If you like a retro kitchen look but also want real utility in your fixtures, Pam of Retro Renovation has the perfect holiday gift for you. She just launched a new site, Dishmaster Living, where she’s selling the Dishmaster, a kitchen faucet that looks almost the same as when it debuted in the late 1940s, but is still being built brand-new. Says Pam, “The Dishmaster makes washing the dishes fun via the ‘Push Button Dishwashing’ action of the special aerator brush wand, which dispenses soapy sudsy water and rinses clean, too.” And it turns out there’s more to that than just retro charm — the Dishmaster also conserves water, energy and detergent when hand-washing dishes. Purchase three different styles of the Dishmaster at Dishmaster Living. –Mary T.

Remember how we all raved- for months- about Andrew Zega and Bernd Dams' Chinoiseries? Well, hold on to your hats because they are back with a new book that I think might be one of their best yet!

An Architectural Alphabet (Connaissance et Mémoires) is the new limited-edition artist's book that features the duo's watercolors of the alphabet. Each letter is featured in an architectural or garden related scene. In fact, a few lucky letters are painted against backdrops of Chinoiserie follies. How great is that?

The new book, with a forward by none other than Charlotte Moss (I told you this was good!), is hand-bound in silk, numbered, and slip-cased. Forget the jewelry, baubles, trinkets, and bibelots- this is what I want for Christmas. I better start writing Santa right now.

Cynthia Conigliaro and Will Rogers of Archivia Books and Catherine Cormery of Connaissance et Mémoires are hosting a book party where Zega and Dams' new book as well as some of their recent watercolors will be featured. The event takes place at Archivia Books on Thursday, November 20 from 6 until 8pm. To RSVP, call 212-570-9565.

If you're looking for me this week, I'm guest blogging the whole week on design*sponge--and writing more posts there than I have in the past three months combined I might add!

Also, I've gotten some inquiries on this: if you're wondering where to buy Craft Inc. because it's apparently sold out at Chronicle Books and Amazon, here are some other retailers that currently still have them in stock (for now): Reform School and Fred Flare.

I also don't know when they are expecting to receive more books but I'm sure it will be soon!

• Bondville - cool products & design from Australia and elsewhere to keep you in the know. Steph has a great eye for Aussie finds and even better she's from Brisbane too! I'm blown away by the blogging talent coming out of my home town Briz-Vegas!




• Susie Q from eye spy sent me a link to the work of Alvin Lustig. If you don't know his work you're in for a treat!




• Love metremade. Love. Liz Roger and Tess McCabe are the creative Aussie duo behind these fab pattern designs. (I used their Take the Tube fabric in green on a lampshade.) These ladies are SO talented. Fabric, desktop wallpapers (download here) and now the most exciting news of all - they have designed patterns for Grippiks, decorative pattern "accents" for IKEA furniture. The pattern pieces are pre-cut to size for popular IKEA furniture items, and you simply peel and stick for a fast and fabulous furniture makeover! Girls, girls, girls I take my hat off to you!




• Email in from Jamie Ward Furniture. Jamie wrote, "I am interested in producing eco-friendly pieces which fit into a contemporary home as attractive hand made furniture. I take a playful, inventive approach to designing and manufacturing work which is all made from second hand furniture which has been found discarded around Manchester. The lack of value these pieces have in a modern wasteful society I find surprising, the value for me has always been the individuality and character each piece of metal and wood has due to the weathering which rusts, warps and discolours the materials." Clever, inspired, eco-chic and at times hauntingly beautiful (and at others in your face). Great stuff!




• Tracy Porter is a design whirlwind. On-line store with gorgeous apparel and homewares and now a blog. Is it a marketing event, is it a woman bent on succeeding in business, is it a lifestyle, is it living with style? It's Tracy Porter.




• Been to Chic Tip yet? It's a daily design blog dedicated to the art of interior design. They feature stores, products, artists, reviews, sales, contests announcements, trends-in-the-make and more. But it's more than just a blog, it’s a community - for designers seeking inspiration, and for amateur design enthusiasts.




• Alexis the web editor at marthastewart.com emailed to let us know that Martha's radio channel (Sirius 112 and XM 157) is running a Thanksgiving hotline November 24-26. "We have peeps like Martha (of course), Emeril, Isaac Mizrahi, Johnny Iuzzini and Mario Batali answering your Thanksgiving questions!" Details here. We don't do Thanksgiving in Australia but I sure love turkey! Oh and pie, lots of pie!




• Lastly I'm sure you have all seen the first in a series of video collaborations between Grace at design*sponge and the New York Public Library. They're following 5 artists (Julia Rothman, John Pomp, Mike Perry, Moontree Press and Lorena Barrezueta) as they create collections inspired by the library's collections. It's an amazing idea and I can't wait to go on the journey with them. Get yourself started on this creative trip yourself if you haven't already. All you need to know is here.

Essex Chest

Running through a copy of the San Francisco Design Center Fall 3D Issue, I spied a charming furniture company. Now maybe some of you have heard of Somerset Bay, but I was unfamiliar.

Bald Head Console

I was immediately reminded of Summer beach houses.

Catalina Four Poster

And Cozy Fall Bed and Breakfast getaways

Carmel Chair

Intimate Winter Dinner parties

Camden Display Case

And Spring organizing

Kennebunkport Cocktail Table

But no matter the season, it is clear that classic design with a twist of color, and a bit of wit translates into charming keepsakes.

Sonoma Armoire

To find out more and see the full website, click here.

Enjoy your weekend!

I feel so lucky to be part of this very supportive medium that informs, entertains, supports, and amuses us all. And people like you are the reason I keep going! Thanks so much Joni! And to all of you that come and read my little blog. I so appreciate you all.

Best-
Katie

BEFORE:

TWO LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT OWNERS, A GUTTING, AND 14 DUMP TRUCKS WORTH OF FILL LATER:

Hello, Cottage Living, are you reading?  When I missed my flight on Sunday I really lucked out. My friends Sophie and Kent offered me shelter in the 1940’s cottage they have been lovingly modernizing for many months. Circa 200 years ago, their neighbors would have been Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe, as it is located between Monticello and Ash Lawn. It is truly one of the most beautiful spots around Charlottesville. It sits between the flood plain of Houchens Creek and beautiful woods, and when you look in out from the back, you can spy neighboring cows. Sophie and Kent are two of my pals from grad school. Kent has his Masters in Urban Planning and both of them have Masters in Landscape Architecture. Kent also has lots of experience in construction with a focus on green building, and Sophie is a kick-ass fiddler and gardener.

I wish I had some interior before pictures to show you, but unfortunately, they no longer exist. The space shown below used to be four dark, cramped rooms: A kitchen, a dining room, a bedroom and a bathroom.  S & K ripped the whole thing open and installed all new windows, which are all Low E, argon-filled sashes. The ceilings, once low and dark, were ripped out, and now they are 10′ high. The beams were restored from the original structure. The space is so peaceful and sunny that I felt like I was in one of the charming chapels that dot the landscape in the country around Charlottesville.

A very small addition that accommodates a new bathroom was added to the house’s original 840 square feet (it’s on the right side of the exterior “AFTER” photo). The floors are reclaimed heart pine, and all of the poplar siding and trim came from the Appalachian Sustainable Development mills in southwest Virginia, all of it harvested from certified-sustainable wood lots in the southern Appalachians.

I love that they used an antique dresser for storage in the bathroom:

Formerly an unused attic, Sophie and Kent opened up to the roofline and created an upstairs loft. Yours truly was not feeling confident about scaling the ladder after two margaritas, but I could see from below that it  added a lot of usable space to the house:

Here are a few more sweet nuggets:

There is a real nature study aesthetic all around the house:

While all of the walls are crisp and white, S & K’s careful editing of antiques, oriental rugs, artwork and objects add so much warmth to the modern space.

Curious about that lamp? The lovely and talented Christina Michas made the gorgeous shade for them as a wedding gift:

The house is still a work in progress, but I kind of dig these little traces of it:

To read more about the project, check out Strata Projects Design.

If you have been reading Katiedid for awhile, you know I have been working on my younger daughter's bedroom, theoretically for her birthday. Well, her birthday has come and gone, and we are still not quite done. I can manage to get client's work done and meet a deadline at work, but at home.....the cobbler's shoe syndrome takes over. We have drapery panels to hang, a mirror to find, and art to hang. But the furniture is all in and the room is painted! Progress!

In the meantime, my older daughter had a party for Halloween. Which prompted a room cleaning. I thought I would take the very infrequent opportunity of a clean room to snap some photos. Just so I can remember what it looks like.

Hannah and I did her room a few years ago starting with the Marimekko "Unikko" Duvet Cover and shams as the jump off point. We chose a matlisse bedspread from Crate and Barrel with matching Euro shams for the "background". You probably recognize the Seagrass headboard from Pottery Barn. The nightstand is an antique Swedish pine table. Nate Berkus lamps from Linens and Things. Red drapery panels from IKEA. We chose things that a teenage girl could grow with that were affordable, and therefore changeable if tastes changed.

Above her antique pine dresser, I placed a flea market mirror that I painted red which made it pop off the walls, which are painted Dunn Edwards Whisper White.

The room is divided by French doors into two parts, the main bedroom (very small) and a sun room. It is a very charming space and one of the selling points when we were first looking to buy the house. As soon as Hannah saw this space she claimed first dibs.

The sun room is covered with bead board on the walls and ceiling and has windows on three walls. We made it into a cozy library using West Elm book shelves, which fit perfectly under the windows. There is an old pine armoire for storage....and Heaven knows a teenage girl has got to have storage. We used West Elm red lacquer nesting tables, a white slip covered chair from IKEA and a lambskin rug on the floor.

And that's it! A fun bright space for my teenage girl.

Speaking of Nate Berkus.......now that Linens and Things is closing, I was wondering where he might be selling his retail products. It turns out he is offering his line on the HSN website. He is also writing a blog for the website as well, which you can check out here. I went and did a little looking around and found THE mirror for my other daughter's bedroom! The Nate Berkus Moroccan Mirror:

Perfect size and price! I am determined to get this room done before.......Christmas!

10 Little and Big Things You Can Do

1. Power down! A great deal of the resources we use and the waste we create is in the energy we consume. Look for opportunities in your life to significantly reduce energy use: drive less, fly less, turn off lights, buy local seasonal food (food takes energy to grow, package, store and transport), wear a sweater instead of turning up the heat, use a clothesline instead of a dryer, vacation closer to home, buy used or borrow things before buying new, recycle. All these things save energy and save you money. And, if you can switch to alternative energy by supporting a company that sells green energy to the grid or by installing solar panels on your home, bravo!
2. Waste less. Per capita waste production in the U.S. just keeps growing. There are hundreds of opportunities each day to nurture a Zero Waste culture in your home, school, workplace, church, community. This takes developing new habits which soon become second nature. Use both sides of the paper, carry your own mugs and shopping bags, get printer cartridges refilled instead of replaced, compost food scraps, avoid bottled water and other over packaged products, upgrade computers rather than buying new ones, repair and mend rather than replace….the list is endless! The more we visibly engage in re-use over wasting, the more we cultivate a new cultural norm, or actually, reclaim an old one!
3. Talk to everyone about these issues. At school, your neighbors, in line at the supermarket, on the bus…A student once asked Cesar Chavez how he organized. He said, “First, I talk to one person. Then I talk to another person.� “No,� said the student, “how do you organize?� Chavez answered, “First I talk to one person. Then I talk to another person.� You get the point. Talking about these issues raises awareness, builds community and can inspire others to action.
4. Make Your Voice Heard. Write letters to the editor and submit articles to local press. In the last two years, and especially with Al Gore winning the Nobel Peace Prize, the media has been forced to write about Climate Change. As individuals, we can influence the media to better represent other important issues as well. Letters to the editor are a great way to help newspaper readers make connections they might not make without your help. Also local papers are often willing to print book and film reviews, interviews and articles by community members. Let’s get the issues we care about in the news.
5. DeTox your body, DeTox your home, and DeTox the Economy. Many of today’s consumer products – from children’s pajamas to lipstick – contain toxic chemical additives that simply aren’t necessary. Research online (for example, http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/) before you buy to be sure you’re not inadvertently introducing toxics into your home and body. Then tell your friends about toxics in consumer products. Together, ask the businesses why they’re using toxic chemicals without any warning labels. And ask your elected officials why they are permitting this practice. The European Union has adopted strong policies that require toxics to be removed from many products. So, while our electronic gadgets and cosmetics have toxics in them, people in Europe can buy the same things toxics-free. Let’s demand the same thing here. Getting the toxics out of production at the source is the best way to ensure they don’t get into any home and body.
6. Unplug (the TV and internet) and Plug In (the community). The average person in the U.S. watches T.V. over 4 hours a day. Four hours per day filled with messages about stuff we should buy. That is four hours a day that could be spent with family, friends and in our community. On-line activism is a good start, but spending time in face-to-face civic or community activities strengthens the community and many studies show that a stronger community is a source of social and logistical support, greater security and happiness. A strong community is also critical to having a strong, active democracy.
7. Park your car and walk…and when necessary MARCH! Car-centric land use policies and life styles lead to more greenhouse gas emissions, fossil fuel extraction, conversion of agricultural and wildlands to roads and parking lots. Driving less and walking more is good for the climate, the planet, your health, and your wallet. But sometimes we don’t have an option to leave the car home because of inadequate bike lanes or public transportation options. Then, we may need to march, to join with others to demand sustainable transportation options. Throughout U.S. history, peaceful non-violent marches have played a powerful role in raising awareness about issues, mobilizing people, and sending messages to decision makers.
8. Change your lightbulbs…and then, change your paradigm. Changing lightbulbs is quick and easy. Energy efficient lightbulbs use 75% less energy and last 10 times longer than conventional ones. That's a no-brainer. But changing lightbulbs is just tinkering at the margins of a fundamentally flawed system unless we also change our paradigm. A paradigm is a collection of assumptions, concepts, beliefs, and values that together make up a community’s way of viewing reality. Our current paradigm dictates that more stuff is better, that infinite economic growth is desirable and possible, and that pollution is the price of progress. To really turn things around, we need to nurture a different paradigm based on the values of sustainability, justice, health, and community.
9. Recycle your trash…and, recycle your elected officials. Recycling saves energy and reduces both waste and the pressure to harvest and mine new stuff. Unfortunately, many cities still don’t have adequate recycling systems in place. In that case you can usually find some recycling options in the phone book to start recycling while you’re pressuring your local government to support recycling city-wide. Also, many products – for example, most electronics - are designed not to be recycled or contain toxics so recycling is hazardous. In these cases, we need to lobby government to prohibit toxics in consumer products and to enact Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws, as is happening in Europe. EPR is a policy which holds producers responsible for the entire lifecycle of their products, so that electronics company who use toxics in their products, have to take them back. That is a great incentive for them to get the toxics out!
10. Buy Green, Buy Fair, Buy Local, Buy Used, and most importantly, Buy Less. Shopping is not the solution to the environmental problems we currently face because the real changes we need just aren’t for sale in even the greenest shop. But, when we do shop, we should ensure our dollars support businesses that protect the environment and worker rights. Look beyond vague claims on packages like “all natural� to find hard facts. Is it organic? Is it free of super-toxic PVC plastic? When you can, buy local products from local stores, which keeps more of our hard earned money in the community. Buying used items keeps them out of the trash and avoids the upstream waste created during extraction and production. But, buying less may be the best option of all. Less pollution. Less Waste. Less time working to pay for the stuff. Sometimes, less really is more.

Shop, shop, shop? Save, save, save. Take advantage of some pre-holiday specials:

Shop auto today, November 21, only — in-store, over the phone, or online — and get 30% off your entire purchase (excludes custom orders). Use code “FF2008″ at checkout. We like: Missoni Ian bedding.

Today only, save 20% on orders over $150 at iomoi.com — use code “stockup”. We like: colorful, kooky address labels.

Take advantage of the Hood and Company three-day sale online — enter coupon code “N192108″ and save 25% on your order. And if you’re going to be in the downtown Catskill area, click “local pickup” to save on shipping charges. We like: Endurance measuring pans.

WallCandy Arts is offering a discount on their wide collection of wall stickers. Enter code “blogsupport20″ to get 20% off any WallCandy purchase. We like: RoCoco chalkboard sticker and Small Paul Spots.

Finally, get free shipping on your favorite Marimekko purchases totaling $150 or more, now through December 25 at Always Mod. Enter promotion code “shipx3k” at checkout. Get the full details here. We like: new Marimekko tins!

Win Martha Stewart Home Decorating Products Every Friday Via Apartment Therapy’s Holiday Giveaway!

Friday Nov 28 – win a Constellation Rug (approximately 6’ x 9’ size) from Martha Stewart Rugs; select from five available colors.

Friday Dec 5 – win an occasional table from Martha Stewart Furniture with Bernhardt. Choose one of five selected styles!

Friday Dec 12 – win Martha Stewart Floor Designs with FLOR Needlepoint Stripe 30-tile rug in any color (approx. 8’ x 10’)

Friday Dec 19 – Win an exclusive signed print from Martha Stewart Framed Photography. Choose one of three prints!

To enter and visit, go to www.apartmenttherapy.com/holidaygiveaway2008 and click on the picture of the week’s Martha Stewart giveaway!
For even more home decorating ideas from Martha Stewart go to www.marthastewart.com/shop

Anne Harwell's Holiday Interior Cards

Usually around mid November I start to think about my Christmas theme for the year. When I say theme, for me, it's usually mostly about what wrapping paper and gift cards I am going to use and which ribbons I will use to re-thread all of my mismatched Christmas ornaments which I have been collecting since my husband and I got married.

This time each year I love pulling out my collection of Christmas decorations as they always bring back so many happy memories especially the little ornament one of my girlfriends gave me when Harry was born. I also have ornaments I have found overseas in special places like Venice, Paris, Hawaii, San Francisco etc. etc. I'm always on the lookout for special Christmas decorations!!

Bird Ornaments available from Black & Spiro

Bunny Ornament available from Black & Spiro

To keep my collection growing I like to buy 2-3 new decorations a year. We are selling these two gorgeous decorations {above} at Black & Spiro this year and I have decided to add some of these to my collection at home. One day I will pass on my collection to Harry and hopefully he will get as much joy out of it as I do and maybe he too will carry on the tradition with his children by adding a few new ornaments each year.

Our 2006 Christmas Tree

This Christmas I am challenging myself to try to be a little less extravagant and a little more creative. Therefore another way to meet this challenge is to do some baking. I thought I might look for some vintage tins and then use them to package up some home made biscuits to give to my family & friends.

What are your plans this Christmas??