If you dudes are looking for a project this weekend, might I suggest laying down new wood floors throughout your house - wait, let me finish - when laying them, be sure to select several different shades of wood so that you can arrange them in your own image:

See, you just pick a picture and do some fancy stuff with your computer.  Be sure to make the floor spread throughout your entire house.  Then just lay the wood and enjoy

If you have extra time on sunday, try photographing all the rooms to make one large photo of your floor portrait:

Happy weekend homies, I’ll be looking for your homework in my inbox on Monday.

I know it’s starting to become a little passe but I just don’t ever want to get over white walls and bright decor.  Here are some of my faves that I’ve seen recently:

via emma’s design blogg

via light locations

via desire to inspire

Oh, if only my house had the kind of quirky architectural detail needed for crisp, white walls.  Thank you very much 1984 for all your south austin residential blandness.

In other news, is anyone watching this new NYC Prep show?  I just don’t even know where to start with those kids.

Hello you delicious Design Crisis readers!  I’m Raina and I write a couple of interiors blogs, If The Lamp Shade Fits (design snark and pretty pictures) and The Daily Bed (just pretty pictures).  Erin and Karly have been with me since the early days of my first blog, and my posts are far more entertaining with their comments.

I was tickled pink (or should I say “blue”?) to be invited to guest post while ErBear is on maternity leave.  I have been racking my brain for a week.  Erin’s incredible sourcing and hilarious writing are big shoes to fill.

In the end, I decided to post a few wishes for EB’s new baby boy.  I Googled the “wish” plus the word “room” and limited my selection to an image that appeared on the first two pages.

For you, Berin von Benanderin (until your fickle mother decides), I wish:

“Happiness.”

“Patience.”

“Health.”  You and Mom will see a lot of one of these rooms soon.

“Wisdom.”

“Kindness.”

“Humor.”

“Empathy.”

“Love.”  Um, your parents will explain this to you in about ten years.

Today we’re short one blogger here at DC headquarters as our resident art historian / patron saint of vocabulary is busy having zee bebe.  That’s French for Erin is in labour.  In honor of our newest blogger, who remains unnamed but will be making his debut any minute now, I bring to you my favorite family portraits from across the interweb.

Family portraits by now defunct flickr user Akihiro Furuta via Booooooom.  I have no idea if that’s the right number of ooos.  How do you even deal with a URL like that?

Family Tree by photographer Bobby Neel Adams.  Portraits of mothers and daughers, fathers and sons are shot and merged to create a singular image.  Mom, are you up for this?

I tried to stick with just family shots and skipped over all portfolios filled with self-portraits except for this one by photographer Chino Otsuka.  Chino has superimposed her image into pictures of herself as a child.   The portraits are fascinating in that you see the immediate age progression of the little girl - the real version of Adam’s family tree images - while simultaneously imagine that the recent image is an older sister or cousin.  The eye can’t quite believe that this is the same girl.  So, yeah, it made the family portrait cut.

More from Otsuka’s Imagine Finding Me Series

Familial age progression was also documented in last summer’s web sensation Young Me Now Me.  

Look at all those twins!  Sike!  They’re not twins at all.  Photographer Francios Brunelle shot a series of portraits of people who look alike, the only rule:  they can’t be related.  I’ve always wanted a twin, so this series fascinates me.  Maybe it’s not family portraits but you’ll let me squeeze it in, right?

My family, Wisconsin, 6-29-09.  Top Row from left to right:  mama bear (Connie to those of you who read our comments), Aunt Darlene, Cousin Kim, Husband Matt (in desperate need of a haircut), brother Davis, K-Dawg, Step dad Randy; Bottom row: Kim’s hubby Jason, their fearless son McKye.  

Sorry our pic isn’t all torn up, collaged, and superimposed over some arty crap but with all the slip-n-slidin, fire-workin, and booze drinkin we just didn’t have time for craft corner.  Oops.   If you would like to see some crafty portraits, cruise over to Jen’s blog and read her awesome Etsy portrait roundup

I don’t have any pictures of Erin’s new family yet (I don’t think you want to see the ones in progress) but I promise to post some as soon as she’s recovered.

You may be a bit worried about me steering this ship alone for the next few weeks (that’s very sweet of you, BTW) but none to fear, we have several fantastic guest bloggers lined up.  They say it takes a village to raise a child and I’m sure that, even before giving birth, Erin will agree.  Thanks to all our generous online buddies, you dudes will get to spend the next few weeks excavating art around Phoenix, rolling around in some serious bling and even sampling the world’s finest designer foods.  I’ll still be here several times a week to talk about gold spray paint, horses, and hotels I can’t afford, so, really, it’s all good.  

Everyone be sure to get a good nights sleep tonight, for tomorrow morning you have to give a big bright welcome to DC guest post all-star, Raina.  For now, I’m off to la hospital to visit my little buddy and to wish her, Ben and the baby all my love and best wishes for a happy and healthy future.  Do you think I should sneak her in some turkey?

About a year ago, just after this blog was born, I wrote a post about one of my favoritest hotels ever ever.  Because I celebrated my independence a week bit too hard this weekend (thank you house of slappy for your mad party throwin skillz) I’ve decided to repost it today.  Enjoy and I promise all will be back to normal tomorrow

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You know, Belinda Carlisle really sang her way right into my heart with all her talk of vacation business.  Do you think that the missing verse to that song mentioned anything about well appointed hotel rooms and amenities up the wazoo, like pillows of varying firmness upon request?  I certainly like to think that the Go-Go’s would not have been willing to spend said dream vacation traveling across the hot desert in an un-air-conditioned car with nothing but a Howard Johnsons on the horizon.  Gross.  

I digress, the point is, I want to go on vacation, I want to go to the Hotel Particular, and I want to steal every last gold leaf accessory in sight.  Behold:

I know, right?  Do I really need to write a paragraph about how this wallpaper is the most mind blowing thing you’ve ever seen?  Do I need to point out that the sconces and table lamps make the forest look like it’s glowing and only magnify the already awesome dramatic silhouette?  Do you really need little old me to tell you that the uber-minimalist crisp, clean linens are the perfect counterpart to the most perfect wall decor ever?  I didn’t think so.

I will tell you that this room was designed by Martine Aballéa, an American artist working in Paris.  

You probably think that I blew my wad on the first picture, but just you wait.

ta-da!  Artist and photographer Natacha Lesueur thought it would be the coolest thing ever to put gigantic glowing portraits on her suite’s wall and I agree.  I showed this picture to Matt awhile ago hoping he would rush out and buy a large-format camera for this very purpose.  Funny thing, he didn’t like the idea at all.  Does anyone know a good divorce attorney?  I mean, did he really take a good look at this room?  Maybe he thought our space wouldn’t look as nice without the spiral staircase in the center of it all.  He would have had a point.  On a side note, I’ve always loved the idea of a free standing bathtub in the bedroom.  No, I’ve never been one for practicality.

More:

When you’re done bathing in the bedroom, you can cruise on over to the bathroom proper and adore the black and gold walls while brushing your teeth and using the bidet.

Another black bathroom.  This place is rocking my world.  I usually hate pedestal sinks (where do you put your stuff?  I guess I am practical sometimes) but this one is great because it has that other pedestal dealie right next to it for storing said stuff.  And it’s a different shape, even better.

If you want to mingle with the other guests, here are some public spaces:

When I first saw this picture I thought that crazy giant angel was the coolest thing in the room, then I decided that the heavy red drapes might trump the crazy cherub, finally I came to my senses and realized that the crown over the mirror is the greatest gold accessory I’ve ever seen.  I really want to store it right next to my crunk juice goblet.

Still feeling social?  

I will give a dollar to anyone who can tell me what is going on in that photograph above the stunning black tulip chairs.  I will give four dollars to anyone who will bring me the chairs.

Did you spot an American tourist in a starter jacket and need to race back to your room?  Go to this one:

Purple and gold… so regal.  I could wear my gold crown from the breakfast room in here! I have to admit that the distressed scribbly wallpaper is a little 2004, I bet I’ll like it again in about 12 years, which works out great as I will have finally saved enough Euros to book this room by then.  (room designed by Pierre Fichefeux)

**Ok, everyone, this is important:  I want you to take a good look at the photo I just showed you.  Did you note the incredible gold bathroom?  Yes?  Got it?  Listen to this:  I painted my master bath in my last rental in the most luxurious (and insanely expensive) metallic gold paint.  Floors, ceiling all of it.  My landlord liked it (it was just a duplex not an apartment) he kept it when I moved.  BUT  the, ahem, stylish, girl who moved in after me is painting over it.  I am so grossed out.  I’m tempted to cut out all the UK magazine articles I’ve been reading about gold walls and mail them to her with a threatening letter.  Seriously, what is she thinking?  I bet she paints it beige.  yuck! yuck! barf city!**

sorry. back to the hotel.

Incase you’re as in love with this hotel as I am and you want to find it, here’s what to look for:

so cute, right?  I couldn’t find any information on the building, but I’m guessing it was originally a home built forever ago, like everything else in Europe.  Go there, let me know what it’s like, bring me back a little scrap of wallpaper.

Happy Weekend and Fourth Everyone!  If you’re celebrating your independence in front of a computer, might I suggest that you flip through Etsy seller Verdigris shop:

Her confusing architectural photo collages make me proud to be American.  Ok, look, I’m trying to tie this into the holiday.  The point is, her composite prints rock and I hope your holiday does, too!

OH, PS, if you’re in Austin stop by Birds on East 6th for a cut and get a free six pack of tall boys.  holla

I wish I had a cyber tour bus to drive in front of my kitchen, just so I could drive it off, thereby making the big reveal dramatic! and exciting! I would jump up and down — propelled by the overwhelming spirit of joy and gratitude — screaming and crying about how amazing it is, and about how getting a new kitchen has changed the very core of my being. But that would be untrue, because (let’s face it) macaroni cooked over a bunsen burner in a dorm room is the same as macaroni cooked on a brand new stove in my pretty new kitchen.

But that don’t make it any less pretty.

Remember when I first enlisted your help with my junky kitchen a looooooooong ass time ago?

Yes, the red is very charming (unless you have to live with it), but everything else in the kitchen deserved to be burned in a pressure treated blaze of glory. Trust me, it was a LOT WORSE than it looks in my awesome picture. Well, a mere six months and 10k later — with only one week to spare before the baby is due — it looks like this:

I know, I know! You miss the tile and the bank of head bonking cabinets, the chipped almond formica and the spectacularly filthy appliances, but at least the rugs are cute, right? In all seriousness, this was crazy hard to shoot because the light was not cooperating and the paint wants to read as brown instead of gray, but hopefully you get the idea.

We still have a lot of trim issues to deal with and loads of accessorizing to do, but it’s 95% done! Hooray! And despite what must be universal hatred of barstools, I love that we have some extra seating near the kitchen instead of wasted space on the living room side, like we had in our old kitchen. Plus, you have to admit that my vintage Thonet stools are pretty fly.

Hallelujah, you can even see into the living room without busting your head open on a fortress of low hanging cabinets! Downside: I have the sudden urge to replace those hideous ceiling fans, STAT! Any recommendations?

So, what did we do in here, anyway? I detailed the floor renovations a while ago, but you can read about them here. We yanked out all the old oak cabinets and mounted them in the garage (whee! extra storage), then replaced them with Ikea Abstrakt gloss white cabinets, and Ikea Applad black cabinets mounted to form a pantry wall.

So much better than the floating fridge situation we had before! Oh, and surprise! I am the kind of person who sticks stuff all over the refrigerator. Hunny Bunny hates it, but how else will I know where to find my Babies R Us coupons? What do you think of my crazy Moroccan brass tray up there? I know it’s kind of passe to stack stuff on top of your cabinets, but because our room is vaulted, it felt really naked without something…

The peninsula was ripped out and HB built a new, taller wall for the bar to anchor the cabinets onto. He and Matty bear also tore out the old post and replaced it with a smaller, dry walled post. The counters are Ikea Numerar in oak, and the backsplash is soapstone, which Matt installed. Karly bought the vintage Danish pendant lights on Ebay and decided they didn’t work for her. Bonus! They are perfect in my house. I got a new stove on sale at Lowes, the Datid hood for half price at Ikea, and I am unnaturally obsessed with our new Ikea spice rack. Now I just need three more spices to fill it…

On the sink wall, Matt installed a soapstone tile countertop in a very labor (and dust) intensive process so that the countertop looks like a slab. No grout, and half the price! He did a super excellent job, and if you live in Austin I highly recommend you contact him for all your handyman/renovation needs.

We bought a Kohler cast iron sink that has a very low divider, so it’s kind of the best of the single/double sink worlds. Love it! The faucet is also Kohler, and the dishwasher was on sale at Lowes. I had the vintage light fixture already and it’s ok (I like the brass), but I think I could do better. Someday. Maybe. Oh, and the reversible cotton rugs are from Ikea, of course.

The window wall feels a little unfinished, so we’re planning on putting up a couple of shelves where I can display cute dishes and whatchamadoodles. What do you think: glossy white? black? or butcherblock? Who knows when we’ll get to it, since we’ve only got a week until the baby is due and still need to clean renovation dust out from under the furniture, but we can dream, right?

So, that’s it for my kitchen tour. We hatched a half baked plot in November of last year, started gutting in January, and “finished” just days ago. I think our original idea was to slap some paint on our ugly cabinets and call it a day, but I’m glad we took the advice that many of you gave us — which was to rip it out and go for it. Including the appliances (except for the fridge), the floors, counters, sink, hardware, cabinets, lights, paint, and Matt’s labor, we came in at around 10k, which was pretty close to my original estimate. It took the short side of forever to complete, but because Hunny did most of the work himself and Matt helped out a lot, we were able to spend most of our budget on materials instead of labor.

So far, we’re super happy with it, but I’ll be sure to let you know if any of the walls fall down…

Hidy Ho fair readers! First off, a gigantic HUGE apology for my absence yesterday.  I was out of town over the weekend and suffered major flight delays on my return home Monday night.  I was so out of sorts that I didn’t even realize yesterday was Tuesday until Erin sent me a gentle nudge asking where the hell I was.  Oops!  I was sure that it was still Monday and I was well ahead for the post I was planning.  So, you guys have to suffer at the hands of the airlines and my flakiness.  But, enough about me, let’s get to what you want to hear about:  Our Great Rug Give Away winner!!!!

We enlisted the help of Erin’s techy hubby Ben who found us, no kidding, a random number generator.  La generator tells us that comment number 74 was the winner so….

CONGRATULATIONS MARMOREE!!!!

Holla!  Contact us here to get your rug on.

Marmoree commented that she will be choosing the soft and flowery rug:

As anyone who has been in my home can attest, I love me some grey and white.  Good choice, Mam, good choice.  Karly approved!

When we were first asked to do the give away, not only did I start fantasizing about which rug I would choose, but also, how I would decorate a room around it.  Because I felt like spending my blog-prep time today looking at crap on ebay rather than doing real, ahem, research, I decided to play pretend decorator just a little longer.  Here is the rug I chose:

With this rug as inspiration, I gave myself a time limit: THIRTY MINUTES ONLY, a budget: unlimited, and one site to shop from: ebay.   Oh, I also decided that my rug was 8 x 10, while our give away version is just an area rug. Here’s what I got:

Ok, so a few key pieces are missing:  artwork behind the couch, a bit more lighting, a giant gold dipped poodle statue, but, well, with the clock ticking down from 30, I was RACING.  Look, I love you all, but I can get sucked into some ebay, I had to set the timer for the good of my mental health.  Here’s the skinny on the goods I did find:

1.  The very first thing I decided to hunt down was a floor lamp, industrial, please.  I was delighted to find this French bendy twisty number and new we would be best friends forever.

2.  La couch:  while I wanted to go with vintage, I had a hard time finding the right look that didn’t need to be recovered.  White leather is always welcome in my home, so I settled for this Tufted Leather Sectional.

3.  I spent far too much time digging up tables, my desktop folder lives to tell the tail, but finally decided that this Baughman end table was the winner.

4.  The round glass coffee table made the cut because I passed one up on craigslist once and have regretted it ever since.  Note, the ebay version is chrome, but you can bet your bottom dollar that I would have that puppy powder coated in gold faster than you can say “but chrome is so nice.”  Note part deux:  The ebay table is $599, the craigslist version was $60.  I fucked up.

5.  While I didn’t have time to find art, I did wrangle these German vases

6. And a few throw pillows here, here and here

Since my pretend walls are still bare, how about you dudes make some suggestions?

Sorry today is shaping up to be short and sweet, but I’m here to distract you with a pink and frothy confection.

You know you’ve been agonizing over paint colors for your exterior — trying to decide between gray, white, sage and tan — but maybe you need to get more cre8tiv with your choices. Maybe you need to call in the Kitty.

Nothing says sophisticated like a precious palette of soft pink and hot pink, all slathered in bows and bows.

Is it just me, or are those bows a little too strategically placed? I’m not sure Hello Kitty should be Sexy Kitty…

Please, I really don’t want to think about her in that way… I much prefer gun toting Kitty, which I blogged about here.

Ok kids, sorry for the quickie, but I ultra promise that good things are coming your way this week — tomorrow we’ll announce the winner for the Rug Giveaway, and Thursday I’m planning to do my big kitchen reveal, so don’t forget to tune in and check it out!

Sorry peeps, we’re having a few technical difficulties this morning… but we’ll be back soon with the WINNER of the Great Rug Giveaway, so stay tuned!!!