Nightwood NY

Myriah Scruggs and Nadia Yaron of Nightwood in Brooklyn, NY, give new life to reclaimed wood and out of commission furniture. The look they create is easy-going, warm, and unpretentious. Hats off to Nightwood!


All images from NightWoodNY.com

Scorched Wood

I usually prefer the natural color of wood, but if you're interested in something darker or more dramatic scorching also preserves and highlights the grain quite well.

Above - Scorched oak stool from SamChinnery.co.uk

Above - Bench made out of old teak railroad by Chista.net

Simplicity, not just in form, but in attitude

There are many things I like in this picture; the large dining set, the concrete floor, the simple furnishings, and especially the low maintenance corrugated metal walls, and the garage door walls that, when opened, blur the line between indoors and outdoors. What I like most though is the general attitude captured in the image; that creating livable, beautiful, and comfortable places does not require fancy items, stroking egos, or other fluff.

Image from The Sydney Morning Herald

Chase DeForest

Furniture from salvaged materials do not always look great but I love the warm and familiar character of Chase DeForest's pieces.

Images from ChaseDeForest.com

Warm wood and durable steel

Hardware Interiors from Toronto sells great furniture, some new, some salvaged, which showcase the beauty of wood and steel very well. With minimally finished surfaces and solid structures these pieces seem like they would last a long time and look better with age.

Images from HardwareInteriors.com

Old clothes and Fabric Scraps

If your clothes are too worn out even for wearing around the house you have some options:
-You can donate them (Even if they're too worn out for resale Goodwill sells such items together as bulk to companies that recycle them as insulation)
-You can make rags out of them
-Or you can always add some comfort and style to your life by turning them into a casual crazy quilt:

Above image from TheScope.ca

Above image from AntiqueQuilts.biz

Turns out scraps work quite well as upholstery also. The design group Squint creates great lively and easy-going pieces of furniture by using colorful patchwork for upholstery.

Above two - Images of Squint's work from ApartmentTherapy.com

Above Image of Squint's work from InteriorDesign.net

Nesting Side Tables

Here's another entry from the UK... These solid pine nesting tables are by NestsAndCubes.co.uk. The finish is really nice, smooth but not shiny. It's a beautiful set with a simple and functional design showing off its dovetail joints.
Image from NestsAndCubes.co.uk

Vintage industrial pieces from Cleveland Art

Cleveland Art re-purposes/recycles salvaged industrial surplus as functional furniture/art/lighting. I like renewing/reusing furniture instead of dumping them, I like the functional and no-nonsense aesthetic of industrial objects, I like things that last, and I like things with age and character, so there is quite a bit for me to enjoy at Cleveland Art's inventory.





All images from ClevelandArt.com

Bare your walls!

There are many things I like in this picture; the exposed ceiling structure, exposed power lines, the concrete floor, and especially the bare cinder block walls - very low maintenance. I know all these elements together might be a bit too industrial for some but separately these are all great features for an honest, low maintenance space.

Image from PoppyPetunia.blogspot.com

Pacha Design in UK

Pacha Design, based in UK, create some great looking furniture and accessories using reclaimed and new materials, mostly steel, slate, and oak. Their creations are at once rustic and modern, with solid structures and no-nonsense designs; just the way we like things.



All images from PachaDesign.co.uk

Wuttke Werks for great works!

Thorben Wuttke of Wuttke Werks in Honolulu create some great looking furniture using reclaimed wood. His pieces are functional in a simple and relaxed style.

Above - Nesting side tables made of steel rebar and reclaimed wood. I would have liked thinner rebar, for weight and looks, and just oiled the rebar instead of painting to show off its authentic color, but paint is also great, makes them a little more friendly and cheerful.


Above two images - great looking coffee tables, showing off the beautiful grain of the wood.
All images from wuttkewerks.blogspot.com

Hooray for no-frills!

Easy to maintain wood floors through-out, bright white walls, exposed power lines, a solid work surface, a pool table, and a cool barn door - very easy-going and enjoyable place.

Image from InsideDesign.tumblr.com

Great chair/great lifestyle

I love this chair. It's like a director's chair but seems to offer a lot more comfort. Simple construction, fold-it-up-and-take-it-anywhere mobility, wood, and leather... all add up to a great lounge chair. I also love that portable side table, the gas lamps, the tent itself, even the stakes holding up the tent! There's nothing I don't like about this image. Ah, to enjoy some scotch on the rocks on that chair as the sun goes down... now, that would be great!

Image from AwesomeSpaces.tumblr.com

Axel Vervoordt side table

I prefer furniture with sturdy, straight-forward, no-frills designs, and this side table from Axel Vervoordt definitely qualifies.
Image from AxelVervoordt.com

Mattress on the floor

I know this one is hard to sell to some, but I really like the mattress on the floor look - and not just the look, I like the idea of it, as well. Do we really need furniture holding our mattresses? Beds are a pain to move/put together, they squeak and groan, they might damage your floor, and usually the support of a solid floor will make a mattress feel a lot more comfortable.

Historically raised beds offered some protection from various critters, (they still might in wilder parts,) and some people with mobility issues find it easier to get in and out of raised beds, but most of us are not in either category. Mattress on the floor seems to be an identity/status issue for most of the people I talked to. They usually don't have substantial arguments against it but often say things such as "it's the dorm room look" or "it's like you can't afford a bed." Clearly, it's not for the conformist but to me a mattress on the floor says "I am fit enough, I live in a critter free home, and I have better things to worry about." I am not promoting some monk-like, bare-essentials type lifestyle here. Simplify your life, remove mental and physical clutter so you have more resources for more fulfilling things. Go on a little vacation and make some memories, or take sailing (or piano, or Spanish, or horseback-riding) lessons and enrich your life with the money you would blow on a bed - and hey, don't compromise anything... you can still have a great looking bedroom like one of these...


Above - Image from the portfolio of photographer Debi Treloar

Above - Image from ApartmentTherapy.com

Above - A bed on the floor from one of Ace Hotel's rooms. Image from MrsFancyPantz.wordpress.com

What a terrace!

A summery paint job, natural materials, lots of access to outdoors, and a fantastic terrace/balcony! What's not to love?
Image from AwesomeSpaces.tumblr.com

Colorful Kitchen

I am not too wild about matchy-matchy things anyway - I think it's the least creative way to design an interior - so I love how there are different cabinets in different colors in this kitchen. In my book the adage "variety is the spice of life" applies to decorating as well.Image from CountryLiving.com's Ultimate Kitchens Guide

Jurgen Lehl

Jurgen Lehl designs some rough/casual/earthy furniture along with his clothing line.

Above - these stools are hand carved from one solid piece of wood. Image from JurgenLehlShop.jp

Above - Stools are made of woven bamboo and stainless steel, naturally each one is unique. Image from DesignBoom.com

Savor Broken Tiles!

Don't just dump your left over tiles in the trash. You or someone else can add some color to life with easygoing broken tile mosaics.
-See all posts on broken tiles here.

Above - Image from DesireToInspire.net

Above - Image from the user stars4esther on flickr

Above - Image from AWhimsicalDesign.com

Simple & Fantastic Beach House

Wow! An outdoor shower, concrete floors, bathroom with a great view and casual/comfortable dining indoors and outdoors! What a place!



All images from Andrea Raisfeld Locations.

Branches Indoors

I like this room a lot. I like the exposed ceiling beams, the exposed power lines, the rustic dining set, and the kilim underneath it. I really like bringing outdoors in and my favorite thing in this room is that branch hanging above the table. It's a beautiful branch, adds a lot of visual interest, and matches the room very well. They sell those bushels of branches in some stores but they're so uniform they don't have much character. Use an actual branch, preferably from one of your own trees or one you found on a hike or on some other outing to have a genuine artifact in your home.
Image from Re-Nest.com.

Aged, Rustic, & Practical

I like these stools (as I've mentioned before,) the tin lamps, and the stone wall in the background but I especially like the island/table. I like mobile islands instead of permanent ones anyway, and it is nice that this one has some drawers along with leg room on all sides so you can use it as a table, too. Even though it didn't look anything like this, my grandma used to have a table with a couple of drawers as well. She had silverware in the drawers and I remember it was so easy to set up the table that way and if you ever needed a spoon or a knife during a meal you could just get one from the drawers without leaving the table. Image from CountryLiving.com - ultimate kitchen guide.

Cabin Fever

Not too shabby, no? Why can't we make our own homes more like this? Comfortable, with durable things made for a purpose. It's nice when there is a touch of nature timelessly beautifying your stuff - not veneer or carvings or other superficialities. Image from Find Target Reference.

Summit Furniture

I am for everything that makes people spend more time outdoors, whether it be the desert, a beach, or their patio and Summit Furniture plays their part in this matter. They make very high quality teak furniture and make outdoor living more attractive.They sell their products for a pretty penny, and understandably so, since their furniture are expertly crafted, but most of their designs are robust and have relatively basic lines, so you could maybe make some simplified versions of them yourself for much cheaper (while respecting copyright laws and the rights of Summit Furniture.) Straighten the curves and ignore some details and you might just have something that looks even better.
All images from SummitFurniture.com.