Apartment Therapy included this photo in a recent house tour. Not only do I love the artwork, but I love how it’s displayed. Tightly grouping a few similarly colored pieces is an excellent way to create a big impact with smaller artwork. And since they’re all bumped up against each other, it’s a lot easier to figure out how to hang them all straight, too! The home in question is definitely worth a look beyond that, so see the entire house tour here. –Mary T.

I can always count on Design*Sponge to clue me in to beautiful items I’d love to own. This Wallflower desk by Jonas & Jonas is no exception. If you ask me, the minimalist design is genius. The desk essentially balances on it’s two thin legs by using the wall as a support. It wouldn’t work for me in an office (I have too much junk), but I can imagine it as an extra mini-desk off the kitchen or near the entrance of the home. — Erica P.

P.S. Looking for more small desk ideas? Check out this oldie but goodie post!

It’s Election Day! Yeah! It seems like we’ve been counting down to this day FOREVER… years, even! Hopefully if you’re reading this you’ve already gone out and cast your vote for the next President of the United States, and are thinking about what to serve your guests at your Election Night Party. Here are a few suggestions to things keep hungry, impatient patriots at bay until the polls close:

At YesWeCake.com you’ll see a wonderful array of Obama-themed pastries, like this one from Erica. Underneath the red, white and blue frosting you’ll find a yummy yeast bread made with raisins and pecans.

Even though it’s more of a Southern recipe than one from our great northern state, how ’bout a Baked Alaska in honor of Ms. Palin and her home. This classic dessert actually has some longtime political roots, and was served in Thomas Jefferson’s White House. Chilly on the inside, and frosted and warm on the outside, it actually originated in New York City. Click here for a recipe at epicurious.com.

Still planning your dinner menu? Check out some of these cooking-for-a-crowd recipes from our archives.

Tamale Pie
Chicken Chilaquiles
Healthier Lasagna
Pumpkin Soup

Are you having an Election night party? Or waiting till Wednesday to celebrate? Let us know!

In case you need a little reminder…

It’s $10 right here — and you can see all of San Francisco ceramic artist Rae Dunn’s Etsy offerings here.

See more of Leah’s great finds at her blog, More Ways to Waste Time.

If the rugs coming out these days get any more gorgeous, we may remove all of our furniture and just decorate our floors. Take these new Thomas Paul rugs at Design Public: colorful parasols, graphic seed pods, enormous peacock feathers — I want them all! Find them for $150-1,464 here. –Mary T.

When I was a freshman in high school, I visited the home of my mom’s very artsy-crafty friend and fell in love with her studio. It wasn’t much more than an oversized closet in terms of space, but it was so well organized you could have tackled any project in there. I came home from that visit determined to reorganize my own craft area (the basement). The first order of business was to remove all but one color of push pins from my inspiration bulletin board — I had noticed almost immediately that my mom’s friend used only light purple pins on hers. I scrapped all but the red pins and felt better immediately. (I think that was about as far as I got in the re-organizing, but hey, I was only 15.) That day I developed a new-found love for push pins. In my desk drawer now I have a cute set of silver shoe pins ready and waiting. I do not, however, currently own a cork board. How, then, can I justify buying this fantastic Wax Seal set from Ballard Designs? Wouldn’t they just add so much to a boring old board?!?!? I know many of you readers have bulletin boards in your homes. Can I live vicariously through you? –Erica P.

On our lighter note from our recent Strangely Appealing posts, we have something that made us squeal with delight: a Boogie Man rug! From the fun folks at Jellio, it’s a tribute to ghouls everywhere. Perfect for under the bed in a kid’s room, or why not make it the centerpiece! It’s playfully cartoonish monsters will be sure to banish any bad dreams — though the price tag ($1500) does give us shivers.

If you can believe E! Online, Beyonce and Jay-Z just spent $70,000 on a custom Knight Base Table from Hudson Furniture — and needed a crane to get it into their building. The table features a handmade cast bronze base and custom-finished walnut top. I wouldn’t buy it (even if I could), but I like it. Well, at least I like it better than Brad Pitt’s taste in furniture. –Mary T.

The other week Leah did a post on some amazing antique Paris maps available on eBay. Well, we had been looking for a vintage world map for our living room. The space over our couch had been empty for too long, so we finally decided to commit on some educational wall art. We scored this lovely number for about $60. Best of all, it came with a bar to hang on, so mounting was easy. Do a search for vintage school map and see what you can find! — Angela M.

I don’t have too many details on this startling seating, but the moment I saw it I was intrigued by the design. London-based design firm FAT (Fashion Architecture Taste) cast the bust of Hercules out of foam rubber and added 3 legs to form a stool. The stool was created as part of an exhibition of plastic objects titled “From now to Eternity.” You can read about the exhibit and see other artists’ designs over on this deZeen (design magazine) post. I think it would add a bit of humor into a room. What do you think? –Erica P.