Marc Berenson sent us some snaps of magazine wallpaper he spotted at Steiner Studios at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The subject line read: I thought you might have an opinion on this homemade wallpaper from old magazine pages, it’s improvised For sure we have an opinion: Although it kinda works in a public stairwell with that…
Read Moreat last: washi tape wallpaper you can buy
Every since it burst on the scene, we’ve been in love with washi tape masking tape, using it for all sorts of decorative purposes, from wrapping gifts to tacking images or making signs on walls; we’ve posted about it a number of times. Then, over a year ago, we stumbled on a post about washi tape…
Read Morekickstarter project: a magazine about ‘makeshift’
Here’s a magazine idea we find compelling: called Makeshift, it’s about the ingenious solutions and inventions people all over the world are making with what they’ve got on hand. Right now it exists as a Kickstarter project. We see it as a quarterly reminder of possibilities in magazine form, an antidote to Martha Stewart Living, Wallpaper,…
Read MoreIn Ukraine’s Tragic War, Art Appeared
Early in the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 23rd, 2022, New York Magazine invited young Ukrainians — the first generation born after Ukraine won independence — to share their experiences. It offers a remarkable view into the fierce realities of escalating war, including this from a 25-year-old painter who fled Kyiv.
Read MoreCanvas Floor Mats, Inspired by Marisol
The jazzy black-and-white checkerboard “rug” that defines the living room of artist Marisol’s Tribeca loft reminded us a painted canvas floor cloth: practical, stylish and easy-to-make.
Read MoreClever Textile Ideas to DIY from a Restored Tuscan Convent
We found a number of simple ideas for textiles in photos of a former Tuscan convent restored by designer Holly Lueders and her daughter. Our favorites are this very do-able paneled bedskirt and a pillow cover fashioned like a gift.
Read MoreDesign Inspiration: Suzanne Shaker’s Serene Muralled Bedroom
I am continually knocked out by the clever design ideas interior designer Susanne Shaker comes up, like this hand-painted De Gournay wallpaper that instills the serene feeling of Nature in a bedroom.
It got me wondering if there was a way to have one of the many wall mural companies around custom-make a wall covering from an open-source digital archive image.
8+ Strategies for Redecorating an Ugly Hotel Room
Being very sensitive to spaces, we have long been big on tailoring hotel rooms to our own sensibility and personal feng shui. Photos of the newly renovated Hôtel Baume in Paris made us think of the many strategies we’ve developed over years of traveling to shift the feeling of not-quite-right, often OVER-decorated hotel rooms and make them more comfortable. Here are our tricks and tips, with examples:
Read Morerealm of possibility: custom digitallly-printed wall coverings
Having had a mother who was obsessed with busy, French-provinical wallpaper, I’ve always steered clear from any semblance of a wall covering. Until, that is, companies like HP devised a latex printer that will digitally print your own designs to make cool wall-coverings. A number of companies will help you do this…like New Era, 4walls, FlavorPaper. Apparently, the HP…
Read Morebooks as stunning reclaimed building material
Recently we celebrated a friend’s birthday at the rarified 12-seat sushi bar at Brushstroke, chef David Bouley’s collaborative Japanese restaurant in Tribeca, NYC. Designed by the Japanese firm Super Potato, the interiors are serene and graceful, evocative of a Japanese temple melded with modernist architectural elements: stone, reclaimed timber, salvaged, weathered steel. The most stunning detail were…
Read Moreenzo mari’s autoprogettazione for diy furniture designs
Autoprogettazione, roughly translated “self design,” was a project and book by the modernist artist and designer Enzo Mari that gives instructions for building easy-to-assemble furniture — tables, chairs, bookshelves, wardrobe — using rough boards and nails. Originally published in 1974, it has been reprinted many times. Mari created the project because he thought …if people were encouraged to…
Read Morereader improv: ny times illustrated wrapping paper
Carol McDonnell sent us an email about her very cool, very impromptu wrapping paper: Now that the NY Times has beautiful large full color photos, I decided not buy paper, but use it to wrap several books. The giraffe and the donkey head from the Whitney make a charming way to recycle . . .…
Read Moreorigami made of anything (vic muniz’ birds of a feather)
photo: andrew moore We LOVED this piece from the last Sunday’s New York Times Magazine: After the Japanese Earthquake in March, the nonprofit Bezos Family Foundation invited children to mail origami cranes to the Seattle headquarters of its Students Rebuild program. Each would trigger a $2 donation, up to $200,000. The group received more than 2…
Read Moreinspiration journals: walls, books, software…
Annaleena’s Hem recently published a whimsical “inspiration” wall, a styled visualization of a very practical process. She taped up clipped-from-magazine images of ideas for redecorating, and called it “Collect Your Dreams”. Says Annaleena: Something I often say to…those who are renovating is to tear out pictures as you like, it can be inspirational images of…
Read Morehistory as evidence, inspiration and guide (ww II)
Charles McFarlane, a Junior at the Rudolf Steiner school, is an avid scholar of 20th Century American social and military history. He recently sent us images he’s collected from his research that he thought would resonate with ‘the improvised life’. In an email he wrote: “Necessity is often the mother of invention. This is no…
Read Moreunwrapping the holidays: alt-gifts, d-i-y wrap and……… cool blogs
If you start with the idea that the holidays are about really giving a part of yourself rather than STUFF, and spreading joy, and celebrating what we have, you instantly start to eliminate the nonessential and stressful. These are the things that are more obligation than fun – too exhausting, too expensive, or just TOO…
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