Upcycling Old Carpet

What is the most iconic rug in the world? Without doubt its the Oriental rug. It's a design most of us know and if we haven't had one in our own home we certainly know someone who has. It's a wonderful example of design where east meets west. Photo by Charlie Engman

Young designers like British born Lee Broom are combining historical Oriental rugs to modern and sleek collections. Photo of girl wrapped in rug by Ren Hang

Adding hints of nostalgic detail to a modern shape and material can bring warmth and familiarity to a new design. Photos of girls by Yan Chang; Lee Broom Heritage Boy console table photo by Livingetc

Lee Broom's Heritage Boy Carpetry sideboard is nominated for Best British Design at The British Design Awards. If you would like to vote for him  then go here . Photos of girls by Ann He

Who says the floor is the only option when to told to sit on the rug? Photo via via  Haw-Lin

photo by Alexey Lapin

I have got flu (cough, sneeze, sniffle) so this post couldn't be more apt for me. I am so rugged up at the moment I look like I live in an Igloo. Could someone make me some homemade soup? :(

Fitz Simmons Architects - Flaming Lips House

photos by  Joseph Mills.

I love this visually magical space so much! FitzSimmons Architects, are the masterminds and architects behind this renovation titled The Flaming Lip’s Oklahoma residence. 

It was created for Wayne Coyne from rock band sensation 'The Flaming Lips' and his wife Michelle Martin-Coyne. I adore how their dreaming doesn’t have to end when they get out of bed.

• Soft pastels
• Contrast sheen with matt
• Organic shapes
  
  

How To Create the Perfect Space

Styling Finola Inger Photography Adrian Briscoe

New Ideas with Paint

Painted Feet by Ryan Austin Dean

Look for inspiration in unconventional places for your next design project picture by Milo Vermeulen

Opt for dramatic and organic instead of static and geometric.  Ink Storm created by Mark van Gennip photographed by Cath Hermans

 Simple brush strokes on fabric by Claudia Caiezel for Jakob Schlaepfer and Prova Prima tabletop collection by Paola Navone for Richard Ginori adds a personal feel to a design or decor.

 Hand Writings by Knots Rugs; Colour Plaid blanket and Colour Carpet both by Scholten & Baijings

      Design Trick: Use a white or black background to display your free expression with paint. If you contain it in certain areas it goes from being an accident to a work of art. Fabric by Claudia Caiezel

 Bespoke wallpaper by Anne-Sophie Leeens; Wedgewood; Henri Aho; Chrissie White; Bespoke wallpaper by Anne-Sophie Leeens;

 Splash by Knots Rugs; Painted Balls by Jewellz

Yellow and concrete are a perfect marriage and add edge to a simple black door.  Painted texture by Craig Jewell; Splash Doorway by Inger Lyndby

 A child's artwork can be blown up or scanned for to be used for wallpaper a cushion print or inspiration. Artwork picture by Craig Jewell; Abandoned warehouse by Aaraon Siladi; Nike Stadium New York Pop Up Store

 Paint Cushion by Bluebellgray

It's time to break the rules! SPLISH, SPLASH and FLICK! No more painting within the lines, no more stress if the paint drips on the floor and Hallelujah if your toddler or teenager gets wild with paint on a wall or your latest sketch for a new design.  

Doom, Gloom and Stress is a constant theme in the world. I don't know about you but it feels like a very wet blanket has hung from many shoulders which is exhausting.

 FUN, FREEDOM and FRESHNESS is my new theme! For me this approach to design is sticking two fingers up and saying thanks for your advice but I will take it from here.

I know some of you think I've gone mad but why not find your inner Jackson Pollock on an old  tablecloth and tell me if it puts a smile on your face.

Life is fashion

Photo by Hasisi Park 

You're Gonna Miss Me, Lulu and the Lampshades

One of my friends posted this on Facebook the other day and I had to share it with you. It's an epic example in what can  happen when you get bored with a friend in a kitchen  -
ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!

12 Ideas With Duct Tape

Photographer Hasisi Park has captured how to be inventive with duct tape on her living room wall

This eye-popping floor design made from vinyl tape by Glasgow-based artist Jim Lambie. The floor is in the Gramercy apartment that is the home of Tim Nye of the Nyehaus Gallery.

Who needs to worry about a wardrobe? Found on I Love Sticky Tape. New York artist, Aakash Nihalani, adds new dimensions and depths to urban landscapes with the humble vinyl tape.

Hasasi Park has used duct tape to write a favourite quote on her bedroom wall

 The only thing that limits you with duct tape is your imagination. I really like the idea of mixing cutouts with tape. This example is a collaboration by Poster Boy & Aakash Nihalani. Duct tape sticks on everything - Sonny O was inspired by Aakash Nihalani inside his own home. 

It's a cheap way to add impact to your room. Aakash Nihalani installation at Frost Street Space in NYC.

 Bertjan Pot's Duct-taped Carpets, 2009

 Instead of hiding tape behind a picture tack it on the outside corners like Yerin Mok's picture in her Los Angeles bedroom. Clay Williams photo shows you don't have to use it on solid backgrounds.

 Brooklyn, New York by Aakash Nihalan

Here is a stylists trade secret! Every professional stylist will always have in their kit a roll of duct tape. This humble vinyl tape is as important to a stylist as yeast is to a baker. It's used for just about everything you can think of. From holding up wallpaper to helping bedlinen looking wrinkle free to removing fluff off fabric.

Over the years duct tape has been kept out of our view.  However, I have noticed lately how this sticky tape is being used to enhance our interiors by adding colour and shapes to walls and floors.

 I just discovered this book that has some super creative ideas for your walls, furniture and fashion. Click here to buy.

Mezzanine Bird Cage

This picture is dedicated to my two cats Isaac and India. I'm sure they have had this dream! The Mezzanine Bird Cage is designed by Paris designer Constance Guissett.

Recession Design

The recession may be over (fingers crossed) but making do, do it yourself, being frugal stingy or perhaps saving costs is thriving. Yep it's become more and more obvious as I browse blogs, Etsy, websites and magazines you are all hungry in knowing how can I make that! From hanging a quirky coat hook to growing your own vegies at home to baking the perfect cake has consumed us all. The credit card is staying in the wallet and the electric screwdriver is coming out. Goodbye flatpacks hello manual books? 

As discussed on Icon Eye there were no products in the Recession Design exhibition in Milan during the Salone back in April, just a set of instructions for visitors to pick up so they could make the products themselves.

The exhibition was one of the few shows in Milan organised by a group of Italian designers. While the overall theme for the rest of the fair last year was refinement, the emphasis here was cheap and rough "because we think that in this period it's important to make design projects with no money", says graphic director Michelangelo Petralito – words that will no doubt fall better on consumers' ears than designers'.

Initiated by Italian architecture practice Pop Solid, the exhibition's 18 designers (mostly from Italy, but also Japan, Spain, Portugal and Serbia) each designed pieces that you could make with materials from your local DIY store. While the concept might be rough, each product was beautifully presented as a leaflet, with a seductive lifestyle photograph on the front, and a set of simple instructions on the reverse side. 

The paintbrush hook is my favourite and more of my speed. 

Hand Crafted Home

All pictures are from dottie angel click here

Make Something New Everyday

Brock Davis is making something cool every day for 2009. Check out the rest of his super fun creations here









This reminds me of my time when I was in Los Angeles during New Years a few years back. I made a resolution for the month of January where I did something I had never done before for 31 days straight. It wasn't anything over the top but they ended up being life changing. It was mainly little things including eating something I had never tried before, using a sun bed for the first (& only) time, exploring a new art gallery. Each day I felt more and more exhillerated and a little bit braver to try something new. Near the end of my little experiement I walked down a red carpet and sat in front of Prince (the rock star)! I swear this only happened because I was living under the motto of doing something new each day. Give it a go and let me know how you go.