Let's Talk About Floors

Hardwood floors always give me... hard wood. I can't think of anything sexier than light gleaming off a set of bronzed, well oiled, shapely planks. Mmm hmmm. Obviously I have my heart set on wood floors for the new house -- the real stuff, please. None of that ersatz laminate or engineered and oddly beveled woodish product will do for me. But guess what? Wood is expensive. And there are waaaay too many choices. But look how pretty it is:

Yes. This is the house I want. But maybe with less expensive flooring.

Or maybe darker?

Wait -- maybe lighter...

Except the grooves kinda freak me out. Dirt traps?

We will probably do strip oak like this, but is this finish too light and modern for a Tudor?

Ok, here is your homework for today:

Please tell me whether you think we should go light, dark or somewhere in between.

Prefinished or site finished?

And finally, does anyone have experience with oiled finishes -- like tung oil or Waterlox? I love the idea of a matte, European style finish.

Stay tuned for an MLS tour of Old House this week... I have been a busy girl.

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As the weather starts to dip into the low 90s here in austin, I can feel myself starting to crave a hot tea and cardigan sweater.  Ahhh yes, weather below 100 degrees:  You feel like fall.  Fall:  I want to spend you here:

Yep, that will do.

Also, happy birthday to my sweety!  He is one million and twelve today.  Good thing I love him.

PS, this is Luis Barragan architecture via

The Best Product Images In The History of the World

Ok, I know that usually this is an interiors blog where we enjoy the best and brightest of interior porn.  BUT, technically, since the blog is called design crisis, sometimes we dabble in other arenas, fancying ourselves worldly enough to talk about such things as art and graphics and music.  Well, today I'm pretty sure we have our first ever fashion related post and I bring this to you not because I know (or care) a thing about fashion but because the product presentation in this campaign is BEYOND WORDS.  It's Dadaism meets Robert Palmer meets Pop Art meets Bear Grylls.  So, to say the least, it's totally rocking my face off.  Shall we?

Ka-Pow!  I was having a hard time deciding which image to start with, but I figured egg on the head was as good as any.  Oh, also there are earrings in this image and they are by Alexis Bittar.  More More More!

There are a lot of animals happening here, which you know sends my heart racing 6-ways-to-sunday.  Is there anything better than a cat photoshopped to do something human?  Or, say, a zebra wearing a couch for a hat?  I didn't think so.

That concludes the animal portion of our program.  But wait!  There's more!

So awesome