Valerie Rains, Shine staff’s Blog
By Valerie Rains, Shine staff Last updated: Wed Jul 2, 2008 1:05pm PDT-
Speak For Yourself: Do you do patriotic party decorations?
Trust me, I am all for theme parties (and if costumes are involved, even better). But part of what I like about a theme party is choosing the theme; at Fourth of July parties, it is decided before you send the first invitation. So then the question becomes, do you go all-out stars-and-stripes-and-Uncle-Sam-hats, or just use some combination of red, white or blue party supplies to set the mood. Or do you skip the patriotic thing altogether and just focus on the food? I scanned the Independence Day-themed items on Plumparty.com and found plenty of options for all of the above.
So now, the informal poll: Which of these items would guests most likely find on your Fourth of July table:
The literal and cheap: set of three stars and stripes snack bowls for $4. You won't be using these again (and they wouldn't hold up even if you wanted to).
Photo Credit: Plum Party
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Housewares designers of the future, as chosen by Fred Flare
It is certainly possible that if you are over the age of 16, you don't regularly peruse the Fred Flare site; I do. One thing I love about FF is the "Next Big Thing" contest they run every year, giving a handful of promising young designers a chance to sell their stuff on the site and hopefully get lots of good exposure. While the bulk of the stock is brightly colored accessories (basically adult toys—although not "adult" toys) like Snoopy toothbrush sets and Rubik's cube alarm clocks, there are a few less-silly housewares in the mix that could find a good home in a not-too-stiff setting.
Decoylab's "Trompe L'Oeil" cuckoo clock is just $25 and totally adorable.
Photo Credit: Fred Flare
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What's your biggest home splurge?
While, in all practicality, my next home splurge should be a really great, ergonomic desk chair, I just can't seem to get excited about that and will probably end up going for the least expensive (and least ugly) thing that looks like it has any back support at all, and save my rainy day money for something more like a vacation*. The truth is, I am bad at splurging. Like almost physically incapable of it. I envy the people who can buy the high(er)-end but well-constructed sofa they truly love and then fill the rest of the living room with cheapies from discount stores and flea markets. In my home, it's all cheapies. I know, I know, it's a recession now, no one needs to be splurging anyway, blah blah blah, but I'm still curious what other people will willfully ignore (or completely rearrange) their budgets in order to procure for their homes—fancy appliances? artwork? iconic furniture? high-thread-count sheets?
Photo Credit: Wright
So you tell me: What's your biggest home splurge, and if it's a recurring expense, will that change if the economy stays stalled?
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Art Appreciation 101: Steal this doorway idea (plus check out an unexpected source for furniture)
Part of the Sculptor's Guild's In-Site art exhibition on New York's Governor's Island, this clay-flower-trimmed doorway (at left) by Julie Tesser reminded me of the exuberance of traditional Mexican paper and corn husk flowers, and made me think maybe I should try doing something similar around one of the angled-corner doorways in my apartment.
Photo Credit: Valerie Rains
What do you think—would you try something like this around one of your doorways? It seems like a nice, affordable way to bring some summery cheer into your home. (Can't believe I just said "bring summery cheer into your home," but it's too late to turn back now.) Anyway, as I was clicking around the web trying to find examples of those Mexican flowers in action, I got sucked into paging through the DirectFromMexico web site, and found a lot great handmade stuff there. Pine chests, metal art, pottery, mirrors, and glassware make up the bulk of the offerings; sadly, though, they don't carry textiles—one of my favorite things to buy and rotate through my home throughout the year. Prices seem fair overall (although some items carry an order minimum that doesn't quite make sense—do you really need more than one identical mesh beach bag at a time?), and shipping is free in the U.S. Check out a few of my picks below.
Photo Credit: Direct From Mexico
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What's your take on heirlooms—burden or blessing?
Of course, at the most basic level, an heirloom is something to be cherished—it's a piece of family history, a reminder of someone you love (or loved dearly and may no longer have around), an object that someone deemed special enough to preserve and pass on to little old you. But there are times when no amount of love and nostalgia can make, say, a time-worn faux Tiffany floor lamp work in an industrial-chic space. The New York Times addressed this and other conundrums yesterday in their article, "The Tyranny of the Heirloom." (Hmm, what an ambiguous title! I wonder how they feel about it?) In it, author Joyce Wadler proposes that "[a]mbivalence and guilt...are central elements of furniture inheritance, the anchoring pieces around which everything is organized, like the sofa in a living room," and quotes psychologist Barry Lubetkin, who has seen patients become “slaves to inanimate objects.” Read More »
Photo Credit: Getty Images
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Party Favorites: Wine gift tags
I don't know why it is that there are so many tacky wine-related accessories out there—I shuddered at the wave of wine glass charms that flooded the market a few years ago (apologies if you didn't; it's a personal, irrational shuddering)—and although I like the idea of cute wine tags to add to hostess-gift bottles, they are often lacking in the style department. Leave it to (previous Blog Crush of the Week nominee) SwissMiss to find some that are actually funny and charming. Popptags come in a set of 6, each with a different message, like, "Nothing says thank you like a bottle of wine I know nothing about." Ah, it hits so close to home! All that's missing is one that says, "I picked this just because I thought the label was cute." $19.99, popptags.com [via SwissMiss]
Photo Credit: Popptags
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Speak For Yourself: Do you sweep or Swiffer?
There are times when the dust bunnies are so big that, obviously, Swiffering is not the way to go. A dust pan must be involved, masses must be corralled, etc. Other times, though, the dust is in a limbo stage, and it's unclear which mode of cleaning is going to be more efficient. I like the way the Swiffer grabs the dust so it doesn't waft up into my nose, but the whole hand-feel of the flimsy stick and the pivoting head that sometimes doesn't go where I want it to can be really unsatisfying. And so, audience poll: Do you prefer a real, old-fashioned broom, or a Swiffer, or do you mix it up depending on the job? Read More »
Photo Credit: Getty Images
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5 handsome curtain panels for $50 or less (yes, for the pair)
You know how sometimes you go shopping for shoes, and you get excited when you find a great style that's affordable, and then you realize the price is only for one shoe? Oh, you don't? Then why the heck does this always happen with curtains? Even on packages with a product photo showing two of them? Because I find this so offensive, I decided to round up an assortment of panels priced low enough that you can buy a set for what you'd normally pay for one. Let's all use our imaginations together and not judge these picks on the room sets they're photographed in; it's just not a fair competition.
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Photo Credit: PB Teen
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Good news for CFLs, plus projects for old incandescents
Oddly, although I was at Home Depot just this morning working on a video segment about lighting, I learned about the company's new CFL-recycling program from a post on Apartment Therapy that I spotted once I got back to the office (read: living room). (Also discovered today: Dimmer-friendly compact fluorescent bulbs from E3Living. Yay! Did everyone already know about this?) In any case, if CFLs are truly all they're cracked up to be, you're going to have to remember this information for a really, really long time, since the bulbs are touted to last approximately forever; still, it's good to know that you won't have to worry about the mercury issue quite as much since there's someone out there taking care to dispose of burned-out bulbs safely and properly. The recycling service is free, open to anyone at any HD location in the U.S., and available every day. (They don't handle broken bulbs, though; anyone know how to deal with that conundrum?)
Photo Credit: E3Living
While we're on the topic of recycling light bulbs, it makes sense to mention that there's also been a sudden spate of (incandescent) bulb-repurposing d.i.y. projects on the web lately. Take a look. (Photos after the jump.) Read More »- Let’s talk: Comment (5) | Blog
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Summer Survival Tips: How to stay cool without an air conditioner
Disclaimer: Not every tip in this video is something that even I, opener of things with my teeth, would try: I'm just not desperate enough to go to bed in a wet t-shirt. (I'm also not that hot-natured.) Still, interspersed with sort of comical suggestions for ways to survive summer's heat without an A/C are some genuine gems, like: Switch out your cotton sheets for linen ones, and don't put a blanket on your bed during the day, as it can trap in your body heat. If all else fails, call your mom or your grandma and ask her what she did during hot summers growing up—it probably wasn't "rack up a $300 electric bill". [via Howcast]
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