little epiphanies

This is in someone’s real house for real!  What the hell!  It’s so ugly and I love it so much.  If this were my house, I’d be playing mermaids all the time.

by CAVINESS LANDSCAPE DESIGN, INC.

Grotto/Swim-Up Bar, Kitchen and Dry Entertainment Area

Beach entry, multiple waterfalls and swim-through grotto that leads to swim up bar, grotto kitchen and flagstone patio with outdoor television and sound system. Thirty-two custom light shows created just for the homeowner from Color Kinetics can be activated along with the waterfalls by remote control.

Bicycle lovers, beware!  The Paper Source has created a page where they’ve compiled all of their awesome bike-themed creations into one big temptation station.

From totes and notepads to aprons and gift wrap, there is literally nothing I don’t want on this page.  Except the things I already have.  

There is even an item that is actually bike-riding-related.  It’s a box of charms for your spokes, shaped like thunderbolts and stars.  It’s the coolest.

I’d love a poster-sized print of this on my wall.  

I love this.  I wonder if I could make one.

I was at Chicago restaurant Perennial over the summer, and though the meal was absolutely delicious, what I remember most was the mason jar chandelier they had hanging over one of their large round dining tables.  Throughout our lengthly meal, which included many courses of small plates and delicious wine, I studied the fixture in an effort to decide whether or not I could make something similar.  Now, looking at all these photos of lighting design involving jars, I’m even more inspired.

There is nothing more charming or more useful than mason jars.  Aside from preserving sauces, jams, and other homemade treats, they are the perfect shabby chic drinking glasses (and you don’t even have to worry about your friends breaking them at parties). They’re also great for storing all sorts of store bought snacks, from pasta to cookies, and making even the most commonplace foods look pretty on a shelf.  I recently made a display of all the random candy leftover from Halloween in our apartment by putting each type in a randomly sized jar and lining them up on a shelf, and it was like having a delightful little candy shop in our kitchen.  

Mason jars also make great vases, bathroom storage containers (for Q-tips and the like), and they display houseplants beautifully.  I could go on and on about them, and I’m sure they have dozens of uses I haven’t even thought of.  In any case, the next time I need a new lighting fixture, I’m going for one of these.  

Windows by Nia O’Reilly Amandes

Pantone Folding Chairs!

Just one of the many wonders on Janet Paik’s list of 50 Great Gifts for Color Lovers.

I don’t love every single item on this list (the gummy bear light, for example, is very much not my style), but overall, it’s a highly satisfying collection. 

Personal favorites include the Peas Pass the Salt and Pepper Shakers, the neon yellow radio by Tivoli Audio, and the 4164 portable bar by Fermob.  And, of course, the Pantone chairs.  I just wanna eat ‘em.

I have to point out that most of the items on this list are a little pricey for gifting, but still they are delightful to look at.  The Queen of Love Armchair by Moro-Pigatti is the perfect example of this.  At $895, it’s not the sort of gift that anyone I know will be giving or receiving this holiday season, but its design and color options are fantastic.

So cool!  I also recently saw a dining room table with a glass top that housed a long rectangular fish tank.  The little fish in there had just had babies.  It was incredible.