I visited Mexico nearly 20 years ago and vowed to return with a van for a home decor shopping spree. I never got back there, but luckily the internet was invented, so I’ve been able to order handcrafted pieces online. I love Mexican arts because they are colorful and bold, yet earthy. And inexpensive!

Artesanos has been my favorite source over the years, even though many other options are now available. They carry hand painted glazed tile and Saltillo floor tiles (anyone remember when Home Depot carried them?) as well as talavera and copper sinks, hardware, lighting and furniture.

Tierra Y Fuego has similar items. They are a bit pricier, but they do offer a larger selection, such as the kick ass toilet pictured above. Their newly arrived beautiful cement encaustic floor tile is just under $10 per tile, which actually seems reasonable considering I’ve seen encaustics for as high as $100 per tile.

Ebay has been an excellent source for Mexican goods. I’ve been happy with my copper sink purchases from Mexicopper, but there are a number of companies offering similar products.

Nicole over at Brooklyn Based gave me the heads up on a new zero VOC paint which will be hitting the market in November.

Ivy Coatings will be available in 4 finishes, plus primer. Not only are all color tints zero VOC, they contain no formaldehyede, ammonia, crystalline silica or ethylene glycol. Price per gallon will be in the mid $30’s and it will be sold at Green Depot. The company is also coming out with a low VOC, low odor concrete floor coating.

Brooklyn Based article

I saw this rental share on Curbed and thought it was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. Then I made my way over to the Craig’s ad and the text made me puke in my mouth alittle.

” We work in film, photography, music, and the tattoo industry- thus you’d have access to a wealth of equipment in addition to great hook-ups to just about anything including the best parties in town & beyond”

“We are internationally traveled & speak 6 languages between us”

“First off: If you need your neighborhood to look like it was pulled out of a Norman Rockwell painting, THIS IS NOT THE APARTMENT FOR YOU. This is not Pleasantville folks, this is Bushwick. It’s dirty, it’s grimy, and it’s fabulous. Street art = YES; White picket fences = NO. If you need a Starbucks just around the corner, THIS IS NOT THE APARTMENT FOR YOU. If you don’t mind grabbing a coffee from the local bodega or neighborhood coffee shop, then perhaps THIS IS THE APARTMENT FOR YOU.”

“…if you like shouting randomly, dancing randomly, or laughing randomly, if you like playing pretend and using your imagination to create or inspire you like when you were a kid, if you like the idea of pretending your kitchen is in the ocean…”

Get over yourselves, kids! You’re not living in Iraq, ok? You’re in Brooklyn. Gosh, I don’t know how us old timers survived on our bodega coffee when the whole city was grimy and lacking in Starbucks.

How cool is this? Saw it originally on Retro To Go.

Flavor Paper, along with Michael Angelo of the Wonderland Beauty Parlor, designed the scratch and sniff wallpaper, which launched during New York Design Week 2007.

The smelly wallpaper comes in 3 flavors: Banana, Cherry and Tutti Frutti. At $360 per roll, I guess I won’t be getting this for my playroom (I don’t have a playroom anyway), but if you can afford it, part of the profits goes to the Human Rights Campaign.

Papers can be purchased online at Rare Chic.

1. Hammer
2. Cordless Drill
3. Tape Measure
4. Pliers
5. Claw Hammer
6. Utility Knife
7. Paint Scraper
8. Level
9. Paint Rollers
10. Assorted Screwdrivers

Also good to keep in your house:

*Assorted nails and screws
*Duct Tape (You don’t need anything else if you have duct tape!)
*Matches
*Clamps
*First Aid Kit

Zinc

Copper

The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of metal countertops may be stainless steel, but there are so many other types available. Stainless is the most durable as it won’t ding as easily as softer metals and it won’t patina. The color can be varied with laminate and finishes can be customized. It is the least expensive of the metals, which is probably why it’s the most popular.

Being an old home buff, I say “Feh” to stainless. Give me something warm and antique looking! Copper is all that and has bacterial properties too. So you can let your cats jump on it while you’re cooking and it will be ok, right? As if I cook. Anyway, the drawbacks are price and the fact that copper is not scratch resistant. Patina is one thing, but scratches may not look so terrific. Bronze has similar qualities.

Zinc and Pewter have similar tones to one another. They differ from stainless in that they have a grayish hue to them, therefore giving them a less modern look. In fact, it’s pewter that is used on many bars in France and Italy. Zinc is often used on Oyster Bar tops for it’s antibacterial qualities.

These are costly countertops if you have a pro fabricate it for you. My thinking is…you buy the sheet and do it yourself. Even better, see if you can find recycled sheet metal! If you screw up the edges, you can put some molding around it and voila, there’s your beautiful, inexpensive metal countertop!

DIY Forum
HGTV article
Sheet Metal Supplies
Recycled Aluminum
Brooks Custom, Mt Kisco
Handcrafted Metal
Purcell Murray

We’ve covered salvage quiet a bit here, but what if you’re not looking for an 1890 mantle? Maybe you just need some metal studs or new windows. Hold off on your trip to Home Depot. Here are some resources for used building supplies.

It’s hit or miss with these places, because every builder wants plywood, sheetrock or hardwood flooring. You’ll have to be quick or lucky to come across these items, but you should check them out if you need cabinets, bath fixtures, windows, doors or molding.

Habitat For Humanity has “Re-stores” in almost every state, including one in Bridgeport, CT and several in New Jersey.

Build It Green, in Astoria, is THE place for used building supplies in the city. They currently have a large selection of pretty decent kitchen cabinets (not top of the line, but not the worst: think Ikea), high end appliances (Viking refrigerators for $4400, $2000 off the original price), some stone remnants and many other items housed in the huge warehouse.

Green Demolitions has 3 locations and re-sells everything from oak staircases to high end kitchens. They often hold sales and there is one on now until November 30th.

Online, Freecycle and NY Wastematch are two organizations where members can list items for exchange. And don’t forget the Craigslist material section!

Hudson Valley Materials Exchange in Newburgh is a great source for used building materials and art supplies. They are moving soon and will be closed for the winter. Please call first and make sure they are open.

Lemme just regurgitate someone else’s news for a quickie post here.

Via Alternative Consumer:

Last month The New York Design Center launched a showcase and resource center featuring products that have been created with sustainability in mind. The Green Room will feature 10 exhibits which will change each month. The project is being brought to us by “Verdant” magazine and “Cottage and Garden” publications.

The Design Center is located at 200 Lexington Avenue.

The NY Times featured an article on Friday titled “Home, Sweet…Yikes!“. Apparently, I’m not the only one suffering from nyctohylophobia. That’s right, there’s a word for it. It’s a fear of dark, wooded areas. The article didn’t say if the phobia only effects neurotic New Yorkers or if people are inflicted in other parts of the country as well.

If you’ve read our about page, you’ll know that we tried to live in the country and failed miserably. Like the folks in the Times article, I ran from my car to the house at night, kept my shades drawn and woke up to eerie sounds in the middle of the night. (more…)

Oh yeah! You know I want one of these! I saw this on Treehugger originally and then found a few other fascinating sites from that post. So fascinating, in fact, that I’m inspired to work on some new projects.

Web Urbanist featured the bottle house, along with 4 other types of recycled architecture. The bottles are my favorite because they look like jewels. The oldest known bottle house was built in 1907. Since then, many bottle homes have been built around the world out of necessity where building supplies are scarce.

Agility Nut has links to many of them.

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