I really love this rug. (I can’t wait until Fritz is 100% with the housebreaking so we can have rugs again.)

My friend Janet keeps complaining about having to see that tile photo day after day, so I figure I had better put something new here!

That’s worth it, right? It’s my new Orla Kiely bag, and it holds everything and looks great. It was one of those purchases I just had to hold close my eyes, hold my breath, and say “GO!” for, but I have no regrets. Happy, pretty. (I want this one, too!)

Oh, and guess what? Our plumbing work in the bathroom is officially starting THIS FRIDAY! Finally. We also have a landscaper coming that day to assess our yard and figure out how much it would cost to demolish our back porch, put up a new fence, take down a tree, and remake Carin Goldberg’s garden. I have a feeling he’s going to see that photo and ask us why we want a prison yard behind our house!

p.s. It wasn’t freezing cold today! I wore ballet slippers (no socks!) and didn’t suffer. Is spring really coming this time?

A new resident will be installed in the hallway this weekend, and it comes from Zeeland, Michigan.

A few days ago I was skimming through the Design House Stockholm website, and I came across these gorgeous “Bono” mugs designed by Catharina Kippel. Instantly overtaken by the perfection of the one with the droplet pattern in particular (I have a bit of an obsession with teardrop shapes), I grabbed the photo, posted it on Flickr, and started to agonize over the likely cost of shipping and VAT to get a set of these delivered to me in New York.

Shortly thereafter, Katie popped in to inform me that Crate & Barrel is selling all four of the Design House Stockholm mugs for a mere $10.95! HOORAY. Needless to say, I’ll be stopping in to C&B tonight to pick up several.

More things that are making me happy today:

I love this kitchen by DAPStockholm (found via designsponge), with its red Arne Jacobsen faucet (part of the Vola line I love) and the Cole & Sons wallpaper (which I really expected to be tiring of by now, but I still love it). It reminds me of another favorite kitchen of mine.

I really do love red in the kitchen! Isn’t it nice how everything starts to tie together after a while?

Also:

+ I’ve really been enjoying Alice’s posts over at Peapods.

+ Camilla posted really beautiful photos of her morning walk yesterday.

+ It’s almost the weekend!

As I’ve mentioned before (more than once), some of the things IKEA does best are their textiles! I’ve been waiting impatiently for the 2008 lines to hit the stores, and hopefully this weekend I’ll be able to stock up. That triangle-bunting print is killing me with its adorableness.

I love triangles!

Between the Fialena (designed by Anna Svanfeldt) and Petronella lines, there are 10 new prints to choose from.

I am really impressed with the new catalog from CB2! I’m happy to see that they’re moving away from the chocolate-stained, chunky-wood, “contemporary urban bachelor” look that they have been a little too fond of recently and into something more classic and modern. Here are my favorites from the new additions:

Clockwise from top left:
Graph desk ($299.00)
Marimekko Kikku linens ($29.95 - $109.00)
Marcel sofa $1,099.00
Halogen credenza ($499.00) My favorite, and it comes white, too! Very Florence Knoll-like proportions.

Clockwise from top left: 
Marimekko Kulkue wall hanging ($24.95 - $59.95) This is one of my most favorite designs from the illustrator I mentioned the other day, Maija Louekari. I so excited to see it in a smaller size than a standard bolt (but larger than a tea towel).
Script desk lamp ($59.95) Also in white.
Tessuto throw $39.95
Paloma vases ($19.95)

Clockwise from top left:
Hue dinnerware ($3.95 - $4.95)
Mondrian media console ($249.00)
Pulse pillow ($24.95)
Whit coffee table ($299.00) You really have to look at the top view to appreciate this table fully. The grain of the shesham wood is gorgeous.

If I had a bunch of extra money to throw around, I would definitely buy a set of these washed linen sheets from Eileen Fisher. (If you’re reading this, Bedding Fairy: queen size, muslin color; one fitted, one flat, two shams!)

p.s. Does anyone know of a source for Orla Kiely textiles? She used to offer them for sale on her site, but I don’t see them anymore. I have a feeling she’s gone trade-only for her textiles, sadly.

I know it’s a little bit early in the season, but I couldn’t resist ordering a bunch of these cast iron elf candleholders from CB2. There will be an elf army on the dining room mantle!

I dream in sofa, seriously. I’ve been obsessing over finding the perfect sofa for well over a year now, and I’m determined to settle on something before the end of 2007. I don’t want to end up like David Segal in this episode of This American Life (Act 3, “Looking for Loveseats in all the Wrong Places”). The agonizing must end! (Opinions and suggestions welcome.)

Chet from CB2 ($899)
Pro:
→ very inexpensive
→ nice seaming on the tufted back
Con:
→ have never seen/felt in person (CB2 doesn’t open in NYC until next month)
→ smaller than I’d like
→ how good can the quality be on a sofa that costs $899?

Stockholm from IKEA, Gammelbo Beige ($1299)
Pro:
→ extremely comfortable
→ the best construction I’ve seen on a sofa under $2000
→ big enough for 2 people to stretch out on
→ down-filled cushions
→ washable slipcover
→ perfect proportions (minus the legs)
Con:
→ the legs look stumpy
→ the fabric color is a bit warmer than I’d like it to be

André from Room & Board, Dilcrest Linen ($1599)
Pro:
→ tufting is cute, but not too cute
→ not too big, not too small
Con:
→ the legs are absolutely hideous
→ R&B is currently suffering some sort of fabric crisis as one of their suppliers closed, the result being a lot of discontinued fabrics and very, very long wait times for custom upholstery
→ quality is iffy

Ditte from Anthropologie, Linen Flax ($3498)
Pro:
→ perfect design, top to bottom
→ heavy-duty linen fabric
→ down-filled cushions
→ those legs!
Con:
→ that’s a lot of money for us right now, especially considering the $300 shipping cost

Amelia & Neasa dresses (designed by Samu-Jussi Koski). Love!

I tried on coats from Soïa & Kyo over the weekend. So perfect! The fit is amazing on all of them, there’s no way I can choose one. I want them all! These are my favorites:

This last one is the only WARM, insulated coat I have ever tried on that didn’t make me look like I’m wearing a sleeping bag. Standing/shivering on the train platform by the river in the middle of winter always makes me long for a sensible, long coat like that (rather than the cute, cheap wool coats I inevitably wind up buying instead).

My wishlist is always longer than it really needs to be, but these are the top items I’d really like to have right now:

1. A new sofa. We’ve been dragging around an IKEA sectional for 5 moves now, and it’s shot. The shape of it is also all wrong for the long, narrow living room in our house. I want the new sofa to be upholstered (or slipcovered) in linen, well-built, leggy, and comfortable. (contender 1, contender 2)

2. A new digital camera. Mine is just too heavy to take with me all the time, and lately it hasn’t been focusing very well. I hate researching these kinds of things, though.

3. Good boots. Something than can take me through fall, winter, and spring, and that will go with everything. (contender 1, contender 2)

I’d also really like to get a good night’s sleep, but I won’t officially put that on my wish list. I’d rather be run-down, haggard and dead tired on a fab new sofa than be refreshed and lying (uncomfortably) on our current one. Boo.

p.s. Also, Swedish pigs at happysilly. Perfect! (via Smosch)