Would you stay here?

The world's first "sand hotel" is now officially open! Located on Weymouth Beach in England, this hotel has only two rooms complete with tons and tons of sand. Mark Anderson created this beachfront hotel- you can stay here for a whopping $21 a night!

I'm not too much of a travel snob, but I do say that this bed looks very uncomfortable and I'm not sure how I would feel about waking up with a pile of sand in my hair.

It would be interesting to see if people actually stay here or if it's just a tourist attraction!

Positively Exceptional

Positive Space is a showroom here in Dallas with stylish, unique, eye catching furniture that definitely got our attention! Having only been open seven months, Positive Space is already making waves on the design front (they've been featured on the cover of F!D Luxe magazine and in various retail stores)

Some of the design lines they sell are SixInch, Extremis, Emeco, Tidelli, pegRAIL, Shine, and David Roos wallpaper...


We love these dramatic Six Inch chairs- suitable for indoors OR outdoors. Also perfect for an impressive window display or a photo shoot! Customize these pieces by choosing any color from the Pantone or RAL color charts.

I must say that one of the added "plus's" of Positive Space is that they are the only distributor of Six Inch in the US....and they are right down the street from me!

Be sure to visit the Positive Space showroom at 1729 Irving Blvd. #101 on your next visit to

D town...you won't be disappointed!

Even celebs like to read!

Which celeb library is this?

I'll give you a hint...it's her California home- books on her shelves include first edition biographies of Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent, Collected Poems by Robert Frost, Edith Wharton's the Age of Innocence, and The Deep End of the Ocean.

Apparently she even likes greek key too! (judging from her fireplace)

Smart cookie!

Typography Trend

Typography seems to be the new trend...

Four printed words on Jessica's t shirt caused quite a stir and sent a nice little message to Carrie Underwood...don't you just love typography in fashion!

Though some messages....aren't so true

and others won't stop complaining.....

All we have to say is that we hope typography in Interiors isn't this dramatic!

We are proud to announce that the home is finally getting a voice of its own this fall....sending quirky messages, symbols, numbers, and just plain gibberish to its residents

This Graffiti pillow from CB2 bears a sweet message- also comes in a black "SAVE" print

I love this kitchen that was featured in Domino a while back...a simple #16 piece of art gives this kitchen a graphic punch

Can't really make out what this one is trying to say- but I do know it's from Maharam!

This photo came from Elle Decor- it's Nate Berkus' revamped apartment..(by the way, be sure to check out Carolina Eclectic's fabulous post on his home!) You can barely see it, but his art in the far corner repeats "God Bless America" over and over

Some more "number art" from a room that was published in Domino. Are those the resident's favorite numbers? Was he born in 1980? Is he 80 years old? Was that the score of his last tennis match? What's the significance of 80 I can't help but wonder!

Cute little magnets on sale at PB Teen. You can spell out whatever you like with these cuties- or even labeling what's in the storage bin with the magnets would help keep me organized, that's for sure!

Don't quote me on this, because you know how quickly my taste changes...but I don't think in my entire life I would ever spend $400 just to put the alphabet on my wall (from Z Gallerie). I think I've got the alphabet down by now! Hopefully it's meant for a kid's room- would be cute in there!

This graphic double hook from Urban Outfitters is a cute play on words- only $18

Another CB2 find- a poetry RUG! Can you believe it? Very unique abstract floor script- black and ivory- comes in two different sizes

And if you just want plain letters...both Anthropologie and Ballard Designs have great inexpensive letters you can buy individually and spell out your own words!


This new pillow at West Elm is called the Selvedge letter pillow- comes in two different

color ways

Or what if you just want a plain monogram? Classic and simple- identifying who lives in the home. I think monograms are timeless. Check out these adhesive ones from Pottery Barn

West elm Country Code pillow

And last but not least, yet another West Elm typography piece- they obviously are in the know! This Brooklyn art insert is my favorite from this bunch- $19- frame sold separately

What message will you put in your home this fall?

Price "less" Pieces

I love to mix high/low in my own home (but at the age of 26, there isn't too much room for the "high" if you know what I mean). I get so excited when I find something unexpected at a lower end store that looks pretty close to something three times its price that I have had my eye on for a while.

And if you are anything like me, you'll understand my need for bargain shopping- the pieces in my home are welcome to stay for about 6 months until I get sick of them and sell them off on Craigs List (and it's quite possible that if you have ever bought anything off Craig's List, I probably sold it to you) so needless to say, I don't like to spend a ton of money on home pieces that are "trendy".

Thought I'd share with you two of my recent bargains...

Exhibit "A"- this medium size Ballard Designs mirror is $199...it was the mirror I thought I wanted for over my bed...


As fate would have it one day, it brought me to Marshalls (the good Marshalls)- I'm sure all of you have one good Marshalls in your town/city...THE Marshalls- the nicer, newer one that you usually have more luck at.

I saw this tiny little mirror and I swear it looks exactly like the Ballard one but smaller so I bought it and found a perfect spot for it...and you want to know how much it set me back? A whopping $19.99! In my entire life I have never seen anything at Marshalls that looked that classy and trendy for $19.

Exhibit "B"- I love the Pottery Barn brass "architect's table lamp" for $149. I must admit, in addition to the style, I'm drawn to this lamp because of the name- with an architect's table lamp on my desk, I would now be "official". I could design great things under that lamp (so I thought)- purely because it was an "architect lamp". Then as fate would have it again...it brought me to Home Goods where I stop in from time to time (located in Irving)...it is TJ Maxx's "sister" (if you want to get technical)

I found this brass lamp very similar to the PB lamp....ok I still like the style of the PB lamp better but is there really that much of a difference? I didn't notice too much of a distinction, but my bank account did! A whole $110 worth a difference! (note: Home Goods lamp is a little more gold/cuter in person)

So this just goes to show you, that if you hold out, you just might have that "bargain story" to tell your friends and not to mention, $290 extra in your pocket for some new fall clothes!

MIA

Does anyone know where my beloved Brocade Home went? Their website has been out of commission for a while now...can anyone explain this unsolved mystery?

"Latte" Cowhide Rugs

{photo from House Beautiful} 
I'm totally loving the neutral version of the cowhide rug ingeniously called a "latte" cow hide rug here.  It makes a great substitute for the ever popular zebra rug.  {Domino, May 2008; photo by William Abranowicz} 

In Designer Stephen Shubel's San Francisco apartment, the neutral cow hide adds texture but still keeps the room light and calm.  
{photo from House Beautiful}

This photo as designed by Liz Woods for Southern Accents was love at first sight, I just want to transfer the whole design to our Guest Bedroom.  This particular rug is from Paige Albright Orientals. 

Sally Wheat's gorgeous bedroom was "scouted" by Joni (of Cote de Texas).  These rugs look awesome over sisal or seagrass carpet.  

The above two photos are rooms designed by a Material Girls favorite, Jan Showers (you have to look closely to see the rug in the bottom photo).  

So what are your thoughts?  Do you love these rugs as much as I do?

Black walls- a do or a don't?

I think dark walls are gorgeous....as we've discussed before in our post, "Dark and Daring". But what are your thoughts on black painted walls? Would you ever do it in your own home?

In this month's Met Home issue they had a whole section on "paint tricks". Josette Buisson said "I know a decorator whose kitchen is coated entirely in black, and when you walk in, the ceiling seems to go on forever." Sarah Cole claimed to "paint the inside of shelving a dark color to set off dishes, glassware, or books" and their shelf example was shown using Farrow and Ball's Off Black.

What are your thoughts on black paint? How would you use it? What kind of room would you paint black?

Studio Annetta featured this black room from House and Garden on her post, Tall Dark and Handsome

Apartment Therapy also featured a black painted room in their post Randolph Duke's Hollywood Home from British Elle Decoration

Clever

I saw this picture in the portfolio section of the M Design  website and thought it was a clever way to display your collection of Chinese Calligraphy Brushes (or whatever you want to call them)!  My sister did ask dead serious this weekend, "is that a whip for Hartley (my dog)?!  A whip, seriously (hopefully she was kidding that it was for Hartley but perhaps she did think it was a whip of some sort).  And no, I do not whip my precious Malti Poo.  

Modern Living!

I stumbled upon Velocity the other day and I end up perusing their website for hours! Their imaginative and original home decor, furniture, gifts, and accessories would definitely make a lasting impression on a home...and we aren't kidding...some of their products include a monkey ashtray, a white antler coat rack, a hand hook for purses, a miniature lips sofa, a penguin pillow, a wooden radio, and so on and so on. It reminded me a little bit of a more refined CB2- still modern and quirky but pricier

I love this Thomas Paul picture frame. Even though you are probably supposed to replace the silouette with a real picture, I like the silouette! Only $15

They have tons and tons of nature inspired wrapped canvas's. What I love about these is that you can get them in any size ranging from 16"x16" to 60"x34". What I hate about most pieces of art is that they come in "one size fits all..homes?" Don't think so! You will find that perfect piece in just the right color that complements your Living area perfectly but it's a teensy 20"x20". Don't you just hate that?

Orange seems to be my new favorite color! And this bright lamp works it perfectly

This is the George Nelson Tripod Desk Clock- was the very first desktop clock that he designed from the 1950's-was reissued by Vitra but produced to the same specifications of his original - $335

Pink sofa!

This coffee table comes in robin's egg blue, watermelon, dark olive, and ivory...it's a favorite of those who work for Velocity- $449

This table makes me laugh...see what I mean when I said "original"?

This pillow is by Maharam- I knew I recognized that fabric!

This color combination is yummy...the "Inhabit Coral in Aqua" pillow

Thomas Paul Dervish in Kiwi pillow- pattern reverses to opposite color on back

I love when I discover fun new places to shop. When I'm in the mood for a little modern, I'll definitely be back to Velocity!