The Opus Foosball Table

The Opus Foosball Table is all about the handcrafted details, down to the players' faces. The company creates look-alike foosball players based on photographs. So you can draft a fantasy team composed of anyone from football greats to Hollywood celebrities.

House & Garden's Istanbul Slideshow

House & Garden has up a beautiful slide show of images from Istanbul. Turks have a talent for making simple look grand.

[Source]

Plate Hanger Innovation

I love hanging plates on the wall. They are great for visual pop, relatively inexpensive, and easily changed when the mood strikes. But, I absolutely hate those wire plate hangers.

First, I always get my fingers pinched while I'm trying to stretch the springs and get the hooks over the edge of the plate. Second, I hate the way the little hook tips look against the plate's surface. They're distracting and can chip the edges. And third, when I walk through the house, I can hear the little metal springs vibrating (curse of a pier-and-beam).

Today I found out that there is a solution, thanks to decor8. She found adhesive plate hangers (shown right). They stick on and come off when soaked in warm water. They're imported from England and available at A.C. Moore (which we don't have in Dallas) and online here.

I can finally hang an awesome plate collage, like the one above, without a puncture wound.

"The Family" Wallpaper

Here's another take on the fill-your-own-frame wallpaper concept from Stockholm based designer, Lisa Bengtsson.

Like Design*Sponge, I prefer the look of the paper with out photos added. But the innovation that really caught my eye is this framed doorknob.

Adding colorful hooks for hanging purses, jackets and jewelry is a great way to make this pattern pop without cluttering the simple beauty of the bold graphics.

You can purchase the paper online here or here.

Celine Platforms

So, I'm a little distracted by fashion this week. Back to home and garden soon, I promise. But I couldn't resist posting these preppy, Asian-inspired pumps.

Via Notcoture.

Fashion Distraction: Vera Wang at Kohl's

This weekend I remembered that Kohl's has a new collection of Vera Wang clothing. Simply Vera Wang debuted a week or so ago. I hadn't heard a lot about it, so I decided to drive out to the north suburbs (the nearest location of Kohl's) to check things out.

My hopes were not high. I assumed that I wouldn't like anything. I'd previewed the looks on the Kohl's site and they seemed a little too conservative. I was very pleasantly surprised.

I tried on 4 items and ended up with this adorable textured dress coat for $128 and this cotton lilac top for $50.

The quality was impressive. Better than Target's Go International! lines. The coat, especially, is a fabulous staple. You can wear it in the office as a jacket. For outdoors, I'm planning to get a pair of full length winter gloves to match. Vera has some in her collection, but they were a little uncomfortable.

The shirt fits beautifully. The shape is sort of like a bubble, and can be worn tucked in with a high waisted pant, or cinched in with a wide belt at the natural waist. I also paired it with the jacket, trouser jeans and a pair of patent leather pumps for a casual office look.

The store was almost out of smalls in every piece. If you order online, the sizes run a little large.