From Sixx to 9... by design.

I've been a longtime fan of the Novogratz family and their keen eye for immense versatility in design and their ability to remain wholly unique in this modern world of architecture and interiors. My husband is always the form-for-function architect, and I'm always about the artistry (he's super pragmatic about everything and how it works, while I'm more into the depth and warmth an item features). Since Cookie magazine featured a home tour of the Novogratz's New York Marketplace building-turned-home, I've been obsessed with their style. They make things fully functional and family-practical while still looking like they live in a magnificent art gallery (no eye-sores whatsoever)! I've kept up with their company Sixx Design (after their (then) 6 children), and naturally I've ogled over their recently published design book, Downtown Chic. And now, TV's Bravo has introduced the family and their design entrepreneurship to the world and invited us all to take a good look inside their incredible homes and into their design-inspired world. The show, 9 by Design, premiered last week, and airs on Bravo, Tuesday 10/9 central - tune in for some serious decor inspiration!

You can read more about the family and what they're all about in this article for the New York Social Diary.

Here's a little glimpse into what I'm going on about...:

Yooooo Gabba Gabba!!

Have you ever sat and watched the shows your toddler is watching?? I mean, actually watched them. Sure I know what Baby Einstein is, I previewed it once before letting her in the zone... I hear the Wiggles playing in the back-round as I pack up snacks to take to the park, and I definitely have Hand in Hand songs stuck in my head through the bath-time and bed-time routine - but there's only one that I can't seem to break away from. Seriously. I watch each Yo Gabba Gabba episode with her, gleefully glued to the screen, enchanted by the animations, entranced by the music, and enticed by the screenplay! The retro/indie thing totally got me hooked, and the lineup of featured guests is just ridiculous (MGMT, Tony Hawk, Weezer, Jack Black, the Salteens etc. etc). The producers are genius (and clearly high on drugs), and I'd hereby like to make a shout-out to the most hip and happenin' childrens show out there!  You simply can't beat a great kids show + your favorite rock bands - TV time just doesn't get any better than that! And yes, I'm obsessed... : ) Check this out, featuring the Shins:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNUCckyv0Ws

In the Swing of things

Talk about limited options! While we're on the subject of baby gear that's been the same since I was in diapers- I thought I'd bring up the taboo topic of the (extremely bulky, rather unsightly) home baby swing. Not many available to the masses, are there? Or have you never thought about it...?  Well, I have. I've been thinking about it for a while actually, always trying to dig up some designer - somewhere out there - who is brilliant and savvy enough to come up with a chic little swing that can blend in with the rest of the home (or the backyard), rather than overwhelm our space. And so, with much gratitude to this lovely designer, I bring you the Filzschaukel by John Mohr. Impressive, eh?

Originally created by this Austrian designer for his daughter, this swing  has now even won a design award! Not that it's all that affordable to us Americans by easy means (at about $210 plus the international shipping rates), but it gives me great peace of mind to know that we are well on our way to a more simple, beautiful, ergonomic era of children's goods. : )

You can view the details (felted wool!) and color options (breathtaking!) here. You can also check out the rest of his designs at Mohr Polster.

Itty Bitty Modern Mini

When we were little there weren't many dollhouses on the market, options ranged from Little Tyke to Fisher Price (which I adored, for the record). I have a special memory (circa, 1989) of my father sitting outside on the back patio applying glue to tiny little shingles for the roof of a beautiful wooden dollhouse he built for my older sister. I don't have many memories of my older sister using it, but I do remember making a trip years later with my mother and grandmother to a downtown store that specialized in "minatures" to fully furnish the dollhouse for my younger sister (somehow in all my tomboy-ish-ness, it skipped me). They carpeted the living room, tiled the kitchen and bathrooms, hung framed art on the walls etc. I even remember a tray of spoon-dropped cookie dough that resided on the kitchen table! While in Chicago last week, I sought to recover the wooden masterpiece with intentions of shipping it to California for little Freida to have some future dollhouse fun. Amazingly, other than a few missing shingles, and a broken banister (couldn't find much of the furniture) - the thing is in great condition (shout out to my folks)! Being that the interior is seriously dated and it would need furnishing, I browsed some dollhouse shopping for the first time and discovered a teeny tiny world filled with hip architecture and awesome interior decor! Happened upon these adorable photos from the New York Times Home & Garden, featured in a slideshow called Modernist Dollhouses. I mean, seriously - look at that 4 inch Eames lounge chair and that tiny Expedit bookcase!!

I also came across this Emerson dollhouse and living room by, Brinca Dada.

I must admit, it does feel a bit weird to be drawing design inspiration from something that can house a family of inchworms, but the bottom line is that apparently this century's dollhouse options are endless!!

Kid-doodle Masterpiece

We're all aware of the abundance of "art" kids manage to bring home from Pre School: markered doodles, pictures, projects of the week etc. Never mind all those skittle colored images done at the kitchen table while waiting for dinner, and random crafts done at home on the weekends! It has been a constant mom-struggle to find creative ways of keeping up with your children's age-appropriate art, whilst not allowing your home to become a junkyard of recyclables...! That's why you will all greatly appreciate this DIY masterpiece: turn hundreds of kid-art images into one beautifully modern print!! Check out this wonderfully chic collage created by Interior Designer, Jan Eleni.