CasaSugar

Roundup: The House Bunny

CasaSugar — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 08:30:00 -0700

If you're in favor of hares in your house, even outside of the Easter season, then you'll want to check out my favorite bunny home accents. One of my absolute favorite bunny finds is the Moooi Rabbit Lamp ($539). These ridiculous rabbits look as if they're trying to disguise themselves with their matching lampshades. Add a few of these lamps to your home, and you won't be able to stop smiling.

Are the Moooi Rabbit Lamps too expensive for your budget? Then check out some other more reasonably priced house bunnies when you read more.

Love It or Hate It? Rabbit Lamp by Front

CasaSugar — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:30:24 -0700

Need a little Thumper in your study? Then throw down the bills for a Rabbit Lamp by Front for Moooi ($539).

Etsy Find: Block Print Bunny Stuffie

CasaSugar — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:08:04 -0700

In anticipation of Easter, I figured I should throw some more rabbits at you. Well, not literally, but figuratively anyhow. If any rabbit pillow could be cool, the Art Goodies Block Print Bunny Stuffie ($14) most definitely is. No simperingly sweet pastel colors in sight, just a hip regal rabbit who likes to hop around, eat carrots, and chill on your favorite couch or chair. Easter baskets are so over; Mr. Bunny Stuffie is the ultimate Easter gift. You'll appreciate his cool attitude year-round, not just on March 23.

Roundup: I Want Some Bunny to Love

CasaSugar — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 05:15:49 -0700

While most people associate the Easter bunny with the Christian holiday, according to Saxon tradition, the Easter bunny is the earthly symbol of the pagan goddess Eostre who was worshiped in the pagan festival of Eastre, which was a celebration of Spring. Only much later, when Germans brought the legend to the United States, was the Easter bunny integrated into Easter Sunday festivities.

Whatever the stories surrounding the origin, I love the Easter bunny - heck, I love all bunnies (unless they get in my garden, and then I get hopping mad). However, as long as they stay out from under the garden fence, I'm happy to decorate with these long-eared cuties. Check out the widget for some of my favorite bunny finds.

Love It or Hate It? Fur in Your Home

CasaSugar — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 07:00:12 -0800

Fur made a big appearance at New York Fashion Week, but did it register on your home decorating radar? There's plenty of it to be found in the home decor world, including this Adrienne Landau Rabbit Throw ($2400). While I'm sure the throw is sumptuously soft, I couldn't imagine including something like this in my home. How about in yours?

Etsy Finds: Alice in Wonderland

CasaSugar — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 08:00:55 -0800

In anticipation of seeing the Tim Burton version of Alice in Wonderland, I thought I'd see what type of inspiration I could find for housewares and art on Etsy. I love the classic illustrations from the Carroll book, and while many craftspeople and artists on Etsy have riffed on those illos, there are also plenty of other cool versions of Alice in Wonderland to be found. Care to go down the rabbit hole with me?

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Found It! Rabbit Paintings From the Kimber Modern

CasaSugar — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 09:00:31 -0700

In Saturday's Casa Capsule post, several readers fell in love with the rabbit painting featured in a room at the Kimber Modern hotel in Austin, and wanted to know who painted it.

I tracked down the artist, who lives in Austin, TX. To find out who she is, and how you can get a similar painting, read more.

The paintings are by Austin-based artist Martha Gannon. I contacted her about her rates, prints of her work, and if she took commissions, and she told me, "Currently, I am not making prints. I do originals on commission only. Cost is dependent on size of the canvas. A 30-inch by-40-inch original oil painting on linen canvas is $3,600. Of course, the smaller the canvas, the less the cost and the larger the canvas the higher the cost. But this can give you an idea. After speaking with a client about the scale and color, I send sketches by email (or we meet in person if possible) and make decisions together in order to begin the painting. I require a deposit - usually 1/3 of the total cost."

Martha's work has been featured in a number of gallery shows, and her piece "View From the Mayor's Window" won the 2007 People's Choice from the City of Austin. Martha, who is also a sculptor, takes inspiration from the West Texas landscape where she grew up. Many of her paintings involve animals, which you can check out in the gallery below.

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Source and Source

Love It or Hate It? Donnie Darko Rabbit Decal

CasaSugar — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:00:10 -0700

The Donnie Darko Rabbit Vinyl Wall Decal ($35) features the indie flick's unmistakable mascot, Frank, telling you to wake up! This thing scares me so much, I don't think I'd be able to get to sleep in the first place. But, I do love the combination of beautiful blues in the photograph and the wacky lamp with its upside-down shade.

Cool Idea: Invest in Art and Save Desert Habitat

CasaSugar — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:00:23 -0700

Artist, sculptor, and furniture maker Alma Allen, who I've featured in a designer spotlight post, has partnered with the Mojave Desert Land Trust to celebrate art and conservation. Allen has created two bronze sculptures in editions of 50, each exclusively for the Mojave Desert Land Trust. The sculptures, a tortoise and a rabbit, are two of the animals that depend on this land for their survival. Seventy percent of the proceeds from the sale will be donated to the Land Trust's campaign to support The Quail Mountain Project.

To find out about how you can help, and to see more photos, read more.

The Quail Mountain Project encompasses 955 acres of pristine wildlife habitat in Joshua Tree, CA, just adjacent to the northern boundary of Joshua Tree National Park. Saving this land would help support its diverse population of bighorn sheep, bobcat, desert tortoise, coyote, and dozens of bird species, to name just a few of the creatures that depend on this land for habitat.

This project is immensely personal to Allen, as he and his partner live on the edge of the park in a green home they built themselves. Order one of Allen's charming sculptures (priced at $150 each) to help support this project. Allen also has a show at Heath Ceramics in LA on Nov. 5, and you can check out more of his work here.

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Garden Therapy: Preventing Creatures From Eating Fall Bulbs

CasaSugar — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:00:00 -0700

Ann Whitman, the green goods supervisor at Gardener's Supply, recently offered some advice for preventing squirrels, deer, and other critters from digging up and destroying your Fall bulbs. Check out her tips below.

Squirrels love to dig in newly disturbed soil, so prevent them from exploring by disguising your newly planted bulbs. Cover the planting area with rocks, boards, buckets, or chicken wire. Once the ground freezes, you can move the rocks or other materials.
Since deer don't care about bulbs until the Spring, protect tender leaves by covering them with wire mesh once they start popping up next Spring.
Avoid damage from chipmunks and voles by surrounding bulbs with sharp gravel and oyster shell. You can also plant them inside a wire cage.
Deter rascally rabbits by spraying repellents, such as Liquid Fence, or predator urine, around bulbs in the Spring.
Try planting bulbs that animals find unappealing. Chief among these are daffodils, alliums, fritillaries, grape hyacinths, and many other spring-flowering bulbs.

Source: Flickr User Gilles Gonthier