ENGINEER PRINT INSPIRATION

I got an email announcement from Photojojo recently (my favorite) announcing they are now offering limited edition engineer prints taken by professional artists. How gorgeous is this shot from Austin Rhee? (And only $35!) What are engineer prints you ask? Basically they are big, inexpensive prints created at copy centers with a streaky black and white effect. And they are all the rage right now!I started thinking about all the cool things people have done with engineer prints . . . 

 

You can get a custom print done at your local print shop or, of course, at Photojojo.

You can make a super cute faux newspaper print for a kid's room or birthday party.

You can blow up a vintage  illustration of a dinosaur and make your own frame for it.

You could make a serene landscape into a minimalist headboard.

You can use adorable photos of your children as larger than life decoration in your living room or nursery.

Tired of this lingering winter weather? How about a tropical wall mural?

Or, a personal favorite, how about some specialty wrapping paper?

The possibilities are endless! What would you do with an engineer print? 

MY DREAM HOME: FEELING DOTTY!

When I was on Pinterest recently I stumbled across a mini trend: decorating small spaces in this fabulous dalmatian-style dot print. I love polka dots but this organic take on it is spectacular!

So, I thought I would start a new installment of 'My Dream Home' featuring none other than—you guessed it—polka dots in all sizes and, apparently, shapes! I know, what took me so long?!

sources: spotted bathroom, spotted entry (painted with a stencil!), spotted bookcase

Click through the link to see more spotty goodness!

OFF THE WALL: 'LET IT SNOW' DESKTOP WALLPAPER

Guess what? I am starting a new series on the blog, entitled 'Off the Wall', that features free downloadable wallpapers for your computer. Particularly now that you can have different desktops in use on your Mac at once (see here for explanation), I thought it would be fun to use new wallpapers for each virtual workspace. Since I can have four or five desktops open on any given day, I am going to start needing a lot pretty backgrounds to keep up!

Thus, this new (roughly monthly) series where I design a different wallpaper for your free downloading pleasure. With any luck, this will keep my graphic design juices following and your computer looking pretty.

The inaugural edition of 'Off the Wall' (title inspired by this amazing book) features an apropos design for our current 'polar vortex'. Hope you like it!

download LET IT SNOW (black & white edition)

download LET IT SNOW (color edition)

p.s. If you have any trouble figuring out how to set a wallpaper background on your computer there are great instructions here (Mac) and here (PC).

WALLPAPER WISHLIST

I live in a rental apartment in New York City, so I won't be buying wallpaper any time soon. But I love keeping an eye on the latest trends, particularly now that wallpaper design has gone way beyond pinstripes and polka dots (though I do love both!) and now features complex trompe l'oeil patterns and images. Anthropologie has jumped into this field feet first with a beautiful—but pricey!—selection of wallpaper. I am obsessed with the paperback book pattern (top) but could certainly see incorporating these other more minimal patterns to add some visual interest in an all-white room. Wouldn't the tin tile pattern (bottom) look great on a ceiling? Much more manageable than the real thing!

Stacked Paperback Wallpaper, $198

Geo Pyramid Wallpaper, $398

Scrapwood Wallpaper, $328

Brooklyn Tins Wallpaper, $348


See more gorgeous options here.

PANTONE WALLPAPER

If you are like me it's hard to pick a wallpaper for your computer or phone. There are just too many choices (and too few minimalist examples!). But Pantone has stepped in to save the day: they are now offering free wallpapers in tons of sizes so you can put Rococco Red on your laptop, Turquoise on your phone . . . basically make your electronics bold and bright. I am totally enamored with the stacked box design too!


Get your own here.

STICKERS, STICKERS EVERYWHERE

Jenny from Little Green Notebook just posted about the 25-year-old artist-cum-designer Payton Turner and I almost swooned. Turns out that this talented young lady was just featured in Elle Magazine for her wallpaper . . . wait for it . . . made out of stickers! Yes, all of the gorgeous patterns you see above are made out of teeny baseball and boom box and dolphin stickers and countless other kitschy sticky images.

Go see lots more of Payton's work (including her illustrations and drawings) on her website here.

WASHI WALLS

You have probably already read about this by now, but how amazing is SimcolxMT's new washi masking tape strips for your walls?! As a New York City renter with paint commitment issues, I can just imagine these large rolls of (I believe) removable tape would be the perfect way to spice up a big empty white room.

It is nearly impossible to figure out the details required to purchase these since the entire website is in Japanese, but you can check out the whole selection for yourself here.

BLOG CRUSH: ARMELLE

For several months now I have been meaning to start writing posts that recommend some of the blogs I read on a daily basis. Well, I am finally getting around to it and starting with Caroline's amazing blog 'armelle'. Caroline often posts about the fun things she does with her adorable family, including the awesome parties she has thrown for them (see here). But my favorite posts she has done recently chronicle the ongoing renovation of her home studio. In March Caroline showed photos of her concrete floor which she stained a perfect robin's egg blue. Then she shared her epic find of this gorgeous butterfly-bird wallpaper by Schumacher. Finally she topped it off with perfect, simple styling: a white Parsons desk by West Elm and Eames-like wire base chairs from Overstock. All in all a perfect place for getting creative!

On top of all that Caroline also designs and runs a fabulous Etsy store chock full of gorgeous necklaces and jewelry. Check it out here. You can also check out the armelle blog here and the final studio makeover post here.

(all photos by Caroline Armelle Drake)

COLOR ME WALLPAPER

I am really digging this wallpaper.  Made with a myriad clock pattern, each clock is printed on the wallpaper in outline only, letting the little Picasso (or big Picasso) in your life do all the coloring.  

Find a review of the Tick Tock wallpaper here and inquire about purchase here.