I'm wanting ad a list of the best MCM resources in my blogroll and I'm counting on you to get it done. I'm looking for blogs, magazines, stores, forums, the works. It's Friday, put you feet up and take a second to add your favorites in the comments below.
Thanks!
There are a lot of cheap sofa's out there. Honestly I've become skeptical of any sofa that is under $1,000, but I really want to believe that this Chelsea 3 seat sofa is different. Why, because it looks amazing for a sofa that only costs $649! The tufted upholstery is a nice tip of the hat to MCM bauhaus inspired furniture, but I imagine it would be just as at home in a new contemporary modern home. Does anyone know about the quality of this one?
Chelsea sofa available from fashion 4 home for $649.
We love DIY projects here at Grassrootsmodern. When successful they usually mean high style for a low price. Such is the case with the weekend art project featured on The New Domestic. Inspired by the color field paintings they designed their 60" x 36" canvas in Illustrator first. Once they were settled on the colors and the basic design, all it took was a quick trip to the paint store, and a little skill with the painters tape. The end result turned out great!
I don't know how I have gone all this time without falling in love with Sagaform! This wonderful Swedish company has a wonderful selection of kitchenware and home accessories. While A + R and Unica home have a decent collection of Sagaform goodies, taking a look at their online catalogue shows that there are a whole lot of things not so readily available. Anyone know another good online retailer to purchase Sagaform from?
If you are an Alessi fan, I suggest you head on over to Gilt.com ASAP! They currently have a smorgasbord of Alessi goodies at their usual bargain basement discount prices. The sale started yesterday, and experience tells me that these things usually sell out pretty quick. Remember, Gilt is for members only, but it's free to sign up.
Alessi on Gilt.com from $17 - $168.
Cut bottles are nothing new, I have seen a slew of them for sale from various shops over the years. What is unique about these particular ones is that I actually know the person who made them. My friend Tyler of Plastolux fame picked up bottle cutting kit and ended up with some amazing looking cups.
Being the good guy that he is, he shares all the tips he learned in case you want to do it yourself. If you are not up to the challenge, no problem, he is selling them for cheap on his Etsy shop. Don't see the one you want for sale? I have a feeling that if you beg, cry and plead he would make a new one just for you.
Plastolux glass bottles available from Etsy for $9.
What do you get when you put a Swiss graphic designer and an architect together? While it sounds like a cheesy joke, in the case of noon softspace, what you get is some great modern kids products. Among their products you can find...
...blankets, curtains, pillows, pocket bags (for a changing
set) and a mini pocket for pacifiers/dummies. All products are designed with a modern touch, to be fun and useful, with sewing techniques of quilts.
Noon Softpace
Prices from 13 -130 euros.
This simple Egg Lamp Pendant from BSweden may look right at home in this restaurant, but I have a hunch it would be equally nice sitting above my table. At only 13 cm it's not the biggest lamps, but the $50 price tag reflects this appropriately.
Egg Lamp Pendant available from Scandinavian Design Center for $50.
Salt Lake is all abustle with the Sundance Film Festival this week. One film that caught my eye was "The Man Next Door".
Here's the story line:
Leonardo, a successful industrial designer, lives with his family in an architectural wonder, a midcentury Le Corbusier home. One morning, he wakes to an irksome noise and is appalled to discover that workmen next door are constructing a large window that faces directly into his home. Leonardo protests, using a number of excuses (privacy, building codes, his wife), in an attempt to coerce his neighbor, Victor, into scrapping his plan. But Victor just wants a patch of sun to catch some rays. Thus, one man’s light is another man’s blight.
Enamored of architecture, the film is meticulously designed. Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat give it a carefully crafted weirdness as well as a figurative quality. Its caustic humor comes in contemplating why the window completely undermines Leonardo. Does it reveal his arrogance, affectation, and lack of compassion; or dispel his bourgeois illusion of power? The Man Next Door offers a biting critique of moral shallowness—and what happens when thou dost not love thy neighbor’s window.
There are still 5 more screenings if you have a chance to see it.
Calendars aren't usually where you look to make a big impact in your decor, but the Yearly Planner from Miriam Bereson does just that. This large-scale, brightly hued calendar is great for those needing to plan ahead (each dot has plenty of writing space) or for those looking to add a graphic (and functional) element to their decor. Available for $15 - what's not to like?
Boon has been a favorite around our house for some time now, in fact our daughter just started using our Boon highchair. Boon just announced a bunch of new items which look absolutely fabulous. Some of my favorites include the Creature Cups bath toys (top left) and the Peep wall mounted mobile. Check out their press release to see descriptions of all the new goodies. I haven't heard about pricing yet, but if their other products are indicative at all, pricing should be quite affordable.
I'm a fan of bikes, especially good looking ones. I posted a while ago about the Trek District with a belt drive, and I have since acquired one that I use for commuting. I absolutely love it. If you liked the style of the 09 Trek District, chances are you'll be excited about 2010 offerings as well. The have expanded the line to include 4 bikes, only two of which have a belt drive, leaving the other two with a conventional chain. Pricing starts at $709 for the basic model and goes up to $3,359 for the full carbon fiber model.
Loving these watches from Swedish designer David Ericsson - that copper one is a real looker!
About:
VOID Watches is a new, independent boutique watch brand launched in 2008 as the single vision of Swedish designer David Ericsson. VOID Watches has a unique take on watch design using simple yet expressive shapes, giving our watches an almost architectural expression. Just like a great building is designed to fit its environment, all VOID Watches are made to sit perfectly on your wrist.
Available from voidwatches.com - €129
[worldwide shipping is included in the price]
West Elm has some great new assortment of random wooden objects. The birds are my favorite, and while they are not quite as good looking as the Eames house bird, they are certainly a whole lot cheaper. Made of sheesham wood, these attractive accessories range between $16 - $59.
I openly admit that I am not a fan of brass. I can think of several occasions that I have found a great MCM piece that I have passed on because it's brass finish, and I have even spray painted one light fixture silver to try and hide it's brass color. The good folks over at Amodernu have shown that there is a better way. With about $10 of stripper and a whole lot of elbow grease they were able to turn this brassy arch lamp into a beauty. Head over to Amodernu for all the details.
I got the new CB2 catalog in the mail yesterday and spent a great deal of time giddily poring over every page (I won't tell you how long - it's kind of embarrassing). Every time I get one of their catalogs it sets my head spinning with ideas - and why not? Their products are so affordable it won't break the bank to experiment with some of those crazy ideas. I rounded up a few, okay TEN, items that caught my eye. There are so many more products I'd love to feature, but maybe I'll save them for another post!
Go check out what's new at CB2 and report back with some of your favorite items! Then we can all act like little school girls together.
Items Shown:
1. Parlour Chair - $699
2. Firefly Pendant Lamp - $199
3. Noir Vases - $21.95
4. Mad Desk Lamp - $69.95
5. Blox Rug - $299
6. Atomic Dinnerware - $2.95 - $4.95
7. Tech Desk Lamp - $69.95
8. Sprout Rug - $299
9. Urchin Vase Sculpture - $39.95
10. Hyde Wall Mounted Cabinet - $199
It's been a while since I have been checking Overstock.com for good affordable modern furniture deals but a quick glance through their inventory today has convinced me that I might need to start checking a little more often. My favorite of the bunch are these black Fractal side chairs. For $142 you get a set of two powder coated black steel chairs that would be great for indoors or out. I'm always looking for good outdoor chairs that would hold up to the weather and this might be just the ticket. Anyone know if they are comfortable or not?
I love CB2. In fact, I'm pretty sure after a rough night out I signed away the rights of my first born in order to obtain their entire collection - past, present, and future. I got the new catalog this week and, Brady can attest, spent a good deal of time drooling, wiping, and drooling over every page. It's really hard to narrow it down, but here are a few of my favorite new products:
platform coffee table - $399
Equal parts Scandinavian and Mid-Century, this sexy coffee table is making me blush!
calla dinnerware - $3.95 - $21.95
The organic form of this dinnerware is refreshing!
pleat pillow - $36.95
Bold color and bold texture are an A+ in my book!
midtown rug - $299 - $599
I'm pretty sure I've been to this city... This rug is nutty and I love it!
lamina dinnerware - $2.50 - $4.95
Not one to shy away from color, this dinnerware is right up my alley!
Did anyone else get the new catalog? What are some of your favorites?
After a week or so of waiting I finally got my invite to the alpha testing of Boxee this morning. If you haven't heard of Boxee, it's a program that pulls in all the media of your computer to one place. It also aggregates all the good streamed content too from Hulu and even Netflix. That's a pretty big deal for us at our house because we don't have a TV so we do all our "TV" watching online. It also has some nice little social networking capabilities such as updating your Twitter account and showing what your friends are watching. That's a lot of great features for an opensource free program.
Sign up for Boxee alpha. quick intro to boxee from boxee on Vimeo.
As the end of the years sneaks up on us, it's time to start thinking about 2009 calendars. Narchi's house calendar and gift tags from Etsy manages to kill two birds with one stone. For $6 you get all the digital files to print as many copies of the calendar as you want, plus the file includes some nifty little gift tags for your presents this Christmas. The calendar features a different house illustration each month with only a couple gabled roofs among the bunch. That's my kind of calendar.