More Online Art and Photography Resources

Resource: Etsy.com
This site has come a long way and their selection is almost overwhelming. Sizes of the prints vary and prices hover in the under $50 range. Most artists will produce prints in larger sizes upon request.

Laundry by Calobee

To Fly, Flew, Flown by IceKubi.

Sing a Song of Distant Shores by Alicia Bock.


Resource: iStockphoto.com
This is a site I use a lot at the office. It sells royalty free images for use by business and individuals. In fact, you can post your own photos for sale on iStock.

With this site, you are not buying a physical print. You are buying an image file which you can then print from your computer or take to a professional printer. If you are proficient with a photo editing software such as Photoshop or IPhoto, you can adjust color and change the image to suit your tastes. A 300 dpi XL photo file will run you about $15.

Mighty Beech Trees.

Grass Silhouette.

Resource: SCAD Shop
I found a link to the Savannah College of Art and Design's shop but I can't recall which site it was on (sorry to the source). It sells the work of the school's students and faculty online. Items range from jewelry and accessories to stationary to fine art. Most of the framed prints I viewed were in the $500 range.

Chairs by Dan Saelinger.

Yellow Grasses by Katrina Schmidt Rinke.

Bird by Dan Saelinger. This is by far my favorite photo to date.

Weekend Sales

WEST ELM
Up to 50% off select items, plus enter to win $2000 in outdoor furniture.

SUR LA TABLE
Up to 25% off select items.

LOWE'S
15% off in-store purchases of power tools.

LINENS 'N THINGS
25% off with coupon through 4/1.

POTTERY BARN
Up to 75% off on select items.

WILLIAMS SONOMA
Up to 60% off select items.

ANTHROPOLOGIE
25% off upholstery through 4/30.

Z GALLERIE
Up to 70% off select items.

MACY'S
20-50% off select home items.

All About Shopping: Racked.com

Racked.com is a new site all about shopping in NYC, brought to you by the folks behind Curbed (NY neighborhoods and real estate) and Eater (NY restaurants, bars, and clubs).

Racked just launched a few days ago, but already has great content, including store reviews, sales, and opinions about Saks' new window display of bloated gloves. Yuck!

Whether you're lucky enough to live in New York or not, all three sites are worth a peek. These are great resources for those moving to the city or planning a trip as well.

I can only hope the trifecta makes its way to Dallas someday. Fingers crossed.

Customizing Wall-Mount Cabinets

I found this photo on an Apartment Therapy SLinks post referencing the custom-painted blinds. That's a great idea, but I was much more interested in what the designer of this room has done with those wall-mounted cabinets.

It looks as though you could mimic this by taking two cabinet units, mounting them to the wall, adding three custom legs, painting it out, and abracadbra - you have a custom hutch.

With the steep prices of large-scale furniture, this sounds like a very practical solution for any room. I also love the idea of putting feet or short legs on kitchen cabinetry. I think giving built in cabinets a furniture feel really warms up an otherwise very utilitarian space. Unfortunately, it also makes for a lot of extra sweeping

A Little Spring Spruce-Up: My Sun Room

Meet my old sun room. It spent the winter as more of a mud room. It's my doggie base-camp. My dogs go in and out of the yard from this room. I wipe mud off of their feet of here. I dust grass and leaves out of their fur here. This is where their toys are kept. This is where my exercise gear is.

Not surprisingly, I've put off decorating it.

One little problem. It's also our guest room. And my Mother and Father-in-Law will be staying with us next month.

So, I started a little spring cleaning. I opened the curtains, cleaned every slat of glass in those louvered windows, swept the rug, dusted, but it still wasn't anything special. Inspired by HGTV's Freestyle, I made a trip to the attic to see what I could use for the room. Luckily, when I down-sized my stuff a few months back , I kept everything.

I was able to put together a cute, quirky room with just what I found in my own home. I only added the two gold end tables, a few vases, the parrot clock, the two zebra stools, and a watercolor. Can you believe that everything but the painting once lived in my tiny living room? Hooray clutter!

I hadn't spent more than a few minutes in this room for the last 12 months, but now that the room is spiffy, I spent my whole Sunday there reading magazines on my lounge chair and listening to my dogs play in the yard.

More Photography Online

We've lived in our home for 2 years with almost bare walls because all the art I could find in our price range locally was sterile and mass produced. Then it occurred to me that I could look for photography online (duh Sarah).

So my quest begins...

I found this photograph and the montage below on a site called Art Rouge. These are my favorites of what I saw there.

The unframed prints range from $40 to $80.

Quest for Original Photography

Inspired by the large-scale photographs used in the rooms I found on Kara Mann's design Web site (top left), I am on a quest to find unusual original photography online.

I got a link from a friend to the site of Julie Blackmon, which contains amazing photographs of childhood. I like the haunting stillness that these photographs give off, despite the energetic nature of their subject matter.

The prints range in price from $1600-$3800.

DIY: Deconstructed Deer Head Coat Rack

From Design Spotter, a very cool deconstructed version of deer head coat rack.

Looks like you could put this together from local hardware store finds. Personally, I'd like to see it all one color: either black or white.

I may give it a try this weekend.