… New Zealand’s Fox Glacier. Isn’t it gorgeous?

Link:  ANOLDENT

Claire creates some seriously stunning work with a few everyday objects: plastic, duct tape and masking tape.

Brilliant.

Link:  CLAIRE ASHLEY

Oooh, gorgeous! I’d love this little wired sculpture over my fireplace.

Link:  KJELL VARVIN

[image credit: ak47 design]

Boy, are you guys in for a treat today! Reader Cate asked if I’d round up a few stylish fire pit options for her outdoor summer evenings, and I should really start off by saying that I sort of hate fire pits. Husband is a bit of a pyromaniac, so of course, the second we moved into our Los Angeles home (complete with a stunning balcony!), he demanded we pick out a fire pit together.

I drug my feet for months until I caved and scored a $50 fire pit on Craig’s List (it’s mighty pretty, too!) for his birthday a few years ago. And of course, I thought that this move to Indiana would mean we could kiss our fire-pitting days goodbye. After all, there’s no such thing as fire pits in the Midwest: they’re called yards.

Anyway, we ended up lugging the 300 pound fire pit home to Indiana and after a year of living here, we haven’t used it once. This is why part of me hates fire pits. I’m such an anti-clutter lobbyist that it breaks my heart to own a home accessory that I never use. However, I have a feeling if I ever sneak our fire pit into the yard with a “FREE” sign, the divorce papers would arrive shortly thereafter.

Long story long, fire pits are cool if you use them. Here are a few stylish options I LOOOOVE (just for you, Cate!):

[Left: VITEO, pricing unavailable / Right: AllModern.com, $472]

[Left: Artepuro, pricing unavailable / Right: PrezzyBox, £419]

[Left: Sears, $140 / Right: Ernsdorf Design, $5600]

[Left: Solus Decor, $3900 / Right: Stone Forest, $1700]

[Left: Liebschaften, pricing unavailable / Right: AllModern.com, $118]

Of course, if you want to go the DIY firepit option, that’s always an option! Enjoy!

Have a renovation/home decor question you want to send my way? Email me!

Giia is KILLING it these days. Great product, even better product photography. Go, Giia, go!

Link:  GIIA ON ETSY

p.s Wouldn’t this bib necklace be gorgeous with a Colina Strada handbag? Eek!

Oh, man. This pattern would make for the pencil skirt of my dreams. Until then, I’d like to hang it on my wall.

Link:  DEANNA LEE

Whew! Another week flew by here at Design for Mankind! We’ve been marveling altitude-measuring leggings and pining over lacy trees this week, and I’m hoping the inspiration will overflow into this hot, summery weekend!

You know what would make my weekend a whole lot cooler? If I was sporting a sweet FISH clutch and showing off a creepy-cool Violet Darking ring. I’d then travel to see Luke Elliott’s woodblock poster in person, maybe stopping at a wifi cafe to score a Nathan Turner Elite Leather Barkham Chair on One King’s Lane. I’d stick around to enter Amalia’s giveaway and then take a nature walk in hopes I could collect enough inspiration to materialize a Little Drifter for Booooooom. After an immediate trip to the dollar store, I’d call my husband to thank him for loving me and pick up a souvenir ship for the road.

Of course, by that time I’d be exhausted and wishing I knew how to quilt so I could retire to my home and create something beautiful. (Speaking of quilting, have you seen The Quilt Project?)

What will you do this weekend, friends?

Here are just a few of my musings online this week:

-Matchmaker, Matchmaker at ReadyMade Mag (pictured above)
-Designing Your Home Around Pets at HGTV.com
-Chairs Galore at The House That DFM Built
-Measuring Tape Light at ReadyMade Mag

Wow. There is such beauty in this world.

Link:  JESSICA HANS

Now that’s what I’d call a living canvas.

Link:  BRION NUDA ROSCH