Bits and pieces

Some favorites from the week:

Going outside for the very first time.

I loved Maine and Commencement, both by J. Courtney Sullivan, so now I'm reading The Engagements, and yes, it's a good one.

Some thoughts on age and beauty.

A nanny's love.

And a reminder that it's never too late to start.

I hope you have a happy and fun long weekend, with lots of down time and good things to eat.

(Photo by Jessie Webster for Smitten Studio.)

House

One of my very favorite design blogs, Remodelista, has a new book out called Remodelista: A Manual for the Considered Home, and it doesn't disappoint. It features 12 very different homes, including a loft in Los Angeles, a cottage on the Cape, a bungalow in Pasadena, and probably my favorite of all, a brownstone in Brooklyn, owned by one of the cofounders of Remodelista. What I've always liked best about the blog (and now the book) are the resource guides - where to buy or how to get a similar look.

The house tours are followed by chapters on kitchens, baths, and design ideas (using jars as party glasses, dining tables as desks, or army cots as reconfigured coffee tables). There's the Remodelista 100, the author's favorite everyday objects (and where to buy them), including butterfly chairs, Miele vacuum cleaners, Steele canvas hampers, painters' drop cloths, John Boos cutting boards, sheepskin rugs, and wire flyswatters.

I read the book through like a novel the first time around and then went back and took mental notes. I'm sure I'll continue to refer back, like the manual the author intended it to be. It won't gather dust.

(All photos from Remodelista: A Manual for the Considered Home)