Better Living Through Design

Friday Links

Kris — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:26:06 +0000

Holy what the what? Domino Magazine is planning a comeback? This is the best news ever.

Cool new address book for Mac: Cobook

A good reminder. For the love of all that is holy…don’t send novels over the Internets.

Craziness. Turn a Dropbox folder into a Blog. Scriptogr.am

Bon Marche Pencil Bag

Kris — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:17:34 +0000

I’m loving this colorful striped, zippered pencil/make up bag. The lines make it slightly architectural and the colors are perfect for spring, which is right around the corner.

Thermostatic Freestanding Shower

Kris — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:59:23 +0000

I’m in the midst of remodeling a 100 year old craftsman home, which means I’m pouring through several hundred design retailers in search of craftsman appropriate fixtures. Which also means I find fixtures that I love but are definitely not craftsman appropriate. This makes me cry a little inside. Here’s a modern fixture that I would love to put in a home one day. It won’t be this current one…but hopefully I’ll be living in an anthracite box where this freestanding shower would fit perfectly.

• Thermostatic and pressure balanced. Keeps shower temperature ± 1 degree Celsius.
• Freestanding design mounts to wood or tile floor with included mounting plate.
• Overall measurements: 10″ L x 25-1/2″ W (front to back) x 89″ H (± 1/2″).
• Height to bottom of showerhead: 77-1/2″.
• Rainfall showerhead measures 10″ diameter.
• Heavy duty design with all brass waterways.
• Single control valve body.
• Includes flexible supplies for under floor hook-up.
• 1/2″ NPT connection under floor.
• Integrated brass hand shower.
• Appropriate for indoor or outdoor use.

Beautiful Evidence by Edward Tufte

Kris — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:38:26 +0000

This week I had the pleasure of seeing Edward Tufte speak at a one day course in Los Angeles. Heralded by The New York Times as “the Leonardo da Vinci of data,” Tufte is an innovator in information design and data visualization, specializing in transparency and clarity. The emphasis is on disseminating unbiased, accurate content to your audience and to do whatever it takes to do so.

Beautiful Evidence is one of four books that is handed out at the course, each book is beautiful, with charts and diagrams that had all the design nerds salivating. I recommend all of them. The other books are “The Visual Display of Quantitive Information”, “Envisioning Information” and “Visual Explanations” and can be found here or at Amazon.

You can get more information about the one-day course Here.

Indie Pendant

Kris — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:53:48 +0000

Less than a week until February 14th. Do you have something for your Valentine?

The Indie Pendant is a hand-made, satin brass pendant which you can customize with a special date, your loved one’s name, or anything else, up to sixteen characters.

B&B Italia Leather Sectional Sofa by Afra Scarpa

Kris — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:37:24 +0000

I’m obsessing over 1970′s vintage leather right now, and mainly this arose out of living with a man who is allergic to my cat. My wool Bottoni sofa is a virtual sponge for cat dander, and my poor boyfriend can’t take it any longer. We looked at new leather–but if you buy a high quality piece it will cost about as much as a car. So, on to Ebay I went. I scored a cool 70′s Italian leather piece from B&B Italia for a song. There are similar listings on auction sites for around $8500, but if you’re not in a hurry, you can wait it out and get a good price like I did.

Noir Pendant Lamp

Kris — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:18:30 +0000

The Noir Pendant lamp, which is a powdercoated black matte metal shade with a beech wood cap has a weighty, architectural look to it. With its large scale, the fixture would be most suited as an anchor for a dining table or perhaps a kitchen island.

Rustic Storage Console

Kris — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:09:21 +0000

I’ve been looking for a table for my entry for things like mail, keys and other remnants from a long day of work. At the time, I wasn’t able to find anything, so I had something made by a local craftsman for under $300. It’s a nice sturdy piece, but it doesn’t have drawers, and that would definitely keep that area tidier than it is looking now.

This piece by WestElm is actually almost exactly the same size, but it has the drawers that I’m now wishing my custom console had. Constructed from solid mango wood, the piece has a nice muted look.

Review: Ari Marcopoulos Incase Camera Bag

Kris — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:42:13 +0000

I’ve finally found the perfect bag for both day-to-day commuting and air travel.

Here are a few of the things I love about it:
1. Interior side pocket fits both my MacBook Air & Kindle perfectly.
2. Exterior side pocket allows for easy and secure access to wallet, keys, phone.
3. Comes with a waterproof cover(!)
4. It’s a perfect carry-on sized bag.
5. Side handle makes it easy to pull in and out from under airplane seats
6. Bag interior lined with soft material to keep all your gadgets scratch-free.
7. Configureable interior compartments with velcro dividers–perfect for keeping things in order.
8. It’s perfectly unisex.

Sturdy side handle.

Interior compartments.

Magnetic flap for side pocket.

Rain cover.

Nic Box

Kris — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:04:21 +0000

The Nic box by Christopher Dela Pole is an elegant way to keep things close by but out of sight. The lacquered aluminum shell alternates nicely with the solid Ash wood drawer.