today we have a special mid-week sneak peek that belongs to aspiring home decorator and d*s reader johanna clark of philadelphia. johanna completely renovated and decorated her home on a “shoestring” budget in only 4 months- while pregnant (i’d love to grab those dining room chairs- they’re fantastic)! joanna shares her notes below but as always you can click here for full-sized and additional photos of johanna’s philadelphia home. [thanks johanna!]

[we made the table using legs from ikea (that is audrey hard at work)]

[image above: Ikea chairs with cushions I made with fabric from 4th Street in Philly and that mirror was 50$ at a junk shop. The teak table and bench were bought at an outdoor furniture store here in Philly. The lamp is the west elm model that everyone bought ….you can see the credenza and desk area in the background]

[image above: more thrift store finds….and silkscreen photos done by a friend. The suitcases were used by husbands grandfather who was a traveling lingerie salesman]

[this bedroom set was $350 from a thrift store. The bed lights up underneath the platform and the headboard.]

[glass tile for 2.19 a sq yd from Hakatai tile]

last but not least- the final installment of our bklyn designs 2008 coverage. you can see part 1 right here and part 2 right here.

the pieces above and below are from john, marcel and max at produce design. i was positively giddy about their sturdy wood and metal pot rack. if i had room (and stronger walls) i would be saving up for that pronto. produce design also introduced a gorgeous picnic table with gold-colored metal on the sides that would be perfect for any modern outdoor lunch. click here for more information on produce design.

the lotta jansdotter booth is always a fun one- i bought those little teacups behind lotta’s head and had to drag myself away before i bought half of the other goodies she had on display. the new bags and pencil cases were particularly hard to resist. click here for more information (and to shop) on lotta jansdotter.

new pendant lighting from donna brady at re-surface design…

noah prince’s wooden lighting at the phosphoria booth was a really, really lovely. the wooden lamp bases and shades really gave each piece an incredible warmth.

new cement and wood furniture from eric weil at oso industries.

porcelain ceramics from lois aronow…

colorful pillows from tina at laidback home…

beautiful jewelry from lauren wolf- her cute shoes were too sweet not to photograph against the patterned floor.

seating from brooklyn’s ecosytems design…

miniature and full-sized furniture from designer takeshi miyakawa.

speaking of natalie wright’s wallpaper designs- here is her latest piece (above) with flavor paper, along with a sneak peek of the other gorgeous wallpaper designs flavor paper will be debuting at icff this weekend. if you’re at the show drop by booth #1739, or stay tuned next week for our coverage of every row at every show. [thanks, jon!]

tomorrow afternoon i’ll be posting our 2008 d*s scholarship finalists! after we introduce each candidate, you guys will have one week to choose your favorites. one of your favorites from last year’s scholarship was natalie wright, who took home the second place prize in 2007. after her scholarship win natalie connected with the gang at flavor paper and this weekend she’ll be at icff as part of the flavor paper booth debuting her new line of wallpaper! in addition to that exciting launch, natalie sent over some great images that were part of her thesis work. i love the colors and patterns she works with- they’re so fresh and bold. want more information on natalie’s work? just click here. [thanks, natalie!]

these lovely new tea towels and tote bags are from emma at showpony design. emma will be showing as part of the designboom mart at icff this weekend. until then you can find more information on emma’s work at showpony right here.

[UPDATE: sorry for the slow loading this morning- our server is having some issues and they should be resolved shortly]

lovely new patterns from mike lowery at argyle academy- mike is represented by lila rogers if you’re interested in purchasing his work.