i’m off to bklyn designs but i’ve got a full day of posts lined up and ready to go! i wanted to kick things off with two beautiful new prints from wayne pate at good shape design. wayne’s new ‘love saves the day’ print measures 16″x20″ and is available for pre-order (via email right hereo) for $30.

We all need a little Therapy now and then. This is kind of like design Therapy, via the Mission’s very own furnishings and home decor shop on the always hip-hopping Valencia Street. Valencia Street is full of great home decor shops, and Therapy is one of the good ones. Their furniture is mostly mid-century modern and designer knock-offs, stylish, quite colorful, and reasonably priced. It’s a good spot to find unique gifts too, as Therapy’s got a wonderful selection of home accessories, too, from cool clocks, to kitschy artwork from local artists, to throw pillows and ceramics. And who needs a shrink when you can get your own darn couch?

Therapy
545 Valencia Street (between 16th St & 17th St)
San Francisco 94110
415.865.0981

tgif eye candy: new products from the moma design store’s “destination: japan” collection. the new series will highlight lifestyle products found only in japan and produced by both established and emerging japanese designers. click here to check out and shop the new collection…

few things beat a professionally shot before and after story. designer and blogger pia jane bijkerk sent over these fantastic photos from a story she styled/designed for australian magazine home beautiful. this lovely french apartment (which was pia’s until a recent move to amsterdam with her boyfriend- aka ‘french boy’) was in need of a little makeover so she decided to work on an overall transformation. her full descriptions and photos are below, but you can also click here to read pia’s post on the project. [thanks so much to pia and home beautiful for sharing!]

[Images above: The bedroom- As you can see, the bedroom was in a serious state of ‘bachelor syndrome’. I removed all the furniture that was falling apart and had become function-less (he told me he hates furniture shopping so he just bought all his ‘functional pieces’ online from a cheap furniture store but suffered the consequences only months later as everything started to fall apart.) Instead of replacing the furniture I made the room into a large ‘boudoir’ - like a massive walk-in wardrobe, using the walls as a display area for our best clothes, and keeping other seasonal clothes in compartments under the bed. All accessories (like the mirror, old suitcases etc) were all sourced from brocantes (french flea markets).]

[Images above: Lounge room- as we all know with rentals we can’t make structural changes which in some cases can be frustrating but in this case it was a pleasure to work with as the apartment has all the best features from when it was built over a hundred years ago. In this room, there are beautiful dark wooden panels and an antique oriental fireplace. By removing the furniture I accentuated the rich dark wood by investing in a couple of key furniture pieces like the 1920’s table and old french bistro chairs. I kept the coffee table as it was also oriental in style. I emphasized the fireplace to give it the ‘wow’ factor when you enter the room, and created a light-shade from a black curtain screen to create drama.]

[Images above: Kitchen- Kitchen in Paris flats are super tiny, so they need to be super functional. This was a challenge! I added a wooden rack of shelves that I bought at Habitat as well as an open pine light shade to create a center piece. I removed the doors from the kitchen cupboard and instead of wallpapering the walls (which we can’t do in a rental!) I wallpapered the inside of the cupboard! I really liked the effect of it. Without the doors it made more room in the kitchen and since I love jars I just collected loads of jars and put all ingredients in them, making it in handy reach to the bench. All extra pieces I bought for the kitchen were from Habitat.]

[Images above: Guitar room- in the guitar room I basically removed EVERYTHING as it was impossible to walk on the floor with all the cords everywhere! This was just a matter of organization, as it was 6 years of lack there-of. So i created a system for all the guitar cords. I kept the desk as even though it wasn’t that nice to look at, it was strong and sturdy and still functional. All the papers and photos I created into a moodboard above the desk. I made a single bed from building palettes so that the room doubled as a second bedroom. And I bought white box shelves for all the guitar pedals and paraphernalia. I like seeing the two rooms side by side through the hallway as one is really light and airy and the second is dark and warm. ]

today’s final before & after comes from shoe-boutique owner jessica of shoetopia in cincinnati. jessica was trying to figure out how to update her display windows for the spring season and decided to update a set of two chairs she found at a used furniture store. in order to incorporate them into her “living in yellow” shop theme, she decided to spray paint the chairs a bright “sun yellow” and use them in her front window showcase. i love the bright pop of yellow against the blue window frame. great work, jessica!

[image above: jessica’s chair before]

here’s a before & after for the little ones: d*s reader anna (of forty-two roads) decided to tackle the reupholstery of her daughter lara’s rocking toy. after stripping off some of the existing upholstery (which lara had outgrown) she used inexpensive ikea fabric to reupholster the toy and update it for a totally new look. i love the transformation from ‘disney’ to scandinavian design. click here for more on anna’s project.

[have a before & after you’d like to share on d*s? just shoot me a line right here with your pictures]

[image above: lara’s chair before]

i wanted to take a quick break from bklyn designs talk to mention what will easily be one of my favorite booths to visit at this year’s national stationery show. a handful of my favorite designers will be sharing a booth as part of the mixed co. team, a new marketing agency for independent designers run by the talented meg mateo ilasco. the incredible line-up of designers include: allymoon, linea carta, good on paper, mateo ilasco design, laurel denise and of course, joy’s line- nantaka joy. everyone’s work looks fantastic this year and i’m especially excited about joy’s work with nantaka joy. she’s debuting new stationery (above and below) that continues with last year’s metallic theme and is sure to be a big, big hit. i use joy’s cards regularly for gifts and “just because” correspondence and i always hear back from the recipient about how much they love her work. i can’t wait to see the rest of joy’s collection and all of the other talented women in the mixed co. booth- it promises to be a fantastic section of the show. if you’re attending the nss you can stop by the mixed co. booth, booth #1448, or stay tuned for my coverage of the show in two weeks. thanks to joy and the mixed. co girls for sharing their beautiful pictures!

[image above: new stationery from nantaka joy]

[image above: new stationery from good on paper]

[image above: new stationery from allymoon]

[image above: new stationery from mateo ilasco]

[image above: new stationery from mateo ilasco]

[image above: new stationery from laurel denise]

[image above: new stationery from linea carta]