My graphic designer hubby is always finding cool stuff for me to obsess over. The latest? Sweet Home 3D, a free interior design program that lets you create floor plans, add walls, and place windows, doors, fixtures, cabinets…everything. And after you’ve set up your new home, just drag and drop furniture and accessories for every room, and take a virtual tour through the space.
Example floor plan from Sweet Home 3D
If you’re handy with 3D imaging, you can even create your own pieces to import into the program. Luckily, there are also plenty of 3D images—from cribs and coffee tables to iPods and clocks—created by Sweet Home contributors, and are available for download under the 3D Models section of the site.
Sweet Home 3D is a very intuitive program, and while I haven’t gotten to putting together the entire house, after 10 or 15 minutes of playing around I put together a rough plan of the bathroom as it is now. And once I have specific measurements for the replacement tub, toilet and sink, I’ll be able to start rearranging the virtual space into what I hope will soon become reality.
My first attempt
The software is free to download for both Mac and PC, and is available in several languages. Have fun!
It’s finally March, y’all, and you know what that means? Spring is just around the corner—March 20 to be exact (and I am so counting the days). In my backyard, there are some seriously determined daffodils making their way up through the frozen tundra, Backyard Bunny made his first appearance this weekend, and a few cardinals and blue jays have been brightening up the mostly still-bare trees.
At the same time in the design world, bird motifs have been popping up everywhere over the past few months. I’m not sure if it’s partially because of our current collective Twitter obsession, but this season, home decor—from furniture to accessories—has completely gone to the birds.
First up is Charles and Ray Eames’ iconic House Bird. Avid collectors of folk art objects, the creative couple had a similar bird that held a prominent spot in the center of their living room for more than half a century. While the original came from the Appalachian region of the U.S., Vitra has reproduced this prized piece, crafted from Alder wood with a black lacquer finish and steel wire legs.
I’ve made no secret about my obsession with pillows, and I really love this one from CB2, both for its cool design, and its back story. This exclusive new pillow—called “Little Bird”—is the result of CB2’s partnership with Creativity Explored, a nonprofit visual arts center in San Francisco where artists with developmental disabilities create, exhibit and sell art. “Little Bird” was created by Douglas Sheran, and features an abstract wash of greens over a black sketch on off-white cotton. The pillow includes the artist’s signature in the corner, and a percentage of the sale of each pillow will go directly to Creativity Explored.
Click here.
At almost the moment it was introduced in 1994, the Herman Miller Aeron Chair became the “It” chair for the office. All the cool kids at the cool offices had them, and hotels began touting the Aeron’s presence in rooms as one of many luxury amenities. And for good reason: it really was luxurious. But not in a gilded object sort of luxurious, but a luxury for the body itself. Everything about the Aeron chair, from the way it conforms to different body shapes and evenly distributes weight, to its fully adjustable nature and PostureFit technology, made it the must-have office chair. It also looked totally cool.
Click here.
What is the one decorative piece in your home that makes you smile every time you see it? Maybe it’s a luxurious cashmere throw an extra-special person gave you, or a status-symbol object emblazoned with your favorite logo. Or maybe it’s that thrift store chair you picked up for a song and gave it a cover-worthy makeover. For me, it’s this painting:
C. Flower 2, Ashley Saer
When we moved into our house in August 2006, one of the first things I did while painting over all those pink walls was paint the oddly shaped hallway/pod a fun blue (Enchantment by Behr, by the way) to break up the expanse of white walls all around. We hung a few things that would fit on the narrow walls that made up the space, but the wider wall at the end of the hallway remained blank until later that fall. Because whatever would eventually occupy that space had to be special.
I first saw the painting, C. Flower 2 by Arkansas artist Ashley Saer, on the invitation to an upcoming fall show at interior designer Tobi Fairley’s shop-gallery combo, now known as Tobi Fairley Gallery. As soon as the colorful card came across my desk, I was transfixed by the trio of bouquet oil paintings that decorated it, but particularly this one—the textural, abstract blooms, the varied background hues of my favorite color…and the vase. Especially the vase, because it was virtually the same color as the walls. Clearly all of these things indicated that this was meant to be. Having worked with Saer in the past, I’d long-admired her work, and this was the perfect piece to start a collection with.
The night of the show, I was so happy to see that “sold” sticker next to my new painting, which couldn’t come home with me yet, as it was still not entirely dry. But I was able to pick it up a couple of days later, and I was so excited to finally get it home and see how it looked in what is now officially known as the pod gallery. And as you can see, it is perfect, as if it were commissioned just for that spot. And any time I look at it, I’m immediately cheered up by the brilliant color scheme and the beautifully textured blooms. Of every piece in our small but pretty great collection of art by Arkansas artists, I know this will always be my favorite.
Although I’m somewhere in between being a neat freak and a pack rat when it comes to my workspace, I loved Tammy’s post on the subject the other day. At work, when I’m buried under 10 different projects and suddenly I can’t find anything for all of the files and paperwork spread around me, I have to take some time, get everything in order and restart.
At home, my office is a literal dumping ground for everything, like the four bottles of nail polish I rounded up while cleaning off my desk today (seriously). But I have a system here too, from the rolling shelves packed with art supplies to the storage shelves with colored bins, and I know where everything is located. Also? There’s still plenty of floor space for the dog to stretch out while I’m in here, so everyone’s happy.
But one of my favorite organizing systems is the one I use for everything house related. When we bought our home in the summer of 2006, we knew there would lots of painting, fixing, buying and planning, and I wanted a place to keep everything organized amid the chaos that is first-time home buying. The system? A colorful, well-put-together binder set from Russell+Hazel.
Click here.
Microplane Classic Premium Zester/Grater
I have to admit that on Monday I wasn’t certain what I would write about today. It’s been one of those weeks, right? But Tuesday morning I was putting together a crock pot dish before work, and when I started grating the ginger it dawned on me—Microplane’s excellent (and sharp!) kitchen tools. I have the zester/grater pictured above (in red), and a spice grater sans handle, both of which I use on a fairly regular basis.
Aside from being well made, extremely sharp and impossibly sturdy (I’ve had mine for five or six years), I love that they’re made right here in Arkansas, about an hour or so north of Little Rock. Located in Russellville (aka RussVegas), Microplane started out innocently enough as a woodworking tool, created by brothers Jeff and Richard Grace, whose company manufactured parts for the printing industry. But it was a Canadian woman more than 1,400 miles away who helped bring Microplane into our kitchens.
Click here.
Over the past 10 or so years that I’ve been cooking, I’ve accumulated numerous pots and pans, in an “oh, I need a bigger sauté pan…oh this stock pot will do for now” sort of way. But I never went all out and purchased a full set of proper cookware, mostly because there’s too much to chose from and the decision-making process would be, for me, never ending. But luckily my husband decided to make the decision for me, and surprised me with my first grown-up set of matching cookware for Christmas. And considering he’s the good cook that taught me how to cook, his decision making was spot on!
I am so incredibly happy with my 10-piece set of Emerilware (made by All-Clad) which has a porcelain hard enamel exterior with a sleek black finish and wonderful ergonomic handles. The set includes 8- and 10-inch fry pans, 1- and 2-quart sauce pans, a 3-quart sauté pan and a 6-quart tall stockpot, plus lids for the sauce and sauté pans and the stockpot. The tempered-glass lids, by the way, are almost the best part, because they have two sets of straining holes, which eliminates the need for a precariously perched colander in the sink for draining pasta and the like. But the best feature of these excellent scratch-resistant, nonstick pots and pans are the pouring spouts on the sauce pans, which is awesome for, well, sauces! Not to mention having another option for draining veggies and the like! It’s one of those things where you think, “yeah, that’s alright…” until you need it, and then you think, “wow, that’s pretty handy!”
The nonstick surfaces are super easy to clean, almost effortless (completely effortless if you just stick them in the dishwasher, where they are indeed safe), and I love that everything is also oven safe…which means I officially no longer have an excuse for not making that beef bourguignon, as I’ve been promising to do! The set is well-priced and available all over the Web, and some open-stock pieces, like the 5-quart sauté pan and 3-quart sauce pan, as well as a griddle, are also available to round out the collection.
If everything goes according to plan, the husband and I will be embarking on our first major renovation this spring/summer: finally giving that sad, not-so-master master bath a much-needed makeover! And while we know the basics of the space—deep soaking tub, lots of white tile, water-saving fixtures, polished chrome finishes—we haven’t quite gotten down to specifics, until now.
I recently began looking at faucets; it seemed like a smart place to start considering that will be the main “decoration” of the otherwise all-white bathroom. Some features were a given, like polished chrome finishes and water-saving technology, while others, such as the style, are still debatable at this point. Considering the overall style of the house, as well as the diminutive size of the bathroom, I didn’t think we could go too hyper-mod, so I primarily searched for in-between styles, something “transitional” but with a subtle touch of modern to keep it fresh and updated.
The five faucets below are on my official short list, and I think they all would work perfectly in my still-a-sketch-in-a-notebook bathroom.
Meaning “wave” in Sanskrit, the Lahara collection from Delta boasts gently curving handles reminiscent of the motion of the ocean. I love the shape, and the high-arc spout is beautifully styled to coordinate with a variety of looks. This one is presently at the top of my list.
Click here.
To the winner of the Sterling Pear keepsake ornament chest contest, prepare to be amazed. Being the only Christmas tree-having writer here at Tchochkes, I was lucky enough for Sterling Pear to send me my very own storage chest to review (thank you, thank you, thank you!). I was so excited to get the email from Shira telling me the chest was on its way, because literally the day before I spent an inordinate amount of time standing in a store convincing my husband that we should wait to purchase a new ridiculous plastic ornament container to replace the equally ridiculous one we have. The current one is an oversized nightmare, with cardboard dividers and a lid whose snapping handles have seen better days (and had to be Duct taped closed last year).
Click here.
The best gifts, no matter the occasion, are the ones that truly speak to the recipient. I love buying gifts that reflect someone’s personality and interests, whether it’s a (totally badass) neon deer lamp for my outdoors-y nephew, or paintings by a local fashion designer-turned-artist for my mom-in-law, because they were friends from way back when they were both starting out in the business.
I also, of course, love to get the same kinds of gifts. Over the weekend I got together with my best girlfriend for drinks and the customary rehashing of our Christmas holiday, as well as a little gift exchanging. For me? The Pantone Universe peppermill, which has been on the wish list in my mind for ever, but I never mentioned wanting it to anyone. It’s available in several colors, but she chose Dazzling Blue to complement the orange walls of my kitchen and I absolutely love it!
Made by Typhoon, the peppermill is more than just a fabulous design statement—it’s also incredibly well made and eco friendly! The biodegradable outer shell is made from corn starch, and the grinder has several adjustable settings for coarseness, and carries a 25-year guarantee. Which is perfect, because with the combination of three new cookbooks and my first full matching set of cookware, my new peppermill is going to get quite the workout!
