Welcome to Design Evolution. Grab a nice cup of tea, prop up your feet and spend some time diving into these pages dripping with inspiration. I love house guests so I won't mind if you stay awhile.
Williamsburg Bridge, April 2010 I just wanted to pop in to let you know I have a few things cooking for the blog. I'm still hampered by the non-functioning laptop so some of the features I have planned are on hold. I do have some book reviews coming up that I think you will enjoy and a few crafty project updates to share. I also had the opportunity to check out a really interesting exhibit at the MoMA recently that I want to tell you all about. Stay tuned because some good things are coming up. Thank you all for tolerating my current sporadic posting schedule. Hopefully things will be back to normal very soon.
If the origin of this post title is unknown to you then you must take a minute and watch this video. Go ahead, I'll wait for you to return. Now that we've all had a good chuckle we can spend some time drooling over this incredibly chic hotel in Long Branch, NJ. That's right I said New Jersey. Bungalow Hotel was designed by the dynamic couple, Robert and Cortney Novogratz, who's life and business we are all excited to learn more about on their new Bravo reality series 9 by Design. I submit this as evidence that the shore towns of New Jersey are not all what you see on MTV. As a matter of fact, ELLE.com includes Bungalow on their list of Top 10 Chic Hotels.
While strolling around town one morning with my dog enjoying this incredible weather I spotted these prints in a store window. I've always loved the look of framed vintage botanical prints but I found these scientific drawings of bugs, sharks, and other creatures even more appealing. I snapped this photo with my cellphone to add to my inspiration files and almost forgot all about it. That is until just a few days ago when iDiY shared an great resource for vintage printable historical scientific illustrations.
The best part about the Vintage Printables website is that all images are public domain and free for download and printing. It doesn't get much better than that and I'll tell you why. I can guarantee you the prints in the store window cost well over $100 a piece. Granted they are framed and are pages from an book instead of prints but to create a gallery wall with them would be very expensive. Instead I can print out to my hearts content and create my own wall of curiosities for just the price of the frames. Speaking of frames, does anyone have suggestions of where I could find simple but a slightly traditional looking frames like the ones in the photo? My go to source for frames is usually Ikea but that look wouldn't really work with these vintage prints.
For those of you are interested in gorgeous vintage botanical illustrations there are plenty to choose from. If you are like me and would prefer scientific illustrations of odd vegetation or creatures, the site is really a treasure trove.
I studied marine biology and work as an environmental consultant which explains why I picked mostly sea creatures to display. If you're prefer something different, take some time to explore the site. They have a selection of egg prints that are to die for.
It wouldn't be too much of a stretch for me to post the photo of this bedroom, tell you I love it, expect that many of you will agree, and get on with my afternoon. But what I would really like to do is tell WHY I love it so much.
It's simple, really. This room is one part Scandinavian wonderfulness with its sparsely adorned soft gray wall and glossy white painted floors; one part feminine with the light pink bedding, pile of pillows, & adorable little vintage side table; one part modern & just a little bit masculine with the cowhide rug, frame-less mirror and Le Klint 172 pendant; and the best part is the little splash of badass created by the framed still of my favorite scenes from "Pulp Fiction" leaning against the wall. The couple who shares this space define their style as a marriage of minimalist mixed with color and playfulness. I think they've captured that mix perfectly.
