Pepper Design Blog - Page 45 of 358 - A Little of This & That... Renovating, Decorating, DIY Projects & Family

2013 Holiday Gift Guide: For the Guys

December 17, 2013

I can’t believe we’re so close to Christmas. This December has flown by in a way that I can’t even describe. It feels as if we’ve just decorated the house and now it’s time to enjoy it for, oh, a month or so (like most years, right?). But not the case. Crazy when that happens.

I wanted to share a few of my favorite finds for the guys this Christmas. Be they husbands, boyfriends, dads, sons, a friend… hopefully this will inspire for a few of the boys on your list!

2013 Holiday Gift Guide: For the Guys | PepperDesignBlog.com

These beautiful megaphone sound amplifiers are on the high end, but they are made by hand, so neat to look at, and supposedly just awesome on the ears. For ninja-fast, stealth-like document fun, a Kung Fu Master flash drive (good stocking stuffer, no?).

Today’s briefcase is a well made leather messenger bag. Etsy is full of great options. This little gadget converts paper airplanes into electronic flying machines. So cool.

Does your husband’s phone die all of the time? Mine too. Solution. Shoes in our home will always be inevitable (too many comings and goings of hubby in workbooks or kids in converse) but if we did have a no shoes policy (a girl can dream), I’d gift these to Kev.

Every chef needs a good quality cutting board. Shaped like a pig? Why not. And have you heard of man trivets? These tumble trivets are the next best thing (no floral oven mitts for protecting the table from the pot roast, thankyouverymuch). Rumor has it that you can toss a couple onto your table and set down hot dishes without a second thought (and I’m thinking that later in the evening after a dinner party the boys would turn this into some sort of beer drinking game…). Great stocking stuffer.

I adore my own all-in-one iPhone case. This one is a handsome version for the guys. The idea of sticky notes on a roll is great to me, I think most guys would dig this last little find in the above collage on their desk.

2013 Holiday Gift Guide: For the Guys | PepperDesignBlog.com

Nibbles Cablekeep | House of Marley Earbuds
Plaid Shirt | Antonio Mustache Glasses Stand | AR Drone
Waterproof Pouches | Cosmic Brightz

Another great stocking stuffer for the computer-lover (that I need now, too): Nibbles Cablekeep. No more broken and/or missing computer chargers. And for incognito music: these really cool looking House of Marley Earbuds.

I’m a fan of a man in a plaid shirt (and this one is 40% off for a short while). Look closely – how clever is this mustache glasses stand? These are awesome for a desk or entryway console table.

If paper airplanes are not your guy’s thing, how about his very own drone.

If you have adventuresome boys to buy for, waterproof pouches make great gifts. Because they still go camping/fishing/hiking with their gadgets these days.

Finally, Cosmic Brightz are completely necessary. They look awesome on a bike, but they’d light up my and Kevin’s ugly Christmas sweaters brilliantly this year!

More gift guides for this season (and last) right here. Happy present hunting :), I still have a few to go, too!

Girls’ Room Update: The Lights Are Up!

December 16, 2013

A little electrical finagling and…

The new wall sconces for the bookshelves are up.

Last I left you, we were here:

With my new (way cheaper than the inspiration) light sconces receiving a fresh coat of metallic gold.

The electrician came over to help me install these on to each side of the bookshelves to serve as future reading lamps for this little (big?) window seat nook. They’ll also help light up the room in general since we have only one overhead light in the girls’ room.

This room is actually pretty hard to photograph because there is only one source of natural light – and you’re generally shooting right at it. Here’s a whitewashed photo of how she’s looking today:

It will all come together when the window seat cushion (assembly it now!) and roman shades (due to arrive in January) are in.

Since this is a hardwire sconce (not plugged in – wired into the house) we were forced with the addition of adding a little light switch to either side of the bookcase to turn these on and off. Then our electrician found little toggle switches that he was able to add right to the since itself, saving us more wall drilling.

And now a soft glow of light!

Can’t wait for it all to come together :).

I’m just a teeny bit disappointed that I can’t bend the first rod upwards a little to create more of an arc (I’ll refer back to these again as a visual), but other than that, I’m just loving on these new light fixtures.

PS more girls’ room posts found here. And the inspiration that resulted in my ~~oddball~~ eyeball sconces here.

2013 Holiday Gift Guide: UncommonGoods

December 13, 2013

Each year I include products from Uncommon Goods in my annual gift guides. They have such cool stuff – you won’t find a lot of their artisan and small-shop gifts anywhere else. Products are creatively designed, thoughtful, clever and are available at affordable prices. I love the little history & description of each product that they provide on the website as well (it feels as though you’re purchasing from the carpenter or artist who designed your gift).

This year UncommonGoods has asked me to put together a post of my very favorites and has sent me some of the below to check out for myself.

2013 Holiday Gift Guide: Uncommon Goods | PepperDesignBlog.com

Giraffe Bookend | Bucky the Deer & Unicorn cardboard heads
Storybook Puppets | Fox Pillow | Kinetic Sand

1. Cardboard animal heads are so great! We actually have Bucky (the deer head above) living on our mantel at the moment for Christmas and he’s perfect. The unicorn is a nice twist on the original. 2. Kids get a lot of gifts at Christmas, these bookends are a really cute solution to an influx of books (always a good thing!). 3. Livy and her nana have been experimenting with sock puppet play, storybook puppets are great interactive gifts and allows kids to ‘put on a show’. 4. How adorable is this knitted fox pillow? 5. Sand that magnetically sticks? No mess? Sign me up. And perfect sandcastles sound awesome.

More gift ideas for the kids here.

2013 Holiday Gift Guide: Uncommon Goods | PepperDesignBlog.com

1. I love the look of these faceted wooden planters, the little air plants inside make these so pretty next to a window. 2. For the wine lover? This guy is awesome. 3. My PhD candidate brother would totally dig these glasses. 4. I love the wooden design and the amplification of this iPhone alarm dock. 5. Men rarely think to transfer their favorite product to smaller versions, I think that this pack is great for the traveler. 6. This water bottle was one of the products that UncommonGoods sent my way – it doesn’t roll, the water tastes amazing (as opposed to stale or metal-y) and I’ve finally found THE reusable bottle for me. 7. My mom would love these musical wine glasses! She loves a good party trick ;).

Check out all of their clever gifts for women here and for the guys, here!

2013 Holiday Gift Guide: Uncommon Goods | PepperDesignBlog.com

We are especially loving the wooden alarm clock dock and Bucky the deer head at our house right now. Bucky fits right in with the mantel decor.

**************************************************

This roundup is a sponsored post by UncommonGoods. I have been compensated with some of the products mentioned here but my opinions are always my own.