Sometimes you see something that seems interesting at first glance, but then it's brought to your attention again and again. I've come across these interesting uses for metal plumbing pipes lately, and they got me thinking. Use them with a crappy piece of MDF and your space starts to look like a dorm room, but pair them with some good wood or use them to create a wall pattern and they ramp up more than a notch! I'm especially fond of the walnut/metal combo. And the modular system can form so many different layouts!

Desk and shelf system

Furniture Suite

Desk

Lighting

Please leave me a comment if you'd prefer links to be Pinterest pins or the original source!

1. Open view bedroom: There is nothing I don't love about this space. The neutral color palette, low bed, wood floors, large panes of glass, sheepskin and that gorgeous Jacobsen lamp, it's all good. Makes me want to curl up with a good book and some hot Earl Grey.

2. Rosewood Earbud Holder: I love beautiful wood, and there's something about the combination of technology and the tactile sense of finished wood that really appeals. Plus, I hate the way those silly earbuds get all tangled, no matter how hard I try to wind them carefully.

3. Glass fruit bowl by Rogier Martens: Glass is my medium, and transparency is something I play with a lot in my own work. Using the moveable nature of glass (FYI, it never is actually solid) to echo the forms of the fruit it is meant to hold is lovely.

4. Tangent 33 watch by Nomos: This watch is clean, simple and gorgeous. The condensed typeface used hearkens back to traditional type, and the bright blue hands on the neutral background give it a a modern edge.

5. Ylva Skarp home via Plaza Interiors: Although there is a decided lack of color in this living space, Ylva Skarp has added layers of texture through her use of type on the wall, rug and pillows. This adds a sense of depth and keeps the space from looking stagnant.

6. Shower connection to the outdoors: The materials here, concrete, smooth stucco, wood and glass and some of my favorites to work with. The wood floor keeps the space from feeling too cold, and the view to the exterior is really stunning. 

Today's guest post for papernstitch is about the use of textiles in the home, including some modern macramé and a fabric made of wood.

Check it out here.

Less is not more any more than more is less, more or less. It is only when we reduce more or increase less so as to satisfy our needs and desires that Enough can be found.

I was flipping through Reeder and a link to Patrick Rhone's upcoming book Enough was right there in plain sight. After truly enjoying his last book, Keeping It Straight, I am looking forward to more of his stories interspersed with his philosophy of 'enough.' Enjoy a few essays from the upcoming work here.

Loving this crazy method for doing multiplication. If you think about it, this is exactly what we do in the standard written form, this just shows it visually. (Which can be super for some kids - it may make a lot more sense.) I think it would be great to explain the standard methodology alongside this to see how they achieve the same result.

I have always loved grids. I remember being a high school exchange student in Sweden and going to get school supplies - they had tons of little notebooks filled with graph paper, and of course, since it wasn't the US, the paper sizes were different too. It was a pleasure to take my notes in those little squares. As an architecture student, I used grid paper to takes notes and sketch out ideas. There's something about keeping everything regimented that appeals to that side of my brain.

I have even designed a couple houses purely on a grid - and to be honest, they turned out great! It really helps everything to be visually in sync. Even though you might not know that it's there, the consistency of the grid is appealing to the eye. My husband's graphic design work is often based on grids, and we have worked together on a couple of modular typefaces that were completely grid- based.

The great thing about grids is that you can break them. But when you break with the grid, it becomes that much more important. I have included one in the image above that makes me smile each time I see it.

John K. Samson Providence album cover, Field Notes Grid Notebook, Cocoon's Grid-It system, Lian Ng's Graphik180:GridArt.

Somehow my picks for today ended up all in a black-grey-white colorway. These are items, photos and interiors that caught my eye on Pinterest this week.

1. Liquipel: This product is supposed to waterproof your phone completely, allowing for use in the rain or that unfortunate drop in the sink. I have no idea how well this works, but having bought a full-price phone months after purchasing on at a discount rate that fell in the water, this could be a godsend.

2. Ditte Isager: When you start to pay attention to interior images, you begin to find out that you have favorite stylists, much like you have clothing lines you naturally gravitate to. Ditte Isager is one of those people who lays things out in a way that really appeals to me. Clean and warm with a distinct Scandanavian bent.

3. Daniele Papuli: This paper artist created these beautiful undulating forms with sheets of paper. I love the pattern it makes on the floor.

4. Otokoyama Sake bottles: I think the clean look of all three bottles is very reminiscent of a minimalist Japanese aesthetic, and I love the way the three bottles become clearer as the product becomes more refined. Not sure if this is an actual product or a project, but I'd buy them.

5. Niche Modern pendant: I have been anamored with the Niche Modern product line ever since I first saw them years ago. The wonderful thing about these pieces is that the combination of clean lines with a nod to old fixtures gives an effect that is timeless, and doesn't appear dated.

6. Under-dock ice photo: If have no idea whatsoever the source of this photo. Unfortunately Tumblr often makes it well-nigh impossible to source images. But I love this - stunning and bleak all at once.

I'd love to get some feedback here - wondering if you'd prefer the source links or just the Pinterest links so you can repin these items to your own boards. Thoughts?

If you like design and you haven't checked out Fab, you're really missing out! Every day there are new sales with some super items. You have to be a member (e.g., registered with the site) to see all the great deals, but it's worth a peek. 

I am thrilled to say that I will be putting together a sale on Fab in the middle of March. Of course, now I'm panicked, as I need to choose the items I will be selling, get a lot of stock together and be prepared when the sale rolls around. So I am in decision mode for a couple days, then will shift into production mode. Wish me luck!

After last night's Golden Globes, (of which I admit I watched only a tiny piece while at a friend's house,) I was struck by the honoring of Morgan Freeman by Sidney Poitier. These two men display such class in a business rife with exactly the opposite, that I had to choose them as this week's inspiration. Their elegance in both manner and speech along with their physical grace is something we could definitely use more of.

There were quite a few great pins this week. Of the 181 new pins I added, here is a selection of my favorites:

1. Honey Jar + Stick by Chabatree: This is just gorgeous on its own. Always a fan of wood/glass combinations. My concern would be that adding honey might make it nasty around the opening.

2. TV wall vignette by Stylizimo: I love how the TV seems to become just another object in a collection instead of a focal point for the room. That oversize mirror really balances the look, and as usual, the black and white combo is quite stunning.

3. Yellow Oyster Mushrooms image by francealot: If you look at my Pinterest boards, you will see that I have an entire board dedicated to macro photography. Nature and the world up close are even more interesting than normal, and I love seeing it in each detail. Unfortunately, I am a terrible photographer. Luckily, my husband is superb.

4. Nambu Ironware Tape Dispenser: Who doesn't just love office supplies? And add to that minimalism and great materials, and it's a winner. I bet this iron dispenser won't move on you when you try to tear off a strip, either!

5. Hörst Dusseldorf branding by Lg2boutique: The new branding package for this high-end men's clothiers looks both upscale and hip. I love the addition of the seal to some of the pieces, hearkening back to days past.

6. Gold Brushed Ceramic Bowls by Canvas: The hidden gilt interior of these sweet-looking bowls is a lovely surprise. It adds such a sense of depth with all the reflections that occur in the gold finish. I would imagine that even filled, you would get a peek of the gold here and there.

Stop by next week for a new set of Pinterest Picks!