Almost done!

Just letting everyone know that my new 'getting Christmas on track sooner' idea is working well so far.  The tree is up (but not decorated yet -- and will not be lit up until Dec. 1), other decor is going up around the house (hiding lingering reno supplies, but I suppose they can be festive too!), I've started gathering supplies for crafty things and baking, and...AND...I'm *thisclose* to finishing my Christmas shopping.  

Fa la la la la...LA!

Makes you rethink carpet

I saw this over at Wee Birdy. Even though it's carpet, there's something insanely cool and appealing about those stairs...

Kvartal Anno Sanela's, yahhhh

We hooked ourselves up with the Ikea connection over the weekend and grabbed a set of sliding panels for the back door (there are so many UGLY options for glass sliding doors, but I think this one is the most tolerable). We were crazy to try and figure this system out while in the store (busy Sunday) and got to witness other couples with big question marks over their heads and frazzled looks. This was not us though, because I have Trevor, Canadian superhuman-man who can decode strange Swedish illustrations and directions for window coverings. So we were successful (although karma bit us in the ass with a box that didn't include hardware -- now another trip has to be made for the last panel, hence the evidence above in the photo with only three panels).

As seen in the living room

The terrarium...slightly dusty, but still alive!

Pretty, fabulous

Super talented Carolyn Mason creates these über cool dish soap bottles from cast porcelain. Stunning.
(Be sure to take a look at her other work, especially the 'frosting' series!)
via Design^Sprout

Finding a style

I can really get down with Audrey Romano's digs. I think it might be all the blues and greens that I can't get enough of lately.

via design*sponge

Just one more post before tomorrow

Ferry Staverman does some seriously impressive work. Think of those Hallmark decorations that you could pop out and make table top centerpieces for Christmas...but these you could keep out all year (although not near a blustery open window...).

Rolling ball sculptures

It was agreed upon last night that if we ever have a gazillion dollars to blow and have a large enough room, we'd have a rolling ball sculpture custom made for a wall in that room. For those of you who don't know what these are (and never visited West Edmonton Mall in the 80's, or saw the movie 'Fracture') take a look at these:
I think our custom one would have the metal powder coated to match the wall colour (or stainless steel?), have custom glass balls made, and use some really nice woodwork (Trevor has a vote in for rosewood...don't ask me what that looks like).

Take a look here at one of the artists.

Bookshelves

In our next house I'm dreaming of an area completely for books. (I currently colour-code our collection, which drives Trevor mad but looks so much better than having them muddled in by author.)

This reminds me of a beehive of books.
Love the look of this, but you have to have pretty books to make it work. A bunch of Marvel graphic novels (Trevor) and chick-lit books (me) might not make this look so domestic-chic.
A happy medium? Hide all your goodies in the rafters...
I love this to death. This is my room of book heaven, and book hell for Trevor. *muahahahahaaa* (Evil rubbing of hands together.)
Now you'll just have to reaaaaach a little to get to the top books.
A hallway might be convenient for walking-by grab and go's.via the nestmaker,WebUrbanist,freshome

A new definition of tea lights?

Sure you can get them in bags of 10,000 at Ikea, but these take lighting to a new level. Too cool for school these are.
via domestic construction

Weekend warrior (hopefully)

Well, it's Friday again (hurrah!). It seemed like a short week -- probably because I'm used to working 6 day weeks the last little while. Big plans are afoot here for the next two days, with reno-mania-mania setting in. My plans are to hop on a very high ladder and attempt to clean the siding of the house and gutters (we'll see about how high I really get, confidence is brimming at this point...), and Trevor is going to finish the bathroom in the basement and put up the railing for the stairs. (And maybe even start on the laundry room? hint...hint...)

I figure it makes sense to tackle the outside jobs here while the weather is nice and not scorching hot. Painting inside a 'schweaty' house is never fun, nor a good idea (paint that dries way too fast).

We've also been pondering a dining room table (our house lacks one after ridding it of a horrific wicker and fabric hand-me-down) and our choices are now:

From Pier 1:

From Crate + Barrel (with customs charges...worth it? I don't know.):

I'm leaning towards the Pier 1 choice, it's got a darker stain and a nice wood grain on the table top, and it has an extra leaf that can extend it out for 6 people to sit at. We would keep it as a square though, as our dining area is teenie. (Trevor's vote might go towards this one as well, because the square shape 'defines his eating space'...LOL!)

Now to find chairs...

Coffee table quest

I'm in need of a coffee table for our living room. The last one we had was a *lovely* $30 pine Ikea version (circa 1992). That is long gone and we've just been living with a blank area of floor in the middle of the room. I've been scouring websites for inspiration, and there's not much out there that ships to Canada (boo) or that looks all that great (double boo).
What I have managed to find is the cream of the crop of UGLY coffee tables, which I'll share with you here:

This table screams 'I am a piece of pie!!!' to me. And a big yuck goes to the moving tabletop, and the colour.
This coffee table looks like a rolling cart, with the wheels chopped off. What's the point of having handles? Perhaps it's to steady yourself if there's a coffee table related mishap...
Ugh, another lifting table top. If I want a desk, I'll just buy a desk!
Is it a glass bug? Almost!
Oval...check. Glass...check. Fugly offset blue art palette-looking glass pieces...check, check and check.

Tooting my little horn

Melissa over at Ruby Press has done a post on creative workspaces/desks and guess who's included in that line up? ;) Check out the link to the post here.

(My favorite is the first shot with the pug rocking an orange ribbon!)

Want

After seeing the Sex and the City movie over the weekend, I spied this coffee table in Carrie's 'revamped' apartment:

Must. Have. It.

Apparently you can get it here for $1900. I couldn't find it on their site.

And the winner is...

Yes, it's the green drapes! (Or 'celery' if you're a purist.) The thought about using the blue ones but decided that it was too 'tone-on-tone'. I like the way the green ones pop against the paint colour. There's still some sorting out to do, as we're thinking we might get a sheer drape to cover the remaining brackets in the middle (but something kind of funky, not grandma's sheers). And then there's things to put up on the walls and general cleaning...a long list.
(*This is a crappy picture too...blegh. But you get what I'm going for here.)

Alessandro Beda Chair

Does anyone remember those pin decorations/toys they sold in crappy 'San Francisco' stores (no, not in the actual city, but the stores in the malls) that you could push your face and hand into and get an impression? It was a neat idea then, and it's pretty cool to have a chair like that now - except I suppose you're making impressions of your bum instead! (via Freshome)

Choices

The rest of the painting was finished over the weekend and I'm now on to the fun part -- decorating! I bought two options for drapes in the living room, but now I'm having problems choosing between them. (And both were on sale, so I can't argue about price between them.)

The first one is much more on tone with the room colour, which I like:

And the second is a hit of green, which I like too:

I keep running up and down the stairs to try and figure it out. I'm sure Trevor will bring in the veto when he gets home ;).

Thomas Wold

Oh design and fabrication, why that's what I was doing today, but on a much more humble level. Thomas Wold takes it to a whole new (and brilliant) level:

For my dream bathroom...

...I would like a Scirocco 'Snake' towel warmer.

Yes, please

This whale vase from Alessandro Beda isn't currently in production (he's still looking for a way to produce and sell it). I'll be first in line for it once it is being sold.