Chelsea Costa of Lovely Indeed used our Beacon Glassware to create this set of polka dotted highball gasses. The fun mid-century modern pattern looks perfect for summertime happy hour on a patio and/or fire escape. Here’s Chelsea with some simple step-by-step instructions for how to make your own at home…

I fell in love with the shape and weight of the Beacon Highball Glasses, and decided that they were just begging for a little DIY pattern of their own. This project is fantastic because it’s so customizable, so let’s get going!

What You’ll Need
• Beacon Glassware
• Glass Paint (I used this one by Martha Stewart)
• Small Craft Paintbrush
• Adhesive-Backed Vinyl or Contact Paper
• Hole Punch
• Sharp Scissors
• Ruler

1. Start by thoroughly cleaning and drying your glassware.Then cut a strip of vinyl that’s 9” long and 2.5” wide, with about a .5” peak in the center. (The peak will keep your polka dots level as you wrap your vinyl around the glass.)

2. Punch holes at random in the vinyl, creating a polka dot pattern.

3. Lay the vinyl on the glass, placing the center down first and smoothing out toward the sides. It may take a couple of tries to get the vinyl straight; it shouldn’t be a problem to remove it and place it on the glass again. Be sure that there are no air bubbles and that each polka dot is smoothed down so that no paint will seep underneath.

4. Using the paintbrush, place a stroke of glass paint over each polka dot, being sure that each one is completely covered.

5. Carefully remove the vinyl from the glass, peeling off slowly so as not to damage the paint.

6. Allow the paint to dry and cure according to the directions on the packaging. Some may take longer than others, or have alternative curing methods like baking or washing.

7. After the paint is completely cured, pour yourself a drink and have fun! I can’t wait to use these at our next gathering. Cheers!

Thanks Chelsea!

Chelsea Costa is the founder of Lovely Indeed, a blog about living a DIY lifestyle and all of the happiness that comes with it. Read more here, or connect with her on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

SHOP BEACON GLASSWARE

If you enjoy looking at contemporary interiors on the internet, then you’ve looked at a whole lot of Laure Joliet‘s photos.

Laure’s razor-sharp eye for spaces has made her a dearly coveted photographer for publications from The New York Times to Dwell to your favorite blog (probably). Attempting to roughly calculate how many of her images are on Pinterest will scramble your mind.

We were very lucky for the chance to talk with Laure about travel + photography + living in a 450 sq ft bungalow. Read on!

When did you start taking photographs, and how did you start concentrating on the places where people lived?

I got my first camera when I was 9 and loved shooting the spaces around me. Later when I was in art school, all of the work I made was about the spaces people inhabited. I loved the details, the little messes, the evidence of life. The quiet moments that could get forgotten or dismissed.

Uta Barth was one of my heroes. So was Candida Hoffer. I was also at Calarts at the same time as Zoe Crosher, I loved what she was doing at the time, shooting portraits of family in the spaces they lived in. So all of that was on my mind.

I started thinking about spaces in a more practical way and shooting house tours as more documentary veering towards editorial, it sort of opened up a whole world I hadn’t considered. 

You’ve surely photographed hundreds of homes over the years. What are a few that stand out in your memory

The thing I really love about my job is that not only do I get to see some amazing houses, but that I get to meet the owners and often hear some great stories. I spend a day or an afternoon in someone’s personal space and get a peek into tons of different kinds of lives. So for me, it’s the whole experience that stands out.

When the New York Times sent me to Berlin, I was pretty excited. I got to shoot a building that functioned as a co-op that the architect couple had designed that way from the get go. I was in Berlin for 24 hours, in the midst of Fall and got to meet these incredible innovators and spend time in their home, hearing about how their dream had become a reality.  Then I got to shoot it, knowing I would be helping to spread their story. That was a big moment for loving my job.

I first shot Tracy Wilkinson‘s house for the great independent zine, At Your Leisure, ran by blogger Jonathan Lo in limited edition. Tracy had this amazing bungalow in the Mt Washington neighborhood in LA and just had so much effortless style, she became one of my design heroes. When she moved, Jonathan and I came over for lunch and fell in love with this new and even more amazing house. I now have the pleasure of calling Tracy a friend and I’ve shot in this house so many times but I still discover new angles and moments because it’s just that good.

We hear you live in a 450 sq ft bungalow! What are the two biggest tips have you learned about small space living?

PUT THINGS AWAY! And you really don’t need a lot of stuff. You just need some good pieces. It doesn’t hurt if some of them do double duty!

Also, travel for work often and own a very small cat.

What do you think defines a good photograph?

This goes against everything I studied since it isn’t cerebral or technical at all. But, really, I think it’s about feelings. I think a good photograph is one that is honest. One that expands past the moment it was taken in.

What is the best place you’ve visited in the past six months?

I do get to travel a lot and I’m so grateful. And even though I’ve been to a lot of exotic locales, the Southwest United States always blows me away.

Over New Year’s, I went on a magical adventure with the design team Scout Regalia. We shot a project of theirs in Snowmass, CO (The Ranger Station!) and then we road tripped back to Los Angeles through Colorado, Utah and Arizona.

We went from snowy Aspen to the red rocks of Moab to the spiritual pinnacle of the trip: The View Hotel in Monument Valley. We tried to make it to the four corners but missed it by about 45 minutes and then, resigned, booked the View Hotel with virtually no idea how magical a place it would be once it was light again. The sun rose the next morning and we were in heaven.

Not only was Monument Valley amazing, but the View Hotel itself is an incredible building. We spent the whole day taking in Monument Valley and then made it to the Grand Canyon in time for sunset. That was probably one of my favorite days ever with some of my favorite people ever.

You can see more of Laure Joliet‘s photos on her blog, At Home At Home. And we highly recommend that you follow her on Instagram!

Images: Laure Joliet (who else?)

Jessica and Chris — the husand and wife team at Birdhouse Interior Design — had a lovely kitchen but it wasn’t meeting their needs for storage and organization. With Chris in culinary school, they are planning a kitchen overhaul and have enlisted the help of west elm’s Freeman Storage Units in phase one of their plan…

We desperately needed more storage in our kitchen. I’ve been eyeing these bad boys for a while and I finally pulled the trigger and purchased them. Having the extra space has made a world of difference and the shape of the furniture will be essential in phase two of the kitchen overhaul.

Chris and Jessica have greatly increased their kitchen storage and the modular nature of the Freeman collection will allow them to integrate the cabinets into the next phase of their design.

For more details around the couple’s design decisions and kitchen plans, visit the Birdhouse Interior Design blog,
COOP | Country Club House Updates – Kitchen Storage.

SHOP FREEMAN STORAGE

Images: COOP

Poler Outdoor Stuff makes tents, bags, and other well designed + good looking gear for people that love to be outside. We’re excited to now carry some of our favorite Poler products at west elm Market, just in time for serious camping season! Watch Poler’s short film about field testing products in Big Sur, California, and don’t even pretend that you don’t want to try on one of these Nap Sacks.

SHOP THE CAMPING COLLECTION

Cobalt Accessories — Jojotastic

Upgrade Your Entryway — Brick and Vine

Warming Up A Cool Room — Meg & The Martin Men

Get The Look: Pastel Home Furnishings — Style Carrot

Studio Choo Visits Seattle — The Demure Muse

Vancouver Talent Pops At west elm — Straight

Good Bones, Great Pieces — Decorative Trays

Hanging Pendants — Stella Rue

Components of a Great Nightstand — Decor Girl

Contemporary Planters For Your Inside Garden — De-Smitten

Spring Obsession: Yellow + Turquoise — Eat Shop Live NYC

29 Gloriously Colorful Sofas — Houzz

Upgrade Your Home Right Now — Refinery29

Image: westelm

DREAM HOUSE OF THE DAY: 5/11 – 5/17

• Western Australian Home | Fiona Maclennan, Ken Norrish and Family — The Design Files
• Modern Pergola — Better Homes & Gardens
• French Fantasy — Desire to Inspire
• Beach House — Casa Claudia
• Mark’s “Retro Cabin Mod” in Eagle Rock — Apartment Therapy
• Acropolis View House by Minas Kosmidis — Contemporist
• Buenos Aires Home of Luciana Massarino — Freunde von Freunden

For a Daily Dream House sign up below:
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Image: via The Design Files

We feature some of our favorite Etsy artists in our most recent summer catalog, including Alexander Jowett’s stained and painted canoe oars. They’re a great mix of contemporary style + classic summer house charm, plus they’re actually functional, in case you ever need to rip one down from your wall and go for a boat ride at a moment’s notice! See more of Alex’s work, and read our conversation on art + paddles.

What is the origin story of your studio, Atelier 688?

In February of 2010, I moved into a raw loft in Toronto. I had done a few art shows before, but I wanted to show my art and design in a slightly different way, going against the whole white cube idea.

In June of that year, I hosted the inaugural Atelier 688 show of local artists and designers in the loft. My idea was to give people a feel for how art and design could work together, as well as give a feel for what the pieces might be like in their own homes.

The binding piece was a 12 ft. kayak chandelier I did specifically for the show. It later sold to Canadian fashion designer Paul Hardy, for a Calgary home he was designing.

We love your stained + painted oars! Tell us a little more about them.

I have been paddling since I was a kid at the family cottage on Eagle Lake, Ontario. I’ve also done a lot of outrigger and stand up paddle surfing in Hawaii and other countries. Back when I was a surf photographer I took some of the earliest shots of Laird Hamilton paddle surfing. Paddles fascinate me as they are such a pervasive item that are used in so many different ways, and in so many cultures. In 2011 my friend David Barclay and I decided to start Contact Voyaging Co. to share our love of paddling and to bring a touch of contemporary flavour to a traditional ‘cottagey’ item, the canoe paddle.

Where do you like to turn for inspiration?

Well, I am a sailor, surfer, windsurfer, and ocean lover in general. I even spent quite a few years working as a water-sports photographer and writer. So probably all of my inspiration comes, in one way or another, from the ocean and travel. I have been to over 40 countries and lived in more than 6 different countries, so I tend to soak it all in and spit it out in my own way.

What is the Atelier 688 theme song?

Haha, probably Serge Gainsbourg’s ‘Sun Sex and Sea’ – albeit in a quite ironic way, as I am not getting nearly enough of any of those since moving back to Toronto 5 years ago!

Alexander Jowett’s painted oars are featured on pages 5 of our June catalog, and on westelm.com. You can see more of his work on his Etsy page.

Read about all of our catalog-featured Etsy artists here!

Images: Alexander Jowett

For our summer catalog, we went on location to Stiltsville, a collection of wood stilt houses rising from the water on the edge of Miami’s Biscayne Bay!

Siltsville was founded in the 1930s, and before long it was a veritable village of 27 private sea shacks, where anyone with a boat and an invitation could escape the reach of prohibition.

For decades, Stiltsville remained a mischievous refuge for well-heeled Miamians to relax. Today, only 7 of the stilt houses are left, and they’re owned by the National Park Service.

Stiltsville’s renegade aura is now a thing of the past, but it still feels like a different world, and it was an incredible place to shoot our new summer collection! Just take a look at some of our outtakes and behind-the-scenes photos.

We’re showcasing Etsy sellers in Chicago! Working with Jessica Jones of local DIY and design blog How About Orange, west elm chose a dozen Chicago-area Etsy artists for a Pop-Up Shop at our Lincoln Park store!

Join us on Saturday, June 22 from 1pm – 6pm in Lincoln Park where each of the featured Etsy sellers will be set up within the west elm store to share and sell their homegoods, jewelry, stationery and more. Click the images above to get a sampling of the local sellers that are participating.

Jessica Jones is a DIY and design blogger. She blogs at How About Orange. Get to know her, or connect with Jessica on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest.

RSVP on Facebook and share with your friends!

Participating Chicago-area Etsy Sellers

 
 
FIND THE STORE
• west elm Chicago
• west elm Chicago on Facebook

Another Before & After from our own Sara Touijer — a Home Stylist in our Scarsdale store. This unused attic space was set to become a home office…

This client, a professional female felt it was time to update the furniture and look of her personal office space. The office was meant to be her sanctuary with a calming, serene feeling to the room.

The pale pink walls, mixed with soft grays and yellows, created the calm, serene space the client had envisioned. The Zigzag Pouf also added an unexpected touch to the space.

The client was very open to my suggestions and loved the idea of wallpapering the ceiling with a quirky wallpaper from Julia Rothman and painting the walls in alternating finishes of paint. This created the illusion of texture.

Thanks Sara + west elm Scarsdale!

Want your own design advice? Ask about our free Home Stylist program at your local west elm store!

SHOP THIS STYLE

MORE WORK BY SARA TOUIJER
• Before & After: Living Room by Home Stylist Sara Touijer
• west elm Home Stylists