Chair

Have a chair in need of a face lift? Country Living's associate editor, Rebecca Thienes, did. So she learned to upholster at The Furniture Joint in New York City to transform this faded occasional chair into a fabulous find.

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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.
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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. 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.
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+ Birdhouse

Roost is the latest release from Hepper Home, adding diminutive domiciles for birds to their existing lines geared toward dogs and cats. Made from rust-resistant aluminum, the modern birdhouses come in several alluring anodized colors and feature removable sections for easy cleaning.
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