not all four-letter-words are bad

I've had this image saved in my 'design inspiration' folder for quite a while...since February of '04 to be exact. I keep coming back to not because of the design, but rather the powerful message of a single word.

from Interior Design, February 04

LEAP : to jump or spring a long way with great force.

Today I met with an friend who is listening to his dreams and talents--- leaping towards a life he loves. Seeing him reach his goals is such an inspiration. It makes me want to leap too.

Perhaps I'll start with some letters on the wall.

How about you? What's inspiring you today?

getting up and going

Pardon the late post. I was feeling a little less than creative when I woke up this morning. However, after taking the time to do some of the things that inspire me the most : lunching with my gal pals, visiting Anthropologie, thrifting and a little plein air sketching I'm feeling much, much better.

I'm lucky right now to have the freedom to take off and do these things. Hopefully you are in an even better place, but if you're not...and are chained to a desk...allow me to share some of this inspiration with you.

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First up, I'm Loving with a capital 'L' the new colors of latte bowls at Anthro. I'm especially drawn to the combination of gray, seafoam and yellow. Feels like a winning paint combo if I do say so myself!

Ditto for this nail polish:

and these hair thingamajigs:

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While making the rounds at one of my favorite thrift stores, I was very tempted to start an awkward cross stitch collection. I already have two [see here and here] and according to my mom, all it takes is three of something to have a collection. Sadly, however, this awkward cross stitch is too true to life right now to be funny. Oh well, another day.

I also found this ahhhhhmazingly huge map of Paris which I would love to have in our bedroom if it wasn't 429-. Since I can't have it, you need it, don't you? I'll come visit and be cool by virtue of association.

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Finally, I visited Addam's Art Loft for a new sketchbook and pens. It never fails that my inspiration and pens run dry at the same time....so here's to keeping plenty of fresh pens! With new supplies in hand, I copped a squat and drew the store.

I'll share that drawing and the ones from my vacay soon! Until then, wishing you the best...and a steady supply of ink-filled pens!

there was a young woman

that lived in a shoe [ok, a house] and had so many chairs she didn't know what to do.

I just got news.

My babies have new siblings. Quite handsome siblings I might add.

Meet Georgie Gray:

and Andy Aqua:

They'd fit in so well around here (especially considering the new color palette and all). If only... Learn more about these beauties here.

our color story

I'm happy to share that after hours spent staring at paint swatches, analyzing the differences between 'Tame Teal' and 'Aquaduct', we've finally settled on the color palette for the walls of our house. Yay! One task crossed off the list, only 5,426 more to go. Good thing we love doing this!

In case you're wondering, we're not completely abandoning the brighter colors of our inspiration images. But, in an effort to avoid having it look as though a clown or Easter bunny (you take your pick) exploded in our house, we're reserving the bolder hues for furniture and accessories.

We meant to get started painting this past weekend, but only got so far as taping up half the living room. In the words of Patrick Starfish, tomorrow for sure!

happy home hues

Lately we've been working on developing a color palette for our house.

We're inspired by the colors seen in these beautiful log bowls by Loyal Loot:

and this Feist concert poster by Vahalla Studios:

Surely a home filled with these colors will be a happy one.

tying one on

I love garlands...

...making them...

...hanging them...

...delighting in the whimsy.

one of these days i will draw again

But in the meantime, I hope you'll be content with some inspiration via my office. I feel very lucky to not only love what I do for a living, but also the spot within which I get to do it. Truly a good place to come to work.

: alien computer, looks cute, crashes on command :

: beauty school photo = great conversation starter. and no, i'm not pictured in it :

: display prototype for The Salvation Army Select...which I need to tell you about... :

: creativity, writing, drawing...and a gift in the corner from a student :

: a portal created by students, inspired by the great wall of china :

: in case you didn't know, i'm a collector :)...read more about the 'stuff' here :

: a bit of the portal puddles here [never anticipated typing that statement] :

: edgar's city of wonder and happiness :

Thanks for sharing in my world. Hope one day you'll stop by during office hours.

i'll take the color combo please

Remember this?

Well I think you'll agree that the bathroom of our school's library was ahead of its time as heather gray and yellow are popping up EVERYWHERE this season. Denise sent me a link to this blog post with a collection of other 'current' yellow and gray bathrooms. I particularly love this one from Southern Living:

switching subjects

We're currently on the look-out for one, perhaps two, large pendant fixtures for our living room. And, of course, like any good mid-century enthusiast, we LOVE George Nelson's Saucer Bubble Pendant. But we'd also like to step out of the box [and back into our price range] a little.

I ADORE David Trubridge's Floral Hanging Lamp, [have you seen the light patterns created from this beauty? GORGEOUS!!!]. Unfortunately, Edgar is not a fan of exposed light bulbs...

which also knocks out Moooi's Random Pendant...rats.

So, any suggestions? We're open to all shapes, just not all sizes (the bigger the better). We're also particularly interested in supporting up and coming designers...

Update : check out these nifty suggestions via nifty readers...

Jax suggested the Sustainable Chandelier by Julianne's Atelier. Made from plastic cups. Wowzer!

And then another suggestion of the Ikea PS Maskros. I love it via the internet, but I'm curious about how it looks in person. Have you seen it?

Keep 'em coming!

reading rainbow

Inspiration can show up in the funniest of places. Edgar and I have been keeping our eyes peeled for cool color concepts (c.c.c.) for our new pad but I sure didn't expect to find this jewel in a 4th floor library bathroom. Guess I shouldn't have judged the book by its cover.

Know what else this photo inspires me to do? Get a pedicure ASAP.