Resources - Etsy.com

If you are looking for something unique, Etsy is a great source for all sorts of home accessories and other stuff. This website features handmade and vintage items from individual sellers.

I bought these door knobs customized with my daughter's initials for her wardrobe on Etsy from SweetPeasKnobs.

When I was looking for a simple panel to cover the bottom half of a window in my walk-in closet, I checked out the fabrics offered by sellers listing curtains on Etsy. I found one I liked from Kirtam Designs and had a panel made with a pocket top for a tension rod in the size I needed.

Astral Pendant Lights

I found these pendant lights in the Vivaterra catalog. The metal globe shade has small punctures in it to create a star burst effect - very cool. These would be great as accent lighting or over a dining table. The price is great too - $149 or $189 depending on the size you choose.

I'm not sure how they define "green", but Vivaterra has some really nice housewares and accessories - it's worth a look if you want something unique.

Modern Fabrics

A great online source for discounted fabric is Modern Fabrics. A friend gave me these danish modern chairs and I had new cushions made for them. Modern Fabrics "rescues" leftover designer fabric and resells it at a steep discount. As you don't need a lot of yardage to make cushions, this was the perfect place for me to find upholstery fabric. The website lists how many yards they have and offers free swatches. And best of all, they have a variety of modern designs that are usually only available to the trade.

Internet Shopping Resources - Plumbing Fixtures

FaucetDirect sells a huge variety of plumbing fixtures and accessories. Their prices beat the trade pricing at my local plumbing supply store, and they offer free shipping on orders over $99. Their processing and shipping was efficient and quick.

WSCdirect is an internet kitchen and bath supply company that also has great pricing. They offer free shipping on orders over $199 and that offer applies to freight items as well.

For the daring there is Number1Direct. This website sells plumbing fixtures, appliances, furniture, and all kinds of stuff. Their pricing is rock bottom, but you have to be prepared to wait for your items. They advertise that you should receive your order in 2-3 weeks, but I found this estimate to be optimistic at best. If you are are ordering 4-6 weeks in advance and don't mind your credit card being charged immediately, give it a try (you can't beat their prices.)

Modern Vanity Sinks

I've chosen a wall-mounted vanity for the master bathroom and I considered doing a simple counter top with under-mounted sinks, but it was seeming a little too boring. At the same time I didn't want to use the now ubiquitous vessel style sinks, because I couldn't quite imagine having to wash my face in one every day (and splashing water everywhere). I've found some larger, lower vessel sinks though, that are the perfect balance between practical and cool.

I would have loved to use Duravit's Puravida above counter basin (above left), but it was a little too big to fit two in the space I have.

Kraus makes some very nice sinks in all sizes and shapes. At left is their rectangular ceramic sink.

I ended up going with the Kohler Vox square vessel sink at left. It's a generous 16"x16" and is only 3" high above the counter. It's competitively priced at $214 list.

Celys Ceiling Light by B.Lux

I am using the Celys ceiling light fixture by B.Lux in the master bath dressing area, closets, and toilet room. It is a very diminutive 4" in diameter by 7" high and ships with its own eco-friendly fluorescent bulb. My electrician pronounced it "very cute", which sums it up nicely.

Pebble Tile Flooring

The master bathroom, shower, and toilet room floors are all done in pebble tile. Pebble tiles are made from actual river stones that have been smoothed and flattened somewhat, and then attached to a mesh backing. I chose stones with a natural, tumbled finish, but they are also available polished. These are also pretty flat (compared to some) - I love the way they feel on bare feet.

The photo above shows them grouted and un-grouted.

The pebble tiles will flow into the toilet room from the bathroom in a free-form, natural way.

Internet Shopping Resources - Modern Light Fixtures, Furniture & Accessories

I've found a lot of great websites for purchasing lighting fixtures, furniture and accessories online - look no further:

Lumens Light + Living has lighting fixtures as well as furnishings and accessories. They have a nice feature which suggests fixtures similar to the one you are looking at- I found a lot of fixtures I liked using this tool. Free shipping on orders of $50 or more.

YLighting is the premier source for contemporary and modern lighting with free shipping.

2Modern sells lighting fixtures, furniture, accessories and gifts. Great prices and free shipping on orders of $50 or more.

Form + Function has contemporary lighting at very competitive prices and free shipping on orders of $50 or more.

Stardust is the website of a Sonoma, California modern design retail showroom. They sell light fixtures, furniture, accessories and gifts, and offer low prices and free shipping.

Pendant Light Runners Up and Alternates

These Isla pendant lights from LBL Lighting are an economic alternative to the Niche Modern pendants shown in the previous post. They only come in the round shape shown below, but it's not a true sphere so is a little eclectic. The glass is hand blown with a seeded texture, and comes in five colors. There's also a choice of hardware color, which is nice. The Niche Modern pendants start at $475, but these only cost about $260-$280. They also come in a smaller "mini pendant" size.

I also love these Soft Collection pendant lights from George Kovacs (at right and below left). They cost $600-$750 and are 17" diameter, so would make a beautiful dining table fixture.

At left and above right is the Ilu pendant from Viso, a very cool lighting manufacturer. It comes in three sizes and six colors, and costs $360-$630.

At left is the Bel Occhio pendant by Pablo Designs. It comes in orange or white and costs $380.

Pendant Lights - Again!

I've decided to use these hand blown pendants from Niche Modern in the kitchen. Instead of using five smaller pendants as I previously planned, I'm going to install three larger fixtures in three different shapes (but all the same color). I love the way these fixtures are modern and classic both, a bit like my house. I've also found it's not so easy to find light fixtures in red - my favorite color - and these come in a beautiful shade of crimson.

At left is the Pharos pendant light. Below left is the Oculo pendant light and below right is the Stargazer pendant light. These are the three shapes I am using over the kitchen island.

Below is the Minaret pendant light. I plan to use this fixture over the dining room table in the effervescent glass color (shown on the right). Because the kitchen and dining area are open to each other, I want the light fixtures to work with each other and tie the spaces together.

More Pendant Lights

Although I might be going in a different direction, I found a few more alternatives to the Bocci 28 Series Pendant Light (shown below). At left is the Bubbles Globe Pendant by Sonneman. It comes in 3 sizes - 8", 10" or 12" diameter - and ranges in price from $130-$190. It doesn't have any of the organic qualities of the 28, but as a simple glass sphere it's pretty nice.

28 Series Pendant

West Elm makes a similar fixture called the Globe Pendant (above) that is 11" in diameter. It's only $99, or you can buy them in sets of two or three as well.

The Jasper Pendant from LBL Lighting (left) is new, and has the the malleable looking form of the 28 Pendant. I think the 28 is cooler, but this one is 12" in diameter, as opposed the the 28 which is 6" round. It costs $412-$452, so isn't really cheaper than the 28, but you would probably use less of these as they are larger. Oh, and it also comes in colors!

Pendant Lights, Omer Arbel & Cool Canadian Lighting

I've been looking for pendant lights to hang over the bar area of my kitchen. At first I was thinking of doing something like the Cypree large pendant by LBL Lighting (shown at left). I was inspired by a project we did at Bohl Architects that was featured in Annapolis Home Magazine. You can see the pendant lights they chose hanging over the kitchen table on the last page of the article. The entire house is very cool and worth a look - you can see more photos here.











I also love the Capri 1 pendant by Jonathan Adler shown below.








But then I saw the 23.2 House designed by architect Omer Arbel (below) featured in Dwell Magazine. The house has a lot of innovative features (you can see more photos by clicking the link above), but I really loved the clusters of pendant lights grouped throughout the rooms.

Arbel designed these 28 Series pendant lights for his own Vancouver based company, Bocci Lighting. They are elegantly simple and eclectic all at the same time, but a little out of my price range at $460 apiece ($495 for the LED version - which I would definitely recommend if you are going to spring for these).

He has a very cool smaller pendant also, the 14 Series pendant (shown at left), but it's still $320.















Anyway, after much web searching for a similar fixture I did manage to find an alternative - the Crescent Pendant by Alico Lighting (shown below) - another Canadian company. It has some of the same qualities that I love about Arbel's fixture - an undulating round outer glass shade with an inner opal shade that shields the light bulb - and the best thing is that it's $236. I'm not positively sold yet - I need 5 pendants - so I'll be doing some more searching in the next few days.

African Stools

I collect stools from Africa that I find mostly on Ebay. They can be used for extra seating or as side tables, plants stands, or ottomans; and I love how many of the African stools are modern and primitive all at the same time.

This three-legged stool is from Ethiopia. I topped it with an Alpaca pillow to create a soft spot to rest your feet.

This Bamileke Spider Stool is from West Africa.

  




This Senufo stool is from the Ivory Coast.













Resources:
Lucydog Art and Antiques 
Ebay 
Novica

Purist & Stillness Plumbing Fixtures by Kohler

I plan to use Kohler plumbing fixtures in the addition. I really like the simplicity of the Purist kitchen faucet with pullout spray. It's available in polished chrome, polished nickel, stainless or matte black. It's hard to decide, but chrome is always less expensive.

Below are the contemporary round rain showerhead (it's mounted from the ceiling) and the ellipse handshower.

At left is the Stillness valve trim for the shower, and below that is the Stillness wall-mount lavatory faucet. I want to use wall mounted faucets and under-mounted sinks in the master bath, to allow for a smooth, unobstructed vanity top that will be very zen and easy to keep clean.

Plumbing Fixtures - Cifial USA

I found Cifial USA when searching for plumbing fixtures for a bath renovation I did a few years ago. The company was founded in Portugal and has won many European design awards. Their fixtures feature quality brass and ceramic construction, with a clean and modern design aesthetic.

Pocket Door Hardware & Pendant Lights

I was inspired to start my blog while researching products for my own project. I came across these posts (both from gardenopolis), and thought I could share my hours of web surfing, too. But before I share my own stuff, check out these posts and this super cool blog - it has a little of everything.


This post has some really good sources for modern door hardware - pocket door hardware.










I came across many of these same light fixtures in my own research - design inspiration: round pendant lighting.

Yin Yang Ottomans

These ottomans can be split apart and used separately. I designed them and had them made by a custom furniture maker. They are covered in heavy duty vinyl to survive attack from the children. Leather would be just as durable, but it wasn't in my budget at the time.

The cool couches were designed by Chip Bohl, an inspiring and creative architect (whom I happen to work for). The sideboard is from Ikea. The Danish modern chair was found by my Mom in an antique shop (a set of two for $40 each). I had new cushions made for them, and eventually had them refinished.