Book Smarts

Guten Morgen!  I've got the travel bug (read: hot burning desire to stay in a dreamy hotel with room service and fancy cocktails) and today's fine destination ist das Vaterland.  Germany.  Germany, people. Pack your baggies, we're about to check out the only hotel on the planet that manages to make craftiness look chic.

The Michelberger hotel was designed by a team of friends who wanted a space that would "feel like an ad agency."  Great.  But let's talk about these book lights.

Yep, thems is handmade, let's get a closer look

I see some sort of nut and bolt action and the previous picture shows some sort of wire support contraption holding the whole kitten kaboodle together.  If someone out there wants to attempt this at home, photograph your process, we'll put it on the blog.  You'll be a star and see your name in lights.  Maybe then you will have enough money to stay at the Michelberger.

Ha!  Joke's on you, the michelberger only costs 54 Euros a night, which is a good thing because this blogging thing don't make diddly.

Anyway, make a lamp, send me a picture, I'll shower you with love.  Moving on.

The Michelberger continues the book theme into one of the guest rooms

Another view of the wall of books.  Ok, this needs to be discussed.  This looks pretty awesome but have any of y'all been in a used bookstore recently?  Newsflash:  those books get moldy.  Like crazy moldy.  Like raging headache dirty hands if you touch them moldy.  So, lovely, but the, ahem, shelf life is pretty short.

I'm not crazy about this picture but this may be my favorite use of books.  I love that just the ends are used to create texture with minimal color.

So the Michelberger isn't all books all the time: here's a view of the restaurant with it's sexy concrete walls.  That wasn't sarcasm, i really do like them.  And, bonus!  no mold.

From the restaurant looking into the bar.  Still lovely.

One of the 85 guest rooms.  I really love when beds are next to windows, especially in bustling cities.

Ok, so when you dudes get back from your stay abroad, remember to toss together one of those book lamps for me, I can't wait to see your handywork!

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.

Beware the The Ides Of March

In beautiful Austin, spring has sprung. Trees are budding out, the days are getting longer and warmer, and I have turned into a basketcase. There's something about the young, fresh air that drives me to purge every nook and cranny of what I foolishly thought was a clean and tidy home. To that end, we finally purchased a new, non shedding rug. Hooray! Death to the dastardly woolen tumbleweeds that threatened to colonize our corners! Problem is, now we gotta do something with the old rug that's currently rolled into a giant, misshapen lump on the kitchen floor. It's always something.

I know I should take some pictures of the living room and show you how awesome! and lovely! the new rug is, but I'm tired from all the cleaning and rearranging.

Plus I'm more than a little annoyed that no matter how hard I work, the entire house seems to be moving towards a state of entropy. How? Why? Physics, you are biznatch.

It's not all Hoarders up in here, but I'm really unsure of how best to contain the chaos that keeps cropping up. Should I ignore it? Cover up the worst and pray for the best?

Oh, and since Ike is now mobile, I desperately need to baby proof EVERYTHING. Guess what? Babies love to eat paper. And leaves. And woolly carpet tumbleweeds. So I can either watch sweet baby Ike every. single. second. Or, I can take some preventative measures.

I suppose I could try to distract him with an awesome custom built playhouse... Dear Child Protective Services, I promise that I am just kidding. Mostly.

Or maybe I just need to build him a sweet playpen. Joke? Not a joke? I'll decide and let you know later.

With Ike safely contained, I could finally get some rest.

And perhaps the new, refreshed me would be more inclined to bring order to the rest of the house, although I'm not sure that Ike and Ben would truly appreciate my unique sense of organization.

I think I'm going to have to invest some serious time into making our home hospital clean and romper room safe, but there are so many other things I'd like to do besides endlessly endlessly endlessly cleaning. Just the thought makes me want to bang my head against the wall.

So tell me dudes -- and I know I may be asking you to reveal your dirty little secrets -- do you clean your home yourself? How much time do you spend doing it? Or do you hire someone? Is it worth it? Can someone just tell me where the magic cleaning wand is already?

Photos by Matthieu Lavanchy. Check out all his weirdly awesome work here.