Kozai

Soft ambient Japanese lights from Kozai Designs in Vancouver on West 6th Avenue.
Designer Toshiyuki Tani has developed a very contemporary line of gorgeous lights utilizing traditional Japanese woodcraft techniques. His Wappa series of pendant and floor lamps employ bent cedar from Akita in northern Japan. The Mocoro table lamp is a cylinder of soft ambient light nestled within a layered globe of turned Japanese hemlock disks. And his newest light, the very delicate Sen, is hand-built from many hundreds of tiny strips of bamboo by traditional bamboo craftsmen in Shizuoka prefecture.
Top: Sen Table Lamp, Kazaguruma (Pinwheel) Pendant/Floor Lamp, Shuriken (Ninja Star), Hanabi (Fireworks), and Mocoro Table Lamp

Time is of the Essence

Captivating AIGA/DC fundraising clock designed by Canadian artist Marion Bantjes... glorious and whimsical

The Sofa of Enchantment

This whimsical, captivating sofa designed by Judy Hoysak reminds me of Alice in Wonderland (where's the hookah smoking caterpillar?!)...
It's forest enchanting AND it's made from sustainable materials: bamboo plywood frame, reclaimed pine legs, natural latex foam and organic cotton batting. Very eco-cool!
Check out Emma's "green" design week as she blogs about eco-unique and chic products...

Emily Carr Undergraduate Exhibition 2007

Intriguing works designed by local art students at the Emily Carr Institute 2007 Undergraduate Exhibition...

LACK, Ikea coffee table and plastic bags by Monica Otero
Interchange by Anh Le
Our sacred home our natural and artificial surroundings. The images are of a highway interchange, mirrored and repeated to create an ornate, luxurious pattern connoting wealth and affluence.
One Time Use Only, the plywood BBQ designed by Warren Stagg
The title says it all.
Trash Scans designed by Jill Alison Banting
The silkscreen on paper art piece is an urban interpretation of the Tibetan mandala (the mandala is an object used for visual contemplation on the beauty and perfection of Creation). This collage is created with trash from the everyday... a reflection of our disposable, junk food culture. Spirituality and the pursuit of self-knowledge are replaced by consumerism and self-indulgence. Very symbolic.

Light Therapy

The Barton Lamp designed by Kevin McElroy
The modular light fixture and table is inspired by an intravenous medical device... a warm, favourable design is modelled after an otherwise sterile medical apparatus. Light and table can be used seperately or as an ensemble...

Twenty2

I am loving these fabulous wallpaper, grasscloth and fabric designs by Twenty2


Their collection of wallbands and pillows are just as gorgeous...

Oh Mama Mia!

I am loving this Mama coffee table from Bravura Interiors in Vancouver. I think it's an ingenius design... the middle compartment can serve as storage and the "lid" can be an additional seat, table or tray. I love multi-functional pieces!

Nature is Design

Our majestic Great Blue Herons here in James Bay (check out the webcam in Beacon Hill Park)
Images captured by Studio 7 Designs located in my lovely hometown... they are amazing local talent, and provide exceptional design work. Check out their extensive site!

Balcony Beauty

I soooo need this! The Balcony Planter can be attached to any banister with a maximum diameter of 6 cm. The planter has two separate compartments so you can mix and match greenery (like herbs...!) From Up To You based in Toronto

Crazy for Corks

Crazy for corks?
Here are some quirky-cool ideas on how to recycle your towering collection of wine and champagne corks...

Home Cheap Home, art from Andy Warhol's cliffside house in Long Island Cork Chalkboard/ Message Board Cork Lamp Flat cork coasters Cork bulletin board Cork placecard holders, as seen on eBay Corks in plants Cork Table, House Beautiful Cork-Filled Lamp (or vase), from Wine Enthusiast Cork Baseboard Cork Art, Modern: Creative Living Spaces Cork under lid handle Cork Chair, by Gabriel Wiese Cork Coaster made with CDs
Corky Roof, The Crafty Wino's Birdhouse
Cork Wall, from Strat'sPlace

Silly or Sassy?

Feast O'Fun or Flunk?

The Take Your Time table cloth with 300 riddles designed by SEM

There are empty spaces that you can put your tablesetting on, and the questions and answers to these riddles are mixed and can be read from both ends of the table. I reckon this tablecloth would be the perfect ice breaker for those quiet "je ne sais quoi" dinners... or a great giggle for that dessert & cocktail soiree!

Daring or distracting?

Cheese, Moss, & a Two-Fold

Cool pieces of contemporary furniture created by BC designers for Small Medium Large in Vancouver

Topiary

Topiary:

Of or characterized by the clipping or trimming of live shrubs or trees into decorative shapes, as those of animals or birds
- American Heritage Dictionary

"I wanted to design a chair which looked like a shrub pruned to look like a chair" - Richard Schultz
Some monumental garden furniture from Richard Schultz as showcased at the DV Expo in Vancouver this weekend...
A sampling from the Topiary Collection: Lounge Chair in spring green and the Pattern Bench in weatherable silver

Clawfoot Contemporary

Contemporary clawfoot tub...
Details of an Andrée Putman designed bathroom detailed with Bisazza glass mosaic. The tub features white spherical ceramic feet instead of the traditional clawfoot.... lest I say dare to be daring in design. (image a la Interni)