Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This

There are many things that keep me awake at night: wondering if Ike will grow up "right," trying to decide whether we should move and how much to spend on a new house, fear that the world is about to erupt in a blazing ball of apocalyptic doom, oh -- and raccoons. Raise your hand if you've ever awoken to a big bang crash in the middle of the night, only to find a pair of masked bandits grazing on catfood in the kitchen and pirouetting across the living room.

Jeff Andrews Design

They are cute little bastards, but they better watch it... or else. I've been wanting a fur blanket for a long time, and I'd planned to go faux, but I could be persuaded otherwise. Ha! Just kidding! Not really.

Elle Decor

But for seriously, the thing that's really making me toss and turn all night long (all niiiight, yeah, all night) is our piece of shit mattress -- the mattress that we spent boatloads of cash on. I hate it.

Kara Mann

It's some latex pillowtop concoction by Sealy (who I will not be trading with again), and in the relatively wee span of three years (although the problem started much earlier) it looks like Mount Everest has cropped up between two valleys. I mean, the dents in this sucker are so low that if I roll any further downhill, I will be sleeping on the floor.

Elle Decor

So now we have to break out the benjamins for ANOTHER king sized mattress. And so, fine friends, my question to you is: what should we get? Karly and I have discussed the finer points of memory foam, and we both worry that it may start out the bee's knees only to break your heart -- and your back -- a year later. And what about latex? It's delightfully polyurethane free, but mine has certainly sucked. Did I just get a bum bed?

Commune Design

Or should we just get a plain old innerspring set and call it a day? I'm not getting another pillow top, but I suppose we could always add a topper for some extra squish. I like a soft bed.

Help, people! I need suggestions. What are you sleeping on? How long have you had it? Do you like it? Was it expensive? I am open to any and all suggestions regarding brands, types, etc.

I'm so tired, my mind is on the blink.

Real Rooms | Amateur Photography

I've been a design magazine whore for as long as I can remember, like a Pavlovian dog I instantly start to salivate as soon as a new issue of Living Etc hits the stands.  The pristinely styled spaces are so perfectly lovely and profoundly unattainable my head starts to spin.  But even the most lush interior landscape presents itself as a dream:  there are no electrical cords or family photos.  Stylists and photo editors work tirelessly to maintain the fantasy. So after years of pining away for the unattainable glossy spaces, I'm a bit bored of it all.

Consider this post a pallet cleanser.

All rooms shot by amateurs.  All found in various corners of the interwebs.

Isn't it nice to look at a bit of a mess for once?  I would love to see a magazine spread with similar honesty (and no, leaving a pair of shoes in the shot doesn't count)

I would love to see the spaces you are living in.  Go ahead send me some pics, if enough people join the party I'll do a post with your spaces.  Be sure to let me know if you would like for me to link to you along with the picture or if you should remain anonymous.