I’m not sure if this qualifies as a complete Cool Kitchen as we can’t see the entire room, but I love this photo of Flickr user linsmika‘s kitchen wall. The super-organized setup looks pleasingly industrial, thanks to all the stainless steel and glass storage jars. The touches of red take away any chance of it feeling sterile, and make the whole place seem cheery and bright.
Heather is an illustrator, designer and writer living in Cape Town, South Africa. Her Etsy shop skinnylaminx sells a fantastic variety of screen printed tea towels (now just $0.50 for shipping!), cushions and fabric yardage. Her handmade prints are charming, and here are some of my favourites.
The LAVA tea towel in petrol is inspired by drawings of mid-century ceramics:
I love the colours, not to mention the adorable print, in the Colt circles in seafoam tea towel:
Hilarious and useful, the I Wish we had IKEA tea towel, in grey:
Based on a paper cutout design, the Specimens table napkin in yellow:
I really like this Spoons apron in red, both for the cheery design and the practical shape:
Also check out Heather’s website, her blog, or follow her on Twitter.
How badly do I wish I had got to attend the Dwell on Design conference in LA this past weekend? Luckily, the folks behind one of my favourite sites, The Kitchn, did, and shared their thoughts here. They photographed some great new design items in the “Kitchen Ecology” exhibition, and I’m including my favourites below.
I love these colourful Log Bowls, from Loyal Loot. I might not want to eat out of them, but a larger one would make a great fruit bowl:
An eco take on the soap-repackaging idea, New Soap, Old Bottle from Amron Experimental:
The idea of a rocking lunch might be a bit far-out, but I like the look of these Balancing Meal servers from United Design:
I found this photo in Yogma‘s Macro Mondays set. It looks like how everyone should eat on Mondays- sweet and virtuous. Love that honey drizzle.
Ok, so I know The Dieline is hardly a “find”, per se. It’s the most popular packaging design site on the internet, after all, so I’m hardly letting a secret out of the bag here. But I did “find it” at some point, and since then I’ve loved browsing the archives of inspiring food packaging. Here’s just a tiny taster of the wonderful design on the site.
I love the smooth, evocative packaging of Picked in June olive oil:
It’s the second-most-popular post on the site, and no wonder. The eclectic and girlie use of print for Mallard Tearooms is so charming:
A student design for Dean & Deluca’s Italian Spice Collection:
A mass-market wine with a typography-focused design, from Drinks Well:
I like this chalkboard-inspired packaging, designed as a concept for Swedish-run coffee shop Kaffe:
I discovered the work of Toronto-based photographer Luis Albuquerque via the always fantastic Decor8 blog on Friday. As soon as I saw the beautiful vignettes that Holly posted, I was off to check out Albuquerque’s portfolio for myself. While not strictly a home photographer (check out the accessories in the Off-Figure area of the site), I found the following images lovely.
One of those instances of something that shouldn’t work in theory looking lovely in reality… love these images. Happy Friday, everybody!
From top: photos by Rachel Zack, Wendy Copley, cafemama, Eggybird and Rachel Zack.
Reading my regular blogs this week, I noticed not one but two strange new takes on the planter. I ask you- what do product designers have something against the humble pot lately? At least they’re pretty cool-looking, if nothing else.
First up, and via Dezeen, this Floating Garden by Benjamin Graindorge. The “garden” sits on top of a fish tank and uses fish waste as a fertilizer. Even a goldfish-hater like myself (just what is the point of having a pet you can’t cuddle?) has got to admit- this is pretty nifty:
Next, this Sky Planter, posted by Swiss Miss yesterday. I can’t help but think growing your plants upside down is taking things a step too far, no matter how well-designed the “internal reservoir system” is. They would look pretty cool hanging in front of a kitchen window, though, containing different herbs:
I found the CUR8TOR Shop while browsing Etsy for vintage pitchers. Studiosmith stocks a nice selection of mid century modern art, ceramics and homewares. Here are some of my favourite friday picks.
I like the daisy pattern on this coffee pitcher. It’s the first piece that caught my eye and looks like it’s in great condition:
This Guildcraft tin is lovely, and would make a wonderful gift for someone (filled with home-baked goodies, of course):
An 11-piece Coffee/Tea set in great nick, with style to spare:
These Swedish compote bowls are my favourite because they’re so interesting. You don’t normally see mid-century design with such intricate detail:
I love me some enameled cast iron, and I’m willing to bet that anyone who is into cooking (or, you know, pretty things) is with me on this. My Mum bought me a hunter green Chasseur dutch oven about a year ago, and it’s hands-down my favourite kitchen item.
Whatever brand you go for, the most mulled-over question when choosing a new piece or set of enameled cast iron is undoubtdebly “What colour should I pick?” Well, Staub is making it even tougher with their new range of colours, including some “vitamin-inspired” shades as well as a chic white option. I saw this over at The Kitchn yesterday and wanted to share my favourites.
(The Staub website is currently under construction, but check out the whole post at The Kitchn to read more.)
