Nothing makes us happier than when readers submit their home decor projects to us. Check out this beauty from Matthew Karl, who cleverly converted a vintage Singer sewing table into a sink in their half bath. Here’s what he wrote to us: “The sink was created from a vintage Singer sewing table that we previously used as a side table. Since we were doing a small bath remodel we needed a small vanity with an open base that would go with our 1920’s house. The top is created from reclaimed oak flooring, edge jointed and glued. Milked painted black and finished with multiple layers of marine varnish. The bowl was handmade (not by me) and the faucet is Delta. The based was in good condition with no rust so I just cleaned with wax and steel wool.”

Thanks Matthew! We love it.

Shelterrific Tip: These types of sewing tables are not easy to find. Here’s one on sale now at ebay.

Got a great design idea or completed reno project to share? We’d love to show off your smarts, too. Email us at letters (at) shelterrific dot com!

New Jersey. The Adirondacks. Transylvania. We all have places we pay homage to in our hearts. But I’m considering taking the love to the couch with one of these bold, embroidered pillows from Cat Studio. Each one highlights the defining features of a location through pictures and places hand-sewn with such detail that creating just one demands a full week! Available for all 50 states, many cities, national parks, international locales and resorts, there’s a pillow for every place you want to remember fondly. That includes you, North Pole. — Sarah C.

My espresso obsession began back in high school, when I convinced my dad to buy mom a Krups espresso machine/drip coffee combo for Christmas instead of a boring drip machine. I loved making my coffees in the morning, steaming the milk, grinding the beans, the smell of that freshly pulled shot… it’s the ritual that gets me out of bed every morning to this day. Eventually, I received some barista training and realized that my steam boiler espresso would never be good enough again — you just can’t get crema from those boiler-style machines. After blowing through a couple of “disposable” machines, we decided to upgrade to one that would last us a lifetime: the Rancilio Silvia. Miss Silvia (as the label reads) is a serious rig: 9 bars of pressure pumpin’ out some serious brew! What sets this Italian gal apart from most other home espresso machines is that she’s got a brass boiler rather than a cheap aluminum one, and the pressure and temperature systems are fully modifiable (as many hardcore coffee geeks like to do). Oh — and for a machine this major (and dare I say GORGEOUS), it’s fairly priced, $649 here, which is where I bought mine. Of course you still need to buy a good burr grinder, a good tamp, and a knock box which adds another couple hundred to the tab… But I figure the machine has paid for itself in “espresso savings”: $3/day for a latte from a coffee shop would add up to the price of a machine and all the accessories in less than a year! — Megan B.

Just the other day we were gushing about our favorite new interiors site, theselby.com, from photographer Todd Selby. His curated photo blog provides an inside peek into some amazing creative spaces, including the homes and work spaces of artists, writers, designers and more. Now the folks over at CB2 are teaming up with Todd Selby on an amazing new contest that gives you the chance to show off your real life creative spaces — and we know how creative you are! By entering your photos into this contest, you have the chance to win up to $10,000 worth of CB2 affordable modern merch and a private shoot of your place with The Selby himself. Here’s how to enter the contest:

1. Submit three photos of your most inspired living space and then hustle to get all the votes you can
2. The top 50 vote-getters will advance to the next round to be judged by CB2 and Todd Selby for their creativity and originality
3. The Grand Prize winner will receive a $10K CB2 shop card and will also receive a private photo shoot with Todd Selby that will be featured on his blog. 17 qualifying runners-up will get CB2 shop cards to splurge on their habitats, ranging from $500 to $2,500. Also, the highest vote-getter will receive a $2,500 CB2 shop card.

So what are you waiting for?! Go find that fabulous JPG of your home, and enter the contest at www.cb2.com/TheSelby now! Deadline is September 15th!

ENTER NOW

This weekend we swung by the New York International Gift Fair for a first look at fall, and as usual it did not disappoint. One highlight? The many new product lines from DwellStudio. Back in June, they announced their residential fabric collaboration with Robert Allen, and we got our first peek at the collection with the impeccably-upholstered headboards pictured above. The brand’s first foray into furniture, the “stacked” and “ornate” versions will hit the market in about a month. Love it? Click for more from DwellStudio! (more…)

1) Whoopie pies bring back happy memories, but don’t trust impostors! Tyna says, “As a Pa girl, Whoopie Pies are a cherished fave of my youth. (Central PA is the 2nd pocket in America where the Whoopie Pies are a local fave) My grandma and I made these in her kitchen on cold winter days… Anyway, here in L.A. I’ve seen a Whoopie Pies a whole lot lately. Even at my local grocery store – sadly they were filled with the dreaded marshmallow fluff – a crime against Whoopies if you ask me.” Click for tried-and-true whoopie pies.

2) Tea tiles make organizing a cup of…well, you know. DJ says, “I really like these, too. I can think of a couple of places in my house where they would be perfect. And they would help keep those pesky horizontal surfaces less cluttered.” What would you put in a wall-mounted teacup?

3) We’re tuning in to “American Pickers”, but we wish they’d find a better variety of stuff. Ann says, “Oh, yeah, I love American Pickers too and have watched all the episodes! The only thing that would make it even more interesting is if those guys found a few things other than oil cans, motorcycle and bicycles, and cool gasoline signs. In New England in the early 20th century, the trade in early American furniture, ceramics, and other decorative arts started with pickers like these guys.” Agreed!

4) Our morning coffee is a ritual we have strong feelings about! Kimm says, “I love putting a big strip of orange peel in the bottom of my mug with 1/2 and 1/2 and sugar, heat it in the micro, then add freshly ground organic Ethiopian coffee that I buy here http://acts29coffee.com/ because it goes towards something good. Then I sprinkle some fresh ground nutmeg on top. If I’m feeling super sassy I will add a chunk of VERY dark chocolate and allow it to melt in to make an orange peel mocha. If I have a lot of time (which I rarely do) I will froth some nonfat milk for the top. Funny, I didn’t realize how important my morning coffee was to me until I wrote it down”. Sounds delicious! How do you get your coffee fix?

5) EBay is an untapped source for original art. And, it’s inexpensive! Kimberj says, “These are gorgeous and what a deal!!!”. We agree. See our English watercolor picks here.

Yes, while we agree with Badder Homes and Gardens that it’s become a bit of a “hipster trend” to have chickens, we’d jump on the bandwagon in a second, especially if we had one of these modernist chicken coops.

After last week’s post off about pets and design, we couldn’t help but share these adorable pets on furniture roundups at Desire to Inspire (part 1 and part 2) .

Personalize your boring kitchen canisters with these vintage inspired downloadable kitchen decals at Craft.

This week, the kitchn has been making a lot of cool treats, and featuring some great tools to make ‘em with. Check out this a fabulous set of stainless steel popsicle molds, and they also gave a hearty endorsement to the DeLonghi Gelato maker that we just featured this week

If all play and no work is making the wallet slim, Casa Sugar’s got ten cheap and easy ways to enjoy August.

You’ve got the planting and the watering down. But how do you know the best time to harvest your summer bounty? Organic Gardening Magazine. That’s how. In this post.

And if you’ve not planted summer savory this year, Shelterpop gives us some beautifully delicious reasons to make it part of next year’s garden.

If you’ve been raring for a new rug, this week is your week!

Shop the final weekend of the Rug Event at Jonathan Adler now to save 20% on all in-stock and custom rugs.

Receive 20% off and free shipping when you shop Horchow’s semi-annual Rug Event. Enter code RUGEVENT at checkout through August 15th.

Save 15% through August 31 at the Design Within Reach Upholstery and Rug Sale, and browse the bath and outdoor clearance sales while you’re at it.

Visit Rejuvenation for 25% off bathroom lighting and hardware through August 15.

Not a sale, but worth a mention: Garnet Hill presents its exclusive Eileen Fisher Home collection with some feel-good incentive: shop now through August 24 and the company will donate $20 of purchases of $200 or more to Heifer International, an organization dedicated to ending world hunger. Now that’s some design we can get behind!

I love this DIY from Photojojo detailing how to make a 3-D photo diorama! It worked well enough for ‘Avatar’, why not your photo album, too? With a few printed photos, a pair of scissors and some glue, you can make a sweet, creative gift for someone or a fun rainy day project — especially if you take their suggestion and decide to ”impress friends with a photo of you and Justin Bieber in front of Niagara Falls!” I have to go get working on my pop-up photo project: Lady Gaga and me at Disney World. — Katie D.

A while back we shared our daily rituals, and like many of you, mine involves a good cup o’ joe. Every weekday morning I go downstairs and grab coffee with two coworkers and everyday we hit three (yes, three!) different places for our coffee fixes, because we all have different, non-negotiable tastes when it comes to that morning milestone. And from what I gather, we’re not alone in our strong opinions. One coworker swears by Starbucks, but their regular coffee is too bitter for my taste, though I love their specialty drinks. My sister digs Dunkin’ Donuts, but I only like their iced coffee. When I make it myself, I like to add a dash of cinnamon to the grounds for an extra sultry sip, and a friend adds vanilla extract for a heavenly-smelling kitchen. I’m not generally picky, but when I do have a choice, I take it seriously. How about you? What goes into your perfect cup? — Sarah C.

Photo by Flickr member Gilfer at the Pioneer Coffee Roastery