Cool Stuff: Marimekko Tray Tables

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you know how I adore all things Marimekko.

So imagine my delight upon discovering that the Finnish textile company is now making these wonderfully versatile and colorful tray tables.

Available in a variety of familiar Marimekko patterns, they're $302 each from the Scandinavian Design Center.

Cool Stuff: Månses Design Bone China Collection

Perfect for summer salads: Månses Design of Sweden's simple and graphic salad serving bowl. (And come fall, you could also use it for pasta, soup, and other hearty fare.) Made from bone china, it's $50 from the Scandinavian Design Center.

Some of the other lovely pieces in Månses' bone china collection:

Breakfast Bowl, $20

Small Bowls, $33 for four

Flower Pot, $20

Cups and Saucers, $21 a pair

Egg Cup, $20

See the entire collection right here.

Cool Stuff: Micki Kids' Tables

Super-genius idea, and super-cute to boot: These kids' table-and-stool sets from Swedish company Micki have wheels for easy mobility and an integrated catch-all basket that you can simply toss those toys and art supplies into once playtime's done.

If someone made an adult coffee-table version of this -- with a bottom basket for magazines, remotes, and so on -- I would be all over it.

The Snake, Hedgehog, and Crocodile sets are $115 from the Scandinavian Design Center.

Cool Stuff: Ferm Living Oilcloths

I don't know what the weather's been like in your neck of the woods, but here in Northern California it was blistering hot this weekend. (Is it global warming? Is the Bay Area the new Palm Springs? I'm busy plotting our move to Vancouver through the sweat over here ... )

Anyway, all this unseasonal heat has me itching to move mealtimes outside, where we can take shelter under the shade of our towering birch tree while praying for a cooling breeze. And what better way to dress the patio table than with these brand-new oilcloths (such as Family Tree, above) from Denmark's Ferm Living, the maker of some of the coolest modern wallpapers around?

Even if it's still chilly in your area or you don't have an outdoor dining space, these are a fun way to dress up your kitchen or dining table -- and are particularly great if you have spill-prone kids.

Take a look:

Branch

Walldots

Bindweed

Berry

Ferm's oilcloth is about $28 per linear meter, which is roughly 39 inches; the oilcloth comes in 55-inch widths, so if you want a tablecloth that's about four and a half feet wide by six and a half feet long, order two meters. It's available through the Scandinavian Design Center -- which also carries beautiful oilcloths from Marimekko, Pappelina, and Susanne Schjerning.

Check them out right here.