Happy Holidays and a New Etsy Shop!

Hello dear readers. Like me, I am sure you are considering your pink holiday tree and unique holiday gifts for your loved ones. Might I suggest original and unique art? I have opened up an Etsy shop just in time for the holidays. I offer some affordable options. I have just a few items in the shop, but plan to update frequently. If you like to take a look, click here. Thanks for looking!

an influential apartment and some blog love

Dear readers, as you know, Apartment Therapy features some amazing homes on their site. I adore seeing how people design their personal spaces. But sometimes, a home speaks to me in such a way that I feel compelled to write about it. This one not only spoke to me, it haunted me. I could not stop thinking about it. This is one of those homes that makes me want to throw everything away and start over. I've mentioned many times that I miss the minimalism of my youth. I am still highly enamored with minimalism, but I also love beautiful things. I'm not sure I'd call this a minimalist apartment, but it certainly flirts with minimalism. The curator of this home has showed a sense of restraint. But make no mistake, restraint is not easy. The look is simple, but it's not easy to achieve. It takes a soft and purposeful hand.

This is Mike's home. He's a student living in a studio apartment. A home should speak of its owner, and this one clearly does. It says, "I am confident in my choices and I know who I am." Such a marvelous thing in someone so young. He's definitely one to watch. He's going to have a successful career. I adore functional pieces as art. Witness the clothes rack which he made of pipes. It works because Mike's wardrobe color palate is carefully limited (for more on clothes racks, see my previous post here). Like I said, he knows who he is, he lives his art.

I love his sofa. It looks very much like my Danish sofa. I love the low scale.

The blue on the walls and stripes of the wood floors are art. He's correct not to make these beautiful elements compete with clutter.

He designed a perfect work space. The window is a nice touch.

This picture shows a simple, organic still life Mike created after purchasing a cup from ceramicist Teresa Chang. Love that tea pot, which I assume Teresa also made. Form and function, my favorite. In this case, creating simple Zen-like elegance. I'm also a lover of asymmetry.

This apartment makes me miss my studio apartment. It was small and humble, but it seems to be just the perfect amount of space. I'm beginning to look at alternatives to conventional living, and simple living in particular. How much space and stuff do we humans need? Of course we need a few pretty things, but we shouldn't get tied down to them. I think this is what the Buddhists meant by detachment. It doesn't mean you don't like things, or people. It just means that you value your freedom above all, and that you should always travel light.

Great job Mike! Thanks for the inspiration. I look forward to following your career. Mike's house tour on Apartment Therapy is here. Also check out Mike's fab blog, Other Blog. I will be adding Mike's blog to my link list. As always, thanks for reading! xxoo

outdoor space inspiration

Dear readers, as you know, one of the reasons I fell in love with my quirky new apartment is the deck off the kitchen. Such a luxury to have so much glorious sunshine pour into my kitchen. I'd love to decorate this space. I've never decorated an outdoor space, and the challenge is thrilling to me. I have so many ideas, like I'd love to grow an herb garden to help in my quest to eat more organically. But mostly, I think about design. I'd love to do a space that is retro-mod, with Asian and Moroccan elements.

I'd love to have one of the Bubble Club Sofas designed by Philippe Starck for Kartel. This is, of course, not in the budget.

I've always wanted a set of bullet planters, but again not in the budget. I need Target to produce a knock-off of these.

Here's something not too expensive, that would look cute. Vintage dining set at Flower Child, only $189.00.

I'd love to have a large Buddha statue. Image via Big Buddha Statute.com. Ha! That's really their name, honest. Awesome.

I'd love a whole set of Moroccan lanterns. Image via Z Gallerie.


Of course, I'd need a serving tray since I'd serve exotic teas to my honored guests. Image via Le Souk. I'd sit outside on my lovely deck, even in the snow.

stuff and kitsch

Here's how it happens. Even though you crave simplicity, somehow stuff keeps coming in. Let's think about stuff for a minute. I begin to panic when I have too much because I like my home to be simple and uncluttered. Don't get me wrong, I love pretty things. There are so many artisans who make beautiful things. I even like (a little) kitsch. How do we balance a love of beautiful things with a love of uncluttered spaces? It takes restraint, and it's not easy. I need to be careful. Just because I have a larger apartment, doesn't mean I want to crowd it with stuff. I constantly edit. That said, here's some cool new things that have made it into my home.

Form and function are always on my mind. I like functional pieces that are also beautiful. This bag made in Indonesia, is made from upcycled rice bags. It represents perfect design, because it helps solve a problem. It is perfect for carrying my laundry. It was kind of pricey, but I love supporting artisans around the world. I bought it at Ten Thousand Villages. Ten Thousand Villages is a perfect place to find a Christmas present for someone special.

I like pieces that are functional, like the rice bowl and the fish shaped spoon holder on the bottom shelf. The Buddha head looks kitschy wearing my favorite hat, but it makes me smile.

I went to a flea market, and bought a couple of pieces. The tall white vase is new. Only $5.99.

The two apple green pieces were bought at the flea market. The flower sculpture is a gift from my sister-in-law and is made by the husband and wife artist team, Scott and Shawn Johnson. I dig it. I have it in my kitchen. The kitchen is the perfect place for explosions of color and kitsch. The kitchen should, after all, be a happy place.

The two footed bowls made it into my collection of dishes. I think they were $.50 each. I have a thing for orphan dishes, especially white ones. I love pieces that are functional and simple.

enjoy cleaning your home

It's Saturday. The skies are a lovely Cleveland gray, so I have the windows open. I had a hard week, and my racing brain won't shut up. I was away from home all week. Difficult for a homebody like me. It was at times wrenching. The kind of wrenching that comes with lessons flooding in at a speed I can't keep up with. Did I mention, the election ads and the pain in my body were almost unbearable? I know, I'm whining, but I don't mean it that way. That's just the reality, and I haven't mastered the art of writing the way Woody Allen can.

I sat in the bathroom longer than necessary. At least there are a ton of glorious magazines here! I read Men's Health from cover to cover. I learned some strategies that would have aided me in my last job. Intelligent, shrewd advice for handling a bastard boss. These tips could have helped me succeed. Who am I kidding? I don't have the heart. Furthermore, I don't want the things I'm supposed to want. The things that come with the six figure income. I see these things as fatiguing. Read a great article about the sublime Cher. She said she's yelling at her family to work out, "Old age is coming!" she says. She says, did you ever think we'd get this old? Cher, baby, I feel you. You are too fab, you go girl!

I took several beautiful walks. I felt guilty that I am unsuccessful. I called a friend who reminded me that I give in my way. I wonder why we never feel as if we are good enough? I saw a psychic. I helped my nephew clean and rearrange his bedroom, I learned a better strategy for dealing with a precious loved one I feared losing. I spent time with a friend who pampered me. A rare occurrence.

I am cleaning my home, and I keep lamenting that I need rest. Stop! I wish my meddling brain would just shut the hell up! I remind myself, this is the rest. Cleaning the home is a wonderful thing to be able to do. It takes strength and time. Two precious things to be savored.

So why not enjoy being at home and clean in a meditative way? You've heard of walking meditation, why not cleaning meditation? You can talk to God the whole time, if you like. God enjoys the mundane details. Clean the dishes slowly, contemplate the lovely warm water and soap. Enjoy the scent. Contemplate the exquisitely complex movements of your hands and fingers, such a miracle. Do what you can, don't worry about what you can't. Go at your pace. The monk Thich Nhat Hanh, reminds us to stay in the moment. If you cannot enjoy washing the dishes because you are racing so you can watch a movie, you will not enjoy that movie either. You will always be planning what is next and you will not be present. You will miss the moment and there is no getting it back.

What's the hurry? I'm reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. She said, "The days are long, but the years are short." I didn't get that at first. When I did, I felt like I had gotten a blow to the head. I can be so slow and stubborn.

We think the days are long because they are so full of stress. We just want to get through the day. So we rush. All day long. We rush so we can do too much in too little time. How much of that rushing actually accomplishes anything? Rushing doesn't make the day shorter, it just squeezes in more things to do. I could be wrong, but people don't seem happy to me. We reach for crutches to get through that long stressful day. Caffeine, sugar, tobacco, alcohol, gambling, sex, overwork, etc. We poison ourselves because we hate our lives. Then one day you look back, and ten years have passed in a blink! The days are long, but the years are short. Ten years of abusing yourself has now added up, and your health is at risk.

Time is precious. Why not slow down and enjoy it. It occurred to me, cleaning my house is rest. Your home is where you rejuvenate. It is a living, breathing entity that loves us. Think of how it's cradled you in bad times. It has kept you warm in the cold, cool in the hot. It's also there celebrate your good times. We love our homes. We are all curators. Each home becomes a testament to its owner's unique personality.

Thank you God, for this beautiful day. Maybe I'll take a walk, and clean when I get back.

My Apartment, for today

Dear readers, here's how my apartment looks today. It's a humble, quirky attic apartment. I still miss my studio apartment, but I'm starting to love my new place and feel so grateful. I am turning my place into a work/live space where all the functions merge. Where there is no separation between art and life. I want it to be functional and organized, but beautiful. Feminine, but edgy. Cozy but simple, and uncluttered. As I arranged I tried to carefully balance my love of my collections. I'm actually a little embarrassed that I collect so many things (vases, toys, rocks, art, lamps and pillows). Sometimes I miss the minimalism of my youth. I edit ruthlessly, but I still have too much. I want to display beautiful things, but I also want a simple, sparse look. I think my current style is retro mod Asian glam.

Living area.


Living area, different pillow arrangement. Not sure which I like best.

Work area. I don't have a TV or stereo, I do everything on the computer. I love Pandora and Netflix.

Alcove. I'm turning this into a studio with a seating area to discuss art with clients.

I adore the little salmon colored pillow.

Needs a little work. I love having the hallway to display some of my toy collection. Here's part of my Pokemon collection.

The bedroom.


The kitchen.

I hope you enjoyed this tour of my humble abode. If you are interested in the boring details of my creative process, please see post below. I'm hoping to settle into this apartment, and not change it around so much. But it is great to feel the creative juices flowing again. I'm working on several exciting art projects. Stay tuned and, as always, thanks for reading! xxoo

My Apartment - the process

As you know, I've been obsessing about gray. I've been itching to experiment with adding it to my apartment. This perfect little Russel Wright pot started it all. I found this in a second hand store for $5.00! I had to have it. Now I wish I hadn't sold my Russel Wright gray bowl. Oh well, c'est la vie. I changed the main color from hot pink to gray in my place. Here's a sneak peak.


The color scheme. Gray, turquoise, pink, white and small pops of black. As you know, any color scheme I work with always includes large amounts of pink and white.

I still really love the look of the hot pink with the turquoise. But since the sofa cover is merely a sheet set, I can switch back easily if in the mood. The new gray sheet set is part of the room essentials, college dorm series at Target. I got it on sale for $3.99! Sheets are a great way to cover your sofa when you can't afford a slip cover. You can change them on a whim, they are very comfy and the best part is they are washable. You don't have to worry about your guests putting their feet up or spilling.

Here's a couple of other things found thrifting. I must admit the coaster set was ridiculously expensive for my taste. $24.99. What kind of a crazy person pays $24.99 for a coaster set? Well, the kind who has been obsessing about the perfect coaster set for two years. I could not find one simple enough, and this one is perfect. It's got that retro vibe going. And speaking of pure form, the salt and pepper shakers were only $1.99 at the Salvation Army. Love the minimal shape.

Here's a luxury I've been needing for a long time. A filing cabinet! I could never find one that I liked and could afford. I thought I'd have to buy a used one and spray paint it. Well thanks to Staples, that project is now moot. They had this fab pink filing cabinet on sale. $22.99! What could be better? I love being organized, I'm thinking of getting a second one before they sell out. After all, I am turning my home into an artist work/live space. There's no separation between life and work when you love your work. Everything must be beautiful.


Here's a couple little vignettes. The Haeger panther in the bathroom is inspired by Haegernerd and Retromod (see previous post here). I adore the color combination of pink and black. The grouping of photos in the bedroom is inspired by Ivy33. (I'm kind of annoyed that it is getting so hard to download from flickr these days - anyone else having problems?) I love a cohesive grouping, where everything is uniform. That is, they are the same size and the frames are the same. This looks much less cluttered than a grouping of various sized art and frames. Credits for art are as follows, clockwise: Love print by Jessie; vintage Hindu print; graffiti from Tokyo, photographed by by sister-in-law; vintage watercolor by Kapur.

The influence for piling pillows on the floor comes from Tricia Guild. This is an easy way to add color and warmth in your place. I adore Tricia's use of color and textiles. I've never been much into pattern, but if there's one person who could change my mind on this, it would be Tricia.

I've been wanting something to display pottery, but I didn't really want to spend money. I saw these two book cases at a thrift store, and they were tempting but I decided against them.

I opted to paint my hot pink bookcase in the sublime gray (see previous color here). The bookcase has been chartreuse, electric blue, white, hot pink and now it's gray. I love being creative, but I hate the mess!

But it was worth it. I love the new color of the bookcase. Now to style it with white pottery.

Now a couple of my pieces of pottery weren't right for the newly-gray bookcase. They were off-white, and I wanted them to be true white. I like white white, in a matte finish, but it's hard to find in an inexpensive vase. I love to spray paint them, they turn out really well but take a lot of patience. A warning about spray paint. It's not as easy as HGTV makes it sound. For tips on spray painting vases, click here.

Everything looks great with a new coat of paint, so I decided to touch up my ottoman. It was looking a little shabby.

I made a little sitting area in the alcove. One of my tulip chairs was surrendered to the curb because it was broken. I was happy that someone picked it up within five minutes.

Here's the alcove. I plan to make this into more of a work studio because I love the light. I will probably add a couple of easels and curtain the area off.

I moved my table into the tiny kitchen. This is a wonderful place to sit and feel gratitude. I drink my morning coffee here, brainstorm in my sketch pad and look lovingly at the squirrels in the tree from here. Wish I could paint all of my floors white!

Here's the funny little alcove in the kitchen. Probably no one but me would ever notice those shelves. I used the divine gray paint on them. It makes me happy every time I look at them.

I have my tea pot collection displayed on them. The lovely black tea set on the top shelf is a gift from my uncle in San Francisco. He bought it in NYC while he was in college in the 70s. I adore it. I will be taking it to Chinatown for a new handle.