apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

One of our favorite bloggers has posted step-by-step instructions on how to decorate a wall with multiple frames. Yes, Dooce is not just for laughs, you know. We can also learn a home improvement thing or two from Heather Armstrong's fabulous website.

We have long admired John Derian's work, but our budget hasn't allowed us to actually buy any of his pieces. Well, Target is our savior once again. Derian's collection for the retailer launches on September 7. Additional pieces will be added about a week later, and they will all be available for a limited-time only.

Sadly, Blossom Home owner Sylvie Oxman will be closing her Los Gatos shop on October 1. While we'll miss her fantastic eye for vintage pieces — like the kelly green vanity shown above — we wish her all the best.

If you've been an AT faithful for a while now, you probably remember Christiana Coop's mini-house tour with us back in February. In this month's Sunset magazine, she offers some fantastic tips and ideas for installing wallpaper in small doses. (As the U.S. representative for Ferm Living, this girl knows her wallpaper.)

For years, we perceived napkin rings as being a bit stuffy — the kind of thing our mothers and grandmothers would incorporate into a formal table setting. But these ceramic rings by Perch! have us seeing napkin rings in a new light.

Okay, so we know that a lot of you out there have opinions about the "Keep Calm and Carry On" posters that frequently show up in AT house tours. (See the 74 comments in this Good Question post just last week.) But what do you think of The Poster List's take on them?

We are big fans of screenprinters Rob Ryan and Jason Munn. And we are also love the idea behind the British website that asks, "If you could do anything tomorrow — what would it be?" Put them together and we can't resist. Rob and Jason contributed this month's prints to the site's online shop, and they are fantastic. (That's Rob's above, see Jason's below.)

Seeing AT:Chicago's post yesterday about vintage suitcases on Etsy reminded us of the tables we recently came across at an Anthropologie in New York. With the addition of a set of table legs, the suitcases became cool pieces of furniture. (Bonus: They were on sale when we stopped into the store.) It's also easy enough to make one yourself.

Since it's Escapes month here at AT and we have yet to get away, we've been thinking a lot about the keepsakes brought back from past trips. We display mementos throughout our house, like on the vintage industrial shoe rack shown above. What about you?

We first spotted this chair over at Velocity Art & Design's online shop and were surprised to learn that it's designed by Roost — a local company better known for its nature-inspired accessories. We love that the chair has a rustic yet modern vibe, plus it takes up very little space. But is it comfortable? Well, during a recent visit to Rare Device, we were able to test-drive it. And now it's at the top of our furniture wishlist.

We have commitment issues when it comes to wallpaper, but we really wanted to incorporate the lovely Ferm "Feathers" wallpaper into our house. Inspired by the photo above — from Trine's "Sneak Peek" on design*sponge — we decided to wallpaper the area behind our built-in desk. Jump below to see the results.

We know we're going to sound like stalkers here, but we still have images from Genifer's previous homes memorized — including her awesome apartments in San Francisco and Chicago (the latter is shown above). So we were thrilled to see her pop up in the blogosphere, offering peeks of her new place. Check it out, as well as more photos of her former homes, after the jump.

Remember Holly and Sean's fantastic San Francisco apartment? Well, she's just brought in a few additions from a surprising source: JCPenney's Linden Street line. On her living room couch, she tossed in a couple of chenille pillows in rustic red. See what else she recently picked up ...

There's a good chance that you've stopped by at least one of her websites. Maggie Mason is the genius behind Mighty Goods (a shopping site), Mighty Junior (devoted to kiddies), Mighty Girl (her personal blog), Mighty Finds (an Etsy shop) and — as of last week — Mighty Haus (a shopping site devoted to housewares). Somewhere between running all of these lovely sites, she found time to snap some photos of her San Francisco apartment and give us a little insight into her decor.