i’m rummaging through my fridge right now (looking for breakfast) so i’ve got kitchen-textiles on the brain. so i thought i’d share these beautiful napkins from natsumi nishizumi and slide sideways at etsy.

natsumi’s lovely minimalist napkins are made from 100% organic linen and use only water-based inks. i love the sweet dotted pattern on each one, and think the color palette she’s chosen (an orangey pink, soft yellow, and spring green) is perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. natsumi also makes coasters with the same dotted print- you can pick up both right here for $30 and $10 (sets of 2). [also, click here to check out natsumi's illustration work on the d*s guest blog]

next up? slide sideways at etsy. slide sideways is a collaboration between graphic designers scott scoggin and jacqui savisky of spokane. i love their colorful tea towels and playful illustrations they’ve created for both. slide sideways’ linens are made from 100% organic cotton as well, and also use water-based inks. you can pick up both of their designs right here for $15 each.

good morning! it’s a dark and dreary day here, but i’m happy to start off the day with some color, courtesy benjamin moore and sherwin williams.

these are two of the coolest iphone apps i’ve seen in a while: seriously must-have (free!) apps from sherwin williams and benjamin moore that allow you to snap a picture of something you see with your phone and then plunk it into their color device, which magically matches it to a paint color from their collections. once you have a color they use your iphone’s GPS to give you an address of the closest paint store. i can’t tell you how many emails i get a day from readers asking to match paint colors to various objects and this is just the solution we need- and it’s free! click here and here for info on their free apps. i downloaded both last night and can’t wait to start matching.

last month i bought lauren a set of “the family creative workshop” books for her birthday. we’ve been having a blast learning all sorts of new things as we make our way through the incredible variety of projects collected in the volumes. one section we were particularly excited to explore was all about knots, which we’ve long admired both for their usefulness and their beauty. this project is based on a “carrick bend” and is great for creating trivets and placemats, but you could just as easily hang it on your wall to be admired for its decorative charm.

have fun!
derek & lauren

CLICK HERE for the full project after the jump!

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quick afternoon eye candy: subtitude foundry’s ‘love from far away‘ card is the sweetest combination of digital and paper hello.

aaron and i have more books than we know what to do with in our home. i guess there are worse problems to have, but we’re constantly in need of good storage for our expanding library. so whenever i see a fun book-storage option i get excited to see if it’s something that might pass ‘the ac test’. and i have a feeling these new ‘dirty shelves‘ from ref-use design might make the grade.

ref-use makes furniture out of recycled plywood bound for landfills, using only non-toxic/low VOC paints and finishes. their new shelving units can be hung with the even side up for any thing you would normally put on a shelf, or they can be hung with the uneven side up for built-in book end. i love the look and think it would be great for an area where you’d like to have access to books on display, but aren’t looking to house an entire collection. click here for more info on ref-use and the dirty shelves. thanks, adam!

to continue the entryway fix-up theme, i decided i needed something to hold coats and shoes. i have always liked the stylish, pared down nature of rolling racks. they always look clean and minimal in small boutiques, so why not bring the idea home? this is also a smooth hostess move if you have a party…actually having a place for guests to put their coats! my entry is teeny tiny so this rack is very compact, but you can size it up however you wish. i added some fabric covered hangers for a special touch. have fun!! - kate

CLICK HERE for the full project instructions after the jump! and click here to learn how to make the umbrella caddy in the picture above!

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i’m going to file this under ‘things i’m not quite sure about’. there are parts of this merkled pot rack that i really love- namely the color and the way it seems to grow out of the wall organically (also that it’s made from salvaged steel loom ends collected from a weaving company 10 blocks from the merkled studio). but i think i’d prefer the rods to be less wavy, or perhaps more exaggerated in their wavy-ness. right now they’re reminding me of my crimped hair in middle school. but something’s still pulling me in about this. what do you think? keeper or no?

[ps: click here to check out amy's guest post for today on her portland neighbors...]