Measurement Conversions

Apartment Therapy's blog, The Kitchen, lists a few tools for making quick and accurate conversions in the kitchen. When I'm in the habit of halving or doubling a recipe, I like to rewrite it on a card with the converted amounts or to simply scratch out and write-over the measurements in my cook book. I found that cooking and calculating are not tasks I can tackle in tandem.

Sweet Bird Doorbell

A very fun alternative to the plain-jane doorbell via Design*Sponge.

Miffed About Muffins

I didn't have time to bake my own muffins this weekend, so I made a quick trip to the local Whole Foods to pick up a box from their bakery yesterday afternoon. I have to admit, this is mostly my fault for not checking the label, but when I went to unwrap the muffins this morning I noticed each one has 22 grams of fat, 2 grams of which are trans-fat!

I'm a healthy person, but by no means a big dieter. Sure I don't eat a lot of meat and I don't eat fast food, but I have a well-indulged sweet-tooth and an addiction to fine cheese. That said, there is just no way I'm starting my morning off with a BRAN muffin that has 22 grams of fat. How is that even possible? Is there a stick of butter in there?

Whole Foods isn't the only offender (I'm talking to you Starbucks). I have never found a store-bought low-fat muffin that tastes like food, and anything not marked low-fat is somehow more calorie-dense than a piece of chocolate mousse cake.

Where are the good low-fat muffins? They have to exist outside of our private kitchens. If anyone has a tip on where to get decent low-fat muffins (made with real ingredients, not chemicals) in Dallas, please let me know. And if you have great recipes, please share and I will post them.

Dirty, PrettyThings

Swat the crap out of flies with yet another cute fly swatter. If you live in the South, it won't be too long before you'll be needing one of these again. It only takes about one day for those pests to hatch back out. Read more about the Jing Fly Swatter at Shakinstyle.com.

Target Site Table Round-up

I spent a little time today searching Target.com for end tables. I didn't find what I was looking for (which is inexpensive white lacquer end tables), but they did have some really great things. I adore Target, but find their site a little hard to sift through with so many choices and no truly effective way to sort through them to the things you want. So here is the best of what I found:

Zig Zag Table, $239.99 at Target.com.


Kona Siennah Side Table, $199.99 at Target.com

The Offi Martini Table, $99.99 at Target.com.

The Light Block Table, $299.99 at Target.com.

I'm not too fond of how this was photographed, but the piece is so simple and functional, and available in many colors. The Stockholm Cylinder, about $140 for the tray and cylinder at Target.com.


Ok, this isn't an end table, but it is a great red leather ottoman-sleeper in the style of Storehouse Furniture's (but about $300 less!). It pops-out into a twin-sized bed! It's a little bit pricey, but well rated by buyers. Red Leather Ottoman Sleeper, $599.99 at Target.com.

31 Crazy Hotel Rooms

A very interesting post about a hotel with 31 oddly-themed rooms. This site has a ridiculous number of ads, so you'll have to scroll down quite a lot to see the photos.

Via Apartment Therapy.

Soy Sauce Solved

Thanks to Kitchen Therapy for demystifying soy sauce. You can keep it at room temperature, despite what the bottle says. I think it tastes much better when it's not cold, but that's probably all in my head.

The Return of Mod

It looks as though Mod might make a comeback. Modern design is always in style, but has not recently been taken to an extreme. Lately, it has been mixed in with eclectic interiors as an accent instead of being employed as a style. However, a shift towards Mod has started. Last fall, designers moved away from the layered, Bohemian styles that have dominated the runways for the past few years (see "Playing Fashion's New Angles" from last weekend's WSJ). Companies like Chanel, Gucci, and Diane Von Furstenberg (featured left) moved towards simpler silhouettes, featuring bold geometric prints, metallics, trapeze dresses, and architectural heels. Barney's winter window displays took Andy Warhol's life and works as inspiration, and stores like Neiman Marcus and Anne Taylor are following suit this spring with toned-down versions of the bold new styles.

In my experience, decorating styles often follow the major trends in our wardrobes. Over the last few years, the focus has been on eclectic design and the layering of pattern and texture within our closets as well as our interiors. Our fashion magazines have been filled with layered looks like leggings, plaids with stripes, button and bead embellishments, and encouragement to mix our favorite existing pieces with a few new pieces to create our own signature style. According to blogs like ShakinStyle and the Interior Design Show's Trendwatcher blog the same is true for our interiors this year.

At the same time some of the current trends seem to be setting the stage for a drastic change. We see hints at the return of the totally white kitchen and black and white room designs popping up in decorator magazines. We see more and more success for stores like West Elm and CB2, which feature furniture and accessories with simple lines in solid colors or big, bold patterns. Designers like Jonathan Adler are featuring looks that distinctly hearken back to the '50s and '60s.

For example, take the recent prevalence of CB2's Sleepy Hollow rug. The item was featured on Product Dose and then picked up by several design blogs (including this one), all of which sung its praises. Apartment Therapy Chicago featured it in reference to an apartment featuring an iconic, full-wall black and white mural of a tree. The tree pattern may not be Mod. At the end of the day, it's not a geometric pattern. The rug is part of the naturalist trend, but it ties in with Mod design because it is a bold black and white print.

Is this the beginning of a change? The Wall Street Journal implied that clothing retailers are concerned about jumping into the new aesthetic with full gusto. My guess is that we will all spend a little more time testing the waters before we make any drastic changes to our closets or our living rooms.

Clockwise from the upper left: Happy Home dinnerware by Jonathan Adler, Parsons table from West Elm, Happy Home linens by Jonathan Adler, Pillows from CB2, Rug from West Elm.

Terrariums: How-To

A Terrarium how-to from Mighty Girl via Not Martha.

Design I Wish I Could Afford at Modernity

Modernity, a Swedish shop featuring mid-century design, has some really amazing pieces featured on their site. It's certainly worth a look, if just for the sake of inspiration.

Via Design*Sponge.

Speaking of the Natural Trend

Check out this great post from Decor8 on the Naturalist trend that has been emerging in decor.

West Elm Goes Pastel

I'm not sure how I feel about West Elm's new Spring pastels. After seeing these at the store, I did some searching on the Web to see what the experts are predicting in color for 2007. I saw a lot about neutrals, back-to-nature colors like green, blue, and brown, and stark contrasts like black and white.

I suppose these fit in with the back-to-nature theme, but I'm really not sure I like this. It just seems like an abrupt change from the burnt orange, crimson and charcoal colors that seem to have dominated for the last few years.

Patchwork Mirrors - DIY Modern?

I saw this post about the patchwork mirrors at NYC's Balthazar on ApartmentTherapy. Balthazar is a sort of European restaurant which is a popular SoHo brunch destination. We actually ate there on our trip a few weekends ago and the waffles with hazelnut cream were excellent.

I wasn't seated facing the bar, so I didn't get a good look at this, but wouldn't this be a cool modern update on the traditional framed mirror?

I think it might be even better with out a frame and using mirrors of different dimensions (squares and rectangles of varying sizes) to form a large rectangular mirror.

I saw an unframed version like this in magazine, but the mirrors were on a backboard and some had been propped up at a 45 degree angle. The effect was really cool. Unfortunately, I can't find a photo on the Web.

Sale at Design Gallerie

Design Gallerie off of Knox is having 20-50% off select merchandise this weekend. I checked the site, but there is no mention of what is on sale and the prices are not listed online (frustrating).

The store specializes in innovative, modern furnishings. I've stopped by once before and found the furniture and art to be of very good quality. Things were a little more than I could afford, but not unreasonable.


3003 Knox Street, #100 Dallas, TX 75205 (at the SW corner of Knox Street & Central Expressway) Tel: 214.219.1919

Rooms

A review of Rooms, a book celebrating luxurious and bold interiors from around the world, piqued my interest. The Amazon.com description notes "sumptuous photography" by Derry Moore. Unfortunately, there is no way to see inside the book for a sample.

I did find Derry Moore's Web site which has some spectacular images of homes as well as portraits and images of India.

I will definitely check for this in the bookstore the next time I am out.

The Edited Collection

Here's a little before and after on the editing of my collection of stuff. Unfortunately, in the haze of emotion (I didn't get through this process without a few tears), I neglected to take any real before photos of the living room shelves. Let's just say they were quite cluttered, as was the room. We have a small house and yet we have a sofa, recliner, and a round love seat in the living room. We also have a TV stand, two coffee tables and two end tables.

I took the two end tables, which were solid wood and painted gold, out and separated our lighter-feeling Thomas O'Brien nesting tables (which I was using together as a coffee table) to use as end tables. The result is a room that is much lighter feeling, though still not really what I want.

I've realized that I am going to have to make some changes to my accent furniture to achieve a more minimal feel. That's going to have to wait a little while.

I would like to replace my current coffee and end tables with modern, white pieces. The great thing is that stores like Target, West Elm and Ikea are making decor almost as disposable as fashion. When I say disposable, I don't mean to imply being wasteful. I will donate or store anything I am no longer using.

The important thing is that I put together a plan before I start over on the living room. I'll be pulling images from magazines and doing some research over the next few weeks. I'm hoping to decide on a new design and roll it out in phases as my budget allows.

Living room shelf before the edit and with Christmas cards.

Dining room sideboard before the edit.

Coffee table before.

Living room after (please try to ignore the bike trainer).

More of the living room after.

Dining room sideboard after.

Sleepy Hollow Rug from CB2

Kind of creepy but really pretty, the Sleepy Hollow rug is available at CB2 for $499.

Making Modern Your Own

Eric at Modern Self has just posted a great story about incorporating an unusual family heirloom in to a lovely, modern, minimal design.

He took a cross-section of a tree trunk that belonged to his grandfather and created a piece that works beautifully with his existing decor while lending personality and history to the space.

KitchenAid 10-Pc. Hard Anodized Cookware $124.95

Amazon.com is selling this 10-piece set of Anodized KitchenAid cookware for $124.95. The regular price is $149.95. It's not a huge discount, but that's a lot of cookware for 125 bucks!

Via the Bargainist.

Normal Room

If you are in the midst of rethinking your decor, or if you are starting to have unrealistic expectations of your home after reading too many decorating magazines, check out Normal Room, a site featuring photos of real rooms from around the world. This is a fridge from NY.

Use the "random image" feature at the top of the page to browse real rooms for inspiration and encouragement.

Via Apartment Therapy.