Yeah, it took two weeks. Yeah, it's completely useless. I don't care. I love this totally handmade, plush Nintendo system. Designer blueblythe from crafster.org dyed the felt, hand-sewed and embroidered all the details. She even made interchangable Duck Hunt and Super Mario screens for the television. Definintely ranks right up there as one of the most enjoyable wastes of time I've ever seen.
Interior designer Nicole and artist Kate invited me over for dinner and then pretended not to mind while I snooped through their house taking HH photos. Now that is friendship. Pretty much everything you see is a thrift-store rescue, handmade by one of them or a vintage heirloom.
This Jesus coffee table is my favorite piece in the apartment. I always try to set my drink down around the halo but sometimes I get the face. Yet another reason you may see me in hell.
You know how in elementary school there was always the one (strange) girl whose hair was too long, pants were too short and love of horses was a tad bit obsessive? She's finally validated.
Matchbox cars instead of dried-out butterflies. Genius!
Hay, another horse!
Even the closets are stylish. Do you feel bad yet?
Myspace friend and doll maker extraordinaire Cody Thompson agreed to share pics of his insanely original apartment and to answer a bunch of lame questions from my nosy ass. Check him out - it's always good to see where the creative magic happens.
Q: what inspires your art?
A: everything ever. seriously. but mostly nature and humans.
Q: what is the self-portrait flag made from? why was it made?
A: the flag is made from beads and sequins mostly, in the Haitian Vodoo tradition. google it! i made it for forever.
Q: i see a lot of collections - what is the significance? where did you acquire them?
A: i
collect things, mostly textiles, cut paper, folk art, carved and
painted wood and figures just 'cause i like them. i frequent thrift
stores and flea markets.
Q: what is the signifcance of the Adidas tee in the display (which I love by the way)?
A: the
ratty Adidas shirt used to get passed around between all my friends
about 7 years ago. we all wore it to death. it was lost for a few years
then was found by my friend's brother after cleaning out his room at
his parents. the shirt was then lost again, in a field near the banks
of a small fishin' hole. after a few weeks i saved it from the dirty
bank, took it home and washed it. i found the case at the flea market
and thought the old relic t-shirt made a great fit for it.
i recently made this pillow and am pretty proud of it.
Q: what inspires your house design?
A: i like saturated colors and bright light. i don't like cleaning.
some cut paper.
Q: what's with the plants on the window sill?
A: i got some nice little apothecary jars from a yard sale and was using them as lil' greenhouses to grow cotton in.
finally, my new pup.
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!
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.
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.
