Friday Finds: LEFTOVERS!!

So you have a ton of turkey left to eat....why not bring them to work in these very adult lunch boxes from Design Within Reach. You get a set of three!

DIY Tips & Tricks: Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We wanted to share with you a great DIY tip that Chrys found and wrote about in this posting - about making vegetables into candle centerpieces. It gave us a great idea for the holiday table.

Jen made this simple little green apple centerpiece:

Just cut a hole in the top of an apple, and place a little votive candles in the hole. I found a little cranberry wreath that I already had, and put it around the apple. It ended up that the turkey was more of a centerpiece, but the candle added some unique holiday flare with the red of the cranberries and the green of the apple.





Also, below is a picture of our Primed 4 Design mascot Gromit the french bulldog. He was waiting around the table for fallen turkey. Enjoy!

Art Smart: Bird is the Word!

In honor of turkey day tomorrow, we thought it would be nice to take time and find some unique artwork that features various birds:


{Jelly Bean Birds-Limited Edition Print by zukzuk}





{In my World Original Drawing by valentinadesign}






{Birds of a Feather 5.1 - 5 Mixed Media Panels - Modern Pop Art by artbyrosemary}

Dandy Chandy Tuesday

Anyone else digging this chandy as much as we are? You get to pick Swarovfski crystals in the colors you want on the chandelier! Pretty Pretty!

Design Tip of the Week (11.24.2008): Illuminating your Holiday Table

Holidays seem to be the time when we dust off the candle sticks holders and light up the table with some mood lighting. Here are some candlesticks options to really brighten your table, and from a place you would never think to look for candles....the Paper Source!

Cayan/Cocoa Taper Candles- these came in MANY fun color combinations.


Platinum Glittery Beeswax, these also come a variety of metal colors as well as in black (which are very cool), ruby, white and rose.


No candle sticks? No worries! Here are some fun stand alone candles for the holidays. The Candle Factory makes these candle baskets that light on every end.

Art Wax makes these great fruit and vegetable candles. Arrange these candles in a nice serving piece and you have a great centerpiece and ambiance.

Friday Finds: Fun Tableware

Yes, we are on a holiday kick! We are so excited for Turkey day next week, aren't you? The tableware below could be for everyday, or for special occasions. Don't take yourself too seriously! Holiday's are meant to be fun-


This subliminal dinnerware from cb2 is for the lighthearted, fun family.




The organic shapes of this lotus dinnerware from cb2 are beautiful and the sage green is very calming. Cranberries would look very festive against the green on these plates!



Rock the Casbah with this Morroccan Dinnerware (with Architectural Moorish tile designs) from cb2

DIY Tips & Tricks: Eight Green-Building Myths

{Photo by cityflickr}


We think its really important when building or remodeling to be aware of all that you can do to help save the planet. This article here from HGTVPro sets the record straight on Green-Building.

Check it out if you are building or remodeling!

Art Smart: The Batchelor Pad

Hello everyone-
We just received an email from our friend Kenny about the blog, he said:

"Cool. Good Stuff to know - I'm just about to slowly redecorate the house since it's practically bare now."

We definitely try to provide a mix of ideas and products, but his email reminded us to keep guys in mind more when posting our finds! Thanks Kenny!




Want to be manly AND hip at the same time? Then you should order these coasters:
{Industrial Felt -MEAT AND GRILL- Coaster Set-from JoshuaStone}




Check out this one-of-a-kind (and manly) chess set, very rustic-even if you don't play chess, it would be a cool centerpiece for a table:
{Naturalchess Chess set}





We think these prints are just lovely-combining book pages and siloetted faces, it's very film noir/comic book. We could see a set of 3 framed, all in a row in your hallway:
{Print-She Knows Better-by John Clark}

We think all of these would make really great gifts this season for the man in your life (or great gifts to yourself!)

Dandy Chandy Tuesday

Ok, we don't think you even understand what we have found! Delia*s was one of Jen's favorite stores growing up. She has the fond memory of watching the show "My So Called Life" and saw Clare Danes wearing the same sweater from Delia*s-which rocked her teenage party world. ;)

But back to business, we have found the most elegant little chandelier's all under $70.00!

Check out the array of chandy's here, there is no excuse to not have one of these in every room!

We love how each one easily would look fabulous in a dining room, a master bedroom, or of course in a girls room (and by girls room-we mean from the ages of 5-95). We just love how baroque style is making a comeback in a modern way through chandeliers like these:



{Shade Chandelier - $69}




{Chic Chandelier - $59}




{Disc Chandelier - $39}




{Bubble Chandelier - $49}





{Teardrop Chandelier - $49}

Tablescapes Continued: Interesting Placements and Napkins

As you are thinking through your perfect table set up for the holidays here is some food for thought. Check out these placemats and napkins with unique designs and brilliant colors.

Be the only one on this block with these hand painted napkins.

Need a little bit of spring in your fall? Integrate these purple and green placemats

Bring in some shine with these mother of pearl placemats.

Need something blue? These blue basketweave napkins will do!

Design Tip of the Week (11.17.08): Getting Your Holiday Table Set

The holidays are around the corner and if you're an aspiring Martha Stewart you are probably thinking about what your tablescape is going to look like. So in honor of the beginning of the holiday season, P4D wants to help you put together a table that will complement your gourmet meal....or will help to detract from a dry tasting turkey and burnt yams.

Using a fall color palette with and a hint of the best color of the fall season, PURPLE, here are some tablescape necessities to create a fun table that will get your guests eyeing more than the stuffing.

Start with this rich chocolate brown table cloth with gold accents that add a little bit of an ethnic feel.

Play to the gold and top the table with a pretty gold runner.
Now for the PURPLE! Add these purple placemats and matching napkins from Fiesta.
And tie it back to the color scheme and the ethnic theme by adding these gold napkin rings.
Finish your look with an original centerpiece to act as a focal point. We LOVE this idea posted by the Decorating Diva that uses vegetables as candle holders.


P4D will bring you more Holiday Table Setting installments throughout this week to get you all ready for Thanksgiving!

Friday Finds: Holiday Vases

Here we are around the holidays, and what better way to accent the fireplace or table than with holiday inspired vases:



{woodland whites set: $59.00-from West Elm}




{Ceramic Vase, Goldtone $29.99-from Target}

DIY Tips & Tricks: A Unique Solution for Hanging Necklaces

Good morning everyone! On Wednesday's we are going to bring you DIY tips and tricks from ourselves, or from our wonderful readers. We are starting to get some really great decorating and DIY photos from readers that we want to share. Send in your own DIY tips, tricks, and great room decoration photos and ideas to primed4design@gmail.com.

We would like to start off with a tip from Jen (one of your P4D ladies):

"This old wooden coat rack was from my parents old house. I really needed storage for all of my jewelry, mainly necklaces. I have a variety of necklaces (in price and in size). We painted the bedroom wall color in a nice soothing blue and all of the furniture in the room is white. So I painted the coat rack white, put it in the corner of the room that is not really seen or used much, and hung up all the jewelry. It would be easy in a really cluttered room for to make it look even more cluttered, but we really try to make the bedroom a retreat and keep it clutter free! By keeping the room sparse, it becomes something nice to look at in the room. It really is a great idea if you have a bunch of necklaces all tangled up in a drawer!"

Art Smart: Le Chic Print Print

As lover's of all sorts of design - architecture, furniture, graphic design, etc. We just love the chair prints from pleasebestill's etsy site.



{Le Chic Print}

We love the playfulness of the prints. And we also find it really cool that it says 15 cents in the top left corner, meanwhile the print depicts some of the most expensive designer chairs out there! We wish they were 15 cents! That's what makes this print so cool, one can dream!

Dandy-Chandy Tuesday

Yes, Yes - it's Dandy Chandy tuesday lovely readers-put this chandelier up over your dining table before the holiday festivities, it's very winter wonderland-ish, and reasonably priced for such a beautifully ornate chandy:


{"Astonishing" Chandelier from Horchow}

Design Tip of the Week (11.10.08): How to Rejuvenate a Space. P4D's Yoga Studio Makeover!

Our friends at Boundless Yoga asked us to help them refresh their look and open up their basement studio space. They wanted to make the energy that exists at Boundless to be more present in the look of their studio. Working within a limited budget, the P4D team designed a look that was fresh, soothing & fun.


{Main Area of Studio}






{Close-up's of Far Back Wall}



{New Window Treatments}

In the first photo, the studio's before picture, notice the small windows with the short window treatments. To create more height in the room we opted for long sheer window treatments. To increase the feeling of privacy and calm we placed window coverings over the glass with patterns of the sky and a silver lace design. These window coverings let the light in while keeping unwanted views out. In this case the studio overlooks a parking lot.

We took the larger circular mirrors with the remaining smaller ones to fill in the back wall - taking away attention from the fire alarm and the electrical box. We also painted the once white door blue so it fades into the back wall rather than popping out.

Boundless was already painted a really nice blue, but to create an illusion of length, we painted the far walls a shade lighter. While it appears to be a subtle difference (something better seen in person), the lengthening affect is apparent as soon as you step through the door.





{Main Wall on the left}






{Altar}

When thinking through a design - we really wanted to bring in some Indian inspired details to balance some of the more modern touches we added. So we planned out hand painted detailing around all 7 wall sconces in the room, and the altar on the opposite wall.

We are so excited to have been part of this project with Boundless Yoga Studio. They are a wonderful studio and we truly think these small changes will make a big impact. With under $400, we were able to open the space and bring in a boutique feel with hand painted detailing and fun accents. Take a look for yourself at their new studio and sign up for some classes (1522 U Street NW)!