Year: 2009

Over the July 4th weekend, I celebrated our country’s independence by doing some home improvement. I put up some DIY café-style curtains in our kitchen (shown above; please excuse the wilting bananas that will hopefully be made into bread shortly), using four oversized dinner napkins from Dwell Studio, and two tension rods and some clip rings from Bed Bath & Beyond. It was so easy to do and doesn’t look very professional, but my boss Jan loved it so much she insisted I blog it, so here it is! My husband and I also painted an accent wall in our home office in blackboard paint from Benjamin Moore. The idea was that we could leave notes on it and our son could draw on it, but the deep charcoal surface looks so beautiful untouched that it will be a shame to actually use it. What I’ve learned from this experience is that dark looks good, and not only at other people’s houses! Now I want to paint every room in the house this color. Did anyone see J. Crew creative director Jenna Lyons’ house in the late Domino (see above)? She has this bold hue in multiple rooms. But my husband thinks we better not overdo it at our house so I’m closing the paint can on this one—for now.

—Gina Bazer

Calling all fans of Blu Dot. Urban Outfitters is carrying some pretty cool items from this hip furniture manufacturer.  The Bendzo three-seater is a nice-looking and reasonably priced ($648) option for a hide-a-bed. Also shown above, the Slider console ($548) and Easy Rider side table ($148). Very fresh, fun pieces that could work for a teenager’s room or perhaps a home office. And for yet more good prices on Blu Dot, hit I.D., where the line is on sale until the end of the month.

—Gina Bazer

Orren Pickell Designers & Builders has introduced a line of custom cabinetry it’s calling The Signature Collection. Here are a couple of gorgeous examples of what they can do.

—JAN PARR