With 2012 zooming by at the speed of lightning, it’s amazing to realize spring is nearly here. And speaking of the passage of time, looking at the trends emerging from the runways, splashy neons are making their way back into our closets in a decidedly less ridiculous fashion than they did twenty years ago…meaning, no hair scrunchies or “Frankie Says Relax” shirts this time around.

As for home trends, though, sun-soaked vintage pastels are making a huge comeback, from warm sherbet hues to the ever-classic robin’s egg blue. A perfect example: cutie-pie Rachel Bilson’s new housewares line for Macy’s, Edie Rose, mixes and matches peachy patterned place settings with bird and hydrangea patterns, bringing a vintage chic element to the dinner table.

Target’s getting in on the action, too, with these soft microsuede throw pillows in a gorgeous, “give-me-that-right-now” Tiffany blue hue…and the best part is, they’re incredibly easy to clean:

Anthropologie — seriously, who doesn’t love Anthropologie? — doesn’t disappoint with its trio of peach, aqua and rose-colored nesting tables. If the $898 price tag gives you heart palpitations, take heart: these cuties are a DIY project in the making. With an abundance of mid-century furniture at vintage and thrift shops everywhere, it shouldn’t be hard to create your own set.

If your kiddos want to stay on trend right alongside you, PBTeen has a 1950s-inspired palette of striped sheets on sale online; or, of course, you could always just buy them for yourself. We won’t tell.

Photo credits: Macy’s, Target, Anthropologie and PBTeen. 

I know it’s been around a while, it being from sheep and all, but I’m just discovering how amazing felt is. Felt can be used for oh so many things. And, 100% wool felt is amazingly earth friendly – again, think sheep!

Think coasters, like these from Etsy. Since wool is naturally water resistant, it makes for a perfect coaster. One that won’t let your glass drip all over your table when you pick it up either. So no little dribbles.

What about folded and stitched into a bin for toys? Get a load of this adorable felt toy bin from Wooli. Oh, the possibilities.

Not to mention all of the out of the box uses…like rugs. I think this hall runner from Filz Felt is just the bomb. I wonder how slippery it is, but that’s probably easily fixed with one of those under rug pads that is designed to un-slip the slip. And as a circle rug. Divine!

And finally, get ready to have your mind blown. Felt window coverings (also from Filz Felt). Whaaaaat? Now, admittedly, felt window coverings aren’t for everyone, and they do require the right space. But used in a loft, or even as a huge room divider…I think it’s genius. Don’t think I’ll ever have occasion to live with felt window coverings, but that doesn’t stop me from appreciating the idea.

My mind is spinning and my fingers are itching for a DIY project! Felt, here I come.

photo credit: “KIUKO“

I stopped by Design*Sponge recently to see what they were sharing and got totally sucked in by their before and after round up. I just love it when that happens – when you stumble upon something that you didn’t know you wanted to see and then bam! all this time flies by because you’re engrossed.

Like with this kitchen for the kiddos.

Now, look at the before pic.

I would have NEVER imagined an old TV/entertainment cabinet could be turned in to a lovely kitchen for my girls to play with. Now I want to scour my house and transform old, icky furniture into something marvelous, don’t you? I mean, I’ve certainly got a forgotten table I could magically remake…if only I knew what to remake it into…

Here, look at some of the other brilliant ideas.

I couldn’t interior-design my way out of a paper bag if I had to. Brown paper is very eco-friendly and in, right?

I know what I like, and that’s about it.

Apparently, this Lytegem lamp is a reproduction of a classic 1965 design by some dude named Michael Lax. Some other famous design dude deemed this lamp “one of the 20th century’s top 100 product designs.”

Hmm. The lamp is cool and all. I could see using it, but really? Top 100? Where does this lamp rate in comparison to such revolutionary products as the Pocket Fisherman or the Clapper?

I jest. Sort of. Let’s talk a little about the product.

This lamp has a telescoping neck and a 360-degree swiveling head. The light has two settings: low and high (Ah…NOW I can see why it was one of the top 100 product designs).

The lamp is versatile. It can be used on a desktop, or mounted to a wall as a sconce. That’s kind of cool. I do like telescoping necks on lamps, because I have a very dark house and the lighting is never quite right.

The picture is a little misleading, though. When I first looked at it, I thought the lamp included everything shown. I thought these cube lamps all attached to one another, making a cool pod of lights. But actually, that’s just showing multiple quantities of the same light.

Bummer. I’d like a light pod, not just one little cube lamp. Especially for $125.00. But if you absolutely must have this commemorative-edition lamp, you can pick it up at Design Within Reach. Your choice of color is….white.

I am sure there are industrial design snobs out there who will laugh at me and tell me I have no appreciation for the art.

And I’m okay with that.

When my kids were little babies, it seemed that one thing was consistent (besides incessant diaper changes, that is). I always had a dish towel, laid out on my counter next to the sink, where bottles, pacifiers, baby bowls and feeding spoons would dry.

If you’ve read some of my other posts on my disdain for clutter, you’ll know that even something as minor as a towel laying out on the counter would drive me crazy.

I’m not a fan of traditional dish drying racks because they take up too much space. Not to mention that I find them extremely ugly.

But this Grass drying rack by Boon, Inc? This is cool!

This 9×9″ square drying rack is low profile (read: not big and awkward like traditional drying racks). It’s designed to look like, well, grass! In fact, if I didn’t see the bottles on it in the picture, I’d think this was a batch of wheatgrass like you see at Jamba Juice.

There’s a separate and removable bottom tray on it that collects all of the water draining off of your baby supplies. And it’s free of all that junk that the media says we need to really worry about now in our plastics: no BPA, PVC, or Phthalates.

Yes, finally, a baby drying rack you can feel good about.

At only $19.99, this would make a terrific gift for a new mom – especially one whose kitchen space might be limited, or who likes contemporary style.

You can go buy the Grass drying rack at Boon’s website.

I am an organizer.

There, I said it!

Clutter drives me bananas. I can live with dust, but seeing stuff all over my kitchen counters? That makes my blood boil.

The problem is that I normally cheap out and just buy plain, old, boring plastic tubs when I want to organize. I’m not sure what’s worse: clutter everywhere, or ugly plastic tubs.

And as I get a little bit older, I’m finding that my design aesthetic is moving away from Old World, heavy, traditional pieces to very clean, modern lines with minimal fuss.

When I happened upon these vintage-style metal trunks from CB2, they caught my eye. They really combine my love of storage with a vintage, yet modern design!

You probably know this, but CB2 is a brand owned by Crate and Barrel. The pieces at CB2 are slightly more on the contemporary side than Crate and Barrel’s and often cheaper too.

The metal trunks come in two sizes. The small grey trunk is about 19″ by 10″ by 6″ deep. The large white trunk, shown below, is about 22″ by 13″ by 9″ deep. The grey trunk is $49.95 and the white trunk is $69.95.

The colors are neutral, so they work in any room. CB2 shows them at the foot of a bed or as part of an office setup.

They’re spacious enough to store things like books, craft supplies, magazines, or card and dice games (those things always end up all over the room!). The large one could also fit some dress-up costumes or Legos, which I am endlessly finding around my house.

(Incidentally, if you’ve ever stepped on a Lego in the dark, you understand the severe pain and anguish they can cause and why they should be properly stored at all times!)

Even if you don’t need additional storage options in your home (but who doesn’t?) these are just great as decor items. They’d be perfect to fill up an empty corner of a room, or stack a few as an impromptu end table.

You can check out the metal trunks at CB2.

I know it’s unreasonable to think a 3 year old can remember to hang her coat up upon entering the house, but I have high hopes. I recently installed coat hooks in our coat closet so that she has a special place, just her height, so that she can do it herself.

She’s constantly wanting to do things herself anyway, so I thought I’d jump on that band wagon. I wish I would have seen the Room and Board coat rack, though, before I installed the hooks…it’s so cheery!

It’s just a coat rack, nothing special, but it is better designed than the stuffy ones I’m used to seeing. And, it comes in really great colors like orange, blossom (pink), red, yellow, ocean and navy. It would be lovely in my daughter’s room if I had the space for it.

It’s a little tall for a 3 year old, admittedly, but still, I like it.

And speaking of color making ordinary things look nice, Room and Board has just come out with colorful picture rails:

What a brilliant way to add some color to a room, especially if you’ve got a collection of black and white photographs you’d like to hang. I think color pictures would look nice, too, if you had a large white mat around them to balance things out…what do you think?

When you sit down to eat, does each member of your family have his or her own chair? Chances are, if your family is like mine, then we all definitely have our own chair, and if someone other than Mommy sits in Mommy’s chair, then we’ll hear about it!

Here’s a cool way to handle all those individuals but still have a great looking table: Family chairs from Design House Stockholm.

I love these! Such a sweet modern twist on a windsor chair. While all slightly different, they all go together seamlessly. Like family, hence the name. I especially love the black finish on these.

It’s like we say in our house, “same same, but different.”

This is a small thing, but it bugs me that doormats are either super boring, Home-Depot blah or cutesy, pithy places to wipe your feet. Can’t they make something that is fitting for the entryway to your house but is still OK to wipe your feet on? I have managed to find one or two good designs from Pure Modern, but maybe you have a suggestion for me?

This is what I’ve found so far: the White on Black Mod Modern Doormat made of coconut fiber (shown above). It is 100% natural (it’s coconut) stenciled with eco-friendly, permanent, fade-resistant dyes. Densely woven with 3/4″ thickness and comes is one size: 18 x 30 “. You can buy it for $34 from the Pure Modern website.

Not bad.

Doesn’t this bathroom towel bar just make you want to renovate your bathroom? I think so…somehow it just feels so clean and spa-like. Certainly my bathroom does NOT feel clean and spa like. Wouldn’t it be great if adding a simple towel rack would do the trick?

Anyway, if you’re a Design Within Reach nut, then you have to check out their bath sale right now. DWR is offering great stuff at 70% off or more.

I, personally, think Design Within Reach should be re-named Design Almost Within Reach (have you sen their prices?), but that’s just me. This sale makes their prices a tad more palatable.

Now, Pottery Barn needs no help from me to hawk their goods and services, but I heard about their decorating series and thought it deserved a mention. Pottery Barn has started a new decorating service at select Pottery Barn stores where you can learn the ins and outs of making a cozy nest for your little one from their stylists.

You know, those stylists who make the rooms look so usable AND adorable in the catalogs? Well, they are the teachers for the decorating classes. Pretty cool, huh? I think so. I mean, I love looking at the Pottery Barn Kids catalogs even if I would personally choose about less than a third of the things they fill a room with. The photos give me ideas – good ideas – on how I can arrange my kids’ rooms.

I think we’ll head to the one near us. How bout you? If you do go and learn anything cool, I’d be all ears!

photo credit: Pottery Barn

Wallpaper usually means “stuffy” to me, or at the very least it looks like the wall is trying too hard. But I saw these wallpaper selections at Trove and it sparked the photographer in me. These almost look like wall murals or large pieces of art on the wall. So mysterious.

My favorite is the flock of flying birds (yes, that’s wallpaper you’re looking at up there). I think I tried to take a photo like that way back when and failed miserably. Birds aren’t that easy to photograph, I’ll have you know. Luckily you don’t have to know – you can simply get something cool from Trove. I’m drawn to the wonder in this wallpaper.

They have this window film product that I’m interested in, too, only I don’t know how or if I would ever use it. I guess I just like the idea of it – making your windows into little art light boxes. Again, I’m drawn to the birds…must be something in the air (heh). Trove does recommend their window film for shower glass and that is a pretty nifty idea. Certainly a lot more clean lined than a shower curtain, don’t you think?

Anyway, for a different take on wall coverings, check out Trove. And, if you do actually buy something from them I’d be really interested in what you picked and where you used it…to live vicarious through you!

Now that it’s back yard BBQ time – the 4th of July IS right around the corner – I was thinking about lounging in the back yard, soaking in the sun and relaxing. There is nothing quite like sitting back listening to the leaves rustle. And, I figure, if I would like to do that, maybe my little one would learn a thing or two about relaxing out there too.

I found this Adirondack chair for kids from Land of Nod that I’m coveting for just this purpose. And woo hoo, it’s on sale!

I never used to understand the allure of child-sized furniture. Probably because, until now, I haven’t had children. Now, I totally get it – for us as parents AND for the wee ones. Can’t you just taste the lemonade? And look at those bubbles!

Sadly we don’t have a back yard that is good for lounging (it’s tiny and shared, boo hoo) but if we did, I’d sit out there as much as possible. Right now we just go out and pick the lemons and leave the lounging for inside. Not nearly as fun, but it gets the job done.