• Cork & Knife Gets All Iron Chef on the Leek
• Felt is Nice

If you're new around here and have no idea what this list means, click HERE for a brief and witty explanation.