Boon is one of my favorite kids accessory companies. Not only do they make stylish and well thought out products, their price points tend to be quite competitive. That's why I was excited to see that they have lots of new products coming out soon. Everything from jewelry and clothes to feeding accessories. Shown above is "Fluid" their no spill Toddler cup. I love it's two handed design and simple organic lines. No idea on pricing yet, but it's due to come out in October, so we should know soon. Stop by their website and check out their clothes line too. They have some really great stuff.

A couple of weeks ago I was at the outdoor retailer show looking for cool new product designs. One of the products that I came across while I was there was a Stanley 16 oz vacuum drink bottle. They were kind enough to let me take one home for product testing, and I have to say I have been loving the design. It has a very convenient twist open top that you drink from. My favorite feature though is that all the pieces of the top actually come apart for cleaning. With my other pop top thermos I felt like I could never get that stuff as clean as I wanted to. Personally I that think it looks pretty good in matt green and orange. Available from Stanley for $30.

I stumbled across this sconce a while ago while I was looking for some good wall lighting to go above our cabinets in the hallway. It has a fairly small footprint at 5"H x 3.5"W and the satin steel gives it a nice simple look. It's amazing how hard it is to find simple, and inexpensive lighting. If you like this style, there is also a Piazza floor and table lamp.

Available from Sleekspaces for $64.

EQ3 is right up there among my favorite furniture companies. They make a product that is relatively high quality for a price that is quite affordable. It seems like up until now they have focused on the modern contemporary line of furniture, which is just great. Looks like now they are expanding their horizons a little more with their new Canyon line of furniture. Featuring dark wood veneers and more rounded lines, the Canyon series is definitely a kick back to some great mid-century modern design. As all EQ3 products, the prices are fairly reasonable for a great product.

Check out the whole Canyon line here.

Now I will be the first to admit that target doesn't always have the highest quality goods. In fact some of them are down right shoddy. Sometimes though it doesn't really matter if the quality is great if it is cheap enough. Such is the case with their Nice Home Bentwood Stool. Sure, it might be a little flimsy, and you may not trust it to hold up your aunt Velma, but for only $5, it's definitely good enough to hold up your favorite plant. Available from Target for $4.99.

When we designed our bathroom we always planned on forgoing the standard bath mat in favor of a wooden one. We even placed an extra drain outside of the bathtub so that when you stood on a wooden bath mat the water wouldn't just pool underneath. I had planned on making my own out of Ipe, but I have to admit I am tempted to just get this teak one from West Elm. I even love the matching stool. Available from West Elm $89 - $129.

There is something about Frogster that borders between endearing and creepy, and maybe that is why I love him so much. Made of neoprene, the mother frog has a zippered pouch in which she keeps her three baby wooden frogs and a lily flower. All the kids have a magnet so you can pull them around as your own little frog train. Frogster sits about 9" tall and 3" wide. Available from the MoMA store for $19.

We have bought and received many blankets since our son was born, and I have learned to be a bit of a blanket snob. The ones that we like the best are nice and big, so it's easy to swaddle him, and not too thick, so he doesn't have a heat stroke. This Modern Blue Bunny Blanket (say that ten times fast) measures 30" x 36", which is a nice big size. It's made of a super soft cotton flannel, and double stitched to hold up to all the abuse a good blanket gets. Available in pink, or blue. Matching bib and burp cloth is also available. Available from Tadpolecreation's Etsy Shop for $26.

I'm loving this folding picnic set that I saw over at BLTD the other day. Designed by XXD, this handy little set is 8" x 8" x 1", and yet it holds two plates, two sets of silverware and even a cork screw and salt and pepper shaker. All you need to add is some good food, and it's sure to be a success. Available from A + R for $52. Via Better Living Through Design

I have blogged about Lunar Lounge before, and some great affordable chairs and sofa's that they have but I never mentioned their kidney bean tables. Definitely retro in style, these tables will only run you $99, which is a pretty good deal. The tables stand 15" high by 34" long by 17" wide and come in primary Red, Citrus Orange, Midnight black, white and chocolate brown. All tables come with 14" flat black hair pin legs which I love, wood stiletto legs are available for an additional $25.00 Available from the Lunar Lounge Etsy shop for $99.

One of the key's to keeping your house looking good, is being able to keep everything organized in it's proper place. My wife and I have been looking for a while now for a good place to put our kitchen sponge. This Lattice Caddy by Umbra is a simple yet effective way of cleaning up your sink clutter. Made of stainless steel wire and mesh, this caddy should fit any standard or double sink, as long as it is not an undermount sink like ours. At $11 it's a fairly inexpensive way to tackle some of that kitchen clutter. Since it won't work with our sink, I think that we might have to resort to keeping our sponge out of view in a Rationell pull out basket from Ikea. Available from Umbra for $11.

The Ribbons and Boughs Plate set is the newest addition from Working Class Studio. This set of four 14" x 8" plates features an integrated print of an abstract tree and foliage. The fact that they are made of melamine makes them not only affordable, but great for daily use, or even picnics since you don't have to worry about them breaking like you would a nice ceramic. Perhaps the only downside is that they are not microwavable. Available from Elsewares for $48.

I love the look of bent plywood chairs, and I am always looking for used ones at a good price. Last year I found these 4 old school chairs with built in desks at a local secondhand store. They were asking just $5 each, so of course I couldn't resist. I figured it would be easy enough to transform them into a regular chair. It took a grinder, a lot of sanding and refinishing and a little black spray paint but we finally finished them a couple of weeks ago. One of the things that impresses me the most is just how sturdy these little guys are built compared to most of the cheap bentwood stuff you come across these days. If they can withstand years of school kids abusing them, I'm sure they will last forever in our house.

Click "continue reading" to see the finished picture.

I have featured items from Motif Modern Living before. Their slogan is "Modern Style, Modest Price" and I have to admit that they have a pretty good selection of affordable modern housewares that I haven't seen elsewhere. Take for example this Single Flower Duvet and Sham. For only $79 you can get a queen sized duvet cover and two pillow shams. That's a great price! They are made of 210 thread count 100% cotton. My only wish is that they had different colors or patterns at that same price. I'm not quite sure I could cover my entire bed in mustard yellow. Available from Motif Modern Living for $79.

Who says that Etsy is just for those that are trying to become well known. Joe Futschik of Jef Designs has an etsy shop where he sells these lovely votive candle pods. They are created from the byproducts of the legna lamp, the pod votive adheres to the principles of jefdesigns: clean, minimal, and organically modern. Just like his Legna Lamps, they are all hand made, and can be ordered in teak, zebrawood, rosewood, or bamboo veneers. Joe encourages using LED tealights instead of the traditional candle, and he is even offering 1 free LED tealight to the first 30 orders. Available at the Jef Designs Etsy shop for $15.

Sheetrock work began a few days ago. This is usually the mid-point in home construction. Since we have very little finish work required, i.e. no window or door trim, we feel like we are well past the mid-point. Sheetrock will wrap up tomorrow and preliminary steel posts for the stairs will be installed later this week. Doors were installed just before sheetrock. Garth found an awesome set of interior doors at a great price, less than $200.00 each! The remainder of the radiant system will be installed and the gypcrete floors will all be done by the end of next.It took some time and negotiation but we finally have a solid game plan for the stairs (thanks to Kenner for the coordination). We are going with a clear varnish on the steel instead of paint. We chose square tubes and stainless steel cable for the railings. Greg with Premier Metal Works is constructing the stairs and rooftop railings. For anyone wondering we chose the Kohler Purist series faucets for the upper floor bathrooms. For the first floor powder room we chose a "Vattern" compact cabinet/sink/faucet combo from Ikea.

Ever since I saw my first bento box, I was pretty much obsessed with them. I posted a while ago about a bento box I have, which I found out was not the most practical. The first time I went to reheat something in the microwave it left the lid permanently deformed and unusable. In my search for a replacement I came across the Zojirushi Mr Bento. It's kind of like a super bento. It has four bowls that nest inside a stainless steel case to keep things warm/cold. Not only is it handsome, but it is also microwave safe. The price admittedly is not the cheapest, but it's sure to last a lot longer than my other bento box. Available from Amazon for $49.

I have always loved urban outfitters for their well designed products and affordable prices. That is why I was excited to see these great stacking plates and bowls in the sale section of their website. They come in an array of muted pastel colors, (my wife says the colors remind her of a beach ball) my favorite of which is the white. The thing that really makes these dishes so great is the nice fat lip. Not only does it look great, but it makes stacking that much easier.

On sale at Urban Outfitters starting at $2.99 each

We did not find out ahead of time the sex of our baby, but wanted to have the room mostly completed before the birth. We wanted a simple, modern baby room that complimented the rest of our home. The furniture is from www.milliondollarbaby.com and with the help of my aunt we designed the bedding and roman shade with fabric from www.tonicliving.com. Once our daughter arrived we added the chick pictures from www.avalisa.com and her name to accent the walls. The mod bear on the rocking chair is from www.pier1.com. The most time consuming item was the rocking chair. After reviewing many posts from this site and searching the web we ended up with an inexpensive one from www.overstock.com. We hope you love our unique room that only cost about $1200.00 – Yes modern can be affordable. And as you can see our daughter is already enjoying her reading corner! - Eric, Darcy, & Gwenivere

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A little while ago, I sold one of my favorite cars, a 2000 Golf TDI. Luckily I sold it to a good guy, Chris Oxford, who not only could appreciate the finer qualities of a modern diesel, but who also has a good eye for design. Chris flew down from Spokane to pick up the car, and while he was here he told me all about a concrete countertop business he was starting. I told him to keep in touch, and let me know how it went. A few weeks ago, I got an email from him with a link to his website. Turns out he does some really nice stuff.

So anyone needing a concrete countertop in the Spokane, make sure you check out Oxford Fabrication.