Here on my blog I love to highlight furniture designed around cats. So when I saw the piece above, I had to share it. I mean ostensibly it is for humans, but the way it is designed, it’s really for cats, although humans can share it. If that’s not the best definition of what it can be like to live with a cat, I don’t know what could be better.
Found here at Adafruit.
It looks like minimalism has had it’s time and now it’s time for maximalism to take over. At least that’s the sense I get, reading this:More Is More: The End of Minimalism | The Walrus
My thoughts are this:
For more on maximalism, here’s some other pieces I wrote. I also wrote more on minimalism too. 🙂
(Image via vinterior.co …I love it)
Ok, that’s not going to happen. I suspect most audio-visual equipment is going to look more like computers and less like furniture for the foreseeable future. Most, but not all. Take the bluetooth speaker above. Yep, that’s a bluetooth speaker! The tech is modern, but the enclosure is a throwback to midcentury modern. I love it.
For more on it, see: Hifi Case Aura 2 Speaker | Uncrate
And that thought is this: no matter how much of this piece of furniture is devoted to your cat, the only place your cat will want to go is where you are sitting!
I honestly think this furniture is insane, but I am sure for some cat lovers, it is a dream come true. To each their own.
For more on this piece of fantasy furniture, go here: This furniture design is a functional piece for you and a playful landscape for your cat! | Yanko Design
It looks like Gap is expanding into home decor like other companies like Zara and HMV. As Apartment Therapy explains:
Gap Home is a new brand of over 400 home essentials including bedding and bath, kitchenware, and general home decor like curtains, pillows, and bathroom necessities, with prices starting under $16. The brand plans to release seasonal and special lines throughout the year, so get ready to add a bunch of goodies to your holiday decor collection.
For more on it, see Apartment Therapy.
For fans of beautiful bookcases, beautiful desks, or both, check out these two from Yanko Design:
Stunning. I wish I had both.
For fans of minimalism and cats comes this minimalist cat tower. I mean, it looks great. The tower, I mean. Of course the cat looks great. 🙂
I thought this was great: The Decorating Lessons I’ve Learned From Moving 12 Times in 12 Years
I’ve made many of these mistakes the last time I moved (e.g. waiting too long to decorate). I’ll review this list the next time I am getting ready to move.
If you are planning to move, you owe it to yourself to read that piece.
Good luck with your move!
(Photo by Michal Balog on Unsplash)
I’m not sure what the desk or workstation of the near future might look like, but these two articles are providing some ideas:
With the pandemic still ongoing, the thought of going back in the office seems remote, but when we do, I expect things are going to start to look different. They might even look like these designs.
I love small spaces, but a lot of mainstream furniture are not suited for it. That’s why I was glad to see this piece: Tiny home-friendly foldable furniture designs that are the modern space-saving solution we need! | Yanko Design
There’s some brilliantly designed furniture for small spaces, including the desk above. Click on over to Yanko Design and take a look.
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Tagged decor, design, smallspaces, yankodesign
While generally I don’t like promoting devices on Kickstarter, I make an exception for the beauty above. As Yanko Design says, this steampunk radio, speaker and clock comes with a display made from real nixie tubes!.Â
It’s very cool. Over at Yanko Design they have lots of beautiful pictures of it, plus links to the Kickstarter.
Love it.
I love these playful modular cabinets that put a quirky spin on storage by using geometric shelves found at Yanko Design. You can mix and match the pieces to design the best storage for your room. And if you get tired of it, you just have to reposition things and you have a whole new look. Fantastic.
Terrazzo is hot. (Says the guy who doesn’t really know what is hot anymore. :)) Once limited to floors, now you can see it on everything from dresses to basketballs. If you love it, you are in luck; this piece highlights one company you can use to get a vinyl version for your floors. I love it.
Now not everyone is a fan. The author of this piece, for instance: Will the Millennial Aesthetic Ever End?. But for everyone else, you now have many ways to bring it into your life. Time to jazz up your flooring.
Let’s face it: many coffee tables are boring. For a view of some that are anything but, you want to go to this link.
Take the one above, where you can have a coffee AND grow a garden.
For something completely different, there is this steampunk version:
There are also simpler but unique ones as well.
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Tagged coffeettable, decor, design, furniture, home, table, yankodesign
I have to say, having seen the rooms people work out of, you people really need some wall hangings. Seriously, those walls are dull! 🙂
Things are not hopeless, though. You can have nice and inexpensive things to freshen up those walls if you go here:
27 Inexpensive Posters You’ll Actually Want To Hang On Your Wall
There’s something there to appeal to everyone. For example, I like this:
It doesn’t work, but it is far classier than the button Trump had on his desk the resulted in a diet Coke for him whenever someone pressed it.
If you have ever shopped for a sofa, you can quickly start thinking that there is not much to choose from. If you think that, I want you to check out this: Sofa designs so good, they’re impossible to resist: Part 3 | Yanko Design.
For example, you have this burgundy beauty here:
As well as some that aren’t quite as out there, like this:
You might never want to approach any of them, let alone buy one, but after you are done looking at them, you will have to admit there is more than one way to design a sofa.
One way to get some relief — short of moving — is to rearrange your space to make it seem newer and different. If you are stuck for ideas, you might be able to steal some from here:Â The Best Studio Apartment Layouts We Saw in 2020 | Apartment Therapy. Make a note of the ideas you like. Maybe get some paper and pencil and start drawing new layouts. Soon you will be on your way to freshening up your place.
If you treat it like a game, it might actually be fun to redo your space. Maybe throw out some old piece or wall hanging and get something new too while you are at it.. Paint an accent wall, even. With all this rearranging and redecorating you just might find your old place seems fresh and new again. And that will make the pandemic bearable over the next while.
(Photo by Alexandra Gorn on Unsplash)
Here are two links you need if your book shelves need arranging or inspiration:
(I love the above photo by L’odyssée Belle on Unsplash. I wish our city had something like that.)
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Posted in decor
Tagged apartmenttherapy, book, Books, bookshelf, bookshelves, decor
Then you want to go to this page and check out the magical bookshelves there (like the one above). This lover of books and design absolutely drooled over them (metaphorically speaking).
(I don’t know how comfortable or useful that chair is above, but I love the idea of it.)
Hey, if you are really really really missing your office cubicle (why?) and you want to recreate that at home (why??), you can, with this:
It’s called the Hug desk, and you can read about it, here.
Please try and make a nice work place in your home instead. I wrote about home offices to die for, here. These are much better to recreate, imho.
Sadly, you cannot buy this modular dog bed that industrial designer Hyemin Kim created called the MUF as a project for his studies. But if you go to this link, you can see more of his approach to making his dog bed that can appeal to all types of dogs. You might be able to take some of his ideas and apply them to your own dog bed. Your dog will thank you for it, because of course, they are a good dog. 🙂
Ok, ok, maybe that is a bit ambitious. But as the winter settles in, you might want a bit of summer in your home. If just to help you get through the days when it seems like winter will never end and summer will never come. (Collapse face first on the bed after you say that. :))
If you like that idea, read this: The Plant That’ll Make it Feel Like Summer in Your Home All Year Long.Â
Then go get one and get started on making your own orangery.
Need more encouragement: read this from Bon Appetit.
P.S. if you are asking, “what the heck is an orangery”, then go here:Â Orangery – Wikipedia. It’s a fascinating idea and history.
Image above of the Belvedere Orangery in Vienna, via Wikipedia.
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Tagged conservatories, crtus, decor, gardens, home, ideas, orangeries
Nothing radical decor-wise, but here are some good ideas from IKEA. For example, they’ve packaged up some of their products to make improving your home easier: IKEA Launched Decor Kits That Let You Mix Up Your Style Easily
They have these speakers (seen above) that I would quickly get if I didn’t have a Sonos speaker already. It combines the quality of Sonos with the affordability of IKEA: SYMFONISK WiFi bookshelf speaker – black – IKEA.
Speaking of affordability, here’s a reminder that IKEA is always stocked with affordable items: Under $10 – Affordable Furniture and Gifts – IKEA
Finally, it is easy to criticize rooms with too much IKEA furniture in it. Such rooms tend to look like a showroom rather than your room. However, for people who have a hard time making good choices about their decor, stealing ideas from IKEA makes a lot of sense. To see what I mean, check this article out: IKEA Catalog 2021 Neutral Calming Rooms | Apartment Therapy
Is shown, here.
Captivating.
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Assuming these will still be around post pandemic, here’s 12 beautiful hotels to consider staying at in New York, starting with the TWA hotel which has been wonderfully remade. I have seen a number of New Yorkers staying there and posting pictures on social media because….why not. While the other hotels don’t have the benefit of being put in a building designed by Eero Saarinen, they are still great. You can see them all here.
Coziness is in the eye (body?) of the beholder. For example, I find the above image cozy. Other people might find the picture below cozy.
Regardless of which one you prefer, I think having a cozy corner in your home is essential, especially as the cooler weather starts.
If you don’t have one or need inspiration, here’s 12 cozy corners from Cup of Jo you can check out and steal ideas from. A nice couch helps. So do blankets and pillows. Sleeping dogs and cats are nice. As are books and fireplaces. But don’t let me tell you how to be cozy: I think you should get there however you think best. 🙂
(Images from links to that blog post on Cup of Jo).
I thought both of these pieces were interesting. First this one, on the home of artist Sue Webster (shown below)
and then this piece on drywall furniture: Drywall? Dry Furniture Takes On the Issue of Affordable Furniture (shown below)
Not sure I’ll ever warm up to furniture made of drywall or homes with that much concrete, but it’s worthwhile considering them and what it would be like.
Some of it reminds me of the houses and furniture that Frank Gehry used to build. Perhaps we will all live in such houses in the future.
I won’t be going anywhere any time soon, but if I could, I might go and stay at this boutique hotel in Paris, just to stay in that bed.
The hotel, in the Marais district of Paris, is a stunner. You can find out more about it, here, or by visiting their website, here.
Once the pandemic is over, I think there will be an orgy of travel. And what better place to stay than a place called Sinner? 🙂
P.S. This suite is nice, too.
If you love maximalism but worry that you will get stuck looking more like a hoarder than a design pro, you need some rules to follow. Apartment Therapy has six rules your to follow, and you can find them, here.
I found the above image at vinterior.co which has gorgeous stuff. Check them out.
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Tagged apartmenttherapy, decor, design, maximalism
This beautiful coffee machine isn’t a product you can buy, but I wish I could. It’s beautiful. For more on this design product, including more photos, check out Stylish MOON Coffee Machine Design.
One is analog and one is digital.
The analog one is to declutter the space you are using to work from home. Apartment Therapy has a plan to not only declutter it but to make it better. (I find it easier to declutter if you can image the space looking good at the end).
The second decluttering plan is for your phone. Let’s face it, you have tons of digital clutter. Here’s another Apartment Therapy plan to tackle that.
If you are about to buy a sofa, it is tempting to get something colourful and bold. I recommend you consider getting a neutral coloured sofa and let the other parts of your room do the colourful and bold parts. A solid gray sofa can provide a great anchor for the rest of the room. To see what I mean, check out these sofas. None of them are dull, but all of them work really well in the rooms they are in.
I also like gray because unlike some other neutral colours, it doesn’t show wear and tear as much.Â
It may be fun to get a bright coloured or black sofa, at first. In the long run, gray is the best choice.
Ok, fine, you weren’t afraid to ask. Still! If you want a mindblowing list of great ideas to arrange flowers, look no further than here: The Best Flower-Arranging Tricks & Tutorials | Apartment Therapy.
Then take those new ideas and go out and buy a big bunch of flowers and arrange them all nice and fancy. You deserve it.
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August 23, 2020 in decor, new!
Tagged advice, apartmenttherapy, decor, flowers
Simply put, I love rooms like this. The books! The colour! The nik naks! 🙂
Love it. If you do too, check out where I found this photo: 19 vibrant rooms that don’t shy away from color and pattern.
Many of them are stunning and luxurious, and others are simple and low key, like this:
I’d be happy to hang out and live in any of these 19 rooms.
Comments Off on On why I will likely never be a minimalist
August 8, 2020 in decor, new!
I am oddly fascinated by minimalism. It appeals to me, though I could never adopt it. Visually I like the look of minimalist places (like the one pictured above, from this piece, Goodbye things, hello minimalism: can living with less make you happier? | Books | The Guardian). But then I know I am terrible and I would be hanging pictures and adding furniture in no time.
I suspect the simplicity of it appeals to me too. So much less to manage. But then I would get bored of wearing the same clothes, like this:
Likewise, a kitchen with this many things in a drawer seems great. No clutter, no struggling to find things, or manage things
But then I think that a kitchen is a workshop and like any good workshop, you need supplies and tools to be effective.
So when I read pieces like this, about Japanese hardcore minimalist, it lures me in to thinking about it for awhile. Then that dream fades.
I am not as anti-minimalist as the author of this piece. But I think they raise some excellent points. Then again I have read the book Goodbye Things and thought it worthwhile.
I suspect that my odd fascinating with minimalism will live on for some time.
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August 6, 2020 in decor, new!
Tagged decor, Japan, minimalism, nytimes
If you want to soothe your eyes and spirit with some calm today, check out this canal house in Amsterdam:
Design Milk has a feature on this place and every image is a sight for sore eyes. To see what I mean, take yourself to this page.
You’ll be glad you did.
You might reply, sure Bernie, that’s fine and I agree, but rugs are expensive. I can’t argue that: rugs can be expensive. But there’s also good cheap rugs and if you don’t believe me, read this: Cheap Thrills: Vintage-Style Rugs Under $100 | Apartment Therapy
Now, that’s an older piece. Some of those rugs may not be there. But it’s worth reading just to get the names of websites that have low cost rugs. Check them out; you’re sure to find one you like.
If you want to change your room, you can change your furniture and you can paint your walls. But that’s can end up being a lot time and money. A cheap rug could just be the thing to freshen up your room.
P.S. Not all the rugs are colorful, but I like colorful rugs so I chose that image. Also that rug has pink and pink in a rug tends to go with many room colours.
P.S.S. IKEA is also a source of inexpensive rugs. And their black and white Stockholm rugs is famous for a good reason while being low cost.
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August 2, 2020 in decor, new!
Tagged apartmenttherapy, decor, home, Ikea, rugs
You need to read this piece: The Best Neutral Paint Colours That Aren’t White.
Most of them are variations of gray, which is…good. You still get some colour in your room, but the overall effect is still neutral. (For example, this room in Benjamin Moore’s Revere Pewter).
The article gives a wide range of colours (yes, gray is a colour). You should be able to find something to take the white off your walls.
Why? Because it makes any room look better! This piece shows how, be it your bathroom, your bedroom or really any other room:Â 
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July 19, 2020 in decor, new!
Tagged apartmenttherapy, decor, flowers
Last week I wrote about white paint. Now for something completely different: bright colours! This piece is a great guide for how to use colour in your home, which is especially good for people shy about using bolder colours: Complementary Colors & How to Decorate With Them | Apartment Therapy
In a nutshell: “Complementary colors, when used together in color schemes, are especially dynamic and pleasing to the eye.” So find your favorite colour, find its complement on the colour wheel, and use that as your guide.
My small tip: if you love a certain colour (e.g. orange), then look to use the complementary colour in the background (e.g. blue sofa, blue wall colour). Then you can fill the foreground with objects in your favourite colour.
Another tip: use artworks containing both colours. Obviously you should love the art first, but if you have many pieces you can hang or display, aim to use those that fit in with the overall colour scheme of the room. (See the image above for examples of this. It’s a good example of how blue and orange go together.)
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July 18, 2020 in decor, new!
Tagged apartmenttherapy, color, colour, decor, painting
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