the elemental life

The Elemental Life is simple and bright, expansive and free, compassionate and still, flowing and thriving. Always welcoming of love, joy and peace. When your heart is open, you are living The Elemental Life.

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We've Moved!

Dear Followers of The Elemental Life,

We have moved our blog to WordPress.  We hope you will continue to Follow us here:

http://theelementallife.wordpress.com

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Light Garden

We LOVE the courtyard design at the Stadel Museum in Frankfurt by Schneider + Schumacher.  195 circular skylights flood the art gallery below with natural light while creating a fairytale-like light garden in the landscape above. 

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Smart Solution

We love this idea from Apartment Therapy.  Place a piece of stone or marble on top of your file cabinet surface for an instantly more polished and sophisticated look.  Stop by a local stone outlet and you can get a scrap piece for very little money. 

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A New American Picture

This collection of photos by Doug Rickard titled A New American Picture, was born of a unique response to a challenge.  Unable to travel the county to take photos, Rickard discovered Google Street View, and along with it, created these powerfully moving photos of the unseen America.

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Part Building, Part Landscape

The new Visitor's Center at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, designed by Weiss Manfredi, is just as much a seamless continuation of the surrounding landscape as it is an inhabitable structure.  In a city where such a clear divide exists between nature and architecture, this is wonderful to see.

Build

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Happy Monday!

I instantly fell in love with Janet Echelman's larger than life sculptures that move fluidly in the softest breeze, yet are strong enough to survive the force of a hurricane.  But I fell in love with her when I heard her speech at TED.  If you've ever felt like giving up on something you're passionate, find the inspiration to keep forging on by listening to her story.

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Fun, Fanciful Art

We love great art at a great price.  And these Dana McClure prints hit the mark.  $60 for an 8x10 print with white mat.

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Smart Solutions

The Little Corkie Picture Rail is a great solution for anyone who wants to have the interactive display of a cork board without clogging your walls with a large, tan square.  This would be ideal for an office, kid's room, or kitchen.

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Kitchen: In White Ice

We love WHITE around our office.  It's classic, clean, and feels like luxury.  Which is why we are intrigued by Whirlpool's new White Ice Collection.  It feels like the appliances have been dipped in White Corian.  Crisp and beautiful.

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Happy Monday!

Check out this installation of colorful umbrellas hanging over the promenade in the town of Agueda, Portugal...what a fun idea!

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Swirling Geometry

This brass Himmeli from Veronika Maria on Etsy is the grown up version of the mobiles we all had as kids.  It would be stunning hanging anywhere you might hang a light fixture- over a dining table, in an entry or powder room...or out on your terrace to see how it catches the wind.

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Do More Fun Stuff!

We just hung these two prints by Holiday Matinee on our office cork board as happy reminders throughout the day.  Who doesn't want to live this way?  If you'd like to hang up your own, click on the art to buy:

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A New Wave of Shipping Container Homes

I've always loved the idea of shipping container homes- a smart re-use solution with great structural integrity.  I came to know them years ago as an innovation solution for disaster relief shelters, but they are now being used as budget solutions for people building their dream homes.  Get inspired:

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Beautiful Coffee Table Book

                  It's no secret that our office loves the world of gems and stones.  We have a lot of books about them floating around our office, but none have images as stunning as those in the new book from Jen Altman, Gem and Stone: Jewels of the Earth, Sea, and Sky.  Pre-order it here.

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Customize It

We love adding a tray to an ottoman, coffee table, or night stand.  They beautifully (and cleanly!) hold the small bits of life that we can't live without.  These trays from HAY make it easy to customize your "trayscape" (and make it a work of art!).  Available at The Future Perfect.

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IKEA 2013

The 2012 digital catalog for IKEA becomes available today, and here are some things we're excited about.  Most items will be available in stores mid-August.

Native American inspired Lapplijung Textiles:

Back-to-nature Norje kitchen line:

The Strandmon wing chair:

A new mirrored finish on the original Malm series:

PS Wall Lamp in Black:

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Happy Monday!

I love this schedule from one of Benjamin Franklin's agenda books.  He begins the day by asking "What good shall I do this day?" and ends the day by reflecting on this question.  Not a bad thing to add to your To-Do-List this Monday...