This week, I showed you some gift guides for items at small price points, from $5 to $25, which are great for co-workers, neighbors, or distant family members. Today, I've collected a handful of super-stylish gifts for $50 or less. While more expensive, $50 is also a reasonable and customary amount to spend on close friends and family. And thanks to the rampant sales and reduced prices these days, if you're willing to spend it, you really can get a lot of bang for your 50 bucks. For the rest of my finds, including this recycled balloon vase, read more
I have huge respect for architects, interior designers, interior stylists, and landscape architects, but there's a special place in my heart for those mad geniuses who create gorgeous products for our homes' interiors. From quilts to lamps to rugs, they do it all. While I can't even come close to featuring all of the amazing product designers out there, I've picked out some favorites. So tell me, who's your favorite product designer?
This week, we've taken several tours through artist and jeweler Victoria Skirpa's Lake Merritt Deco apartment. Today, we'll say goodbye to this gorgeous home with a look around Victoria's kitchen. Since Victoria is a renter, she can't do a lot of renos, but she still dresses up the space with cool accents and her artist's eye. Check out the slideshow for some ideas.
If only my wallet were as big as my eyes, I could have everything I desire. Unfortunately, for many of us style fiends, abstaining from shopping is simply not in the cards. So, in these troubling economic times, perhaps the solution to our financial woes isn't to resist, but to acquire at a lower price. Take this DWR Murano Glass Chandelier ($3,200). I adore its delicate, scroll-like glass filigree, and its scale and moody color would make it an instant focal point in my dining room. But, as much as I'd love to, I'm not about to shell out over three grand for the thing, especially when I know there's a more affordable option. That's right, you and I can pick up a very similar black glass chandelier for a tenth of the price and equal wow-factor. To find out where, read more
The new design shop, Hygge & West, has come out with a bang, offering great discounts on its stylish products just one week after launching. To celebrate its first holiday season, H&W is offering a 30 percent discount on several of its cofounders' favorite picks, in addition to 25 percent off a collection of wonderful knits, through Dec. 20. Each of these items has "gift" written all over it, so I say head there now before you do your holiday shopping! To see a few of these items, read more
On Project Runway, co-host Tim Gunn's most dismissive comment on a garment was that it looked home sewn. Given this unfavorable recent pop culture reference, it's refreshing to see a beautiful book proudly bearing a title of the same name.
Kaari Meng, owner of the adorable Hollywood crafts and notion store French General, has extended her expertise to the book world with French General: Home Sewn ($24.95). The book takes readers through through 30 projects for the home, from scalloped tablecloths to luxurious toile shower curtains, and makes adding traditional French style to your home pattern-book easy.
To find out about Kaari Meng's book and Hollywood store, as well as to see more photos, read more
This chandelier, which has been enhanced (or perhaps marred, depending on your opinion of things) by colored glass baubles, can be found in the ultra-hip Silver Lake pad of boutique manager/artist/musician Matthew Eikelberger. Are you a fan of this colorful chandelier, or would you have preferred it in its unadulterated, crystal clear form? Source
Tipster
Forzieri
Issa