I'm a sucker for smart design, which is probably why I love built-in-anything so much. Built-in beds for kids are especially awesome because not only do they maximize space, but they add extra storage as well. What's not to love about that?

See 5 more fantastic built-in beds for kids below:

Are you a stamp geek? I don’t mean a collector -- come on, that’s just weird. I mean, when you get to the post office, do you find yourself drifting over to the board of new stamps and going, “ooh ... Simpsons! I need those!” even though, in this age of online billing and Evites, you almost never actually get through a page of stamps?

I am. And the latest stamp-fest is made for me: it celebrates pretty, pretty industrial design -- pretty appliances, fancy furniture, and classic tchotchkes. Do you think these designs are stamp-worthy? What would you nominate for the next round, if you could?

Here's a really fun activity I did with my stepkids that you can crib for your family. There's an online art project called "YoungMe/NowMe" (soon to be a book, $10.17 at Amazon), started by online artist/comedian ZeFrank, that shows family photos in a "then and now" style. Another project is called "Like Mom, Like Dad," and as you can imagine, you take an iconic photo of your parent and stick yourself in the same pose.

It's marvelously addicting to look at the photos and incredibly effective as a nostalgia-inducer. And as my family recently found out, it's a sweet and funny way to spend an afternoon, with the bonus of giving you a great art project to put on your walls!

This nursery created by Laura has such a comfortable feel -- it's almost as if it's a room I've visited before. I'm thinking it could be because of the classic blue and red color scheme. Or maybe the use of vintage objects to decorate the space.

Whatever it is, it's the exact vibe I want to give people when they first enter a room. See more details from this nursery below.

I don’t know about you, but I have about 40 kabillion bookmarks that I can never find when I need them. Even when I organize them into folders like “crafts I want to make,” “apartment ideas,” “cute baby gifts,” and “amazing art,” I end up forgetting where I put stuff.

So when my craft-ninja friend Lisa told me about her favorite new procrastination tool, I threw several deadlines out the window and headed over. It’s called Pinterest, and it’s going to revolutionize your design life.

Our toilet seat broke. Yeah, no, go ahead, make all the jokes, I’ll be here when you get back… was that fun? Anyway. So we needed a new one, and I hate bugging my landlord about stuff like this – besides, it seemed like the perfect excuse to buy something goofy. I went to our neighborhood Lowe’s and planned to buy the silliest toilet seat they had, but – disappointment! They only had un-silly ones!
 
Why wouldn’t everyone get a crazy-looking toilet seat? I mean, it’s a bathroom. You poop in there. Anything to distract from that has to be good, right? Anyway, this led to way too much time trolling for the funniest toilet seats on the Internet, and I had to make that work for me, so I turned it into a post – for you. You’re welcome.
 
Now, help me pick a winner:

Mom Jamie is one of those people who has their interior design style figured out. No matter what room in the house she works her magic in, it always looks effortless.

When it came time to put together a nursery for her son Hank, she went with her instincts and they didn't fail her. She gathered inspired bits around the house and re-purposed vintage finds to create this inviting space. See more of the amazing details, including a great chalkboard wall, below.

The winner from 2010 (but I like it!)We moms sacrifice so much for our kids. Our flat tummies. Our long, unkempt hair, our sanity. And ... our couches.

I didn’t think about this until my nephew was toilet-training and spent most of his time at home naked and often ... leaky. My sister traded in her beloved, comfortable, vast “couchboat” for a stripped-down version that was big, brown, microfiber, stain-resistant, and pee-proof. It’s the latter-day version of our grandma’s plastic-covered couch (squeak, squeak, farrrrrtnoise).

But I had no idea there were so many couches out there that don't just repel stains -- they're repellent. Revolting enough to sustain almost 10 years' worth of contests!