If you are ever looking for vintage linens, those wonderful heavy ones that are so good for upholstery, or old plaid blankets, American quilts, 50's chintz - frankly just about anything in the textile department - rolls of antique ribbon and furniture too, Paula Rubenstein (65 Prince Street (212) 966-8954) is one of my most trusty sources.  You never know what you might find but for the propping stages of a house or the upholstery moment this is an excellent stop where I never fail to find a few things.

I keep hearing that New York's flower district on 28th Street is moving (to the Bronx?) and for selfish reasons I hope it never happens.  Where else could you see Carolina Hererra picking out her own peonies as I did last year, or admire huge evergreen topiaries in the shadow of a freakish 30-story glass condo?  The floral container stores are also zee best.  A reader told me that Jamali Garden supplies carries these feathergrain boxes for less than the Container Store's prices, and I remembered wanting to feature this 30 inch "zinc" (really lightweight fiberglass) urn:

I had to buy one for work recently and everyone from the taxi driver to the UPS guy commented on how nice it looked.  $120 -- sadly they don't deliver -- but it's still a lot of garden drama for the price.  Also found my new favorite wastebasket, this varnished black beauty, for only $6.99!

Thank you for the Moulin Bleu tip, Romany, i can't wait to get back to NY and check it out. Don't you just love this crazy old wire chateau. i would love to put this on a table in my apartment. The prices are a little hairy at this store but there are some pretty good things.

Bodum on 14th street (NYC) is closing down.  The rents have taken a turn for the even higher and Hugo Boss is pushing them and their French Presses out the way.  So everything is half price.  It is quite amazing, i bought a bunch of glass jars for $2 each, which are now on my bathroom shelves with hairbrushes, makeup brushes and lipsticks etc in them.  I do love a glass jar for keeping things tidy - and love it even more when it costs $2.

So I've been asked to do a DIY post about piping today (see also: "cord" and "welt") but I'm having a little change-of-address problem lately and thus haven't seen the new issue.  How is it?  Got you in the holiday spirit?  Is there an 11-page story on piping?  In any case I think it's something even the moderately skilled DIYer can handle.  Piping is essentially made by sewing fabric on the bias (diagonal) over pre-made cord.  I say the thinner the better!  You can also buy cord on tape from stores like M&J:

Since pillows are the requisite starter sewing project, why not make a pair of 20-inch squares in bright silk satin with contrast piping?  (You'll need an extra yard of fabric for this.) Cord is nice but I'd keep it in the same color -- contrast looks too decorator-y. Pillows with Turkish corners, cord set into the seams and knotted at the corners are sooooper nice but probably best left to an upholsterer.  Sadly this is the best pic I've got to illustrate a Turkish corner:

I promise it's pretty.

I was rushing through John Derian's store the other day, and came across this most charming piece of - well I am not sure what category it fits into... I imagine it was made by someone during a rainy summer in Maine. It is totally home made, I guess about forty years ago.  I have been trying to find a space for it, either in my own apartment or someone else's. I would just love it filled with jars of cotton wool, scent and loose powder. 

I'm not always a fan of monolithic coffee tables, but if you have the space for one (like a time-share in Snowmass) I'd recommend this hulk of lacquer and walnut from Z Gallerie:

"Copenhagen meets Aspen" ? I guess.  Looks sort of Ralph Lauren to me, but I would either bleach the wood or paint it a bright color (for a kids' playroom).  The buffet is a great scale and simple design, too.

I was having dinner with a friend the other night, she had just been at a lunch of the Women's Committee of the Central Park Conservancy - poor girl, imagine the dreariness of that event. Well, she thrust the holiday catalogue in my hand, which is filled with ways one can support and be involved in the park. The price range is from $150 (for a daffodil charm one really doesn't want) to $60,000 to endow a doggy drinking fountain! But somewhere in the lower middle there are other ideas, like sponsoring the tulip bulbs, for $300. If you are looking for ways to give to a charity this year, or a gift for christmas that is a donation this is a nice one. I quite like the idea of walkin through the park this spring and feeling a part of it. To check out the choices go to www.centralparknyc.org/holidaycatalogue.

I want to live in a Wes Anderson movie.  Last night I saw his latest, "The Darjeeling Limited" with Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman as brothers on a spiritual journey in India, and I could barely follow the dialogue for all the layers of detail.  Not only does he fetishize the trappings of style (a set of luggage embossed with palm trees and elephants; a vintage red Porsche), he fills every frame with the most saturated colors and crazy pattern -- everything on the train down to the steward's uniform (including turban) is in bright greens and blues:

So I went Googling for fabrics to make this look and found a site called Tilonia.  It carries these Darjeeling-esque printed cottons for $14.95 per meter:

They also custom-make duvet covers, blankets and bed sets and part of the proceeds benefit a charity that helps rural Indian artisans.  And the prices are a fraction of John Robshaw's! 

I really quite love this photograph, for its total Italian-ness and lack of chic and the product is delicious. L'arte del Gelato have a store on the corner of 7th and Barrow, excellent for stopping after dinner but also perfect for getting a quart container if you are giving a dinner party. The best flavour has to be the red chili chocolate.

Please forgive the shameless self-promotion (or stop right here and go back to my pen post that apparently struck a universal chord) but yours truly was featured in today's Washington Post Home section -- remember when I went deal-hunting in DC a while back?  Well Cory's Story has finally seen the light of day and I tell you, in my last life I must have decorated orphanages in Calcutta to deserve such flattery!  Oh, sure, I'll take it.  And I'll take this opportunity to plug the market I visited with their photog, a treasure trove called Billy's Antiques and Props on the corner of Elizabeth and Houston Streets.  Billy is a neighborhood fixture, has a great eye, and will give you a great deal.  Just be careful if Nunzio the local drunk shows up -- he totally tried to steal my shot (no lie).  Anyway thanks to all you readers out there!!! 

I am heading to Houston at the end of the month to do one of my shopping stories. I have just had a really good tip from a blogger about a store called Indulge. I wondered if anyone else would share their Houston knowledge of cool shops and chic places, delicious breakfast/coffee stops etc. The things you would tell friends to do if they were going.

I am extra picky about pens, mainly because I'm a righty who writes like a lefty (or so I'm told). So depending on the pen I'm using some of my thank-you notes look like they might also contain biotoxins: an uneven, smeared mess.  But now I'm just crazee for Le Pen by Marvy.  Lytha Studios calls them "elegant and inexpensive" -- couldn't agree more -- and sells the slender beauties for $1.50 each in 18 colors.  The micro felt tip is divine.

Big Box Retail Stores sometimes blow my mind with their prices.  Leave it to KMart and a little known ex-model/stock broker/caterer to come up with this baker's rack:

For $49.99.  The thing is almost as tall as I am!  Like the other day I bought a stackable multi-compartment ROLLING toolbox at Home Depot for less than 25 bucks.  Yippee!  Then I start to think about where it's made and who's putting together all those little parts ... or mom and pop who just lost their lease and I'm ready to leave for the kibbutz tomorrow.  Call it Deal Hunter's remorse.

I went up to Hudson, NY this weekend on an antiques shopping jaunt.  It is the second trip up there I have made and probably the last. Frankly it is disappointing on the antiques front.  But I did find a great shop called Rural Residence. It would be so great if they opened in the city. Firstly, they sell this wonderful china, which as soon as I have more information on I will blog, it is made locally and looks and feels like C18th Wedgewood.  They had wonderful towels and for the purposes of this entry a table stacked with really good stationery by  G Lalo, a French company established in 1919 that made writing paper for all the chicest in Europe. It comes in wonderful colors in irresistible boxes - I came out with quite a bit. It's available online through Exaclair.com.

The second Domino Bazaar is on at the moment, it is amazing - so beautifully put together. I have agreed to do one of the consultations today between 11am and 1.30pm today. Please come by.

Last week my boss told me to "stop giving away all the good tricks!!" when i mentioned my lacquered lamp shade post.  I said I think his job is safe (not many of our clients are buying West Elm vases that apparently break when you look at them).  But here I go again.  Pearl River has sold this Joss Paper forever:

Literally ten cents per 10" x 15" sheet.  I saw it tonight on the walls of an Indian restaurant bathroom and remembered, "Oh, Miles used this in the bathroom of his first apartment!"  In person the silver rectangle looks just as chic as the Chinese pewter tea paper panels we get from the D&D for megabucks.  A good paper hanger could do a small room--doesn't have to be a turlet--in these squares (with or without the border) or I might try it myself with rubber cement.  Also great for wrapping small gifts or to spread out on banquet tables for extra sparkle.

I was driving home from dinner last night when I saw one of these Zipcars.  I was told about them a while ago but hadn't actually seen one.  The concept is really cool--there are cars all over the city that you can use when you need them. So without the hassle of either owning or renting a car you have one at your disposal.  You register with Zipcar and get a card that you hold up to the window of the car you have booked and viola!  Off you go and do your grocery shopping.  They have them in cities all over the country and the cars are things like cute little Minis - not the schlumpy rentals we're used to.  Genius.   

Sometimes the horrors of fluorescent lighting cannot be avoided.  (Perhaps one is renovating a preschool or dentist's office.)  Don't freak out, but I actually like this square Lithonia fixture with grid:

I found it on a website called CheaperLights.com, and they're true to their name.  $65.62 each. I see making a grid of these lights on the ceiling and painting the Old English Trim (??) white or a different color.  Also, if you have existing fluorescent light "cages" with icky frosted glass or plastic, why not replace it with translucent milky-white plexi from Canal Plastics and paint the metal frames?  Tell them the dimensions and thickness and they'll cut to fit -- just make sure it's not a fire hazard first ...

I'm surprised I never saw this turquoise vase from West Elm (at left):

Reminds of of a 70s-style candle holder they made in mercury glass -- domino tore off the felt on the bottom to make a vase and immediately I ran out, bought two in each size and did the same.  Anyway right now this one's only $4.99!!!!

I love Fall sales.

If you are remotely into whimsical imagery then you have got to visit jezebel's fantastic website of beautiful correspondence cards.

You will be completely taken in by the charm of it all and then you can go to her blog and get totally immersed in all things Jezebel.

I've been at a BIG client installation in Dutchess County for the past three days and while chewing the fat(ty doughnut) with the general contractor Jacob (a pro amongst pros) I told him about this blog.  He said his wife would love it.  I said I'm big with wives!  He proceeded to give me a good bargain tip: the pottery and glassware mainstay Simon Pearce ends up with a lot of rejects that don't meet quality standards, especially on hand-blown glass items like this lamp:

Pretty, but I ain't paying $450.  Who cares if the urn part lists ever so slightly to the left if you can get it for half the price?  Check the website or call 800.774.5277 for info and outlet locations.

I hope this image from Japanese Vogue isn't too racy for this blog, but given that I consider myself to be a total domino girl, I imagine that all you reading this are going to want to know about Deborah Marquit and her fluoro lace lingerie.  I first saw it this summer at Barneys in LA, and the other day I bought a bright yellow bra in NY.  The whole line is available online although. The wait time is quite long (4-6 weeks), but I have found that the department stores never have enough of it.  The site is great because there is so much to choose from and all the colours are divine and so are the shapes. Have fun.

The other day our contractor asked me to describe the kind of floor finish we had in mind and he laughed out loud when I said "cerused."  Imagine if I'd said "feathergrain."  Anyway, that's what The Container Store is calling these chic-as-heck boxes (smallest is $19.99):

I went in to inspect the folding bookcases I posted about earlier and Summer pointed these out.  Divine!  Ashy, cerused, limed, feathergrain ... whatevergrain. They make a bigger chest and a magazine tray, too. So delightfully Thomas O'Brien ... 

Finally I made it to BDDW the other day.  I have had a postcard with directions to their store on my desk for about a year and a half.  Well it is a big old treat. They have these wonderful mirrors, dare i say it, possibly inspired by Jacques Adnet's mirrors for Hermes.  I have just put one in one of my client's entrance hall and it looks wonderful. The key to its chicness is the bronze disc that holds it up:

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Check out their site BDDW. They have wonderful furniture, all made here in the states, and mostly in Brooklyn.