Craigslist Ugly to Amazing

I found this black marble table and six chairs for sale on Craigslist for $250.  I can only assume the owner is charging $500 for the table, but paying YOU $250 to dispose of those nightmarish atari-esque chairs.

Forget the chairs.  They're heinous and even if they had a slightest glimmer of hope, they'd cost a ton to reupholster.  BUT the table has some real potential and could rock out a dining room.  It definitely needs contemporary chairs to liven up the heavy, geometric base and keep it from looking too dated (ahem, unlike the included chairs).  But total showstopper potential!  I'm getting a strong Kelly Wearstler vibe, a la these images:

These gems are not KW, but they are all about the black marble love.

Jury Duty

Sorry I know I suck at this "posting regularly" thing lately...

I've been selected for Grand Jury Duty and am now halfway through my 2 week sentence service.  If you think I'm being dramatic by likening my service to jail time, keep in mind we even have a Jury Warden.

At any rate, spending 2 weeks on a jury is kind of like getting put in the Real World house with every person from your morning subway ride.  It's an interesting group of people.  Thankfully unlike the Real World we don't tend to dwell on our differences; we all share the common bond of drawing the fuzzy-ass end of the civil service lollipop.  Also unlike the Real World, there are no hot tubs at the Courthouse.  At least not on our floor.

But back to my endless array of excuses.  The day is both tedious and emotionally draining at the same time.  I just haven't felt all "ooh look at these amazing drapes!" lately.  I promise I'll get my textile mojo back, but maybe not until the week after next.

And NO, I haven't heard any hair perm murder cases (yet).

Immonium thygocolate was the case that they gave me

Until next time, Riot for me

Chameleon Clocks

I came across this Chameleon Clocks App on Design Milk today...

They are cool, yeah whatevs.  But I couldn't help thinking how amazing it would be to have that app on your TV...

Think of the interior design implications!  Your TV could very nearly "camouflage" into the wall behind it.

Someone needs to make this happen.  It's only a matter of time before TVs and Computers are the same thing, right?

Currently Coveting...

THIS:

80's fabulous Italian rotating shelving unit by Joe Colombo from 1st Dibs.  I don't know why, I just have a feeling it would look amazing in the office area.

So you'll imagine my pure rapture when I spotted THIS:

Jim Walrod Design

There she is... well more or less.  This one is free-standing while the one I've been eyeing attaches to the wall but you get the idea.  Showstopper.

Claire Basler

Today my internet ambling brought me to French artist Claire Basler's website and I was immediately in awe of her impressionistic, naturalistic artwork.

Her work includes paintings and drawings, as well as textiles and pottery of primarily natural subjects; flowers, grasses, trees and bodies of water.  

Tuesday Trend- The UnKitchen

Kitchens are one of the most utilitarian spaces in our homes.  To this Rioter for Design (who doesn't really like to cook), they even feel a bit predictable and obligatory.  Like, FU, if I don't want a kitchen I don't have to have one! Well, OK fine, I guess I do need to stave off bacteria by altering the temperatures of nutrient sources from time to time, so yeah I guess I DO in fact need a kitchen.  But that doesn't mean it has to look like one.

The best way to accomplish the UnKitchen is to experiment with materials that are not typically found in kitchens.  Also, introducing silhouettes associated with other areas of the home, as well as artwork and upholstery are other ways to make a kitchen feel more like a customized space.  Kitchens are allowed to have personalities too!

Below are some of my favorite UnKitchens:

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Not a tile in sight.

What I Did This Weekend: Chicago Edition

This weekend I was in Chicago aka Chi-town aka The Windy City aka the place where bread with a hole in the middle gets to pretend it's a bagel!

I was there for this purpose, however I had a whole day free to tour around and Chicago is a pretty awesome city.  Here's what I did:

Chicago Marathon

My marathon is this weekend.  It'll be my 4th marathon.

I'm really scared about this one.  I can't remember if I was scared about the other ones.  That's what happens when you run 1 marathon a year.  You forget.  You forget how much time it takes to prepare. You forget how 20 mile runs on Saturdays devour your weekends Honey BooBoo style.  You forget how it took 2 weeks to feel like you could walk normal again after the race.  You forget that you'll have to kiss pedicures goodbye because no one deserves to have to touch your black toenails that hang from their digits by flimsy and scientifically-unidentifiable toenail threads.  You forget because you signed up nine months ago because otherwise it would sell out.

A lot can happen in the time when you sign up all Oh-I'll-be-ready-to-start-training-when-the-time-comes! and when that time comes.  I've had the most joyous, scary, exciting, frustrating and confusing summer: I went on my honeymoon, I had two family members in the hospital, my job at work got a whole lot busier AND, oh yeah, I started this part-time job blog.  Somehow I managed to run too, but not with the same focus and excitement as in years passed.  So I have no idea what to expect this time.

I could look like this:

Or I could look like this:

Little Blue Deer

I GOT MY BLOG DID!

The updates to the blog are complete and I couldn't be happier with the result!  What do you think?  Tell me how much you love it because you totally do.  All the awesomeness that is the new RfD is thanks Little Blue Deer Design.  I worked with Shari and she took my ideas of "simple, chic, not too cute" and made them come true.  And she gave me revolvers.

See?!!!

Design News

Yesterday it was a rumor, today it's confirmed:  Deborah Needleman will be leaving her helm at WSJ Magazine to become Editor in Chief of T Magazine.

Deborah is a cool lady and an inspiration- she's also the founder of Domino Magazine.  However she's best known to me as someone who started following me on Twitter.  Then I made a poop joke and she promptly unfollowed me.

At any rate, best of luck to you Deborah!  I am 75% sure I'm over the poop jokes, so please consider re-following me!

Revenge of the Tartans

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It's October, which means it's time for the fashion mags to tell us plaid is in style this year.  Nevermind that plaid was in style last year... and the year before...and the year before...   Fashion is the art of having a terrible memory.

Interiors are different though- plaid can be bad.  Usually it's either stuffy/fox hunting/cabin or dated/frumpy/Walmart sale.  Plaid curtains were some of the formative images of our childhoods, weren't they?  And now they remind us of the 1960's and 1970's, which tended to be the last time our parents redecorated despite that fact that that was 20 years before we were born.  Or is that just me?  Maybe you grew up like a contemporary minimalist Seattle vampire family- I don't know.

SAD PLAID: