New: Julia Rothman Wallpaper for Hygge & West By: Grace Bonney

If there is anything thing I love more than design, it has to be pets. Whether you share your home with a dog, cat, bird, hamster, lizard or anything else in between, I will always have a soft spot for the living things that keep us company. So when I heard about Julia Rothman‘s new dog-themed wallpaper for Hygge & West, I was psyched.

“Dog Park” is a cheerful illustrated pattern that includes portraits of Julia’s own dog, a Wheaton Terrier named Rudy, as well as the team dogs of Hygge & West. The wallpaper comes in two colorways, but my favorite part of this pattern is that 100% of the profits from this design will be donated to Copper’s Dream Animal Rescue in San Francisco and Midwest Animal Rescue in Minneapolis to help dogs find the loving homes they all deserve.

In addition to her dog pattern, Julia also designed two new patterns, Foret (inspired by Indian Chintz wall hangings from the 1600s) and Serengeti (inspired by her recent travel to Uganda). Click through to check them out in detail and to see their fabric counterparts as well! You can also skip here to check out these patterns on the Hygge & West site and order a roll or two! xo, grace

via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1Ui8uhh From Grace Bonney

Pattern Download from Frances Macleod Day 5 By: Grace Bonney

This week has completely escaped me and it’s already 3pm on Friday! I haven’t had the time to read anything on the web this week so I’m going to skip this week’s “best of” links and make next week’s a bit more robust. But before I head out for the weekend (and another week of shoots next week, in California!), I wanted to share the final pattern download from Frances Macleod. I’ve loved getting a look at her Istanbul-inspired patterns all week and am so thankful she shared them with us here. Thanks so much again to Frances and click here to check out all of her patterns from this week. See you on Monday! xo, grace

Click here to download the final pattern this week from Frances Macleod!

via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1OFHSD7 From Grace Bonney

Pattern Download From Frances Macleod Day 4 By: Grace Bonney

Kelli, Sasha and I woke up in Detroit this morning and we’re on our way to a very special interview and photoshoot for the new book. Before we head out, I wanted to share another beautiful pattern designed by Frances Macleod that’s available for free download today! Whether you use this to brighten up your desktop, laptop or phone, I hope this will bring a little color and brightness into your day. xo, grace

Click here to download Frances’ day 4 pattern!

via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1VPrg1b From Grace Bonney

Pattern Download From Frances Macleod Day 2 + 3 By: Grace Bonney

All week I’ve been in NYC with Kelli and Sasha for photoshoots and to celebrate Julia’s birthday. Today we’re all heading to Detroit for another quick shoot and in all the scheduling I forgot to post yesterday’s pattern from Frances Macleod! So today we’re getting not one but two new patterns to download, inspired by her recent travels in Turkey. Thank you so much to Frances for sharing this with us today! xo, grace

Click here to download Tuesday’s pattern files (yellow/blue image above- for personal use only)

Click here to download Wednesday’s pattern files (red and blue image at top- for personal use only)

via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1MUHvnp From Grace Bonney

Pattern Download from Frances Macleod Day 1 By: Grace Bonney

Pattern design is one of my favorite areas of the design community and I’ve been so thrilled to work with some of of my favorite designers this summer to bring free downloadable patterns to DS. This week I’m excited to share the work of artist and designer Frances Macleod, who found inspiration in a family wedding.

Frances recently traveled to Istanbul for her sister’s wedding and was greatly inspired by the art and architecture of her new brother-in-law’s home country of Turkey. Whether she was taking in beautiful tiled floors, a garden courtyard or the scrollwork of ancient buildings, Frances kept photos of inspiring moments and turned them into these patterns for us here today. She says, “These patterns turned into quite the labor of love. I’m so happy with how they turned out and grateful for how they represent the growth of our family.” I love when beautiful art and design has a personal connection and these patterns are a great example. Thanks so much to Frances for sharing these with us this week! You can check out more of her work online right here. xo, grace

Download today’s pattern (above) right here (please note these are for personal use only).

via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1HUV8BK From Grace Bonney

Behind the Scenes of Book #2 + Best of the Web By: Grace Bonney

In less than a month, we are almost halfway done with the photographs for the next Design*Sponge book and I couldn’t be happier about the way they’re turning out — or the process of meeting these amazing women in person. Working alongside Sasha Israel on the east coast has been a total dream and the even bigger dream has been having a team that’s so hardworking and helpful that I’ve been able to take a brief pause from writing to travel for these shoots and be present for this amazing process. It’s rare that my mind isn’t already “on to the next one” during any given moment, so to be able to step away from my laptop to plan, enjoy and live in these photoshoot moments has been monumental. These are memories I will hold on to for the rest of my life and I cannot wait to share them with you in book form next Fall! In the meantime, I wanted to share a few behind the scenes peeks at this week’s shoots, from San Diego to NYC. xo, grace

Images above: office dogs from some of this week’s shoots, a mirror selfie moment with Hana, and Caroline photographing Jasmine Wright in California.

Sasha out on a tiny NYC balcony in 90 degree weather, getting the best shot.

• This portable bike rack is pretty genius (and won’t leave a mark on your wall)
• I love the color-blocking in this kitchen!
• An artist bought ad billboards to display art instead of advertisements.
• Converse updated the design of their Chuck sneaker for the first time in 100 years.
• Great ideas for art about your bed.
• A delicious recipe for the perfect summer strawberry ice cream from Jeni.
• Saltine and Chocolate ice cream sandwiches from Smitten Kitchen. Yummm.

• Must-Reads: Our 25 Favorite Floors from the #DSFloors challenge

, Contemporary Blue & White China (with fox and rabbit details!)

• Essay: Taking Control in Life & Work, Caitlin’s Vintage Trim/Notions Collection (and what it means to her)
• DIY: Stencil Pattern Beach Towel
• Food: Diana Leahy’s Rosewater Pancakes
• Sneak Peeks: A beloved family home in DC, A terrace house in the Netherlands, An NYC Studio with History, Thrifty Glitz in the Motor City, A colorful Anchorage, Alaska home,
• City Guide: Waterloo, Ontario
• Life & Business: How Hannah Trickett overcame Hydrocephalus to start her business,
• Before & After: A Logan Square Makeover

via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1MpBXTQ From Grace Bonney