i love these guys.

ted just woke up, and wasn't particularly happy to find richard snuggling with him, but couldn't actually be bothered to snarl at him to go away, so he just resignedly sighed, and went back to sleep.  i love these guys- they always keep me smiling.

hope this helps your monday start with a smile too.

2 things for the weekend (a post in grainy instagrams!)

yay! me in print!

1) you should run, not walk to the newstand to pick up the november/december issue of california home + design magazine. not only are my bath (above) and the rest of the glam spaces from teh small space big style showhouse featured, they've showcased some amazing homes from around the state with the theme of small space big style to round things out. it's a good one, so go buy it!  on newstands NOW!

again from the pages of the mag: moiself, with the dashing ron woodson of woodson-rummerfield, and the glamorous erin feher, editor of CA home + design, at the opening party for the showhouse. the local design community (like ron and erin) were all so overwhelmingly supportive of the showhouse, i get misty just thinking about it-  too many people to list here, but i appreciate the kindness shown by each and every one of you!

my talented showhouse co-conspirators, christopher kennedy & molly luetkemeyer, mingling at the magazine issue launch party. christopher is a new friend made through the showhouse, but i've been lucky enough to bask in molly's fabulousity for for years, ever since her since her sister julie bought a tchotchke from me on ebay a bazillion years ago. that random purchase lead to our eventual introduction and bonding over our mutual love of design and witty repartee (not only is molly talented, she is also wicked funny).

2) and for you los angeles residents, this is your LAST chance to visit the showhouse- it is open saturday and sunday from 10-3 but closes forever on sunday.  *sniff, sniff*.  it's been such an awesome experience, i am loathe to let it go (no more cramming peeps into my shower for a mirror photo op or glamorous parties in teh showhouse space) but all good things must come to an end, and i'm left with many fond memories. seriously, if you are in LA, do go catch it before it closes- it's worth your while, i guarantee!

here's my last hot shower threesome with annie crowninshield, owner of one of my favorite stores, empiric, on beverly blvd, and ginna christensen the marketing and business development genius behind marc phillips rugs, soon to open on la cienega.

thanks for putting up with my endless posts about the showhouse bath,  kids. it was a major highlight of this past year for me(one of many), so you'll have to understand why i wanted to promote it as much as possible. but we are ready to move on, and it's time to share more of the goodness of the past few months- we still have more posts about blogtour london, high point market and assorted other design goodness to cram in before the the world ends on 12/21! i better get cracking!

it's the little things in life that make one happy...

it's the little things in life that make one happy...

like witnessing a barefoot woman inside starbucks carefully painting the soles of her shoes red. equal parts horrifying (eww- bare feet & her shoes on a table, in a place where people eat) and heartwarming (she probably had an important meeting or interview, and she wanted to look her best) but either way, it made me deliriously happy to witness on an otherwise uneventful monday morning.

hope your day was special too. ;-)

luvocracy- a new *trusted* way to shop the interwebs

hey y'all- i wanted to introduce you to a new way to shop teh interwebs- it's called luvocracy, and it's all about buying products based on the trusted recommendations of your nearest and dearest friends (like me). think of it sort of as word of mouth meets pinterest meets amazon meets your own personal shopper/concierge meets frequent flyer miles (that's a lot of meets, right?) your friends (and you) simply post boards of products you trust and would recommend to friends to the luvocracy site, luvocracy saves your credit card info, and when you see something you like from a trusted person (again, like moi), simply click "buy", and luvocracy takes it from there, dealing with any shipping or return issues on your behalf like a personal shopper, and if someone buys a product *you* recommend, you get a lil reward. cool, right?

luvocracy just launched, so like any start up, it's still a growing work in progress, as are the boards of products i love that i've contributed to the site. also, like when pinterest first launched, it's invite only and they are slowly letting people join the site. you can request an invite via the site, or email me, and i'll hook you up.

below is a sampling of my boards so you can get an idea of what i trust and recommend to my new luvocracy friends; lots are items i've used in client's homes, so in a way in addition to all the "meets" qualities listed above, it's also like having your own personal decorator on call!

i *trust* you'll enjoy shopping with me and the new luvocracy experience!

blogtour london: 100% design & amtico

we went to what seems like a bazillion design shows during blogtour london, and 100% design was the first we visited, and a favorite, with its multidisciplinary design emphasis. we only have one suggestion to make it better: WIFI! (oy, the luxury problems of the social media junkie).

we were whisked to the 100% design show in a fleet of mercedes town cars. a boy could get used to this kind of thing.

the entrance to 100% design was a light show in a darkened tunnel- really set a mood of anticipation. US trade shows could learn a thing or too about creating some drama to heighten the experience within.

loved these sconces from delightfull. love their whole lighting line, actually, and we would be very happy if they had a showroom here in LA that i could take clients too.  their retro inspired pieces are right up our alley, and it would be awesome to be able to show them off in person.

these are steel boxes on a magnetic wall- configure and reconfigure to your heart's delight! very cool for an office, kitchen or kid's room- anywhere flexible yet attractive storage would be useful. from magnetic spirit.

loved these clustered metallic pendants from original BTC lighting.

everyone was charmed by these flat pack lamps from vita living

the amazing 3d cork tiles (top) from granorte aren't available ...yet, but we also really liked their cubist printed cork (below).

these cratered metallic wall tiles from zsolnay were far and away my favorite product at 100% design, so naturally, they have no US distribution. so cool.

here's a close up so you can understand a little better why i rave.

last, these simple pet dens from arquipets were the one item i wished i could have brought home in my luggage. richard would LOVE one, and they aren't an eyesore like so many pet products. modern & fun- exactly what you want from a design show!

while at 100% design, we were treated to a champagne fueled luncheon in teh knoll media lounge by one of our sponsors, amtico flooring

you can tell by how tightly my pretty blogtour friends raina (a stylist's life), erin (modenus) and jennifer (dec-a-porter) are gripping their phones, that we had wifi here! jennifer is particularly excited by this development!

i was vaguely familiar with amtico flooring before blog tour, associating it with hospitals and schools, and frankly, i gotta admit, i wasn't initially excited about blogging about it. BUT this is why things like blog tour, where manufacturers and designers come together one on one, are so important! at a US trade show, i would have walked right by their booth, thinking it was too contract-y for me, but meeting them in person forced me to look, and well, i guess you could say i was FLOORED by what i saw. i mean, how groovy is the above floor? i would TOTES use it in a graphic residential kitchen, yet if it wasn't for blog tour, i might never have known it existed.

so many interesting combinations, the variety is near infinite, and it's durable as all get out, so perfect for hard use applications.

after talking to amtico's designers, and viewing the possibilities of their incredibly diverse product range, i'm completely psyched about how i can use their product in all kinds of cool ways.  look at those juicy colors- can you imagine the possibilities for fun with m21, a good installer and a palette like that? can't wait to dig in!

of course, we've barely scratched the surface with our two blogtour london posts thus far, so expect a very british fall here at m21 as we intersperse london coverage with coverage of design and events closer to home, and as always, thanks to modenus and our blog tour sponsors for providing us with teh trip of a lifetime: