A Lot Of Flavor

Ever wonder what to do with that drab room or that one wall that just seems to sit there blankly staring at you.  Well, look no further than Flavor Paper.  I was recently introduced to this wildly fun wallpaper company as a recommendation from one of my clients.  This particular client likes to challenge and be challenged.  Why design a space that just is… make the occupant take a second look… and perhaps that second look will make them smile or even laugh out loud. Their papers are playful, sassy, risky and risque.

Take a look… they speak for themselves!

Hey, even Jonathan likes it:

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  Minty Goodness

On the right hand side of my blog is a list Links.  These Links are a list of  sites that I enjoy on a daily basis.  The very first link is to A Creative Mint. This visually stunning site shares truly creative explorations of color through photography.  Every time I visit A Creative Mint I begin to look at color and color combinations with a different eye and appreciation.  As a designer color is a large part of my daily work and I’m constantly examining what color can do to a space or an object, the way it can set the tone to a space or give an object a sense of place.  For one of my most recent jobs I believe I pulled upwards of 37 shades of gray for the primary wall color.  Each shade of gray looked slightly different under varying light sources and once I thought I had found just the right shade I would realize how that shade could wreak havoc on the upholstery fabrics I’d selected.  Currently I am searching for just the right shade of green to represent grass.  I need something with depth, but I also need something fresh that makes you want to take a deep breath and smile.  We’ll see how it goes!

As you can probably tell I find color one of the most challenging aspects of my work and I commend Leslie for her love of the exploration of color and her ability to challenge the subtleties of color through collage.

Here are a just a few of my favorite works from A Creative Mint:

Make sure to visit her site to see these beautiful images in context with the rest of her work.

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  Flexibility- The Knoll Generation Chair

I’m always keeping my eyes peeled for the combination of comfort and good design.  Many of us spend the majority of our days sitting at our desk staring at a computer screen, well, we might as well be comfortable while doing it.  One of my local product Reps introduced me to the new Knoll Generation Chair a  few weeks back and now there is one floating around the office for folks to try out.  I have to say, I’m impresssed.  Not only is it pretty:

But it’s greatest feature is how flexible it is:

You have the ability to lean way back in the chair, lean over and chat with a co-worker or just sit comfortably and properly supported at your desk.  I know that a lot of us have become die-hard Aeron chair fans… but sometimes it’s a good thing to take a chance on a new guy.

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  The Bermuda Triangle- Nope My Purse

Have you ever noticed that whenever you need to find anything in your purse you have to dig around for what seems like hours to find your lipstick, keys, cell phone… or even your wallet?  It doesn’t seem to matter if you’re carrying a slouchy or structured bag, infuriating, right!?!

I know that it drives me a bit bonkers.  I’m currently a resident of Boston and I both live and work in the city which means I don’t need a car, I walk everywhere.  Typically when I head out the door in the morning I’ll carry a purse, or a purse and a gym bag, or a purse, a gym bag and lunch bag… or any crazy combinations of strapped items hanging off my shoulders.    Since I’m never sure where the day will take me I like to be prepared with all of life’s little necessities.  But how to do this without forever struggling elbow deep in your bag of the day, month of year.

I struggled for a while trying to figure how to get myself organized and find sanity.  I tried a number of mini-bags, Ziploc, clutches inside of large purses…  finally the frustration reached it’s peak but luckily I stumbled upon an organizational gem, and I owe a big thank you to a design genius  Kate Spade.

Kate’s line of cosmetic bags have literally revolutionized the inside of my handbag.  Her Small Henrietta is the perfect sized mini-bag to store all your loose purse items.  Currently I’m the proud owner of one pink on pink polka dotted Henrietta.  I’ve filled mine to the brim with a variety of lipsticks, lip balms, travel perfumes, nail file and a travel pack of Q-Tips (you never know when your mascara will run).   One of the great perks is the plastic coated exterior for durability and the interior zipped pocket for super small items.  I’m looking forward to expanding my collection and dedicating one of these cuties for all my gym needs- iPod, hair ties, blister band-aids… I think I could even squeeze a Luna Bar in there.

I loved these little life-savers so much that I filled them up with all my favorite goodies and gave them to each of my bridesmaids as a gift for sharing in my special day.  I like to think that they have a small reminder of our friendship every day… but more importantly I’m sure they all have a slightly easier time finding their lipstick.  You never know when you’re going to need an emergency application.

If you act quick their is a sassy print currently on sale!

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  Curious About How it All Came Together?

Well, head on over to SweetBeaker to check out the creative process.

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  Contain Yourself

There are many things I love in life- good friends and good conversation, sleeping with the windows open in the fall, my family and of course my husband.  And then there are places that I love and as silly as this may sound The Container Store is one of those places.  I could spend hours walking the aisles of this store imagining all the possibilities to organize and contain all my household and office items.  Here are just a few of my favorites:

For those of you still renting or who haven’t built their dream kitchen yet, sometimes you need a bit of extra storage and counter space.  Their Elfa Butcher Block with White Mesh Drawers is the perfect solution.  I already set up one friend who was severely lacking counter space with this piece and I think I’ve convinced another friend of his necessity for this item.

An oldie but a goody these air-tight storage jars are something I remember from my Grandmother and Mother’s kitchen.  They are the perfect jar for storing flour, sugars and tea.  They have kept my baking goods fresh for many months and they are pretty enough to display, especially if you are creative enough to store brightly colored teas and spices in them.

You must not forget your closets storage needs, especially my lady friends, and a few men I know, have quite the extensive shoe collection.  The best way to keep them organized and easily viewable is to store them in plastic bins and stack them on an available shelf.  They even have bins large enough for boots. I hope one day to add a label maker to my collection of organizational tools and it’s first job will be to label my shoe boxes (feel free to judge)!

I’m sure my great finds from here will pop up in many of my future posts, but it is safe to assume that for any project large or small this is my first stop, and the best part is they welcome you over the threshold of their store with a mat that says “Contain Yourself”… I haven’t been able to yet!

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  Keep it Clean

One of my little personality quirks that goes hand in hand with my passion for organizing is my love for cleaning.  There are very few things I gain more sense of accomplishment from than a top-to-bottom Spring or Fall cleaning.  Sure I do the nightly kitchen clean up or the weekly running of the vacuum cleaner and dust cloth, but every so often I like to put on my scrubby clothes, toss my hair into a bun and scrub my apartment top to bottom.  One of the less than joyful side effects to a day of cleaning is a burning in my lungs and red and irritated hands.  I remember one of my high school teachers saying in passing that he felt like he was one step away from creating a chemical weapon every time he scrubbed his shower.  I felt the same way!  There has to be a more aroma-gentle yet effective cleaner out there… well I think this weekend I found it… or them:

Better Life cleaning products not only get the job done, most of them are scent free and their logo says it all “You shouldn’t have to wear a mask in order to scrub”.  Agreed!  This weekend I tried out the I can See Clearly WOW glass cleaner and the what-Ever all purpose cleaner that comes in both scentless and Clary Sage and Citrus scent and I give them both a double thumbs up!  As I finish up my other cleaners I am looking forward to trying out the Simply Floored and Even the Kitchen Sink.  I purchased my products at this charming store in Porter Square Cambridge, MA but the website gives you links to all the places you can buy their products.  Let’s all do the environment and ourselves a favor and starting cleaning green!

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