Routers seem to be the main cause of WiFi frustration. They only work when placed in the so-called perfect spot and aren’t equipped to handle the needs of a busy home full of tech. Plume puts the router in the cloud, adapting in real-time to the devices and habits in your home. With a small Plume pod in each room you can now work, play, listen, and connect everywhere with a strong signal.
I’d hardly call it a recipe, but this Mint + Honey Milk Tea is something I make a few afternoons a week when I need a little break. It’s warm and invigorating with just the slightest bit of sweetness. If mint isn’t your favorite flavor don’t worry, you can use any other kind so long as it’s citrus free to avoid curdling.
Ingredients
• 8 oz milk of any kind, though it shouldn’t be flavored
• mint tea
• 1 Tbsp honey
Heat milk in a pan on the stove until hot, being careful not to scald. As it warms whisk in the honey, then pour into a mug with teabag or steeper. Let steep for five minutes and enjoy!
PS: Sometimes I’ll froth the milk to make it creamier.
If only every home could have a fireplace, there’s just nothing better to focus the guts of a room upon. My personal favorites are modern – blocky cement or white brick – with a space for storing wood, but I’m a sucker for nearly all of them. What I’ve learned is there’s no right way to do a hearth or mantel when, in fact, you don’t even need either one! Lots of rooms seen here have me thinking about tearing the facing right off of my own fireplace – would you dare?
As someone who likes to keep relatively organized, I’m a basket lover by nature. In the living room they organize extra blankets and pet toys, in the bedroom shoes and laundry, and in the pantry recycling and dog kibble. I have them stored under sinks corralling cleaning products and beauty products, as well as in my office full of craft supplies. A good basket is versatile, sturdy, and easy on the eyes and here are thirteen I’ve got a crush on.
1/ Banana Leaf Floor Basket 2/ Beso Baskets 3/ Eyelash Hamper 4/ Handmade Shallow Moroccan Basket 5/ Kiondo White Basket 6/ Mainstay Waste Basket 7/ Handwoven Moroccan Basket 8/ Marne Natural Meandering-Weave Textured Seagrass Basket 9/ Short Woven Basket 10/ Sisal Woven Baskets 11/ Seagrass Round 3-Piece 2-Tone White Woven Basket Set 12/ Yuzo Baskets 13/ Diamond Straw Basket
Posted In accessories, house and home, living, round up, series
Welcome to our second new series of 2017! After nearly ten years of sharing the creativity of others, I thought it was high time we started creating more ourselves. These projects are just as much for me as they are for you. Working in a creative industry tends to have the opposite effect of what you might expect, and my own personal art has taken a backseat. I aim to change that starting with this post.
So, what can you expect? A loosely guided art project once a month that leaves plenty of room to explore and make your own. I’ll share my own take on it and leave you to the rest with a list of supplies and your own hands.
Supplies
• embroidery hoop(s)
• embroidery fabric
• acrylic paints
• palette knife (a disposable plastic knife will do in a pinch)
• acrylic paint brush
• jar with water for rinsing
• paper towels
• paint palette (or paper plate)
• scissors
I began by finding two color palettes I liked that could be easily mixed and matched – mainly blues, corals, goldenrod, and grey. I also knew that I wanted my three hoops to be related in style to look cohesive when hung together, and I accomplished that in two ways. First I made sure to use colors from the first two pieces together in the third, and second I made each painting slightly more organized in style than the previous. (Can you tell the order?)
Begin by disassembling the embroidery hoop and stretching the embroidery fabric over the inner hoop before pulling the fabric taut and replacing and tightening the outer hoop. I waited until the end of the project to trim off excess fabric from the back, but you could do that now as well.
Next you’ll want to pick up that paint brush and paint the entire “canvas” background however you see fit, making sure to paint over the top edge of the embroidery hoop as well. (Sidenote: this is the only time I used a brush throughout)
After the background is dry it’s time to put that palette knife to work. Squeeze each of your chosen paint colors onto your palette, and if you’re mixing a new color remember that it’s always better to mix too much than too little because it’ll be nearly impossible to recreate that color again. Load up the underside of the knife with a dollop of paint and use it as though you’re icing a cake. I didn’t bother waiting for colors to dry in between, just used a gentle hand to avoid mixing. The paint should be thick enough on the fabric that you can see definition, no need to refrain.
Once finished I let these guys hang out for a solid 24-hours to dry. Those thick layers of paint will take at least that long to set up fully. I then used some small finishing nails to hang them on the wall, just under each hoop closure.
I hope you love this new series and will join me in bringing more creativity into your life! And if you complete any of the projects I’d love to see – just tag @designcrush.
Click on each image to go to the project.
All photos copyright of their respective sites unless otherwise noted.
Posted In accessories, beauty bag, create, house and home, kitchen, lighting, living, make it, paper, round up, series, style, wear it
Taking a good photo is one thing, taking care of the equipment that creates it is another. Just think about how important your phone case is to protecting that device and you’ll see where I’m coming from. If you’re using a digital or film camera A. It’s probably not cheap and B. You want to treat it like an investment. A good strap gives you security when shooting, a solid bag protects your camera when it’s not in use, and lens bags add a layer of protection when you’re switching between several during a fun day or a shoot.
1/ Camera Lens Bags 2/ Camera Wrist Strap 3/ Compact Camera Bag 4/ Deakin Handmade Leather Camera Strap 5/ Personalized Leather Camera Strap 6/ Camera Neck Strap 7/ Pop Up Camera Case 8/ Sebastian Camera Bag 9/ Vintage Camera Straps 10/ SOLAS Camera Bag
Posted In create, living, photography, round up, series, technology
If I lived in a warmer climate I’d have concrete flooring in my home, no questions asked. Not only is it easy to clean, it can also be customized in any number of ways. Stenciled, stamped, polished, acid stained, dyed, painted, and more. These days the material is being appreciated for the raw beauty it can bring to a space, rather than relegated to warehouses and big box stores. The different textures and variations available make concrete feel anything but cold, making it a great fit for modern styles and more.
Emma McDowall is an Edinburgh, Scotland-based artist currently creating these incredible concrete vessels and objects, each one celebrates color and texture. Made from hand and sometimes using found or recycled objects as moulds, every piece is a unique one-of-a-kind that serves as both object and functional product. Take a peek at Emma’s shop if you’d like to bring her art into your space.
Mosaico+‘s most recent collection of Italian mosaic tiles – Africa Now – reinterprets African fabrics in a contemporary way. The result is a range of sophisticated designs made from different combinations of contrasting colors, monotones, and strong graphic motifs. I’d like to this to happen in my entire walk-in shower, please.
