Primary Colors

About a year ago, I went on a strict color diet of black, brown and pale gray, with a smattering of gold to add some pizazzle dazzle. I have to say this house was looking pretty svelte until Ike came along. Now it's been fattened up by red, yellow and blue plastic, and I swear the living room alone has gained 20 pounds. Apparently babies aren't really into drabby neutrals. Who knew? Thankfully the decorating world now says, Hey -- it's ok to binge on primary colors.

Maison Francaise

And guess what? You don't even have to resort to building your home out of kiddie colored Legos to get the look (because if that were the case, I'd already be 50 steps ahead). Remember the slew of Roy Lichtenstein inspired interiors I presented for your consideration? Well, now get ready for a burst of Bauhaus brights.

Richard Powers

Marie Claire Italia

Those crazy Bauhaus dudes were all about form, function, and screaming color -- but no fussy, frilly pants color shall be allowed. Green is about as crazy as party animals Gropius, Van der Rohe and Corbusier, were willing to get, because it's all about heading back to basics. So sit back, strap up, and put your goggles on. We're going on a grand tour.

Met Home

M Design Interiors

A Mondrian inspired kitchen from Apartment Therapy

Met Home

Ngoc Minh Ngo

OWI

Elle Decor

Steve Giralt

No source, but check out that Arteluce lamp.

New York Times

M Design Interiors

Well, dudes? What do you think? Are you ready to inject some hot primary color into your home? Just be careful, because Danger! It's ok to be bold, but with such strong colors, it's all too easy to go overboard. Like, way overboard. Simple shapes and small doses are the best bet for keeping your visual weight under control.

Don't be a color glutton.

Holiday Gift Guide: Under 25

Friends, it's that time of year again -- time to open your hearts (and wallets) to the magic of the holiday spirit. It's easy to get caught up the in the whirlwind of Cabbage Patch Kids, Tickle Me Elmos and Zhu Zhu pets, but let's all agree on something: giving gifts should feel good, and getting your post holiday bank statement shouldn't induce an aneurysm. So, kick back and celebrate with a variety of fiscally fun gifts that will have everyone singing joy to the world  -- all you boys and girls.

Gifts for everyone! Clockwise from top left: Marie Gardeski hand soap $20 | Gracia + Selena gold leafed soup bowl $15 | 35mm pinhole camera kit $27 | Stephen Crowhurst playing cards $14.

Groovy expandable vinyl bags made from recycled billboards collapse into flat discs for easy packing. Stretch Bag $16.

Stay warm Cyndi Lauper style: recycled cashmere and angora arm warmers by cashmeredejavu on Etsy $10.

Shirts for the lovable nerd in your life: My Blood Is Rich In Irony shirt, $12 | Heavy Metal shirt $16.

Statement jewelry that won't break the bank: Diamond Ring in red acrylic $12.

Rock out with your bling out. Ear buds $10.

Part Francis Bacon, part intergalactic apocalypse, 100% awesome. Disco Peak print by Ricky Allman $20.

All they want to do is dance. Critters Windup $12.

Find out if cats really always land on their feet. Cat-a-pult $10.

Streamlined design makes cooking fun tolerable. Sagaform stainless steel and wood cake serving set $22 | Sagaform self watering herb pot $20

Ahoy matey! These napkin rings can be custom made with your initials. From Brooklynrehab on Etsy. Set of six $24.

High style shakers will add pep to your prep. Icosa by Tai Design $29.

Clean your plate and uncover a colorful surprise. Eating brussel sprouts has never been so fun! Poketo's The Middletons series, set of two $24.

You know you want to. Fisticup $15.

Have some Mondrian with your Lichtenstein. I want these tumblers so badly... $8 each.

Drinking makes learning fun. Coastermaths, set of five $22.

I know what Karly wants for Christmas... Wild Horses kitchen towel $12.

Shall I admit that I kind of despise Christmas? Whenever December rolls around I get antsy and Grinchy, and I start cursing a lot under (and over) my breath. But this little dude has melted my icy, two sizes too small heart.

Happy lil' Christmas gnome, handmade by Stephanie of Even Cleveland. Tie him to presents or hang him from your tree. For $7, that's a whole lot of love.

Tomorrow Karly will be back with a deluge of great gifts under $50, so come on back and bring your checkbook.

I promise it won't hurt a bit.

My New Apartment

Whew, it has been a loooong weekend, full of tools and gardening and yet ANOTHER trip to Ikea. Seriously, what is wrong with me? Anyway, apparently my actual life is staging an intervention, so I'm going to attempt to make this blog post short and sweet. Or should I say quick and dirty? How about short and dirty? Awww, yeah. That's me. So, what do you get when you put an photographer responsible for some of the greatest interiors shots ever:

Together with an architect who's got style to spare:

And add a dash of bookmaker husband?

Answer: a droolworthy renovated prewar apartment in New York City that serves as home to photographer Annie Schlecter and bookbinder husband Russel Maret.

Oh, and guess what color they decided to paint the back wall that used to separate two independent studio apartments? That's right -- Yves Klein Blue, which Schlecter identified as KT Color 03.001 Ultramarin Blau paint. Long time readers of DC will remember my obsession with YKB almost a year back, but all you new friends can check out the links here and here.

Now for some reason, NY Mag reported this story but got totally stingy with the pictures, so I put on my internet sleuthing hat and managed to dig up more shots from architect Joe Serrins' site (expect to see a post on his awesome homes later this week...).

Here's another shot of the living room that shows a toned down living space designed to highlight the blue wall/pink couch focal point.

The entryway is papered in gold grasscloth which is a current OBSESSION of mine. I want to paper everything in its textural glitziness.

As I mentioned before, two separate apartments in two separate buildings were merged to form one larger apartment. One of the commenters on the NYMag site said, "This is the desecration a beautiful pre-war apartment. The original architects are rolling in their graves." When will flamers learn that grammatical errors render their silly, baseless insults flaccid? Plus this is a sweet apartment and that asshat is just flat wrong.

I love that the homeowners built the cabinets from plywood and formica, and used blue penny tile and yellow paint to add some kapow zing. Kitchen renovations don't have to cost a fortune, and as an added bonus, no granite was harmed in the making of this space.

These people don't even have stainless appliances... wtf?! Confession: Ok, I have stainless appliances, but if I could afford that red lacquered beauty, she'd have a place of honor in my kitchen. Or maybe a turquoise stove would be more unexpected?

The bathroom continues the Roy Lichtenstein/Piet Mondrian primary palette, and I suddenly have the urge to paint a door -- any door -- canary yellow.

Last but not least, the bedroom -- which I know will be hated by my special super friends because it features the ubiquitous Cole and Son Woods wallpaper, but I have to say I love it. It has just the right amount of layering, pattern, and asymmetry to make it interesting.

So, I just spent months purging color from my house, and then Annie Schlecter comes along and combines pink, red, yellow, blue and orange, with abandon, and it looks GOOD. Le Sigh. I'm tired of renovating and want to move into her house.

Nevertheless, I shall power on with said renovations, and hopefully I can give you all a state of the union address very soon. In the meantime, rest assured that it contains no mention of the "pandemic" swine flu, because I am sick of hearing about that ridiculous fear mongering nonsense. (But don't judge if I just stay right here and nest up a storm in my nice, germ free house for a while, ok?)

Happy flu free Monday!