Has your child suddenly become interested in pirates and wants to decorate his entire room to look like he just stepped onto the deck of the legendary Black Pearl? (Heck, I want that, too.) Well maybe a hand painted treasure map sign with his name on it would ease his hankerings. It’s personalized with your child’s name and comes at a price any pirate could plunder in half a days work.
$35

Now let’s try a test. Ask your 5 year old what she wants more: a fantastical child-sized pirate ship playhouse… or a college education. Seriously though, if you have the money, this Posh Tots exclusive handcrafted playhouse is going to make a whole neighborhood of kids insanely happy. As the price tag assumes, this is a movie-quality structure that’s got 2 levels, a crow’s nest, sleeping quarters, and it looks amazing. If it was a little bigger, I’d be saving up to get one for myself.
$52,000

If all this talk of kid’s pirate bedrooms has sparked your imagination, then try your hand at entering the pirate contest at Home & Bedroom Furniture. They want you to describe, in 100 words or less, what a real pirate’s bedroom would look like. Winner gets a Pirates of the Caribbean bedding set. What if your bedroom decor is all ready chosen? Why, create a pirate bathroom, of course!

Posted by Lauren in Kids, Splurge, Household
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Flavor preferences in Japan are understandably different than in the US. Case in point: toothpaste. I first became aware of the interestingly-flavored toothpaste phenomenon from LUSH’s new White vanilla/salt and Black lemon/sandalwood toothpastes. Since I discovered them, I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for unique and candy-sweet flavors. If Crest’s new flavored products are any indication, I’m not the only one interested in freshening her breath with something other than good old mint.

Breath Palette comes straight from Japan and comes in a wide variety of 32 flavors. No joke. Most reviews I have read focus on the most “odd” flavors such as Curry, but I want to draw your attention to the crowd pleasers: Caramel, Cola, Espresso, Blueberry, White Peach, Fuji Apple, Bitter Chocolate, Honey, and Pumpkin Pudding, just to name a few. They’re all infused with menthol so you will still get a minty feel when you’re done, but you’ll also get a hint of those yummy flavors during brushing.

Oh, and did I mention that they’re sugar-free and sweetened with magical xylitol? The low-foaming, fluoride-free, alcohol-free formula is gentle on teeth, contains only natural ingredients, and is safe for child usage. With it’s flavor range, I can see Breath Palette being responsible for getting kids excited about brushing… okay, and some adults, too.

$5 per tube or $22 for 5 tubes

Posted by Lauren in Household, Fun
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It’s spring time, which translates to more outdoor fun as we gear up for summer. The retro feel of tiki decor is always in style and its complimentary theme let’s us escape our backyard into a bamboo enchanted island setting. So get your tiki bars out and check out our tiki decor page for more ideas.

What tiki bar is complete without tiki themed mugs, tumblers, shot glasses, and for the nomadic drinker, a flask? These are all available from our friends over at After5. Made of ceramic and with some clear detail these mugs are ready to impress and intoxicate your guests with some tiki flair. Buy these dishwasher safe mugs, tumblers, and shot glasses in a set or individually to customize your very own tiki decor.

$6.99 - $56.99

Posted by Sean in Retro and Vintage, Household
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No, not that kind of pink elephant. I’m talking about the adorably round, mid-century modern, time-telling kind that add fun interest to any room. From design pioneer George Nelson (father of the “marshmallow couch”, modular storage, and the L shaped desk, as well as director of design at Herman Miller for nearly 30 years) comes just such an object: the fingerprint-swirled Vitra pink elephant clock. The simple colors and extreme proportions (the tiny head and feet! the minuscule tail!) are eye-grabbing and oh-so-cute. It would look equally at home in your mod styled office or your wee one’s playroom.

More Elephant cuteness at Design Public:


$38 - $295

Related: Cocktail Pink Elephants, Pink Elephant cocktail Shaker

Posted by Lauren in So Pretty, Kids, Household
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We are always looking for unique and novel items that are not only useful but look good as well. Almost everyone can use some wall hooks for keys, coats, jackets, etc. by the door, so why not make them unique to match your/their personality?

Swank up your place or their office with some unique dart wall hooks from Uncommon Goods. These chromed coated darts look as though they’ve been thrown hard enough to completely bury their tips into the wall. They are also sturdy enough to handle the heaviest coats and the fins are shaped to prevent tearing and deforming of coats.

For those out there with delicate coats and clothes to hang this gummy based wall hook will bend with the weight of the jacket or coat to prevent deforming or tearing of the fabric. Being that it is made completely of silicone it also bends to the will of those who are a little more clumsy then the rest of us and tend to bump into everything sticking out of the walls.

Other unique wall hooks worth mentioning are these animal shaped wall hooks (Set of 2) from Wrapables.

Posted by Sean in Household, Unique
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Looking for the perfect retro inspired cocktail glass and/or cocktail shaker? Blast off with this rocket shaped cocktail shaker, with matching cocktail glasses, and just sit back and enjoy the ride.

This retro inspired rocket design is an exclusive to the After5 Catalog, so there is no need to go looking elsewhere for such a unique item. Made of stainless steel and able to hold 16 ounces of the “rocket fuel” of your choice this cocktail shaker is ready to take you and your party guests back in time to a more space fascinated time.

$39.99 - $119.99

Posted by Sean in Retro and Vintage, Household
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Beautiful and functional is a reoccurring theme at Mable’s, and this flower shaped loose tea strainer by Koziol is an excellent example. Tea infusers often leave a lot of bits to swirl about in your mug, but a tea strainer like this one keeps your drink leaf-free. It also comes with an adorable leaf-shaped stand, and with that kind of presentation it would make a unique tea party idea.

$12.95

Posted by Lauren in So Pretty, Household
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Get up to 50% off at Hammacher Schlemmer’s private online sale. Why is it called a private sale? Because they don’t have any links to it on their own site. You have to be lucky enough (that’s you!) to find the links elsewhere.

We’ve blogged about why bamboo fabrics are so desirable before and now their bamboo sheets are on sale at almost half the regular price. Be aware that these have limited quantities, and when they’re gone, the sale is over.

Another item worth mentioning in their private sale is the iPod t-shirt with built in iPod pocket and headphone tunnel. Great for those who want to listen to their music while they work out and not have the earphones or MP3 player get in their way.

Posted by Sean in Household, Clothing and Accessories
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The more common funny doormats say things like “Hi, I’m Mat” or “Wow! Nice Underwear” but I found some other funny doormats I’d like to share.

What sparked this post is the sheer simple cleverness of the “You are Here” doormat. As soon as I saw this and got over my initial chuckle I wondered why I didn’t think of that. I was also proud to see that this particular doormat is made of 100% recycled truck tires.

Another clever doormat made from recycled rubber is the sewer manhole cover. It comes in Boston, NYC, or generic Metro styles.

Lastly are my personal favorites because they are quite nerdy. “There’s no place like 127.0.0.1” is one, and the other simply says “welcome” but stylishly encoded in binary (just a bunch of 1’s and 0’s).

Have you come across any funny doormats you’d like to share? We’d like to hear from you, so leave a comment below to let everyone know about it.

$17.99 - $39.99

Posted by Sean in Outdoors, Household, Unique
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It’s products like this that make your life much easier in small, but very useful ways. Believe it or not, draining pasta isn’t an easy task for me. One too many times I’ve spilled my noodles down the sink while trying to drain the water out. Now that I know about this Expandable Over-The-Sink Colander I won’t have to do the tricky “one-handed pasta drain” maneuver, and never have to worry about spilling my food, or burning myself again. It’s great for rinsing produce too, as it’s professional fine gauge mesh allows even delicates, such as sprouts, to be rinsed or drained with ease. Because it’s expandable, it’ll fit almost any size kitchen sink. I appreciate that it’s stainless steel too, as my last conventional plastic colander was ruined after it was left on a warm stovetop for just a moment.

$28.95

Posted by Alison in Household
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Is it organic cotton sale month? First we found great deals on organic underwear, and now Viva Terra is offering organic cotton towels at a whopping 50% off.

Did you know that about 1/3 pounds of chemicals are used to grow and manufacture just 1 pound of cotton? Towels are a daily necessity, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to dry off with chemical-laden materials everyday. Another neat thing about organic cotton is its super absorbent capability. Organic cotton towels are more absorbent than conventional ones, which means you’ll dry off faster and your towels will sustain less wear and tear.

You won’t have to sacrifice elegance for buying green either. Each towel boasts a Dobby hem, the trademark of fine linens. These would make a great bridal shower or housewarming gift, but would be perfect gift for yourself, too.

$6.00-$29.00

Posted by Alison in Household, Green Living
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Planning world domination is so much easier when you have the whole world laid flat upon your secret lair/war room wall. If you are the World Domineering type then you’ll appreciate the fact that this is the worlds largest write-on map mural. If you’re more like me, you just want to take in the big picture every now and then (or you’re secretly embarrassed about your knowledge of world geography). Either way this would bring the entire earth into perspective on a daily basis.

This is the only accurately detailed, eight-color mural of the world that covers nearly 9 by 13 feet of wall space. The entire map comes in 8 panels, each laminated for ease of writing and rewriting with dry erase markers (one included).

$149.95

Posted by Sean in Kids, Household
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Buying Fair Trade, recycled goods is so easy nowadays. Consumers are starting to demand it, and artisans are happily complying. These colorful recycled pillows from Uncommon Goods are an excellent example. Handmade from recycled plastic soda bottle labels by South African artisans, these recycled art pieces have an amazing, soft texture and will liven up any room. When guests in your home inquire about the fun feel of the pillows, how fun will it be to answer, “Oh, those come from recycled soda labels, and were handmade in South Africa!”? Answer: probably very fun.

$45-75

Posted by Alison in Household, Green Living
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During a late night perusal of some design blogs, I recently came across New York based dVider. As their name would suggest, their flagship product is a modular room divider. Highly customizable in size and optional printed design, these partitions are adjustable vertically and horizontally, and provide a clean look to open spaces.

Unsurprisingly though, what really caught my eye was their accompanying line of movable wall stickers that can be applied to either the room dividers or any smooth, flat surface, such as a wall. Where other manufacturers have focused their efforts into a niche set of designs, dVider has a wide assortment of art to adorn your walls. There are styles for kids, an “edgy” category, animals and insects, and my favorite, nature stickers. Looking at the organic forms found in the “nature” and “shapes” categories is reminiscent of flipping through a graphic design magazine or walking through an expensive boutique; applied in your room though, you’ll get the look without the pretense.

Each design comes in 12 vibrant colors, and combined with their extensive design choices, that gives you a lot of creative options. To further sweeten the deal, dVider’s prices are a bit more affordable than the better known brands, starting at just $19. Be sure to check out their gallery for inspiration, then put together a set of stickers that are perfect for your walls.

$19 and up

Related: Wall Candy Arts & Critter Walls

Posted by Lauren in So Pretty, Household
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Most people aren’t aware of how germ infested everyday household usually items are, even in well looked after homes. Kitchen sponges, door handles, toothbrushes… they all fall into the category of things people don’t clean very often. I think some people misunderstand disinfecting, and wrongfully assume that rinsing long enough will rid their toothbrush of any germs. Your mouth, no matter how much you brush, is bacterium’s playground. In order to truly have a clean mouth, and a cootie-free toothbrush, you need a sanitizer. Brookstone offers a great solution: their germicidal UV light toothbrush sanitizer which kills %99.9 of bacteria, viruses and anything else mucking up your toothbrush. It holds up to 4 of your family’s brushes, even the electric ones. It works with just a touch of a button, has an automatic shut-off feature, and performs it’s job in just 10 minutes! There’s also a travel version for keeping clean on the go.

$29.95 & $50.00

Posted by Alison in Household, Gadgets
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