I saw this little diddy over at BLTD a while ago, and fell in love with it. I almost forgot about it until I stumbled across it again over at Moss. Designed by Theo Williams for Lexon Design systems, this simple white calculator seems to pay homage to the minimalistic style of Apple. I think the only thing that could have made it better is if it were light powered in addition to the batteries.
The price is not too bad at $33, especially if you really need a simple desktop calculator and you are a design junkie like me.

Available here.

It’s that time of year when all the stores try and get rid of their old stock and get ready for all the new goodies that are coming. If you haven’t already checked out the sale that they are having at Design Public, get on over there. They have some good deals on bedding, including most of the old Dwell line that has been discontinued. So if you have been wanting a some nice Dwell threads, here is your chance. I happen to be a sucker for this orange and cream duvet on sale for $132. I might have to actually spring for it before it’s too late.

Well, it’s hardly a day after Christmas, and I noticed that West Elm is already advertising for their spring line. Didn’t winter just start? Oh well, some of their new stuff looks nice. This Low Platform Bed for example, seems to be a fairly good value. Priced between $499 and $649 this hardwood platform bed just screams modern with a japanese style. I personally love the simplistic modern furniture that shares its roots with much of the minimalistic asian design. This bed would be a great addition to anyone looking for a good clean look, although with it being as low as it is, I think that carpeted rooms are right out of the question. The bedside table shown in the picture is a nice match to the set, and sells for $129 each or $229 for a set of two.

Available here.

Just wanted to wish all of our readers a Happy Holidays! I will be out of town for a day or so, but posting will resume as normal next Monday.

So, I have been looking for inexpensive modern shelving, and I have to admit, it’s not easy. I guess when it comes to bigger purchases like shelving and furniture you really have to evaluate your needs. If you only need them semi-temporarily, say for a couple of years, and your budget is small, then it probably doesn’t make sense to invest in something too nice. Of course if you are like me you would probably rather spend a little more to get something that is well built. I recently bought some shelving from Target, it wasn’t expensive, but it certainly wasn’t free, and the quality is definitely lacking. Synthetic wood grain, and plastic just doesn’t do it for me no matter how good the design. Looking at the options, I found these shelves from Blu Dot. You have to be a fan of Blue Dot to like these, since all of their stuff is the same flavor. For the money though, I think these are a great value. The D2 pictured above is 63″ H x 70″ W x 15″ D and sells at Design Public for just under $600. Thats really a lot of shelving for the money, and the quality looks good too (if anyone has any comments about Blu Dot quality, please share). It comes with painted metal shelves, you can choose the colors, and a particle board natural finish. I personally like the look of the raw particle board, it is a nice honest expression of the structure. If you are looking for a little more classy, you could always upgrade ash for an extra $150.

One of our newest members Thumb, posted a great question about where to find some affordable modern shelves for books. I have a couple good ideas for him that I will be writing up later today. In the mean time, check out his question and see if you have any great ideas for him.

Its not often that I do a write up on something like laptop cases, but for Pinder, I will make an exception for two reasons. First, I think that they have a good product for a good price, and second, and more importantly, they support some great causes. The case is everything you need a laptop case to be, durable cordura exterior, ripstop nylon interior, YKK zippers, and 1/4 inch closed cell foam padding. Its called the Pinder Thin, and it’s just that. Not too big, but just enough to protect your precious laptop for those short trips. They are available in 7 different colors, and are only $49. Now here is the part I really liked. Pinder will donate 5% of the net proceeds to charity. They actually have a list of 7 different charities, and you can choose to just donate to one, or disperse the funds among them. So, if you are looking for a good laptop case, and want to make a positive social impact at the same time, check them out.

Available here for $49.

via PopGadget

Looking for that last minute special something for that hard to shop for person? I was at Artichokes and Company today, and I saw these chocolates from Marie Belle. Let me tell you, I am not normally the type of person to get excited about some chocolates, but these were absolutely beautiful. Each individual chocolate had a different mod print on the front of it. I didn’t actually taste any of them, but I hear that they are as good tasting as they are good looking. They have a holiday box set of 16 chocolates for $35 dollars, which is a little expensive for chocolates, but come on, it’s Christmas. If you are feeling frugal like me, you could always go for the $7 box set of 2.

Available here.

Just a friendly reminder to everyone that we do have forums here at GRM. Things were starting to pick up there for a while but now they are pretty slow again. Did I say slow? Ok, I guess what I really mean is dead. So lets breath some life back into them, it’s up to you. If you are looking for a certain piece that you just can’t find, have a great idea you want to share, or just want to chat with some like minded people, head on over and check them out.

It’s hard to keep up with all the new blogs these days, and to be honest it gets pretty tiring trying to. Unless you find a blog that is aimed specifically at a small niche that is not covered in any other place the chances are you won’t really find anything new at yet another modern contemporary blog. We hope that GrassrootsModern can fill the modern and affordable niche, we’ll let you be the judge. If you are looking for modern baby stuff, well then, BabyGadget may be worth checking out. Modern design for the little guys has been a huge new market, but I have yet to find any blogs completely dedicated to the subject, until now. Baby Gadget is run by Jenna Park, a Popgadget veteran and toddler-chaser. Looks pretty promising to me, I even took the time to add it to my selection of RSS feeds.