Design on A Macadamia Nut-Sized Budget (in Hawai'i!)

For our honeymoon, my husband and I came to Hawai'i and our love for Big Island began. The black lava-rocked land being kissed by seas of dark turquoise as it tumbled ashore whitewashed slabs of driftwood, mesmerized us with its stark comment on color.

Traveling away from the shores, the sweet scent of molasses grass and the delectable scent of coffee cherries roasting enticed us to Captain Cook, the agricultural area of the island.

Away from the touristy strip, Captain Cook, with its rustic potpourri of untamed macadamia nut, coffee, avocado and mango farms is where we would spend our time off. Glimpsing a pack of wild piglets, playing frogger with mongoose crossing the road, searching for wild goats amidst the fields of lava and listening to the symphony of exotic birds and coqui frogs replaced the urban sights of New York City for two restful weeks a year.

Fifteen years of annual pilgrimages back to the island later, we found our dream-- a three bedroom two bath house with a super-sized lanai nestled on 9 acres of macadamia nut trees!

We didn't think twice about packing our stuff up in Brooklyn and making the movie to Big Island, Hawai'i. It definitely was a massive culture shock to leave the hipster urban streets filled with trendy coffee shops for the chill ultra-casual farming community, but as "the only way to make a sense of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance." (-Alan Watts, philosopher) that's just what we did.

So, stranded in paradise with no Ikea in sight, we must now face the challenge of furnishing the farmhouse on a macadamia nut-sized budget using only thrift stores, craigslist, antique shops and garage sales. 

Game On, or "e hele kāua" as they say on the Island!

How to Build a Zombie Proof House

When the Brain-Eating Walking Dead take over the Earth, you will want to keep your Grey Matter safe. Design firm KWK Promes has built the perfect residence to hide out from Zombies. Here's how you can keep your family's flesh intact.

1. This house has a Pool which is a good idea as Zombies can't swim. However, a Moat will be much more effective.2. Movable walls that will confuse Zombies' sense of direction. 
2. Make sure there is only one entrance. This one is located on the second floor after crossing a drawbridge. A drawbridge is a great way to keep the Living Dead off the premises. Just make sure its drawn up when they arrive. 
3. Steel shutters. Zombies do like to watch.4. The house in Red Alert mode. It folds in upon itself to become completely sealed with concrete slabs over windows.

Be prepared and be safe!

NSFW Men's Fashion and Apartments

Rick Owens let it all hang out in Paris for his 2015 Men's collection.  
His peacoats were cut from Berber blankets;

Cable knits were stretched to the limit...

and portholes were placed to show everything a man has to offer.

This is way too full frontal for even the most casual Friday.  The California designer says the collection was inspired by "an old French movie set in a submarine". We don't need a periscope to see the genius here.  Owens toys with sex and censorship in his own sleek way.

Male genitalia and artistic geniuses are not as uncommon as one would think. Robert Mapplethorpe pissed off an entire generation of older American prudes in the 1960s and 1970s with his impeccably-lit black and white photographs of the sex organs of the underground BDSM culture in New York City. 

During this time, Mapplethorpe shared a Brooklyn apartment with his girlfriend and rocker-poet Patti Smith. They paid $80 a month. It can be rented today for a bit more (try $8,000) and so fully renovated there's not one dustball of rock 'roll spirit left.

Here's the place when the king and queen of cool were living in it. If you'd like to see the sanitized ballad that it's become, check out curbed.com. I don't care to show you any of that bland, tamed clean soulless space at all.

Suit Up

Casual Fridays have killed our culture. The bespoke fitted suits of fine wools that men once wore are now rare endangered species. As conscious, environmentally aware people, we can fight its extinction and start the battle right in our homes.

Manly room designs inspired by the men's trouser suits of yore can inspire and thrill, planting the seed that a more refined look is an alluringly more sexy aesthetic than cargo shorts and t-shirts. 

An old soft worn black leather couch can bring back memories of your grandfather's old briefcase. Filled with paper and reports rather than hard drives, it meant he was all business.      

The grey tones in an exposed brick wall nod to the soft wool suit and fitted trousers of the serious office man.   

Brass accents and accessories are just what the working guy needs, like an expensive watch to keep time with.

Keeping it classy and simple with design for utilization's sake can bring back the man's sense of design, because, like in any boardroom, there should be equal room for  both sexes.  

In Mint Condition

Runway trends and home furnishings do make a pretty pair so following fashion's direction into the home has always been a favorite way to spice up the rooms. Designers speared mint into their 2015 runways across the globe. We got a taste of some from Coach...

..and sampled some more at Calvin Klein,  Nonoo and  Peter Pilotto.

Mint is bright and sexy and sweet and tasteful-- and looks delectable on you and in your home. 

Disguised as a squeaky clean delicate hue, mint also has a provocative bite so adding a sprig of the cool pastel into your interior can really perk up your home design. 

Rooms turn from stale to alluring, dry to coy and, when mixed with black accents, can add a bit of fashionable heat to the home. 

Bite My Jeans... and Room

Zoo jeans are what the name implies-- Denim designed by dangerous animals.  To generate awareness of endangered species, designers throw their fabrics to the wolves... and lions and tigers and bears. The jean material is wrapped around rubber balls and tires-- toys worthy of the the sharpest-toothed beasts in the kingdom. The animals go hog wild clawing and biting the denim wrapped toys to make them savagely distressed. Carefully-- oh so gently-- the jeans are then reclaimed from the lions/Ussuri brown bears/Bengal tigers -turned designers and sewn into jeans in a small factory in Okayama, Japan. 

The savagely hip designs will be auctioned off and all profits from sales will be donated to WWF and Kamine Zoo in Japan.

This made me want to redesign a room in  my home to remind me to donate more to the protection of these animals. Of course, you can start off timid around these fierce prints and just cover a fabric bench or chairs with some safari style. 

Then, when you feel more secure around the prints, really throw yourselves to the wolves with ferociously fashionable stenciled or wallpaper walls. 

Quickest Draw in the iWest

Go ahead, make my call, punk. Every urban cowgirl needs this holster for her iPhone6.

And something just as sleek could be coming home on the range. A new Radiant wall plate with a Qi-certified wireless charger by Legrand is a clean wireless way to keep the phone out of the way without cluttering up the aesthetic of your room design.   

For those of us who can't cut the cord, we can at least hide the messy wires amongst the herb garden on the kitchen windowsill with this grass charger. Anything to disguise the ugly side of tech.

The Modern Werewolves' Guide to Design

Decor. It’s a word that scares even the most hardened imaginary vicious beasts. Werewolves, as all members of the canine family, are extremely conscious of all things related to fur. 

Humans used to disregard the dogs’ love of fur as cruel, but it is an integral part of the canine’s strict design regime and with faux furnishings looking more and more realistic, it's something a creature of the night can really curl up with and remain animal-friendly.

Werewolves, as the most refined members of the canine genus, are among the first to experiment with texture in home design. Their wet noses can smell how this material can take a room from cold to cozy, from staid to luxurious. 

The Werewolves' Guide to Designing with Fur includes these tips. 

1. Don't go loony as a full moon with it. Just toss in one or two items to elevate the room design. A rug or a throw is enough. 
2. Take a look at length-- longer fur looks more realistic. Cheap fake furs. like B-grade horror movies, can look scary bad. 
3. Darker toned fur can be like a heavy winter coat, for something to keep in the room all year round, go for greys, creams and tans. 
4. Fur plays well with silks,  velvets and heavy wools.

Don't let their growls fool you, Werewolves are socially conscious and animal-loving creatures. They too want to amp up the luxury of their dens with the right amount and right type of faux fur pieces. 

How to Speak Italian Design

What we learned from Milan, the Fall 2011 edition and how the runway translates to interior design.

1. The snake is out of the bag and closer to the foot.  (for Gucci and Prada)

And bring the python look home, to add some bite to your floroing.

2. Girls get Back in Black Lace (if it's from Bottega Venetta and Dolce & Gabbana)
Take a peek at the lace look behind the curtains and on the staircase. . 

3. No one's scared of PETA anymore. (esp. not Fendi and Gucci)
Interior designers never really were (faux is certainly ok to use.) but pick it up off the floor and onto the sofa.  

 4. All the Drugs in the world can not make you forget the 60's . Ever. (Missoni and Prada make sure of it).

No home is complete without a retro chair. 

5. Color is Blind Side-ing (Jil Sander, Gucci and Alberta Ferretti)

If you can take it, then add it to the design. 

Fashion forecasts how to beautify the inside of the home as well as how we dress up when we hit the streets. Trends and fabrics and colors that inspire designers can inspire a room's decor.