One thing that can certainly be said of Versace is that the iconic fashion house has stayed true to its roots through every venture, despite changes in trends, the economy, and creative direction. So it was no surprise that the home design team turned back the clock when tackling the direction of this year's fall collection. According to team member Laura Varani, the current collection is made up primarily of pieces "renewed from past collections, updated for today," which is certainly not to say they've run out of ideas. The aesthetic of the collection runs the gamut, from quintessentially Italian, classic pieces to pure modernity, with even a little macabre thrown in -- though much of it seemed like scaled-up dollhouse furniture. Pieces once considered too darling for actual living settings (think silver rococo couches with billowy pink cushions) beckoned to be sat upon, and in their "real life" size, made perfect sense.

Like the name suggests, the Fendi-sponsored Craft Punk expo during Milan Design Week gave its participants a chance to get crafty and show the punk side behind the classic facade of the iconic design house. The ten young designers from around the world were given a slew of archival materials from Fendi -- a huge selection of textiles, leathers, and other odds and ends to construct a piece of art based on their individual talents. Each designer had to complete all construction as a live "performance" of sorts as attendees watched. As the artists went to work, all sorts of glitzy Fendi ephemera flew around the room, and after what seemed the ninetieth time around the place, I decided upon my top three.

Like many (ok, most) New Yorkers, I've sacrificed the luxury of an amply sized abode for a mouse-eaten closet solely to preserve my Manhattan-dwelling status. No matter that my walls are bare and walking around barefoot yields a podiatric porcupine of splinters, retiring to my Manhattan apartment at the end of each day (or early each morning) is a craved reassurance that I belong in this great city.
And then there are the Italians. The same people responsible for wet dreams and clogged arteries really do have it all, defying that old New York myth that you can't land the perfect job, apartment, and spouse. Because regardless of their marital and employment status, they'll always live in a palace of their own making. Like any major metropolis' mass housing, their toilet may be in their living room, but chances are it's made of malachite and surrounded in Bisazza mosaic tiling.

This has been a year of bigs for Mr. Armani, what with the opening of Armani 5th Avenue, the exponential success of Emporio Armani underwear, and now, with more subdivisions than General Motors, the man whose eponymous lines are responsible for designing everything but the kitchen sink has done just that -- Armani Casa has entered la cocina here at Salon del Mobile.

At this year's Salone del Mobile design week, Milan saw its usual contenders in cutting-edge home design -- the classics, the contemporaries, and now the couturiers. Fashion designers crossing into the domestic arena is no new concept, but what happens when a designer who thrives solely on concept makes such a move? We're about to find out, as mystery man himself Martin Margiela unveils his eponymous line of stuff for the home.

Because we live in a universe where some measurements can't be precise enough, some Dutch industrial designer named Ivo Vos decided it'd be a good idea to make a set of brunch accessories that place emphasis on the degree to which a perfect, symmetrical brunch is achieved. There's a bread slicer that puts the bread in direct aim of a vise and a knife-holding bracket; a toaster that "fires" the toast directly at a plate; flatware with a graph paper imprint on it (to align it perfectly); a contraption (is there any other word for it?) that measures the exact amount of milk and sugar that would go into a prospective cup of coffee; and most awesomely, perhaps, a teapot that doesn't measure how much liquid you pour, but instead, measures the height at which you pour the tea from.

Apropos of nothing, this is the hot link being passed around the internets today -- 20 classic hip hop album covers recreated using Legos (via Format Mag). We don't know what the inspiration for this was, or how, exactly, they pulled it off so well, but we do know this: graphic design students, this is the kind of thing that will absolutely get you noticed. Maybe not a job, but definitely noticed. Our favorite of the covers pictured above; find the rest of them here.

After a two-season stint as a judge on Bravo’s Top Design and nearly 10 years as editor-in-chief at Elle Decor, Margaret Russell tells us that great style can be learned, real-world experience is priceless, and Anne Slowey’s Stylista gets a thumbs up.

You've been an editor for a long time, but has the Bravo blog been your first real blogging experience?
Yes, I did it for season one also, and it's very different writing for a blog. I think it’s interesting that it's so casual, and that so many more people comment. They feel like it's a personal message to them, and they sort of pick apart everything you say. I love reading design and style blogs, so we tend to be happier, nicer and more positive than some of the angry bloggers who watch reality TV shows.

Having placed his signature touch on everything from the interiors of hotels like the Delano and the Mondrian to toothbrushes and motorcycles, Philippe Starck, France’s Zen master of the modern, diversifies into New York rental apartments, underwear and the first sightseeing shuttle into outer space.

Oh, how I long for the Luddite playground days of monkey bars, see-saws, and slides, when throwing sand in someone else's jello and then punching them in the face was considered a high point. But alas, we're living in the future, where playgrounds are apparently being constructed out of polygons. Developed by WHITEvoid, the "Polygon Playground" is a "large scale interactive lounge object" where up to "40 persons at a time can walk, sit and explore its multifaceted surfaces. The installation features a software aided 3D surface projection system to cover the object with a seamless 360 degree projection mapping. An additional sensory system detects people's positions and proximity." Check it out in action, replete with techy-new age music, just to emphasize the futuristic.