Nothing defines a good space more than art. For those of us that are less affluent, well known original art is sometimes out of our reach. Luckily there is no shortage of very talented artist out there, many of them with affordable prints. The Bird Machine has a large collection of original art posters for sale that can be had for well under $100. With a huge selection, there is sure to be a print that captures your artistic spirit, and ads a splash of color to your home.
Shown to the right is “Special Dianogah Package” by Mat Daly
Available at The Bird Machine for $80

I posted some time ago about my love for Flokati Rugs. They add a great textural element to the room, at a price you can afford. If fluffy and plush is not your thing, then go the other way. Sisal rugs are just as affordable as a good Flokati, and offer a nice texture to a room as well. One thing that I really love about sisal is how freindly it is to the Earth. Natural Area Rugs has some great deals on sisal rugs, without the ugly cloth border that you usually see.

Available at Natural Area Rugs from $23-$629 for a 2′x3′ - 12′x15′.

While this one doesn’t exactly fit into the affordable category, I thought it was a pretty cool concept. The HiLOW table/seat takes the basic form of an ottoman and adds a adjustable table top to it. The inherent flexibility of the design allows it to function easily well as a low end table, a personal desk, or seating. I always love a product that can do more than one thing at a time. Pricing starts at about $300.

Available from Kyo Design.

This post comes to you via Shelterrific, a great little blog. It about a nice alternative to hanging your towels on a hook.

During our trip to Los Angeles last weekend, we stayed at the Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills. What could be more glam than a chic mid-Century modern hotel with a kidney-shaped pool? In addition to the Eames chairs and Nelson lamps sprinkled about our room, we also really dug this clever space-saving towel rack in the bathroom. We suspect that this is actually a magazine or newspaper rack fulfilling another task by sporting rolled up bath towels next to the shower stall. After a little surfing last night, we found a few mod racks online that could work well in this way. Check out this Rosendahl Wall Magazine Rack at themagazine.info, $150. A more minimalist style, The Gus Wall Mount Magazine Rack, $300, at artafax.com, could easily work for hanging towels. And for a bargain, either of these from boconcept.com for under $60, could be just dandy.

I promised last week that I would post some of the first 3D renderings that we had done. What you see here is almost a combination of the two floor plans that I posted last week. In the 3D renderings the existing structure is left in 2D and the addition is 3D. Having ripped out the wall between the old living room and bedroom further solidified the idea that the addition should have two bedrooms. Instead of trying to minimize the hall space, we decided to maximize its efficiency. Starting about 10 feet into our existing house (next to the bathroom) to the very back of the addition will be built in storage. That should make the smallness of the floorplan a lot more livable. The exterior will be a Hardipanel rainscreen. The windows have changed quite a bit from these renderings, but the rest is basically the same. Lots more pics, and a good floorplan after the jump.

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My wife came home with these lovely coasters from Bed Bath and Beyond the other day. They are made by Seattle based Tovolo, who makes a bunch of different kitchen stuff. These simple rubber coasters are just the thing to protect your nice wood tables. The colors are very nice in person. I especially like the fact that between concentric squares you can see the surface they are sitting. Of course the best part about them is the price. A set of six will set you back $5.

I promised earlier in the week I would show you some of the first house plans our architect designed for us. Things have changed quite a bit since these first set of plans, but it is interesting to see how things evolved. The idea was to add two bedrooms to the existing structure, but have them separated by a courtyard. In both of the plans shown above the wall between our existing bedroom and the living room remains intact. If you have been following the story, you already know I ripped that out last fall. What we actually ended up with is more of a hybrid of these two designs. The real tricky part has been cutting down on hallway space to maximize livable space. Next week I will post one of our first 3D renderings which is much closer to our current design.

It must be funky FM radio week or something here at Grassrootsmodern. Here is another simple and inexpensive FM radio. Designed by David Turpin in 2004, this compact capsule is a fully functioning FM radio. The speakers are house in each end of the capsule and the controls are accessed by pulling the ends apart, revealing a simple dial for station and volume.

Available at the MoMA Store for $15.

I remember a few years ago my step mom was trying to find a nice simple radio. Not a radio-cd-tape player. Just a simple radio. Its amazing how hard it is to find something simple. Almost every model she found had way more features than she wanted. If you have ever wanted just a radio, here’s the one for you. Designed for Lexon (great company) this simple joistick radio is just that - a radio. Nothing more. The simple and whimsical joystick gives you all the controls you need to change stations, volume, and turn it on and off. The simple clean lines are guaranteed not to add too much visual traffic to your simple decor.

Available from presentshopper.com for $39.

There is a video that shows how it works on their website.

I have hinted before about the fact that since buying our home, we have always planned on adding some square footage. Since the day we moved in we started brainstorming about how we would like to enlarge and improve the existing space. Originally we had ideas of building up, which would increase our livable space, without sacrificing any space from our small lot. Unfortunately, chopping off the top of our house and going up a level was not too feasible when it comes to affordability and livability during construction. That left us one option, an addition in the back yard. Before I go any farther, let me paint for you a mental picture of our lot.

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