Child's Chair from Bookhou

While browsing the internet a little earlier, I cam across a website with a few very interesting items, Bookhou. One item in particular that caught my eye is the “child’s felt chair” (pictured).

This creative chair is made from steam bent hardwood and an industrial felt cover… and to be honest, it looks pretty comfortable! The price at the time of writing is $250 USD from their website.

It looks like it only comes in grey, which is a bit of a bummer considering it’s a children’s chair, bolder colors would have been a good option.

Stone and wood, what a nice combination… especially when the materials and proportions are just right.

After buying a new HiFi system, I needed an equally beautiful place to keep it! My old melamine (ikea-style) media cabinet just wasn’t cutting it anymore so I decided to have a furniture builder friend of mine build me this unit.

The unit is made of walnut and walnut veneer on plywood with 3 extra thick marble tiles on top (I bought the marble at the flea market last year so that turned out to be a good buy after all).

The design is my own, or at least I think it is… when you look at as many design books/websites as I do (and I’m sure you DO!) it gets hard to tell when ideas are your own or if you’re just pulling things from memory!

Well, here are a few more pics, enjoy!

Modern track lighting

It’s been talked about before, nothing can set the mood and add impact to your interior like good lighting. Whether you’re looking to create a moody atmosphere or add adequate task lighting in the kitchen, choosing the right lighting fixtures is key.

It’s important to figure out what type of lighting you need in a room and go from there. It’s kind of like dressing for the cold weather, it’s better to do it in layers instead of an all-in-one solution. With all the different lighting fixtures, lamps, dimmers, light modifiers and so on available, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t experiment with your light setup!

A good rule of thumb for non invasive light in the living area is to opt for a few lamps and have your main lights on a dimmer so you can control their intensity… the dimmer is also useful in the bedroom and bathroom (assuming you have more than just a single light source)… experiment, you’ll be glad you did.

Stainless Steel BBQ

Now that summer is coming to an end (and for some it’s already long gone I’m sure) I’m sure that many of us are looking to take advantage of the last few days of nice weather that we might have left… or look for activities that can be enjoyed even in less than perfect weather.

With that in mind, how many of you are out in the yard (or balcony for us apartment dwellers) firing up the barbeque grills? If you’re not, you might want to consider it… there’s no such thing as a “bad time” to BBQ… and it doesn’t matter what season it is, seriously.

The best part is that today we’ve got so much choice and selection that there’s no reason not to get out and fire up the grill. You can even find good indoor electric grills (but there’s something about being outside that makes it more fun!) that won’t look out of place in your kitchen.

What do you think? How many of you enjoy a good barbeque?

By far the biggest hassle is getting a good quote, on the bright side, the Internet is making it easier. Over the weekend a friend pointed out a website to me that let’s you fill out a questionnaire for the type of insurance you’re looking for and you can get insurance quotes in almost no time… the website is Insurancespecialists.com and it’s definitely worth a look if you’re shopping around for a better insurance quote.

The website is not an actual insurance company website so there’s no sales pitch feel to it which is nice, it’s just a website that has news, articles and a quote request system. Take a look and see if you can save some cash over your existing policies (or even get a cheap policy if you currently don’t have one)… after all, it’s a lot easier to protect the stuff you already have then to start from scratch in case something unexpected happens.

Fortuny Lamp

The Fortuny lamp is a true classic, and one of the most old school and authentic modernist lamps you can find! It’s the perfect way to light up your (large) space.

It goes way back to 1907, before mid-century modern, before Eames, Nelson and even the Bauhaus… it’s an oldie but a goody for sure. This is more than a lamp, it’s a work of art, more than capable enough to be viewed as a sculpture… yet powerful enough (about 500W) to do the job it was built for.

It doesn’t come cheap though (too bad) but on the bright side, it can be a good DIY project (think photographic equipment).