Fruit and Fire Candle Dish

The Fruit and Fire Candle Dish by Willem Noyons is the only centerpiece you'll ever need. It's a candle holder one day and a fruit bowl the next.

I especially like it as a fruit bowl. It looks very organic and a bit surreal.

Via AT: the Kitchen.

Make Your Own Paint By Number

Another Shade of Grey has discovered a site that lets you create your own paint-by-number using your photos.

I love this idea. What a fun way to revamp your favorite pics.

One catch, it costs $19.95 to activate. Though, there is a free trial available.

Awesome Halloween Crow Runner

I am really frustrated right now.

I just got a Pottery Barn catalog in the mail last night. I fell in love with this Halloween Crow Runner. And this morning, the site says it's no longer available.

I hope there's some sort of mistake here. Halloween is a big favorite at our house and this is one of the few classy Halloween decorations I've seen.

Awesome allegedly sold-out crow runner, $39.

UPDATE: This item is now available at the link above. Weird. Thanks to my friend Krista for the tip.

20x200 = Affordable Art

Black White Bliss just posted about an amazing online source for cheap art. The site is called 20x200 (very catchy).

The idea behind the project is this: print large editions, price them low, and sell them through the internet. The result: affordable art for all.

New art is posted every Tuesday and Wednesday (one photo and one piece on paper). Each is sold in 3 sizes, an edition of 200 small-sized prints for $20 each, 20 medium-sized prints for $200 each, and 2 large-sized prints for $2000 each.

Every print comes with a certificate of authenticity numbered by the artist.

Shown here, Untitled (Geese, London) by Dana Miller.

FLOR Gets Dressy for the Holidays

FLOR has two very cool rugs in their Fall catalog. They're billing these frilly versions of their Fedora tiles as holiday tree skirts, but I think they're awesome all on their own.

Both styles are available only in holiday shades, Brick and Chartreuse.

Party Dress, $59.99 for a 4 tile rug

Skirting Around, $59.99 for a 4 tile rug

Delftware Goes NYC

This plate from Lovegrove and Repucci is designed to look like traditional Delftware, but depicts scenes from New York (graffiti and all).

See more at Design Hole.

Alice Temperley's Target Line is Kind of Totally Disappointing

First, it looks like these little fashion posts are going to become a part of my regularly scheduled blogging. I just can't stay away.

Second, I've been Target-stalking all weekend in anticipation of their new Go International line by Alice Temperley. I wanted to try everything on before the stuff sold out. But I'd have to guess that sell-outs won't be an issue. It was a total disappointment.

I love Target and I love the idea of democratizing design. But I was really unhappy to find that pretty much the entire A.T. collection was made of synthetic fabrics. I mean the cheapy kind of black polyester you'd expect to find in the costume isle.

Second, the styles just felt so 1990s. Super-short baby-doll dresses made from gauzey poly-crepe in black and navy, bell-sleeved dress coats, unflattering cuts, big metal buttons, a sweater vest that looks like a doily, a blue-jean jump suit, garish prints. I mean the Libertine stuff wasn't my style either, but at least I could see how someone else might look cute in it.

There were a few Temperley designs that might be salvageable when paired with items from outside the collection, including this $140 cropped leather jacket and a Swiss-dot see-through blouse that might look nice under a jacket.

I also thought this cobblestroller might be nice, though they were sold out of my size and I didn't try it on.

So here's hoping that the Erin Featherstone collection will be better.

Embroidered Zebra Stripe Pillows

I really like this embroidered zebra strip pillow Style Court discovered. It's a little pricey ($306), but an interesting take on a print that never goes out of style.

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.

Rocking Wheel Chair

I think this concept chair from Mathias Koehler is awesome. You can rock almost 360 degrees. But it reminds me a little of Alien.

Via Productdose.

The Briar Wingback Chair

Wingback chairs always look so comfy and private. They've got those wings to rest your head on as you read (or nap).

This version by CB2 has a smaller scale and a sleek silhouette.

Briar Wingback Chair, $699.

Cityscape Magazine Holders

Hoarding magazines can be done with a little style. So long as your planning a trip to Sweden.

These Cityscape magazine holders were created exclusively for the Swedish Museum of Architecture.

[Source]

Cloud Dessert Plates

Amazing stylized clouds drift across the surface of these dessert plates from Williams Sonoma Home.

$58 for a set of 4.

Need a Little Quality, Taste and Style?

If you need a little wardrobe brush-up - heck, even if you don't - I recommend reading the first chapter of Tim Gunn's "A Guide to Quality, Taste & Style," available free at Bravo.com. It was a delight to read, even for a non-fiction phobic like myself. The advice offered sounds like common-sense, but sometimes we just need a wake-up call from a well-spoken fashion expert. Gunn's writing style has made realizing my closet is a travesty a true delight.

I am heading to pick up a copy tonight.

Water Tower Housing

Someone in the Netherlands has made apartments out of an old water tower. And apparently, they're not the only ones. How gorgeous and ingenious is this? It's a grown-up tree-house.

This patio on the top looks like a fabulous blender.