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Design Spotlight is our regular monthly post covering modern design + lifestyle topics from around the globe. You'll find everything from design icon biographies to modern art, photography and architectural surprises. And of course modern design! 

+We've all know the awesomeness that is a prefab home. But check this out, it's a prefab Italian villa!

+Modern parents, you'll love this... It's a wooden train set that let's kids compose tunes! Great design meets cool function.

+This is the last weekend to attend the MAK Center exhibit Everything Loose Will Land. If you love art, architecture and their cross-pollination (and you're in L.A.) you don't want to miss it!

+This week, we launched a fun new design resource... EURO EDGE!!! Our newest design resource for you all! Our favorite top industry influencers (and blog contributors!) - Kelly Beall, Trina McNeilly, Liz Stanley, Victoria McGinley, Kirsten Grove, JustinaBlakeney, and CaitlinFlemming - pick their favorite products!

Image: Archi Design Club

We have a really fun announcement! Today we are launching an exciting new design resource called Euro Edge!

Euro Edge will be an on-going design resource for all of you. Our favorite design industry influencers pick their favorite products to share with you. If you're moving, re-designing your home or just shopping for a couple items, these gals can help you decide which style direction you want to go!

1. Troy Toledo Silver 14 3/4-Inch-H Small Outdoor Wall Light 2. 15-Inch- H Jonathan Adler Parker Nickel Wall Sconce 3. Arteriors Home Vintage Brass with Beige Jenson Floor Lamp 4. Possini Euro Zuri Chrome 10-Inch-W Mini Pendant 5. Antique Brass 65-Inch-H Floor Lamp with Glass Tray Table 6. Lights Up! Flight Dark Yellow White Contemporary Table Lamp 7. Troy Menlo Park Old Silver 5 3/4-Inch-W Wall Sconce

Don't wait! Head over to this fabulous new resource to see what these stylish gals selected..... Euro Edge!

Be sure to get your Euro Style Lighting coupon code for savings on lighting, furniture and home décor!

There is something about being outdoors, in nature, that is invigorating and refreshing. In my designs I always try and bring that outdoor energy indoors, too. One obvious way to do that is with houseplants, but there are many other ways to create that outdoorsy-vibe in the home as well.

An outdoorsy color-palette that includes various tones of greens, browns and blues brings the feeling of the hills, the skies and the fields into the home. Natural materials like wood, leather, jute, rattan and wool also help to bring the outdoors, in, and once that bright, open feeling is created through the addition of the right colors and textures, I like to add a little bit of pattern to the mix.

Patterns occur so much in nature--in the rich furs of animals, the bright scales of underwater dwellers, on the petals of flowers, in honeycombs and shells, in the way that trees dot the sides of a mountain--I like to bring in these patterns subtly. There is no better way to do this than through patterned details like lamp shades and accent pillows.

One paramount element to outdoor-inspired decor is bringing in the sunlight--one great way of doing this is to create a 'sun' in the home by including a statement sputnik lamp, especially a gold or brass one as a focal point in a room.

Get the look:

1. Sputnik Antique Brass Crystal Jonathan Adler Pendant Light 2. White Leather Strap Adjustable Jamie Young Round Wall Mirror 3. Arteriors Hadley Modern Brass Black 65 1/2-Inch-H Floor Lamp 4. Cream and White Contemporary Faux Orchids with Greenery 5. Glacier Glass White Resin 13-Inch-H Small Vase 6. Modern Reid Grey 72-Inch-H Shelving Unit or Media Stand 7. Pascal White Plastic Wood 30 1/2-Inch-H Side Chair 8. Modern Large Square Buff Leather Jamie Young Ottoman 9. Carmela Walnut 23 1/2-Inch-W Side Table 10. Roxbury Green Chenille 89-Inch-W Sofa 11. Infinity Metallic Silver Tile 18" Square Down Throw Pillow 12. Chevron Ikat Canvas Aviva Stanoff Down Throw Pillow 13. Jay Yellow Ikat Set of 2 Safavieh Decorative Pillows 14. Blue and Beige Shock Stripe Contemporary Throw Pillow 15. St. Claire Wood with Taupe Drum Shade Modern Table Lamp

Once all of these elements are combined, your home will feel as lively, natural and as refreshing as a walk in the park...

Everyone has seen the image: Sputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite. When the Soviets sent this elegant piece of machinery into orbit in 1957, they did more than launch the space race...they inspired a wave of Sputnik chandeliers in its wake.  

Named after the satellite that inspired them, Sputnik lights are a general style marked by a distinctive starburst pattern. Legend has it that the first ones were actually created three years before Sputnik 1 ever saw the stratosphere by Gino Sarfatti for Lightolier under the names Astral, Skyrocket, Sparker and Mobile (a later Sarfatti design is pictured above).

Fast forward more than half a century and you're seeing Sputnik chandeliers today more than ever. Jonathan Adler, one of today's hottest designers, has created a series of designs dedicated to the iconic form:

Sputnik Modern Brass Crystal Jonathan Adler Chandelier

And there are a handful of other satellite-inspired styles. You can find both ceiling lights and floor lamps today:

Possini Chrome Flushmount, Possini Chrome Floor Lamp

What you won't find anymore, however, are real Sputniks orbiting overhead. Unless, of course, you decide to bring this unforgettable Sputnik light style into your home. 

Images: Answers.com, Best Design Books

Along with what I think is the majority of women these days, I have fallen head over heels in love with the color mint. I incorporate it into outfits and my home. My phone case is even mint! It’s such a soothing, cool color that is also fun. It is also surprisingly easy to pair with other colors! I especially love mint with black and white or mint and a light coral color. So pretty!

This room above is my dream mint room. It’s modern and cozy with punches of fun colors but of course mint is the main color and I love that about it. Do you see how the mint works with all of the other colors? It’s perfect. I just might need to consider painting a room mint soon. Just to get all this mint love out of my system. 

Larchmere Narrow Zig Zag 10-Inch-H Plug-In Swag Pendant, White Shade Grayed Jade 28 1/2-Inch-H Ovo Table Lamp, Green 16 1/2-Inch-W Set of 4 Stacking Chairs,

These chairs to me, are perfect. They stack so they can be stored easily, they are modern and sleek in design and they are mint! Aren’t they fun? I can just imagine hosting a dinner party and pulling these out for extra seating. I love them!

The table lamp is simple and clean and of course mint. It’s simple design would be really easy to match with pretty much any other style.

Lastly, the hanging light is a little crazier but I like that about it! It would be a great punch of pattern to your space. Mint is kind of a hard color to match with another mint. It seems that no two mint shades are the same! So if you find something you love in mint, get it! You won’t regret it.

Image: BDG Style