Love these handmade/hand-printed coasters from Etsy seller Merit Market! A slightly more casual alternative to the stainless steel variety. Each set comes with four 4 1/4" square coasters hand-sewn from a nice, nubby unbleached cotton fabric. Screen printed using non-toxic inks.
Thinglink.com announced yesterday what they are calling "a new social media for design lovers". As far as I can tell it's a design catalogue with all the usual big hitters like Martela, Eero Aarnio, Artek, Iittala, and Marimekko. What sets it apart from all the other design catalogues out there is the "social" part. According to the thinglink blog;
Designers and brands who upload their catalogs to thinglink.com can build a community of fans around their products. Design enthusiasts who join the conversation on thinglink.com can post messages about their latest discoveries, ask and answer questions about new and vintage products, and share photos of their favorite design objects in real life settings.
Unfortunately everything is currently in private beta, so unless you have an invite there's not a whole lot social about it. If anyone wants to send an invite with me, hit me up on twitter @creede.
I saw this little DIY project recently on one of my favorite blogs, Plastolux. Get a couple of old Bose speaker stands, some fiber board, and paint and you've got yourself a Saarinen side table! Very, very cool. Great job, Tyler! See more and read about the process here.
Made your own version of a classic? Share your projects (and any relevant links)!
Love this eco-friendly bedding from Unison. Curl up in one of their organic blankets and celebrate Earth Day all year long! Be sure to check out their pillows and table linens as well.
Happy Earth Day!
More about Unison:
Unison was formed by Robert Segal + Alicia Rosauer with the vision that modern design can be a livable, breathable, everyday part of life. After four years of designingliving in Finland, they decided to bring their design sensibilities back to America. Robert and Alicia combine their extensive background of textile design and photography to creaand te products that offer a minimalist style with emphasis on color and innovative print design.
Bedding and Linens from Unison available from Design Public: $24 - $220
The reason I started Grassrootsmodern was because I was discouraged by the lack of affordability in modern architecture and interior design. My own personal quest lead me to buy a 700 square foot home and add 600 modern square feet off the back. (That story started here) Acting as general contractor we were able to pull it off for around $100 a square foot. The secret, sweat equity.
The folks over at Simplemodernhomes.com have taken it one step further. The owner Caleb had the advantage of being an architect fresh out of school. He and his wife designed and built the gorgeous 1400 square foot home shown above for only $70,000. The $50 a square foot price didn't come without a lot of work, but it does prove that if you want something bad enough you can achieve it. When I asked Caleb the secret to affordable modern design, he said;
First, to be grassroots and affordable, you have to be willing to sweat a lot, and bleed some. Doing things ourselves is what makes us grassroots. People always used to build their own homes, and in the last century we've come to the mindset that "I can't do that myself", and "bigger is definitely better." I believe that when thinking about affordable housing, design to your families needs, whether that's 800 sf or 2000 sf. Use materials that are common and durable. Design with common dimensions in mind. Use materials that are easy to install, and always build for a hurricane. Andy Byrnes of The Construction Zone, LTD. in Phoenix said, "There is only one acceptable craft on any project, that is, the best you can possibly do." I firmly believe that should hold true in affordable homes as well. Craft should not be more expensive than a half-job. Low budget projects should have the same level of detail and craft as a high-priced home.
Here are some more interior shots of their home.
Simple Modern Homes is now sharing the lessons they've learned and helping other folks built affordable modern homes. The renderings below are some of the other projects they've designed. If you're interested make sure you head over to their site and contact caleb.
I've been scouring the web for a wall-mount sink for a certain tiny little bathroom that resides in my home. I've seen some cool ones from Kohler, but I don't really want to spend a thousand dollars. There were a couple that caught my eye on Overstock as well, but I'm still not quite satisfied. Has anyone seen any modern-looking, wall-mount sinks that won't break the bank? Share your finds, and links, please!
Images:
Escale Wall-Mount Lavatory by Kohler: $500 - $650
Tableau Wall-Mount Lavatroy by Kohler: $1000 - $1500
At our house we are counting down the days until our second child is born. While we have a lot of great gear from our first, there are still some things we would like to pick up. One of the things we never got around to getting on round one was a good mobile. Elsewares has some great wooden mobiles like the two from Petit Collage shown above. They are laser-cut from sustainably harvested bamboo plywood and are priced at around $68. My wife is very fond of the Birds of a Feather mobile by IGE shown below. They are also laser cut, but this time out of walnut. While the price of the IGE mobiles is about the same ($65) the bonus is that you get to pop out the pieces yourself and save the sheet for stencils or whatever else you can think up. In the end I suspect that we will probably go the DIY route, although it will be hard to make something as cute as these two.
Last week I touched on the subject of stock modern house plans. I wanted to throw one more hat into the ring. Dialect Design is an up an coming architectural duo based out of Charlotte, North Carolina. Both founders John Nourbakhsh and Toby Witte have an international background and an obvious love for modern design. On their website they have 3 modern stock plans available with one more (a 60k house) on the way. Full floorplans can be reviewed before purchasing as well as the estimated price per square foot to build. All the plans claim a $105 sq/ft construction cost but I'm sure that price would balloon depending on where you live. Prices for stock plans start at $1,400 and include 6 printed sets of drawings with all the usual goodies.
During a recent Sunday dinner, I was looking through my sister-in-law's copy of Martha Stewart Living. It was an issue all about color and various painting techniques, so I was kind of intrigued. I passed on the faux bois dressers and gingham walls, but stopped dead in my tracks when I came across their herringbone LCW chair. At first I thought it was really cool looking, but then the fact that someone actually painted faux effects onto an LCW Eames chair was too overwhelming. I quickly went through all five stages of mourning: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The whole process took about 30 minutes. So now I bring this issue to you, dear readers. I've come to accept this near-blasphemous creation and I want to know how you feel about it. Would you personally ever apply faux effects to a piece of classic, MCM furniture? Are you a purist or a believer in personalization? Do you like this herringbone rendition? I admit that if I saw it in someone else's home, I'd be OK with it, but it's not for me (at least not on an LCW). I'm pretty much a believer in not meddling with the classics. Share your thoughts!
For those interested in actually trying this technique, whether on an LCW chair or, preferably, a thrift store find, an instructional video and article can be found here.
This is one of my favorite films done by Charles and Ray Eames, not because it features amazing furniture or architectural design but because of Charles' short dissertation in the beginning about what a toy should be. I honestly think about it every time I buy a toy for my son. I always wonder what Charles would think of all the plastic toys these days? Can a toy be plastic and be a "real toy"?
Second half after the jump.
I ran across this Etsy shop a while ago but just rediscovered it in my bookmarks. Urban Soule sells really awesome urban-themed ceramics (as well as paintings, photography, and vintage items). I really love the wood grain plates and the graffiti stencil pieces are pretty rad too. You can order anything from a single plate to an entire 18-piece set. Soule even offers customized pitchers and teapots, just choose the style and color you want!
More about Soule:
Soule,(pronounced like soul) was born in Warshin'ton state. Growing up in the sticks, I, me and my only friends were tree dwelling creatures. One day me,myself and I became incredibly lost and stumbled upon the "city" and discovered a wheat pasted poster. Not only visually appealing, it was delicious,me loved it. I and myself had to learn more about this new discovery, so after befriending some city folk, I, myself and me branched out on our own armed with spray paint, stencils and ink. At the ripe ol' age of 16 I had my first art show which was a success, this got the ball rolling so Me, myself and I ran with it bringing myself to Seattle, WA. Keep an eye out for Urban Soule clothing, paintings, toys, and whatever else me, myself and I feels like making!
Ceramics with attitude from Urban Soule: $10 - $250.
I'm really enjoying this dark, slightly macabre work by artist Tim Biskup. It's 50s style without the fake optimism, I suppose. The subject of death isn't for everyone, I admit, but I would love to own any of these paintings. They would find a happy spot in my home, I just know it. How do you feel about this work? Share your thoughts!
More about Tim:
Tim Biskup is a Southern California fine artist whose work has been shown worldwide, including galleries and museums in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Tokyo, Kyoto, Barcelona, Berlin, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires and Melbourne. Long recognized for his complex color and design theories and a decidedly populist aesthetic, Biskup has amassed a cadre of loyal fans and collectors. Recent years have seen the artist tend towards more complex, personal and conceptual work while maintaining a commitment to visual experimentation.
See more at www.timbiskup.com.
When I think about inhabit living, the only thing that usually comes to mind is their wall flats, but it seems like they have a couple of other tricks up their sleeves. The builtby Lamp is a fully configurable lamp with a mid century feel. With four different types of wood to choose from and 5 colors you can build the lamp just the way you want. If the 1,607,045 possibilities are too overwhelming they do have some good looking one pre configured too. Pricing depends on what configuration you do, but ranges from $150 to over $200.
Available from Inhabit Living from $150 up.
Thanks to Baz at Atomicindy for sharing.
I've been watching modern stock house plans on the internet for a while now. For a long time architect Greg La Vardera was the only decent source, but yesterday I was reading my friends post over at TheArchitectureProgram.com and was surprised to find that there are quite a few decent modern stock plans out there. Houseplans.com had the biggest variety of modern plans with prices ranging from $400 to over $4,000. Of course if money is an issue, make sure you check out Free Green who has some great contemporary house plans that are absolutely free.
"April showers bring May flowers" and right now I could use a little protection from those blasted rain drops. Not that I'm complaining. I love rain. I just haven't owned an umbrella in over 10 years and I think that seems kind of silly. Perhaps I should change that with one of these awesome umbrellas from Tray 6 or Marimekko! My favorite is the Petrooli Umbrella by Marimekko. Which one do you fancy?
Tray 6 Umbrellas from 2Modern: $49 - $59
Marimekko Umbrellas from AlwaysMod: $30 - $40
My wife is an amazing cook, and I almost always have good homemade food to take to work for lunch. I have been looking for some decent glass tupperware for a while now for a couple of reasons. First I worry about what sort of plastic grossness is being leached into my food every time I microwave it, and second I am getting tired of tupperware stained by tomato sauce. The big problem is that many of the glass food containers don't have a tight seal, which would lead to a disaster in my bag. These Glasslock food containers from organize.com look like they might just do the trick. They have a silicone seal and snap locks to keep things were they belong, but are mostly made of glass.
Has anyone tried these? What do you put you leftovers in?
Hang this contemporary bird feeder up in your yard and enjoy the happy scene all year round (perhaps from the comfort of your Real Good chair)! The Folding Bird House from Jesper Moller Hansen and Dorthe Weis is made of weather-resistant steel and ships flat. Fold it into shape, attach the included perch and string, and voila! Bird house at the ready!
Folding Bird House available exclusivley from the MoMA Store - $50
Quick question?
Have you ever profiled modern out buildings (small guest house, work spaces, sheds, etc)? I know there are several manufactrers that make neat prefab buildings like this. Also, I wonder if there are plans anywhere you can buy to make it entirely by yourself? Just a neat topic. Thinking about building such a building.
It's been a while since I have mentioned any modern shed options, but luckily there are quite a few, ranging from fairly affordable. My favorite of the bunch is the MD100 from Edward Blazona. Plans to build your own can be had for $30 and all the materials needed to pull it off are only $1500. Modern Shed is another one of my favorites. Instead of just purchasing plans like the MD100, you actually purchase all the material pre cut directly from Modern Shed. This makes things much more simple but also bumps the cost up. The smallest size will put you back $7,440. For those that are less concerned about cost, there is the Kithaus from Design Within Reach. Base price on one of these beauties is over $30,000 and prices go up sharply from there. If you seriously have that kind of cash to throw around find a architect and a contractor and build something of your own.
The cheap DIY in me loves the MD100, but I almost would be tempted to just design my own. The $15 for the MD100 plans may be just the thing to give the novice some ideas as far as the general construction.
Has anyone built a cool shed before? Have I missed any other kits/templates out there?
This watch is insane.
From Japanese designer Hironao Tsuboi comes the new, faceless LED Watch. The spaces between the links form the display, which can be turned on when needed. Available in silver, black, and ultra marine. Unfortunately, the LED Watch is only available to domestic Japanese customers through 100% Inc. So call that cousin of yours with all the connections and get one. No one does industrial design quite like the Japanese, I say. No one.
I know that hearing "Sale at DWR" doesn't usually mean much, since their version of a sale is typically $200 off of a $6000 couch, BUT there are a few little gems hidden away in the clearance section. For example, the Icon Lamp by Ferruccio Laviani is currently going for $196, nearly a hundred dollars off of the original price tag. If you're looking for a sleek outdoor coffee table, check out the Domino Coffee Table by Joan Casas i Ortinez. Normally $1038, it's now on sale for $311. Not bad, not bad. If you've been coveting the 5 in Uno Set by Joe Colombo, now might be the time to finally take the plunge. DWR is currently offering the iconic set for $125, half off of the original pricetag. In addition to these great deals, DWR is offering free shipping on all sales items. Sweet!
Check out all the clearance items here.
Have a great weekend!
