I'm Here

I am really going to have to get better at letting you all know when I'm about to drop of the face of the blog world for a week. Silly me thought that I would have the time/desire to update the blog while having way too much fun at the Sundance Film Festival and skiing on the most incredible mountains I've ever seen. At least I can make it up to you by sharing something beautiful.

One of the movies I saw at Sundance was a short written and directed by Spike Jonze called I'm Here. I saw some really wonderful full length films and documentaries but the short I'm Here really stuck with me. It's funny, sad, sweet, and heart breaking all at the same time.


I don't want to tell you too much about it because I want you to see it with out expectations. I'll just tell you it's a bit of Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree set in modern downtown Los Angeles.

Here's a preview of he film. Please excuse the fact that this preview looks like a commercial for Absolute Vodka but they are the movie's sponsor.

Photo Credits: Image #1 - Me; All other photos care of Spike Jonze and I'm Here

All the Windows of my Heart...

...I open to the day. - John Greenleaf Whittier

My condo has a grand total of 4 windows. Two of which face northeast and two other which face southwest and all of which are shaded by trees. This does not make for a great lighting situation and it's pretty cave like inside my condo. Because of this, I'm constantly stashing aways photos of homes with beautiful windows that let in tons of light. This will definitely be a prerequisite when it comes time to purchase a home. For today, how about you join me in ogling homes blessed with the perfect windows to the world.

annie schlechter

roger davies

photo via decor8

sören Kirkegaard

ngoc minh ngo

Flipping through my archives while preparing this post I discovered I could easily have put together a weeks worth of posts dedicated to expansive windows. I will stick with just the one post for now but if you'd like a peak at more archived photos check out my tumblr blog.

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Looks Like Someone Has a Case of the Mondays

Image Credit: summerpierre

Steal This Idea...

Take what would otherwise be wasted space under a staircase

And turn it into functional storage for those unsightly kitchen appliances. While you're at it create some space for a rolling butcher block cart that you can wheel out when additional prep space is needed.

Related Posts:

Steal This Idea...Portable Wallpaper Backdrop

Steal This Idea... A Simple Painted Headboard

Steal This Idea... A Contemporary Doll House

Photo Credit: Alvhem

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The Sweet Paul Lowe

I'm not sure what originally brought me to the Sweet Paul blog but I'm so happy I landed there. Sweet Paul is authored Paul Lowe, a food and prop stylist, originally from Norway and now living in New York City. The blog is fully of inspiration and contains simple but elegant recipes and craft ideas. It's a blog I visit daily and am always stashing away ideas I find there to try in the future.

Imagine my excitement when Paul announced yesterday that there will soon be a Sweet Paul Magazine! The magazine, a quarterly premiering this Spring, will be a lifestyle magazine about making simple, elegant meals and stylish easy crafts for the home.

Regular blog posts from Sweet Paul such as "Recipe Monday" and "Crafty Friday" will be extended into full 8 page stories, along side pages of decoration ideas, holiday tips, and shopping for kids and pets. Each issue will also feature the kitchen of a special guest and a showcase of talented up and coming artists with cutting edge work in housewares, food, jewelry, pets, and kids clothing. I expect this magazine will be well received by the blogging community and is one to look out for.

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The Humphrey's Brooklyn Loft

I'm about four seasons behind on this one but I just recently downloaded the first season of Gossip Girl and I'm totally hooked. It's trashy, over-dramatic, set in NYC with cute boys, amazing wardrobe and sets. What's not to love? The sets are especially amazing and while the Waldorf penthouse is certainly one to drool over, I can't get enough of the Humphrey's artsy Brooklyn loft. It's seems the loft resides in a rather ambiguous location as the pilot episode alluded to them living in Williamsburg, the exterior of the loft building is in Dumbo and the interior is actually shot in a building in Long Island City. Where ever it's supposed to be I'm completely in love with it.

While I would probably change a lot of things about the decor two things that would definitely stay are the tattered, vintage oriental rugs and that amazing chesterfield sofa. Both of those things in a more traditional are of no interest to me but in this industrial loft they are amazing. I searched long and hard but couldn't find good photos of the fabulous kitchen or the garage door that separates two of the bedroom spaces but at least these photos show the white washed exposed brick and the massive barn-like front door.

This and other sets on Gossip Girl are decorated by Christina Tonkin who previously worked for production designer Jeremy Conway decorating sets for Sex and the City. Those are pretty fabulous jobs, huh?

This next photo as nothing to do with the Humphrey's Loft, it is actually Lily Van der Woodsen's office, but it is too fabulous not to share.

Check out that Eames lounger upholstered in Missoni fabric, could you die?

Photo Credits: Photos 1, 2, &3 - Malchus Janocko; Photo 4 - Jonny Valiant

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Favorite Post of the Week - January 8, 2010

I just occurred to me that I have not done a favorite post of the week for an entire month. It was easy to pick a favorite this week, it's from the oh so fabulous blog, Elements of Style. Any child of the 80's will appreciate this one.

This cannot be happening. Is the fashion industry trying to bring back the SCRUNCHIE??? When my girlfriend sent this link to me I almost has a friggin’ stroke right here at my desk. What’s next, banana clips? Should I dust off my slap bracelets and Color Me Badd tapes? I know a lot of hideous trends have resurfaced this year: shoulder pads and hammer pants being the worst offenders, but scrunchies? Don’t these celebrity stylists...Head over to the post to read the rest.

Thank you Elements of Style for pointing out the fact that the scrunchie is most definitely NOT an Element of Style.

Related Posts:

Favorite Post of the Week - December 3, 2009

Favorite Post of the Week, Part Deux

Favorite Post of the Week

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Birch Design Studio

I was actually planning on taking a day off from blogging today because I'm exhausted. I can't remember the last time I slept straight through the night. I blame our retched mattress for all of the tossing and turn and am headaches. That being said (Curb Your Enthusiasm, anyone?) when something fabulous lands right in my lap I can't wait to share it.

I'm enamored with event planning. In fact, I fancy myself a wanna be event planner. You might remember that about six months ago I shared the news of my business venture, a catering company name Bon Vivant Events. The partners and I have made the executive decision to close up shop. I'm actually not too sad about it. The real reason for closing the business is that the executive chef has actually decided to leave the food industry altogether and pursue a career in physical therapy. I'm very happy that he's made this decision, he's the kind of person that walks into a room full of children and then are climbing all over him in two minutes flat. He has a special gift with developmentally challenged children and currently volunteers his time teaching autistic children and children cerebral palsy tae kwon do. I think this will be a very fulfilling career choice for him and I wish him all the success in the world.

To tell you the truth, I was never 100 percent in love with busting my behind the kitchen. I'm definitely more interested in the planning and beautifying. Who knows what the future will hold for me and perhaps I will one day dive into the world of event planning. So for now I'm constantly stashing away ideas and photos of exquisite events. Which brings me to the reason for today's post, I know enough with the rambling already. I've just been introduced to Birch Design Studio an event planning firm based out Chicago, IL.

They design incredible events full of fantasy and wonder. I am impressed by how they are able to design events that span many styles and tastes. From the classic to the modern to the romantic, no detail is over looked.

Unbelievable show stoppers, aren't they? These photos are definitely worthy of the inspiration file.

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Spotted: Wallpaper by Numbers

James and Emma, the husband and wife design team behind Ninteenseventythree, have recently introduced produced this great wallpaper that you can colour in for yourself.



Nineteenseventythree is a UK based company selling their products all over the UK including The Ikon Gallery in Birmingham, London Graphic Centre, Tate galleries in London and Liverpool,and Oliver Bonas in London. They retail at £40-£45 per 1000cm x 52cm roll(roughly $64 - $72) and can currently be purchase online from the Nineteenseventythree online shop. While this wallpaper would look awesome in a grown up space I really love it for a child's bedroom. What could wouldn't love the opportunity to draw all over their walls?

Moroccan Goodies from Marrakesh Maryam

I posted this photo on my tumblr blog a few days ago. I love the incorporation of Moroccan elements into this otherwise traditional space. The hammered brass pendant casts such beautiful patterns on the ceiling but the real show stopper in this room is the vintage Moroccan wedding blanket on the bed.

These vintage blankets, or handira, are hand-loomed from sheep's wool and cotton in tiny berber villages in the Atlas Mountains. The skill is passed on from generation to generation. Prospective brides and their relatives patiently sew each sequin by hand. A single blanket can take many months to produce, depending on the complexity of design and the number of sequins. The loom in Morocco is treated as a living thing and treated with extreme care. If the weaver takes care in the weaving process, then the textile she produces is believed to have talismanic power and to protect the user from the evil eye.

Such care is evident in these exquisite fabrications. The best and most trusted source I discovered for these precious textiles is Maryam, author of the blog My Marrakesh. Her eye is flawless and she handpicks each of the vintage blankets she sells. Here are just a few from her inventory:

All of the wedding blankets, as well as the incredible Beni Ourain rugs, Maryam has for sale can be found in her flickr collection here. I'm patiently saving up for a wedding blanket of my very own.

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Photo Credit: Jessica Helgerson & Maryam

Well......It's 2010

And most of us are back to the daily grind. Most of the holiday buzz has worn off and we've probably already broken one or two of our resolutions. I'm sure the first post of the year for many of the blogs you've read this morning were filled with optimism, proclamations of resolutions, far reaching blog goals, and big changes in the works. They'll be none of that today on Design Evolution. It's not that I am not optimistic for 2010, I am very much so, and I'm setting big personal goals. But it's scary to throw them all out there for the world to see so I'm keeping them to myself for now. And I also hope to make big changes, for the better of course, to Design Evolution but I'm just not quite ready to make such an announcement.

So instead, for today, I'll leave you with my my favorite interior photo from 2009.

Every time I see this photo pop up on a blog it catches my eye. I love everything about this space, the perfectly arranged art wall with miss matched frames, the mix and match chairs, that amazing floating console. I must own that string light fixture, I've been drooling over it for an entire year.

One small blog addition that I can announce today is that small imagine on the left sidebar. I'm taking a shot at Project 365 and attempting to take one photo every single day. I figured posting it in the sidebar might make me feel more accountable. I hope I can make it through the year, it would be a great way to look back at how I spent 2010.

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Photo Credit: Skona Hem