I’m redecorating and have some inspiration photos to look at for the direction I’d like to take my humble house.

Happy Friday all!

Love this super covered drippy paint bucket….

Scratched up and scrawled wood table… and appreciate the fact it was really, truly done over time….

Italian caning ottoman… $70 at a local thrift shop.   Am I heading towards Boho Chic?

Pops of color inside cabinets.   Now I’m thinking of painting my built in bookcases a vibrant color………

I’m off to Mexico tomorrow for week of R&R.   Can’t wait to get some surf style inspiration, too!

Can you guess where I was when I bought these reusable bags?   Can you?

Ha.

Okay, it’s obvious: Chicago.    But I found some beautiful natural fiber reusable bags on my trip to the Windy City and wanted to share them with you because A: they are super strong, B: they are beautiful and C: they are a product that I believe help us all be a better Global Citizen.

The tag on the bag says it all.    But the hang tag reads this:

We hope you enjoy your handcrafted market bag.   The perfect carrier for trips to the farmers’ market or grocery store with a 100% natural golden jute fiber harvested in Bangladesh, waterproof lining, a personal inside pocket, and natural vegetable dyed leather straps.    We look forward to sharing the detailed results of this project employing 75 women in Bangladesh.

The bag is QUITE sturdy. boxy and roomy.  It stands upright with nothing in it.

Now, when you think natural fiber bag, you think it’ll fall apart very quickly.   But the quality and construction of this bag—from the handles to the reinforced fabric to the stitching—is quite incredible.  I liked it so much, I bought two!

And here’s the other side of the bag.

Here’s a professional shot showing how handsome the bag is….

If you’re interested in one, here’s the link!  I love them!

http://store.apolisglobal.com/luggage/market-bag/

I read an interesting story over at OneKingsLane the other day about 3 unusual ways to use a runner rug at home.

That got me thinking: maybe that’s what I need for my kitchen at home.

Here’s a shot from my office looking into the kitchen.   The kitchen is long and has ceramic “faux bois” wood grain tiled floors that can get quite chilly during the winter months (making me re-think the whole heated floors argument I had when I remodeled this house).

Here’s another look from the living room.

While I love the simplicity of the kitchen and the sleek tiling on the floor, I’m starting to lean towards putting in a vintage runner rug in the kitchen.

So, here’s a lovely example of a vintage rug in a kitchen environment.   Similar floors… nice burst of color… and funny thing about those pendant lights: I HAVE THEM in the living room (Thomas O’Brien…you brilliant guy!)

And here’s the style of rug I’m thinking: they are at ABC Home in NYC where they take antique or vintage rugs and intentionally over-dye in brilliant colors.   I tend to like deep blues and greens in my own home and wardrobe, so why not for the rug?

The big question is this: am I going to drop a whole bowl of pancake batter all over the rug?      Thoughts?

To celebrate the publication of my newest book Upcycling Celebrations, what else could I possibly do but do a nice giveaway right here on Daily Danny?

One lucky winner will receive a sign copy of the book along with a gift basket of goodies from my signature line of home products.

Inside our 100% handwoven recycled newspaper basket, the winner will also find a non-stick ceramic coated wok; a 3-piece set of our ceramic knives; and my favorite item in the kitchen lately: our eco-friendly non-stick ceramic tart tin.    I may also toss a few extra things in, too, before the Fedex guys ships it off.

To enter, just leave a comment!

Good luck!

Imagine one part spatula…one part smasher…and a whole lot of fun in the kitchen!

Here’s the latest kitchen gadget from our Danny Seo line of eco-friendly kitchenware hitting stores now.    It is made from 100% recycled steel and has a bamboo handle.

But it’s how you use it that makes it so great: you can smash food to a chunky consistency or smash it even more to a fine puree (think smashed potatoes!).    Or you can flip burgers, eggs or anything in the skillet all using the same utensil.

The bent 90 angle in the head of the Smash-ula make it easy to use.   The recycled steel is super strong (I mean, it stands upright all on its own).

It’s $5.99 and you can find it at stores like HomeGoods and TJ Maxx right now.

Smash away!