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food and france go hand in hand, but add in an american pastry chef, a fantastic blog, a few books and a dose of great humor and you have david lebovitz. recently, i was lucky enough to spend a day with david where we met up to go shopping at one of my favorite markets, and made a delicious red wine raspberry sorbet from his new book, ready for dessert.  we had a blast putting together today’s special edition d*s video, and are so excited to share a little bit of our paris adventures with you today. we had too much great footage, so along with the recipe, you can find some more great one-on-one answers from david on cooking, his books, living in france and traveling with food in mind after the jump. {a huge thank you to david lebovitz, our amazing videographer christian wilmes, assistant sophie bocqueho, and kali vermes / studio vermes for use of their garden!!} -anne

** for a chance to win one of two free copies of ready for dessert, leave a comment with YOUR favorite dessert and why you’d like to win this book in the comment section below! comments will be closed saturday, july 31st at 10am EST sunday, august 1st at 10am EST. winners will be announced monday!**

CLICK HERE for the full recipe and interview with David after the jump!

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After reader’s response to last week’s traditional Southern recipe with Top Chef favorite Kevin Gillespie, Grace and I could not resist offering a complete Southern meal to you.  This week’s menu comes from Athens, Georgia-based chef Hugh Acheson.  We were very lucky that photographer Rinne Allen reached out to us to offer to photograph the entire festivity so not only do you have three recipes (for fried chicken, cornbread, and Chess pies), but you have lovely photography to make you feel as though you were actually there.   Hugh transmits such familiarity and enthusiasm for his style of food and the pure enjoyment of eating, I so look forward to his book coming out next year   -Kristina

About Hugh: Hugh Acheson is the chef/partner of Five & Ten, the National, Gosford Wine and Empire State South (opening August 2010).  Born and raised in Ottawa, Canada he started cooking at a young age and decided to make it his career after taking a very long time to realize that academics weren’t his thing. At age 15, he began working in restaurants after school and learning as much as possible. Acheson’s experience includes working under Chef Rob MacDonald where he learned stylized French cuisine, wine and etiquette at the renowned Henri Burger restaurant in Ottawa.  He also worked in San Francisco as the chef de cuisine with Chef Mike Fennelly at Mecca, and later as opening sous-chef with famed Chef Gary Danko at his namesake restaurant, where he found a love of the simple, pure and disciplined.

CLICK HERE for all three recipes, more beautiful photos and more about Hugh after the jump!

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After nearly a year of writing We Like it Wild, we kind of can’t believe we haven’t done a post on lavender yet. Apparently, we just hadn’t met the right bush. This week we had a serious date with lavender and now we’re totally smitten. With the lovely Annabelle of Magpie & Rye as our guide (and her rottweiler sidekick, Sophie), we got up close and personal with Lavandula.

Lavender is part of that fabulously fragrant mint family, Lamiaceae, and cousins with basil, rosemary, sage, and just about every other strong smelling herb. The two most common types of lavender are English lavender and French lavender. We had access to an untouched field of English lavender, the more fragrant of the two types and the one more commonly used in perfumes, soaps, and cooking. The slightly arid hills of Napa are the perfect condition for this drought-tolerant plant, but lavender will grow well in pots, too, as long as they get full sun, good drainage, and don’t get over-watered.

Our harvesting field trip yielded armloads of lavender. If you’re cutting lavender yourself it’s best to cut when the little flowers are at the height of their blooming cycle, before they start to lose their petals. But a fully blooming field of lavender is bound to attract more than just a few girls with clippers; an adjacent beehive (and a bottle of rosé) meant our cutting party had to maneuver a little more deftly through the field. The smell in the field as we brushed by the plants was incredible, but we were also amazed by how noisy it was! The bees really created quite a loud hum while they were working.

CLICK HERE for the rest of the most and more beautiful lavender photos after the jump!

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As a child, summer at my maternal grandmother’s house meant several things. It meant ever-so-gently, and silently, approaching the pond beside her house and then jumping out spastically so as to watch the colossal toads hiding on the banks splash into the water. It meant digging potatoes right out of the ground, crunching on her homemade bread-and-butter pickles, and picking juicy, giant blueberries from the bushes of her pick-your-own blueberry farm. And it meant sun tea. Without fail, every few days Nanny would toss a handful of Lipton or Luzianne orange pekoe tea bags into a glass gallon jar, fill it up with warm water and sugar, top it off with a screw-top lid, and set her tea to do its brewing thing in the hot southern Virginia sun.

(Peppermint and Bee Balm Sun Tea)

In honor of her efforts at quenching summertime thirst in a low-fi manner (and as a tribute to her in general, as she turns 85-!!!-in late August and is still as spry and sassy as ever!), today’s small measure celebrates sun tea and it’s companion flavor enhancer, herabl simple syrups. I’m electing to focus specifically on herbal sun teas, as the wealth of seasonal herbs currently on parade in kitchen gardens, balconies, and farmer’s markets is staggering and truly deserving of it’s own literal moment in the sun, sans caffeine (of course, if you need some fuel, feel free to toss a few bags of black or green tea in with your herbs and spices).

(Pineapple Sage & Fresh Ginger Sun Tea)

Making herbal sun tea couldn’t possibly be easier. Depending on what you’ve got on hand, or what moves you (do you like the refreshing chill of mint? the spice and heat of cardamom? the floral bouquet of lavender?), simply combine a handful of fresh herbs with water and set it out in the sun. I typically use about 1/4 c. of fresh herb per cup. So, for a half gallon of tea (which is 8 cups), use 2 cups of fresh herbs to 8 cups water, or 4 cups fresh herbs to 16 cups water for a full gallon. Place the herbs in first, top off with water (and sweetener, if using), cover with a secure lid, give the contents a good shake, and leave in full sun for 5-8 hours, depending on how intense of a flavor you wish to achieve.

CLICK HERE for the rest of the post and a great simple syrup recipe!

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ok, so i’ll admit that this comes from the files of “adorable, but not necessary”. but does that bother me? not at all. i really, really love small decorative details when it comes to setting a great table and these sweet handmade cake bunting designs from dawn at kiki la ru are perfection. made with vintage and re-used fabrics, this adorable debut line of bunting would be perfect for a birthday party, homespun wedding, or, in my case, a “i made a cake because i wanted to eat frosting” occasion. click here to check out and shop dawn’s beautiful bunting designs on etsy ($21-$26 each). thanks, dawn!

there’s something about really beautiful portraiture, whether it’s real or imagined, that always gets to me. even if the person depicted is a figment of the artist’s imagination, i really love thinking about who that person is, and whether the style of the painting reflects something about their personality. i found these beautiful portrait/head drawings by brooklyn-based artist lorna simpson via a tweet from one of my favorite designing women, genevieve gorder. her inkwash head drawings are just gorgeous. i could stare at these all day while trying to imagine what each of these women is like. click here to check out more of lorna’s work online.

*ps: how adorable are lorna and her daughter in this gap ad?

Here at Design*Sponge we jump at the chance to feature young, independent designers. Alice Saunders is the genius designer behind ForestBound, a unique line of accessories made out of upcycled, recycled, and salvaged materials. Alice spends a healthy amount of time sourcing antique, WWII military fabrics coupled with unexpected textiles such as vintage tents, backpacks, and grainsacks. She is quite the trailblazer on Etsy; her wares sell out almost as quickly as they are uploaded into her shop! Oh, and she moonlights as an organic farmer, in her “spare time”. She truly epitomizes ethical and sustainable American design. Alright y’all, give Alice a big, warm internet welcome!

1. Design*Sponge : What is in your toolbox?

Alice Saunders: So many things! Most importantly are my sewing machines… 3 industrials that I use pretty much all day long. The first machine I got, an Adler from the 1970’s, is one of my most cherished possessions.

I incorporate a good amount of leather into the work that I do so I’m also constantly using an array of leather working tools – rivet press, leather punch, various mallets, bevellers, skivers, etc. At a flea market a few months ago I came across a WWII era grommet setter with a few bags of military issue metal grommets. Since I use so much WWII era canvas in my work being able to incorporate bits of original hardware using the equipment that was originally used 60 years ago is a great feeling. I spend a huge amount of time assessing my materials in their original form and then taking them apart. Most of the canvas I work with originally comes as WWII era (or older) military duffel bags, cots, tents, etc. I’ve also started using a lot of grain sacks and feed bags that are 50+ years old. This means I need to take apart lots and lots of hems. I always use a very sharp knife for this part of the process.

I’m never without one of 3 knives – a Leatherman that I originally gave to my boyfriend as a Christmas present a few years ago but have sneakily claimed as my own, a camp knife from the 1950’s with a stacked leather handle, or a Carl Schlieper eye brand knife. And of course there’s fabric – I never have enough space for all of the fabric that I seem to accumulate. I spend a lot of time searching for and carefully collecting all the material that I use for my bags. These days it’s mostly military duffel bags, antique ticking fabric, grain sacks, old Boyscout packs, WWII era tents and cots.

2. Design*Sponge: Fill in the blank,”When I am in my studio I feel…”

CLICK HERE for the rest of Alice’s interview (her tips for staying organized + what superhero power she’d want!) after the jump!

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hello friends! this is  barb blair from knack, where i transform furniture on a weekly basis and love every minute of it. i opened knack studio about three years ago, but have been painting furniture for the past 8 years. in that time period there have been numerous creative experiences, which ultimately led to my passion for transformation and all things “furniture”.

i am thrilled to be joining you all as a new contributor here on d*s to share my passion, tips, and tricks with all of you! today and every thursday i hope you’ll join me before and after basics. each week i’m going to walk you through the basic steps you’ll need to tackle some of the methods you see in each week’s before & after projects. from paint washes and stains to stripping and painting furniture, i’ll teach you everything you need to know to create your own before & after masterpieces.

today we are going to tackle stripping furniture! the process of stripping wood back to its natural beauty (by removing layers of old paint and varnish) is truly a labor of love. but if you have the patience, the process is a win win situation in the end! even if you’re planning on stripping down the layers to repaint again, this process will teach you the skills you need to get down to the heart of your favorite piece. so let’s get started!

CLICK HERE for the full how-to after the jump!

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sometimes there’s nothing quite like a good makeunder: taking something that has been decorated, painted, or bulked up somehow and stripping it down to a simpler, purer state.  this chair, the brainchild of lauren and nick of second coat design in boston, is a perfect example of this theory in action; i never would have thought such an airy, modern chair could be found under all of those layers of paint! they found the lovely embroidered fabric from the etsy seller kainkain, who was kind enough to make them a custom piece for the project. i just can’t get over what a lovely transformation this is! it definitely inspires me to bring some old furniture back to basics. great work, lauren and nick! -kate

*stay tuned for a new column today at 12, before & after basics, where we’ll learn how to strip furniture like this!

CLICK HERE for jennie’s amazing chandelier (i love the bulb change-out!) after the jump!

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i am seriously in awe of the amount of skill that went into transferring these stencils onto the surface of this desk. i have hard time keeping a stencil straight when it’s simply on a piece of paper…seriously, way to go jill! this was jill’s desk as a child. she revamped it so that her boyfriend (a screenwriter) can use it for work. while the original does have rustic charm, i love that with some skilled handiwork the desk now has a totally different feel. the decorative stencil details you can only see up close are also a nice surprise. great job, jill! -kate

CLICK HERE for jill’s desk makeover after the jump!

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sometimes the most entertaining part of going to flea markets or yard sales is to see the ‘disasters’- unfortunate pieces of furniture have already been through a transformation: one that’s a bit more frankenstein than cinderella (i know this a tragically conventional notion of beauty…sorry frankenstein.). some of us laugh and continue to walk on by, having deemed the triage involved too time-consuming to bother (note: i am one of these people). i really have respect for the brave souls that decide to take on this type of recovery project.

when ryan found this poor chair at the flea market, it had been painted hot pink with standard house paint, including all the caning and the stitching (yikes!). after numerous sanding sessions, a lot of elbow grease, and some smart color choices, she managed to bring the chair back to glory. the color choices are fresh and crisp, which doesn’t surprise me after viewing ryan’s art prints at her site modernpop, or on her etsy shop.  good work, ryan! -kate

CLICK HERE for the sara’s knitted table runner after the jump!

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hello, beautiful vintage boxes. have we met? my name is grace and i’m a vintage wooden box addict. no really, i have a prob-lem. i collect you with reckless abandon, regardless of whether or not i need more of you. so even though it pains me that i can’t buy more of you (amy has to pull me away from them these days) it makes me happy to see that so many of you have gone to a good home at the modern arks studio in nashville.

modern arks creates original furniture, wall art, notebooks and postcards using re-purposed or recycled materials. their shipping crate side tables, my favorites, use beautiful vintage crates to create unique side tables with an authentically weathered patina. one-of-a-kind and perfectly worn in, they’re right up my alley. modern arks launched their debut collection on etsy last week and you can now check out, and shop, their full selection of furniture and accessories right here. thanks, jamie!

Thank you so much to WGSN for featuring D*S this week!

i am a very sad person this week…i used to have access to what i thought was an inexhaustible supply of old stair balusters. i love having them around because they work beautifully for all sorts of projects, and whenever i ran out i knew i could walk into this one salvage shop and sift through a giant bin of them. but alas, i went looking for more yesterday and they are all sold out :( if you are the collector or store owner or whatever who went to said salvage shop and bought them all…smart move. i should have cracked the piggy bank and done it a long time ago. even though my chief supplier is currently tapped out, however, i vow that this will not be the last baluster project you see from me.

this plant stand is a great project for anyone who is picky about plant presentation; the height of the stand and the plant is completely customizable, and you can finish the wood in numerous ways, or repaint it whenever suits your fancy. for heavier plants, use four legs instead of three for added sturdiness. since i only had three balusters left (sniff) i have to be content with the tripod configuration. seek out the balusters in your area, and play around with it. have fun!! -kate

CLICK HERE for the full how-to after the jump! (more…)

when I get on a mission to tidy up my apartment, i usually end up becoming promptly frustrated by my woeful lack of storage space. so i’m always looking for ways to lose that feeling of clutter, even when i don’t really have any real space to stash my stuff—and thus, this kitchen cozy was born.

in my dream kitchen i will have miles and miles of blissfully clutter-free counter tops, but until that day comes, small appliance cozies can really help to reduce visual chaos in a small kitchen—they also do a handy job of keeping appliances clean when proper cabinet space is merely a thing of our dreams. this basic piece is simple to sew, and it’s super easy to personalize with any kind of embellishment you like. i’ve made a toaster cozy here, but you can use this pattern to cover just about any small object.

inspired by the stainless steel elements in many kitchens, i styled mine with metallic ribbons and piping. the result is quite kitchen couture—but you can easily switch up the look by using a different style of embellishment. go retro-cute with pom-pom trim, or choose a bold printed fabric and skip the embellishments altogether. ready to get cozy? let’s go! –brett bara

CLICK HERE for the full how-to after the jump!

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i am always on the lookout for good gift ideas, and i think i can add these adorable love logs to the list. they look super easy to create and have great versatility: with a simple hole in the back it is easy to hang on a wall, or you can prop one on a desk or shelf as a little art object. you could even drill down into the top and make it a little vase! using a wood burning tool may seem intimidating, but it’s actually quite an easy tool to master, and i encourage you to buy one because they are useful for many different projects. you can see more of kat’s love logs on her etsy shop, where they are available for sale. thanks, kat! -kate

CLICK HERE for the full how-to after the jump!

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speaking of joke at tokketok and her amazing paper work, i couldn’t resist sharing some of it here this morning. i love how wonderfully simple her designs are- edited down to the most essential (and beautiful) elements. click here to see more of joke’s work…

this adorable quickie of a project comes from joke vande gier. originally from belgium, joke currently lives in beautiful portland, or. her blog is full of some major inspiration eye candy, as are her paper designs. if you have two minutes and some photos to display, i highly recommend this little diy. thanks for sharing it with us, joke! -kate

Materials:

- fabric tape

- strips of paper (card stock or other thick paper)

Instructions:

1. Cut strips of paper into uniform widths and lengths.

2. Pinch them together and adhere fabric tape around stack near the edges to bind together tightly.

3. Tuck photos in between paper.

VOILA!

it’s always so nice to hear from someone we’ve featured before about a talent we didn’t know they had. lori danelle, who turned in a beautiful pallet bed a few weeks ago, also cuts paper- like a pro.

lori sells these amazingly intricate custom fingerprint paper cuttings from her etsy shop. she explained that she, “finds it fascinating to look at the detail of something that is so unique to each person, we carry around with us always, leave all over the place, and yet never really look at”. these sweet paper cuts would make such a wonderful gift for new parents or a new couple. but, as lori points out, they’d also work as a super cool (and non-traditional) take on the idea of a family portrait. any way you slice it, these are such a cool idea. thanks so much to lori for sharing- you can check out (and order) her custom fingerprint paper cuts right here on etsy (prices range from $150-$350 for custom pieces).

i couldn’t think of a better way to start the day than with this amazing piece of hard work and carpentry from d*s reader susan herr in burlington, vermont. so many of us dream of having a little room or home to escape to when we need some quiet time, but susan actually found the inspiration to make it happen- with her own two hands! due to the price of land and the impracticality of relocation, susan decided to build her on dream house. she took a weekend “tiny house” building workshop last fall and got the confidence to tackle this project on her own.

from the gravel base to the shingles on top, susan built this entire (beautiful!) getaway on her own. it’s the new shed/garden house/grownup playhouse of her dreams (i love the little window box on the side). furnished with pieces from a local recycling store, susan now has a place where she can escape any time she likes- to read, draw, or just appreciate the hard work she put into this amazing little build. great work, susan!

*i love seeing projects like this, so if you ever have a hand-built structure you’d like to share, i’d love to check it out!