Room With A View - Zen and Now

Buddha in the World Original Mixed Media by Zen Dot Studio

Humboldt Esquire Lively Lidded Vessel by Barbara Dunshee

Habitat Chair by l+j industries

Violets and Birchwood Beaded Soy Candle by Mireasma

Glass and Copper Garland by Tapestry Arabian Farm

Fused Glass Vase by Moon of Glass



Raisin Magic Orchid Original Photograph by From My Eye

Room With A View - Gettin' Your Irish Up

Some "wearin' o' the green" home decor for St. Patrick's Day from Design Style Guide on Etsy:

Lucky Shamrocks from Karen Faulkner


Hand painted wine glasses from VSilcox Designs

Light Switch Cover from Rathina

Kelly Green Bowl from Pieceful Design

Sunny Day Dreaming from Everyday Moments

Shamrock Table Runner from Cranberry

Room With A View - Winterwood, Part Two

Some beautiful examples, and suggestions, of wintery wood in a variety of mediums from Design Style Guide artists on Etsy.

wall art from Blue Sky Pottery

birch tree photo from Flanders Field

floorcloth from Gracewood Design

cup from Baris Gun Sahin

bean tree from maka le wakan

wall decals from shaNickers

Room With A View - Winterwood, Part One

Some beautiful examples, and suggestions, of wintery wood in a variety of mediums from Design Style Guide artists on Etsy:

salt and pepper shakers from Just Mare

bark photo from Ashton Photography

birch woven rug from The Loom-A-Tic Workshop

vase from Webb Pottery

stained glass panel from The Looking Glass

switchplate from Funky Chicken Design

Room With A View - Harvest

Summer is sending out the last obstinate hours of heat as days grow shorter. Tomatoes and squash from the garden line the kitchen counter, and the catnip forest has started to yellow from the ground up. Soon enough, the maple trees will begin their glorious turning of color, and I will see the steam rising from my morning coffee as I sit outside on the front porch. Autumn is around the bend, and the grateful soil will rest.

Debra Linker

Cathy Savels Paintings



Sassy Glassy



ara133 photography



Muddy Fingers



Tiffany Teske



f2 images



Studio Virgo

Refinement in Furniture on Etsy

Furniture is such a huge part of home decoration. I wanted to highlight some of the beautiful, quality, handcrafted furniture designs being offered by the Interior Design Team on Etsy.


I fell in love with this Keeping Chest from Artistic Lifestyling while searching for eco-friendly home decor last week. This beautifully constructed contemporary chest is handcrafted using traditional joinery techniques and finished with eco-friendly stain (their other chests are available in milk paint colors) and protected with multiple layers of linseed oil and beeswax.

This narrow cupboard from Buck Creek Furnishings will fit perfectly in a small nook and hide your towels, cds, or other odds and ends. This cupboard is finished in fern green and then rubbed for an aged look, but the artisans at Buck Creek will finish it in any color you like!

Although I've been a fan of modmomfurniture for some time now, I spotted this low shelf/toy box in a treasury recently and fell in love with the subtle appeal of the veneer applique design rising up across the front of a pleasing birch woodgrain. The lid to the "toy box" also has a slow-closing lid support - further evidence of its refinement!


This is the Brentwood Cupboard from Shaka Studios. This gorgeous cupboard/shelf is heirloom quality, handcrafted from ponderosa pine and comes in a variety of finishes and colors.


This contemporary split-top table from Brookside Creations caught my eye and I'll tell you why. Aside from its unique form, I've had a real thing lately for the mixture of dark and light wood stains together in the same piece. This table brings it all together for me!

This beautiful coffee table from Dryad Studios, like all of their furniture, is a work of art that cannot be appreciated without reading about the finishing process. So click the link and be impressed!

I love the simple, elegant design of this low bench from Tangible Design and the angle at which the legs are joined! It is shown here as a coffee table, stunning in its simplicity.

Home Decor Goes Green - Part II

Last month I highlighted some IDT members who have chosen a "green" approach to making handcrafted home decor. As promised, this is Part II of that posting - more highlighting and praising the resourcefulness of these IDT artists!
Many things confront an artist who is making an effort to use greener, more sustainable materials. Namely, the cost of using harder-to-find materials can stop you cold on the path to eco-friendly goods. Hopefully, these items will encourage the discouraged to look for resources that are green and affordable!!

First up is this gorgeous, handcrafted bench from Artistic Lifestyling. It is painted with non-toxic, biodegradable milk paints (milk paints are a personal favorite of mine). Be sure to have a look at the beautiful keeping chests from Artistic Lifestyling, as well! Note: Milk paints come in powder-form, which lasts longer than pre-mixed acrylic paint - mix as you go is a great way to save money and resources while using products that are friendly to the planet!


Jalex Studios has a lovely collection of upcycled vases and lamps that reuse / recycle such things as a computer hard drive (as in the case of this chic modern vase), window brackets, bamboo flooring and napkin rings! There are so many quality products that are discarded for obsolescence - hurray for the creative spirit that can give these items new life and new purpose!

I had to add this lovely lampshade, created from old slides, from honeysucklecreations. As a photographer, I understand the commitment involved in toting around boxes full of slides that I can neither use nor depart with. I have one of these lampshades in my bedroom and it is one of my favorite pieces of functional, recycled home decor!

I just found this plant table (ooh, ooh, the top turns for easy, even sunlight exposure!) from Turnadaisy. It is made from upcycled, recycled heavy oak and at $65 is precisely the "affordable green" I'm talking about!

Just in case you don't know what to do with all of those shot glasses you've collected during your travels but no longer drink out of because you can't bear the smell of bourbon... The folks at homeECOnomics knew just what they were doing when they whipped up these fully functional, recycled candholders - sweet!

You can also find unique handforged steel hooks, rings and towel bars for your bathroom from 18th generation master blacksmith, Smythe Boone, of Boones Hooks. Not only are they stunning, but they are made from 100% recycled steel!


Last but not least (and, really, I could go on and on and on here), is a lovely sunburst glass panel made from recycled glass by The Looking Glass to spice up your west-facing windows!

I've had such a blast searching out these eco-friendly designs and I hope you have as much fun checking out their stores for other enticing, earth friendly home decor!

The Handmade Economy

Designers, take note. There is a new economy out there screaming to be noticed. One of a kind. Handmade. Handcrafted. Yes, a new economy, yet a very old one. We have come full circle.

In a world of mass production and super Wal-Marts, we are yearning for the craftsmanship and human touch of handmade goods. In a world seeking to find sustainability after learning some very hard lessons about excess, we are tired of seeing the tags saying “Made in Sri Lanka” in our mass-produced clothing, “Made in China” stamped on our toys, and tired of talking to “Tommy” in India about the charge on our credit card that isn’t ours. The towns that used to be the furniture production capitals of the world are virtual ghost towns because we are now importing from China and other Pacific Rim countries at staggering rates.

There is a yearning, running quiet and deep, for something we have lost. Our great-grandparents knew it, maybe even our grandparents. But somewhere along the way, industrialized economy made us want bigger, more…cheaper. And now, we are feeling something tugging at our sleeves.

There is a movement out there and if you are very quiet, you may just begin to hear it on the wind behind the noise we’ve become anesthetized to. You may pick up a word here or there. “Handmade.” “Locally grown.” “Community.” Look closely. Greenmarkets, WholeFoods, craft fairs, artists’ co-ops. And, the Web. Yes, the big WWW has gotten in on it, too. Because “community” has gone global. Real, honest-to-goodness people creating a real honest-to-goodness economy of the new “handmade.”

Etsy.com. Join us at the Design Style Guide in taking back the “art” of commerce.