Towel rails that are cool – are here in NZ – at last!    These radiators by Zehnder are a clever heating solution, as some have a 2hr towel drying function, a 24 hr timer, three heat settings and come in a large array of colours.  Filled with heat transferring liquid they throw out a great amount of warmth and are cheaper to run than conventional towel rails.

Avant Garde Design is at 44 Broadway in Newmarket in Auckland if you want to see the range of cool kitchen, bathroom and heating products.  Or take a look at their website – it’s a bit of a mess to navigate, but gives you the general overview of what they do.

Loving this poster from Holstee.  Full of feel good motivators and affirmations.  Get it here for NZ$30 plus shipping.

Our rental has the worst orange curtains you have ever seen, but as they cover metres and metres of glass I have just ignored them. While changing Miss 17mths into a big bed, I couldn’t bare it anymore and made a curtain for her room today.  What do you think?..I love the brightness, it’s thermal, and when she gets her white froufrou duvet on as a bigger girl, it will look a little more chic….right now it’s all colourful and fun with her Pottery Barn Brooke Owl Duvet.  Now for her headboard so she’s not jammed against the shelf.  Sewing pencil pleat curtains is very simple, so if you want a tutorial let me know.

We have been looking at buying a home for a while since our return from Australia, and so the hunting continues.  While clicking my way through quite a few pics, I saw this beauty in Devonport on the North Shore in Auckland.  It is sooo me.  The colour, the furniture, the kitchen, all of it.  It’s for sale if you like it and to view more images click here.  The current owner and renovater is an interior designer, so it’s no wonder the place rocks! It’s also been in a couple of home magazines, so enjoy.

UK company Purlfrost has a large selection of window film for many applications; Decorative, Stained, Reflective and even a kids range.  My favourite would have to be their Stained Glass range that can be applied anywhere.  When the sun shines on it, it would show the best colour onto the wall and ground. Great for a yoga room.

You can apply it easily yourself and they have an installation guide online.  Purlfrost will happily ship worldwide, just contact them first and advise what you are intending to order.

These two photos are from a great home renovation in Redondo Beach – see the slideshow here.

The first image caught my eye as the many many tiles make it feel spa like, plus their colour is very calming, they are from Ann Sacks, a US company with a huge selection of ceramic and glass tiles for any area of the home.

I had to show you what a feminine fireplace looks like.  And the glass underneath is so much more chic that a tiled, built-up hearth.  Wittus, a US company has a large range of very hip fireplaces that they can ship to your door.  This one, called the Shaker is made in Germany and designed by Antonio Citterio – of course, something will always catch my eye when it’s near the Woods wallpaper by Cole and Son.  The kicker (always one when a designer is involved; it weighs nearly 140kgs and costs US$4,280 – that’s NZ$6000)!  Those long lovely legs almost makes it worth the price, but then there’s all that wood to put on…

I want the word ‘Bliss’ right above my yoga mat….the yellow is such a joyful colour scheme.  Mooza Designs in Sydney Australia use gorgeous japanese and retro paper to paste onto WC (Toilet) signs or make words, names and numbers.  Take a look at their shop, you’ll have trouble choosing your colour scheme from the custom range it’s all so joyous!

This picture inspired my post this afternoon.  I stumbled into Bloesem kids and found delightful wallpaper on the back of the closet. Usually the very beautiful wallpapers cost loads, so this is a brilliant way to use a little bit and not go bankrupt.  Stores often have left over rolls or off-cuts and sell them cheaply, so it’s worth checking.   The wallpaper on the back of this Ikea shelf is by Boras Tapeter in Sweden, called Linne 3308.  Sim Wallcoverings in Auckland may stock it, or they could order it in for you. Go get your DIY gloves on and get papering – it makes such a difference to a dull area.

Water colour is beautiful.  I have tried my hand at watercolor before with a disastrous outcome, so I stick with acrylic.  While bouncing around on Etsy I popped up on this shop. Irene is an Italian artist and she has a large and gorgeous assortment of watercolour creatures to choose from.  They would make a great collection for a sewing room, or a child’s bedroom.  Each piece is about NZ$35, plus NZ$8 shipping.  Go take a look right here.

AT posted a while back about designing and printing on different mediums, and it’s not all that expensive. Often I have wanted to take a great image and put in on a plate, or a handtowel, but never got around to investigating further.  Below is a list of places where you can make it happen…..so what are you waiting for!

1. Spoonflower – design your own fabric
2. Teeny Tile – custom print tiles
3. The Wallpaper Maker – print your own designs on wallpaper
4. Ponoko – laser cut materials like felt, plastic and wood
5. Absorbent, Ink – screen printing onto glasses, coasters and handtowels plus more

I can’t tell you much about this house as I don’t speak spanish and the website is well..spanish.   It is in Gandario, Galicia, Spain and the architect is Carlos Quintáns.  It’s a stunningly simple home blending the new form with old stone – striking and visible from inside the home.  In one of the photos, I love how the wooden floor vents are not in metal, but are seamless with the wooden flooring.  Of course the glass across the entire front is always a winner for me, and check out the view!

via [Materialicious]

Mum loves owls;  she always notices them in books, on cards or fabric and so I have caught that same bug.  Decoylab has a great range of clocks to choose from, but of course this mod bamboo owl is my choice.  A little soft light mounted just out of sight behind the eyes would also light up a little one’s room as their night light.  They do two sizes – large 10″ x 8″ is NZ$94 and the smaller 5″ x 7″ version is NZ$66, plus only NZ$10 shipping.

Ok, I got a little carried away looking at all the houses at Sagaponac and only because I wanted to show you this one. Now there are several I like that are totally cool….go take a look sometime.  This home is the Ban + Maltz Furniture House inspired by Mies Van der Rohe’s unbuilt Brick Country House.  It has 4 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms over 3800 square feet.  What’s clever about it is the primary structure – the house is made of modular cabinet units providing loads of storage, supports the roof, and encloses heating and cooling systems. What I would give for that much storage!

via [Apartment Therapy]

If you think you’ve chosen the tiles for the kitchen or bathroom, think again!  Moving Color is the company behind these temperature sensitive tiles.  The base colour can match almost any colour you desire;  they change colour based on body or water temperature or whatever they are touching!   The temperature change point can be requested by you, so the dynamic colour change begins at the selected temperature and changes over three phases, each one is a 6 – 10° rise in temperature. Once the temperature peak is passed, the base colour returns and remains the same until the temperature drops.

The tiles can be used on floors, walls and counters and they are a green product, because they use glass that is 20 – 80% recycled. Also they come in eleven different glass textures.  How much you ask?….about US$15 for a tile 4 x 4 inches, so US$180 a square foot and they also do larger 18 x 18 inch tiles.  Nice and expensive way to make sure the shower isn’t too hot for the kids!

This Penguin Wallpaper from ISAK in the UK is intense and cute and busy all at once, but I love it. Perfect for one wall or inside a closet.  You can buy it here for NZ$77 and they ship internationally.  

via [Decor8]

Orange Beautiful has this print for sale for US$10 in their etsy shop. I would love it on the wall where I practice my yoga, and I think it would make a great gift for a yogi or yogini.

Over at The Scoop I spied this collection of beautiful alphabet prints.  The mixture of pattern and colour makes me want to spread them all around my daughters room…already she is staring at anything bright so perhaps these would have her laying happily in her bed so I can get some chores done! Jennifer is the girl behind JHill Design and she also has a great range of calendars and cards worth taking a look at.

Marimekko have come out with some of their most popular prints on wallpaper.  At this stage they have 11 prints for sale but will be adding all 56 patterns.  It you love their designs as much as I do, click here for a look.  They are US$89 a roll (NZ$140) and ship worldwide.  My favourite are the Stilla leaves and Bo Boo kids cars.

I love alphabet cards, stickers and posters for kids walls…and these are the latest I have discovered. Jenn Ski is a graphic designer who has done a great range called Actopus to Zelephant for K&Company. You can buy her alphabet range in anything from rub on stickers, cards and silhouettes to scrapbooks from Michaels. Take a look here at the collection.  To get the same look as the room above, click here for the tutorial.

via [Ohdeedoh]

Yes, I have an addiction – it is the store Anthropologie, and although we don’t have it down-under, I still swoon over the seasonal ranges online.  They do ship across Europe and North America, but sadly, down here in Oz and NZ we are forgotten once again; which is actually a good thing or I would really give the credit card a beating!  If you aren’t familiar with their store (everything from clothes and shoes to kitchen and bedroom) go take a look and fall in love with….well…..everything!