For inspiration only

A high school student asked if I could help source for a beautiful picture for her to draw for her advance drawing class in school. Found these photographs from Thaissa's gallery on deviantart. Love the light, colours and textures in these abstract images and think that these could be reinterpreted really well in a drawing.
Also love the hues and quality of these faded photographs by S6ltuvus.

ps: Good luck high school girl! There are lots more beautiful pictures on their website. Do check it out! Send me a pic of your completed masterpiece!

Living Room ideas

Beautiful living room spaces from Livingetc. Some delightful ones extracted below for you and me.

Love the oversized shade and floral cardboard chair The simplicity and beauty of these large windows needs no more dressing up. The pinkish, beige bare plaster walls contribute warmth and a tinge of color to this light filled room.

The black and white photographs goes very well with the old wooden filing cabinets in the background to create the feeling of nolstagia.

Love these comfy-looking second-hand armchairs from Fandango. The skinny red lamp makes a good contrast to the curvy armchairs.

Low-level sofas, like these from Designers Guild, and colourful pouffes, available at Panik Design, create an inviting and comfortable lounging space.

The white on white look of the walls, mirrors, chests goes really well with the ornate furniture. The lovely green sofa also adds colour and visual interest to the neutral scheme.

{all images from Living etc}

Furoshiki Shiki

The "furoshiki shiki" bag is made from one sheet of semi-transparent vinyl film. This sheet turns into a bag by folding it, with the natural adhesive qualities of the material keeping it together without the need for any zips or buttons! Available in 5 sizes and 8 yummy colors at Boon design.

Midnight Ocean

Echoing the material, shapes, textures and indigo blue hues of the ocean, Habitat's new summer 2007 collection is rich, bold and seductive. Sometimes calm, sometimes wild (or both), their catalogue is filled with lots of well-found ideas that can warm your heart and fire your imagination. I'm blown away!

Outdoors/ bistro paradiso. Dress code: frocks and flip-flops only. Children/ the enchanted shed. My childhood fantasies come to life in this image.

Bedroom/ love the contrast between the rough walls and soft linen

Lounge/ magical shimmer curtain panels with pearl sequins Living/to relax and watch the shadows grow. Love the high gloss melamine coffee table on raw plywood { images from Habitat's 2007 Spring-Summer catalgue}

Design 3000 - shop of ideas

Spotted these wonderful and inspiring design ideas while surfing at design3000 today.

Unique floor and wall decals.

Shoppping bag/basket in oh-so-many yummy colours. Also perfect for displaying flowers or your favourite magazines in.

Pretty plates to eat pretty food from. (would be a wonderful idea to design paper plates like these...)

Brilliant BBQ trays to keep what you need in place while you eat standing up!

Itbed

No longer will your overnight guests have to sleep on the floor or sofa. A clever fold up bed made from 7mm cardboard, itbed is the ultimate in compactability and functionality. This bed can be assembled in one simple step and takes up minimal storage space when you fold it away!

Chairfix by Ben Wilson

Inspired by self-assembly model airplane kits, Ben Wilson's Chairfix rethinks the conventional mode of producing, packaging, transporting and assembling a chair. The chair is produced by a straightforward application of cutting into a flat plywood sheet. The chair is delivered flat and easily assembled on location. The parts snap out and slot into a rigid structure without the need for glue or screws.

{images above from Ben Wilson's 2003 Chairfix exhibition at The Aram Gallery. For this exhibition Ben Wilson approached ten artists to work directly onto the flat plywood panels. This process transforms the flat panels into unexpected 3 dimensional pieces of art when the parts are assembled.}

Inspirational bedrooms

Some interesting ideas and colour schemes for bedrooms. xx Domino.

Fairground Studio

Check out these patchwork-inspired lampstades and gorgeous fabric-covered journals from local designer Karen Huang of Fairground Studio. Karen gets her inspiration from colours, music and childhood memories. Her beautiful handmade journals can even be personalised with a name or message. Lovely!

Bluebird Studios

Beautiful, fresh and unique fonts by Rebecca Trawick of Bluebird Studios. Wonderful for weddings if you are looking for some fresh calligraphy for invitations. Rebecca is also an illustrator, collagist and painter who uses found materials, paper ephemera and other vintage items in her work.

Bedtime Stories

I got to know about this project through The Style Files. Entitled "Bedtime Stories", this project is part of a collaboration between The Great Eastern Hotel and fourteen students from the Royal College of Art. Designed by Tiago da Fonseca, Bedtime stories is made up of several sheets containing a traditional bedtime story. Each “page” adds a layer of linen making you warmer (or cooler). Click here to see the other projects.

Growing Business

How do you make your business card stands out from the crowd? Make it grow! Jamie Wieck breathes new life into business cards with his Growing Business Card. Add a little water and this transforms from a regular business card to a miniature house plant. Who wouldn’t want this little piece of greenery on their desk?


Click here for other similar botanical business cards.

Good on paper

The paper addict in me is back! Check out these beautiful designs by self-taught graphic designer Lisa Wong. Some of my favourites here...just love the beautiful graphics and colour combination of the cards and envelopes she chooses for her stationary.

Lisa also does custom wedding invitations and designs. The wedding collaterals she did for Lisa and Nick's wedding are gorgeous! Must check up her website for more eye candy!