Spiraling

I came across this image of an underground wine cellar last week and it conjured up all sorts of questions for me.

Like I wonder how deep they had to dig? Why did they have to put the door right there- in front of the cooking range- possibly one of the most traveled on spaces of floor in the kitchen? How are the wines cataloged- everyday wines up top and more precious down below, organized by grape, alphabetically?

I haven't seen the rest of the house, but putting aside the mirrored tile backsplash, the snippet of kitchen shown in the photo suggests a possibly more unassuming space than the intricate and luxurious cavern that lies beneath.  But what a surprise when they toss open the hatch, right?

It got me thinking about the intrigue of spiraling staircases in general. I've always considered myself a more conservative, feet straight ahead kind of gal. But there's something so mysterious - promising even, about the twists and turns of a winding stairway (insert epiphanous life metaphor here).

Perhaps the promise lies in that little glimmer of light from above that you can often see from the ground floor. Something even more spectacular and grand surely must lie ahead.

 Which is perfectly suited for an anticipation junkie like me.

Via: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9

Starstruck

Pardon me while I pick my chin up off the floor after seeing this penthouse designed by Kahi Lee for Nick Jonas.  I mean it's just so fabulous! I might have even said- out loud I might add- "I want to go there!" when I saw it.

We're wrapping up this week with a perfect blend of East meets West- a modern take on Ivy League masculinity backed by that famous west coast skyline.  And let's just be real- the not one- but TWO statement light fixtures are ridiculous!  There is plenty of room in that space to accommodate them and it just works.

This luxury condo is located at The Residences at W Hollywood, an urban lifestyle complex with hotel like  amenities (in fact, it's connected to the W Hotel), even a lobby restaurant and spa.  To see the full gallery of shots- including the insane tartan clad bedroom, visit Kahi Lee's design portfolio here.

A Star is Born

Compliments of the Hubble Space Telescope, these literally out of this world images have been floating around the interwebs for the last couple of weeks. I can't get them out of my head. Neither will you once you check out the full gallery of nebulae, stars, black holes and supernovas captured here.

Can you even believe this is happening right at this very moment?  Sort of puts things into perspective, doesn't it?

Thinking about printing myself a reminder. You can download high res images direct from the site too. A little constellational artwork anyone?

Workaholic

When he's not in the field working, my husband spends a lot of time in his home office. A home office is a luxury- and right now, our recently acquired square footage and the fact that we don't have little people running around just yet affords us not one- but two. But while it's a luxury, a desk of mounting paperwork and a computer monitor that never shuts off sort of works to blur the line between work and home life. So while we continue to strive for a better balance between the two, I'm concentrating on making our respective workspaces more conducive to productivity when we're in "the office" and a more attractive part of our home when we're not.

So let's give my husband's space a little facelift today shall we?

He already has this sort of "Mad Men" theme in the works- humidor, framed Martin and Sinatra albums hanging on the wall. He is also already sporting the gigantic B&W IKEA "Premiar" photo of NYC's Flat Iron District. So I thought I'd continue down that path and outfit his workspace with some other industrial inspired furniture and accessories, all centered around the focal period style metal Tank Desk.

Via 1/ 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13