Ok, so maybe Ikea doesn’t have anything to be scared of yet, but for those of us that are a days drive from the nearest Ikea, its a start. It seems that Kmart has a couple of new products that have a fairly nice design. The Mali Flex Futon unfortunately is only available online, but it looks fairly nice. It has adjustable “wings” that can transform it from a couch to a sleeper, and is only $199. I am not sure how good the quality is, but with a weight limit of 300 lbs it can’t be too great. Perhaps the better find is their new Metal and Glass table and chairs. They have a nice modern look to them, and are available online or at select stores for $129 for the set. If anyone actually gets a chance to sit in these make sure you let us know about the quality.

I admit that I have always been a sucker for products that incorporate good design without having a negative effect on mother earth. That is what really attracts me to the Recycled Paper Vase. They are made of recycled paper, so each one is unique, and they have a removable aluminum center that is waterproof. They are available at Wishingfish.com for $32 each. They come in two differnet designs. Via Metaefficient.
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I just got the latest Crate and Barrel catalogue in the mail today. A couple of days ago I blogged about some of the great deals at CB2. Crate and barrel may not have as many cool things as their hip younger brother CB2 has, but if you look around a little, you can find some nice stuff. This week my wife instantly fell in love with the Nielson Extension Table. Although I like the way it looks, I was not immediatly won over, that is until I looked a little closer. C&B calls it a “…sensible table at a sensible price…” and I have to agree with them. It is made of a sturdy solid wood base and topped with a natural maple veneer. It comfortably seats four people and is easily extendable to 65″ long to accomadate two more house guests. All in all, some pretty nice features, especially when you consider the $349 price tag. So if you are lucky enough to live close to one of their stores go check it out. If you are unlucky like me, there is always the online store.

While I was surfing the net today I kept on comming across modern looking locks, that were very affordable, so I figured I would share. The most brilliant is from Staples. Now when I think of good design, staples is not usually the first store that comes to mind, but maybe things are changing. Thanks to their invention quest contest, they have some fresh ideas coming in, like this wordlock for only $5.98. It is a padlock with letters instead of numbers. So if you are more prone to recite Rimbaud than you are to contemplate the Landau theory maybe this is the lock for you. With over 1,000 combinations, there has to be at least one word you can remember right? Also be sure to check out CB2’s sale section for the handy metal lock.

Its summer sale time, and there are lots of good ones out there. Crate and Barrel is haveing a sale with up to 50% off on select items, and so is CB2. In case you didn’t already kn0w CB2 is Crate and Barrels’ more affordable and modern counterpart. There are some good deals over in their sale section. Some of my favorites were the rumor table lamp which is a steal at only $69.95. I love the contrast of the woven felt top and the nikel base. Great if you are going for that retro modern look. If you want somthing a little more minimalistic then check out the tonic floor lamp. Its on sale for $89.95 (normally $129) which makes it a good price for a quality floor lamp. Its a must for any neo deco stainless steel lovers.

Of course if you aren’t in the market for a lamp, but are still irresistibly drawn to summer sales, there are some great deals for under $10. Take for example the cut out felt placemats at only $5.95 each. I don’t know if it is just because my wife is an avid knitter, but I love felt. This table clothes are 98% compressed wool, and they look good too. CB2 also has really cool spray bottles for only $5.95. But what would I do with a orange spray bottle you ask? Come on, its summer, it sprays water, you figure it out.

So here is a quick rundown of some of the posts I lost.
Vinylux had some cools record bowls.

Then there was Leia Bell who has some great prints for sale for cheap.

Also check out Morning Craft for some great artis direct home furnishings.

Well I guess it happens to the best of us. I wish I could say that it was entirely not my fault, and that there was some strange cosmic force that invaded my server and caused all my files to disapear. The truth is, I did it. I have been working on getting a forum, and resouces page up (for all 80 of you people that have ever seen my webpage) and in the process I wiped out my entire blog. So that means that I am starting from scratch. Stay tuned though, I plan on getting things back on track soon. I will repost quickly the original content I had on here, and link to the tips I had from the other great blogs out there. Thanks for your patience, and don’t worry, I plan to do nightly backups of everything from now on.