It's been a while since I have found some life changing technology. I recently upgraded to OSX Mountain Lion and ended up migrating back to a few core Apple applications (Mail, Safari). In the process I've been on the hunt for an elegant looking RSS reader so I can keep track of the few blogs I follow on a regular basis. I wanted something web based that would sync across multiple devices, and did I mention I wanted it to look good? Luckily I stumbled upon Feedly. The web based app is available on Chrome, Safari and Firefox (as well as most smartphones), and looks amazing on all of them. It works by syncing up with your Google reader account and presenting all the blogs you follow in a beautiful layout. I'm only a few days into using it but so far I'm absolutely in love. It has a robust set of shortcuts and different configurations to make it fit your needs. 

Check out Feedly now.

Get your reading list jumpstarted by importing my list of sites below to google reader by downloading this file (right click save). Update your google reader account then sync with Feedly. Instructions here for google, and here for Feedly.

So what blogs do I follow? 

Here is where I have to make a confession. For being a modern interior design blogger I'm absolutely horrible at following fellow bloggers. Part of it is that I don't want to be that guy that just re-blogs awesome things that I find on other sites, and part of it is that I'm just lazy. That being said, I would encourage everyone to check out the following blogs if you don't already. 

Plastolux

Designsponge

Design Milk

Better Living Through Design

Remodelista

Swiss Miss

I feel like that little group has been and will continue to be the core of good design blogs out there. I may have missed one or two (did I mention I'm lazy?), if I did, let me know in the comments. 

Now on to what I follow daily. It's a good mix (for me anyway) of design, fashion, and other visually interesting sites. In no particular order…

Build Blog

Build is a Seattle based architectural firm that specializes in Modern and Mid Century modern design. What I really like about the Build Blog is that it reminds me of the good old days of "modernism" online. When I first started blogging 7 years ago Dwell had some amazing forums full of architects and designers that were willing to share all of their trade secrets to further the cause of modernism. Unfortunately the forums were axed, and that helping community disappeared. Build is the last breath of those old days. On their blog the share their philosophy of "everything it needs to be and nothing more" and how that translates to everything from cabinetry to gutter details. Their posts on baseboard details and modern door jambs are a must read for anyone interested in modern interiors. 

The Sartorialist

Hopefully you know about the Sartorialist already. It's a fashion website. More accurately it's a blog by photographer Scott Schuman who has an amazing eye for street fashion. I think his photography is beautiful, and I love seeing the world through his eyes. He goes to lots of great places and always manages to catch great shot's of beautiful people dressed interestingly. One caveat.  Don't bother reading the comments. 

Anchor Division

Another fashion blog. Technically mens fashion and lifestyle blog. Jamison Aweau does a great job curating the site, and he has great access to all sorts of interesting people and places. 

Emmas Designblogg

More Scandinavian design than you can shake a stick at. I've been fairly obsessed with minimalist yet natural Scandinavian design for a while now, and Emmas blog fulfills all my cravings. 

The Shiny Squirrel 

OK, I'm going to be absolutely honest here. I have absolutely no idea what the Shiny Squirrel is all about. All I know is that it is chock full of pretty pictures I like looking at. Nothing wrong with that right?

New City Movement

New City Movement is a local blog by my dear friend Jesse Walker. He is an accomplished graphic designer and DJ and has been a stalwart member of SLC's in crowd for years. It's great to see my little city through his eyes, and stay up to date with what is cool. 

City Home Collective

Speaking of locals, there are some new kids in town in SLC and they have been ripping it up. City Home Collective is a Realtor/Creative design group based in Salt Lake City. They do a lot more than just sell homes though, the sell lifestyles. They are constantly seeking out what's cool in Salt Lake and actually make me pretty damn proud to be living in this town. 

Sallad

This is a top secret blog for locals only. Dallas is semi local (Ogden technically) and has an incredible eye for finding "stuff". He sells it all locally for crazy cheap prices, and if you see it on his blog first, you get half off. Seriously. I'm greedy. Don't tell anyone about this site.

You Are The River

My buddy Gale turned me on to this site about a year ago. It's what he calls "soul modern" which I think is an amazing way of describing the aesthetic. It's full of wonderfully minimalistic interiors that actually feel warm and inviting. Almost an american version of scandinavian design.

A Continuous Lean

Yet another mens lifestyle/fashion blog. I particularly like the way editor Michael Williams dissects fashion and what he likes about the things he shares. For someone like me just dipping his toe in fashion it's nice to get a full breakdown on things. It helps me bridge the gap between "I really like that look" and "I really like that look because of X and Y".

Makr blog

I've been following Jason Gregory since he first started his leather goods company Makr. Since then he has grown into a thriving business of "carry goods" and he is even cracking into product design and interior design. What the secret to his success? He has an amazing eye, and he's able to convert that vision into real world goods. His blog is a combination of updates from the shop, sneak peaks of up coming products, and loads of amazing photography. I would be lying if I said I didn't absolutely love his ongoing collection of tasteful female nudes. (speaking of which have I ever mentioned I have a tumblr page?) Let that stand as your NSFW warning. 

The Brick House

The Brick House has been around for 4 years, which is a long time in blog years. Morgan doesn't post often, but when she does it's really quality stuff. Her house is fantastica and full of money saving DIY projects. Her writing style is matter of fact and unapologetic. Oh, and she has a soft spot for brutalism. Is that an oxymoron somehow?

Like her style and need a fix more often? Follow her on Tumblr.

Hello Define

Personal blog of Jessica Define, Hello Define covers a wide swath from Americana to Type Fonts. Like all of the above blogs she has an amazing eye, and makes me feel like a cooler person for having read her blog. 

Uncrate

Guys like stuff. At least I like stuff. Uncrate has rad stuff. According to their banner it's a "Digital magazine for guys who love stuff, five awesome new things are posted every day". I'd say I sincerely want about 30% of what they post, which is pretty good in my eyes.

So, that's my short list. Now tell me what I'm missing. SHARE IN THE COMMENTS PEOPLE!

I've mentioned before my infatuation with bags, but did I admit I love shoes too? A year ago I bought these great Allen Edmonds that I absolutely adore. The natural coloring on them is what won me over. Well last week I decided it was time to retire my Nau messenger bag and get something a little smaller to carry to work everyday. I've been wanting a good quality leather satchel for years, so I took it as a sign from the gods that I had just gotten a 30% off code at Bonobos and they had the BillyKirk School boy satchel in stock. The hefty price tag and a bad review almost discouraged me from pulling the trigger, but ultimately I decided it was just too irresistible. I've only had the bag for about a week now, but I'm absolutely ecstatic about it. The quality seems superb, the leather is beautiful and soft, and it happens to match my shoes almost perfectly. I snapped the above instagram picture in the elevator the other day when I first noticed it. 

Billy Kirk School Boy Satchel $365

On the other end of the financial spectrum, right before I went to New York last week I picked up this little duffel made by a local company Springbar. They usually make heavy duty waterproof canvas tents, and this Basic Duffel is made out of the same waterproof canvas. Basic is a great word to describe it too. It's pretty much a no frills duffel, it doesn't even have a shoulder strap. The canvas is amazing though. It's a great blue/green/gray color, totally waterproof, and strong as hell. Oh, and the $17 price tag is pretty sweet too. 

Basic canvas duffel $17

So a few people asked about the clothes rack I made for the Evo Conference a few weeks ago. While it's a pretty straight forward project I figured I would do a little write up in case anyone else is interested.  First and for most I should give a shout out to Patch Davis a used-to-be-local friend of mine. I first saw a very similar design in his shop 6 months ago, so credit goes to him. And now for the how to….

The basic idea is to get a large rustic beam and use it as a heavy base for a free standing clothes rack. You will need the following:

Wooden Beam

Black gas pipe

Drill

Drill bit

For this specific project I wanted to make two decent sized "cups" to hold T Pins for the real world Pinterest pin boards they had, so I used a hole saw and hammer and chisel for that part. It's totally optional, but it is a nice touch, and a good place to put some random items.

Probably the hardest part was sourcing the wood. This particular piece was approximately 8" x 14" and just under 4' long. You will probably have the best luck looking for something from an architectural salvage place, or if you are lucky a local saw mill. The rougher the better.

Once you have your wood, and it's cut down to length (I had to use a bow saw) all you need to do is drill holes for your gas pipe. I was aiming for around 54" of clear space so for the vertical pieces I bought one 10' piece of pipe and had Home Depot cut it in half. The horizontal bar was a pre-cut (and threaded) 36" pipe. I used two 90 degree angles to hook it all together. I think the pipe comes in 1/2" or 3/4". I like the look of the 3/4" better.

To drill the holes into the wood I bought a 1 1/8" flat bit. 1 1/16" would have been a tighter fit, but they didn't have it. Hook all your pipes together, measure the distance center line to center line, and then lay it out where you want it on the log. Drill the holes nice and deep, say 4" (or as long as the bit is) and then just slide the pipes in. Walla, you have a clothes rack. 

As I mentioned above, there are some small touches that make it look a bit better. The "cups" I just used a 3" hole saw, then used a hammer and chisel to clean the holes up. I also mounted some scrap 3/4" wood I had laying around on the bottom of the beam. I set it back 3" or so from all the sides so you wouldn't see it. The result was a nice little shadow line all the way around the bottom.

Total cost? About $60 for the pipe and drill bit plus whatever you pay for the wood. 

Questions? Comments?

I'm finally ready to admit my vacation is over and get back to the grind. I have a whole bunch of great content coming up from personal projects to great independent designers and even a dash of fashion. To make sure you don't miss anything, make sure you subscribe to our "newsletter" to get a fresh daily helping of design in your inbox. I use mailchimp, so unsubscribing and setting preferences is super easy.

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"toast" icon by Zyneth

Braun Toaster (HC1 I believe) picture at MoMA found here. 

I'm currently wrapping up a week long vacation (two more days in Cape Cod) in which I got to spend a few days in one of my favorite cities, New York. While there I did all the usuals, walked the High Line, dinner and drinks in Brooklyn (thanks Do or Dine!) amazing corn on the cob from Cafe Habana, and of course a little shopping in SoHo.

One of the best surprises was finally stumbling upon Bobby Berk Home, and the amazing Bobby Berk himself. Bobby Berk Home was a long time advertiser on Grassrootsmodern, but it's surprising how easy it is to abstract a person or place which you have no personal relationship with. I've heard great things about him from fellow bloggers Capree and Jaime and I have been Facebook friends with Bobby for a while so I knew his face. When I saw his shop I popped my head in and asked if he was around. Unfortunately he wasn't. After looking around his fantastically curated store, I was heading out just as he was coming into the store. Thankfully I recognized his face and had a chance to introduce myself and my girlfriend to him. I can now confirm that all the rumors are true. He's an amazingly nice guy, and has a great shop. If you ever find yourself around any of his 4 stores, make sure you stop and take a look. If you are in SoHo, don't be shy, ask if he's around. Oh, and of course you can check out his stores website (20% off Gus Modern this week!)

Thanks Bobby! It was great meeting you finally. 

Photo by Donny Tsang - New York Times.

A huge congratulations to my friend and fellow blogger Tyler Goodro of Plastolux on his latest collaboration with Eastvold! It's great to see someone make the transition from talking about good design to producing good design. The Cube Side Table was designed by Tyler and made by Eastvold and is right on trend with one of my latest obsessions, wood and steel. He even has a walnut and brass version coming out soon that is going to be amazing. 

Cube Side Table

I'm always thinking about good names for a website and/or business. The other day I was thinking about how much I like clean modern design but with age old hand made details. The name "Analogue Modern" popped into my head, and I was almost giddy to find out that the domain was still available. Seconds away from snatching it up, I started to wonder. Did I spell "Analogue" right? Yes and no. There are two spellings, and it looks like "Analog Modern" doesn't just exist, they are doing exactly what I had in mind. Despite the disappointment that someone got to the idea before I did, I'm mostly just excited to find another great indy shop putting out good furniture. 

Analog Modern

So yesterday I had a chance to get back up to the Canyons to take some better pictures of the suite. The picture above is probably my favorite of the bunch. It's always great when you get to put two Eames Lounge chairs in a space. The Cush rug from BluDot is pretty great too.

Doing the design in the suite I had two big challenges. First to make it not look like just another Park City rustic hotel room. This was actually pretty hard to do. Above are two pictures that show what the space looked like when we started. The top one is from the exact same view as the first Eames Lounge picture. Which do you like better?

To start we did a lot of taking things out. All of the furniture was removed from the room as were the cushions on the built in benches. Curtains were taken down, doors were removed etc. We even took down some light fixtures. Stripping everything out made the space so much better. There was still a lot of rustic feeling in the form of knotty pine woodwork that I could get rid of, but I had a plan for that. Now I just had to fill the space up with something that looked good. That brings us to the second problem.

Everything I put in the room had to be eco conscious. Everything. Ebay has a little primer for buying green that became my mantra.

#1 Buy Pre Owned - The greenest product is the one that already exists. 

#2 Resource Saving - Do more with less.

#3 Sustainable - Materials Matter

Luckily I had some good guidance in this area from Zem of Ecofabulous. I generally think of myself as an eco aware guy but it's absolutely amazing how much more she knew about everything green. It was very educational for sure.  

So without delay, here is the rest of the suite, and what went into it.

Entering into the suite there was a big ugly closet that greeted everyone. I took care of it by covering it with a large white board and some Urbio containers full of succulents. Not only did Urbio just win best accessory at Dwell on Design, it's also made of recycled plastic (#3). To top it off Beau, one of the designers, is an incredibly nice guy.

Also in the front entryway was a little niche that needed to be filled up. I used a Way Basics shelf here (and in several other places in the suite) because it's super affordable and made of 99% recycled material (#3). I filled it up with items I found at local thrift stores (#1).

Around the corner there is a short hall that looks into the kitchenette which is just off the main room. It's not the best looking kitchen so I gave it a little shield with a GORGEOUS rosewood Eames screen (#1) and a flower arrangement.

The main room is dominated by two vintage Eames Lounge chairs (#1) a small tulip style side table (#1) sitting on a wool Cush rug by BluDot (#3).

The wood benches needed some sort of padding on them because we removed the horrible looking pads there were on them. I covered two of them with 1" thick felt  (#3) held in place with a rug pad. The felt is actually made of wool and recycled synthetic content (like recycled bottles). Pillows are fantastically eco friendly and come from Inhabit (#3). 

The other two benches were covered with wool Flokati rugs (#3) held in place by a rug pad. Lots more pillows from Inhabit (#3) too.

Also in the main room were two Way Basics shelves side by side that I filled up with vintage pieces (#1) and succulents. 

My favorite part of the shelf unit is a fantastic pair of white wooden clogs (#1) lit from above by the  Pablo Clamp Lamp (#2)(#3).

Speaking of lamps, I didn't get a good photo of it, but the Moooi Miyake table lamp (#2)(#3) is pretty fantastic as well although I do wish it put out a bit more light.

Perhaps my favorite piece in the room were the 6 Coventry Stools by Studio Dunn (#3). The are a nice little bit of eye candy for the room and they provide flexible seating or a convenient place to set a drink. Also a huge thank you goes out to the guys from Studio Dunn who built these 6 stools and shipped them to Utah with just a week or two of heads up. 

The last seating area is the dining table built in bench. Unfortunately I couldn't remove those cushions, but I was surprised that they didn't look as horrible as I thought they would. In front of the bench is a vintage Brown Saltman coffee table by John Keal (#1) lit from above by a Claudo pendant by Cerno (#2). The wall behind the bench was covered with raw Wall Tiles by Inabit (#3).

There were two good outdoor patios that I filled up with vintage Bertoia chairs (#1) a vintage teak bar cart (#1) Emeco 111 Navy chairs (#3) and Tom Dixon Offcut stool (#3).

Last but certainly not least was the green fashion room. I designed three literal Pinterest pin boards for attendees to use. The idea is they pick out outfits from the clothes in the room, pin them to the board, and share them on Pinterest. The person with the outfit that gets the most pins wins and iPad. You should be able to see all the outfits by looking for the ebaygreenstyled hashtag on Pinterest. 

Also in the room is the reclaimed clothes rack I designed. A few people have asked for more info on it, and I'll give a better DIY on how to make your own next week. 

Today in Park City hordes of social media mavens are gathering at the Canyons resort for the 2012 Evo Conference. I hadn't even heard of the conference until this year, and while it's not really my scene (lots of mommy bloggers) I am super excited to be involved. The Ebay Green Team (bet you never heard of them either) asked me to help do the interior decoration of a suite they have at the conference. It's been an absolute blast to source furniture from some of my favorite companies (Moooi, Tom Dixon, Emeco, Studio Dunn, Pablo, Blu Dot) and to bring in some epic MCM pieces from some of my favorite local stores The Green Ant and Now and Again. Some of my favorite vintage pieces include 2 Eames Lounge chairs, a rosewood Eames screen (1 of 500 ever made) Bertoia chairs, a teak bar cart and more. I even had a chance to make a reclaimed clothes rack (above) out of a piece of wood used during the construction of the Brooklyn bridge. I'm hoping to get up there and take some more pictures of the rest of the suite tonight or tomorrow night. Stay tuned for more. 

Ebay Green Team

Evo Conference

Every night I sleep with an iHome next to my bed. I think it has an alarm function, but honestly I can't tell you for sure because I've never used it. In fact for some reason I don't even dock my iPhone on it, I just use the charging cable that comes with it. I also use my iPhone for an alarm every day, and while I've gotten pretty good at hitting the snooze "button" on the screen with one sleepy eye open I admit a big physical button would be easier.  Enter Snooze. It is a convenient docking station for your iPhone, and perhaps more importantly it turns the whole top of the dock into a giant snooze button. It comes with a free alarm app that makes your volume button a snooze, and has other expanded options. It's on Kickstarter for another 16 days and is currently half funded. It you like it, support it.

Snooze on Kickstarter $40

I love these reclaimed apothecary matchstick bottles. In fact I love them so much I borrowed the idea (actually my gf did) for our bathroom. Our bottle is a little different, but the idea is the same.  The one thing ours doesn't have is the etched glass for striking the matches. I know you can buy glass etching stuff at craft stores, but I wondered if anyone has tried it, and how well it's worked?

For the non crafty, get your reclaimed apothecary matchstick bottle on Etsy for $20

A few days ago I was at an open house for a local MCM Furniture store called The Green Ant. They've been around for years, but just recently expanded the store (congrats Ron!) and now have an entire half dedicated to more high end design. Sitting in the middle of the space was this Reale table from Zanotta. I loved the look of it, but I was a little confused as to why it was in the space, as it looked to be a new design and not truly mid century. You can imagine my surprise to find out that it was really designed in 1946 by Carlo Mollino. It's a pleasant feeling to continue to be surprised at just how timeless good design can be.

Reale Table 

Carlo Mollino

The Green Ant

More pics from Zanotta's website

I finally broke down and bought a Nest thermostat a few days ago. I can honestly say that it's the first time in a long time that my expectations have been exceeded across the board with a new purchase. That's not to say that I had low expectations either. I had seen the Nest in friends homes, and I knew it was good looking. I wasn't expecting it to be so well thought out from beginning to end though. First off I ordered it from Apple.com and received it like 2 days later. Next came the installation which was super easy, the thing even comes with it's own multi tip screw driver. Setup continued to be a cinch, getting it connected to my wireless network and controlling it from my phone took all of 10 minutes to do. I honestly don't have anything bad to say about it at all. 

Who else has a Nest? What's your favorite thing about it?

Nest

I posted a while ago about the Bexar leather tote I got hooked up with. I'm still in love with the bag and grab it for my go to tote. Well if you've been on the fence, now is your chance to get your own. Bexar is having a 25% off sale on everything on their website. Good through July 5th.

Bexar

I'm working on doing some interior design for an upcoming convention, and while looking for a good outdoor table I came across this Firewood Trolley by Radius Design. At first I was just attracted to it's fairly reasonable price ($500) and the fact that it's made of steel and oak so it should hold up well. It looks great loaded up with firewood, but would be equally at home acting as an outdoor bar cart. What really impressed me however was its flexibility and the way you can stand it up vertically and use it for a bar height serving table. Available in stainless, black or white.

Firewood Trolley Storage cart $499

It's no secret that I'm a fan of steel and wood coming together to make beautiful furniture. It is surprising however that I have only mentioned Misewell before in passing lately, because they do wood and steel so well. The new Grain desk shown above is a perfect example of that. Solid walnut and black steel have never looked so good.

Misewell Grain desk

Tired of drunk octopuses wanting to fight with you? Meet Frank. Available in a variety of great colors, he would be more than happy to let you hang your coat on him. Charming, affordable, practical. That's my kind of rabbit. 

Frank $10

To say that I love these stools would be an understatement. They are simple, effective and cheerful. I really like the contrast of the walnut and the painted steel, and the detailing on the seat is perfection. Do want.

Thread Family by Coordination

Day two of my resolution to keep the blog up to date with my day to day doings is a very late recap of the Palm Springs trip I took two months ago. It was the last weekend of Coachella and I flew into LA to meet my girlfriend for the weekend, one night of which we 
spent in Palm Springs. The majority of my time in Palm Springs was spent in two places, the Ace Hotel, and a short strip of MCM thrift stores in an obscure section of Cathedral City.

I have absolutely nothing but good things to say about the Ace Hotel. Everything there was wonderfully styled, and cleverly marketed right down to the paper card holder your room key came in.  The Palm Springs Ace Hotel is an old Howard Johnson and was much larger than I imagined it. There are at least 3 different buildings with rooms, and two separate pool areas. 

The food and drinks there were surprisingly affordable for "hotel food" and were super tasty to boot. I think we pretty much ate all of our meals there, and didn't even think twice about it. In fact it's honestly the first time I have gone to some sort of destination resort type place that I didn't feel the need to get outside the compound as soon as possible.  I could happily spend a full weekend poolside and never leave the hotel. 

Speaking of poolside, it was exactly what you would expect at a Palm Springs swimming pool party. We were fortunate to be invited to a Madewell pool party which meant free food and drinks for the day. It was a perfect afternoon of hot sun, cold cocktails and beautiful people all around. 

The next morning after a few cups of coffee and some much needed chilaquiles we set out to do some furniture shopping. We had a tip from a LA local about row of MCM stores in Cathedral City. After driving past random strip malls and building supply stores we found what we were looking for. Just off of Perez road before you get to  Palm Date Drive is a group of 4 or 5 MCM stores full of treasures. 

Hedge was one of my favorites with its combination of classic MCM and Danish alongside less traditional vintage pieces. 

Others that deserve recognition is the amazing collection of Danish furniture at JP Denmark, and the amazing yet occasionally strange Colin Fisher Studio that was like being in a museum or a famous drug lords home. 

I'm far from being an expert on Palm Springs, I'll leave that to Paul Kaplan and others, but I do have one little neighborhood I always like to drive through on my way out of town. I first discovered the Vista Las Palmas area when I was doing a video for the fiesta movement a few years ago. I still enjoy driving through it and looking at all the classic Palm Springs homes that are so similar and so different at the same time. 

So thats my trip! 

Now I want to hear what YOU love about Palm Springs, and your must do things when you are there. 

It was a whirlwind of a week last week, and I'm just now getting a chance to catch my breath. I'm usually pretty horrible about keeping people updated with all the personal projects I've got going on, so consider this an attempt to get better. 

The first update is the Saarinen tulip base I posted about a while ago. Turns out it's really a Burke base, which is fine by me. I tried one time to repaint it and it turned out horribly and I had to start all over again. After the second time sanding it all down I needed up going to an automotive paint supply store and getting some white one stage automotive paint. It was really reasonably priced ($5 a can I think) and sprayed way better than the can of enamel I got at Ace. I ended up sanding the old paint down and moving from 150 grit sandpaper to 200, 400, and finally 600 grit to get it smooth. I then made a "paint booth" in my garage so the wind wouldn't screw things up and slowly started putting coats on. Near the end I did a little wet sanding with 600 grit paper to make sure it stayed nice and smooth. There is a bit of orange peel but it's pretty good looking. 

For the top, we were originally talking about cutting down the old laminate top to the 32" size we wanted. After a lot of going back and forth we decided to spring for a new marble top. We called around to a bunch of local places, and most wanted close to $500 for a top. Luckily we found a remnant at European Marble and Granite for $370 (Thanks Tally!). It's a really beautiful piece and they did a really nice job getting the back bevel just right. I was planning on attaching it with silicone like they do with countertops, but after setting it on top we decided it's not going anywhere. If I wasn't in a rental and planning on moving sooner than latter I probably would have attached it.

All in all I think it turned out really great. I apologize for only having a crappy instagram picture of it, but I figured it was better than nothing.