Calling all Seattle dwellers, shoppers and people in the Seattle Know, I am on my way there for a shopping story, literally next week.  The information that bloggers give is always so useful when I go off to various cities--I hope you will give me some guidance.  Just think of the places you would want to be sent if you arrived in Seattle with 48 hours to kill, everything from shops, restaurants, cafes, spas and a cool hotel if you can think of one.  Purleeeeease! Thank you very much, love rita x

Phillips de Pury have a charity auction this Friday to benefit Adventure Ecology's Sculpt the Future Foundation, David de Rothschild's charity. Phillips and de Rothschild have commissioned artists to make bird, bat or bee houses out of all the waste that comes from an art sale - the crates, the catalogues, invitations, packaging etc. The result is a sale of fantastic and inventive sculptures and the auction could be a good way to pick up some affodable art, there are no reserves, no buyers premium and sadly no telephone bids, so this only works if you are in London on friday, however it is still worth looking at, i am not going to be buying but i loved looking at the work.

Has every trend been done to death?  One minute I love horn tchotchkes and then a million votive candle holders later I'm completely over it.  Maybe that's why Decorno took a vacation ... too much ikat! and pretty! ... and maybe it's why I get a kick out of curiosities like this globe mobile from Z Gallerie:

Where does this go?  Over a crib?  Or multiples over a long table for an "Around the World in 80 Days"-themed dinner party?  I love the variety of scales and colors, especially the little black and grey cutie on the left.  You could also snip the cords and mount them on low stands on a library table or bookcase. $69.95 each.

I know I often espouse the environmental benefits of bamboo as a pillar of sustainability (if harvested sustainably and treated with non-toxic finishes). To drive the point home, consider these snippets of one of my favorite grass' splendor: Bamboo can be harvested in seven years versus the ten to fifty years it takes for softwoods and hardwoods. It also yields up to twenty times more material than wood, and one bamboo clump can produce 200 poles in the five years it takes one tree to reach maturity. For all your "wood" needs, bamboo is an incredibly durable and rapidly renewable alternative. And if you're not thoroughly convinced about integrating bamboo into your home or office for stylist reasons....

HomeDecorators is the sort of catalog Carmela Soprano might browse when she needs a new bathroom vanity. Terrifying!  But they also have some good deals.  To wit the handwoven wicker shoe storage cabinet for $299:

I personally have no room in my closet for another pair of Topsiders and I hate those behind-the-door hanging shoe baggies.  This solves the problem in a really simple piece of furniture.  Wicker can be bulky or unnecessarily frou-frou, but I love the symmetrical design of the 42-incher with its shallow drawers and little wicker ball feet.  I see it paired with their kiddie "Tommy" mirror, which if painted different colors could have a nice Memphis quality.   

I went to see my friend Lucy Ogilvie Grant when i was in England. She has style coming out of every pore and without even thinking about it. This is her airing cupboard. Usually a design void, she has painted hers red gloss paint with these great white coat hooks. So Cheerful.

We're using all reclaimed tiles at the Dundee house. For the floor, roof, and kitchen. Its an amazing way to add instant age to a house, and follows the first rule for being green....re-use! This LA based company has beautiful reclaimed tiles
Pompei Mosaics

Once again Club Monaco and I are totally *NSYNC.  A few weeks ago I found the perfect t-shirt at a store in Bushwick: bright red with "Emilio's Greenwich Village" and a cartoon of the famous arch across the front, both in white. "This is my uniform for summer," I told Sean. Red and white feels so fresh right now, no?  Well then I walk into Da Club and it's all this combo, some of the mannies even in white suits and PINK shirts with red knit ties. Divine! Does Miles moonlight in visual merchandising?  Anyway I say take the red and white check off your tablecloth (or your Arafat scarf from Urban Outfitters) and adhere it to your kitchen walls.  Hancock fabrics sells this 1" polyester check for only $3.49 a yard:

The more tame of heart might cut up this 12 dollar vinyl tablecloth and use it as a (wipable) backsplash.

I am really not into kitchens unnecessarily taking up space and budget that could be put to better use.  This picture shows my kind of kitchen; the curtain is a pretty and cheaper option to having cupboards made and a shelf above is too, instead of cupboards.  I can't believe how out of hand the cost of built in kitchens get, not to mention the visual weight and impersonality of it.  Shelves of china & glass and lamps are so pretty and soften a space as do whacking great chandeliers--don't you love that?

NB. My sad sieve brain can't recall where I clipped this image from.  If anyone knows the book and or the designer I would love to know so that I can go back to the book and also give it a full credit. 

I recently met a very nice and very preggers gal named Rita (no, not ours) and she just sent me all sorts of great finds for her nursery. Fave among them is the BabyMod collection from, of all places, Wal-Mart:

This 3-drawer changer table -- 36" high if you can't tell -- is so simple and only $249.98.  Now I'm no expert on baby furniture, but this looks suspiciously like David Netto's eponymous collection of mod baby cuteness, still the gold standard in my opinion:

Apparently I'm not the first to notice.  Blog daddytypes.com (typing that makes me giggle) called BabyMod's first collection "Netto in a fog" and pointed out similarities of their newer 'Olivia' crib to one made by Oeuf (what a charmingly bougey name ... French for egg!  ... you see, babies are made when  ... oh you get it ).  Sure, the Wal-Mart crib is about a third of the price and you'll ditch it in three years, but what if you end up having more than one little tricylcle motor around the house?  Any parents out there have thoughts on cheap vs. expensive baby gear? Does quality count all that much?

Our own Scrappy Girl is on the hunt for a lighting deal, and like I always say, a web editor-friend in need is a friend indeed.  The "green" cooking light she posted definitely has an army hospital chic about it, but for 2 x $195 I'd rather collect the post-consumer product myself.  A commenter found a similar option on street in NY for a DOLLAR -- the luck -- and here it is a Lighting by Gregory for $45.50:

You want green?  I'll show you green:

This one's my favorite.  Trust me, hunter green is not just for Jansports anymore.  It's cool again.  If Scrap wants a more industrial vibe this 15" Ikea pendant trumps her $65 Home Depot light that looks like the two above.  It's $19.99:

But I prefer the old-fashioned lines and black cord on one from Aubuchon Hardware for $42.99 (bad pic):

Cathy, keep us updated on the progress!

I went over to Chelsea yesterday afternoon to Jose Martos' gallery on 29th street to look at the new exhibition up of Servane Mary's works on paper. She produced a series of watercolours of iconic rock stars singing. The overall effect is amazing and the works individually are very cool. There were two large ones of Blondie and Brian Eno that i would love hung in my apartment, maybe where all the flower pictures are hanging now! The prices range from $1500 to $10,000 depending on size. The over all look is black/grey/white and pink which is one of my all time favourite colour combos. In the centre of the gallery is a pink wax tusk sculpture, the hole thing is super cool and definitely worth checking for your favourite singers.

I work long hours and spend a copious amount of time sitting on my behind (literally speaking), and though stressing comfort and ergonomic support is important, I certainly cannot get on board with a chair that emits Volatile Organic Compounds. Nor do I want to contribute to landfill waste. And of course I NEED to keep the office looking ever so chic, which is why the Think Chair is the official seat of ecofabulous (my company). But there is a new chair in town with a lower price tag, a more traditional look and a serious certification - the Amia seat (also from Steelcase). This throne has garnered itself Gold Cradle to Cradle Certification for environmental performance through MBDC. Every aspect of the Amia's life - from conception to inception to execution - has been assessed to ensure this product (or its material components at least) can lead many, many lives to come. 

I'm loving photographer Matt Albiani's beach house and NYC pad in the new issue. (Note to domino: 600 square feet is NOT 'tiny' by West Village standards!)  It's as if the man lives in Freemans, hopefully minus the hour and a half wait to sit down.  Scale is key: follow the chunky sofa to the simple eating-height coffee table down to the curvy slipper chair and art (is that a boogie board I spy?) propped on the floor in the corner.  Yet what I'm really digging is his mom's trippy needlepoint pillow, the only color in the room.  Jonathan Adler has brought these back in a big way but his "granny chic" is still pretty mod.  I prefer unreconstructed old lady:


$95 for the King of Spades at top, $120 for the Porgy Fishy (love these colors!!), both from  The Well Appointed House ... which I found thanks to the mag.

It is not that often that you find pretty garden furniture, this just came through to me from Joe Nye NY, one of my favourite spots to go shopping. He is representing QDG in NY, they produce this metal furniture that is then powder coated in glorious is colours. The style is quite deco and depending on the colour scheme you go for it can either look very Elsie de Wolfe or tres moderne. look at the options on line or go over and see Joe's showroom at Claremont, 1059 Third Avenue

Pearl River is so insanely good.  Amanda came back from lunch today with the cutest red canvas waste basket with stitched brown leather (pleather?) top for NINE DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS! Sadly I can't find it on their site, but I did source the adorable red toy robot Becky snagged last weekend.  Forget the rugrats -- I want this for my bookcase:

New toys just don't have this level of detail (and aren't as cute).  I've seen similar vintage tin trinkets at specialty stores for hundreds of bucks, while this bad boy is $16.50. And he's RED!

I just uncovered the best resource for rustic, farm fresh furniture and cabinetry in Massachusetts. Staples Cabinet Makers takes old tables, ice chests, doors and just about anything that can be repurposed into cottage-style furniture. I think the kitchen islands are particularly compelling. For something that fits into any house, I like these hand-turned bowls from wood that comes out of old barns, mills and houses (that would otherwise have become landfill). The vessels are finished with Velvit Oil - a soy-based product - achieving a smooth, satiny surface. Staples "wedding bowls" cracks and crevices are highlighted to emphasize the uniqueness of the individual piece. Just don't try to use this as a cereal bowl. These gorgeous works of art call for still life only. 

Hi Everyone....It's Nathan Turner, and I am working on the new show Alter Eco (on Discovery's new network Planet Green). It's Adrian Grenier's show that follows the green-ification of a house in LA. I will be working on the interiors which is exciting, as it is my first venture into all green decorating. So hopefully you can learn as much as I am about eco-friendly design. I was happy to learn that I was pretty green without even knowing it having an antique shop. Number one rule...re-use!!

My favorite furniture source so far has been Cisco Brothers. I like their Bruno sofa....I think I am going to do a tailored slip cover with organic linen.

When I was homesick for the Gulf Coast in college I had a Tiki Hut decorating moment. Bamboo, umbrellas, beaded room dividers. Makes me cringe now.  But I've come around to bamboo ... if it's chic enough for the old ladies at the Han Horse, it's chic enough for me.  Like these speckled bamboo nesting tables from Ballard Designs:

(I wish someone would challenge me to decorate an entire [stylish] apartment using only Ballard Designs.  I swear it could be done!!)  I think it's about the speckle and the real bamboo.  Stylized fake bamboo furniture is looking wrong to me now.  I see these on one side of a giant slipcovered sofa with a neoclassical table on the other side.  Ix-nay on the glass tops though!!

This must be my fourth or fifth post on decorative storage boxes, but show me something prettier and more useful than these crisp Bento Boxes:
A '73 Rolls Royce Corniche convertible, you say?  Well I meant for less than 22 bucks, as that's the price on an 8" x 8" x 6" square lidded box with valet tray.  The document-size beauty is only $20.  Imagine filing ConEd bills in a navy lacquer box! I saw these in the catalog and thought of Zach, the Pip of Miles Redd LLC, who has nautical flair to spare and is currently varnishing his very own sailboat. He's also desperate for a mention in this blog, begging shamelessly at my desk.  HAPPY NOW ZACH?!?