salt and pepper

leafing through the latest Christmasy Elle Decor, I saw THIS and absolutely fell in love with Michael Aram‘s pomegranate salt and pepper shakers. 

It gave me another great gift idea for the last-minute sock stuffers. With a little bit of  time on the web you can go as thrifty or as fancy as you like. here’s me preaching with 99¢ ones from Walmart:)

rustic couple from Sur La Table

geeky couple from X-treme Geek

Soap Bubble Salt & Pepper by Daan Brouwer

woodwork couple from Alentejoazul

Twist Salt & Pepper Mills from Georg Jensen crafty couple from leavesofclay

holy spice from Koziol

lazy day

After a day in Home depot looking for fix ups for my “DIY  turned-wrong”, I found myself too lazy to search for turkey recipes (I don’t even have a turkey…yet). Instead, I deciede to splurge in winter vacation rentals. Can’t wait for my winter’s fairytale with a cup of hot mulled wine and skiing till I drop. Going to Mammoth, CA for New Years. Yay! Anyone with me?!

<images via here and here>

Trip to Umbria, Italy

I think it’s impossible to find a single person in the whole design community who wouldn’t want to roam through small factories and craftsmen workshops in the heart of  Italy.  Well, last Friday I had a chance to do just that…and without being jet-legged. How, you ask? Check out a new showroom at PDC called Italian Living Umbria. It’ll totally transform your mind-set about regular showroom because it’s definitely not one of those.

Sponsored by 5 governmental institutes in Umbria, Italy this place represents local craftsmen and manufactures from the region. Here you can find everything from hand-carved furniture, hand-painted tiles to best quality textiles and antiques. All that produced in best Italian traditions and shipped directly to you without any “middle man” and showroom markups. One might think “old italian traditions have nothing to do with my sleek contemporary house”, then you’ll be definitely surprised. Having centuries of traditional techniques, those guys are daring you to dare them with the most hight-tech industrial futuristic project. All that will be done in the same high quality Italians are so proud of.

Shop in Umbria from you couch here.

How would you like your cabinets made out of wood from Renaissance Italian Villa? There are tons of those villas in Italy and they are being remodeled every day, those guys save the materials and can deliver product to you,  history-loving soul.

Cannot say enough about Italian decorative tiles.  Here paired with the solid custom made sink. Both painted and stained by hand to resemble centuries of wear and tear. Yes, you don’t have to wait that long.

and your table napkin in a pattern of rosette window of best churches in Umbria. I’m telling you these guys can do anything.

of course,  y your favorite Italian kitchens here, too.

decorative textiles and linens. as fancy as you like.

now, this is what I LIKE: a little bit of history + a pinch of color and fun. Perfect recipe for a delicious space. <images via italianlivingumbria.com>

DIY: trash to treasure chandelier

I don’t know what is it lately but I’m in the mood for some DIY. May be it’s the end of the year, when you really want to look back and tap yourself on the shoulder for all your completions. So…before starting anything new, it’s good to look back and get that extra push from previous (successful!) projects.

Little story behind this makeover: I was looking for our new place and was runnng around checking out the neighborhood when at one of the apartment complexes I saw a repair man about to throw away a the dusty old chandelier. I came to the rescue to his BIG surprise. The rest is the history, but couple spray paint cans later this chandelier has become a dining centerpiece at our new place. Who would have thought, right?

Ignore the ugly blinds, they are long GONE!

There are new exiting DIYs on the way. I’ll keep you posted.

Wall Decals

do i love or do i love Etsy…what a great source of inspiration and simply a spirit reviver on a cold LA night (it’s really cold out there). My today’s browsing is dedicated to wall decals, a quick and budget way to update a jaded decor and spruce it up of the holidays.

romantic dreamy:  Big Dandelions Wall Decal Sticker by ArtConductor

retro mod: Circles – Vinyl Wall Decals by singlestonestudios

bold classic: Cherry Blossom Branch with Birds by singlestonestudios

learn to fly: battle plane by PopWall

never grow up: Butterflies Set by PopWall

graphic pop: Retro Dotted Tree by circlelinestudio

in the spirit of the season: Christmas ornaments by showyourwall

let it snow: Winter Snowflakes by HutchMe

<images vis etsy.com>

sleek and modern from gSelect.

I guess, I’m officially in a gift-searching mode now or it just happens that all the “super cool accessories” websites started stoking me. My latest find is gSelect with its refreshingly stylish lines of everything: from furniture and lamps to books and plants. Look at me, I even started rhyming (usually not my style). The creators of Gessato (an upscale online store offering premium men’s skin care products) seems to know how to market themselves:

Tastemakers and trend-setters, our clientele inspired us to introduce our latest store, GSelect, a collection of high-end merchandise created for today’s discriminating man. …our customers truly appreciate the finer things in life.

Men?!..finer things in life?! That’s not fair, I say, for great design is a Universal Right of every human being. So I dare you to click here and indulge yourself and/or the dearest ones with the quality and sophistication.

under $50: these sticky lamps can totally be a great focal point/art installation; milk crown tray is perfect for a jewelry lover or can be a key tray (who doesn’t need one of those, right); it’s time  to get rid of those ugly aluminum/stainless steel bowls with these sleek double pet bowls (they come in different color sets too); fingerprinted business card case for those stylish and business-minded

under $150: I absolutely fell in love with Domsai Terrarium by MatteoCibic, with variety of shapes you can get one of those for all your friends to depict their character. My husband would get the first one))); I haven’t seen so many funky cuff links, my eye caught the BullsEye and Block by Imooi; calendars are always in need but an elegant calendar is hard to find, here is Danese Milano Perpetual Calendar.

Pamper yourself (no $ limit): these cork “Cube” stools by Scram are quite literally perfect for every setting (can be used indoors or out) and are environmentally friendly, which never hurts; ditch the usual tourist traps and see the best cities in the world on foot with the city walk guides; how about 12 standard milk bottles into a stunning lamp, huh?!; my all time favourite 85 lamps chandelier; looking for  unusual mirror idea, here is 6000 Names Mirror. On the backside of the glass and in alphabetical order, more than 6000 names are printed. This gives a soft image and from a distance the mirror looks tinted. A closer look uncovers the first names of people from all over the world.

<images via gSelect>

Zipper Gifts

yeah-yeah, it’s that time of the year again. Whether you want it or not but gift thoughts start creeping into the head and bother  your integral well-being. I personally refuse to go to a mall yet not to be engaged in the Universal Bacchanalia of bargains and money. Have you ever find yourself in the middle of the mall crowd with the list of random people you barely know but have to get something for Christmas on the BUDGET. I hate that feeling! What are you supposed to get them?! A book …too personal, a gift card…too banal, I always end up at the Z Galleries looking for some accessories…but again I’ve most likely never visited those random people’s homes so what should i get?!!

This year I got my problems solved as I found a relief. ZipperGifts.com is a great online store with a nice collection of accessories and gifts. You can find here something stylish and witty  on every budget. But don’t tell everyone, I want to keep it all to myself.

I wish their LA store was still open as I would be a frequent guest. Here are a few of my choices from the online store:

Picasso Morph Notepad

Buddha Letter Holder

Wobble Chess Set

Sweet The Sting

Can get this song out of my head today…Still don’t know how I feel about the clip though. Just had a different picture in my head for the video.

timeless…striking…glamorous…Mary McDonald

and I absolutely agree with her web site‘s home page intro. This “in demand” LA-based interior designer has created some truly inspiring eye-candy interiors. The tasteful combination of history, sensuality and vibrancy is the contemporary classics in my book.

<images via www.MaryMcDonaldinc.com>

Mansour Modern

Everyone knows and loves antique Mansour Rugs but Mansour Modern Collections have some really great treasures as well. A few of my favorites:

These two are from Eco Collection: Natique (Left) and Plywood (right). Plywood! What a great and animal-friendly substitution for zebra prints.

The Hyde collections blew me away. I want every single one of them in. Here Marque (left) and Massa (right).

No tacky CHINOISery here. Ming (left) and Porcelain (right).

Acclaimed Los Angeles-based interior and furniture designer Kerry Joyce brings electric inspiration to his luxurious  collection. Here Madera (left) and Su (right).

Kelly (left) from Victoria Hagan Collection and   Zeliger (right) from African Collection