trends

New Storage Products

Written on February 11, 2010 at 9:04 am, by Order in the House (Pamela Porter)

I’m just back from the New York International Gift Fair where I spied these must-haves for organization lovers. Check out company websites for pricing details and retail locations near you!

1 .This non-shedding stoneware pup by Johathan Adler will keep your favorite reads in order. If you can’t swing the $150 price tag, check out the designer’s resin version for $40 at Barnes & Noble.

2. As a decoupage lover, I’ve always been a fan of Margaret Josephs’ cheery company The MacBeth Collection. This spring, she offers all new patterns in which to dress her wide range of metal containers.

3. Resource International uses 100% post-consumer material for these sturdy fiberboard Cargo collection of boxes, bins, and cases.

4. Because my on-the-run lunches too often consist of handfulls of M&Ms, Thorsten Van Elten won me over with this glazed earthenware dish. Ah, M&M heaven!

5. This bamboo Tuck storage box from Umbra swivels into a compact 5-inch cube. I’m also hooked on their new magnetic and beak clip bird hook.

6. Danica Studio caught my eye with their fabric-covered office accessories. Hmmm….I think an office makeover is in my near future.

7. I couldn’t resist this blue ceramic bird container from Lazy Susan. Perhaps another home for my stash of M&Ms?

8. If you love lacquer (and who doesn’t) let these accessories from Pacific Connections help you stay organized.

Here’s to Order in the House….both yours and mine! Have fun containing your clutter with these and other storage-savvy products. If you find a storage solution you can’t live without, share it with us at DIY’s page on Facebook.

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Trendspotter: Copenhagen Field Report, Part 2

Written on December 22, 2009 at 10:22 pm, by Trendspotter (Jessica Thomas)

I’m back with part 2 of my Copenhagen field report (check out yesterday’s post for part 1).

Antique and vintage stores can be found throughout the city but mostly concentrated in the neighborhood of Ravnsboorggade. In a different neighborhood we went to a vintage boutique and café called Butik Fisk, where I fell in love with a collection of stuffed animals and adopted a green turtle. Whimsy is appreciated in Copenhagen, and I attribute this to Hans Christian Anderson’s influence.

The Danish Museum of Art & Design was inspiring. It showcased 16th century to modern furniture and art. One exhibit displayed one-of-a-kind art pieces, furniture, and clothing made from found materials, and I had to have these great houses that were hand-painted on wood. The museum shop didn’t disappoint! I snapped these up, and they are currently displayed in my kitchen. Aren’t they fun?

A close second was the Statens Museum,

which had an amazing and inspiring permanent painting collection.

I want to decorate a room around this painting:

The Danish Design Center is small, but ithad a great exhibit surrounding the climate change conference. It also featured an exhibit detailing ways to use sustainable materials in design. I loved this felted cut-out chair:

Notable restaurants for both décor and food include Aamanns, where the space was sleekly painted a beautiful apple green with glossy black architectural wainscot and trim with animal silhouettes in black. (Check out the website to see the interiors). For lunch we had great smorrebrod (openfaced sandwiches), but we were more obsessed with the wall color.
Aamanns menu:

Noma restaurant is located in a beautifully renovated stone building that also houses Scandinavian consulates in the Christiania neighborhood. It has a more organic feel and features a regional menu. The décor included teak wood tables, bent wood chairs with sheepskin draped over the chairs, and of course lots of candles. The food was the star — artful but not pretentious.

If you want the royal treatment don’t miss the changing of the guard at the palace.

Loved the guards’ houses, which were painted red and had the Danish heart.

And to really appreciate the way the royal family lives, we treated ourselves to pastry at La Glace

Fall cakes in the window at La Glace.

And we sipped tea at Perch’s Teahandle. Both Perch’s and La Glace sport the official royal crest).

Another highlight included attending the Royal Ballet at the Opera House.
Awe inspiring architecture.

I was in Copenhagen only five days and six nights, but I can’t wait to return for a longer stay. I still have much to explore, eat, and of course buy. If you can’t wait to start scoping out more Danish style, I recommend these sites:
Huset
Finn Style
Saga Living

Denmark50
Danish Teak Classics
Unica Home

For an off-the-beaten-path guide to Copenhagen, check out Unlike.

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Trendspotter Field Report: Copenhagen, Part 1

Written on December 21, 2009 at 3:57 pm, by Trendspotter (Jessica Thomas)

I just got back from Copenhagen, and thought I should share all the inspirational things I spotted while I was there. Thanks to the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference, all eyes were on this great design center.

This was my first trip, and I had the benefit of traveling with two experienced Copenhagen visitors, David Anger, professional Minneapolis stylist and someone who could spot a chic home or fashion boutique a mile away, and his partner, Jim Broberg, our appointed and trusted foodie, who scouted out all the great restaurants, tea houses and confectionary cafes. Here are Jim (left) and David (right) at La Glace pastry shop.

Of course in Denmark, Danish modern design is everywhere. Our hotel, Hotel Alexandra, is decorated from lobby to rooms with famous Danish architects furniture and period art with iconic names such as Aarne Jacobsen, Kaare Klint, and Finn Juhl to name a few. I stayed in the Finn Juhl room, which was beautifully outfitted and even had a Royal Copenhagen bowl of fruit as a welcome. Very inspirational décor.

It made me appreciate royal blue in a whole new way.

Lobby of the Hotel Alexandra

This bookshelf totally makes me want to paint custom cubbies in primary colors for my collections.

The city is young and vibrant with plenty to do. The vibe is hipster, and styles are very layered and cozy (hygge in Danish), with lots of panache and personal expression. Fashion is key; to get a sense of the modern layered look that most men and women are displaying, check out Copenhagen Street Style.

My favorite Danish fashion label was Day by Birger et Mikkelsen, which also features a Home collection photographed by Ditte Isager. The collection embraces modern design with folk layering. Great styling, too.

Home stores abound in Copenhagen. They are filled with beautifully designed items, but not everything costs a fortune. Discount stores such as Tiger were filled with deals on great-looking functional home items.

Copenhagen’s big department stores are Magasin and Illums. The fashion and home departments make your head spin with so many well-designed accessories. Even better, Illums has its own home concept store called Illums Bolighus. Not a day went by that we didn’t just “pop” in for another look, and we always found something new. I bought some great felted slippers called Glerups – super comfy and warm.

David bought Muuto wood hooks, which have already been installed in his Minneapolis townhouse. I love the yellow, and they also come in natural and black. They are available in the U.S. at Unica Home.

Front and back cover of the Illums Bolighus catalog

We stopped at a Marimekko concept store (concept stores are popping up in the U.S. — look for them), which was amazing. It has a full line of home and fashion and it was hard not to walk out without something. Marimekko style has always been a great mix of pattern and color without being overwhelming. I love this shot from the new collection magazine.

Marimekko fashion. Purple was everywhere as the color of the season.

Another great design boutique is Rue Verte Plus. Lots of great style and very trend-setting.

Me in a great concave mirror.

Lots of fun things to looks at!

Be sure to check in tomorrow for Part 2 of my field report from Copenhagen, including details on the city’s antique and vintage stores, the Danish Museum of Art and Design, and more.

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Learning to knit—from YouTube

Written on November 30, 2009 at 1:02 pm, by DIY on the Fly (Beth Eslinger)

I’ve been wanting to learn how to knit. But sitting through a night class, spending a weekend with mother-in-law instruction, or figuring out knitting code from a book was just not happening any time soon. So six weeks ago I decided to learn DIY-style: on the Web (and wearing my PJs).

First things first: I picked up a few balls of medium-weight yarn, some bamboo needles (which I now love and have several sizes), and a darning needle. After an hour of surfing YouTube videos, I landed on these easy-to-follow links, and by night one had finished a pair of fingerless gloves. The addiction had started. (By the way, if you’re looking to learn how to knit, start small like I did. Knitting is labor-intensive, so if you’re looking for instant gratification, do a quick project like gloves or a neck wrap. Heavyweight yarn speeds the process, too).

The Videos

I landed on a video series from Expert Village. Easy to follow and few distractions.

1. Learn an easy casting-on stitch.

2. To create a basic knit stitch.

3. To create a purl stitch.

So over the past six weeks, I’ve dabbled in a few patterns using these basic stitches and have made several scarves, fingerless gloves (they’re hot with all the little girls in my ‘hood), a wrap, and a pillow. I’ve figured out how to switch yarn colors, and bind off so I actually can finish projects (also from YouTube). Not everything’s perfect, but that’s part of the charm, right?

Now I’m crazily knitting up projects for holiday gifts. Fingerless gloves for the little girls (check), scarves and neck wraps for the big girls (check). And for me: I get the pink wrap with the flower pin. It took me a week of nights knitting, and is oh-so my color (check).

Next month, I’m thinking about digging into hats and maybe cableknit patterns. But that’s another whole round of videos. Stay tuned for the results.

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Fall Color Palette Forecast

Written on October 16, 2009 at 6:35 am, by Team DIY

Autumn always gives us the urge to nest. To spend more time at home. To break out the fuzzy throws. To bake yummy things. And…to do a bit of creative refeathering of our nests (although that seems to happen just about every season for us). We asked the color experts at Olympic Paint to give us their fall color palette forecast. Here’s what they came up with:

Olympic’s Allure of Autumn 2009 Color Palette

Antique Silver (D31-4): “Use this on the walls. It’s a new neutral we added to the palette due to its nostalgic roots.”

Crossfire (A27-6): “A beautiful accent tone. It creates a spicy orange for fun.”

Cake Batter (B10-2): “Paint your trim and ceiling in this color. Its soft and airy off-white cast lightens the palette.”

Sarsaparilla (D33-6): “The deep brown of this accent color grounds the palette and makes a strong base and statement for fall.”

Melancholy (D36-4): “It is close to Antique Silver, but this violet has moved toward gray to subdue the hue. Use it as an accent.”

There you have it! What do you think of this palette? What colors say “fall” to you?

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