Local Shopping Made Easy

Today I discovered a wonderful way to find locally grown/produced food. It's as simple as typing in your zip code (or city and state) on the Local Harvest search engine.

The site helps you find sustainably grown food close to you. Plus they have a catalog for anything you can't find in your area.

Via D Home.

Faux Ceiling Beams

This image from last Fall's Zara Home catalog is still one of my favorites. I love their rustic take on modern furnishings. You can't see the ceiling here, but I imagine it to have rough timber beams against a white plaster. I think a big dose of natural wood can add a lot of warmth to a white space while preserving the minimalism.

Of course wood beams could be a great addition to the high ceilings in any modern living space. But they're expensive and hard to install. Luckily, my brother just sent me a great link to a site that sells faux wood beams. They look very real. Well, at least they look real from a distance. And when they're on the ceiling, how close are you going to get?

These beams are made from casts of real wood beams, so they have realistic tool marks and grain patterns. You can get beams starting at $170. Check out some design ideas here.

PS- this site has some annoying narration audio playing on the home page and main product pages, so turn your sound down.

HZL by Henzel Rugs

My friend Jeff tipped me off to the HZL by Henzel Web site a few days ago. It features beautiful modern rug designs with a heavy pop influence. I especially like the cross shape, which was available for all of the designs I viewed.

The rugs are quite reasonably priced, ranging from $595 for a 66" x 66" cross rug to $2099 for a 98" x 98" square.

Shown here, Surf (left) and Golden Surface (below).

Turkish Tiles from Ann Sacks

Ann Sacks now has a line of beautiful Iznik tiles . The designs are true to Turkish tradition, filled with deep blues, aqua, forest green, and red. The patterns are bold, especially on a large scale. But they're right in keeping with the new bold wallpaper prints.

Recently, Elle Decor used what looks like Turkish tile in their Morroccan Fantasy room for DIFFA (shown below). It is really stunning.

Fight Back Against Smoking-Belching Vehicles

The next time you are stuck in a Texas traffic jam behind a cloud of stinking black smoke with a car attached to it, you can fight back.

To report a vehicle with dirty smoke coming from its exhaust, write down the license number, date, time, and location where you saw the smoking vehicle. Then call 1-800-453-SMOG or go to the TCEQ site to report the vehicle within 30 days. The vehicle must have a Texas license plate and must emit black smoke for more than 10 consecutive seconds.

Horse Photos: Online Resources

Thanks to a great post by Terramia, I have finally found some wonderful online resources for equine photos. I've spent some time searching Etsy and Flickr for horse photos for my home without much luck. Sifting through thousands of photos has been too time consuming to yield much success. Luckily, I'm not the only one looking.

Here are some great images you can buy right now:

Mane by Tony Stronberg

From Heart of the Horse by Juliet Van Otteren

Dark Horse by James McLaughlin Way

How to Customize Concrete Countertops

I blogged a few months ago about casting your own concrete sink. Here's another customization for you DIY concrete countertops: throw a handful of colored glass fragments, semi-precious stones, or metal shavings into the mix. The aggregates will be revealed upon grinding and polishing, much like terrazzo floors. Find more concrete tips on the Concrete Network.

Pre-Made Concrete Sinks

I like the idea of casting my own concrete sink, except for the part where I have to do it myself. Luckily, Crib Candy found two sites that will create and install a concrete sink for you.

Mark Concrete

Absolute Concrete

Terrariums: Contain Your Excitement

Irresistibly bad puns aside, NOTCOT has a great round-up of bell jars, terrariums, and hanging vases. If you are getting Spring fever and aren't lucky enough to be on the cusp of good weather like we are here in Dallas, get a head-start on your garden with a a little indoor ecosystem. More information on how in an old post here.


Via Apartment Therapy.

Domino Mag's Green List is Online

Domino Magazine and Treehugger.com have compiled a great list of 125 companies who are making a name for themselves as eco-pioneers. Links below:

furniture
fabric
walls
rugs
renovating
tile
clothing
transportation
traveling
beauty products
bedding and towels
cleaning products
foods