From Julie:

A trio of new chalkboard-paint application ideas.

Below: Featured recently on the base of a kitchen island (so toddlers can scribble while you cook) in Brussels, via the New York Times.

Below: A DIY wall calendar.

Below: A background for kitchen shelving, via Gourmet.

So, you are still dwelling (ha!) on the fact that you missed the open house for the 2008 Dwell Home in Mountain View, yeah? Well, dwell no further. Kohler’s snazzy video team created a dozen or so videos featuring all the design elements of the space including discussion from the owners of the home as well as lead designer, Sally Kuchar. There are 13 videos in all (yes, I’ve watched every second of them!) so you can get a solid sense for what the place looked like in March.

While doing so keep an eye out for guest appearances from some of our DP products…a.k.a. 0.00125 seconds of fame for the Blu Dot Animal Sofa, the Fatboy room, a Zid Zid poof, Blu Dot D2 Utility Shelving, Amenity pillows, upper playground pillows, k studio pillows, a STAACH table and chairs, among others…

Here are a few of my favorite flicks:

“How all the cooks in the kitchen created a unified look”…

and…the “unique spaces” feature:

View all of the Kohler videos and check out our Flickr group of still images.

crafter and all around awesome-girl kate pruitt will be joining d*s this month to share some fun, material-themed diy projects. she’ll be focusing on one material for the month and using it in a variety of different diy projects. for this month kate has chosen a material both she and i share an obsession with: ceramics! if you’re like us you probably have a surplus of cute cups and bowls sitting around the house, and maybe would like to refresh them. these teacup candles are super easy to make and would be nice little handmade gifts for the upcoming holidays…if you can bear to part with your treasures! click here for the full post and instructions or just click “read more” below happy crafting!

Kate’s Teacup Candles:

What You’ll Need

1. teacup (saucer optional) - i found most of these at a thrift store
2. wax (i used microwaveable soy wax from a craft store, but they sell all kinds)
3. candle wicks (at least 1″ taller than your cup)
4. candle scent or dye (optional)
5. microwaveable container
6. hot glue gun
7. thermometer

Directions:

1. Clean your cup and saucer thoroughly and dry completely
2. Place your wick in the center of your cup and glue the base down with a dab of hot glue. You can also purchase sticky wax for this step, but glue works fine.
3. Heat wax and add in dye or scent according to package directions. Pour into container. You can gently adjust the wick to make sure it is straight after you poor the wax in.

4. Let sit until the wax is cool and solid
5. Trim wick down to 1/4″.

FIN!

I recieved an email the other day bearing some of the best news I've heard in weeks.

One of my favorite culinary TV series, "Two Fat Ladies," is finally coming to DVD!

For anyone who doesn't remember this fantastic British show (which aired back when Giada's decollete was just a glimmer in some TV executive's eye), there's still reason to check it out.

Don't expect healthy twists or 30-minute meals here. Instead, prepare to ride off with Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson Wright (by motorcycle and sidecar, naturalement) around Britain (and beyond) to prepare seriously hearty meals.

How about joining a hunting party in Scotland for a menu that includes roast grouse and venison with blackberries (episode 5)? Or perhaps you'd enjoy making lobster for a sisterhood of Benedictine nuns in Ireland (episode 14). Soused herrings, Welsh rarebit souffle, onion soup with Stilton, fruit tartlets...the list goes on.

These aren't all recipes that you'd likely rush out and make, but that's not really the point. The settings are verdant and the ladies are undeniably charming, entertaining, and passionate about food.

Even though the show itself is dated, it's novel and refreshing to see them, polar opposites of the squeaky-clean, book-deal-sniffing personae of today's food TV stars, preparing honest food without pretension.

Welsh Rarebit Souffle
Ingredients:
    2 large slices of good-quality white bread
    1/2 pound of high-quality, aged cheddar cheese
    3 egg yolks
    4 egg whites
    1 level teaspoon dry English mustard
    1 vigorous shake of Worcestershire sauce
    1 vigorous shake of Tabasco sauce
    Salt and Pepper

Grate the cheese and place in a bowl. Beat in the egg yolks, a level teaspoon of mustard, a good shake each of Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce, and salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Toast the bread; whip the egg whites until they stand in stiff peaks. Add a spoonful or so of the beaten egg whites into tothe cheese mixture then gently fold the rest of the egg whites into the bowl. Put the toasts into an ovenproof dish and pour the mixture over them. Bake in a preheated oven at 450 degrees for 10 minutes until browned and risen. Serve at once with a salad or spinach on the side.

Recipe reprinted from the Two Fat Ladies DVD box set, Acorn Media, 2008.

One of my favorite stores in New York is Todd Alexander Romano Antiques and Decorations. Not only is Todd charming and friendly, but he has the type of style and flair that I hope to aspire to someday! Todd has recently traded up to bigger quarters in The Fine Arts Building on E. 59th., and I'm dying to visit the new shop in person. Todd and his assistant Nicole sent me some photos of the new digs to tide me over until my next trip to New York. But after seeing these images, I'm really thinking that I need to hightail it up there. Anyone care to join me?

(If you live in New York or are planning to visit there soon, make sure to stop by Todd's shop. The new location is The Fine Arts Building, 232 East 59th St., 4th floor. Tel. 212-421-7722.)

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.

James Michael Howard

I am very fond of placing small pieces of Antique furniture in bathrooms. I think it adds an element of coziness. It also adds interest and personality to a room which we usually don't think about furnishing.

Designing a modern addition on our home had been a long time dream for my wife and I. We were lucky enough to have a very talented friend, an architect, who sat down with us and listened to our needs and helped us to create a plan. There were a couple of things that we wanted to be able to incorporate into the design. First, we didn’t want a big house, 1,200 square feet was plenty for us and our dog, but we didn’t want it to feel small. To help increase the perceived space we wanted to have a long line of sight. Having that line of sight makes a house feel big even if it isn’t. Second we wanted lots of built in storage. We had spent too many years in small apartments with no storage and had learned just how valuable storage can be. Lastly we wanted it to have a strong connection to the outdoors. The final design incorporated all of these features, a long hall with built in storage gives line of sight and a place for everything, while the courtyard between the kitchen and master bedroom gives the outdoor connection. Best of all it could be built for around $125 a square foot. In return for designing a beautiful home for us, I built a simple modern birch kitchen for my friend, the architect, for the cost of material. It was a win win situation for everyone.

Lessons learned:

1. When it comes to designing a space find someone who is not only extremely talented, but also willing to listen to your needs.

2. Trade skills. Everyone is good at something. Good old fashioned bartering and trading goes a long way in the modern world.

I cover some of our design inspirations in this post.

More details on the kitchen I built here.

beautiful new linocuts from stacey at perla anne. click here to check them out and shop online….