Wise Words from T.S. Eliot By: Maxwell Tielman

via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1ssSAAS From Maxwell Tielman

Entrance Wardrobe By: Kevin

Materials: Benno TV Board, EKBY HEMNES, Kallax 4×1, Kallax Insert with 2 drawers, Lekman, TJUSIG

I needed a Wardrobe with a lot of space for clothes and shoes.

It’s just for 1 Person.

I fixed the Kallax 4×1 on the top of Benno TV bench to put bags or something on it.

EKBY HEMNES shelves fitted perfect beside the Kallax and ends of the same line as Benno.

TJUSIG below the shelf to hang jackets.

Kallax Insert with 2 drawers and Lekman are smart inserts for Kallax.

I put the door opener phone inside Kallax to put the wardrobe on the wall.

via IKEA Hackers http://ift.tt/SYpNJZ From Kevin

Star Cards By: Grace Bonney

Last night was our first hot night in Brooklyn and while I don’t enjoy overheating, I sort of love that first day when you sleep on top of your sheets and put a fan in the window. It instantly brings me back to my first summer in Brooklyn and wondering how anyone could fall asleep with their windows open while street noise blares night. But I’ve become immune to the noise and find the first week of hot summer nights romantic in a way- especially when we start to get better glimpses of the summer sky.

While I’ve never been a huge follower of astrology, I do enjoy star charts and a general appreciation all things “sky” related. I used to have a small collection of cloud maps in college and now I find myself bookmarking star charts and night sky maps left and right. These diagrams are from Present & Correct and map the stars at night. Each one is foiled in white onto a black card, in either a square or rectangular shape. I’ve slowly been collecting black and white art for our walls and these would be such a beautiful addition. They’re simple but still have a strong graphic feel that could hold its own on a larger wall. Present & Correct is selling them right here (they’re roughly 10×10 inches and 11.5 x 8 inches) so if you’re looking to celebrate the sky (summer or any other season) these might be just the ticket. xo, grace

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

BKLYN Designs 2014 By: Grace Bonney

Over the past ten years, design in Brooklyn has changed dramatically. My very first posts on Design*Sponge were inspired by and dedicated to the exciting and innovative independent designers that were filling every garage, studio and pop-up shop in the borough. Student designers were informing and shaping the design landscape along with self-taught artists and designers and their work had an electricity and intensity that was palpable. They were creating outside of the mainstream and doing something so different from what we were seeing across the country at the time that everyone noticed. But like all movements, things change. There is always a moment when what was counter-culture or outside of the mainstream starts to become the norm, rather than the exception. In the case of Brooklyn design, I think the legacy of that first generation of designers is an appreciation for salvaged, recycled and recyclable materials. I remember seeing scrap wood used prominently for the first time and now almost every major retailer highlights found materials and salvaged objects as being a part of their collection.

That change was evident at this year’s BKLYN Designs, which reflected a slightly more corporate and higher-end market than the community I associate most with our borough. The press event that preceded the opening touted the major real estate developments taking place in DUMBO and we were jokingly encouraged to buy apartments in these new buildings. While I’m aware that comment was made because of several development firms were among the show’s sponsors, I couldn’t help but think that those same designers who made up the first wave of Brooklyn design would never be able to afford the multi-million dollar apartments that are now being associated with “Brooklyn Design”.

The affect that Brooklyn design has had on the international design community was celebrated at this year’s show with a display of Japanese design work held at the Brooklyn Roasting Company. Their exhibition was touted as being inspired by Brooklyn design, though the overall aesthetic (which was beautiful and one of my favorite parts of the show) was distinctly Japanese. Some techniques were on display that reminded me of the early 2000s in Brooklyn (using copper plates and natural oxidation to create patterns), but overall I thought the show was a wonderful celebration of the sort of clever, functional and wonderfully minimalist design that we’ve come to associate with contemporary Japanese design.

There were several highlights at the show this year and I’m still so glad that a show exists to celebrate the talent coming from this borough. I hope that in future years there will be a place for more small-scale independent designers (there were just over 30 vendors at this year’s show), but perhaps trade shows in general are becoming harder for independent artists working outside of the higher-end market to afford. Either way, we’ll continue to visit them all looking for the latest and greatest in our community.

Click through for our favorites from BKLYN Designs 2014

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via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/RM5Ghp From Grace Bonney

LEGO media table By: brupugs

This was a metal coffee table from ikea I embellished with a few LEGO bricks…….about 4500 !

via IKEA Hackers http://ift.tt/1jkbMLC From brupugs

Antiqued Ikea Billy Bookcase By: jcove

Materials: Billy bookcase

Hey! New to Ikea Hackers, figured I’d share my first attempt at adding a little artistry to a standard birch Ikea bookcase. I couldn’t find a old fashioned looking and affordable bookcase that could fit in the tight space between my dining room doorway and living room closet so I decided to transform a cheap Ikea bookcase into the one I had in mind.

via IKEA Hackers http://ift.tt/RHqh6k From jcove

A Day In The Life of Maura Ambrose of Folk Fibers By: Grace Bonney

Maura Ambrose was something of a legend to me long before I became familiar with her work. To my friends from the Savannah College of Art and Design, she was one of the most promising graduates they’d ever seen. Talk of her beautiful work in SCAD’s Fibers department was spreading and just about every writer and artist I knew living in the South was recommending I check out her work. And boy am I glad I did. Maura is truly committed to her craft from start to finish. From growing her own cotton and dyeing fibers at home with natural materials to hand-quilting each design and including handwritten letters about each quilt’s origin with orders, Maura is truly the sort of artist I not only admire and appreciate, but feel honored to be able to write about here.

Maura and her husband Chapman were driving home from a cross-country VW Bus trip when she decided to pursue quilt-making full time. She knew it was what made her truly happy and through serious hard work, dedication and the sort of creative vision that has now inspired other younger artists to rediscover quilting, Maura created a business, Folk Fibers, that has earned a devoted following. I’ve always wanted to peek inside Maura’s day-to-day life and see what her work process was like, so I was thrilled when she agreed to join us for A Day In The Life post. Maura and Chapman have a baby due soon, so I truly appreciate them opening their home and life to us at such a busy time. I hope you’ll enjoy be as inspired by a peek inside Maura’s life as I am. xo, grace

Photo above by Josh Goleman

Click through for the full post after the jump!

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via Design*Sponge http://ift.tt/1geDnn9 From Grace Bonney