Recycled, reclaimed, repurposed, renewable — this dominant trend of the 2009 NY Gift Show was apropos as we struggle with a sagging economy and an overtaxed planet.

A few companies to seize the trend: Sugaboo, which offers charming wall art made from planks of driftwood. Oly Studio, with the Reclaimed natural teak chair coming soon to koodekir.com.

Colorful Loyal Loot Log bowls at monkegrassonline.com. And Artecnica’s Transneomatic Tire Bowl at unicahome.com.

A few other standouts from the show:

The gorgeous new “Tonale” dishware by David Chipperfield for Alessi.

Kiel Mead’s “Birdie Lite,” a hanging light made from an authentic goose feather shuttlecock, coming soon to thefutureperfect.com.

And Puffy picture frames from SCAD. –Holly D.

There are a few designers that we just adore — Angela Adams, Jonathan Adler, Thomas Paul to name a few. Also on the list is Orla Kiely, who mostly makes textiles and to-die-for totes in her cheery, retro, flowery repeats. Her new line for Target is not scrumptious just because it’s inexpensive — canisters for $15, tablecloths for $20 — but because it is so perfectly Shelterrific, we can’t stand it! We’re beside ourselves with glee. The collection of kitchen goodies looks like something you dream of uncovering in your mom’s basement. Luckily, it can be found quite easily in Target stores and online starting the 14th. And we’ll be having another one of our special giveaways soon… so stay tuned for more Orla!

Update: Please read the first comment and click the link supplied by Leah. And then read this entry with a grain of salt. I may have unknowingly written a eulogy for another great magazine. –Mary T.

I got a free subscription to ReadyMade as part of a promotion with some concert tickets, and I set aside my first few issues with barely a glance. But with Domino magazine closing up shop and more publications on death watch, I decided to take a closer look. And I really liked what I saw. I wasn’t a reader before 2008, so I’m not sure how the mag has evolved over the years. But the latest issue (February/March) reminded me of, dare I say, the late, great Budget Living. (Full disclosure: Angela M. was once Budget Living’s editor, but I didn’t know her back then.) This month’s ReadyMade has DIYs on making light fixtures from cake pans and inexpensive glass globes. There’s a great rehab of a sideboard. But my favorite part was ReadyMade’s ability to turn economical ideas into a celebration. The issue is filled with ideas for gathering friends for potlucks, bringing the party home, and sharing the expenses. You can get a lot of great ideas online, too, but this is one print magazine I’ll be hanging onto — and renewing when the time comes. –Mary T.

We’ve peered into the dark, the paneled, and the patterned living spaces of our readers, and all we have to say is: you are a winner! Congratulations to our winners Carrie J., Erik, Heidi O., Emily W., and Christy H. We choose each winning entry for a somewhat different reason — a few because they are so bad, one that’s a nice small-room challenge, and one because there is such great potential for the right paint job to unlock. We’re sorry we couldn’t give everyone who entered a Color-Helper, but if you didn’t win, take heart: your place is probably looking a lot better than you think! See all the winning entries below.

Carrie J.:

“Boy, do I need a Color-Helper. My guest room features ’70s wallpaper (brown with blue and burgundy pinstripes) which was then topped with a sports-themed wallpaper border. The hall bath has black-and-white plaid wallpaper. (Top photo, above. –ed.) Again there’s a wallpaper border up top — this time, fussy black roses on white. Because, you know, black roses are oh-so-lifelike and beautiful. (Even worse — the white on the border is blindingly white, while the white in the plaid wallpaper is more yellowish. So even the black-and-white scheme clashes with itself!) We need to repaint, lest our friends quit visiting us. And lest we get complacent and leave such atrocious wallpaper up. Heaven forbid!”

Erik:

“Please, please, please, please, please pick me to win a Color-Helper. I painted my living room forever ago two shades of orange, and currently I am being driven insane by it. The lighter shade with the craptastic sponge job is currently on the majority of the walls in the room, and it’s killing my soul. If I was lucky enough to get a Color-Helper, my living room would no longer have to look like peach jellybean vomit sprayed inside a traffic cone. Color-help me.”

Click for the rest of our entries! (more…)

Punxsutawney Phil predicts that we’re in for six more weeks of winter. The good news? We have that much more time to try out some yummy soup recipes. I gave one a try the other week that is worth sharing. It’s creamy broccoli and cheddar soup from cookscountry.com and was ready in about 20 minutes. Here’s how in a nutshell: Cook the broccoli first with some onion and garlic until tender. Then, puree it in a blender and return it to the pot. Return to a simmer, add in the cheese with a bit of cayenne pepper and salt, and presto! Hearty broccoli cheese soup. You need to serve this with some heated crusty bread and salad and you’ve got a pretty dreamy February dinner. — Angela M.

Want some more soup recipes? Check out our archives for red lentil with kale, spicy sweet potato and spinach, and Italian drop soup with meatballs.

There is a whole mess of cords under my desk. With two computers, a printer, a lamp and a sound system all hooked up to the power outlet, it’s hard to keep things organized. That’s why I love the Electric Man Multi-Outlet from Kikkerland. Each of his legs and arms has a three-prong socket, and the way they’re all spread out means that one big adapter won’t take up two spots! It may still leave me with a mess of cords, but at least it will be a cute mess. –Erica P.

While in NY this week for the Gift Show (will report details soon) I stopped by ABC Carpet & Home and found the department manager and her colleague lying down on the job, so to speak. When I joked with her about this, she claimed to be “testing the product.” I wanted to know why these organic mattresses were so special and costly, and here’s what she had to say:

The Omi Mattress is made from all-natural latex from Malaysian rubber trees (a healthy alternative to petroleum-based foam which has highly flammable off gassing). Plus they’re naturally hypoallergenic, anti-bacterial, and dust mite-repellent. They also use organic lambs wool from free-roaming Californian sheep, which acts as a natural flame barrier with no carcinogenic flame retardants which are harmful to the body. The frames are made of Pacific Northwest sustainable wood. These may just be the healthiest mattresses on the planet and mighty comfy too!

So what do you think? Are you sold? — Holly D.

It seems I’ve caught my first cold of the season. I’ve been drinking tea with honey around the clock to soothe my scratchy throat. I wish I was drinking out of this Tea Mug from the new South Korea collection at the MoMA Store. The ceramic mug has an indentation at one point along the rim to catch the string of your tea bag. I don’t know about you, but I’m always loosing mine into the cup. Seeing this simple solution makes me wonder why someone didn’t think of this sooner. It’s genius! Check out the rest of the new products in MoMA’s Destination: Seoul line right here. — Erica P.

One of my pet peeves is a dirty white board — you know, with marker “crumbs” and shadows of past notes to oneself. I’ve heard about all kinds of ways to get white boards squeaky clean, including scrubbing them with toothpaste. Toothpaste works OK, but it leaves streaks, and I just don’t like having that minty-fresh smell in my office.

Guess which cleaning product works best? You got it: Bar Keepers Friend. Shelterrific has sung the graces of this magical powder in the past, and it has come through yet again. Now, at the beginning of every month, I erase last month’s appointments and reminders from my white board and wipe it down with BKF. I then have a clean slate on which to plan the next month of my family’s life. How do you clean your white board? — Michelle V.K.

Artist Shepard Fairey created the iconic “Hope” image of Obama that was seen across the world (and used on the cover of TIME magazine). Now it’s your turn. Over at Paste Magazine’s ObamiconMe, you can create your own face and message in the style of Fairey’s design. If you like how it turns out, you can even order it on a T-shirt, mug or postage stamp. Head on over to the gallery and see what others have come up with. Some of the images are pretty hysterical. — Erica P.