hip fly swatter

well, if a fly swatter is a must, then this is the way to go! a leather swatter for those pesky flies!

old world charm

i saw these cute pitchers recently. i like how they have a modern aesthetic but with a bit of old-world-charm in their decoration.

vintage car emblems

a while ago, i saw a handful of vintage car emblems at the flea market. at a couple bucks a piece, i thought they could be a cool thing to collect. they are harder to come by than i would have expected but when i do find them, they are generally cheap. i'm not much into cars but these look pretty good mounted on the wall in my office above my lateral file and always get a "those are cool!" when people see them.

kilim pouffes

pouffes are so in these days. i really liked these because they are a unique mix of culture and modernity in their use of the ancient kilim style rugs (although, these certainly aren't ancient) but in a modern, oh-so-now pattern all wrapped into a great pouffe. unfortunately "pouf" is what happens to your savings account when you buy them for $275 a piece--not so bad in the world of pouffes but not exactly a bargain.

three little stools

i saw these 3 awesome little stools at the flea market recently and fell in love with their simple style.  3 for $150 but that was pre-negotiation.  i was feeling a bit cash poor and didn't have anywhere i could use them so they stayed at the flea market. but, i am worried i may regret having left them behind because i have been thinking of them ever since.

fun with fu dogs

fu dogs. my friend chris got me into fu dogs recently. they are guardians for a dwelling and are always found in pairs. symbolically, the female fu lion protects those dwelling inside, while the male guards the structure. for most beneficial effect and to ensure proper feng shui, when looking at the entrance from outside the building, facing the lions, the male lion with the ball is on the right, and the female with the cub is on the left. 

hmmm...not quite sure how to utilize this information as it relates to my fu dog book ends...

dead trees go designer-y

about the only good thing in a restaurant i went to recently was this decorative tree. it made a great statement in the corner.  too bad the rest of the restaurant made such a bad statement (mediocre food and horrendous service). they are lucky that i won't out them here...

industrial modern doors

i think this industrial modern warehouse door is fantastic! i love that this company made their standard warehouse doors a great design feature. this style door could be done on a smaller scale for a home too.

whimsical art

many years ago i saw the art of hilary pfeifer at a local, very cool gallery (velvet da vinci--check it out because they have tons of very cool jewelry too!). anyway, i decided that hilary's pieces were so fun that i would begin my own collection. now, many years and gift-giving occasions later, i have a purchased or received enough of her pieces for my own respectable grouping. hard to tell from this photo but each piece stands off the wall by about an inch and many have moving or tactile parts. fun!

small graphics get B I G

ok, don't give me a hard time about all these pics being crooked--it drives me crazy enough as it is! it's been on my to-do list to secure all of these frames so they don't get out of whack.  but, that list is l o n g.  anyway, i needed to cover a lot of wall space with big art so i took a lot of little things to make one big rectangular graphic. i like the way it came out. it always gets lots of compliments from visitors.

twinkly candle lights

hanging on a large wall at my favorite coffee joint, the coffee bar, is this handmade lighting fixture. with about 75 light bulbs, it still doesn't give off a ton of light but it makes for a great art installation. looks like it would be simple enough to make something similar.