I don't blame you for being bored. I'm bored. But look at these cute monkies my friends and I had carved in Tanzania. Can you guess which one I was supposed to be?

I am ready to buy a rug this week. Especially if I can touch and feel it before I buy it. Where oh where can I  see the Thomas Paul one in person? Do people seriously shop for furniture on the internet?

Here are finalists:

cpmanda suggested this one from CB2 (about $300):

this is the plum feathered rug from Thomas Paul and Design Public: (about $600)

Pottery Barn Diamond Loop Jute rug, which incidentally is what Chloe Warner has in her place (about $200):

I love bugs. I also love old science books--I use them in my artwork a lot. So I was quite pleased to receive as a birthday gift (two months late!), this water strider vase by Laura Zindel. My picture really doesn't do it justice, so be sure to go look at Laura's site. Smart girl looks like she lives in Vermont, but I think her work is sold at ABC Home and Carpet in New York.

Guess what I found in the trash on Saturday? A bar cart! There it sat on the sidewalk in the rain, waiting for me to rescue it. I wheeled it all the way home, took the wood-paneling-painted-gold bottom directly to the glazer next to my house, and ordered a piece of glass for the bottom.

The girl who had a fit about how ugly my liquor bottles looked on top of the refrigerator last year ought to be relieved.

Thank goodness for David's Photoshop skills. He's such a nice boy. I was going to wait until Monday to show you this because I, um, run out of things to say and I like to keep you all on tenterhooks. But lookie:

Still feather?

I have out of town guests coming this weekend and no duvet cover. The one you all made fun of a few months ago bit the dust. It's a little late to order from an online merchant, but look at this pretty Amenity Drift duvet cover on sale at Design Public.

Reminds me of my parents' suburban lawn mid-summer...

The Germinatrix can have the hanging lamp as long as I can have one of these rugs. Yum. Seriously, I think Design Public's newsletter just made me the happiest girl on Earth because I like these Thomas Paul rugs and I can afford them if I put them on a credit card.

First there's this damask that I like way more than the one from Ballard. It comes in blue or brown.

Here's a closeup:

Then there's this feather one!!!! But sadly it just comes in plum.

And this flocked thing.

So, now, I invite you to rain on my parade. Is the quality bad? Do they just not match? Are they boring? Would you prefer to hear about my love life?

Obviously I've had very little to say lately about my house. Sorry. I've been feeling totally guilty about it too because I spent a huge chunk of change on new clothes the other day.

In any event, today I was poking around Shelterrific where I saw another one of Leah's eBay finds that I love--a vintage chandelier. The same seller is selling the one above. Maybe I forget about the schoolhouse lights, which I can't seem to make work because I only need the globes and not the whole apparatus, and go for something with dramatic effect like this. Can you see it in the little hallway with the Moorish doorways?

Kate F is a dedicated reader. She's been renovating her place and blogging about cooking for a while now and I'm telling you, I salivate when I look at her blog. Luckily I'm taking a cooking class tonight so I can stop thinking about food.

David Photoshopped the Emma Gardner rug into my bedroom What do you think?

Not to be foul-mouthed, but these things really look like shit. So when domino's web editor Cathy Halley asked if I would wash my clothes with "Maggie's Soap Nuts" I thought she was playing an off-color joke. Yet I found myself toting the box of them back to my apartment. In my building's laundry room I examined the brown shriveled gumball-size seeds, which instilled little confidence that they could clean anything. (Thankfully my Tide-using neighbors were doing something else that evening.) But when I took a sniff, they had a delicate herbal scent. Intrigued, I followed the directions, and placed two inside the cotton drawstring bag provided and then threw it into the washer. While my clothes were being cleaned (or
destroyed, for at that point it was still a toss-up) I read the brochure inside. Turns out, the Chinese soapberry tree produces these seeds, which have been used by Southeast Asians for cleaning clothes for centuries. Conventional detergents are made from chemicals, dyes, and fats while "Maggie's Soap Nuts," grown in the jungles of Indonesia, are 100% natural and help to support the country's economy. Thirty minutes later I opened the washer lid and my clothes were spotless and freshly fragranced. One box
provides enough for 36-50 loads, plus there's a free gift inside (it's a surprise). All I can say is, bye-bye, Tide!

Look at me and my mom. From my short waist to my skinny legs, I'm a mini-her. Maybe I should get a striped couch too.

Say, you seen this?

What a blog. What a city (Portland, Oregon I love you). What a gorgeous place to put your bum.

Found these little snuggly hanging seats designed by Fletcher and Myburgh on Housemartin.

This one is called MyPod. It don't mean a thing if it ain't go that swing.

Hi there-
People have been fretting when they don't see their contest submission photo in our slide show. Just wanted to point out that those are just a sample of the entries. Let your fretting friends know!

I wish I were Canadian and that my cyber-nickname were Poppy Talk. I'm totally dragging this morning week, but I just took a look at Poppy Talk again and feel all happy. I mean, she has a sectioned called The Decayed. Here she shows some thriftstore trays that Canadian Living magazine recommended hanging on the wall. I think that's their photo so I'm linking to them and hoping they don't get mad...

How cute is this? A reader sent it in. Makes me want to subscribe to the magazine so I can get my brown and blue domino bag and put Emma in it...

Gosh I wish I had a sidekick right now. I really want someone else to make a few decisions, dish out some dough and get the ball rolling on my apartment. Remember my revised original to do list? I started to make a dent in it and then I totally, totally lost focus. What happened? How does one stay focused on decorating and writing? Makes me think of Casapinka. I miss Pink.

At the most recent video shoot, I saw these jute rugs from Pottery Barn that might be interesting in the bedroom. Too rustic? Jute right? Do I need more pattern?

To quote the Notorious B.I.G. L.L. Cool J., "I don't think so."

Though the sun was lovely and the conference I went to was very inspiring in a "there are a bunch of things we can do for the website" way. Not so much inspiration for my home. But that's just because I didn't shop much. Instead, I lay in a hammock looking up at this tree and went to panels with the founder of Flickr and this amazing new search engine social bookmarking site: Stumbled Upon.

Search engine is probably apparently a misnomer, but in any event, it's a really cool place to discover websites you, well, stumble upon. Check it out and submit your favorite sites. Like this one!

Well, the brief and terrible reign of the Brooklyn Bookworm is about to end, but not before I do a little Scrappy-style daydreaming.  Lately she's been posting on how she'd be decorating her apartment if money were no object (or if she comes home from California with an Internet-billionare husband -- wait, do they still make those?). 

Anyway, I think she should stop worrying about her 9,000 table lamps and which should go where in the living room and go for these Bocci pendants. They have that mid-century-ish shape, but their modern, icy look might bring some levity to the room. Right? Old meets new? Eh?

Okay, and you know how she collects bird houses?  Well, don't you think she'd like these mod, minimalist bird houses design*sponge featured a little while back?

But at heart, Scrappy's into vintage finds.  Which is why I'm totally going to get her this vintage-inspired sofa.  (Um, does Louis XVI count as "vintage"?) AND we'll have someone cast a magical spell to keep her cats off of it. It is such a bummer when the cats scratch your $15,000 sofa.

Oh, and in case she doesn't go for my stenciling idea, I found a great tree rug (though maybe it wouldn't work with her color scheme) at Better Living Through Design.

Man, this is actually really hard.  I mean, this stuff, if it really were all in the same space, could be a brilliant frisson of old and new.  Or it could be an unholy mess.  Hard for me to say without actually seeing it all together.  That must be why I'm not a decorator.  Maybe it's best to turn it over to the pros.  I loved Barrie Benson's down-to-earth yet totally stylish rooms we featured here. I also love how she admits to copping ideas from old-fashioned Southern homes and even other decorators -- I mean, what are we all doing reading design blogs if not looking for ideas to steal inspire us? So anyway, maybe she can take over (in this fantasy dreamland of ours)?!

Hello, it's your trusty Scrappy-substitute Brooklyn Bookworm here.  You know, I was looking at the site today and suddenly realized how remiss I have been.  To mention artwork for the home, and to fail to plug our own great sources for affordable indie art! I should be ashamed of myself! So in case your friends are too busy, say, being gainfully employed or something to create lots of beautiful art to give you, you can always fake it by supporting the fantastic artists Holly Becker featured in our "Best of Etsy" slide shows.  Most recently, she's picked out some of the best nature-inspired art she's found at Etsy. Look:

Beautiful, non? Don't you want to buy these for me and Scrappy for our birthdays?  I thought you might.  And of course, don't forget about the Painting-a-day bloggers. Sickeningly productive painters selling a new work every day.  Like so:

And then there is this lady, Peggy Shearn. 

Wouldn't one of these tiny, breezy paintings of everyday objects make a wonderful gift? I also love small paintings propped in bookshelves or adorning unexpected places like halls and doorways. Check out her other work at her blog, Art Off the Grid.  She's a wonderfully talented artist.  And I'm not just saying that because she's my mom.  Honest.

Hi there, Brooklyn Bookworm here filling in for Scrappy Girl, and guess what?  I just had the best idea.   In fact, I sort of think we should break in to Scrappy's apartment and do this while she's gone.

So, she's been looking for a bedroom rug, as readers of this blog are well aware. And of course, she's been musing over tree murals for about, oh, since this blog started.

Well, I was in my little writing room the other day, looking at the floor which looooong ago was painted pale pink with this pretty, delicate blue and white pattern stenciled on it.  At this point the paint is, shall we say, worn.  But I love the charming, antique look of the stenciling, and was thinking I really should repaint it. Then I thought, "Scrappy!!"

She doesn't need a rug OR a tree mural -- she needs a floor stencil!

And she can use this how-to.

What do you think? Should I break in and do it while she's gone?

Finding the right artwork to hang on your walls, as Scrappy Girl well knows, can make all the difference. I was just thinking the other day that my husband and I are lucky to have so many artist friends who provide us with pretty things for our home. So, while the unsuspecting Scrappy is away, I figured I'd co-opt this space for some cross-web shout-outs! Maybe you all can do a little art-shopping yourselves.

We bought this tiny bird painting by my brilliant pal Susie Ghahremani a few months ago when she had her show at Giant Robot. Isn't it so cute? I love Susie's stuff, and I have ever since we were in the same art classes in high school. What up, Mr. Montgomery!

A wedding present from my husband's long-time friends, multi-talented Omaha-based artists Bill and Renee Hoover.  They are also musicians. Also, about the most charming people you could ever meet.

This is our kitchen wall, above the table. From left to right: the water color's by Chicago artist Matthew Tetzloff; the Jell-o mold painting is by  graphic designer and all-around awesome person Jenny Bell; and the crooked little daffodils were painted in oils by me.  Don't these look like they were made to go together? Sorry the picture's so small.

Another wedding present. Seriously, getting married's a great way to cash in.  Anyway, this "love" pillow was made by our genius poet friend, Ben Gocker.

I really never realized what a crappy picture-taker I am until now.  It's really dark in this middle room, which is why it's so grainy.  The cropping I have no excuse for.  But the painting there above the records is called "Portrait with Duck Mask."  The guy's t-shirt says, "My parents went to the Corn Palace and all I got was this t-shirt (also I got a duck mask)."  I think it is witty and irresistible.  It's by the ever-prolific Jarrett Mitchell, who, last I heard, was in Kentucky making art about horse racing.

And finally, some work our dog, Quimby the Mouse. Please observe: the devoured toy, screwdriver, bone, and, um, eyeglasses. Those eyeglasses were a bummer, but hey, when the muse hits you, you can't really argue. Sorry, she works on commission only.

Hello there internets, it's the Brooklyn Bookworm again, filling in for Scrappy as she picks up surfer boys works hard in California this week.

One of the things I love about this blog is how Scrappy acknowledges the psychology of decorating. People are always apologizing for their homes (how many times have you heard "Oh, come on in, but it's such a mess"?).  The way you furnish your home and the stories behind the objects and decor say so much about you. Okay, not to get too heady here, but I know I spend a lot of time, as you might, drooling over other people's beautiful houses and wondering how they do it.  And it's good to take a minute to appreciate the things about my humble little Brooklyn apartment that make me happy, even if they're nothing fancy.  (Ahem.  Remember my bathroom?)  On other words, "Oh come on in, but it's such a mess!"

A nook for reading. Pictured here is a teensy fraction of my redonkulous amount of books.  Recognize those Ikea Billy bookshelves?  I know, everyone has them. The chair and ottoman were each fortuitous finds--stoop sale and Park Slope flea market, respectively. The silk pillow is, rather unorginally, from Crate & Barrel.  I love the pattern on the fabric. To the right of the chair is a painting by our friend Doug, and a box my artist mom made.  And a coffee cup.  That's called "set dressing."

When we first moved in, this kitchen was a vision in eye-ball-rattling fluorescent yellow. I still love this jadeite-ish color we painted it. The vintage table was a thrift store find, and the weird roaster thing we picked up at a Salvation Army in Des Moines, Iowa! We thought it looked like a lovable robot from the 1950s, so we brought it home to use as storage for pots and pans.  That cutting board was a wedding present and is so gorgeous and buttery-smooth I'm still afraid to use it. Just barely visible is the Hall of Champions, where we've hung an eclectic group of paintings of boxers, baseball players, super-heroes, and CEOs that we accidentally collected.

My writing desk, a white metal thingy  found on a street corner when I was a grad student (and had been looking for a desk!).  Pretty and shiny, but yikes, is that metal cold when I'm writing of a wintry 5:00 o'clock in the morning. I wrote my first book here, in the mornings before work. I can't have anything else on it but these magical items: my laptop (obvs), Marcel Dzama's friendly and whimsical Saddest Ghost Lamp, and my globe of sand from White Sands, NM.   I really do believe this desk is magic.

Our dog Quimby the Mouse just wanted to help model another prized possession, the gorgeous quilt my friend Stacia made us for a wedding present.  Isn't it pretty? Can you believe I let the dog chew on her disgusting toys upon such loveliness?

It will likely come as no surprise that one my favorite homes ever to be featured in domino was the arty, vintage-filled, softly pretty apartment of Blonde Redhead's Amedeo Pace and Kazu Makino (pictured below). I love when rooms look like they'd sound like Blonde Redhead and smell like old books. There's a great one coming up in the November issue -- look out for it!  Key word: Bloomsbury.

In conclusion, if decorating is autobiographical, I guess my apartment says about me, "I'm cheap. Er, I mean, low-key. And I like books, and things that are homemade." And maybe also, "I'm not fastidious about dog hair."  But then, that's why the pictures are all so small. Heh.   

Hello! Scrappy Girl's trusty coworker Amy here, otherwise known as the Brooklyn Bookworm.  It was all of Scrappy's amazing progress on her apartment that inspired to me to stop complaining about my sad little bathroom and to actually do something, so in her absence, I thought I'd share this heart-warming tale of the power of paint.

My husband and I like to describe the 100+ year-old Brooklyn brownstone we live in as "bohemian" or perhaps even "shabby chic." And let's just say that the bathroom is a total NYC-apartment sort of affair.  No, the shower's not in the kitchen, but the toilette does include plumbing pipes the size of drinking straws and a window overlooking a mysterious air-shaft-y shoot that seems designed for the disposing of dead bodies.  The walls were mildewing and the ceiling had never actually been painted after a semi-recent repair job. Seriously, it was so gross I can't even believe I would publicly share a photo of it. If the style council ever got a load of this, they'd probably have me institutionalized.  Anyway, here is a teensy detail.

I'd been threatening to do something about this for a while, but then a few weekends ago something weird happened--I actually tackled the dreaded Bathroom Project.   The first step was to scrub down the tub and entire floor (all, like, 4 square feet) with the most toxic, nostril-curdling bleach they'll sell to civilians. Next came spackling, plastering, and painting.  I had to find a color that would work with the blah brown tiles (believe me, if we weren't renters I'd replace that crap, toot sweet), and I'm really pleased with the pale robin's egg shade paint I hastily pointed to in the midst of a fluorescent-light-induced panic attack at Lowe's.  The painting process involved bizarre contortions necessitated by the extra-long ceiling roller in an extra-tiny room, but was overall intensely satisfying. Plus, peeling painter's tape off and then going over all the edges with an itty-bitty brush really appealed to my OCD tendencies. 

A milk glass knob from eBay gives the plain-Jane medicine cabinet a little personality, and, who knew, a couple pretty containers on top of the cabinet are way more attractive than dusty band-aid boxes! I squinted at the poly/dog-hair blend bath mat for a second before giving up and ordering a new bath mat and a couple of dark blue towels from Target.  And now, a few days and less than a hundred bucks later (my landlord paid for the paint--hey, never hurts to ask), my bathroom actually feels like a place that might make me cleaner.  Take that, soothing bathrooms slide show!

(It's a light blue, I swear. The picture's not great.)

The damage: