Light Fixtures for Food and Wine Connoisseurs

As soon as I saw this unique wineglass chandelier in a client's home, I knew that I had to write about it. It's just such a clever design! (So clever, in fact, that it took three designers to design it: Björn Stillefors, Jörgen Pudeck & Gunnar Cedervall.)

I loved the fact that homeowners can transform the fixture by changing the color and style of the wineglasses that they choose to display on it. I also appreciate the practicality: it's storage & decor in one-- designed so that the stemware can be used and then hung back up again.

My client agreed to give me her source on one condition: that I promise not to tell her husband how much the fixture had cost! I agreed, keeping my fingers crossed that her husband wasn't the one male on the planet (besides my husband) who actually reads my blog. The fixture is available in two finishes: chrome and black, and three sizes:16 glass, 40 glass, and 76 glass. If you'd like your very own, it's available here. Note: the product does not include any electrical components; you will have to purchase a pendant lamp kit separately.

While we're on the subject of unique fixtures, I wanted to share this colander pendant light that I saw awhile back in the Napa Style catalog. It's made from an actual colander. The shiny chrome look (which is actually stainless steel) makes it traditional while the repurposing of a colander keeps it fresh and whimsical--a great design surprise. Unfortunately, this item is no longer available for purchase, but it seems to me that this might be a doable DIY project...if you had patience, Band-aids, and the right kind of drill bit. Oh, and some chocolate. What do you think?

French Nature Charts

I have always loved nature charts. There's just something neat about going out into nature and knowing the names of things. It's kind of like knowing the names of people at a party--"Hey there, Pickerelweed!" "Howya doin', Bladderwort?"-- it puts me at ease and makes me feel like I belong. (Note: In case you're curious, those are North Carolina wild flower names and not characters from Harry Potter.)

These French charts, available through The French General Store (an American company selling imported French goods) take regular nature charts, which are already cool in their own right, and they make them even cooler...because they're French! In addition to the trees, apples, city dogs, and potatoes pictured here, the store also offers charts of cats, goats, pigs, chickens, horses, sheep, seafood, grains, and country dogs. Prices are a little more than you might ordinarily expect to pay for prints ($40-$50 plus shipping), but hey, they're imported from France!

I love this tree chart. When it comes down to it, what's not to love about trees?



















The colors in this apple chart would brighten up any kitchen:



















I love the fact that they offer separate charts for city & country dogs. When I visited France, I remember thinking that Parisian women seemed to choose their dogs based on whether the pups could comfortably fit in a stylish purse. Here's the city dog chart:



















And this potato chart is fun & silly. Hang a French potato chart in your kitchen and you'll have an instant conversation piece. Ooh la la!

Fun Ways To Welcome House Guests - DIY Chalkboard Tray

Have family and friends coming to visit this summer? For just a few dollars, you can make a sweet chalkboard tray to welcome them with a personalized message.

All you'll need is a tray, a can of chalkboard paint, and a foam paintbrush (the bristles on a regular paintbrush can leave streaks). The tray pictured here started out as a frumpy $2 tray with a flower painted in the center of it. I added a little chalkboard paint, and now it's "tray" chic! Get it? Tray? OK, moving on.

Start by selecting a tray. Just about any tray will do. Chalkboard paint adheres well to most smooth surfaces, but I've found that really shiny surfaces, such as glass, don't take the paint well. If you don't have a tray, you can make one by adding 2 handles to the short sides of an ornate picture frame and cutting a piece of foam core poster board to use in place of the glass.

Paint a coat of chalkboard paint over the flat portion of your tray (or on the poster board if you are using a homemade tray). In most cases, there's no need to prime first. Allow the first coat of paint to dry for 24 hours, and then add a second coat. Once the second coat has had 24 hours to dry, your tray will almost be ready for your message. Before you write on it, condition the chalkboard by rubbing the side of a piece of chalk over the entire surface once. Rub clean with a soft cloth, wipe down with a damp rag, and allow to dry before you write on it. This will prevent the "ghosts" of previous words from haunting you after you erase them.

The truth is, I'm nuts about chalkboards. For more fun chalkboard ideas, have a peek at this article that I wrote ages ago before the dawn of my blog.

This post is also linked to a bunch of neat DIY chalkboard projects at Reinvented.

Pachycephalosaurus

This is a post about dinosaurs. Well, actually, it's a post about dinosaurs and people. "What," you may ask, "do dinosaurs have to do with decorating?" Admittedly, not much, but people have a lot to do with decorating.

I love my work. I love everything about it (with the possible exception of quarterly taxes). I love applying my creativity. I love problem solving. I love the variety of tasks with which I am faced-- one day I'll organize an office and the next I'll pick paint colors for a nursery. But my favorite aspect of my work is having the opportunity to meet and work with terrific people. It sounds corny--OK, it sounds really corny--but it's true.

On Friday, I worked with a great family that included four children. When I first arrived at their home, my client's son showed me an animal poster that he'd made. I commented on his great spelling, and he announced that he could spell the names of many animals, including the name of his favorite dinosaur, pachycephalosaurus. Given that I'd never even heard of this particular dinosaur, I was impressed--I don't encounter many dinosaur experts in my line of work.

While his mom and I were busy discussing kitchen cabinet hardware, window treatments, furniture placement, and the merits of Sherwin Williams paint, the resident dinosaur expert was busy creating another poster listing every single dinosaur that he knew. Around 35 total. From memory. When it came time for me to leave, he folded up the poster and presented it to me as a gift.

Like I said, my favorite aspect of my work is having the opportunity to meet and work with terrific people. Dinosaurs don't have a lot to do with decorating, but people do.

Copy Cat: Look-Alikes For Less

I love the classic look of pharmacy lamps. Pottery Barn is currently offering the Wyatt Table Lamp (top photo) for $119.00. For a very similar lamp at a fantastic price, have a look at JC Penney's Linden Street Adjustable Pharmacy Table Lamp (bottom photo), which is currently on sale for $49.99. Both vendors also offer a matching floor lamp--the Wyatt floor lamp is $199.00 at Pottery Barn, and the Linden Street Pharmacy Floor Lamp is $99.99 at JC Penney.

Create a Customized, Preprinted Grocery List

As this is a blog dedicated to both decorating and organizing, I thought I'd take a few minutes to point you towards an idea that has the potential to simplify your life, giving you more free time...for decorating!

One of my wonderful clients once said, "I like to think really hard...once." Sure, you can scribble a grocery list on the back of an envelope, but with a minimal investment of time and energy, you can create a preprinted grocery checklist that will streamline your shopping.

Here are five tips for creating a super-functional grocery list:

1. As a jumping-off point, download a free, printable list from the Internet. One of the most exhaustive lists available is "The Ultimatest Grocery List" from grocerylists.org. To customize your list for your family, have a peek in your fridge and cupboards to see which items you use often (unless of course it's been so long since you've shopped that they only contain a jar of fuzzy mayo and a stale rice cake) . You might also want to flip through your "old standby" recipes and note any key ingredients to include on your list.

2. Keep your customized list simple and uncluttered--to be functional, it shouldn't include everything that you have ever bought or ever will buy. (Seriously, how many times in a decade does a person need to buy Old Bay Seasoning?) Instead include only the most frequently purchased items with blank lines for occasional "write-ins".

3. If you really want to make your shopping trips efficient, you can sequence your grocery list so that the categories on the list appear in the same order as the corresponding aisles at your favorite grocery store. For example, if the produce section is near the front door of the store, this would be the first section on your list. This sounds more complicated than it is--you can probably do this from memory. If not, just jot aisle numbers next to items on your list the next time you shop and edit your list accordingly. This simple step will save you from backtracking for forgotten items. It may also save your wallet...and maybe even your waistline! Grocery stores are designed to encourage spending. (Ever wonder why you have to trek past the Chips Ahoy and the Pringles when you're hunting for the milk?) If you know exactly what you need and where to find it on your first pass through the store, you're less likely to answer the call of the cookies. [Insert Tarzan-like cookie sound effect here.]

4. If you regularly shop at multiple stores and there are items that are only available at a particular store, (Trader Joe's Belgian Chocolate Pudding comes to mind as a purely hypothetical example) you'll probably want a separate section of the list for each specialty store.

5. Print several copies of your list and give it a "test run" for a few grocery trips. If it works for you and your family, you can laminate it (or put it in a sheet protector) and use a dry erase or wet erase marker to check off needed items.

Happy Shopping!

Photo Credit: Stock Xchng