Current Obsessions: Design Cleanse

All week we’ve been singing our praises for Canadian design (ahem: weekend browsing inspiration, if you need any). With the weekend upon us and April within our grasp, we’re turning our attention towards these great springy goings-on:
Above: “The intention here is to reconnect with nature, not distance oneself from it”: Take a tour of Pine Island Cottage: A Refined (and Appealingly Rough) Lake House on Georgian Bay. Photograph by Thom Fougere.



* In Paris, a former stable with uber-tight corners becomes a tiny haven.

* A strange but true tale of real estate deja-vu (ha).

* Spring is for embroidery: Stop into Toast’s NYC shops on select Saturdays (April 12 from 12-5 p.m. in Brooklyn, April 19 April from 12-5 p.m. in Nolita; and May 3 from 12-5 p.m. in the West Village) for free embroidery by menders Eva Joan on orders over $200. That, and more upcoming events, here.

* If you’re in Melbourne, stop in.

* “One of eleven buildings associated with Judd in Marfa and recognized on the National Register of Historic Places”: Donald Judd’s Architecture Office will open to the public in September.


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New Yorkers, don’t miss Tulip Day this Sunday, March 30, at Union Square. Show up between 11:30 am and 4 pm and pick a free bouquet of tulips.

* “I’ve decided to rethink our table runners for 2025, which is why all the ones here are currently 20 percent off,” writes Sarah Espuete of Ouevres Sensibles.


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PNW gardeners may want to check out Hortlandia 2025, a plant and garden art sale on April 4-5, organized by the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon.


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Laura is eyeing these cool new solar camping lights.


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Weekend project: Get that rust off your gardening tools. Here’s a very satisfying how-to video on the subject.


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Once you’ve spiffed them up, give your shrubs a spring cut, but make sure to read this first.


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A bird house with designer cred. (It’s by Thom Fougere, one of the creative forces behind the stunning Pine Island Cottage shown above.)


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And last but not least, an easy recipe for beet hummus from Marie. It’s the prettiest pink—and perfect for spring.


http://dlvr.it/TJqJhg