She’s got legs, she knows how to use them
Hot for turned legs, I can’t stop cruisin’ them
So good it’s no wonder someone made them

Would you get five of them if you could only find them
From victorian, to the fifties
Vintage shines bright

She’s walnut down to her nails
She’s got burl wood right up to her dovetail
Every time I’m plannin’ to put her to use

Everybody comes to me, to see if they can mooch
She’s so fine, she’s all mine
Go get your own tonight

She’s got legs, she knows how to use them
Hot for turned legs, I can’t stop cruising them
Cost more than a dime plus half of my mind

Stayed out all night thriftin’ through time
Oh, I want her, said I got to have her

That chair is all right, she’s all right

Click to play the original version.

[Marie Olsson Nylander, Darryl carter, Babington Hotel, Skona Hem, Jessica Helgerson, Desire to Inspire]

In case you haven’t already figured it out, I am a serial re-doer. No matter how good a job I do the first time around, I am always convinced that — given one more shot — I could do better. Problem is, one more shot turns into twenty really, really fast. I’ve repainted the guest bathroom three times, endlessly rearranged the living room, second fifth guessed myself while renovating the kitchen, and now I’m itching to redo my already redone dining room. Good thing paint is relatively cheap and I am the wizard of Craigslist, otherwise the Hunny would have divorced me long ago. Still, I’m a busy lady with a new baby and can’t afford the time or expense of redecorating 500 hundred times. And so, friends, I am calling on you to help me make this one count.

Problem: The table/chair combo is making me lose my appetite. And the chandelier ain’t helping, either. I am like the furniture collecting equivalent of the quintessential crazy old cat lady. Mid century mod just keeps multiplying at my house… And while the hodegpodge kind of worked in our old dining room because it looks like a crazy old cat lady lived there:

I am not loving it with the new, more understated paint job that went in when we redid the kitchen:

So, I like the things on the black wall. The Karl Springer style console, benches and antique painting are a-ok by me. I’d like to add some sconces, but that’s not a big deal right now. However, I think the table sticks out like a sore thumb. Or is the problem the chairs? I only have four of the Burke chairs, and I have six of the Danish chairs, but most are broken or need to be restrung. And does that chandelier make my ass look big, or is it just me? Help?!

If I move the table to the back office, I could replace it with something different. Something… longer? More oval? Glass or not glass? I actually own this table with an oval glass top, but it’s kind of on the small side:

And this awesome set is currently available on Craigslist, but I’m afraid the proportions are wrong for my room:

Great pic, I know! I love the set, but my room is small and narrow, making me think I need a long, dark table and small chairs flanking the sides. Am I crazy to pass this up?

Oh, and please tell me that burlwood table wasn’t the perfect thing for my room, since I found it and passed it on to a friend…

And here is where I paste in some random dining room eye candy to inspire you to leave witty comments and savvy advice for your old pal, Erin:

via the now defunct Domino. Love love love the chairs!

via Met Home. I like the idea of a long table with chairs on the sides, only. I also like the look of a legless table. Plinths please me.

via Living Etc. Hey all your breeders out there: is glass kid friendly?

Can’t remember where this came from… one of the above sources. Mostly I just like the groovy mood in this one.

Ok, dear readers. Today I live for your comments. Thursday I shall follow up with more dining room pornspiration. Don’t worry. It will be prettier than it sounds.

I love things en masse.  Take something small and insignificant and multiply it by 100, suddenly you have an interesting collection.  Take something small and kinda cool, then multiply that by 1,000 and shape it into something awesome then, well, then you have a blog post. 

Scott Jarvie Recycled Straw Clutch Chair

Nendo Designed Fabric Scrap Cabbage Chair

Fully Loaded Chair made from shotgun shells by Alexander Reh (yes, I’ve blogged about this before here)

balloona stool confetti by natalie kruch for umbra made from 500 balloons

Tide Chandelier made from collection of man made debris washed up on Kent coastline by Stuart Haygarth

Tail Light Chandelier Also by Stuart Haygarth

Mr. Haygarth is pretty much the king of making things out of things, view his entire site here

Volivik 347, Bic Pen Chandelier by en Pieza

#2 Pencil Chandelier by Daisuke Hiraiwa Gallery via inhabitat

Last summer I had the absolute pleasure of visiting Ajeto Glassworks in the Northern Bohemia region of the Czech Republic. This region, specifically Novy Bor, is world-famous for its glassworks. Ajeto officially opened in 1994 by the world-renowned trio of Borek Sipek, Petr Novotny and Libor Fafala. Their current location is housed in the remnants of an old German textile factory in the city of Lindava.

If you can’t take the heat of the studio, get into the kitchen. The facility includes a restaurant that allows visitors to dine while viewing a team of artists at work. The Ajeto restaurant was a ridiculously awesome feature to the facility, in my opinion and the food was some of the best I had while in the Czech Republic.

Although Borek Sipek was not present during my visit (I wish), it was his work I was most impressed with. His resume leaves me green with envy. It’s not just anyone who can add Royal Court Architect in Prague by Presidential appointment to their list of accomplishments. Than again, it’s not that hard to believe. His postmodernist furniture, tableware and chandeliers are hard to overlook. Most impressive however, are his laundry list of architectural achievements. Whether it’s his work on Prague Castle, the Kyoto Opera House or Karl Lagerfeld’s boutique in Paris (pictured below), the man is a multi-aesthetic genius of the first degree.

This weekend I will be climbing every mountain and forging every stream until I reach the rainbow that is the complete office of my dreams.  Did that work?  Did you get that I will be gutting the pile of boxes that is my office space this weekend to make it look like a real life room.  In honor of my mountainous task, I give you the waterfall sofa by Gaetano Pesce 

image via the world’s best ever

See you dudes Monday

After over 60 years in the industry, Vladimir Kagan serves as a reminder that good design has no expiration date, and that creativity and imagination are not hampered by age. Plus, I really love cute, old men:

At 82 years old, Kagan could easily rest on his laurels after achieving top dog status as one of the 20th century’s most influential furniture designers, yet he still continues to work, tweaking his classics line, producing carpets, and creating fresh, new icons of design. Kagan started designing in the 1940′s and by the 50′s his work was as readily recognizable as it is today.

No student of mid century design could possibly be unaware of Kagan’s iconic pieces, and the ones above are so sought after that they’re still in production. Kagan’s Unicorn base range, his biomorphic walnut coffee table, and his organic, sculptured wood pieces are so classic that they can easily exist as statement pieces, or blend seamlessly into a mix of styles.

Of course, I love the mostest some of the oddities he produced that are a little less ubiquitous, especially his hubba hubba 70′s designs:

A quick search on 1st Dibs yields a treasure trove of deliciousness, including a lounge chair I would give a tooth for, but these babies ain’t cheap and I don’t think my lowly tooth is worth that much $$$: 1) Lounge chair and ottoman – $6500. 2) Dining set – $37,500. 3) Burl and lucite coffee table – so expensive the dealer won’t even list the price on 1st Dibs… 4) Pair of lucite and lamb chairs – $3800. Ebay, anyone?

Also, you have no idea how much I want this.

I generally think of Kagan’s work as sleek and spare (but with a touch of whimsy), so when I came across a house tour of his personal pad, I was surprised at how warm and inviting it is. And human — I love the dust underneath a Kagan-designed red chair with chrome base. I think a lot of the eclecticism may come from his wife, who is needlepoint doyenne Erica Wilson:

Between her sense of pattern, texture and color, and his sense of form, they’ve created a unique home that reflects over 40 years of collecting and living in the same space.

Of course their house includes many of Kagan’s signature pieces, including a lucite base sectional, his iconic rocker, a chrome base table and a multitude of sculpted walnut tables and chairs, but it’s no minimalist parking lot for modern furniture.

The magic is in the mix.

And did I mention the color?

How sweet is a guy who will let his wife put a hot pink chaise in their bedroom? (Ok, ok, he did design it himself…)

I really admire the sense of humility in their home; with Kagan’s success, they could easily afford to have a brand new, enormous mansion filled with all the latest and greatest.

But you know, I think they just really like their own stuff.

I am so overcome with cuteness — cute people, cute life, cute home — that I just can’t think of anything snarky to say. Hmmm, maybe I’m coming down with the flu, too? Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll be back to my usual nastiness next week, but until then I wish you unicorns, puppies and rainbows!

Last night I suffered the most horrible trauma that one can imagine:  my internet went out!  My survival was touch and go for a while but luckily I pulled through.  Now I’m back in business and can continue my never-ending quest to find animal furniture.  I’m sure you all imagine that after our week long coverage of all-things-animal, I would have become desensitized to the seductive ways of horse-shaped lamps and alligator sofas, but that would be a false-hood.  I still have fantasies of filling every square foot of my house with animal-themed goods.  I’m certain that I could find a nook or two to squeeze on of these Distant Origin Photo chairs into: 

Admittedly, that hand on the seat cushion is pretty lame.  I don’t really see how it relates to the rest of this dreamy wingback.  I also have an aversion to anything with a hand on it, as it is, unfortunately, my last name and I am concerned that a hand-motif will look like cheesy branding.  

Words can not describe how much a adore the horses on the back panel of this chair.  I would either a. shove it backwards into a corner for all to adore, or b. purchase 6 of these to have around my dining room table, again, so guests could admire the back.  Like the first chair, I’m a little disappointed by the way each photograph interacts with the others.  I feel like they need to be all-horse or all-deer… I would happily pass on the pile of ties in the seat.

That ferocious kitty is beaming sweet nothings directly to my soul, he most certainly wants to come home with me.  I believe the angry scowl on his face is the result of his own confusion and frustration at being paired with a sexy deer and ugly dots.  Come on people, let’s all-cat this chair up!

Ok, so, no animals here, but I think this set manages to be the most cohesive of the bunch.  Yes, nature chair, you may come home with me.

Wait!  THIS chair is the most cohesive, and there are cows.  Mama like.

So what do you say, which chair would you take home?

When it comes to home decor, I have 2 basic rules: 1. Form should follow function and 2. Everything looks better with a couple coats of gold spray paint. I generally shy away from pieces that are quirky for quirky’s sake and stick to the basics, items like gold panther cocktail tables (see rule #2). However, every once in a while a clever design crosses my radar that is perfectly simple in it’s design yet evokes an element of the surreal that screams please take me home and love me forever.

Pike Bergmans’ voluminous bulb would make a perfect reading light for Salvador Dali while Thelermont Hupton’s Blown Up lamps are geared up to send any hippy into an acid trip nightmare.  I really wish he’d called them Dog and Lamb On a Stick, though.  

A-hoy hoy, Andre Breton calling!  Le Telephon from Sunday land makes me want to give 1920 a call alerting them that, almost 90 years later, their predominate art movement is still alive and well.  Perhaps I could even award the surrealist forefathers with this Best In Show Mirror by Phil Cuttance?  Or maybe I could extend my ridiculously long list of things to do by adding knock this sucker off somewhere near the top.  Wouldn’t it look divine in my new bedroom?

While I do not condone trompe l’oil Tuscan frescos (never, ever!) I would be delighted to spend an evening with friends around Vanessa Su’s table.  If we could figure out how it works.

After dining we could retire to the lounge for cocktails and all fight over the Today and Tomorrow sofa by Lila Jang:

I believe Erin showed you this before, but who doesn’t want to see it again?  

Twists and turns seem to be all the rage in the surrealist furniture trend:

I love how Pablo Reinoso’s Aluminum bench is typical on both sides with a seamlessly woven center creating just enough interest to remain thoughtful without being overwhelming.  On the less practical side is his Melting Thornet chair, which, admittedly, would rock on my porch.

If your littlest family member expresses interest in a drug and art induced lifestyle at an early age, you may want to jump start the revolution with this (ahem, $5,600) Accordian Dresser

Always the purveyors of trippy home furnishings, the ladies of Front Design have a dresser built to satisfy even the most ADD among us

The (cleverly named) Changing Cupboard rotates it’s facade at regular intervals to constantly reflect a different pixel pattern.  Don’t believe me?  Watch the first ever video posted on Design Crisis:

If your concerned that the cupboard may throw you into convulsions, you can still bring the drama while remaining static:

The Anne table by Gareth Neal cleverly hides a queen anne table inside a basic square structure, perfect for the (am I about to say this?) transitional home.

And now that I’ve used the term transitional home, I think it’s best for me to quit for the day.

Hey Dudes, my feet have just barely touched the ground after a cross country flight and I have about 643 things I need to do.  Not wanting to leave you with la grande question:  why should I even bother to continue living?  I wanted to throw together a mega-quick post for you.  You know, light up your life a little. Give you reason to move forward.

I was out of town helping my mom pick out all new fixtures / cabinets / tile / lighting / etc etc for the big remodel she’s about to under go.  I’ll have pics of that soon.  For now I’ll show you something that caught my eye while taking in a little in-flight-design-mag reading (I made it through 5 magazines there and back!).  Elle Decor UK turned me on to FredriksonStallard with the image of this lovely vase:

one-off Dragon Vase available through the Heart and Design Charity Auction

Having peaked my curiosity, I cruised over to the designer’s site and stumbled upon these goodies:

The Dragon Vase in it’s standard finish

horse hair and porcelain Villosus Vases

Brush and Gold Stool

Pyrenees Sofa

So, there you have it.  A solid round-up of more things I can’t afford.  Catch you homies later.

Ok, wonderful readers, in my quest to bring back that bright and shiny feeling of hope and growth and prosperity, I’m taking our bandwidth to the max to present a day of industrial inspired furnishings that evince the streamlined yet utilitarian perfection of yesteryear. I have so many pictures that it may be a miracle if I don’t find myself babbling in a rudderless sea of despair somewhere around the middle of this post, but right now I feel GOOD, so let’s capitalize on this moment and get started, shall we? Come on in!

These fantastic Art Deco doors welcome you to a tour of machine age simplicty, of Bauhausian form and function, and obviously of scintillating surfaces sure to dazzle the eye.

Yesterday I showed a lot of kitchen pictures because it seems so easy to integrate the industrial aesthetic into a space devoted to utility. Let’s review with this image from Desire to Inspire:

Apparently the lighting, cabinets and stools, are of the vintage medical/dental persuasion, and given the sterility of those environments, it’s easy to see how those pieces work well in a food prep space. I’m not normally a fan of bar stools, but I like that pair.

Here’s a homier set up courtesy of I Suwannee’s lovely blog, and while I adore the articulated lamp, I’m really fixated on the stools. Actually, it seems like vintage laboratory style stools have been cropping up everywhere lately:

Clockwise from the top left: Super cheap industrial stool from School Outfitters, Alchemy Stool from CB2, Rollie Stool from AvroKo (via the fabulously Nerdy Fashionista), and Modern Times Stool from Sundance.

If you’re looking for something a little less curvy, you could always pull these stools from Crate and Barrel up to your farmhouse table:

I’m guessing that you savvy readers saw the home of ersatz director Roland Emmerich in The New York Times. If not, I’ll skip the craziest rooms and go straight for the highlights:

Love the webby wire chairs with the wooden table, the gorgeous stainless cubby, and holy moly, yet another bank vault in a home!

This room is kind of Captain Insano amazing… check out the lamp, the vintage dental chairs, and the repurposed airplane desk (and the chalkboard wall that totally makes this room happen).

Continuing on the wartime industrial magical mystery tour, this bed has a custom headboard made from a plane parts. Do you think he dreams of flying? (Also, I think the headshot on the nightstand is of him, which is kind of… different. But the GI Joe is hilarious!)

If you want your very own piece of a plane, check out LA Designer Voila‘s booth at the recent SF Art and Design Expo, which Leah from More Ways to Waste Time so elegantly documented:

Lo and behold, Voila carries all kinds of recycled sheet metal pieces, which have found new uses as homey aesthetic anchors:

This desk looks like it’s primed for lift off!

For those of us with slightly less adventurous tastes, these pieces from Sultana (formerly known as X21) could easily blend with contemporary rustic and vintage 70′s furnishings.

The desk is a little, tiny bit expensive, and ok — the bookcase isn’t much cheaper, but I can honestly say that Sultana is THE GREATEST STORE I HAVE EVER BEEN IN. The top floor is crammed full of 1st Dibs caliber pieces, and the bottom floor is a labyrinth of of the most amazing “castoffs” you have ever seen. Deals abound. I found a sweet Milo Baughman chrome base couch for $400 bucks, people. Plus the guy who runs the store looks exactly like The Dude from The Big Lebowski. If you are ever in SF, go there. You will find something.

My friend and I were drooling over the vintage industrial stainless cabinets, kind of like these:

The one on the left is designed by Piet Hein Eek, available through Cibone, and the one on the right appears courtesy of the Ferm Living blog. When I used to live in Hawaii, they had tons of those at the State Surplus, and I even saw one or two (sadly, already sold) at the Austin State Surplus. So if you have access to your local surplus, it may be worth a look.

Warning: the next image is so powerful that when I saw it on Miss Raina’s awesome blog, If the Lampshade Fits, I nearly wet myself.

Yeah, I’m busting out with 70′s architectural modern, but it works as industrial, right? I’m not going to split hairs when I can’t stop staring at this hot number from Jeff Andrews Designs, who has hereby earned a spot in the Design God Pantheon with this room.

Plus it inspired me to think outside of my tufted box and check out these fancy furnishings:

Gorgeous hunk of burning chair from the previously mentioned AvroKo:

The original gangsta Brno chair reissued through Room and Board was designed in the 1930′s by his majesty Mies van der Rohe (and you can ditch the tulip table. Really. It’s ok):

I’m getting tired and punchy… told you this would happen. Know what always makes me feel better? Coffee (tables)!

Clockwise from the top left: Spool table by CB2, vintage red firehose table that I desperately want at Sultana, crazy 1940′s coffee table at 1st Dibs, Bradley Hughes coffee table on casters (via Raina at La Lampshade).

Nope. Not done yet. Perhaps you already have some ladderback farmhouse chairs, but you really want to mix them up with a more modern dining table?

Below: 70′s chic Rivet Table on left by CB2 (if their lighting was better, they’d be my one stop mid-price interiors shop), uber hot 40′s metal table on casters at 1st Dibs on the right. You know, I think I like just about anything on casters…

Above, tables on a smaller scale: Lime green desk at left by CB2 (on casters for under $150! Use it as a console table, perhaps?) and stainless table on right by Ikea. It’s for a kitchen, but who cares? Why should they have all the fun… use it as a console table or desk. For even less than CB2′s version, you can buy two.

Ok, we’re almost done here, but I’m throwing in a couple of home porn pictures via Desire to Inspire that show the most amazing industrial lights (I know, I know… I already did that post, but I think you’ll thank me for this anyway).

Don’t you LOVE the eclectic mix of things in this room? Mix and match eras at will, just keep the color and pattern minimal if you’re going to wildly vary shapes, textures and scale. One more:

This is probably the kind of person I’d be if Hunny Bunny would let me. A freaky pack rat with a penchant for 40′s lighting and a row of bald mannequin heads to watch over me. Yes I would.

Guess what everyone?! Michael called and it is on!  So, rather than pushing that designy bullshit I normally peddle, let’s get to planning my big trip to Beijing!  Thank God I’m a few days late for those pesky Olympics so I can find a seat up in high-falootin first class.  Now, for the hotel room.  Since M has all that endorsement cash piling up by the minute (and this blog has yet to earn me a cent) he’s going to be splurging for my room.  He really really wants me to stay with him but coach Bowman says unt-uh, no way, not with all that gold on the line, buddy.  M & I sent some sad-face emoticon texts back and forth but, ultimately, we understand that love means never having to say you’re sorry making sacrifices every now and then.  Since he’s busy with time trials, he asked if I could book my own room.  pa-sha, how annoying.  But here’s what I’m thinking:

(see full size here)

A few choice nights at Beijing’s Emperor Hotel.  I’m pretty excited about that weird slide counter top in the all black bathroom (you know how I love black bathrooms) and those freaky fun hallways.  One thing I never like about hotels are the halls.  I’m pretty claustrophobic and those nondescript, long, narrow corridors always leave me grasping for air, the Emperor solves that problem with dynamic shape, fun color and cute little drawings.  I was a little hesitant to show you the bottom 2 pics, they’re a bit X-rated:  The first is where M will be giving me a soapy sweet sponge bath and the second is where we will play-race each other in the pool, he’ll probably let me win then toss a god medal at my face, we’ll laugh about it until we fall into each other’s arms in a big olympic style embrace.  See how M totally dominates at stealing my heart?  Awwee, what a cute little baby angel.

I think I’m going to schedule my arrival for when M is taking a nap so I have a bit of time to doll up before our rendezvous.  Could you imagine showing up all jet-lagged with a purse full of minis?  Oh, I would die!  I still haven’t found a salon expensive enough to manage my luxurious mane but I’m pretty sure I’ve got the spot to get my nails did:

An unknown manicurist in Beijing pays tribute to the Olympics by creating this mural out of 28,000 acrylic nails.   I’m going to track her down a make her paint a triptych style image of M swimming across my talons. Then I will probably find out that M was her muse for this mural and I will rip her soul out of her chest… with my legs so I don’t chip the new goods.

Between sponge baths, olympic gold medal ceremonies and interviews with Bob Costas, I’ll probably need to take some time to plan for the love-child M and I will undoubtedly create.  Even though I’m sure he’ll become a mind-blowing athlete, I should at least pretend that he might have a shot at intellectual genius so I might pick him up a few books at this quaint little shop:

The Kid’s Republic Bookstore in Beijing

All those bright colors and things to climb on are sure to stimulate Junior’s senses.  If I close my eyes I can almost feel little MP kicking.

After the games are finally done (and I move into M’s room, thankyouverymuchcoachB) we’ll probably need some down time to just take in the sights and enjoy the city.  I’ll have to insist that we check out Dorophy Tang’s installation over at the Adidas store.  

M will probably play all coy and cute and tell me to pick out any pair of shoes I want, I’ll take my time and pick an inexpensive pair, then M will laugh and buy the whole store.  We’ll use Tang’s graffiti seats to furnish our London apartment.

Oh, gosh girls, it really is going to be a whirlwind, I’m so tired just thinking about it, now, if only i could find all those little bottles of booze I had hidden in my purse.

You all know I love animal furniture and if it were up to me (rather than my bank account) my entire home would be filled with creepy animal finds.  I would not be ashamed at all to put a horse lamp on top of a crab table and set it all right next to this whippet bench:

well, assuming all of the animal pieces worked with my color scheme.  Otherwise it would just be a downright embarrassing travesty.  The Whippet bench has been designed to fulfill all of my wildest dreams and fantasies by Radi Designers.  Almost everything I found on the bench or the design firm was in French and, despite my 3 years of high school language lessons, I didn’t pick up on any of it as the site never mentioned where the library was or asked me to pass the fork.  I did recall enough of my latin roots to figure out that they also have this resin version in a limited edition of 30 pups:

would it be tacky to have the 4 color whippet inside and the blue one in my yard?  What If I had a giant version of this bench and I turned it into my house?  Still OK?

The stretched out whippet reminded me of this elongated bench I fell in love with a few months ago:

to be continued / bench, by Julien Carretero Design Studio

What if instead of filling my house with animals I filled it with stretched out things?  I find this polyurethane piece particularly exciting for it’s texture and imperfections.  According to the designer: “each layer is casted on top of the one casted before following the exact outline of it. Because of the imperfection of the cast, the object slowly mutates and start designing itself.” I’m sure work like that is easy and cheap and totally within my budget, right?  houses full I tell ya, houses full.

Keeping in the stretched out theme:

Working Wave Seating, designed and fabricated by Susan Wood

I have another picture of this bench with a girl sitting on it that actually makes the stretch more exaggerated.  I decided not to post that one because she was wearing the lamest brown turtleneck sweater and mom jeans.  I know I’m getting off track (surprise) but how can someone spend so much time and detail creating such a beautifully designed piece only to photograph it next to a girl with a scrunchie?  Isn’t a designer’s vision supposed to be complete?  (back on track) the bent plywood bench is still welcome in my home any day, my well dressed friends can sit on it.