My Friends 
Design Blogs
- Always Mod
- Apartment Therapy
- Bloesem
- Bossy Color
- Damned Good Design
- Decor8
- Design Milk
- Design*Sponge
- Finkbuilt
- growers and nomads
- Housewears
- Hue
- Le Petit Cabinet de Curiosités
- Mocoloco
- Pan-Dan
- Patricia Gray
- Pigtown Design
- Print & Pattern
- Remodelista
- sfgirlbybay
- Sippican Cottage
- SoHaute
- Sweet Paul
- Tchochkes
- The Kitchen Designer
- The Style Files
Destinations
Detroit
Laughter
Archives 
- March 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
Oops, my bad
Yesterday, misterarthur guest-blogged for me. And he did an exceptional job, as usual. However, I didn’t do such a great job. I failed to hit the Publish button after reviewing one of his posts. I think I was laughing too hard. Anyway, I’ve remedied the situation.
Now I have a favor to ask. Can you brighten misterarthur’s otherwise drab and dreary day by reading his most excellent post on Father’s Day gifts? The staff here at Design Hole thanks you.
Chair of the day: Rodrigues’ Kilin
In keeping with our Man Decorating theme today, may I present Sergio Rodrigues’ Kilin chair?
The chair was design for ClassiCon in 1973. It is a manly chair, no? Suitable for Fred Flinstone.
Please, no angry letters. It’s a classic beauty (manly, yes).
The Man Decorator is back with some Father’s Day gift ideas
There are only three things you really need to know when it comes to buying a Father’s day gift. Bigger. Louder. Faster. (If it can be dangerous or explosive, all the better.) It’s easy. Whenever an option presents itself, go for one of those adjectives. In the best of all worlds, go for all three.
iPods (in all their variations) are very popular. “But they’re small!” you say. True enough, but man rules means you should select the one with the most gigs. When it comes to actually listening to the music, the same rules apply. You might think, for example, that this unit from JBL (a highly respected audio manufacturer) would be a good choice.
No, no, no. Way too small. Sure, it plays music, and probably sounds good, and it won’t disturb your home decor, but Man decorators don’t care about that. Here’s a much better solution. It’s much bigger and louder.
See? These speakers, from Avante Garde Acoustics are so enormous, they are the decor. Perfect.
Here’s another example. Say you enjoy the fine flavors of food cooked outdoors. Here’s a charming and beautifully designed charcoal grill from Eva Solo.
Nice lines, stainless, well-thought out, unobtrusive, modern, etc. In other words, all wrong. Here’s the grill he really wants:
This baby from Cookers and Grills is the real deal. Big enough for a whole hog. And surely, you can find some space in your back yard for it. Make sure you get a trailer hitch for your car, too.
Fathers tend to be responsible for outdoor maintenance. Maybe you’d think he’d appreciate a nice new rake to help keep the yard beautiful. Here’s a handsome adjustable rake from Smith & Hawken.
Think that’s a good choice? Mais non, mon ami. Not when other more obnoxious options await. Here’s something that has the added bonus of a) being really loud, b) having a hot muffler upon which you could burn your fingers, and c) grossly expanding your carbon footprint.
I present to you the shindaiwa EB 802 backpack leafblower.
The fact that it’s part of shindaiwa’s professional series gives it even more street cred.
All of the above are excellent choices. However, I think I’ve found the ultimate Father’s day gift, mostly because it’s both potentially dangerous and completely useless for everyday life. It’s the Sabre Bleacher Reacher Semi-Automatic T-shirt cannon.
So what if it’s $3,500? Your father (or spouse) will be the envy of the neighborhood. And the county. Maybe even the state. And who can put a price tag on that ?
Happy gift hunting. If you find something you think fits the Man Decorator (r) gift giving style, please let us know.
Chair of the Day: Cow Chair
I just don’t understand. Cow Chair, $1,850. At Savvy Snoot.
Someone please pick me up off the floor. I can’t stop laughing.
Explanations of the designer’s vision would be more than welcome.
Chair of the Day: King Tut’s Throne
The King is back! Chair of the Day rules. I always enjoy searching for interesting chairs, and was glad to know that you like looking at them.
I thought it would be appropriate to start things up again with something extra-special, with a touch of the exotic. King Tut’s throne fits the bill perfectly.
The original is made of wood and gold leaf. Scenes depict King Tut enjoying an afternoon of fun with his wife. But wait, there’s more! Now you can feel like a just like an Egyptian king! This replica (be careful – it’s a work of art) is yours for only $85,000. That’s for gold. Silver is $8,675.
“Ask Men’s” Metrosexual Manor
Johnny Testa gave me a shout about a virtual showhouse designed just for men by Ask Men Magazine. The article takes a look at what exactly would signify a man’s dream house.
I am, in turn, asking everyone if they agree with their premise that, “only a guy could live here.”
The house is very hip, spare and cool. But I beg to differ that it’s just for men. I might fancy myself living here. I especially like the fact that there isn’t a large screen TV and giant surround sound speakers competing with the clean lines. I love the color palette and, especially, the living room carpet.
So what’s the bidet doing in the bathroom? I suppose I’m missing something there. That’s okay. Once again, great job – it’s beautiful – er, in a manly way.
Ah, there’s the giant TV. In the bedroom. Still, aside from the bunker-like aspect of the walls, I would move in in a heartbeat. Might have to girly up the bedroom just a tad.
I wish my office looked like this. It might if I cleaned it up. Once again, great use of color and I love the art.
So I’m asking my readers for their expert opinion. I’d especially love to hear the opinion of my cousin, Gordon. He’s a tug boat captain in New York harbor, owns a house in New England, and loves Dwell Magazine. So this is right up his alley. What say yee, Gordon?
And to everyone else? Is this a place only a man could love? What would you change? Ladies, would you like to live here? Let’s chat.
Chair of the Day: David Pompa’s Surreal Minimalism
Speaking of mandecorating (see post, below), I’m thinking that this Surreal Minimalist chair is just the thing for those late night wild parties study groups.
Need I say more?
Well, I will say that this was designed by David Pompa, a recent graduate of Kingston University, in London. If you read his biography you’ll understand that he’s accomplished a lot in the short years he’s been working. He’s also a Mexican/Austrian hunk. But that’s just my opinion.
When I first saw this chair, which he sent me, I thought it was a tad silly. But maybe there’s more to it. (It’s certainly well made.) Maybe there’s something I’m missing.
Can someone fill me in?
Mandecorating the Eco-Friendly Way
Here’s something for Chris, and all other college students who buy a house which they rent out to roommates in order to pay the mortgage. It’s a great idea. It offers a way to learn about the responsibilities of home ownership and get a head start into the wonderful world of mandecorating.
Every man cave needs wall art. It’s especially nice if it’s manly in an eco-friendly way. These wallstickers from Toifu are a nice way to create that much-needed focal point without having to harm a real animal.
This series of Toifu stickers are the first products from Swiss designers, Ala Ramildi and René Etienne Keller, the founders of ala webstatt, a studio for illustration and interaction design based in Zurich, Switzerland. The stickers come in a variety of sizes.
I’m also liking these coasters and house numbers. They’re made, respectively, from recycled vinyl records and street signs. Find them at Eco-Artware. The coasters are $20 for a set of six. The street numbers come in three sizes and range from $120 – $200 each.
Chair of the day: Man decorating style
Forget Mars. Most men must be from Pluto. That’s pretty much the only way I can explain today’s “chair” of the day. Only a man would look at a perfectly functional toilet seat and come to the conclusion that it would be improved if only it had LED lights embedded in it.
It fits the following manly definitions of a good idea. 1) It’s ‘inventive’. 2) It solves a heretofore unrecognized problem – finding the toilet in the dark. 3) It’s ‘different’. 4) It wastes energy. (Men like things that use batteries or plug into the wall.)
Best of all, it’s available in more than one color.
Wouldn’t the green model be perfect for Christmas or St. Patrick’s Day? The scariest thing about this item, from our friends at Best Lighting Solutions, is that I bet many men, upon installing this nifty item, would actually look forward with pride to introducing some fellow males to their ‘discovery’.
For my own part, I’d rather not be sitting on a source of live electricity. My life is exciting enough as it is.
Outdoor Decorating
This is Misterarthur, filling in while Jennifer (who actually knows about design) gets a hip examination. Men have definite points of view on outdoor decorating. We’re happiest when we can use equipment, you see. The bigger, noisier, and more dangerous, the better. We’d jump for joy at the prospect of a nuclear powered hedge clipper, or a steam powered lawn mower, I’m sure.
Men like symmetry and straight lines.
Where women are happy arranging different kinds of flowers in lovely decorative pots, men are more interested in using machines to make precise edges.
If not that, then we’ll settle for a geometric-in-its-perfection hedge.
And above all, we want a lawn that is more like an outdoor rug than something one would find in nature.
If we can’t have things the way we want them, we tend to give up entirely. And park cars in our yards.
This all makes sense, really. Men probably invented junk yards, too.
Singgih Kartono Mango Radio
This way cool radio is the perfect gift for Misterarthur. It’s cool looking. No one else has one (yet). It’s made of wood. Best of all, it will pick up weird radio stations from around the world.
Designer, Singgih Kartono, kept eco-ethics in mind when creating this series. The radio is manufactured in Indonesia (thus helping employ local workers), from sustainably grown woods. The radios are mp3 compatible, and contain an AM/FM and shortwave radio. They’re a bit pricey – starting at $200. But Arthur’s worth every penny. You can find these at Design Public.
Chair of the Day: from IKEA Hacker
Here’s a fantastic IKEA hack to inspire you. It’s an IKEA Terje chair refitted with hockey sticks. I notice, however, that they left out the Red Wings. Oh well, it’s pretty cool anyway. I found this over on IKEAHacker – a very fun site.