artist and illustrator neryl walker (you might have seen her work on bloom cosmetics and on bare escentuals ‘buxom lips’!) along with art director husband tim live with their formerly stray cat marvin in an old jewish/italian neighborhood in melbourne, australia. they are both drawn to all things vintage and worn – things with a past. (it’s a family joke that even their cat is second-hand!) they’ve just moved from an apartment to into a house which they’ve been filling with artwork made by themselves or friends (the vintage sign artwork on the patio above was made by tim). {thanks neryl, tim and marvin!} -amy a

[Our house was built in the early 50's but was the victim of a bad 70s make-over. The entire house had been wallpapered with beige stripes and bad florals, white carpet through-out, ugly tiles and nasty curtains. We knew it had potential and have slowly peeled back the layers to reveal it's former self. It has some great features like interior wrought iron work and concealed lighting, and as soon as we saw the original pink and green bathroom we knew it was the house for us!]

The gold bamboo wallpaper is one of the few things we kept from the 70’s reno. The ‘Danger’ painting is one of mine. The cowhide patchwork rug is from a secondhand store.

We both love music and play in garage rock band, Pretty Green.  The bowling lamp base and shade were bought separately in the East Village and they look great together. The mannequin hand and the letter ‘N’ were presents from Tim.

We have been collecting old mirrors from thrift stores.  I especially love the etched glass ones.  The vases and bowls are mostly vintage.  The Majestic lamp was bought at Chelsea market in New York and bought back to Australia as hand luggage.

CLICK HERE for the rest of Neryl’s sneak peek after the jump!

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it’s a big treat to get a look into the new york city apartment of interior designer ellen hanson. ellen is well-known for incorporating green design principles into her work – she writes about eco-conscious design in a column for 1st dibs called green scene.  it’s always fun to see what the professionals do in their own homes; ellen has plenty of tricks up her sleeves such as painting the entire space in a high-gloss white to create a mirror-like effect and effortlessly mixing high and low items. {thanks ellen!} -amy

[Several years into our marriage my husband Richard and I found, and fell in love with, an apartment that was smaller than our existing home and required clever use of furniture to create extra storage. In keeping with our idea of making an elegant urban nest, I had the entire apartment painted a high-gloss white including the ceilings.  The mirror-like finish makes the rooms feel larger and the ceilings seem higher than they actually are while the reflective black doors and ebony parquet all add to the urban blend.]

Ubiquitous and affordable subway tiles softened by vintage inspired cabinets give the galley kitchen a nostalgic feel.  The grey and white tiles look like marble but are actually ceramic which contains recycled content. We eat most meals at the little table from Ikea.

CLICK HERE for the rest of Ellen’s sneak peek after the jump!

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question: dear design*sponge, i’m currently planning a budget wedding, so my fiance and i don’t currently have much (ok, any) extra cash with which to feather our nest. i’m wondering if you have any ideas for wedding decor that could transition into adornment for our sparse apartment once our country chic-themed fall 2010 wedding is over? there’s so much that I love about this concept- decorating our home with fond memories, being green and frugal- but I have to admit that i’m design-challenged. help! -sarah

answer: thanks for your question sarah! for your answer i went straight to one of my favorite wedding sources- abby larson of stylemepretty. her expert wedding advice is spot on. so i’ll let her take it from here…

This is a great question. One that every bride should ask themselves! Making your dollars really count when planning your wedding is much easier to digest when you know that the materials you buy will go to good use in making your home a more beautiful place. Here are some creative ways to stretch your dollar…

1. Your Linens. Collecting vintage, elegantly mismatched linens is such a great way to add a bit of depth to your wedding decor. Plus, you’ll always have them as a keepsake to enjoy when entertaining guests. Or you can go one step further and sew them into a gorgeous quilt that you can use when you snuggle up with your new hubby. [image above by sedona bride]

2. Your Dessert Plates. For my own wedding, we scoured ebay for pale pink cut glass dessert plates. We ended up with around 200, so I packaged them up in groups of 6-8 and gave them as housewarming gifts for the first year we were married. I kept quite a few, as well, which have been perfect for cocktail parties as well as pretty little dessert plates. They would also look pretty stunning arranged creatively on an accent wall.

3. Your Guestbook. Use a vintage postcards rather than a traditional guest book to have your friends and family write well wishes. After the wedding, tuck them in and around a vintage mirror or make an amazing collage for your walls that is as whimsical as it is meaningful. Great impromptu art. [image above by sedona bride]

4. Your Centerpieces. Whoever said centerpieces HAD to be fresh flowers was flat out wrong. Bowls or vintage trays filled with peaches, cherries or mandarin oranges would be gorgeous. Potted herbs, small topiaries or vintage lanterns would also be stunning and perfect for recycling into home decor.

5. Your Decor. Handmade throw pillows are a gorgeous accent to any seating area, particularly with weddings. They bring a sense of intimacy and warmth to any space. A collection of framed photographs, a chalkboard with your menu handwritten on it, beat-up wooden signage…all would make for pretty incredible wall decor in your home.

We have some really great budget-happy, DIY inspired weddings on SMP that you will definitely love…our real weddings are filled to the brim with gorgeous ideas and practical, swoon-worthy inspirations. -Abby

[have a design question you'd like answered? just shoot us an email right here with the title "dear d*s". if you're asking a specific interior design question please include a picture of the space in question and your budget for any new projects.]

CLICK HERE for the second question about restoring a vintage chrome oven hood after the jump!

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when it comes to buying things during tough economic times, one of the areas in which i allow myself a little wiggle room is tea towels. these small squares of fabric make me happy because they let me indulge my need to have something colorful and new in my home without spending an arm and a leg. so when i heard from christina weber of studiopatró about her new line of graphic linen tea towels and aprons, i was hooked. not only did she embrace my favorite kitchen color (orange!), but she included some really lovely typography in her collection. christina’s tea towels and aprons are all for sale on her website, but she also has a really fun section of her site called “use me” where she displays clever ways to use her work in your home. whether you belt your tea towel for an insta-apron or sew a cute window seat from the fabric, she’s got a whole slew of really beautifully shot ideas to check out. click here to view (and shop) the full collection online. thanks christina!

i’m so thrilled to welcome erin and nicole of bird and banner to the d*s guest blog this morning. i’ve been a fan of their work for years and was so excited to work with them on our wedding invites. and this week they’ll be sharing creative ideas for anniversaries, starting with paper. even if anniversaries aren’t up your alley, their beautiful paper finds will be. click here to check out erin and nicole’s first post at the guest blog….

whew! it’s been a long week and i’m feeling a major sense of TGIF today. before i head off i wanted to wrap up this week with these paper chandeliers from designer lena corwin. inspired by the traditional polish paper chandeliers that are popping up around the web these days, lena’s versions will be for sale ($35-$65) at the brooklyn flea design co-op next weekend, and every saturday after that from 10-6 (this week’s fair was canceled due to rain). the design co-op will feature work from lotta jansdotter, wayne pate, wren handmade, and more. if you’re in town, be sure to check out lena’s new work and everyone else’s at the flea. until monday, i hope you all have a great weekend! below is a summary of this week’s highlights:

*ps: we’re still looking for some fantastic before & afters for the d*s book. we’d love to see any projects that will be finished by the end of the month- just shoot me an email right here with your images!*

• new d*s video: diy sunprint corkboard and tray how-to
• new city guide: amsterdam!
• past & present: rococo + modern rococo roundup
• living in: two for the road
• biz ladies 09: successful project management
• new sneak peeks: whimsy & spice, nicole hill gerulat, casey green of fossil, jennifer anderson
• new diy projects: sunprint corkboard + tray video, wallpapered cabinet doors, kate’s acorn bird feeder
• new before & afters: becca’s chair + rebecca’s nursery, jennifer’s nursery + sabina’s cabinet, cindy’s sewing table + gail’s window, tina’s home + lisa’s kitchen
• we like it wild: farm to table (carrot and flower arrangement)
• small measures with ashley: green fashion
• new recipe: in the kitchen with emma of dulcinaea baking’s savory scones
• cookbook reviews: scones + more
• dear d*s q&a: faux-wallpaper ideas and reader advice
• new d*s guest blog: design posts from elisabeth dunker
• misc.: d*s holiday table setting in house beautiful, tie-dyed tea towels from flowie, ceramic lights from naochina, marianne hallberg ceramics,