Here Comes the Sun King

I can't lie -- I don't have any time for the blog today. Between hosting out of town family, designing kitchens, braving the wilds of Ikea, consulting for a client (what? what?), and buying MORE RUGS (to be revealed shortly), I haven't really combed the interwebs for any earth shattering design news. What I can tell you is this: yellow is pretty. It is summery. It's a blowsy good time dressed in an itsy bitsy teeny weeny polka dot bikini. And I like it best when grounded with neutrals and unexpected color combinations. Behold the bold and the beautiful:

I think I just talked myself into eating a lemon bar for breakfast.

Going to design a kitchen at Ikea. If I'm not back by noon, send in the National Guard.

[The Interiorist, Thomas Loof, World of Interiors, you have been here sometime, Nicolas Matheus]

Grooving On DIY Graphics

In case you haven't noticed, it's high summer and things are moving at a rather leisurely pace here at DC headquarters. I'm too busy with BBQs and pool playdates to do any hard hitting entertainicles right now, but I did manage to scrounge up a few delightful tidbits for you -- our loyal readers. If you saw yesterday's post about Karly's curtain project, then you know that a little DIY graphic goodness can make a gigantinormous difference. Let's check out some other ideas for simple, punchy projects. Behold:

Eye Spy

While I don't really want to think about how much work it actually took to paint that floor, I am seeing some definite, cheap possibilities for radical change. Is this not the best idea ever for crapoflaging those hideous screenprinted tiles that seem to run rampant in otherwise nice homes? I am wondering how durable the finish would be, though. Does anyone have experience painting tile?

Stylehunter

Step one: find huge, cheap gold frames. Step two: paint your own shapes or cut up a big piece of fabric and frame. Step three: steal those lamps. heh.

LA Times

Sure it's a little voyeuristic, but at least you'll never be lonely in bed again. As I recall, this fabric was created with digital imaging and then sewn into a coverlet. There are so many digital service bureaus out there now that I'm sure there must be some reasonable options for printing your own fabric masterpieces.

Nicolas Matheus

A couple of graphic touches can make a big impact in a neutral space. It would take three seconds to have those shapes cut out of MDF and paint them up all 80s Memphis like. The settee is a relatively easy upholstery job that could be done on the cheap with Ikea fabric, and y'all know I'm nothing if not hot for the cheap and easy.

Andrea Ferrari

Dudes, I will be knocking this idea off someday. I can't afford Fornasetti's stunning Nuvole wall mural, but I can have my own images printed by Design Your Walls. I actually flipped this image into a mirrored pattern much like the one above and then had it printed as wallpaper, which was really easy to do and relatively inexpensive. Think I might try some different images and see what I can come up with.

You know... after I finish BBQing and swimming.

Something Must Be Wrong With Me

I have obviously contracted a raging case of scarlet fever, or perhaps I've come down with the Pepto Bismol Flu. Because my new appreciation for hot pink can only be explained by a fit of delirium. Now -- I'm a black, white, and brown, kind of a girl. Sure, I like loads of bling to slick it up, but at heart I love my drabby neutrals. Except I have recently developed a strange, inexplicable attraction to hot pink. It's probably because the hunny says it doesn't look good with my hair -- which makes me like it even more.

Nicolas Matheus

Whatever. You can't deny that a dash of hot pink puts the schwing into spring.

Nicolas Matheus

Girl, you know you be a sexy beast.

Abigail Ahern

Yes, I realize I mixed my gender metaphors there, but it may just be that hot pink is a transvestite hooker with a heart of gold.

Design Sponge

Hot pink's interests are: It's Raining Men, lip gloss, and having better legs than me.

Scott Weston

But you know what? I like her. A lot. Hot pink is sharp, funny, edgy, and adds a touch of in your face glamour to any room.

Scott Weston

Did I mention versatile? Pair her with other brights or darks and she will hold her own.

Abigail Ahern

Studio Ilse

Michael Haverland

Pair her with neutrals and she will coyly bat her false eyelashes at you with a flirtatious wink and a nudge.

Abigail Ahern

Laura Day via Lonny

Display her on your pedestrian TV in full frontal view, right next to your haute pink James Nares painting, and you will be a GENIUS.

House Beautiful

In closing, I leave you with this showstopper of an image, which is not to my usual taste. At all. For starters, I don't know who allowed a giant clam to crawl across the floor and die a horrible, ugly death beneath the console table. But that swath of hot pink brightness rescues the whole room from stuffy old lady land. And do you know what the paint color is called?

Razzle Dazzle.

That's what I'm talking about.