Since it’s inception, I have always wanted to be able to give something back to the design community that supports Grassrootsmodern. We figured what better way to do that, than to give away a wad of cash. Of course we are the “affordable modern blog”, which mean we are a bunch of tightwads, so we are only giving away $125, but it’s a start right?

So here is the deal. We want to see your affordable modern kitchens. We aren’t going to get too caught up in what “affordable” means, but the Bulthaup, Henrybuilt, Poliform crowd probably don’t count. Entering is super easy, and you can win $100 for your hard work. You must enter by Nov 7th, and the winner will be decided by Grassrootsmodern readers.

Check out the Affordable Modern Kitchen contest page to enter and win!

I love it when things have some sort of dual functionality, especially kids furniture that eventually gets outgrown. I found this great bed over at Swissmiss that does just that. The P’kolino bed starts out it’s life as a normal toddler bed, but as soon as your kid starts to outgrow it, it converts into a nicely styled little chair. The bed will fit any standard sized toddler mattress, and comes with an additional pad for when it is in chair mode. Perhaps one of the best things of all is the $190 price, which is quite reasonable for a “designer” kids bed. The main bed is a birch veneer, and the side rails come in orange or white.
Available from Moderntots for $190.

Via Swissmiss.

Liam found some great lamps on KSL.com yesterday for $25 a piece. I am so tempted to buy them, but I am kind of on the fence, so I thought I put it out there to see if anyone else wanted them. Any real details about them are a little fuzzy, besides the fact that they are “Danish Modern”. I did call and talk to the lady yesterday and she confirmed that they are some sort of wood (wenge?) and the white part is ceramic. They really are 39″ tall, which is a big lamp. The shades are the kind that clip onto the light bulb, so it would be easy to switch them out if you wanted to. It doesn’t sound like she is going to budge on the price, as she has had quite a bit of interest already. If somebody gets these, let us know!
I was also looking for kitchen appliances and found these two stoves for a good price. I think we really want to do a cooktop and built in oven, so will probably pass, but if anyone else is looking for a stove, check these out. They are both Jenn Air. The one on the left is a dual fuel and is priced at $600. The one on the right is gas only, but is only $100!

In case you didn’t already hear the news, I just picked up 6 Emeco 1006 chairs from Craig’s List. The original listing said it was 4 for $250 or $70 each. I placed the call and found out that John really had 6 for sale. I offered him $340 for all 6 and he was kind enough to agree. That’s just over $55 each, normal pricing is $395 for one. I almost feel guilty for picking them up that cheap. Luckily John got them for cheap himself from a bar in Reno that was closing. He didn’t tell me what he paid for them, but I got the idea that he wasn’t really loosing money on them. They really are great chairs, light, bombproof, comfortable with timeless style. We don’t have a place for them yet, but it has spurred us to get going on our kitchen remodel so we can actually have a dinning room table to accommodate them. If your looking for more good deals on local stuff, see the post above, or challenge Melissa to find you something good.

Thanks again to all the GRM readers that contribute!

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A super big thanks to Melissa, who commented in the “Style Oceanic Chair” post about some original Emeco’s that were for sale local and cheap. I took a trip out and picked them up last night. Details and pics to come!

GRM readers rock!

One of the major accessories every new parent needs is a good diaper bag. If you remember, when we had Arri we splurged a little for a Petunia Pickle Bottom bag. It wasn’t cheap, but looking back I think it was totally worth it. I am a huge fan of Petunia Pickle Bottom, and think that most of their bag designs are pretty nice, but they have completely outdone themselves with their new Journey Packs. This beautiful bag is made of felt, and has a classic style that will always look great. Looking at it makes me think that it’s hands down the best looking diaper bag I’ve ever seen. The only downsides are the size (it looks a little small) and the price (which isn’t small). Available in Gray, Olive Green, Black felt, and leather.
Available from Design Public for $140.

I’m loving the new Skip Hop plates. Not only are they designed to help keep meal time a little more clean (which is no easy task with little ones) they are also designed to keep it fun. The plate is separated into three areas to keep your veggies separate and help little scoopers get food onto their spoons. It is also removable from the skid resistant mat for re-warming food, and it leaves behind a smily face to keep your kids entertained. To keep things safe, everything is BPA, PVC, and phlatate free. Available in Orange, Raspberry and Sky Blue.
Available from Skip Hop for $20.

Ikea must be trying to do their part at easing the pain of the recent economic downfall because it seems that they have had an unprecedented number of great sales lately. This one may beat them all however. From this Saturday through Monday the 13th they are having another “Seize the Days” sale with some big savings. TUNDRA flooring is $0.49 a sq ft, the NORDEN dining table is $199 and Ikea 365 cookware is super cheap too. That’s over 50% off on some things. Plus did I mention free breakfast again on Saturday morning?

Ikea 3 day seize the days sale, this weekend.

Last week my travels brought me through San Jose airport where I was able to snap a picture of one of my favorite airport wall clocks (above left). The actual clock mechanism is completely flush with the wall, and the wall becomes the clock face. I was hoping to find an easy way to do a similar thing in our house when I stumbled across this wall clock at Arango. It’s the exact same idea, except I’m not sure the actual clock is flush to the wall (but I’m sure it could be) like the one in SJO. Best of all it has all the pieces I need to make it work and it’s only $30.
Real Wall Clock available at Arango’s for $30.

With the increasing pressure of the economic downturn, Ikea is doing their best to help you keep a couple extra dollars in your pockets. It seems like I have noticed an increase in sales and freebies that they have been offering lately, all of which could potentially save you some good loot. Their big kitchen sale starts this Saturday, and runs through Nov 11th. It includes 10% off for any kitchen purchase over $2,500 and up to 20% off if you bundle it with some appliances. If you’re not in the market for a kitchen you can at least stop by this weekend at Ikea Draper for a buy one get one free cinnamon bun or frozen yogurt (coupon included after the jump). Also free breakfasts are still available on Sunday mornings through the 26th of Oct.

Ikea Draper website.

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