SCISSOR-ARM LAMP HACK

That clever, clever Dan over at manhattan-nest.com has posted a really, well…. clever hack on those scissor armed magnifying mirrors that sell for $5-$8 at IKEA.  It looks like for about $25 you can create a bedside lamp in that industrial style that all the kids are so crazy for these days.  I’m thinking about using this on a project soon. but maybe making it a little more vintage feeling.  I feel like some spray paint and a cheap shade that clamps over the bulb can totally alter the feel of this which might be just the trick for the preppy, vintage, masculine apartment that I’m about to help a friend with on the cheap.   Stay tuned.  

By the way—the lamp on the left is about $230 from Restoration Hardware.

SUCCESSFUL SMALL SPACE ALERT

I’m always a sucker for a great use of small space.  Kudos to this mysterious seamstress for pulling off a really sophisticated and gown-up loft bed.  I also really like the subtle use of stripes—on the wall to draw the eyes up and on the rug to elongate the space.  

musesofdesign:

(via La maison d’Anna G.: Lit mezzanine)

FAUXDENZA

Okay… a few things:

1. I am almost entirely caught up with the amazing Morgan’s The Brick House blog
2. Her fauxdenza DIY is the bomb and I plan to tweak and reuse the idea on a project soon.  I mean her Pipe Shelving Unit was pretty badass but the concealed storage of the fauxdenza is more my personal speed.
3. I should probably be using Wordpress for this thing rather than Tumblr.  This just isn’t the format for what I want to do.  Live and learn.
4. I have a pretty sweet DIY of my own from the weekend that I’m excited to get up here so that I won’t constantly be posting other people’s successes.  Catching up from a few sick days though is slowing me down.  Good stuff to come!

That is all.  As you were.

I know that I’m new to this whole design blogging thing but I already have a big, fat blog crush.  I’m obsessed with the-brick-house.com.  I’ve been reading devouring the whole thing for the past few days—like every word of it.  I mean devouring it like it’s Hunger Games or season 1 of LOST.  While I feel kind of creepy and voyeuristic, I’m thoroughly enjoying it and leaning a lot. 

I wonder if I can make contact with her and become bff’s?  Yeah, that’s definitely bordering on creepy, huh?

POLAROID LIGHTBOXES

I’m tucking this one away in my idea file.  I’ve actually worked with some lightboxed photography before thanks to my 9-5 job, but I have to say that the results always kinda reminded me of creepy x-ray viewers in hospitals.  This, however, I like.  I dig the proportion of the images, the fact that the frame is white (and not black) and the Polaroid style format.  It seems like a great solution for that ever-present, urban problem of a room with no view.  I have an amazing Polaroid portrait of my family circa 1981 that I’d love to blow up to display like this somewhere…. although I’m not sure if a portrait in lightbox would be as successful as a landscape.

oliphillips:

Polaboy - Large Scale Polaroid Frame 10:1

by Lightboys

(via thearchtivist)

SWINGING BEDS

Maybe it’s because it is an ugly, gray, winter’s day here but I keep daydreaming of breezy, beachy places… sitting on a porch and rocking or sitting in a swing.  It makes me wish I had a little more whimsy in my apartment.  Perhaps a swinging bed would do the trick?

(I’m glad I haven’t enabled commenting yet. Keep it classy, kids.)

homedesigning:

Things we’re loving today: Floating Bed With Rope

(via micasaessucasa)

SOFA SWING

Alright—scratch that swinging bed idea. On second thought, an amazingly comfy swinging sofa is totally the way to go.  You get all the benefits of a plush, cozy indoor swing without the judgmental looks and fear of a spinal cord injury incurred from a swinging bed. The one in this photo really gets an A+ in aesthetics and apparent comfort departments, AND I think this could be a doable (though advanced level) DIY project—with a little lumber, some commercial foam cut to size for cushion and some sewing skills (that I keep meaing to acquire).  Okay—so I’ll file it in my 10 Year Goals folder. 

THE THOROUGHBRED PRINT

I’m a crazy horse racing fan.  I mean like I’m the kind of sicko who doesn’t bet—I just follow the details of the horses’ pedigrees…. and the human interest stories of the trainers… and the owner’s families…  Umm—and I occasionally subject my friends to specialty cocktail fueled Triple Crown viewing parties where I demand total silence so I can hang on every word the commentators say.  So—a few months ago, I ran across this image of an almost life-sized thoroughbred horse print available from Restoration Hardware, and it totally appealed to me.  (I think the interior of one’s home should always reflect one’s interests, and since I live in a tiny studio apartment—I like the idea of a grand art statement to make the place feel more grand).

I loved the look, but the price tag was a little heavy for my budget ($1695! Holy cow!).  

Thus, I’ve been on the prowl for a “the-look-for-less” solution and I think I’ve found a winner with this triptych from io metro for $499.95.

So, the idea of this blog is to share interior design resources, illustrate how regular people can use a little ingenuity and online search to get great interior design (on any budget), and maybe dabble in a little vintage thrifting and do-it-yourselfing along the way.

It might be a little bumpy at first, but bear with me and I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it.