Taste The Rainbow.

That's not just the slogan for Skittles, or a punchline from a Dane Cook bit, but an appropriate description of what designer Rebecca Gimenez did with a notice board. She was probably just walking along when she saw this:

Apparently, notice boards are just as subject to spontaneous design as anything else. I mean, why not? Almost everyone else would've walked by without a second thought, but she left the board looking like this:

Muuuch better. I dig these exercises in creating visually pleasing order from chaos. Now, I'm not generally a proponent of going up to some random notice board outside of your public library and having your way with assorted lost dog posters, club flyers and lawnmowing solicitations in the name of Design. You can actually DIY at home with the bookshelves in your living room, provided you own enough books to do so [via Freshome].

There's even a Flickr pool now with some more great examples. You probably wouldn't like it if you prefer organizing your collection by subject or author, but the results can be undeniably gorgeous.

Sadly, I don't own this many books, and currently only have a handful from my collection on display in my apartment (the rest are boxed up in storage), so this wouldn't work out quite so nicely for me. Now think of how much work it would take to rearrange twenty thousand books this way, like artist Chris Cobb's "installation" at San Francisco's Adobe Bookshop in 2004, called "There Is Nothing Wrong In This Whole Wide World". Twenty thousand books. That, My Peoples, is dedication to the art.

The Black Apartment.

Being a avid reader of several modern design and lifestyle websites/blogs, I'd happen across the occasional article on painting your doors, walls or entire room black.  While still quite unconventional, the results are always very striking and attractive -- the absence of color, if used correctly and tastefully, accentuate the remaining hues in the room.

I mean c'mon, I never really thought about painting a bathroom black (the closest I've ever gotten is a deep purple).  But admit it, it looks damn good.

Sophisticated and dramatic, the trend is gaining fast in popularity although you probably won't see too many of these in the pages of Better Homes & Gardens quite yet.  This is a far cry from the typical depressing/macabre/creepy/Goth sensibility that usually comes to mind when you think about painting in this color.  But it's still a pretty bold choice to go with, and most people still shy away from it.

Well then, what would you say to an entire apartment painted a glossy black?  Dwell.com frequently profiles innovative and creative living spaces, and this Chelsea apartment, formerly the "front half of the sixth floor of a YMCA" building and owned by consultant Cindy Gallop, is just about the best example I've seen so far.




I could do without the stuffed armadillo and the Gucci chainsaw, and yeah Gallop defines it as a "bachelorette pad," but yooooooooo this is sick.  Everything -- from the eclectic art pieces, bookshelf items, all the way down to the couch cushions -- just pop.  It's extremely visually appealing, daring and classy.  Plus hip-hop even acknowledged it for a quick second; Biggie's "Nasty Girl" video was filmed here (although obviously it wasn't the focal point of the video, and I'd want to thoroughly bleach the hell out of the tub after Nelly's ass marinated in it for God knows how long).  But man -- if I ever find the right spot, I'd absolutely consider doing this.  The whole crib is primo eye candy and it isn't even using a traditional color.  Just about as unconventional as a paint job gets.

"Give up white, and turn to the dark side.  It's a lot more fun." - Cindy Gallop

I think she may be onto something.