THE WANT: BRASS LIGHT FIXTURES

Check out these beautiful pieces of work from the geniuses at onefortythree.

(all images via onefortythree)

Brass is back. 

My recent stint into experimental DIY lighting (and discovering how easy wiring something can be) has inspired me to take a stab at putting together some unique fixtures.

(via)

Do you like this fixture? Well here are the instructions to make it, supplies and all, courtesy of OKL.

Sidenote: The Wallace lamp from onefortythree caught my attention because it reminded me of the IKEA PS 2012 LED wall lamp. 

(via IKEA)

Definitely not as cool, but a little more budget friendly.

I have been considering these lamps, maybe on either side of my couch, but am wondering about the quality of light given that it is LED. In my experience, LED lights always have this awful, cold, blue feeling to them but I dunno.

Do any of you have this lamp? 

bZd  

CURTAINS CONTINUED

So I went to Ikea. 

I bought some curtains.

I hate the colour.

They are such a wussy, pathetic colour of beige (and no, this photo is not helping). They are not the sandy, warm natural colour I was hoping for.

I went in with the intention of buying AINA curtains, but was underwhelmed by the colour. The LENDA curtains are nearly identical in colour and texture and only half the price, so I figured I would buy the less expensive option of two choices I didn't really like. Amiright?!

The LENDA curtains are meant to be hung with tabs (ew) so I over-rode this by pocket hanging them instead to... less than stellar results. A little smushed looking, no?

I DO love finally having curtains hanging over those god awful shallow shelves, and I think I nailed the right amount of panels to give that luxe feeling of excess fabric... but I'm JUST. NOT. LOVING. THE. COLOUR.

I've been humming and hawing over other budget-friendly (read: cheap) options to get me that warmer, deeper colour and still be able to hang up multiple panels for a fuller look.

AND THEN IT HIT ME!

(via Cote de Texas)

(Pinterest)

BURLAP CURTAINS.

This stuff is cheap, and apparently people do this all the time! The colour is exactly what I'm looking for, and making some simple panels should definitely be DIY-able.

I especially love the look with black curtain rings on a black curtain rod (which I have already installed), so hopefully Ikea will pull through on me this time when I buy a 10-pack of these:

I think this combo will contribute nicely to the Victorian Industrial thing we've started to get going on in the pad, don't you think?

bZd

NEW LAMPS

Say hello to "the ladies" - a new awesome pair of vintage lamps I scored on my trip. 

Brassy and sassy. 

I gave myself a personal mission of purchasing one awesome new item to go in my apartment while I was away - a design memento if you will. I spotted this pair of ass kicking lamp bases while exploring Commercial Drive in Vancouver - a groovy part of the city with cool thrift stores and antique shops.

They came with the most awful lampshades (tattered accordion-style shades that looked something like this), but I could see through the ugly and pictured them with a shade that looked something more like this. The day that I spotted them I had no way of getting them home, but I spoke to the store owner and told them I would come back tomorrow but to not bother holding them for me. I told myself if they were still there tomorrow, it was a sign for me to get them.

DUH - they were still there, so I bought them. 

I was so happy because I wanted to make good on my self-deal AND I scored a rock-n-roll, art-deco-flavoured pair of lamp bases. (I've been desperately wanting some lamps for the apartment...So bad that I bought a piece of luggage to accommodate taking them home.)

Well, you only YOLO once as they say and I can't wait to slap these sexy ladies with a sleek and handsome black drum style lampshade.

Are you a fan of these ladies?

bZd

WEST COAST ADVENTURE

If you have been missing posts from bZd (you haven't) and you were wondering what had happened to me (you weren't), then I'm happy to report that I have been away on vacation enjoying sites such as this:

#nofilter

...and this:

#nofilter

I have returned home safely from a really awesome journey to the northwest coast, visiting some close friends in Vancouver and taking 4 days in Washington state to enjoy Sasquatch Music Festival. If you haven't heard of Sasquatch, look it up. Then go.

Vancouver is as good as everyone says it is - a west coast vibe is easily felt in the city and it offered some really amazing shopping.  

Gastown, Vancouver's historic area, boasts cobblestone streets, beautiful bistros and some truly unique boutique stores. Inform Interiors, the international furniture dealer, has a massive retail location here which I happily browsed, but left dejected after not seeing many price tags that were below the $10,000 mark. (Yes, $10,000!) Still - definitely worth a look. 

On a more mundane budget, there were some really awesome antique and knick-knack dealers, such as this one pictured below, which offered a bunch of taxidermy-type things (my favourite), and some decorative french horns. Man I love me some french horns.

... Of course I didn't note either the name or address of this store, but it's in Gastown. Perhaps on Cordova? This post is useless.

My great friend Margherita also whisked me off to The Kitchen Corner, in Kitsilano. Now this place was BUDGET. FRIENDLY.

Basically a dollar store on crack (the good kind), this place had a huge offering of housewares, most for less than $20.

Shelves of bamboo storage systems:

An overwhelming glassware selection:

A metalware section, where I found this beautiful two-toned bucket which I thought would be beautiful to put ice in to keep drinks cold in summer:

And ceramic and pottery-palooza:

I left with a few ceramic pieces for my kitchen, but would have loved to have left with more. Packing light has its disadvantages.

Vancouver itself had a really cool style, that I would recommend to anyone to check out. If only I could have spent more time there to relay more places to check out.

Do you have any cool insider design hotspots to recommend in Vancouver? Let me know!

bZd