Happy Friday!

If this doesn't calm your nerves I don't know what will.

The light, the blues the wood, all so gorgeous...gets you ready for the long weekend doesn't it?

Have a great 3-day weekend (not me I'll be working) House Tour will be Monday as usual.

More Homemade

This has been my most ambitious sewing project to date.

Next month I will be traveling and I wanted to make a travel case for my jewelry and a ticket/passport wallet (that's the next project I embark on).

Here's what I came up with:

It was my first time using zippers and piping. It's ok and that's ok because it's just for me. I don't think I'll be selling them in the Etsy shop, it was very difficult and time consuming.

I'm happy with it, it has a velcro ring holder, a small tube for my hoop earring to latch around, a pocket, a padded pocket for watches and delicate jewelry and a space for necklaces with holders so they don't get tangled.

I'll share when I make the next project, it will be the same fabric and shape so will see how much I can improve.

New Blog Alert!

Check out Chez Larsson! I've been trying to get her to do a house tour here and I'm very excited she's started a blog....

I expect great things!

Books

Last time I discussed books I shared my favorites, this time I'd like to share the ones I have on my wishlist:

The Way We Live in the City, The New Apartment: Smart Living in Small Spaces

500 Ideas for Small Spaces, Kelly Hoppen Style: The Golden Rules of Design

Attention to Detail: The finishing Touch in more than 100 Contemporary rooms, Hip Hollywood Homes

Perfect Neutrals: Color You Can Live With

I don't have enough room for all of these but as I get them I'll try to review them for everyone.

House Tour

Name: Maya and Michael

Location: Cincinnati, OH
Square Footage: 2000-ish square feet

Years Lived in: 1.5 years
Rent or own: rent
Describe your style: Eclectic Modern

What's your favorite free/found item?
The taxidermy fish above the fireplace that Michael inherited from his grandfather, along with a photo of his grandfather having just caught the fish, and the award certificate he got for it. It always strikes guests as odd, but it's a wonderful piece of family history.

What's your favorite purchased item?

The Noguchi lamp! It was one of my first "grown-up" purchases after graduate school. I was still sleeping on a futon on the floor, but I had this amazingly audacious lamp! It's a pain to move it, but we've managed not to break it thus far [knock on wood].

What has been your biggest obstacle in decorating/design?
It's difficult for two people to create a space together. We both have things we love, so combining our furniture and art has been a healthy challenge. We've learned to trust each other and to develop ideas together, which always results in something better and more interesting than our individual choices would have been.

Is your design style organic or planned?

It's definitely organic, and it's evolved through slow acquisition and constant editing, since we've moved around quite a bit over the years. We tend to move things around instead of buying more things.

What is your favorite spot in the house?
We enjoy sitting on the couch in the living room and watching the construction crane down the street, or seeing the tops of the fireworks displays downtown.

How has your style changed in the past 5 years?
Our various things have become more integrated, or maybe it just feels that way because we're more used to each other's stuff. We've procured our furniture and art slowly, and things seem to have finally come together.

What is your favorite resource or store?
Craigslist and eBay. We always seem to stumble on the "perfect thing;" we don't just go to a store and find it. Locally, we like the Vintage Poster Bank [which sells a lot more than just posters] and Mainly Art [which is mostly furniture].

www.vintageposterbank.com
www.mainlyart.com

What is your biggest decorating/design pet peeve?
Unnecessarily large furniture. Everything we own is compactly scaled, and a lot of it breaks down. When we help friends move, we always notice how bulky and over-stuffed their furniture is!

What has been your favorite design trend?
Eclecticism. We're not really fans of true period style but appreciate when people mix and match what they like and what works for them. If you surround yourself with what you love, things tend to turn out well.

What is the biggest influence on your design/decorating style?
Our influences are very oblique. After all, inspiration is serendipitous. We're both designers, so we expose ourselves to lots of interesting things outside our expertise [and outside whatever we're supposed to be focusing on] -- film, art, architecture, music. When it comes to our home, we don't really look at "shelter" magazines for ideas. Lately, we've been looking at a lot of historic maps of Cincinnati, Inuit art, commercial "ghost signs," and traditional crafts such as schereschnitte.

What in your home dictates how you design/decorate?
Money! We don't have or spend a lot of it, so we have to really hunt down whatever we're looking for. We don't pay retail prices for anything.

What is the simplest thing you have done that has made the biggest impact?
We made our dining room table to fit a really narrow space in a previous apartment. It's longer and narrower than the norm and really comfortable for a dinner party. We primed and painted a piece of MDF [cheap!], bought some legs, and voila! It's a great piece that functions well for us and looks striking. If we ever tire of it, we could repaint or replace the top, which would be incredibly simple and have a dramatic impact.

Happy Saturday

Sorry no Friday post. It was my day off and hot as sin so I napped and sweat all day.

The winners were announced for Apartment Therapy's Smallest Coolest of 2008, sadly I was not among them...but those who did place are beautiful spaces!

Have a great weekend!

Apartment Therapy's Smallest Coolest Contest 2008

Today is the day, Today the finalist will be announced and the winners will be revealed.

I'd like to look back into the past (well only a week or so) and share my favorites from this year's crop.

Every year it seems to be one side fighting with the other...sometimes it seems like the future of the contest will be only for the super-rich and architect types and sometimes the people with innovative ideas and a concept of the word "budget" just might be more prevalent in the coming years.

It's hard to say, I was very disappointed with the amount of people who wasted two or three of their five shots on their collections or view. I don't think that's what the contest is about at all.

I'm proud of myself for entering this year and being able to accept criticism and being shocked on just how many people really did like my home.

Thanks for all the support and on to the post...

East #14 Kristin's Cozy Village Studio:

So calming and I love the color palette. This one did not make it as a finalist but it should have.

Southwest #17 Matthew's Cartoonist's Corner:

Anyone with a Mac, a Han Solo mug and a turntable gets my vote. This space is so spacious for such a tiny space (for those counting that's 3 uses of the word "space" in one sentence). This one is a finalist check out the 2nd entry with more photos here.

Northwest #12 Dave and Rob's Small, Dark and Handsome Apartment:

True to it's title this is a handsome apartment, I love the colors and the little details. This one is a finalist here's the entry.

Southwest #10 Kelly and Josh's Work in Progress:

By far the weirdest bathroom layout I've ever seen, but they made is work and it's glamorous to boot! Here is the 2nd set for the finals.

Midwest #34 James and Emily's Vintage Modern Studio:

Editing of possessions gone oh-so-right. When my apartment grows up I hope it looks like this one. Another one that didn't make the cut but should have.

Again I feel so lucky to be in these ranks, I don't expect at all to place in the next round but hope one of these beautiful places do! Good luck everyone!