this painted cast by artist elisabeth timpone is part of the keep a breast foundation’s artist auction. the keep a breast foundation is a non-profit breast cancer awareness group that brought a large group of artists and celebrities together to paint these casts and auction them off to support the cause. you can click here to view the full gallery of painted casts (including those done by chris bettig at the mountain label, sonic youth, iggy pop, mark mothersbaugh).

about keep a breast: “our mission is to help eradicate breast cancer by exposing young people to methods of prevention, early detection and support. through art events, educational programs and fundraising efforts, we seek to increase breast cancer awareness among young people so they are better equipped to make choices and develop habits that will benefit their long-term health and well-being.”

this year’s election has proven incredibly inspirational for many of the artists that i follow regularly. artist bishop lennon sent over a link to this beautiful limited edition print by cody hudson. regardless of your party affiliation, i think it’s a super cool print. click here for more details.

i still can’t get over how natural abigail ahern looks in her ahhhh-mazing home. doesn’t she just look like she belongs in the photo above? this british stylist and interior designer (and soon to be author) seriously knows what she’s doing and how to bring her own personal style to her projects. i’m loving her ability to mix eclectic elements while having fun, but not going overboard - very modern, but still so liveable. if what you see here isn’t enough to fill your fancy, click here for more, full-sized images, and of course there’s more great style at atelier abigail ahren. [thanks so much for sharing this incredible home of yours, abigail!] p.s. click here for all the beautiful sneak peeks.  -anne

[Me walking thru my space with a fire burning.  All fireplaces in the house work and in the winter there is always a fire on. . . The house was built in 1860, built over four floors and in a pretty derelict state when I bought it. I had just relocated from the States where I had worked as an interior designer for a young architectural practice in Birmingham, Michigan for 3 years, and they pretty much inspired the structure of how the house looked. They built some pretty amazing spaces (glass houses) over looking the great lakes - and I very much wanted to replicate the  indoor/outdoor feel. So we took the exterior wall out and put in glass over 2 floors, hence a very modern/traditional vibe which very much reflects the furniture and accessories.]

Labeled dining room but really isn’t its another space to sit and work as we generally eat downstairs on the lower ground floor. The ostrich table I love it makes me smile and we sell in the store, the table I sprayed glossy black and the chairs again from antique shops/flea markets.

Basement living room

Front living room - my painting (isn’t a painting at all it’s an old sign which I flipped over and its back a beautiful textural rust looks like a painting. The concrete chair is one of the first things I ever brought for the house - we had no money, no furniture and I brought this chair from one of my favourite stores called Mint in London -its all we had to sit on for a year.

Book wall - one of our biggest sellers is the book case wallpaper and its here on this chair that I catch up on emails in the evening or flick through magazines. I can see the kitchen and the rest of the lower ground floor from this vantage point and often sit with a glass of wine in the evening while things cook away. The chair is covered in pink mohair from George Smith and again heaps of texture from the floor cushion to the cushions on the chair.

Bathroom - being a huge fan of candlelight - the chandlier gets lit alot. In the winter I light the fire and have the longeset bath.

I am pretty crazy on texture which adds interest- so the woolen throw comes from Nicole Farhi in London, all the other textiles from my store. Vintage finds include the lamp and the rusty old chair (which my husband died at when I brought home). I love it, it peels and sheds rust all the time!

Basement - this in my dog Molly snoozing on her favourite chair. The pink coffee table is something I was trying out from the store.  Pieces continually evolve.

her name is birdie, but many of you may know her better as dear ada, her blog. it’s a wonderful tribute to someone very near and dear to her that she grew up with and shared a love for art, nature, design and culture. her passions are clear, and just as she showcases wonderful artists on her blog, many of them have also have made their way into her home and onto her walls in today’s sneak peek. click here for more, full-sized images, and stayed tuned for another stellar sneak peek at 1pm. [thanks, birdie!] -anne

[above: We've kind of turned the uses of our rooms upside down in the house, especially since we opened up the large room overlooking the garden. So what used to be the dining room, is now a cozy den.  The chair we found at a garage sale down the street (love it) and the couch at a local antique store. We're convinced it really should be in some 60's-esque bachelor pad rather than our house but we're not complaining. The woodcut above the chair was done by my uncle in the 1950's and the mobile, a gift from a good friend, is also from canoe.  The 2 photography books on the coffee table are by Ron Van Dongen.]

We recently remodeled 2 small bedrooms off a long dark hall into a big living/dining area.  Gardening is a big past time for both my husband and I, so we wanted to enjoy from the inside the outdoors we love so much.  We took down all the walls, put in a 10 foot long window and shortened the deck that ran the length of the 2 rooms so that we could look out over the garden all year round.

This is the view down what used to be the hall. The 3 etchings at the left of the wall are by Brian Aldrich and the large collage piece on the right is by Robert Yoder. The top assemblage on the facing wall next to the George Nelson lamp is by Lisa DeJohn and the small encaustic piece below is by Anne Siems.  At the far end of the hallway is a collection of black and white prints and paintings done by myself and friends.

The large woodcut on the hall wall is done by Jennifer Leong from Grass Hut here in Portland, where we also got the Lisa DeJohn piece.  The other 2 pieces are a couple of monotypes I did, the one on the left is the first pull, the one on the right is the ghost print of the first run.  And below is sweet Ruppert.

I love things simple and bold, neutral tones with a touch of bright makes my heart sing. The bedroom certainly expresses this preference. White and cream bedding with brown and cream pillow cases from Plover Organics bought at the lovely Ink & Peat here in Portland and the throw pillow was done by a talented friend. I love the pop of the kelly green modernica rocker against the glass green wall, always reminding me of spring even when it’s rainy and grey (which is often in the northwest to be sure).  The 3 little encaustic pieces are by Amy Ruppel and the embroidery piece is by Amy Karol.

Our dresser, again simple and plain, dressed up by an ever changing grouping of things I love. The painting on the far wall is by Claudio Tchsopp.

The other side of the very long bachelor pad couch has some art we love. The large piece on the left is by Mary Margaret Briggs, the lemons on the bottom left is by Claudio Tschopp, the small relief collage is by Janet Julian and the small figure is a pastel I did a few years ago.  I found the abstract painting on particle board at a 2nd hand store in Portland.

when it comes to my life, there are very few things that i don’t prefer to be vintage. clothing, jewelry, furniture, etc.. there’s just something about the history behind objects that i’ve always loved. i’ll never forget my mom standing in front of an antique italian mirror in our house saying, “isn’t it neat to imagine all of the different people who must of looked into this same mirror over the past 200 years?”. it’s that possibility of a story and a life before my own ownership that i love in the work of frederique morrel. i’ve mentioned her work before but wanted to add these new pieces that are available from egg mercantile online. frederique collects vintage doilies, lace, border work and bits of embroidery patterns and embeds them in sturdy melamine trays. a lot of people would prefer the actual textiles themselves, but i like the way that something so precious (and often fragile, like vintage lace) gets a new life that makes me comfortable enough to use it on an everyday basis. the rich browns in her fall trays are perfect for the cooler temperatures and really add a sense of warmth and history to a room. you can view her full collection (and shop online) at egg mercantile right here- be sure to check out her beautiful keyrings and lunchboxes, too- they’re made from vintage canvas or tapestry lined with plastic. you can also click here to view frederique’s site and additional product offerings (like the lamp and notebook pictured). [thanks, steven!]

in honor of domino’s november issue (which features an article on design bloggers), i’ll be guest blogging over at domino for the next two weeks. every monday, wednesday and friday i’ll be expanding on my monthly under $100 column and blogging my favorite budget-friendly designs under $10, under $20, under $30, under $40, under $50 and under $100 (with a luxe-edge). today i’m starting with 10 great products under $10, which you can check out right here. i’ll be back again on wednesday with must-haves under $20 so stay tuned for more wallet-friendly design on a dime.

[for sourcing on all of these products, just click here]

this furniture makeover comes from the team at non fiction design collective in columbus, ohio. they’ve taken on a classic and added a modern great spin. a few months ago the team found an original eames chair in a nearby dumpster. it was covered in paint and damaged badly, so they decided to strip it down to the original fiberglass and tile it with hundreds of hand-pressed porcelain buttons. the negative space was then filled with flexible grey grout. it’s definitely a unique look, and not for everyone, but i love the way they they’ve taken a classic design and made it their own (i’d love to use white grout and do a colored tile that makes a nice ombre effect). thanks for sharing, nfdc.

for another take on custom eames chairs, click here.

good morning! i wanted to start today off with these adorable new prints from rebecca at moontree press. i got to see rebecca’s antique heidelberg press in action these weekend and watched some of these beautiful birds being printed. i’m especially enamored of the plaid version (i wonder if fashion’s interest in plaid will spread to home design?) but you can click here to see the print close up. each print is available, framed, for $40 right here.