Organic Decorating from DK Living

There has been news lately regarding organic food--as to whether it actually makes you healthier. A major study by the London School of Hygiene and & Tropical Medicine concluded that consumers were paying more for the "perceived" health benefits. To read more about the study, click here.

But this blog is about decorating, not eating, so let's focus on organic decorating instead. By organic decorating, we are talking about products that use natural materials vs synthetic, and styles that are hand-made vs manufactured.

But we're not the DYI kind of people, we're more like do-it-for-me kinda people, so we rather buy the "perceived" hand-made part.

Here are some that we really like from DK Living:

This is a fantastic rockstone bowl that's great for display fruit and can be used indoor/outdoor. It' retails for $200.

This is a pedestal, but we think it can be used as a side table as well. It's about $150.

This is sold per piece at $25 per piece. It's fantastic as a ground cover for your garden. We love this rock bowl . It's about $300.

This ball looks fantastic in person. It comes in different sizes and we like to display them in group. This one is 12" and it's about $75.
Here's some more rock mats...


We'll be putting these up on our site soon, but in the mean time please contact us if you need any info...

Vintage Decor from Barreveld

Our taste leans toward modern decor, mostly. However, once in a while we really like vintage decor as well. It's kinda like anti-hip, anti-cool, and we like it.

Honestly, we're a little bit tired of hipness--why such a need to be cool and hip all the time? What's wrong with letting our stomach hangs out in an old t-shirt and chugging a beer once in a while?

(Okay, we have to admit we only do this in private--never in public. We live in LA, for God's sake.)

Vintage decorating is like wearing an old t-shirt, actually. It's comforting and nolstagic. We found a bunch of products from Barraveld that we really like.

Here are some of them:

This couch is cored in soft beige linen. It's about $2000.

This antique book is about $30.
We love this door knob, dont' you? It runs about $25/each. We adore this settee. It's about $1900.
This cream/sugar set runs about $125 for the set.

We don't know if this actually works or not, but this antique telescope runs about $400 or so...

This adorable horse retails at $150.
We love this light fixture, either for outside or inside. It retails for $300. This garden conservatory is $4000-it's a real one though! We have no idea how much it costs to ship!

Most of these products can be used in a very modern way. If you want to see an example of this, go to Gjelina restaurant on Abbott Kinney in Venice when you have a chance. They have a fabulous way of using vintage decor in a very chic way. The food is fabulous too...

We'll be loading this up soon in our vintage decor section. In the mean time, if you want to see more or have questions about any of the products seen here, please contact us.

Adorable Garden Stools

Ceramic garden stools are everywhere nowadays. We think the trend started with the boutique hotel chains like Mondrian, where they were using white garden stools everywhere. More often seen indoor as decorative items, they are actually meant to be used outdoor. Super easy to clean and versatile, decorative garden stools can be used as seating, side tables, or just for decoration.

We thought instead of the typical white ceramic garden stools, we show you some other ones that are more colorful and interesting.









These range between $200-$250 each. All are from Emissary USA and can be found on our garden stool section.

Pretty Rugs from Surya

We have a soft spot for dainty & pretty looking things. Like things with soft, muted colors; subdued patterns, delicate designs.

It's the reason why we really like this rug collection from Surya. It's full of all the things stated above.

Here are some of our favorites:










The rugs are really inexpensive. They run about $400 (for a 4 x6) to $1100 (for a 8 x 10). They are machine-made with wool/vicose. Purchasing information can be found on our modern rugs section. If you like to see more of Surya's products (they also make fantastic pillows and throws), visit their web site.

Modern Silk Flowers from NDI

Silk flowers have a bad rep, don't they? They are perceived as chinzy and cheap, but truly, they do not have to be. The quality of silk flowers has improved tremendously over the last few years. Now you can find very nice, high quality arrangements that look almost as good as the real ones.

We think the key to pick silk flowers is to find arrangements that are as simple as possible. The simpler they are the more realistic they look. Mixing them with fresh flowers or branches is an effective way of displaying them. Finally, buy the best quality that you can find. Cheap silk flowers are like cheap shoes--you can spot them miles away.

NDI just came out with a new catalog and we thought some of the arrangements are quite nice. Here are some that we like:














You can see the rest of the catalog at NDI. Purchasing and pricing information can be found in our silk flowers section.

Our new decorating blog launched today!

We are pleased to announce the launch of our new decorating blog , Digging Decor.

Our new blog will cover interior design much more extensively, including design products, design ideas and design news. Think of it as a huge addition to this web site, which will still be updated regularly by our staff.

We'll hope you'll come visit soon. It's a great looking site, we're very proud of it!

White Decor-So Refreshing

Did you see the latest issue of Elle Decor? It features the home of Monelle Totah, vice president of design for Williams Sonoma. We thought it's worth a feature post because it's such a refreshing style that is so achievable. By that, we mean you can find everything in the home quite easily. Not like those features where the owners alway tell us they brought home these chandeliers from some Paris fleamarket on their backs, you know? For some reasons a Paris fleamarket always sounds more glamorous. What's wrong with a flea market in, say, San Jose?

Anyway, you can find most of the items in the feature (from Williams Sonoma, of course, but other sources as well).

Here is a picture of it:



To see the rest, click here...