More Penny Tiles

You liked the floor of the Standard enough that I have to do a follow up post...

Amanda pointed out this Apartment Therapy post with instruction on how to do it yourself. This particular floor used about $35 worth of pennies -- cheap from a materials point of view, if not for labor. Scroll down to a long comment by "teeze" for the how-to.

And Cheetah Velour sent this from the New York Times of a bar covered completely in pennies.

Surprises at CB2

I'm always surprised at the vintage industrial style pieces CB2 -- purveyor of extremely modern style -- offers. Their most recent catalog had a couple that piqued my fancy:

Gear Tealights, $6.95 each

Firefly Pendant Lamp, $199 (But only with Edison bulbs!)


Miner Side Table-Stool, $149
A bit too modern for my taste, but could be used to add some edge to a traditional room with a lot of wood and leather.


A bamboo model of the Chrysler Building in New York, $29.95
I love the idea of architectural models, but the bamboo seems to make this a bit too "light"--both in color and visual weight--for most of my rooms. I'm tempted to get this and spray paint it black.

Killer Robot Designs

Killer Robot Designs makes custom furniture and lighting from reclaimed materials.

The Cluster Bomb Hanging Light, assembled from 16 old lamp fixtures.

Coffee Table from Vintage Samsonite Luggage.

Faux Bookshelves

Love the "walls of books" look, but don't have enough books (or enough room) to pull it off? Here's a clever idea -- paper one or more of your library walls with bookshelf wallpaper.

The owner and designer (Lynda Gardner) says: these photos are from the library which was once a horrible tiny bedroom which barely fit a single bed……it now has a wall filled with real books alongside a wall of Deborah Bowness wallpaper,…this room also has a couple of leather 1930s chairs, a star light handed down as a family heirloom and a cow skin hide….a cosy place to sit opposite an open fire on the opposite wall.

This is from Design*Sponge, and I strongly recommend the entire post featuring the house of Lynda Gardner -- it is incredible in every way.

(quick tip: Do a google search for "bookcase wallpaper" "book wallpaper" and "bookshelf wallpaper" for lots of different styles and price points.)

Etsy Finds: Airship Lamps

RiverOtterWidet is an etsy seller with some inspired lamps. They come with backstories on their use on the Royal Fleet's Airships (or submersibles...)

Glowing Liquid Airship Relic

Blue Airship Tracking Light

The squidbot lamp.

Child Development Lab

This is an awesome concept for a nursery -- the execution is a bit too modern for my taste, but I love all the science. Parents Paul and Pam Costa created it for their son Edison (!!).


Backlit lab galssware, exposed edison bulb, and a "formulaic" blackboard.

And a vintage Cray supercomputer for seating!

via Coochicoos

Copper Flooring

Can you tell what this floor is made of?



That's right. Pennies!

How awesome is that? This is the floor of the Standard Grill, in the Standard Hotel in New York. And why does it not surprise me that it's by my favorite designers in the world Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch at Roman and Williams?

via NotCot

Study in Black

Here's a striking black study, courtesy of Apartment Therapy and From House to Home UK. I'm surprised at how good the lighter colored woods look against the dark background. I also suspect that the great natural light is part of what keeps this from feeling oppresive.

Black (and other dark colors) are great choices for rooms that are glimpsed from other rooms -- the dark color draws the eye in, making the whole space look deeper and more layered.

Pressed Ferns

When was the last time you've pressed plants? Me, that would be 7th grade. Here's a great "how-to" for botanical specimens my sister found on Design*Sponge that made me want to rectify that. The instructions are super easy -- and they would make a great gift. Used "aged" paper, like the example above, for the steampunk naturalist look.

The Hook Lady

Curly Brass Plant Hook

Kelley was kind enough to share this find with me -- The Hook Lady, a store selling (mostly) hooks, of various kinds, styles, and sizes, all at affordable prices.


I'm not sure what you'd do with it (display it on a mantel?), but I liked this Victorian hand.


These are shelf brackets, repurposed to frame a window --- what a clever idea. You could do this to define and separate spaces in the same room, too. (Say an entryway and a dining room.)

Amusing, if a bit risque, signs!

The best finds are the hooks, however. Big ones, little ones, ones that swivel, brass ones, horse ones, mermaid ones.... There are so many, you'd surely be able to find something that suits. I'm contemplating using some for towel hooks in the new upstairs bathroom.

Brass School Hook

Brass Arts and Crafts Coat and Hat Hook

Brass Folding Hat and Coat Rack

Shipwrecked Submarine; aka Den

I don't know what it is, but media rooms and submarines seem to go together. Here's one from New Zealand, sent to me by Paul and featured in stuff.co.nz.

In the rusting interior of the submarine, which appears to have beached on a deserted island, Eyre has all the creature comforts reclining chairs, a three-metre big-screen TV and a top-notch surround-sound system.

Customwood has been sprayed with concrete and painted to resemble rusting steel beams, while plastic sheets have been melted to give the impression of bent steel ripped apart when the submarine hit an island. Speakers emit sonar and ocean sounds throughout the 12-metre by 5.5m room.

There's also a video tour!

Mayfair Steamer Secretary Trunk

As a child, I always loved those antique trunks you'd run across that had drawers, places to hang clothes, and even a hatbox. They conjured up glamorous transatlantic cruises...

We may not be able to pack as much (or as inefficiently) anymore, but this Mayfair Steamer Secretary Trunk at Restoration Hardware pushes the same buttons for me.

Perfect for an office in a tight place that has to do double duty -- just fold it up when company comes over, and everyone will wonder what purloined treasures you're having shipped to you.

Hmm. Reminds me of this one I featured in 2007.