Fashion, Function & 'Fridgerators

In my next life, I would like my entire kitchen to make me feel like I'm living in a bag of Skittles.

I found this website http://www.bigchillfridge.com/ listed in the back of some design mag. Since then, I've been trying a multitude of different things to try and convince my husband that the kitchen we remodeled not 7 months ago could really use some updating. Alas, even my Jedi mind trick failed, ho hum...

Are you ready for this:


Can you imagine?



Fridges




Stoves


AND dishwashers!


If dropping $1700.00 on a dishwasher just 'cause it's cute doesn't seem interesting to you, Big Chill sells the front panels separately for only $525.

So, if anyone can come up with a way to convince my husband that a pink fridge really IS just the best idea I've ever had, would ya let me know? Thanks!

Things of Beauty

Do you ever walk around and start taking pictures of random things just because you're stuck by their design and beauty?

I do, all the time. I'm easily inspired by some of the most random, mundane things like...

The ceiling of a salami shop in Seattle:

Catalogs

Magazines:

A door knob catching the sun light coming in the window:

Paper:


Reflections in the kitchen:

This fun little thing, an ephemera pack found at a vintage market here in Denver, just random findings telling a happy little color story:

And some of my favorite things, my notebooks. I have more notebooks than words I could possible fill them with. But more than function, they simply make me happy.

What sort of everyday things inspire you?

Textile Design

Oh how I'm loving this...


Read all about Kristen Doran and her delicious texile designs here:
http://www.cheekybeaks.blogspot.com/

Cubicle Envy - Papaya

If you needed any further proof that your grey-upholstered-florescent-lit-half-walled-cubicle sucks, check out this post from Decor8:


http://decor8blog.com/2009/08/11/papayas-new-workspace/


Yeah, I'm weeping too...

Amy Butler...Take 2

Can’t get enough Amy Butler? Neither can I, that’s why I did the happy dance this afternoon when I saw her NEW line of rugs, Amy Butler for Chandra , posted over at DIYideas.com .

Don't you love?

Caracas :

Wall flower:

Coventry:

Chrysanthemum:

Now if I could just find $1699 lying around, hmmm, let me go check the dryer…

To view the full line, check out the Amy Butler website: http://www.amybutlerdesign.com/

all photos via amybutler.com

Amy Butler

One designer I'm constantly drawn to is Amy Butler. Her color combo's and big bold patterns are just simply fun. If you click around the interweb, you'll find a gaggle of crafters who share my excitement over AB's designs.

A quick scan of Etsy (have I ever mentioned them?) yields over 16,000 crafts tagged w/ AB.

Here are some fun things made from AB fabrics that I've found through my travels around the web-o-spher.

Purses:



Girl By Aileen offers this adorable clutch and many others.


Fallen Sparrow lets you choose your own fabric from a whole collection of AB (among other) fabrics .

Baby clothes:


Blossombebe has these darling baby dresses that are, get this, reversible! Genius!


Stationary:

Head over to Chaliejo for some AB fabric covered stationary **gasp**, oh how I love thee!

Furniture:

What I'm really dying for is a chair re-upholstered w/ AB fabric like these:



photo credit & chairs by Anilia via flickr

Or this:


Heck, you'll wanna check out the whole post about these chairs here on Decor8.

More:

Don't worry paper lovers, AB has a line of scrapbooking paper for you too. It's available at Joann Fabric & Crafts :

Me:

Of course AB has made it into my house as well:

Pillow made by Mom :)

What projects have you created with AB? Send me pictures and I'll include them in a later post!

Nifty & Thrifty

One of the things that drives me a little b-a-n-a-n-a-s about home decor is how pricey it can be. Regardless of the economy, I just can't justify spending 3 times the amount on something functional just 'cause I like the pattern.

Enter my happy place, Target. One of the things that I love about Target (besides the joy I get out of hours of aimless wandering) is it's partnership with design brands to offer affordable design for those of us who just won't lay out a mortgage payment for a new bedding set.

One of their partnerships has been with Dwell Studios for a line of modern bedding that brings a lot of style for little dinero.

Here is there non-Target bedding line from Dwell Studios, Talon :

The set comes with a Full/Queen Duvet & 2 standard shams. It retails for $220.00 (which really isn't too bad).

Now here's what the Baroque Duvet Set from DwellStudio for Target looks like:

It retails for $79.99!

And here's what it looks like in our newly finished guest bedroom:

I think me loves it!

Etsy Prints

I recently purchased two prints for the nursery. If you want to know the truth, I was just looking for another reason to buy a print or two from Etsy and the nursery seemed like the perfect alibi.



This print is by Jess Gonacha, it's hand illustrated, digitally printed and speaks to my love of hand-drawn typography.

photo by: jessgonacha.etsy.com

This print (as seen in just about every design magazine these days) was hand screen printed by sfgirlbybay. I loved the message and thought it had a fun history.

Of course, if you're not into the whole feel good vibe, you could always go for this one:

photo by: olliemoss.com