Hipster Havens - Design Styles of the Poor but Crafty

All the cool kids have horses in their kitchens

These 1974 interiors are so ugly and obnoxious that I've fallen a little in love with them. Hmm, if only that sentiment would transfer over into my dating life...

The 'N Sync of Germany circa 1965

I love this album cover entirely too much. Back off, the hot one is mine.

'Nuff Said

Yo -check it out!

If you're the one person in 10 who still carries around checks this is a great excuse to break them out - if for no other reason than to show off this adorable, handmade, turn-table checkbook cover.  But for those of us forced to tote around the cold, hard cash - the designer also makes pretty unique wallets.

Europe does it better

Every so often I go through a phase where I hate every single thing I own and yearn for the satisfaction of watching it all go up in a billowy cloud of smoke.  Instead, it's bagged and taken to the Goodwill where, rather than embracing the minimalist urge, I will undoubtedly return with an arsenal of entirely new crap. That's why I particularly love these images of Icelandic stylist Reineke Groters European apartment. Somehow she manages to turn hoarding and half-painted walls into an effortlessly chic statement. Pack Rats and Lazy Bones of the world rejoice! 

Dead neighbors and other tales of woe.

Are you so sick of mid-century modern you could poke an eye out with your cleverly-placed Eames coffee table?  Yeah, me too. I can stomach German designer Enna's room because 1) I know she got the desk for free when her neighbor died and no one discovered the body for a week and 2) her hand-painted wallpaper is freaking cute. If my neighbor died all I'd inherit is her vinyl-protected flowered sofa. Boo.

Heads and shoulders make great art! (I'm not talking about the shampoo.)

They're a little creppy, a little kitchy but more importantly - they only cost $10.  How could anyone let them get away?  Hand-crafted by "Dottie" in 1955 (at least that's what the proud artist etched on the back) this little ceramic couple brightens up my day.  I thought they'd be cute on a bathroom door - ya know - men's room/women's room. Get it?

Andy Beers rocks Portland!

 

Woo hoo - this house so is great it makes me want to pack a bag and move to where I can afford square footage! I first spotted designer Andy Beers last year while profiling sustainable interior designer Jessica Helgerson for design^sprout.  University of Oregon grad Andy works for Jessica and is doing his part to design healthy, creative and socially responsible interiors. Below are photos of his (super-cute!) Portland home and descriptions as written by Andy for Design*Sponge last year. His dedication to re-use is wonderfully inspiring for anyone on a budget!

I have a light-up Scan Globe that I love; we turn it on almost every night. It would be the ultimate night light in a kid’s room. The print behind the lounge chair is by the lovely Jill Pilotte of Small Stump and Rose and Radish, the painting on the floor is by Ian Dingman. His work is so beautiful in person.

The view from our living room into the bathroom hallway and the bedroom beyond.

The Eames bentwood coffee table was a huge score during a MOMA sale- 70% off the retail price. It’s a piece a furniture I’m almost afraid to live with. I cringe a little every time someone comes over and puts their feet up on it. But I’m getting more relaxed about it. It will get dinged eventually, and that’s probably a good thing. The Dux chairs were reupholstered sometime during the 60’s- I’m trying to find photos of their original upholstery in the family archive. I used to have slipcovers on them, but these days I’m actually a fan of the green floral.

We spend a lot of time in the kitchen and ironically, it’s the ugliest part of our apartment. It was renovated in the 70’s. Full size appliances are very good, retro veneered hollow core cabinet doors are not. To make the huge expanse of wood less obtrusive, I borrowed an idea from Nick Olsen’s blog and used electric tape to add moldings. Probably the best $3 I spent in the whole rental.

Half of our kitchen has the original cabinets with glass-fronted doors. Cookbooks get stored here (by color). Food blogs are my favorite thing after design blogs. I cook the most from Orangette. I trust Molly’s palate- I’ve never been disappointed with anything I’ve made from her site. I ‘m looking forward to her book next year.

My father-in-law grew up eating dinner at this Conant-Ball dining table. The finish is pretty worn, but we love that it was applied by my wife’s grandfather. This is probably my favorite piece of furniture in the house because so many family meals have been shared around it. The pendant is from Le Klint.

In our entryway, we hung our wedding photo next to those of our parents and grandparents- it’s great to see them side by side. A calligrapher made the mats for us. The console is a vintage media cabinet with woven grass doors.

My wife and I share the desk; I have to be considerate and clear my piles frequently. The chair is Ron Arad’s Tom Vac. It’s not a 3 hour chair, so I add a cushion from Area when I’m working. (My next set of new sheets will be from Area. They are so beautiful.) The lamp is from Jonathan Adler, and is one of my favorite things. The calendar is from Camilla, and the letterpress artwork is Steven Harrington via Tiny Showcase

I piled up all of my coffee table books next to the door. I got jealous when everyone else started organizing their books by color, so I did it too. I love the big swatches of color.

Our bathroom is teeny-tiny, but has natural light. The mirror was a $6 thrifting find. It was a hideous green-gold when I bought it, and it took a whole can of spray paint to cover it. I love it because it doesn’t match one other thing that we own. Which makes it perfect.

We keep an inspiration strip in the hallway.

So......when can I move in? Tomorrow too soon?  I can sleep on the couch...seriously.