Loft Living

The LA Times has an article on loft living that's worth checking out. It features four lofts in the Toy Factory building, done four different ways.   The one shown below is our favorite.  It's so unique!

Image  via LA Times.

You can check out the rest of the feature here.

Pretty Cocktail Ottomans

We love, love using cocktail ottomans instead of cocktail tables.  It's a much softer look, plus you have more versatility with it.  For example, if you were to get bored with it you can always upholster it, put nailhead trims around it, change the fabric on it, make it tufted or untutfed...You get the idea.

Here are some that we kinda like from Jessica Charles.  They run between $900-1000 depending on fabric.

This round cocktail ottoman is our favorite.  You can get it skirted, or un-skirted as shown below.

If you like to design your own, Vanguard Furniture has a good program for personalized, customized ottoman. You can find it here.   Contact us if you need help with it.

Cool Architect Desk for Small Offices

We were looking for an interesting, cool, and most importantly, cheap desk for a small home office and came accross this one. It's similiar to the one at Williams Sonoma but it's less expensive. It's so adorable in person too...

The desk is small (about 60W by 30H), which makes it perfect for a small space.  It costs $850 including shipping.  It is manufactured by Bailey Street.  You can find it here.

Some ideas for items that would help complete the office:

Rug from Mats-The Basics

Flowers Arrangement

Leather Chair

Jonathan Adler Table Lamp

Here are some pictures from Willams Sonoma (love that store!). that shows the desk in room settings:

Cute Housewares from Alice Supply Company

Household products are so utilitarian, aren't they?  We don't give them too much thoughts. But why not?  Little things like a cool toilet plunger is like a cool pocket tie on a man.  It's very telling, don't you think?

We ran accross this line at the New York Gift Show and thought they were so cute...

Check it out:

You can find these items and more directly at the Alice & Co web site. They run between $15-60/each.

the alps

: : I'm headed here (image flickr) for the coming week for some much needed vacation, relaxation and skiing together with my family. i hope to come back with more freckles.

outlet

Image 1. Designer: Meysam Movahedi Source: Yanko Design.
Image 2. Designer: Artlebdev Studio. Source: Cool Design Concept + Ideas.

: : found a new interesting ID blog by .noel bellen.  
he was showing a lot of interesting concepts for electrical outlets. I really like both of these solutions. electrical outlets is an area waiting to be improved. 
 

Very Cool Modern Rugs from Mats-The Basics

We found a  really great rug line that we just have to share with you. Despite the clunky name, they make wonderful modern rugs that are stylish yet clean-lined and simple. That's so hard to find, don't you think so?   Many contemporary rugs are a bit too austere, too severe perhaps.

Here are some of our favorites:

The rugs runs between $500 for a 5x7 to $1500 for a 8 x 12.  They are very well-made too.  Most are made with 100% New Zealand wool, hand-tufted.

We'll be loading these up on our rugs section next week, so please check back soon.