Milwaukee-based artist Cassandra Smith has a portfolio plump with thought-provoking combinations of pattern, hue and unique surfaces. One of my favourite aspects of her work is the use of found objects. I particularly love her ongoing series of rough balls of rope transformed by vibrant paint. A beautiful contrast of colour and texture. I love when they all appear together, natural and bright lines strung from simple hooks. Yep, I would be more than thrilled to have the whole series hanging on my wall…

(images via cassandra smith; spotted on the jealous curator)

Modern wallpaper is bursting with non-traditional subjects from bold geometry to gradient effects to customizable drawing surfaces.

Elegant shimmer, hologram foil, mixed with colour, bold prints, copper details — I love the rise of metallic wallpaper patterns and finishes.

One of very favourite uses of wallpaper is small but mighty applications. From one feature wall to a nook or cranny that is now memorable, it is a brilliant way to bring pattern to a space.

Until recently, wallpaper was refereed to as a thing of a past. Yep, we had all supposedly moved on and become strictly focused on pure painted walls. Like most things in design (especially those with historical roots), wallpaper has modernized and evolved in a new direction. Bold patterns and unique treatments have replaced the wallpaper of yesteryear. In my latest post for Rena Tom, I talk about the various elements of this wallpaper revival including the general pattern direction, popular new finishes, interior use, wallpaper as a styling tool, art possibilities and even exterior products that are emerging. From home to retail, this new direction of wallpaper is worthy of exploration. Who doesn’t love a pop of pattern? Read my full post here.

(modern pattern photographs via: black. white. yellow., apartment therapy, hygge and west, design is mine, designers guild, studio ditte, desire to inspire and house to home; metallic wallpaper photographs moffat, jill malek, apartment therapy, afflante, hygge and west and michele varian; small application photographs via see that there, homedit, edison avenue, poppytalk, more delisious, houzz, mor til mernee and lorenzo castillo)

I love when unique colours pop up amid the expected holiday palettes. St. Valentine’s Day is awash in red and pink so these beautiful origami hearts by Melanie Blodgett and their spectrum of retro colours really tickle my fancy. Perhaps a new holiday palette has been born?

(photograph via you are my fave)  

I have a fetish for well-designed cushions so these handmade Kisshions by the fabulous British shop Room39 make me giddy. I love the unique shapes and overall combination of vibrant colour, metallic pattern and metallic leather piping. Two very different but equally great sides make for twice the interior design options. Pink or jade with gold, tangerine or vert with silver and a dual-sided charcoal denim pattern… One of each please?

(photographs via room39)  

How did 2012 end so quickly? Yikes. Luckily, a new year means a brand new canvas of design and retail trends that we can watch emerge and evolve. Three trends I have noticed climbing confidently forward lately are cutouts, holograms and emerald. It will be interesting to see which will become big design players in 2013 and which will be subject to niche popularity. In my latest post for Rena Tom, I discuss this intriguing trio and how it may apply to retail, design and even personal style/home decor. We need more hologram buildings, don’t you think? Take a peak at my post here if you fancy…

(photographs via: dezeen, spin, elle, style, vogue, munaluchi bridal (cutouts); abriwin, moffat, fashion week berlin, hello sandwich (holograms); design work life, we heart, paul smith (emerald))     

I spotted this DIY project on Country Living for creating a wall of shutters and was struck by the palette. A unique gradient of weathered colour including dashes of dusty grey and soft tints of acid yellow and robin’s egg blue. Ah, how colour and texture combine…

(photograph via country living)  

Toque is a distinctly Canadian word and describes what are otherwise known as beanies, knitted caps or stocking hats. Hmm… But toque is just way more fun to say! Whatever the name, it is hard to resist these superbly knit, patterned hats from ALL Knitwear by Annie Larson. Modern 80′s winter fashion (with some rather awesome pom-poms)…

(photographs via ALL knitwear by annie larson)   

A few months ago, I posted a striking carpet design made out of clothespins created by Dutch art collective We Make Carpets. On a visit to the collective’s website yesterday, their three newest carpet pieces more than grabbed my attention. Created out of cocktail picks (love the side view), chocolate bars and disposable cups/utensils, they are truly beautiful modern tapestries. Oh and proof positive that with incredible attention to form and colour, one can craft a complex and richly textured pattern out of any material…

(photographs via we make carpets)

Brazilian artist Ana Dias Batista creates lovely sculptures from simple boxes of colourful chalk. I love the texture-filled pattern and typography that results. I hope Ana expands the series as I would love to see other colours and different size chalk boxes. The possibilities are endless. Yep, there is magic in the supply closet…

(spotted on present & correct)  

I love design that takes advantage of stair edges as they are a fabulous canvas for colour and pattern. Case in point? A beautiful staircase makeover by Dihzahyners, a team of artists and designers “aimed at creating initiatives to make Beirut brighter and more beautiful through colour”. It’s amazing what a vibrant pattern can do to a space…

(spotted on/photograph via street art utopia)   

Now this is a colour-happy police station. Designed by Klein Dytham Architecture, the ‘Koban Police Box’ is a station in the Japanese neighbourhood of Kumamoto. A perforated steel ribbon rims the top of the structure allowing for lovely shadows to dapple the sidewalk throughout the day. The inside surface is also painted a rainbow of light hues which, when viewed at street level, allows for colour to pop intriguingly from the perforations in many different ways. This design certainly projects a friendly, less intimidating image of police. I hope the handcuffs are similarly colourful…

(photographs via designboom)

These have to be among the most artful sticky notes I have ever come across. Available at Madewell, the collage-style Pansydaisy® for Top Hat sticky note two-packs come in eight different designs and are sure to bring sophisticated chaos to your next jotted note…

I have always been Olympic Games obsessed but, after spending a few years working on design for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, I am full on bonkers about all things Olympic from sports to design to cultural events. One of my favourite facets is how the “Look of the Games” comes to life and dresses the event from tiny keychain to massive building. I particularly like when this design breaks tradition and changes the look of a sport. Case in point? London 2012′s Riverbank Arena where, for the first time ever, the Hockey competition will be played on a colour that isn’t traditional grass green. Instead, the pitch will be vibrant cobalt blue with hot pink edges and, in another Olympic first, the ball will be yellow instead of white. CMYK dreaminess, no? The palette was created in response to a request from the International Hockey Federation to help raise interest in the sport and is the final product of copious testing. Both the warm-up pitch and competition field are bold, modern and sure to catch the eye of many new hockey fans. The cobalt field will help the yellow ball be seen and overall, the vibrant colour trio will be beautifully telegenic and bright. Great abstract pattern in the spectator seating as well. I love when sports experiment with modern hues and design. Can’t wait to see this field in action as I may have just found my favourite London 2012 piece of colour…

(photographs via creative review, anglotopia, telegraph, teamgb, guardian and the big picture)

I am a huge fan of the gorgeous thread installations created by Mexican artist Gabriel Dawe. The ornate layering and depth of colour created using just regular sewing thread is astounding. I love the many rainbow pieces in Gabriel’s “Plexus” series but find myself particularly drawn to the installations of three or five colours and especially the very high ones and those that wrap around staircases. What beautiful magic can be created with simple sewing supplies and a little insane dedication…

(photographs via gabriel dawe)

In my latest post for Rena Tom, I explored two subtle trends that have caught my eye lately: Constellations and Honeycomb. From sequin pants to abstract mobiles, there appears to be no shortage of unique applications possible. They may currently bask in the spotlight but classic hexagonal patterns and the long-held love affair with the night sky ensure a timeless quality for both honeycomb and constellations designs. If it tickles your fancy, read my post here…

(photographs via 100 layer cake, riches for rags, lauren haupt, matsys design, viasnella, bec brittain, mochi things & julie nolan)

Photographer Joanna McClure has several series devoted to the dynamic structure of paper but her ‘Synesthesia’ collection has caught my eye for its abstract beauty and gorgeous use of colour. Are those strips of translucent paper interacting in a bed of water? I can’t completely tell but I am smitten with the juicy, gel-like textures and intersecting palettes created regardless…

(photographs via joanna mcclure)