There’s no doubt about it – it’s an amazing time to be into design. All over the world, designers and photographers and regular people who happen to have fabulous taste are doing cool things and finding great sources, and instead of keeping their new discoveries to themselves, they’re sharing their luck and skill online.

The result is a dynamic – and enormous – collection of design-oriented blogs and websites, generating huge amounts of content every day. Design-obsessed internet surfers all surely know about the (justly) famous blogs, like Apartment Therapy, Design*Sponge, and SFGirlbyBay, but what about some of the lesser known spots? With thousands and thousands of blogs out there, it’s easy to miss some great ones.

With that in mind, here are five of our favorite inspiration-friendly design blogs:

1. The House that Lars Built

Started as a part of her architectural studies, blogger Miss B. is a grad student at the Corcoran College of Art & Design in Washington, DC, a lover of all things Danish, and has an amazing eye for cool stuff, from tights to buildings. We fell in love with the blog last year, when she was part of the team working to outfit the Danish embassy for the embassy Christmas party. She found inspiration in the white paper flowered-staircase of the Spring 2009 Chanel runway show, and from there created a winter wonderland of white paper flowers, artwork, and birds (including the wreath at the right). Talented and inspiring!

2. The Selby

He’s kind of like The Sartorialist, but for interiors. Hipster photographer Todd Selby photographs the artistic elite – fashion designers, artists, restaurateurs, models, the odd actress – in the spaces where they live and work. His photographs catalog spaces that are purposefully not carefully prepared for the viewing public and the result is one part art, one part anthropology. We love checking out the tiny details that make a house seem truly lived in, like stacks of books here and there, or odd knicknacks on the fridge. We especially love it when he captures homes and shops of noted tastemakers, like Vincent Darre (chez Darre and at his Paris shop, Maison Dame):

3. Belle Decor

It’s name might sound like a punch line, but the magazine Garden & Gun has, justly, elicited a whole lot of praise in the couple of years it’s been around, thanks to its thoughtful profiles of the people, places, and activities that are helping to define the “new American South.” We don’t always like magazine blogs, but G&G Associate Editor Haskell Harris’s excellent blog, Belle Decor, convinced us to never say never. Harris covers all things design in the south, showcasing architecture, artists, books, jewelry – all things style. She’s a great read for anyone interested in the Southern aesthetic (as diverse as that is).

4. Hollister Hovey

Hollister and her sister Porter might not be such underground design heroes anymore – not since their Brooklyn apartment, with its black walls and commitment to crazy taxidermy, made it into both the New York Times and House Beautiful. They’ve been identified (by the NYT) as a part of the “new antiquarian” trend – a group of young people who design with tradition and history in mind. Hovey’s actual commitment is a little more than we could ever promise to show in our homes, but we admire her style, her photography, and her eye. She posts some great ebay finds, too, so if you’re an auction-lover, be sure to bookmark!

5. Jessica Hische

ne of the cooler things about being a design junkie is that you can take inspiration from anywhere. You love clothes? Think about how they can translate to your home. Into graphic design? Think about how that can influence your furniture choices. In design, the lines between different disciplines are fluid. Our love of typographer Jessica Hische’s blog is proof of that. Hische has done type and graphic design for a bunch of famous clients, from Tiffany & Co. to Golf Digest, and she still has time to share some of her design inspirations via her blog. We find them equally as inspiring – plus, we absolutely love her “Daily Drop Cap” project, in which she designed a new capital letter every day of the week (like the “O” at the beginning of this paragraph) – and shared the HTML for the letter on her website.

Hope you enjoy the new links. In fact, you might want to set a timer – give yourself an hour or so. Otherwise, you never know when you’ll stop reading. When you do put down that mouse, though, let us know which bloggers you turn to for regular design inspiration. Our bookmark list could use some updating, too!

[Photo Credits: Danish Embassy from The House that Lars Built. Vincent Darre's home from The Selby. Hollister Hovey's home from Hollister Hovey.]

Yes, we’re serious! And you know you love it!

The Real Housewives shows on Bravo might be the guiltiest of the guilty pleasures, but we’re not ashamed to say we love them – especially the original. The “ladies” of Orange County never fail to entertain us, whether they’re hopping on a Harley or having a good old-fashioned session of gossiping behind someone’s back.

And then there’s the clothes. Oh, the clothes. The Housewives aren’t shy, by any means, and they’re not afraid to take a certain type of fashion risk. If it’s tight and if it’s bright, you can bet they’ll wear it. For this, we love them – and we turn to them for some design inspiration.

Does anyone remember that great feature in (the late, great) Domino magazine in which the editors found a great outfit and transformed it into an equally great room? We thought we’d take a page out of their design notebook to do the same with the Housewives.

First up, Alexis, in a white linen dress and big coral hat with black and white stripes at Del Mar Race Track. This is actually one of the more demure outfits we’ve seen on the show and we like it very much. The combination of colors is fresh and fairly modern and the hat’s stripes add a little interest. We’d love to see a beachy room with white-washed walls and cool, white, linen furniture, coral accent pieces, plus a cool black and white rug. Maybe something like this:

Next on the docket: Gretchen. Gretchen’s got a penchant for the outrageous – and her outfits show it. We could design a crazy room around nearly everything she wears! We wanted a challenge, though, so we decided to try to find a somewhat livable room designed around Gretchen’s uber-patriotic tanning party outfit:

Everybody loves red, white, and blue, but it’s awfully hard to translate those colors into a space that doesn’t look cheesy. We think it’s all in the shades. The blue of Gretchen’s shorts is actually a very good match for a red that’s just a little more orange than her shirt. Pair them with simple lines and iconic furniture and you’ve got yourself a great room. Like this one: 

Finally, we ran across Vicki’s season 2 promo shot and we couldn’t get it out of our mind. We just love the colors:

The combination of olive green and gold-orange is absolutely arresting and the soft lines of Vicki’s dress work perfectly with the modern curve of the chair. We love the way the shot is lit, too – everything appears to glow just a bit.

This outfit lends itself to a lot of interpretation – olive green works in so many ways. We love it on cabinets (like in Miles Redd’s kitchen), on walls, and on furniture, especially when it’s paired with gold accents. We particularly like these two vignettes:

When paired with a bright color, olive green complements so many interior spaces. And how great is that flower?

Rooms inspired by the Real Housewives of the OC…proving that design inspiration really is everywhere we look.

[Photo credits: Real Housewives photos from Bravo.com. Interiors photos from Apartment Therapy.]

With most of the U.S. covered in mid-January gray gloom, it’s time to start thinking about something a lot more fun: the beach! This time of year, as the “resort” bikinis make their way onto racks at the store, visions of Caribbean jaunts, complete with sunny days and balmy evenings dance in our heads.

We want a pina colada.

This is also the time of year when we look around our houses and think, “Why can’t I be more like India Hicks?” Hicks, the host of Bravo’s Top Design, creative collaborator with Crabtree and Evelyn, young mom, and former model, is the embodiment of cool, beachy style. The daughter of celebrated designer, David Hicks, India has twisted her dad’s style a bit to make it her own, outfitting her Harbour Island, Bahamas home with lots of white, plus splashes of color and patter. She mixes comfortable furniture with heirloom pieces and her one concession to living a the beach is wood floors.

In short, she’s great design inspiration, especially during the gray days of winter.

This shot of Hicks’ Harbour Island living room shows off her commitment to white mixed with interesting pieces and little shots of pattern. We love those chairs in the back of the room on the left. They provide just the right amount of action in a mostly serene room.

In our own houses, we like the idea of simple chairs, covered in a fun, but understated fabric, like Giraffe in Chocolate and Sand Dollar:

In one corner of the room, Hicks added a bright pink chair. We love the way it contrasts with the lime green plant life (we love that dog, too!) and the shot of color it adds to the space.

At home, it’s easy to add that shot of color with throw pillows. We love the Maven pillow in Cream, Pink Berry, Classic Pink, and Tutu:

We love the sunny pink color – it always makes us happy!

In the bedroom, Hicks continues the serene, beachy palate with white linens, white accessories, and a pretty upholstered headboard. We love the addition of bright red flowers, too. Wouldn’t they be great to see first thing in the morning?

That gorgeous headboard might be out of our league, but we’d create the same feel with accessories, like the Pamda pendant in Ochre and White. The clean pattern is calming and the simple colors are all about the sandy beach.

We’re still waiting for India Hicks’ personal invitation to visit her family on Harbour Island. Until that day comes, we’ll relax ourselves by incorporating bits of her style into our own homes.

[Photo credits: Hicks home: Domino magazine courtesy of Mimi and Meg. Fabric, lamp, and pillow from Alluminare.]