They Might Be Giants - High-Voltage Pylon Competition in Iceland.

I stumbled across one of these images on Flickr last night and wanted to share their story. Oh how I would love to see these in around here!

Landsnet, a public company that owns and runs the electrical transmission system in Iceland where 80% of the electricity is from green sustainable sources such as geothermal power, was working with the Association of Icelandic Architects to obtain new ideas for the appearances of the towers and lines. The competition was announced worldwide and the entrants could design completely new looks or they could alter the appearance of existing towers. American firm Choi + Shine Architects sought to create a series of towers that would become monuments in the landscape, something more than just a necessity. The pylons would require only slight alterations to the existing towers. The pylons could also be in configured in different positions, depending on the terrain and environment. If the power lines ascended a hill, the pylons could imitate a climber.

Says Choi + Shine:

Like the statues of Easter Island, it is envisioned that these one hundred and fifty foot tall, modern caryatids will take on a quiet authority, belonging to their landscape yet serving the people, silently transporting electricity across all terrain, day and night, sunshine or snow.

The concept won honorable mention in the competition, and it were one of four winners at the 2010 Boston Society of Architects Unbuilt Architecture competition.


{ All images by Choi + Shine }
To read more about these incredible designs, please visit Land of the Giants™.

It's in the stars.

I found the above image on Pinterest during the weekend. It's the 'All Star' wallpaper from Barneby Gates, the company who makes the gorgeous Deer Damask wallpaper I posted about a while back. It's really beautiful and it made me take another turn in what I'm envisioning for our bedroom walls.

Two things have been certain in my mind since we knew we were buying this house, flat white walls with high-gloss white highlights. I want subtle yet interesting textures in the room without overpowering it. At first I thought about stenciling and couldn't decided between these three stencil designs from Cutting Edge Stencils on Etsy. We chose the first design and ordered it. It's a really wonderful stencil and I want to use it, but we have a few odd angles and several corners { more than four } in the room, and I've been debating whether I wanted to put so much work into right now. I decided to roll it up for another time or another room and then began thinking about doing something freehand. The idea was very appealing but I was beginning to see that the walls are holding up progress in finishing the space. So I went back to an idea that's been greatly influenced by the AMAZING designs of Modachrome Home's wonderfully talented Eve, where I would cut the designs from sticker vinyl. Using this process would allow us to stage the room and begin to feel at home while applying the highlights. I was toying with the idea of something in a fleur-de-lis with freehand embellishments when I stumbled up on the image above. Ah ha! How awesome would it be to continue the stars theme on to the walls? They don't have to be in a uniform pattern and even better is that I won't have to take anything down to apply them!

I think it sounds like a darn nifty idea. And by darn nifty, I mean easy and hopefully painless. I'm ordering the vinyl today and will post progress shots. I don't think it will take too long to complete the project.

OH! We've made a decision on the light fixture from last week's post. We're going the route of eBay and I'll post more if we win the auction. Please wish us luck!

Snarks the Clarks no more.

While Michael went to buy a few parts at Radio Shack, I walked down to Phillips Shoes to drool at their {limited collection} of El Naturalista's. They are having a sale, 50 - 75% off selected shoes. I wandered over to the rack and found the most adorable Clarks clogs. I've needed a new pair of clogs since my last wooden soled pair bit it a couple years ago. I must confess that I've snarked the Clarks in my time saying that they design towards an older audience. Sure, I had a pair of Wallabee's when I was a kid, but their collection was never appealing to me. Well, somewhere along the line they started designing hipper looking shoes and I got older. Worlds collide and wham! I'm sporting a pair of sassy shoes at 75% off!

My feet are very happy right now.

eta - I really should proof my posts better!

Bon Weekend - Lighting Ideas!

Michael and I were in Lowe's yesterday and I veered into the lighting department. I have been thinking about the possibility of mounting a sconce on the wall above the Jane Avril poster to highlight this corner of the bedroom, especially at night or in the grey weather like we're having now. I'm glad I went online to find photos of what we saw in person as two weren't in stock in the store and I really like them. I not saying which ones though.

Anyway, I would love some feedback as to which would look best or if this is even a good idea.


{ Click on image to enlarge }

I really had to bump up the light in this photo as it was almost dark in the room this morning.

I Command Thee...

I first ran across Portland, Maine's design studio Atmostheory's work when I pinned Land.Sea.Air to my wish list. I've this post sitting in draft mode for a while and decided to go back and look through the site. I love the collection but the series of Commands really tickles me as I'm a key command junkie, especially in Photoshop.

{ Close your eyes and open your mind }	{ Please do not copy - create something new }
{ Save me from these fools }

It was a little too chilly to soak in it.

A surprise excursion to Nassau for two nights was the perfect weekend getaway to celebrate a birthday. The weather defied the cloudy forecast to give us clear skies, temperatures in the 70's and a pampering breeze during the day. The Calgon colored water was tempting but a tad too cold for our comfort so we soaked it in from the comfort of our lounge chairs via sight, smell and sound.

I actually brought the DSLR but never took it out of the bag so it was the Hipstamatic to the rescue!



We stayed in downtown Nassau at the British Colonial Hilton, which was built on the site of the old Fort Nassau.



Graffiti along the Western Esplanade, on West Bay street. There was more art but I couldn't get a decent shot from the street.

Bon Weekend!

I'm off for an extended weekend celebrating dear Aileen's birthday, which is today! We're constantly saying that when we grow up, we want to look as fabulous as these two ladies, Aileen being on the left and me on the right. In reality, we're not far from our goal.


{ I'll be completely honest and say that I cannot remember where I found this image but I believe the AP is the one to credit. If you know any different, please let me know! }

Happy Birthday Husky, I love ya!

The Belle Époque corner.

Still not finished, but a little more progress. We hung the bistro table top we made for our wedding reception, in our bedroom. We used it after the wedding, on our porch, until we moved to the new house last year. We may use it in the same capacity sometime down the road but for now, we want to have in our room with us.

I considered doing a little restoration on the finish as it's taken some dings while in use but we decided that we liked the character it's developed.

On the rocks.

I was doing an image search on Google recently {for what, I can't remember} and ran across Livingstones, created by French designer Stephanie Marin. She got a lot of press a few years ago but this was the first I'd heard of them and wondered how many others hadn't been privy to these incredibly cool and functional designs. They range in size from a small pillow and as large as a couch. There are companion pieces for the outside call Neo livingstones, which are made from neoprene, and garden furniture that look like giant raindrops and are illuminated! They're all listed under 'Collections'.




Brazilian designer Domingos Tótora was featured yesterday on the Alternative Consumer and I can't do justice in describing how amazing his designs are! Not only are they beautiful but they're also made using a certified sustainable process which turns the recycled cardboard into pulp, and then into objects that would certainly be a focal point in any space.



If there are other such similar 'rocks' out there, I'd love the hear about them!

A spoon full of anything...

{ A dram or so of whiskey, that age old remedy. }

Happy Monday! I don't normally like to brag about gifts, but I scored the Tablespoon Measuring Cup from Kaufman Mercantile this past Christmas. It's a lab quality borosilicate glass cup for measuring, mixing and heating. The non-reactive glass makes it ideal to mix small amounts of ingredients and the tiny spout allows for easy pouring. I finally had the chance to take this for a {s}whirl yesterday and I couldn't be more delighted with it and definitely recommend it.

While I was on the Kaufman Mercantile Blog, I saw a post featuring this beautiful antique horn measuring cup. The article describes in detail how these were made and what remedies may have filled this beauty, especially the popular age old elixir, whiskey.



{ The hand carved dose lines are amazing! }

I decided to look for other old measures and stumbled upon this formaldehyde measuring cup.


{ I'm considering making the front image of this my new avatar! }

Item description:
2 oz. tin cup for measuring formaldehyde to water ratio when preparing a fungicide spray. There is an image of a formaldehyde can on the side and the inscription "Kills Smut." It has instructions for mixing with various quantities of water.

It's a tad cost prohibitive for me at this point, but if it's still around down the road I will reconsider! I'm going to continue looking for similar such items and will post them as they're found! I'm always open to supplied links. ;)