With so much affordable artwork available these days it's easy to build an amazing collection, but getting around to displaying it is another story. Trips to the framer tend to add up, so House Industries is tackling the problem by introducing a set of four hand printed wood blocks that are ready to hang or display — no framing necessary.
Names: Patti, Gregg, 2 "young adults" in college, and a cat
Location: Point Connett, Mattapoisett, Massachusetts
Size: 2,710 square feet
Years lived in: 13
Massachusetts offers miles of glorious shorelines, but not many of us get to live 1,000 feet from a private beach like Patti and Gregg, whose colorful home is cozy even when it's too cold outside to enjoy the ocean. Nestled in the seaside community of Mattapoisett on Buzzard's Bay, the house feels rooted in New England tradition while incorporating a lively mix of mid-century finds, modern accessories, and works by local artisans.
If there's one thing we know about decorating a home, it's that a small change can make a huge impact. Simply swapping out the runner transformed this stairway in a Newton home from dark and drab to bright and cheerful.
We've seen a lot of furniture made from salvaged materials and while we're nowhere near tired of it, London-based Rupert Blanchard's handmade pieces certainly stand out from the crowd.
Maybe it's just guilt from yesterday's gorge-fest, but we think that an exercise ball placed in the right space actually becomes an interesting sculptural object. It can serve as extra seating when needed and will strengthen your core a lot better than flopping on the couch will. What do you think? Is there a place for exercise balls outside of the gym?
Are we looking forward to food, drinks, family and friends tomorrow? Of course. Have we, in the past, occasionally, overdone one or all of these things and required some post holiday painkillers to make it through the night? Yes, we'll admit it. And wouldn't those Extra Strength Tylenol look much nicer in one of these apothecary style containers than in that cheap plastic bottle? Without a doubt.
Winter may still be a month away, but it's cold and gray enough for us for us here in New England. Some indoor greenery would be an excellent way to make the chilly days ahead just a little more bearable.
A big part of getting ready for the holidays is getting ourselves cleaned up and organized now so that the holiday chaos won't feel so overwhelming. After browsing some uninspiring small storage offerings at almost every big box store we could think of, we found some vintage options on Etsy that we love for about the same prices.
Let this be the year we finally buy a calendar before the year is half over! Tiny Showcase is accepting pre-orders for Providence artist Alec Thibodeau's letterpress printed glow-in-the-dark 2010 lunar calendar, which is based on the skies here in little Rhode Island, but is within a day of accuracy for any location in the Northern Hemisphere.
No matter what I do to organize my house, the sad reality is that this is what my living room couch looks like at the moment. Creating this little piece of installation art was quite an labor of love for my 2-year-old and though thankfully he's pretty good at putting things away, there just aren't enough places to put it all.
We almost always try and take a copy of the menu when we eat out at fancy restaurants — it's a perfect memento of an evening that can be a bit hazy if there was more than one glass of wine involved. So why not do the same at dinner parties?
Further proof that vinyl wall decals aren't just for kids anymore: Bodega unveils a "curated collection of large scale, eco-friendly, temporary indoor art" by Barry McGee, Cody Hudson and other artists available online at Arkitip.com.
This wall treatment using vintage recipe cards in the kitchen of a Providence art space reminds us of Depression-Era interiors where newspapers were often used as wallpaper. While the results might not be beautiful in a conventional sense, they show that you can be creative about your surroundings no matter what your economic circumstances.
While I’m usually not a minimalist, the gloomy weather and the looming holiday frenzy have made me long for calm, light-filled spaces like the incredible black bathroom I photographed this week for an upcoming house tour. If there is such a thing as vicarious rest & relaxation, staring at these monochromatic, simply adorned rooms would be it.
Fred & Friends (which happens to be based right here in Rhode Island) has made an art of creating well-designed products that don’t take themselves too seriously. Here are 10 of our favorite Fred & Friends tongue-in-cheek party accessories.
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
