These Tiles are Ceiling the Deal

These ceiling designs from Armstrong are great remakes of the tin ceilings that were popular in Victorian Homes.  These tiles, though, are great no matter what style of home you have.  Your ceiling has been begging to be more interesting, give it the chance.

Currently Loving: Scandinavian Home

I love this free form bookshelf from Scandinavian Home.  Because the metal can be bent into any shape you want, the Bookworm Bookcase can fit onto almost any wall, no matter how cramped the space. And enough of these in the right configuration could give the impression of a book-growing vine that's taken hold in your home.

Another whimsical but functional design from Scandinavian Home is the Optic Cube in Crystal Clear.  It looks like an ice cube, right down to the texture of the faces.  One can simply be a side table, two side-by-side can be a coffee table, or several stacked up can be a great visual accent in a room that needs a little punch.

Time to Get a New Clock

The Wood LED Clock from Pure Modern looks exactly like a block of wood because the buttons and the cord are all on the backside.  Because of it's simple design, it can blend into an unfinished wooden bedside table or compliment a clean white room.  The numbers glow red so it won't be too obvious in the daytime, but at night it will stand out.

The Open Edition LED Clock is a little bit more noticeable and won't disappear into the background.  Made up of four blocks, you can arrange them to fit on any bedside table or confuse people in your guest bedroom by reversing the order of the blocks.  While it comes in standard issue red numbers, I personally would go for the more subtle white numbers so when you have to wake up at the crack of dawn, 6:00 doesn't look quite so evil.

Currently Loving: The MoMA Store

I love this Desk Tower from the MoMA store.  The simple shape and rich 

colors remind me of building blocks that you would have had as a child. 
This one, you could actually have out at work though and not get funny 
looks.  The only drawback is that you can't completely restack it while 
still using it because the pencil cup is upsidedown, but that can be 
worked around. 

Another great find from the MoMA store is real live Colorforms.  They have 
an exact replica of the original book put out in the 50s that brings back 
kindergarten completely.  Not just a toy for kids, though the fact that 
you can peel and stick them to the book or windows or anything shiny 
without destroying anything, they're also good for sitting back and 
getting the creative juices flowing without a big cleanup.

Currently Loving: Artecnica

These new lamps by Artecnica at Velocity bring a little bit of the outdoors inside and are more interesting than your ordinary lamp.

The Garland and Table Lamp looks like a magical tree right out of a fairy tale and comes in either silver or brass.  The lamp stand also can be used to hold other lamp shades and designs by Artecnica, so you can change them around whenever you feel like a new look.

The 2nd Shadow Light reminds me of children's lamps, but with a little more edge.  The shade gives off a glow that'll make you feel like you're in the middle of the forest in the morning, which is my idea of a perfect nightlight.

Pop the Cork and Shower!

I love the idea of using cork instead of more traditional wood flooring.  The great thing about cork, is that it has a little bit more cushion than hard wood and it has a really interesting texture.

The Showercork from Sustainable Flooring comes in sheets of circles that are the leftovers from making wine corks, and they look like they apply very easily.  Plus, who wouldn't want to be reminded of a great bottle of wine every time you took a shower?

If You Put a Cat in a Cocoon, Do You Get a Catterfly?

I have an old tattered scratching post in the corner of my living room.  We managed to get it in beige to at least match the carpet, but it's still ugly and torn to pieces.  Unfortunately, the cats love it, they can't live without it.  

Someday I hope to wean them off of our scratching post and get them more interested in these Cat Cocoons by Plushpod that are half scratching post and half hideaway.  The simple design lets it fit in almost anywhere, but the corrugated texture makes it a million times more interesting as furniture than any scratching post.

Currently Loving: Blueprint

I'm really looking forward to checking out Blueprint when I get out to LA.  The website is great, but you can't buy off it, so a visit is the only way to get your hands on any of the furniture. 

The Cafe Chair is completely classic.  The shape is very diner-esque, while the brushed metal lets it fit in with the most mod piece in a home.

Combine the chairs with the Motion Extension Table and your dining room is complete.  The orange center is a drop leaf, that when closed up still lets some of the color come through.  

Currently loving: Raw Studio

The Raw Studio is a great furnishings web site that uses sustainable materials to create sculptural seating.  Added bonus, if you need the space in your apartment for a dance competition, most of their furniture can be taken down, folded flat, and stuffed under a bed.

The Hive chair is a new take on ceiling mounted furniture.  It does seem less hive-like and more cocoon, though, the perfect place to curl up with a book.

The 2pac chairs come completely flat and can be put together with just a mallet, and they're almost foolproof since there's only two different shapes.  There's also a different version of the same shapes that makes a three chair-length bench.  

Metal Origami?

Part of what's mesmerizing about these metal designs by Blu Dot is that they come flat and you get to fold it into shape by yourself.  Finally flat-pack is finally cool, durable, and doesn't require an Allen wrench.

5,000 Sticks of Modeing Clay Later...

I love the childishness of the Boabab Desk from Phillippe Starck at Hive.  It looks like it could be made out of playdough, but could be amazingly functional.  It easily hides all the annoying cables from computers.  The shelves also look moveable enough to store a CPU without crowding your legs.  

The lime green could be pretty hard to fit into most homes, but the other colors are equally unique and a bit more manageable.  The red would look rich on oak floors in a bright room, while the aqua would be amazing against an all black wall in a modern, clean apartment.

Since it's absolutely frigid outside, all I want is a nice hot soak in a tub.  Mine being shallow, and hot water being somewhat lacking, I end up fantasizing about what it would be like to have a small pool in my bathroom.  

The Fuzion by Jacuzzi has room for two plus plenty of jets, armrests, pillows, and colored lights, just incase a regular old bubble bath was just too normal.