Design Blogs I Love: Design*Sponge Edition

I'm going to start my series of "Design Blogs I Love" with Design*Sponge -- one of the sites that got me interested in blogs in the first place. I honestly can't remember how I stumbled upon Design*Sponge -- perhaps from an article in the NY Times or somewhere. Design*Sponge is one of those blogs that grew organically and then exploded in popularity, making its founder and editor, Grace Bonney, a blog celebrity and one of the few people who actually make a living by writing a blog. Grace's taste is impeccable. She's very smart and the writing is always crisp and fun. One of my favorite parts of the blog is when she features photos of interiors. It gives me an idea of how people actually use furniture and all the other things that make up a good interior design. Incredibly, Design*Sponge is updated with six to ten posts per day and has a daily readership of over 30,000.



Another great feature of Design*Sponge is the design guides. Traveling to Seattle? Grace and her reporters on the ground can recommend cool areas of town to visit as well as the top design stores that you shouldn't miss. The DIY section is also inspiring. Written by Lauren and Derek from the awesome Curiosity Shoppe in San Francisco, the section has all kinds of doable projects and great ideas for gifts. Grace's coverage of events like the ICFF is really helpful and informative.

Grace also runs a national Biz Lady Meetup, in which she connects women all over the country who run design-based businesses. She is featured in dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites around the world to deliver her take on contemporary design. She's truly a force of nature. If you want to see what's going on in the real world of interior design, Design*Sponge should be your first stop. Check it out at www.designspongeonline.com.