Have I mentioned how much I love it when readers send me their Design Finds? I do. So much.

Recently a reader in Texas sent me a picture of some wonderful chairs in the children’s area at their local library:

Made of one piece of plywood, these chairs have a really beautiful shape, and I just love how the back looks like a letter A – perfect for a library. (The overlapping color-changing circles pattern on the tabletop is also wonderful.)

Receiving this picture brought back memories of an amazing chair from my childhood local library. I have fond memories of curling up on the soft leather to read. (I also remember feeling frustration when some other kid was sitting in it!)

While I’m not sure our local library had an authentic Heller “Joe” chair, the one in my memory looks just like this one, a true 1970’s classic and a great childhood chair memory. I’m quite sure the hours I spent in this chair fostered both my chair obsession and my love of reading.

Thanks for the memory!

Joe Chair Photo:  http://www.designlager.de

The Chairs of Childhood, Part I

I love flags – they are the original modern art. I’m partial to the American flag and the Union Jack, because they’re from my countries. I was lucky enough to have an American mom and an English dad, so I got to grow up on both sides of the Atlantic. Flag inspired decor always catches my attention, especially when it has personality.

This fabulous flag-on-a-pallet hangs in my front hall:

I love that an old wood pallet can become something so stunning. It’s one of the only pieces of original art that I’ve ever purchased.

Upstairs, this Union Jack mirror decorates a funny little nook in the hallway:

So this summer when I saw this for sale in a coffee shop, I was instantly smitten:

Check it out close up:

It’s a collage! I would have bought it on the spot, but the $2500 price tag was out of my budget. So I started plotting to make one for myself. I spent months collecting home decor magazines and catalogs – I wanted the pictures I used to say something about me.

Here’s just a few of what I collected. Last week I finally pulled out my scissors and got to work.

And here’s what I’ve got so far:

It was significantly more time consuming and challenging than I expected. Believe it or not, red was the hardest color to find – that really surprised me. I have a long way to go to have enough to put together a piece as large as the one I saw in the coffee shop, but I’m pretty excited about what I’ve got so far. In the process, I gained a huge amount of respect for the artist of the original work. (And if whoever that is ever sees this, please know that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!)