I Really Love My...

Stuff is expensive. Cool, unique stuff is both hard to find and exceedingly expensive. So it's really no wonder that interior designers have a short list of favorite finds that are either purchased for multiple clients, or -- just maybe -- shuffled from home to home. It must be nice to find that you've got the cherry on top ready and waiting, especially when the sundae already cost a small fortune.

Fornasetti Moro chair, Michael Haverland Architecture

Creepy black angel, Darryl Wilson Design

And it must be even nicer to put that special finishing piece into production, so that every Jane, Sue and Sally, can own a piece of the magic (for a price).

Hot pink lacquer coffee table, Atelier Abigail Ahern

I totally understand the attachment some designers have to their favorite pieces, kind of like a decorating security blanket. I myself have a golden boy named Brian, and even when everything else is shot to hell, Brian makes it all better.

Do you have some special piece that makes every room feel finished, whether it accents a clinically modern room or a chintz blitzed extravaganza? Spill the beans, please. And I will try not to copy you.

Good Things: Rainbow Slum

To celebrate Ike and Connie's shared birthday, I'm setting aside my usual irreverence and posting something... nice. It's such a magical day that I can almost feel the corners of my mouth turning up as I type that. Almost. Sure I'm delirious from planning a first birthday party for a kid that won't even remember it, but I could swear that there are unicorns with sparklers dancing across a rainbow right outside my window...

But seriously, check out the work of Jeroen Koolhas and Dre Urhahn, two dudes who turned a frown upside down by painting a slum in Rio de Janeiro with the brightest palette imaginable. By painting favelas (Brazilian/Portuguese for slum), Koolhas and Urhahn transform communities through color as well as education. Locals are provided with training and pay while reworking the favelas.

To learn more about the Favela painting project or to donate, click here.

Back in black on Friday so enjoy the rainbow while it lasts...

[Link via Arch Daily]

Laura Day Living

Hey buddies, I'm still a little worn out from all the drama, so today's post is gonna be hasty but tasty. Remember Laura Day's amazing living room from the Lonny before last? I want to roll around in that room and rub my face all over it like an alley cat marking his territory. Like minded enthusiasts will be happy to know that Day has launched a webzine called -- what else? -- Laura Day Living, full of cute rooms and cute ideas. To me it reads like a cross between the dearly departed Cookie magazine and Domino, which is perfect for us breeders, but still engaging for those who aren't too haughty to bust out their Spin Art machines in Central Park (note to hipsters: Damien Hirst is doing it, so it's ok for you, too.)

See? A little spin art never hurt anyone.

Day's Hamptons beach home (don't hate) is filled with sunny neutrals, which leaves plenty of psychic space for daughter Olivia's massive toy collection -- all stowed neatly away in bins, of course. I love that she was able to make her home stylish yet kid friendly, because it's damn hard.

But don't let the wipeable surfaces and locking cabinets fool you -- Day is still a decorator. Even though we don't share the exact same aesthetic, I appreciate the way she mixes and matches, and mostly I just think her rooms are pretty.

Although the Baughman chairs and lucite tables are pretty badassical.

Oh, and momma like that light fixture. Vintage Mazzega, I'm guessing? Maybe Kalmar?

Plus you gotta love a gal that can afford the best, but has Ikea countertops.

Ok, that's it for today -- it was a long weekend full of summer fun, but now it's time to pay the piper. I don't think y'all would even recognize my house if you saw it today. It looks like tornado alley up in here.

Maybe Laura Day has space for guests?