What do you get when you marry expressionist painting and a feminized ‘60s psychedelic poster style? The result just might be the artwork of Yellena James. Her illustrations have graced Anthropologie’s website and she has designed for Nike. Though, it’s the artist’s delicate, pen-and-marker drawings on paper that are linked to her heartstrings, and to her pen(s). To have an original piece on paper costs several Benjamins; to acquire a signed printed edition will only set you back between $20 and $50. 

Even though the prints hover around 8” x 10” in size, they electrify any space with colorful intensity. In an interview with Etsy.com, the Web’s premiere destination for buying and selling handmade crafts and where Yellena’s work can be purchased easily, the artist cites “…cacti, moss, wallpaper, micro-cosmos, macro-cosmos, deep sea creatures, pebbles, plants and the universe” as her inspirations.  To frame and mount Yellena’s artwork in your home is to bring all these inspirations into your daily reality. 

As the winter months approach and the economy freezes up too, it’s hard to feel hunky-dory lately. But looking at Hunkydory Home’s website brightens up our mood when we see their cheerful, sunny, creative retro patterns on lampshades and pillows. 

What cheers us up even more are their price tags. The “big flower cushion” and “rainbow retro cushion” each retail for less than $30 and are packed with big, bright, ‘70s-inspired design. Our favorite line has to be the “Shabby Chic,” which proves that a vintage look can be affordable: the handmade “Red Cherries Pendant Drum” features a classic cherry-picked pattern that would sweeten up any kitchen light fixture. Also adorable is the “Red Gingham Pendant Drum” lampshade which brings a dash of ‘40s-era Loretta Lynn to any country-inspired home.

China cabinets with glass doors are so last century. These days we need more efficiency from our dining room or living room storage units. This means furniture that has lots of compartments and creative storage spots, as well as a commitment to energy saving, eco-friendly manufacturing. 

Kursi’s retro-cool sideboard fits the bill on all these fronts, not to mention it has been turning heads in design showrooms and homes since it debuted last year. Though with the overall shape of a mid-century buffet, the details of the piece are decidedly more contemporary, most of all in terms of its three-part storage system – it has four drawers on the left side, a cabinet in the middle portion sized to perfectly accommodate liquor bottles or flower vases, and two sets of sliding doors and drawers on the right side. 

The piece gets green stats for a long list of reasons: it’s made from start to finish in a small town in Lancashire, England and contributes to the small, local economy there; water-saving, energy saving, and recycling measures were at play in the manufacturing process; and entirely natural materials were used in its production.

When your candlesticks start looking a bit common, you can always heat things up with a mini fireplace instead. Brings warmth and ambiance to the table… and will probably add some sparks to the conversation as well.

I will freely admit to having a penchant for earthenware of all shapes and sizes. That’s why I was skeptical when I went to peruse Wells’ site. In no time at all Guilo Iacchetti and his Europlast collection had proven me wrong. 

With their electric and jewel tones one’s eye is immediately captivated by each piece that happens to cross your line of sight. Looking at the entire collection as a whole, even a casual buyer can’t help but appreciate the wholeness of the collection, its playful textures and coy takes on iconoclastic images. Take for example, my personal favorite – the Cactus vessel. Instead of prickly avoidance, its gleaming finish seems to cry “touch me”. Like the rest of the Europlast collection, this piece is ideal for indoor our outdoor use. Standing at 49.6″, it’s definitely not a piece that will fade away, if anything, you’ll find yourself changing amidst the lush creative landscape that Iacchetti and crew have put together.  

There area countless sites available courtesy of the world wide web for those looking to furnish their new home, or re-feather their old nest. Inhabitliving.com has struck on an interesting way of separating themselves from the masses with one word: Custom.

The one-in-the-million piece of home décor is crucial. Many designers find such a piece and use this item as the conceptual center of their home design projects. Inhabitliving.com has taken this a step further, giving you a creative hand from the start.