Spark

I’m throwing in the towel on getting my monday post in on time today.   The Marimekko tea towels to be exact.  I had a huge  stretched Marimekko Canvas as the central piece of art in my room growing up.  It was bright and bold and modern and I thought it was over-the-top-cool.

And while I can’t even remember what happened to the first piece of art I added to my collection at 13, I’m still a huge fan of Marimekko Anything.  The patterns.  The bold colors.  The unexpectedness of the designs.  And the range of colors and imagery is fantastic.

I’m so happy Crate & Barrel does its darndest to keep Marimekko patterns in their ongoing collections.  I have two pillow shams on my master bed right now that are muted scandinavian nummy.   If you want to make a little less of a commitment to the boldness of Marimekko designs…I say grab yourself a tea towel…or a set of tea towels as featured on www.finnstyle.com.

For around $29 dollars you can pick out a set of two Marimekko tea towels.  And bop  around your kitchen with them…see how you feel about the bold colors and patterns.  And even the more subtle ones above.  I think tea towels are like  new underwear for the kitchens.  You’ll feel fresh and sassy without spending a fortune.  Only you will know you have new tea towels.  I guarantee nobody in your family will know what you’re smiling about.   It’s between you and the tea towels.  And of course, all of us here at Spark.

  In yesterday’s Q & A post on hooking some wall storage, I promised to provide resources and suggestions for not-so-ordinary wall hooks. Better late than never, I am finally delivering on that promise after some technical difficulties and distractions today. This is the kind of thing that I could research for hours, which I did, because I obsess over [...]

Snuggling up with friends on an outdoor couch with a fire in the firepit (or chimenea if there is a burn ban in effect) is so attractive this time of year. It just makes conversation flow. A Spark client is considering a structure for her firepit/conversation area so I went to one of my favorite [...]

I am looking forward to tackling a project when my son starts back to school: I’m hoping to jazz up my home with a new front door.We live on the edge of suburbia and our house is pretty ho-hum from the outside. Nothing at the big box stores looks good to me – thoughts? As [...]

Monday’s fabulous post by Curlin on Rick Joy’s brilliant barn got me thinking about ancient construction techniques used in new ways. An old civil engineering technique of building with gabions has surfaced all over the world, making it’s mark on the landscape with gusto. It can be an earth (and budget) friendly way to terrace [...]

Curlin and I moseyed over to Uncommon Objects for a hit of South Congress happiness last week and we were not disappointed. Inspiration can be had at any price point in this phenomenal store – some of my favorite discoveries are below. I’m drawn to glass in the garden, especially when it has watery hues [...]

Switching it up gets you noticed! Switching the stone that makes up this retaining wall really made me look at it, and had me admiring the artistry involved in building it. It’s a modern take on an old standard. Note the small holes in the photo with vertically (another switch!)  placed limestone… those are weepholes, needed to let water drain [...]