Orange accent chairs galore

In my quest to furnish the new house, I've been traveling around the internet. One thought was that I need an orange chair for living room or the parlor. At the moment, one of those rooms is completely empty except for two tool boxes, a rolled-up rug pad, and a TV cabinet we need to sell on Craigslist. Places for people to perch might be nice! How about orange? Here are some options I'm eyeing. Some are just for pretend because the price tags are bananas. For my budget, anyhow.

Madeline Chair, $379
Howell Wingback, $1,898
Grayson Chair, $899
Parlour Atomic Orange Chair, $699
Womb Chair and Ottoman (a reproduction), $1,295


Luna Accent Chair, $759
Strandmon Wing Chair, $279 (It's a little more orange and less red than this photo, I've seen it in person)
Rhys Chair, $2,498 Whew!
Regan Upholstered Chair, $299

Printable recipe cards from Design Eat Repeat

I have half a dozen handwritten recipe cards I've collected over the years. They're all from dear friends, and I love seeing their handwriting every time I make their tasty dish. I think of them affectionately. It's so much better than a page printed off the internet or a recipe displayed on a screen. If you want someone to think of you fondly years from now, write out that recipe by hand! These cute, free printable recipe cards from Design Eat Repeat will help you out.

Weekend shopping

This weekend we explored and shopped around Cincinnati. So much fun! I think I'm going to love this place. Along with a $4 gold lamp from Goodwill that's begging to be spray painted, I bought these at a vintage store. I was enticed by their shape.

Illustrated wallpaper freebies

There are a bunch of strange and interesting wallpapers for desktops and mobile devices over at the Colagene blog. Maybe you'll find one you need! Browse here.

A mini housewarming gift

My pal Megumi in Japan sent me a package. Along with pretty tapes, stationery, a t-shirt, and a Celia Birtwell scarf from Uniqlo, she included a housewarming item: a mini 3" dustpan and... bloom? I'm hoping it will cause tiny flowers to sprout throughout the house.

Now available: ribbon in new colors

Renaissance Ribbons is releasing some of my older jacquard ribbon designs in new colorways and widths. Find them here! Sunflowers now come in 3 reversible colorways.


Squirrels are available in this new gold plus a pink option.


Dachshunds come in dark blue.


And a red-black-tan combo.


Scissors is available in pink and green neon on black, plus a multi-colored option.


And piggy banks are now skinnier at 5/8" in green or blue with metallic thread for a little shine on the coins.

Sewing ribbon and golf ribbon have been relaunched in their original colors. These are available from Renaissance Ribbons wholesale here and by the yard here.

I've got new designs in the works, too, so stay tuned. There are gonna be some cute ones!

We painted

My parents were here last week, and a big project we tackled was painting the stairway, parlor, and living room. Here's the entry.


Can you believe it? I painted over orange. It boggles the mind.

I LOVE orange, but not with dark brown woodwork. The wood is already warm with red and orange tones, so surrounding it with more orange doesn't show it off. And it can look a little dark and Halloweeny. I like cool grays and blues with brown wood.

We painted pale gray in the rooms and on the pillars to brighten things up (Valspar Seashell Gray). Then we added a medium blue (Soft Skies) and a dark blue (Azure Jazz) on the dividing wall. I considered flipping it so the blue was on the outer wall of the stairway, but it gets really dark up there on the landing by the stained glass window. Keeping the paint light there seemed like a smarter idea.


I think it's pretty. Plus you know what color looks good with gray and blue? Orange. I can orange up the furniture and accessories and still get my orange fix. I'm in the mood for a lobster-y red orange chair. Holler if you see one somewhere.


I love the newel post. It's seen better days, but I think it's beautiful. Especially with its new blue backdrop.

Wooden blocks for type lovers

I've still got boxes to unpack, but I couldn't resist taking a few minutes to play. Wooden toy company Uncle Goose recently offered to send me a complimentary set of their hand-manufactured Big and Tall blocks. Initially I declined since I don't have babies and I don't like pastel colors. They assured me these would be less wooden toy and more "décor couture." And when I heard they were designed in collaboration with type foundry House Industries, I said sign me up.

Look what arrived on my doorstep: Orange. Patterns. Lettering. The craftsmanship and printing on the blocks is flawless. I got strangely addicted to moving these around, stacking and restacking. At least I have one shelf in my yet-to-be-unpacked office that's happy to look at! The blocks are perfect with my Blanca Gomez Typographer print, right?

The 20-block set will be available sometime this month; check the Uncle Goose shop for details.