Ruina

A little glimpse at one of my new pieces, the Ruina Ring. This darling was inspired by Mayan ruins I saw on a recent trip to Mexico. It's available in sterling silver or gold with diamonds by special order. You can score yourself some at Esqueleto in Oakland.

my west coast self

Having grown up and lived my very young adult life in New England, the east coast forever has a hold on me. I have been living in Northern California for more than six years now and I have noticed my design sense changing and evolving because of it. I feel like I have dueling selves sometimes when it comes to how I design and what I'm drawn to. The good news is that style is a mash up of your personal inspiration (in my opinion) so I don't have to choose. However, I definitely have what I call "my west coast self" and "my east coast self," both of whom I will introduce you to. Today, meet west coast Sarah.

Bohemian, free, movement, temperate, tats, bikes, tacos, pho, kimchee, coffee, melting pot, mid-century, modern, cool, relaxed, slouchy, grunge, sunshine, breezy, braids, color, pattern, textile, flowing, lofty, grit, bright, casual, worn, leather, fringe, palm trees, tall trees, succulents, bungalow, anything goes, arts, crafts, designers, makers, innovators, do-ers, seekers...all together now. Love.

faux real...

Ever since I purchased my home last summer I've been relentless searching for just the right faux taxidermy-like pair of wall hangings for either side of a big antique mirror that sits atop my fireplace mantle. I really want something quirky and unusual, and I need a pair. I'm still kicking myself for losing an ebay auction months ago for two vintage white ceramic rhino heads. In a perfect world, I would just commission artist Shauna Richardson to create a wonderful set of her crochetdermy creatures. Yep, that's right-crochet.

web love wednesday!

Hey you city-dwellers, you'll surely appreciate the design blog loving. living. small.

The idea is to encourage living with style in small spaces under 1,000 sf. As the proud owner of a petite bungalow in a city, I know first hand how valuable space is. Sometimes I wish there was just a few hundred more square feet or an extra room, but for the most part, I truly do love living small. The things you acquire cannot just be things any longer. They have to be functional, important, or really, really cool.

I also believe (commence preaching) that living with less is better for everyone. What if we all moved into existing homes instead of building bigger, newer ones? What if we needed less to furnish and fill these houses? What if we used less to heat and light them? Less blight, less stuff, less waste of precious energy.

Ok, I'm done. Pretty Pictures.

so what...

if I can't read a lick of text on the Swedish website Skona hem. That doesn't change the fact that it helps feed my snooping-in-other-peoples-homes addiction. You wouldn't want me to do something desperate, now would you?

Outside In

Talk about never having to leave the house! Built in 1960 by architect Daniel Leiberman in Mill Valley, CA, this house was designed, naturally, to bring the outside in. And that it does so well. The beams radiate out from the center column and walls of glass allow uninterrupted light to fill the space. It somehow reminds me of the tree houses from Star Wars, but more modern, and oh so much cooler.