Design: Sofa

Finn Juhl



via cococozy

Peter Hvidt

via design sponge

fainting sofa

Interior Inspiration

Goodmorning all! These colors/textures best describe how I'm feeling today. I wish I could live in a space with all of these things!

Design: Storage Container Homes

Imagine walking into your backyard and spending your free time in this polyhedron designed by Manuel Villa.




It was designed for families to relax and enjoy the outdoors in a vocational setting with their families. It reminds me of Marie Antoinette's cottage villa she built for herself in Versailles, but it also got me thinking of practical uses for such a small space.


I came across these shipping container offices, which are quite practical! I could imagine an architect or construction foreman using one of these. They could easily move it from the main warehouse, when need be, to have it out on site with the building crew.



Illy Italian Coffee had a great idea of using these shipping containers for an quick cafe set-up!

I would buy coffee just to sit in this space for a little while. But I'm unsure why there is a toilet so out in the open. :)





The organization I work for, Friends of the Orphans, has decided to use shipping containers in a unique way that will benefit those suffering from the earthquake of Januay 12th, 2010. Currently, they are transforming shipping containers formerly used to transport supplies into fully-functional hospital rooms on the site of St. Damien’s Hospital. This allows them to help not just children, but adults in need of medical care as well. These structures will eventually become permanent.





Father Rick Frechette of St. Damien's Hospital and St. Helen's Orphanage said, "Our new campground for displaced children is nearly ready. We have been working there all week. Instead of circling the wagons, we squared off empty containers in a huge rectangle covering 4,000 square meters. We will expand it in time. The containers themselves will soon be dormitories for the children, and the area for meals, schooling and activities will be in the shadow of the containers with the help of large awnings. There are about 350 children waiting to come in."

DONATE or Learn more about Haiti & Friends of the Orphans.

Love: Architecture

I am in love with architectural design. While interning at the Tweed Museum of Art in Duluth, MN I was lucky enough to sift through archival photos of the construction and re-design of the galleries. These architectural photos found via Edward Cella Art+Architecture, reminded me of some of those pictures I would look at.

Carlos Diniz
United States Pavillion - New York World's Fair 1964-65, 1964-65 Serigraph on paper 26 x 40 inches

Carlos Diniz Job #1002 Frank Gehry, Architect Danziger House, 1964 Serigraph on paper 21 x 30 1/2 inches

Carlos Diniz, Theme Building - Century City (Grey), 1963 Silkcreen on paper 40 x 26 inches

How amazing would these be on your walls? Or this poster below from lilcoletterpress.

Its a clever play on words, refering to the 20th century inventor, mathematician and futurist, born in 1895, named R. Buckminster Fuller. (Amazingly lived to be 97!) He was admitted to Harvard twice, and expelled both times. He went from job to job until he was broke.

R. Buckminster Fuller with Elaine de Kooning and Josef Albers, Summer 1948
(Photograph by Beaumont Newhall)

An illness killed his young daughter, leading him to revelation. He was determined to make his life “an experiment to find what a single individual can contribute to changing the world and benefiting all humanity.1 His most well known invention was the geodesic dome which revolutionized the field of engineering.


By the end of his life he held over 20,000 patents.

Dymaxion Car, Buckminster Fuller, 1933

“For the first time in history it is now possible to take care of everybody at a higher standard of living than any have ever known. Only ten years ago the ‘more with less’ technology reached the point where this could be done. All humanity now has the option to become enduringly successful.” -B.Fuller

For more information on B.Fuller go to the Buckminster Fuller Institute.

Design: Bookshelves

Today a friend sent me a link to these great Baroque bookshelves!

Too bad Graham and Green are a UK based company…the shipping on these is outrageous!





This Jaren Goh Vintage Shelf designed for Munkii a Singapore based company is also completely adorable.
I love the inverted Baroque design.






Try making this inverted bookshelf. Instructions here.




This other DIY bookshelf is from Spoonfullofchocolate on etsy.






I love these falling bookends from Artori Design.

I always buy way too many books and don't have enough space to put them all. Most of the time, I'm buying antique books I wont even read! :)





But I did get some of these penguin classics that I will eventually make my way through.

Invitations: Wedding

It’s wedding season. It seems everyone I know has at least one wedding to go to this summer if not more. Everyone wants to have unique invites, why not give these a try? Designed by Chris Trivizas from Greece.

“Wedding invitation in a tin can which after the ceremony is attached at the back of the newly married couple’s car.

It is accustomed, after the wedding ceremony, for friends and relatives of the couple to bang saucepans and bells in order to make noise and send away jealous spirits.

The wedding invitation is packaged with a string. While reading the text (date, place, etc), there’s an illustration which explains how to tie the string at the back of the can and the whole making at the back of the car.”

Design: Fireplace

So I have a minor obsession with mantles and fireplaces in a home. As a design element, I really feel that they should be the focal point of the living area.

Back when fireplaces were a necessity to keep the family warm and happy, it became a central gathering space for games, activities and conversation. The modern version of the fireplace is the TV. The same concept is in place for both perspectives, gathering the family for a shared experience, but I am still extremely partial to making the fireplace a place for gathering instead of the TV.

HGTV had some good examples of fireplace design

Faux fireplace from Ann Wood

William C. Whitney was a man who understood the idea of what a fireplace should be. Built from 1903 – 1906, his home located in New York at 79th Street and Fifth Avenue across from Central Park is the best example of an Italian Palazzo in the U.S. Whitney had an extremely keen eye for design and interior decorating. He wanted everything to be authentic and had buyers purchase authentic Italian fixtures, furniture and textiles to create his lavish home.

William C. Whitney House, New York, NY

His fireplaces were plentiful, and there were said to always
be burning to make sure everyone felt at home.

Whitney was famous for being a part of the Cleveland Administration, helping to build up the Navy. Eventually buying part of the Metropolitan Railway Company to become co-owner, his wealth only projected him further into high society. He was loved by all who knew him and those in his circle gathered regularly at his house for good food and good conversation.

To learn more about the William C. Whitney House, read this article.