Design lessons from narwhals

This is a whale tale. It’s a father-daughter story. It’s also a lesson about a design job gone wrong. It was inspired by a recent blog post from Seth Godin, soliciting a narwhal logo for the Krypton College project he started. (You can see the logo they ended up with here.) When I was in… Continue reading Design lessons from narwhals

Virginia vs. Minimally Minimal

A blogger I love, Andrew Kim, recently reviewed a couple mobile phones. Andrew is a very different person than I am. I’m design-picky, for sure, but I’m far more obsessed with pragmatism, ergonomics, and comfort than with aesthetics, minimalism, and polish. We have different careers and backstories that inform our different values, and I’m WAY… Continue reading Virginia vs. Minimally Minimal

iPhone 5s and accessories

I got my iPhone 5s, and I LOVE it. (Space Gray, 32 GB, ordered via AT&T because the Apple Store hated me at preorder o’clock.) 1AT&T did a good job with all this; surprisingly, much better than Apple. 2 I was debating getting a larger hard drive, because I love having a massive music library… Continue reading iPhone 5s and accessories

My Apple announcement annoyances

Last week was the Apple announcement about iPhones, as we all know. I lazily covered the coverage with a couple Internet pals here and here, in case you feel like watching a lot of awkward banter and dead air. :) One week after the Apple shebang, here’s where I’m at: –I don’t give a crap… Continue reading My Apple announcement annoyances

TV above the fireplace

Ever since flat screen TVs took over the old cathode ray tube models, people have been mounting them on the wall, causing the earth’s interior design community to have a collective cow. Wall-mounting is so practical, though! It saves valuable floor and furniture space since TVs no longer have to rest atop a bulky media… Continue reading TV above the fireplace

The Karlstad leather collection from Ikea

A lovely lady named Madeline recently tweeted at me to learn more about my Karlstad leather sofa collection research, and she found my lengthy email reply helpful. I’ve been eyeing this sofa collection from Ikea for a couple years now, I have a special Pinterest board devoted just to this couch and its many stylings,… Continue reading The Karlstad leather collection from Ikea

Kindle MatchBook is a HUGE deal.

I’m floored and very pleased by Amazon’s recent announcement of the Kindle MatchBook program. This is obviously a big deal for current Kindle customers and for ebook readers in general, but I think it’s an even bigger deal for those who haven’t yet “gone digital.” Only time will tell, but I think this will disrupt… Continue reading Kindle MatchBook is a HUGE deal.

Farrow & Ball gray paints

Even though I’ve been mostly stuck on bedrest lately, I was so giddy to finally choose a paint color for our living/dining room that I sucked it up and painted all six of my Farrow & Ball samples. I cut three big posterboards in half, and I used the fourth one as a makeshift dropcloth… Continue reading Farrow & Ball gray paints

Style Cure Day 10: Success and failure

Well, today is Style Cure Day 10, and the task is to make a shopping list and a budget. I basically already have that done, except that I’m still waiting on window treatment quotes. But I had a bit of a finances scare nothing truly outlandish, but because I’ve been under the weather for so… Continue reading Style Cure Day 10: Success and failure

Screw Paint Plus Pairing; let’s look at antiques!

I can’t believe how premature/naive I think it is for AT to recommend that people pick their paint color, just like that, without having gone out and bought new furniture or at least obtained swatches for comparison. I guess I’m a bit of a snob about this process after reading Maria Killam’s book, and also… Continue reading Screw Paint Plus Pairing; let’s look at antiques!