your daily bias

design i love

My job affords me the chance to travel the world. In almost every instance, it's a complete blessing and adventure. The other instances, well, they include uncomfortable airline moments, toilets that are in the ground (brings a new definition to "squatting") and stolen passports in Communist countries. One day, I'll bring you up to speed on those moments of insanity.
My first time in Paris, I was tucking in and out of side streets and discovered a fabulous shop called Conran. It intrigued me because it contains this amazing combination of modern furniture with a great library of design books and accessories. A few years later, I discovered the "anchor store" in London and was even more blown away by the breadth of design contained within the walls.

Mike and I have plans to, one day, build a home that truly represents our style. If my pocket book would allow it, I could decorate the entire home with product from Conran and never look back.

i heart this...

...vintage jewelry from Pinking Edge Designs. According to her Etsy store, Kay makes "vintage, modern and wedding style jewelry." I'd like to add "...and she kicks butt in doing so!" There's an elegant, understated styling to these pieces – and I am flabbergasted at the affordability of these gems. I had a hard time picking the ones that I liked the best. I strongly urge you to check out her shop.

i heart this...

Most of you know that I'm a designer by trade and therefore I have an uncontrollable fetish with good type. This started in college when a group of close friends decided that we would forever be known as our "font" name. Garamond, the handsome (but, alas, gay) boy that I lived with, named us all...Futura, Caslon, Helvetica, etc.

Most fonts aren't cheap, in fact, the great ones are extremely expensive. For some typefaces, you could safely trade a kidney and barely have enough to also cover the sales tax. But DaFont.com has some really fabulous fonts for FREE. I don't get paid to write about them, but I've always said that "friends don't let friends use Arial."

i'm sweet on...

...pillows that make me smile. Several weeks ago I broke down and bought my first sofa ever. I've been one of those "accept-sofa-hand-me-down" girls for my whole life and it was high time that I invested. It's cranberry...a color that makes my dad cringe and my white husky squeal with delight every time she spots the opportunity to contribute her furry sweetness to the cushions.

This new sofa has done wonders for both my media room and my comfort level. It has also made me crave cool throw pillows. I'm one of those girls that thinks pillows can make or break your space. They can say "I know what's hip and I know what works" or they can say "Sorry, but I'm incapable of anything unless it's spelled out in photos in the Pottery Barn catalog." These pillows make me smile, plain and simple.

Amy Butler

West Elm

Restoration Hardware