Sprucing Things Up With UncommonGoods

This year for our anniversary, Brad and I decided to forego our traditional long-weekend trip and stay home to take care of the massive DIY project that is our house. I know, I know . . . maybe that sounds super-lame, but I was actually really excited at the prospect of crossing some things off our list that we haven’t had time for lately due to our busy schedules.

As I mentioned in my previous post, we’ve had more than enough outdoor projects to keep us preoccupied, but I’ve really been itching to personalize the inside of our house. In particular, this means incorporating more Michigan and Detroit-themed items, something we’ve I’ve spent lots of time daydreaming about while browsing gift shops, antique shops, online shops . . . you name it.

Interestingly enough, in the midst of a mini “I-don’t-know-what-else-we-can-do-to-make-our-home-feel-more-Michigan-y” brain drain, I was contacted by UncommonGoods about trying some items from their anniversary (view here) and wedding (view here) collections. Founded in 1999, this Brooklyn, New York-based company features unique and handmade items that are perfect for gift-giving or decorating (great for wedding season and my own current interior design dilemmas). Browsing the site, I was thrilled to see tons of Michigan-themed and Michigan-created products that conveyed the special/quirky/cool vibe we’d been looking for. Excited to find something that would fit into our new design challenge, I sat down with Brad and we set forth to pick out a belated anniversary treat for our home.

We ended up finding the perfect coffee table adornment from the personalized wedding collection–a set of customized marble coasters, based on a real (old) topographical map of Detroit! Designed to focus on a map of whichever address you choose, these coasters provide a perfect memento of a first home or other special location. Since we wanted a little piece of downtown and the river, we requested that the coasters and caption focus on the area around The Spirit of Detroit . . . and I think the end result looks awesome! Definitely a nice addition to our Michigan-inspired abode. 🙂 This set would also be a great gift to take to a summer wedding or bridal shower–just customize with the couple’s home address, and voila! A conversation-starter for sure, and special enough to be kept around for years.

(Find more personalized wedding gifts here, or browse UncommonGoods for personalized anniversary gifts here).

How would you personalize this set for yourself or a friend? Would you choose your home or another special place? Let me know in the comments! 🙂

*Note: I received a complimentary product for the above post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.