Little Green Notebook

Custom Black Out Roman Shades

2012-01-30T05:30:00.000-05:00

Every decorator has a favorite thing to see installed. I think mine is a toss up between new pillows (they really can transform a room!) and new window treatments. I was so happy with the way Joanna's roman shades just transformed her bedroom!

The white linen fabric with the cheery yellow trim has such a brightening effect on the room! The shades are also super functional. You know I am a big fan of making shades out of mini blinds and also glueing fabric on top of matchstick blinds. Both are great methods, but for this project I knew we needed something a little more permanent and hard-wearing, so I had my seamstress make the blinds. We had them blackout lined, which, beyond looking great and giving the linen a nice weight/drape, it's so nice for blocking out the city lights at night or the morning sun which always comes too early for us parents!

Custom shades are not inexpensive (that's why the DIY method can be great to keep around for some projects), but if you are using the shades every single day, I think the extra cost is justified. Joanna lives in a prewar apartment and her windows are extra, extra long so the cost was a little more than standard windows.

I had these exact shades priced out at the Shade Store for comparison to my work room, and they quoted me $650 per shade. Yikes! My seamstress did BOTH shades for several hundred less than that. So again, ask around. If you look on craigslist for a great seamstress, you can get custom work for a lot less than you might expect.

PS The mustard yellow vintage trim completely makes these shades for me. We bought the trim at JEM in Tribeca for just a few dollars a yard. They still have some left if you'd like to stop by and snag some for yourself!

Josef Frank Ceylon Fabric Pillow

2012-01-27T05:30:00.000-05:00

Joanna and I both share a love of Josef Frank textiles. The designs are so gorgeous! But the fabric is really hard to find and it is extremely expensive. We splurged on one yard of the Ceylon print at Just Scandinavian in Tribeca.

We used this down blend insert from Pottery Barn Teen because the dimensions were perfect for one long pillow on Joanna and Alex's queen size bed (most body pillows would have been too long). I really love the look of a single pillow on a bed. It's so unfussy - and it was a great way to maximize our yard of Josef Frank fabric.

We used black piping on the edges for a bit of contrast.

Here are some affordable fabrics with a Josef Frank vibe that would also look pretty and graphic on a big pillow.

Brunschwig & Fils Nissa

Buttery Soft Camel Leather

2012-01-26T13:52:00.003-05:00

Today got away from me somehow, but I wanted to pop in to say the Chesterfield arrived! It's lovely and so comfortable and makes me super excited for those 'we're-staying-in-our-apartment-longer-than-expected' changes. Can't wait to share.

Bedding in Joanna's Room

2012-01-25T05:30:00.000-05:00

When Joanna and I were discussing bedding, we decided something mostly white was going to be the best choice for this room. I almost always prefer white bedding - it's just so fresh and clean-looking. I'm crazy over the punchy simplicity of Olatz bedding, but I'm pretty sure my first car cost less than a set of Olatz sheets and a duvet! Jenna Lyons had a lovely coral red Olatz duvet that was our inspiration for making our own.

I bought a very discounted white Frette duvet at an outlet and a yard of brushed cotton in a lovely tomato red color and asked my fabric work room to piece together to duvet with a 5" border similar to the inspiration photos. I asked them to wash the red fabric before sewing to prevent any color bleeding when washing.

It is super easy to find a professional seamstress on craigslist that will do work just like this for not a lot of money (be sure to ask for photos of their work!). I could have pieced and sewed the border myself I think, but I ran out of time and I am pretty sure the labor here was less than $100, so it was a good thing to hire out.

For less than $150 Joanna got a custom duvet cover that provides a gorgeous, graphic punch and boasts a lovely thread count! I think that's a great purchase.

Layered Turkish Rugs in Joanna's Bedroom

2012-01-24T05:30:00.001-05:00

We were faced with a bit of a challenge with flooring in Alex and Joanna's bedroom. Their room has a bump out and a radiator and other trickiness that made choosing a rug a little hard. We wanted the room to be bright and folksy, so when I ran across this eBay seller, we bought two medium sized Turkish kilims for less than $200 each (including shipping!).

The rugs are old and came a little dirty and very mildly smoky smelling (like if the doors and windows were closed for more than an hour, you'd start to smell a little something). It was faint, but it was there, and Joanna and I both felt like it was necessary to get the rugs professionally cleaned and sanitized. I've used Big Apple Carpet a bunch of times and could not be more pleased with their work and customer service. Cleaning the rugs was not expensive and they came back brighter than ever and completely smell and dirt-free. Totally worth the extra step and cost.

In Joanna's room we layered and even angled the rugs (normally a HUGE no-no for me), which helped cover a lot of floor space in the bump out near the closet area. Since we were going for that bohemian, folksy look, the layering/angling works. It also helps that the patterns of the two rugs are sort of similar - it looks like a design decision instead of a making-it-work thing. You know?

Have you ever pulled off the layered rug look in your home? If you're looking for some well-priced options, I would check out this Turkish rug seller. He has lots of smaller pieces that would look great in a kitchen. I just bought another one last week for a teeny tiny bedroom redo I'm working on and can't wait to share later.

PS I just got word that my Chesterfield is getting delivered tomorrow night! I told a friend I'd tweet a photo of the sofa when it arrives, so follow me on twitter if you want a little sneak peek.

Joanna's Bedroom

2012-01-23T05:30:00.001-05:00

It was so fun decorating Joanna Goddard's living room and nursery last year, I jumped at the chance to work with her and her super-cool husband, Alex, on their West Village apartment's master bedroom. The room before we started was lovely and simple, but Joanna told me she really wanted to add more color and energy to the space, which made sense because she works in there a lot.

I thought I'd share all the after photos here and through out the week I'll share details on the DIY projects and sources. Come back in a few hours for info on Joanna's rugs and our inspiration starting out point.

Alt Summit 2012

2012-01-22T20:12:00.005-05:00

Just a quick post to say - Alt was A-mazing. I was so inspired by the keynote speakers (like Pilar Guzman and Deborah Needleman(!!!) and Ben from Pinterest), but I especially loved seeing new and old friends. Gabrielle from Design Mom, one of the geniuses behind Alt, is my hero. I don't know how she manages to make that conference better and better every year! It probably has something to do with her unending talent and generosity. Love that woman and love that conference!

(PS Here are my notes from last year's panel on Growing a Blogging Community. I'll see if I can put together some thoughts from this year's talk on blogging and owning a design business)

Me and my assistant, Colleen (from There Comes A Yes)

Chesterfield Sofas

2012-01-20T02:03:00.005-05:00

Hi guys! Alt Summit has been mid-blowing, like it is every year. I spoke with Emily from HGTV, Kirsten from Simply Grove and Morgan from the Brick House and it was so, SO fun. Love those ladies.

In between chatting with bloggers and tweeting about Alt, I've been negotiating with drivers from Uship.com to pick up a beautiful camel Chesterfield sofa in North Carolina and drop it off to me in NY. Have you ever used U Ship? So far, so good. I got a bid for $150, which seems more than fair considering gas prices.

I really lucked out and found this sofa on eBay for a fraction of the cost of new Chesterfields. The buttery camel colored leather is *exactly* what I was looking for. I couldn't believe my luck!

Chesterfield sofas are SO classic to me! I can't wait for ours to arrive early next week. I think even Michael's jazzed about this purchase. I love how masculine AND girly these pieces can be. And the broken in leather? It's so pretty and it's basically kid proof!

I'll be sure to report once the sofa comes in, but in the meantime, here are a couple more Chesterfield inspiration shots...

Tired but Happy

2012-01-17T02:27:00.002-05:00

Whew! What a weekend! I've been working non-stop trying to finish an install before leaving for Alt, which I am unbelievably excited for! Last year was crazy fun.

Some of the left over flowers from the client photo shoot today. I love using citrus leaves in floral arrangements lately!

Tomorrow morning I'll hop on an early plane to SLC for the conference. I'm speaking this year on blogging about interiors with Kirsten , Emily and Morgan. We're each going to focus on a different aspect of the interior design world as it relates to blogging. I think it's gonna be good - I'm especially excited for the Q&A section though. That's always when the real fun starts! :)

Who else is coming to Alt?

Preserved Boxwoods

2012-01-13T09:43:00.002-05:00

I am a HUGE fan of preserved plants. They don't look waxy like fake plants do because they are actually real. I read online that you can preserve your own plants, but it sounds like a messy project with glycerine involved.

Restoration Hardware actually carries my favorite (and most reasonably priced) preserved boxwood globes. They come in all different sizes and all in these simple and classic concrete-looking planters.

I have the smallest globe (5" tall- in the first photo) sitting on our entry console. I usually have fresh flowers here too and they look so pretty sitting next to each other. Like most New Yorkers, we don't get a lot of light at the back of our apartment, so my boxwood gives me a little punch of everlasting green life.

I use them in a lot of my client projects too. They are just so easy to care for! No watering is needed at all. And if they start looking a little dusty you can just mist them with a water bottle.

The Ultimate Luxury: D. Porthault Linens

2012-01-12T05:30:00.001-05:00

Jackie O, Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly and Coco Chanel all used D. Porthault bed linens. They are uber luxurious, and come with a price tag to match.

The company has a big white sale twice a year and the next one starts this coming Monday, the 16th. I've been dying to go and just see if there's anything even remotely affordable. After all, 40-80% off of very expensive = still expensive.

As if I needed fuel to add to the fire, Lonny posted this image on their blog yesterday, and I'm dying over that pattern! Where is my money tree when I need it?

Spied some more D. Porthault in MS Living. Also, is that my rug?!?

The quality of D. Porthault sheets, towels, cases and coverlets is supposed to be unrivaled, but if you like them just for the cute floral patterns, you might try checking out Urban Outfitters for lots of cute, very affordable bedding.

Lonny

WSJ

Lonny

Elle Decor

Experimenting with Nailhead Trim Patterns

2012-01-11T05:30:00.001-05:00

I found some really pretty solid brass nail head trim at my local Mom and Pop hardware store. It came in two different sizes, which was exciting! I can't wait to play around with some designs for a DIY project I'm working on. Here are a couple of inspiration images:

via Design Manifest

Cool DIY project HERE

BHG

Southern Accents

So many possibilities! I really love how textural the nailhead can look. For me, great decorating is all about these kinds of details.

PS Another really amazing nailhead trim project HERE.

Cornice Board Above the Bed

2012-01-10T05:30:00.001-05:00

Trina, who writes the blog A Country Farmhouse, used my pelmet tutorial to make a cornice for her master bedroom.

I LOVE this restful, serene look for a bedroom. It's easy to think an all-white bedroom would be sort of sterile, but it's so soft and lovely. Wouldn't you love to crawl into bed here and take a long nap? :) Great job Trina!

Beni Ourain Moroccan Rugs

2012-01-09T05:30:00.001-05:00

Beni Ourain rugs are everywhere these days. They're so soft and so pretty and they have this really great organic vibe since all of the patterns are unique and not usually perfectly geometric. They can cost an arm and a leg (even on eBay), but lucky for some of us, West Elm has come to the rescue with a very affordable version for sale here. We're using this one in a client's nursery and I think it will be perfect. Cozy but still sophisticated (which sounds great to me for a nursery).

It wasn't quite in the budget, but I also loved this honeycomb pattern from Clayton Gray Home. The really nice thing about this one and the West Elm reproduction rugs is they come in standard sizes. The traditional Moroccan rugs, while amazing little works of art in their own right, are often smaller and longer than what our rooms usually need. So unless you're layering the rug over a large seagrass or sisal, it feels a little impractical to pay $7k for a tiny rug.

They sure are gorgeous though...

Trad Home

Jonathan Adler

Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles

Living Etc

Palmer Weiss

Pottery Barn also made a Beni reproduction a few years back called the Tangiers rug. It sometimes shows up on Craigslist and eBay. I used it in Joanna's living room here.

Velvet Upholstery

2012-01-06T05:30:00.002-05:00

There's some sort of spring situation happening with our sofa that needs repair. It might be that our couch is just too good at being a trampoline substitute (how can I tell the girls no when I don't give them a backyard to play in?!). Those springs have taken years of play from my girlies, so I won't blame one or two of them for surrendering.

I haven't talked to my upholsterer yet about the fix, but I'm secretly hoping it will be an excuse to change out the fabric. The Sunbrella velvet has been really amazing these past two years or so. Stains wipe up really well. And the fabric is soft and super comfortable. But I'm ready for a change again. (what's new)

I'm sold on the idea of choosing velvet again. It's just so soft, and if a rogue juice sippy makes it over to the living room and spills on the couch, the liquid just sort of beads up on top for about 30 seconds before starting to soak in. I call it the golden window of opportunity. Cotton and linen velvets are awesomely kid-friendly.

I've let myself get excited by the idea of almost every color velvet under the rainbow. You know, I can honestly say there isn't a color I don't love or wouldn't ever use in a room in some way. After some serious thought yesterday I've nailed down the color options to:

Rusty peachy orange (technical term)

Miles Redd

Pinky coral (though not this pink. The sample I have is a little more orange.)

Charcoal. Pretty neutral and hides a multitude of stains.

MSL

Mint. (the obsession continues!)

Kelly green (my easy console DIY convinced me that green is a good choice for that room! I have new plans for the tv anyway. Ch-ch-ch-changes!)

Palmer Weiss

Which color is your favorite?

Good Hotel Bedding

2012-01-05T05:30:00.000-05:00

I will never tire of classic embroidered linens. These below from Schweitzer Linen are really amazing. The red is clear and bright (avoid those muddy rusts at Pottery Barn!) and the triple line is just perfection.

This photo is from West Elm's recent interview of decorator Nick Olsen (of Miles Redd/Domino fame). He is so gosh darn talented. Check out the interview here.

Room Tours: Kristin Lutz's Living Room

2012-01-04T05:30:00.000-05:00

Kristin Lutz is a decorator based out of Traverse City, MI. I love these photos of her living room she shared with me. Enjoy!

This is my favorite Oly Studio couch that I got at half price 5 years ago. Now it's on their site for 3x as much. Still love it and have recovered the cushion once in Osbourne and Little fabric. The fun pillows were purchased on etsy.

This was a flea market chair recovered in a david hicks for Lee Jofa fabric. The lucite table was $125 at a local resale store.

Here is my other sofa with its Etsy pillows. I always keep all the big pieces neutral and change out the accessories to keep the look current.

Scalloped lucite side table is from The Paris apartment website, which is chock full of inspiration. And I was just at the Viceroy in Santa Monica, so I am obsessed with greyhound statues. Kelly Wearstler is my design idol and this year, I'll see and stay in 3 of her hotels. They are amazing.

I love this Greek key side table!

This is the view from our kitchen...

I love my sconces!!

I bought the hide rug online. And the coffee table is from HSN by Nate Berkus.

I filled this little niche with a flea market cabinet I painted white and wallpapered the doors with a Thibaut pattern.

Thanks for having me, Jenny!

Room Tours: A Noelle Wright Living Room

2012-01-03T05:30:00.000-05:00

Noelle Wright is a super talented decorator based out of Salt Lake. I LOVE this room she submitted for my call for Living Room tours! Here's Noelle, sharing all the pretty details!

This is one of my favorites rooms yet!! The family that I did this for are good friends of ours, so of course it had to be perfect. They are young and hip and he heads the company Skullcandy, so I wanted it to have a very unique and edgy vibe that represented them and their lifestyle. This family entertains like crazy...so flow and the placement of furniture was crucial. They also have two little girls and one on the way, so the trick was making it beautiful and practical all at the same time. To be honest, I was really sad when I finished this project, I had such a great time doing it!!

Here are some pictures of the front room.

I love this view of the room, it captures all the unique details that make this room so great! Although we started with a clean slate, I wanted to make sure that it felt like the pieces that we used felt unique and eclectic. Every detail came with a lot of thought! It is a melting pot of styles with pieces found at Anthropologie, HomeGoods, local contemporary boutiques, custom made pieces and local vintage stores...to name a few, to create the overall effect. One thing my client was set on having was a zebra hide. That became my starting point, and was fun...because I could add color to the black and white. We also added all kinds of fun tables to provide a place to set down drinks for all their entertaining.

I had this chair custom made. I love custom made items because you get exactly what you want, it's uniquely yours, and in most cases doesn't cost more than buying it. Isn't the classic houndstooth paired with the sleek lines of this chair great?

The throw pillows and cushions in this room are also custom made. I love an unexpected mix of fabrics!! Fabric and texture are so crucial to a room. The raspberry color is a little unexpected, and so fabulous... one of my favorite parts of the room. I tried to create symmetry in the room by using similar shapes and flow lines, the petals on the pillow and the petals on the mirror. This creates a needed balance.

We used an unusual combination of chairs in this room because we wanted to! I wanted this room to represent my client. Rules are made to be broken.

Don't be afraid to mix it up!

All photos taken by Ashlee Raubach

These old books and urn add an unexpected touch that I just love.

List of Sources

Sofa: Bob Williams Mitchell Gold

Rug: Safaveih

Zebra Hide: Horchow

Black and White artwork/photography: Roma

Coffee tables: Pottery Barn

Chests: Hooker furniture

Lamps: Circa Lighting

Wall Color: Bennington Beige by Benjamin Moore

Mirror above fireplace: Anthropologie

Lotus mirror: available to the trade

Houndstooth Chair: custom made. Houndstooth fabric, available to the trade

Black Accent Chair: Horchow

Cushion on chair: custom made with Robert Allen fabric available to the trade

All Pillows: custom made with Robert Allen and Beacon Hill fabric available to the trade

Mosaic occasional table: Plantation Design

Horn-leg table: ZGallerie

Round Cigar Table: Worlds Away

An All-Time Favorite

2012-01-02T05:30:00.001-05:00

I've always loved seeing images of Ivanka Trump's old apartment floating around the web. Her home was featured in both In Style and House and Garden in 2007. I hunted down the old In Style magazine on eBay that had some of my favorite shots from her place. It's so fun to see the details!

I wish there were more photos of this stripey Empire sofa on the left here. And I'm loving the small gold detail on the lamp shade! Gorgeous.

Ivanka says in the article that she decorated the apartment by herself, but I remembered reading in the House and Garden issue that (one of my very favorite decorators) Emma Jane Pilkington did it? Either way, the apartment is beautiful. Classic, but young.

If Ivanka didn't use a decorator, she sure has an amazing eye for details. Look at the design on her brushed silk curtain panels.

I love this room with its library ladder. The blue is so pretty. I've seen other photos of the space and the color is actually much deeper and brighter in reality.

I love the punches of red in each room. Red is such a great, energizing color when used in tempered doses.

The bedroom looks pretty chill from this shot...

But then, BAM! Check out the dresser/mirror/lamp combo down at the foot of the bed. SO GOOD!!

(House and Garden)

Her dining room in In Style was pretty enough. I liked the turquoise chandelier, though it seemed small in this shot...

But this version of her dining room is A-mazing. The chandelier fits right from this angle and the scale of the art is much better here. She framed a vintage Hermes scarf.

House and Garden

(via Flickr, not sure of the original source)

Here's a close up of that super crazy-good lamp with the red lacquered shade. Maybe she has a pair of these lamps and one still lives in the bedroom? And check out the ribbon on the bottom of that armless sofa. Home girl loves her trims. Almost every upholstered piece in the house is trimmed out which makes me think Emma Jane definitely helped decorate.

Ivanka's home pulls off my favorite look so very well - traditional furniture, modern art, quirky accessories, great lamps. It's a fool-proof recipe, really. I mean, look at this Napoleon - great colors and what a conversation starter! And how beautiful are those crystal candle sticks? Such a lovely little collection.

Don't you agree this apartment will still look fresh 20 years from now? It's a favorite for sure.

And we mean it...

2011-12-30T05:30:00.001-05:00

lots of love,

Jenny, Michael, Gracie, Claire and Evelyn

We're Back!!

2011-12-29T22:55:00.005-05:00

Hi friends!

We're back in New York and wading through a round of the flu. I guess it's to be expected after all that airplane time and the stress of the holidays. Despite the fevers and chills, I'm happy to be home and sort of working again.

Isn't this week SO EXCITING!? I loooooove the New Year. It feels so fresh and so full of possibilities. A wonderful excuse to celebrate accomplishments and an opportunity to plan for the future!

We're just hanging out with some friends for NYE, but I'm still hoping to do some little party decorations. My assistant Colleen and I rounded up some of our favorite New Years decor ideas here.

Also, here's a little tip - the next two weeks are AWESOME for thrifting. People are cleaning out their homes to make room for the new Christmas acquisitions and there are treasures all over the place. Even though I didn't have a pound to spare in our jam-packed suitcases, I did some thrifting in Mesa before we left town and HERE'S what I found.

All I want for Christmas...

2011-12-22T05:30:00.001-05:00

...is for this vacation to never end. It's been the perfect mix of adventurous and relaxing.

I also wouldn't turn down a few more design books to add to my library. I tried to be really thoughtful while putting together a list of these favorites to share with you guys (you know, in case you need some really last minute gift ideas), but I feel like I'm missing some special ones. Do you have any very favorite design books you'd love to get or give?

Check out my list HERE.

DIY Leather Tassel Keychain

2011-12-19T05:30:00.001-05:00

I'm forever losing my keys in my bag, so I decided it was time to make a keychain. I love the look of leather tassels on keychains - it feels expensive and chic. Luckily you can make your own for less than $10, even when using really high quality products. Here's how:

If you're here in the city, JEM Fabrics in Tribeca has an awesome pile of leather to hunt through. It's only $6 per square foot, and there are sooooo many colors and textures to choose from. Also, you can easily find leather scraps for sale online for just a few dollars. You'll need about a ruler's worth of leather for each tassel. I would steer clear of suede or super thin leathers.

You'll also want to grab a pretty key chain for your new tassel. I'm obsessed with brass, so I found a solid brass option at Gracious Home for about $5 that I really love.

Mine is a trigger snap so it cost an extra dollar or two, but this one is also a great option.

To make the actual tassel, just cut a piece of leather into a 3"x7" rectangle, though you can make yours as short or as long as you like. Then using a heavy duty scissor (I used kitchen shears), cut fringe into the leather, leaving about half an inch uncut. My fringe pieces were teeny tiny and I totally recommend going that route rather the fat, stiff widths. Try to be uniform in the widths, but it's not a huge big deal if the fringe is not all exactly the same size.

Next, cut a 1/2"x3" piece of thicker leather. This will be your tassel's tab top. I used a darker, contrasting leather for some color interest.

To assemble the tassel, simply fold the tab top piece in half and glue the very ends with Magnatac to create a tab or loop for your key ring. Then lay down a thin layer of Magnatac on the inside of your fringed leather. Tightly roll your tab top inside the fringed leather. You'll want the tab to be sticking out about 1/2"-3/4".

Keep lightly gluing while tightly rolling.

I used a scrap of kelly green leather to make a little belt trim for my tassel.

I just cut a little piece and glued it around the tassel. I love the pop of color, but it also really helps to cover up any inconsistencies in my fringe-cutting.

I tapped in a mini brass nail head to secure the ends of the rolled leather (you'll want to use the really small nails that are just over 1/4" diameter - this site sells them, but I would check your local hardware store first). I love how the little shiny bit helps the tassel look less DIY.

And that's it! This takes only about 15 minutes to make. I've been enjoying mine for a couple weeks now and at least a dozen people have asked where I bought my tassel keychain. Success!

Jill Malek Wallpaper

2011-12-16T05:30:00.000-05:00

When I went to visit Corrente last week, I fell in love with their back wall. It was papered in a really cool, abstract patterned wallpaper by Jill Malek.

Isn't it pretty? The colors are so soft and in person it has this really lovely hand-painted quality. It's like little floating light bubbles.

PS Don't forget to enter the wallet give away here and like Corrente on FB for another chance to win!

Happy weekend! xoxo

Vacations Rule

2011-12-15T05:30:00.000-05:00

I love being a city girl, but there is just something so grounding about being outside all day, no buildings in sight.

We're in heaven.

John Loecke

2011-12-14T02:49:00.004-05:00

I recently stumbled across the work of John Loecke, a Brooklyn-based design firm - and I'm in LOVE!

We all know I like to use color in decorating, but I also think there should be balance of neutral tones and also plenty of vintage/antique pieces. When everything is new and matchy-matchy, the color becomes garish and tacky. These guys nailed it. I mean, check out that pink door! Amazing.

I love Zuber hand-painted wallpapers so much. And I wish I could copy the garden stool with ginger jar planter idea but that would get knocked over in about eight seconds in my house! :) Maybe I could epoxy them together??

This shot is from an interior of an armoire. Love the orange.

One of the only times I've liked furniture on the diagonal! Purple perfection.

Who needs big box store decor when there are vintage beauties all around to be had? Let's make our homes interesting and unique.

What is happening on this headboard here? Custom embroidery maybe? Or maybe a found textile made into a headboard? I looooove it!

Custom banquettes verging on mini-sectionals are such a great solution for townhouses.

Holy geode in the fireplace! SO COOL! And I am definitely going to copy them and start a little collection of busts.

This shot gives me heart palpitations. Those DRAPES. The artwork!!! And whatever's going on with that console table. The color and pattern play is genius.

I'm feeling like this room must be done with stencils and that the border is just paint. I really love it. That rug is really cool too. Such a good reminder that if every piece in a room is beautiful on it's own, the whole look will be amazing together regardless if the colors match - it's the collected look.

Most images are from here, but don't forget to check out John Loecke's portfolio site and blog.

Vintage Scarf Pillow

2011-12-13T04:30:00.001-05:00

Last weekend I found this amazing vintage Gucci silk scarf at the flea market. It had been ingeniously sewn into a pillow.

I am so inspired by the way they folded up the corners and sewed in a zipper diagonally. SO great, right?

The colors in the pattern are so incredible in person, and of course I love the drafting tools!

I want to pick up another pretty vintage scarf or two and try to make a pillow in the same way. I did a round up of some pretty scarves on etsy that caught my eye. Check them out here.

(PS Please send happy thoughts my way! Today we're flying to Hawaii with SEVEN kids under the age of six. Heaven help us, and grant our fellow passengers plenty of patience (and good noise-canceling headphones!).

Giveaway: TWO Corrente Wallets

2011-12-12T03:30:00.003-05:00

On the Lower East Side is an adorable little shop on Orchard, just south of Houston, called Corrente, that sells all sorts of lovely handbags, clutches and wallets.

All of the Corrente products are made locally in Brooklyn from the highest quality materials.

I got to stop in to the shop last week and see all their beautiful pieces in person.

The Italian leather they use is like buttah. Oh so nice.

Some great, classic pieces in exciting colors.

And I love the art deco twist in many of their designs.

While I was there I picked up a lovely Travail bag (in black!) to use as a laptop case for our upcoming trip. It it gorgeous and so well-made. I couldn't be happier with it.

Today, my friends at Corrente are giving away this wallet to TWO lucky readers in their color of choice (black, brown, olive, blush, cobalt, or gray).

To enter, visit the Corrente online shop and then leave a comment with you wallet color choice. A second wallet will be given away to those who like the Corrente Facebook page and leave a comment saying so. Contest ends Sunday, Dec 18 at midnight. Good luck!

PS Corrente is also generously offering 15% off in-store and online with the code LGN15. Happy Shopping!

Umbrella Stands

2011-12-08T11:43:00.003-05:00

I can't complain too much about the weather. It's been a lovely and so mild fall/early winter. We still have had a lot of rain lately and have been getting a lot of use out of our umbrella stand.

I monogrammed this one a year or two ago, but I feel ready for a change. Especially since I am picking out fabrics to reupholster that little settee I bought a while back. Our whole entry is going to get a facelift.

I'm not totally sure what I want to do with my umbrella stand (and part of me just wants to buy a new one (like this one maybe?), but I saw this big storage box thing at the flea market last weekend and I was totally drawn to the pattern! Black and cream and gold?! Love. I think I cold recreate this pattern on my old stand. It feels so Italian and chic and modern.

Here are some others I'm contemplating...

Do you have any favorites I missed? I really love a good umbrella stand. I think it is such a fun accessory for an entry, especially when filled with pretty umbrellas.

Give Away (with THREE winners!!) from Meredith Jackson Jewelry

2011-12-07T05:30:00.001-05:00

Wouldn't this be just the best time of year to win a piece of fabulous jewelry from the uber-talented jewelry designer, Meredith Jackson? How surprised and excited would you make your mom or your best friend by gifting her one of these pretties! Or what about treating yourself !? I would be thrilled to wear any of the pieces from Meredith's site, but here are a few of the necklaces I have my eye on (take note, Santa!)

Today we have THREE pieces to give away from Meredith Jackson designs. The hard part for you will be choosing between the necklace, the bracelet and one of the earring pairs! Here are the choices...

1) Talk about versatile. You could wear this beautiful gold chain ($300) with almost any outfit, any time of year!

2) My mom would love this pearl bracelet ($200) and me and my sisters would love to steal it from her.

3) Oh man, oh man. How will you ever choose between these lovely earrings? I'm especially crazy over the green and the lapis if that helps you narrow it down...

Do you like Green Onyx or Clear Quartz best?

Or maybe Smokey Quartz or Lapis?

Or how about the Mother of Pearl Quatrefoil or the Chalcedony?

Alright! Are you feeling lucky? To enter, leave a comment on this post saying which one of the three items above you'd love to have most. A winner will be chosen for each of the three categories. If you'd like to win a pair of earrings, please be sure to specify which of the bunch you'd like most.

For a second chance to win, you can like the Meredith Jackson Facebook page. Be sure to leave another comment here saying so.

Contest ends this Sunday, December 11 at midnight. Good luck!!

DIY Skirted Console

2011-12-06T05:30:00.002-05:00

This post is sponsored by Glad. We’re taking small steps to do our part and want to help you waste less too. Visit GLAD.com for more information.

I'm so excited to finally share this tutorial with you! This skirted table is my fourth or fifth of these DIYs, between my house and my client projects (remember the original one here?), but somehow I haven't managed to put together a tutorial until now. The steps are simple and completely NO-SEW! Ready to jump in?

After we moved to New York, I was looking everywhere for a bookshelf or console table to use as the base for a skirted console for our TV to go between the two fretwork cabinets. I checked Craigslist for a couple weeks with no luck, and just as I was about to cave and buy something new, Michael came to the rescue. One of our neighbors left this vintage bookshelf in our building's recycling room. Not only were the dimensions *perfect* but I was glad to save this sturdy little piece of furniture and give it a new life.

I've been trying to add some still-bright-but-less-primary colors to my living room. I told my friend that I was buying a forest green velvet for my console and some burgundy linen for my settee and she gave me the most hilarious look and goes "WHAT.THE.90s!!!!!! Gross!!!!" :)

Look how pretty the green is though! Mossy and muddy with a tiny bit of blue undertone. I lucked out and got it on eBay for $4/yd.

Before the fabric arrived, I went trim shopping at JEM in Tribeca (they have a killer selection of vintage trimmings) and found this really pretty lilac herringbone trim. I wasn't looking for something purple at all, but I had just finished reading Katie Ridder's new book Rooms (sooooo good, btw), so lavender was on the brain and the color drew me in.

And then for the first time in my life, I was thrilled to see an astroturf rug. JEM has a green grass rug that seemed close to my velvet that was being shipped. I loved the colors together! Sold.

I was still happy with the color combo when the velvet arrived and couldn't wait to get started. I wiped the recycled bookshelf down with a bleach-water solution and got my fabric, trim and supplies ready...

Here's what you'll need for a no-sew skirted console:

Iron

Tape measure

Tailor's chalk

Scissors

Magnatac or other strong fabric glue

Staple gun and staples

STEP 1 - MEASURING and CUTTING

Measure your bookshelf/console and come up with a game plan with your measurements. I added 2" of hem to every side and 3" of hem to every BOTTOM (no hems on the top!!).

Components are as follows, in order of appearance:

1) Inside flaps (green)

These two flaps will hardly be seen. They are like camisoles for you console. No one wants to see bare corners! Cover them up with some simple flaps. Mine were about 4" wide on the front and another 4" wrapped around to the side. I added 4" more for my two 2" side hems, and 3" to the bottom just to keep things neat and to minimize fraying.

2) Side panels (purple)

There are also two of these panels, made to be the exact depth of your bookshelf sides. You'll want a good 3 or 4" of extra fabric for the top in addition to a 3" bottom hem. Again, don't forget to add 2" for each side hem.

3) Front panel (yellow)

One big flap that covers the top and fronts of your bookshelves. Again, at least 4" of extra fabric after your hem, for the top part where you're stapling.

4) Top panel (pink)

Made to fit the top of your bookshelf perfectly. Just add a 2" hem on all sides.

Now that you're all organized and prepped with your measurements, mark out all your pieces with a tape measure and tailor's chalk on the back side of the fabric and cut them out. If you are using velvet like I did, make sure not to mess with the orientation of the pieces. You want the piles of each piece to lay in the same direction or else the sheen and color appearance will be totally off. (This applies to other velvet upholstery projects as well! Be careful with the pile directions!)

STEP 2 - PRESSING and GLUEING

My mom always says the most important part of any sewing or soft goods project is the pressing. It's so true!! For velvet, you don't want to iron directly on the pile. I used a tea towel as a protective barrier and that worked fine to give me a strong crease for all my hems. Again, I did about 2" on all sides and 3" along the bottom. I used my tailor's chalk markings and a ruler to keep my hems even.

Then simply put down an even coat of fabric glue on the hem flap. By keeping the glue application to just the flap you're reducing the chances of leaking. I glued the sides first and the bottom hem last.

This is getting a little nit-picky, but try not to let the side flaps poke out of bottom hem sides. You might have to overcompensate and pull in those side flaps a little more before glueing the bottom hem.

STEP 3 - HANGING and STAPLING

Once all your pieces have been ironed and glued, it's time to assemble! Go in order of the chart above. First are the inside flaps. So, the real trick of a no-sew skirted table is to focus on the break of the hem, not so much on the top part yet. It doesn't matter how much fabric is on top or if it's crooked or whatever, just move the panel vertically until it perfectly and evenly hits the ground. I probably like it best with a 1/4" break. Nothing is worse than too-short curtains or console skirts!

After finding the right length, just put in a staple every two inches or so to keep the fabric in place without sagging. I couldn't be happier with my Powershot Pro staple gun (used with Powershot Staples - it makes a serious difference!).

After hanging the inside flaps, do the side flaps next, and then the front piece.

Because velvet was so thick, I didn't want too many edges on the top. So I took the top piece all the way to the back. This really helped to keep the top surface flat and even out all those edges from the other pieces.

I could have stopped with this step and have the front piece be the top piece too, but I really wanted this to look like a sewn skirt, with seams.

Before putting on the top though, I glued on the trim. My assistant Colleen and I went back and forth on whether to do a full boxed border, but the trim is so thick we decided to go with the upside-down U, and I really like it.

Remember to always inset your glue line about 1/4" from the edge, otherwise the glue will leak out from underneath when you press the trim into place.

I don't like to cut trim for mitered corners. It never looks right to me. The trick to folding a mitered corner is to keep all your fold angles at 90 degrees and 45 degrees.

You have to play with it for a minute to get the trim to lay right, then glue in all the folds and really crease and press the folds into place.

Then finish off your trim with a little turned under hem.

The last step is securing the top piece, so don't put away the glue just yet. Glue evenly and press down hard to make everything lay flat.

You can see in the photos above and below how the inside flaps cover the corners.

All done and nary a needle or Singer in sight!

We have all our cable and video components under the skirt. The remote works with a little sensor thing we got off Amazon.

Everything's still easily accessible, but completely hidden. I love, love, love skirted consoles for any house, but especially for small homes or apartments where every piece of furniture really has to count. You can pack a lot of stuff under there!

As a side note, I know some decorators really hate a glass top on skirted consoles, but I'm thinking it's a necessity here. Between the dust and the sticky little fingers, I'm pretty sure I'm going to want a protective surface on top of that velvet!

A Couple Things

2011-12-05T09:50:00.000-05:00

Hi! Happy Monday!! This is my last full week of client work before we leave for Hawaii (I'll still be posting though) and I couldn't be more excited for some R&R! We've been trying to do lots of Christmas-y things before we leave since NYC is so fun during the holidays and we'll be missing a lot of it this month. I think we're going to go check out the Rockerfeller Center tree tonight, though I'm sure it will have nothing on our own little city-sized tree. :)

So am I the only one that's scouting out Christmas decor for next year right now? Seasonal decor prices are starting to fall right about now, and they'll keep dropping until and especially after Christmas. Here are the pieces I have my eye on.

Alright, back to work! I have a great DIY coming up tomorrow that I'm super excited to share! And don't forget to check out Jay and Katherine's Living Room Tour that I posted this weekend. xoxo

Room Tours: Jay and Katherine Wolf

2011-12-04T00:44:00.005-05:00

Hi friends! I hope you're having a GREAT weekend!! I wanted to share this lovely living room tour with you sooner than later because Jay and Katherine are very kindly offering LGN readers 25% off their vintage shop Once Lost Home Goods, with the promo code "LGN25". You mind find some pretties for gift-giving!

Here's Jay with their living room...

My name is Jay Wolf, and I am what some may call a renaissance man, though maybe it's more like a jack of all trades, master of none. Wearing lots of different hats has become the norm after my wife, Katherine, suffered a massive brain-stem stroke on April 21, 2008, as our 6-month old son slept in the other room. Miraculously Katherine survived, and we have been on the excruciating but beautiful road of recovery ever since (she shares her journey on her blog Hope Heals, www.hope-heals.com).

I have always been an artist and a creative, very right brain oriented (I somehow parlay that creativity into my "real job" as an attorney), so the decision to take on some of Katherine's more wifely roles following her stroke was not too daunting for me, and I knew that finding ways to celebrate life in the midst of our suffering, as well as creating a really special home for my family would be keys to our overall healing.

We live in Los Angeles in a specific area called Culver City where I happened upon several thrift shops very close to our home. Finding little treasures amidst a lot of junk became extremely cathartic for me. I suppose in many ways it was a metaphor for what our life had become, finding the best things in the middle of lots of terrible things. I brought many of these finds into our home, and formed a little Etsy shop, Once Lost Home Goods, with the rest.

Our home seems to be a constant work in progress, and even the pictures posted here would look a bit different if actually taken again today (and these were only taken about a month ago!) I've found that carving out a unique, personal, safe, inviting place to call home and to "do life together" in is one of the great and unexpected joys that I've experienced recently in my life. Welcome to our home!

This is the view as you first walk into our living room, which for us, is truly the room that we do most of our living in. I love seeing the large, vintage seascape painting as I walk into the room, now dramatically lit with its own vintage art light from Katherine's grandmother's home. It definitely sets the tone. We lived in Malibu,CA, which is on the beach, for 3 years while I was in law school. We have such great memories from that time, so we incorporated lots of nautical and sea-inspired influences in our current home as a nod to that special time in our lives. Also, it's hard not to feel relaxed when you have reminders of the ocean around you, so we tried to create our own little not-on-the-beach, beach cottage, while still not being too themey about it.

We're from the South originally, which is much more traditional and formal than California, in every sense, I think. As a result of living in those two very different environments, our style has morphed over the years, and currently seems to be a cozy, eclectic, vintage, pared-down traditional. I think the juxtaposition and contrasts in a room are the most important elements for me, and of course, the mix of the new and the old seems to give a room lots of soul. Also, since two guys and a girl live in this space, I always try to mix the masculine and feminine. Not only does it end up pleasing everybody, but the combination of those differing elements adds infinitely more interest than something that has more of a one-note perspective.

We live in a charming (aka "pretty old") 1920's bungalow. And while all 1,200 square feet of it have lots of character that can't easily be found in new construction, it comes at a bit of a price. Honestly, did people in the 1920's not have any stuff? Lack of storage is an issue, for sure, so when planning out the living room, we had to incorporate a good bit of non-built-in storage, this includes our "linen closet" boxed up in various sizes of Rubbermaids under our IKEA sectional. Also, the coffee table, while not so kid-friendly, is literally a trunk with drawers. This vintage piece was picked up for cheap at one of my local thrift stores because I thought it looked cool with the brass and the nailheads. I only later found out (thanks to some design blog) that this chest, handmade by the Spanish company Sarreid, was actually a really nice piece. Honestly, I could care less about the name, I just liked the design of it. To that end, I think you can never go wrong buying something you love, whether or not anyone else thinks it has value or not.

We received a lot of home items for our wedding (not off a registry, just given with the assumption that they would all come together somehow, I guess), many of which have left us for good at this point as we honed in on our own style; however, this spindle-base lamp (with an updated shade) and antique English bamboo table from the late 1800's have stuck with us since the wedding day. It's great to be able to incorporate personal things from your past into new spaces, even if you have to tweak them a little, and correspondingly, it's even better to be able to let certain things go completely and start anew.

My introduction to the design world has mostly been through design blogs (thank you Jenny!) Literally, I knew very little of the lingo a year ago, but learning it proved to be valuable. For example, I would read about Hollywood Regency and the Dorothy Draper chest in blog after blog. One day, I went to a junk shop and this chest was sitting on the sidewalk, having been bought from the estate of a long-time LA resident, a woman who had gotten her start as an actress in Hollywood's Golden Age. I knew this piece was a Dorothy Draper chest, and though it was not in perfect condition I figured it would still be way too expensive, but I thought I would inquire anyway. The price was $40, and after I asked the store owner to repeat it, I threw him two twenties and ran with my loot before he could change his mind! Full-on Hollywood Regency is not my style, for sure, but adding it to the room creates an unexpected visual edge. I love that this iconic piece holds all the odds and ends and 4-year old's toys that must be shoved somewhere when company comes over. Beautiful and versatile, if only the walls on this chest could talk.

The grouping on top of the chest always makes me happy too, the textures and colors are just right, in my mind. And once and for all, I can't be considered a bad parent for throwing away most of my son's preschool art projects (where am I supposed to store them?!), since one of his first abstract finger paintings holds a place of great prominence in our living room. The capiz moravian star is from Target and the green leaf pottery is from TJ Maxx Home Goods, just going to show that in the right setting, anything can look more expensive than it actually was. The beautiful, vintage alabaster lamp (with an updated shade) was from Katherine's grandmother's home (she recently moved to a retirement home and gifted us quite a few great, vintage things) and is such a wonderful daily reminder of her beloved grandmother.

Also, I'm not much of a DIY'er, but I was quite proud that the bordered curtains in the living room were actually two Target fabric shower curtains that we had cut off and hemmed to the right length by our local alterations lady. So much cheaper than having custom curtains made in that bordered style and so much easier than trying to somehow, very badly make them myself.

Again, the 1920's architects didn't do us a lot of favors in the storage or in the space planning department either. This room is an awkward, long rectangle, with lots of doors opening out to other rooms and heaters coming up from the floor, so we had to get creative. This very tight and long spacing is why we opted for the sectional sofa, which is not necessarily my favorite type of couch but sometimes practicality wins out, though practical can still look good. Likewise, some practical seating and visual space was needed in this tiny corner, over-crowded by the door to my office. I decided to fit this great occasional chair there, which looks like it was picked up from a Parisian flea market (it was actually from a rather seedy Goodwill on Santa Monica Blvd, but who would know?) The scale was much better than a previous chair we had there and the green velvet and patinaed gold edges fit the room perfectly. I love how it looks in contrast with the large black and white photograph of the California landscape that I took as we drove into California in our U-haul, for the first time, 7 years ago.

This armoire is one of my favorite things in the room, and I think it was the first one I bought. Of course, inside lies our TV and naturally, more storage space for exercise mats and DVD's, etc. It was a Craigslist find, and I was initially drawn to the old oak and the shape of the top. I loved it even more when I found out it was used in the late 1800's as an armory (ie. to store weapons and guns) and was made for quick disassembly and travel (I guess to run away from rebel forces) so it literally comes completely apart. Cool, right? Though it was not so cool when I was trying to put it together by myself late at night and the heavy wooden doors kept falling on my head, but still, totally worth it!

The faux bamboo stools were re-covered in a gray lattice patterned fabric shower curtain (what's the deal?) and were originally from the Sunset Tower Hotel (a rather famous hotel among celebrities, on the Sunset Strip near Hollywood). There are several warehouse-sized businesses in LA that specialize in re-selling hotel surplus furniture. I've even picked up some furniture for a friend's room that I designed (www.oncelosthomegoods.com/portfolio/before-after-classic-nautical-guestroom/) from a Kelly Wearstler-designed hotel, though like anything, you usually have to dig through a lot of junk to get there, but then you get a pretty inexpensive piece with great design. And you never know who might have been perched on that stool.

Another of my favorite elements in the room are the pair of vintage Italian tole wheat sconces. Despite my mentions of Kelly Wearstler, Dorothy Draper, and tole sconces, I truly do not have a secret obsession with Hollywood Regency--not that there's anything wrong with that. What I most love about these is that they were not sold as a pair. I bought one on Ebay because it was inexpensive, and I loved its design compared to lots of other wheat, tole sconces that I had seen. I later concluded that two is better than one, so I set out looking for its mate, which I finally found on Etsy, from a totally different seller. I had to pay up a bit for this one, but I love how they flank the armoire, and the symbolism of harvest will always be extremely meaningful to me.

On this wall, the main visual element is obviously the collection of vintage seascape oils. I love art, in general, so I can't help but love a good gallery wall, and I've got quite a few of them, even in our tiny house. I got all of these from either Ebay, Etsy, or my thrift stores. They are all by different artists but all in a rather specific range of color palettes and an impressionistic style which makes them work really well together as a grouping. I did change out most of the frames, and at first, I probably would have wanted all the frames to match, but the same frame wasn't always available, but now, I really like that the frames are complimentary and all thin but not matching.

The pair of leather chairs was something that I have always wanted, and I finally got them on major sale at HD Buttercup, a great furniture store in Culver City. They are one of those items that I will keep no matter where we live or what my style may be. They were the biggest purchase in the room, and I love how they only get better with age. Our four year old does a fine job of adding to the weathered look, which is sort of softened by the large, French grain sack pillows.

The round occasional table between the two chairs is hands down my best and probably only find from Ross. It's got a black marble top and though hard to see in the pictures has a fantastic, sort of mid-century starburst design base, made out of iron, with an antiqued brass finish. The apothecary floor lamps are from Target and again pull in some black, which is a color that is very grounding to a space (though I'm not even sure what that means, but I get it). I used to be kind of worried about matching black and brown and clashing metallic finishes but I think not knowing too many rules has probably helped me the most in being able to confidently pull designs together. Whatever works, just play around with it until it looks right to you.

Katherine was in ICU for 40 days after her stroke, during which we could not fill that sterile, sad room with any flowers or potential contaminants, understandable, but it definitely made it hard to bring any sense of life into that place. So, ever since, I have felt the need to have fresh flowers around our home as much as possible. It's a slight indulgence, but we always just get them at the grocery store and arrange them ourselves. We also use a lot of orchids and other long-lasting varieties. No offense to fake flowers, but it kind of defeats the purpose of bringing some life into a room, right?

Though geometric shapes and patterns are pretty trendy, I feel they bring in a different kind of organic element which is really timeless. These wooden stars echo the larger white one on the chest (they were puzzles that I finally had to super glue together after one too many guests awkwardly brought me the pile of pieces unable to put it back together themselves). The wooden, mid-century geometric basket, DNA-model-esque, used for magazines on the floor next to the leather chair, was such a unique piece, spotted in a small Southern "antique" booth (looked a little more like a cross between Cracker Barrel and Hoarders) on a holiday trip back South, that I had to lug it back in a separate suitcase. The mirror is from Home Goods and is another example of something that looks much more expensive and unique than it was by being put in the right context. The orchid pot is mid-century vintage, with a unique ombre effect coming up from the base. This utilitarian piece also adds another layer of style and color, mixing eras, and not letting things fit too neatly into one box. There's an inherent sense of nature and science and just enough uncommonness to these things which will never get old to me.

"After many a sore foot and many a passive aggressive remark about the hazards of child-rearing around a sharp metal trunk coffee table, I conceded and got this new tufted, storage ottoman. It's brilliant because it is infinitely more comfortable to prop up our feet on when we watch TV, and it stores all our "blow-up guest bedroom" pillows and sheets. It's also so much easier to move since it rolls around on casters, so we can push it out of the way when we need to do our Denise Austin workout videos! And of course, it was christened with a juice box on it's first day in our home, but not to worry, it's covered in Sunbrella, indoor/outdoor, washable fabric--victory (at least until a large cup of coffee is sloshed on it)! I added an extra yard of the fabric and recovered a vintage bench for more seating in front of the chest of drawers. Also, the pillows got a bit of an update, from one trendy pattern to another--what can I say, lots of people like them for a reason. This ikat in green, blue, cream and brown really pulls in all the colors of the room much better than the previous green trellis."

"Since we no longer have a hard-surfaced coffee table, a stable tray was needed to take on drinks and the like. I found this vintage lucite tortoise and greek key tray (I think Jenny might likey) at my local thrift store, originally intended for my Etsy shop, but as often happens, once I tried it on this new spot, there was no going back."

*
Thanks for reading this to the end! I hope you enjoyed the tour and my rambling thoughts. Thank you Jenny for letting me share.

SOURCES:

FURNITURE:
- Couch = IKEA Ektorp Sectional, slipcovered in Svanby Beige
- Chest of Drawers = Vintage Dorothy Draper Espana Chest -- Man on Motor, Culver City, CA
- Coffee Table = Vintage Brass Sarreid Chest -- House of Return, Culver City, CA
- Side Table = Antique Bamboo Table -- Appointments At Five, Athens, GA
- Occasional Chair = Vintage Green Velvet Chair -- Goodwill, Santa Monica, CA
- Armoire = Antique Oak Armory -- Craigslist, Los Angeles, CA
- Stools = Vintage Faux Bamboo Stools from Sunset Tower Hotel -- Hotel Surplus Store, Van Nuys, CA; Fabric Shower Curtain -- Ross
- Pair of Leather Chairs = HD Buttercup, Culver City, CA
- Occasional Table = Iron Starburst and Black Marble Top Table -- Ross, Culver City, CA
- Rug = Nate Berkus Kilim Stripe Rug -- HSN + 40oz Rug Pad -- Amazon

LIGHTING:
- On Chest = Vintage Carved Alabaster Lamp; New Shade --Home Goods
- Art Light = Vintage
- On Side Table = Spindle Base Lamp -- Appointments at Five, Athens, GA; New Shade -- Target
- Between Leather Chairs = Pair of Pharmacy Lamps -- Target

ACCESSORIES:
- On Chest = Green Leaf Pottery -- TJ Maxx Home Goods, Westchester, CA; Child's Art Frame and Capiz Moravian Star -- Target; Books = Lapham's Quarterly, Winter 2011 -- Amazon, "How Should We Then Live?" by Francs Schaeffer -- vintage, "The Home Book" by House Beautiful -- Amazon, and "All the Saints of the City of Angels" by J. Michael Walker -- The Hammer Museum, Westwood, CA

- On Coffee Table = Mahogany and Brass Tray -- Crate & Barrel; Shell -- African souvenir; "The Way We Live By the Sea" by Stafford Cliff -- Amazon; Glass Hurricane -- TJ Maxx Home Goods; Black River Rock Vase Filler -- Target; Capri Blue Candle in Black Currant and Cassis -- Lundeens, Culver City, CA

- On Couch = Tan Euro Shams -- Target; Green Imperial Trellis -- Nena Von Pillows on Etsy; Black and Cream Border Lumbar and all down inserts -- Pottery Barn; Brown Cable knit and Cream Chain link Blankets -- Nate Berkus for Linens 'N Things

- Curtains = Bordered Fabric Shower Curtains by Fieldcrest and Curtain Clip Rings -- Target; Curtain Rod -- Ross

- On Side Tables = Hydrangea Vase -- TJ Maxx Home Goods; Mini-orchid Ombre Pot, vintage -- House of Return, Culver City, CA; Wooden Moravian Star Puzzles -- Ross

- On Walls = Vintage Seascape Oil Paintings -- Ebay, Etsy, House of Return, Culver City, CA, NCJW/LA Thrift Store, West LA, CA; Frames = Aaron Brothers, Culver City, CA; Large Black and White Photo -- Jay Wolf, blown up on Shutterfly; Frame -- Aaron Brothers; Vintage Italian Tole Wheat Sconces -- Etsy and Ebay; Geometric Capiz Mirror -- TJ Maxx Homegoods

- On Leather Chairs = French Grain Sack Pillows -- Colcha, Venice, CA; Brown Geometric Blanket -- TJ Maxx Home Goods

- Magazine Rack = Mid-century Wooden Basket -- Eastbrook Flea Market, Montgomery, AL

Sources from the updated photos:

- Tufted Ottoman = Ballard Designs, in Brass Sunbrella
- Tray = Vintage Lucite -- House of Return, Culver City, CA
- Ironwork Bench = Vintage -- House of Return, Culver City, CA
- Pillows = Ikat -- Jenny Farley Designs on Etsy

Living Room Tours: Albertina

2011-12-01T10:47:00.000-05:00

Next up in for our room tours is Albertina (who doesn't have a blog or website yet, but has plans to start one this month or soon! Exciting!!). I am loving her fearless living room with the 'just right' pops of color. Thanks for sharing, Albertina!

"The color of the walls is Benjamin Moore-Palladian Blue (HC-144)- flat. A lot of people have asked me the name and I love it too. I think the first thing we did in the living room after picking out the wall color was decide on color of the drapes. They had to be something that would go well with a beautiful trim my mom had given me that is about 40 years old and hand-made in Spain. I love how the walls color and curtains + trim look together.

This is the hand made trim. It is a from store in Madrid called Galon. The paradise of trim. If I ever move from this house that trim is coming with me!

"I love having this separate seating area in the living room. At parties I have noticed that it is the men that really use and enjoy these chairs. They are actually part of my dining room set but decided they look better in the living room. The paintings are from a Colombian artist, Gonzalo Fuenmayor. I love his work and this diptych especially. Everyone inquires about it. The fabric on the chairs is from Clarence House and is very cozy. I love sitting here for a one-to-one conversation. Wing Chairs are from Lewis Mittman from about 35 years ago. White Stools are from Cyan Design but they have been discontinued.

"This is my favorite painting. It is by a french artist, Charon. It is a view of the Ligurean coast in Italy. I did not want to center on top of the mantel so I used the Foo Dogs (from Neiman Marcus) to balance it out. The pair of damask chairs are from Calico Corners.

"This dresser is an antique from Yale Burge a present from my mom. I love the color and the knobs. The mirror is coconut shell also from Yale Burge. The lamp is also vintage from Chapman (I don't think this company exists anymore).

"I put together this corner around the painting. I love this painting for two reasons. One is the painting itself. I love the composition and the fact that the artist, my good friend Alfredo Paris, gave it to me as a present. He went to RISD and is an amazing artist. We went to grade school together and have saved some of his amazing drawings from he was 10 years old in case he would become famous one day! He now lives in China and is studying print making. I can't wait to see his latest (sorry he doesn't have a website). The other thing that I love is the frame. It works so well together with the painting. The desk is from Mecox. I love the black. When I bought it I realized how much I loved the black in the room and decided that I needed more black in the room to balance out all the color. So I looked for a rug with black. I could not believe it when I found the perfect rug with pink, black, and light blue accents. I felt like it was made for my living room!

"These side tables are from Crate and Barrel. The lemons are plastic. I tried having real lemons for a while but it became too much of a hassle to change them so often! The stand they are in is antique from Michael C. Fina. And the little ashtray is from Hermes, it has a cute scottish terrier in the middle.

"This pouf is flanked by two of my dining room chairs. I love the pairing here of Nicole Cohen's painting (from Sketch 42) with the colors of the Clarence House fabric of my dining chairs and the blue candle holders. I have three painting from Nicole Cohen all through the house. I like her bright, abstract style. Here's a link to her etsy store.

"Painted Portraits! Interesting topic. I think so many of them are cheesy, but I love this one. Is it because its of me? or because an amazing Spanish artist, Macarron, painted it? or maybe because I'm used to seeing it all these years? Not sure, but think its pretty cool. I feel like it is a treasure in my home. I love the seriousness of it and how it looks against that blue wall. The side table is from Baker Furniture (Similar here)

Thanks again for sharing, Albertina!! Now, get going on that blog!! ;)

Room Tours: Kirsten Krason

2011-11-30T05:30:00.000-05:00

The next living room tour is from one of my favorite blogger ladies, the lovely Kirsten Krason of 6th Street Design School! I loved reading all about her beautiful living room. Thanks so much for sharing, Kirsten! xx

Welcome to my Living Room! This room has come so far since it's humble beginnings. I love spending time in here with my family.

Enjoy!

Our sofa and chair are wool and were originally purchased at Pottery Barn.

We bought them on Craigslist. I think it was like $1,300 for the set. The fabric is wool which has been interesting. It's not the softest fabric but it does hold up pretty well with messes and spills. I love the color of these. Not too dark and not too light. The rug is by Nate Berkus from HSN. It is no longer available. I sure wish it was. It's been a great rug. I love how graphic it is. It's a flat weave which means it's not super soft. But the nice thing is that when one side gets dirty we can just flip it over and the same pattern is on the other side.

The clock above the sofa is from Pottery Barn. I bought it about 5 years ago for $50 on sale. It's no loner available. It's been a great clock. It's not functional though. My husband thought I was crazy to buy a clock that doesn't actually work. The decorator in me only cared that it looked good. Plus for $50 you can't go wrong!

The yellow flower pillow was purchased at Target. It's become a little trendy but I still love it. The shade of yellow is just perfect.

The silver bowl on the coffee table was bought in Mexico and is a gift from my Mother-in-Law.

I bought the Pottery Barn books at T.J. Maxx a few years ago. When I was first married I used to study these books religiously. There weren't really blogs back then and there definitely wasn't pintrest. We were too poor to afford design magazines so these books were my only source of information on design. The fuschia orchid on top of the books is fake. Ahhhh!! I know it's horrible to have fake plants but guess what? I kill everything. Plus I just love the color. I purchased it about 6 years ago at Target.

The blue trellis pillow was purchased on Etsy and is made from this fabric. Imperial Trellis is trendy, I know, but I love it. It is an amazing fabric and this pillow is one of my favorite things in my house. It was actually one of the first things I ever bought for our home. I didn't know what our home was going to look like or be decorated like but I knew this pillow would find a way to fit in.

The peacock pillow is made from Pottery Barn's Bettina fabric which has been discontinued. It's an amazing pattern. I got emails about it all the time. You can still find Bettina items on Ebay every now and then. You could totally make some pillows out of old curtains or a duvet. So keep an eye out.

The large navy pillow is from Pottery Barn found at DownEast. I think it was like $10. I like having large blocks of color to break up all the pattern I have going on.

The small lumbar pillow is also from the Bettina Fabric.

The large blue pillow is an outdoor pillow from Pottery Barn found at DownEast. It has a monogramed K on it. My name is Kirsten Krason so you'll find a lot of K's in my house. I love that letter.

The blue lamps were bought at Home Goods. I went back and forth on if I should get them or not. They are a little large scale for the small Lack side tables. But ultimately I love them. I think they are such a huge part of the room. I would be devastated if anything ever happened to them. Since they are from Home Goods they are pretty much irreplaceable.

The "love" print is from Made By Girl. I love her stuff! This shot of pink in the room is very "me" and it makes me so happy.

The loveseat was bought on Craigslist. It's honestly not my ideal piece of furniture. The shape is nice but there isn't really anything special about it. But it's leather (or at least part leather) which makes it super easy to clean. The scale is also great and the price was right. Only $250! The garden stool was bought at a consignment shop for $10. I think it's one of the best deals I have ever found on anything in my life.

The curtains were made with this fabric by my friend Erin. I was a little nervous about this pattern I'm not going to lie. I actually didn't love it the first time I saw it. But sometimes the best pattern for a room is not your obvious choice. Step back and think how this fabric is going to work with all other elements of a room. You may not like it by itself but when it is combined with other elements it can become something special. That's what happened with this fabric. Once I got it in the room I loved it. I go the fabric for a killer deal on Fabric.com. I've never seen it on there since. But you never know.

The red pillow is from this etsy shop. The chevron one is from this etsy shop. I love chevron. I'll hang on to that trend as long as I can!

Coasters from Furbish. La Fiorentina is one of my favorite fabrics. These coasters are very unique and I get lots of complements on them.

Silver trays are from Target and side tables are from Ikea. I adhered the trays to the table so they actually appear to be a part of the table. This gives those little Lack tables an extra oomph!

My coffee table is from Alice Lane made by Shine. I am in love with it. My client bought it for her living room and when she got it in there we could both tell it wasn't really "her". The fun thing about it is that it's 100% "me"! It's bold and unique and white. I love this dose of white in the room to break up the pattern and color. One thing that never bothers me is the mixing of white and cream. I know to some people that is a deal breaker but to me it just makes things more interesting. You may notice the stripes in the rug are a little more off-white, the background in my curtains is a little more ivory and my garden stool is cream. But I mix it all with white and I think it's great. Doesn't bother me in the slightest.

My credenza was bought at a garage sale for $100. I stained it, painted the sliding doors white and added some knobs from Home Depot. I don't know what it is about two-tone furniture but I just love the look of the white mixed with the wood.

My subway sign was bought at Pottery Barn via DownEast and is no longer available. However, I've seen a lot of DIY projects on these so I'm sure you could make one yourself. I love NY so this is my way of bringing a little bit of the city to my home in the suburbs.

I put together this living room on a tight budget and I still really love it. It's colorful, happy and comfortable. I hope you enjoyed it!

Wall color is Hazy Skies by Benjamin Moore

Sofa and chair originally from Pottery Barn bought on Craigslist

Loveseat bought on Craigslist

Coffee Table from Shine Home bought at Alice Lane Home Collection

Side Tables from Ikea

Wall Clock from Pottery Barn

Rug from HSN

Pottery Barn Books from Pottery Barn bought at T.J. Maxx

Silver bowl from Mexico

Faux Orchid from Target

Blue lamps are from Home Goods

Love print from Made by Girl

Imperial Trellis pillow from Etsy

Solid blue pillows from Pottery Barn bought at Down East

Yellow flower pillow is from Target

Floral Peacock pillows are from Ebay, fabric is Bettina by Pottery Barn

Large Blue K pillow is from Pottery Barn via Down East.

Red ikat pillow from Elegant Touch on Etsy

Blue chevron pillow from Deco Yellow on Etsy

Curtains made by Erin from Plush Studio on Etsy, made with Kalah Blue Fabric

Credenza found at a garage sale

Subway sign from Pottery Barn bought at Down East

Silver trays bought at Target

Thanks again, Kirsten!!

Room Tours: Linda Roberts' Living Room

2011-11-28T14:32:00.001-05:00

Today's room tour comes from the lovely Linda at Lime in the Coconut. I love the earthy and ethnic vibe of this gorgeous room!! Enjoy!

"When we bought the "hacienda" the first thing we did was rip out the red shag 1970's carpet. We decided we liked the coolness underfoot, and chose to have the floors acid stained. Absolutely bombproof!

"The coffee table was a garage sale find...It is rusted metal and had tiles inserted in it, and was clearly used outside. I even used it outside in a previous home. Added some glass to the top...and now it fits in perfectly. Leaning against the back wall is a favored piece of art...actually a door...in the ADORE series by artist Aimie Phillips.

"The window end of the room (large black metal windows) Has three big pieces of art

by artist Ginny Piech Street...each one has a light over it which casts a beautiful glow at night (I love using timers for these...I don't need to remember to turn them on).

"I had two loveseats...also from 1970! Slipcovered them both in white duck cloth...am always switching out pillows. Art is a...well...bit of a problem in this house. I LOVE all of it...and collect too much. Building art ledges solved the problem of easily revolving my pieces. Mid century credenza...found at goodwill. 14 clams. This room looks into the library (with blue wall) if you look closely, you will see a speed bump of a great dane lounging on the linen slipcovered love seat. lovely. White chairs in the back are waiting to be upholstered into something else....just not sure what. Found them at Habitat for Humanity for like seven bucks each.

"In the foreground you can see the side of my lovingly named "big Ass Chair" I upholstered it...not so gracefully...but have come to love the uniqueness of it....and COZY...is it ever. The chair was a steal at 10 bucks. you can read a bit about it here . The beautiful and lively velvet is a Schumacher print...and believe it or not...I found it in a bin for 4 dollars a yard. Needless to say, I bought what was left (4 yards). It retailed for $395 a yard. Call me eagle eye. and lucky. Carving is from a Mexican artist of a mother and child with laundry on her head and a baby on her back. Story of my life. sigh.

"Turning around and looking into the foyer through the LR. More art on walls...many acquired at thrift and estate sales. The portraits I name....the guy is Buenaventura and the woman with the parrot on her shoulder is Paloma. I know...strange. I'm ok with it.

"A close up of the desk...collection of magnifying glasses, an old necklace display (paper mache) I found at a jewelry store when still in college. Some mercury glass, and an old steer horn.

"A closer view of the art ledges. I constructed them out of 1X4's and molding. Halogen lights (on timers again) light the wall at night.

"And another favorite painting from Michelle Armas..

Thanks for the room tour, Linda!! Everything's beautiful!

Happy Monday!

2011-11-28T05:30:00.000-05:00

Hi friends! Sorry for not posting last week. My hard drive crashed on Monday. No fun. At first, it was nice to get a little break from work, but I started to get antsy pretty quick! I bought a new computer on Black Friday but I'm still waiting for all my files to get back from data recovery.

We're going to Hawaii on December 10 and then straight to Arizona for Christmas, so there's lots to get done before leaving. I'm hoping that hard drive gets recovered sometime this week. Fingers crossed!

Since we're leaving so soon, we decided to just get a little mini Christmas tree. It's been fun to see the make-shift tree lots pop up all over the city. It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

Photoshop is downloading on my new laptop this morning and then that room tour I promised last Monday will go up!!

In the meantime, I've been working with a client on a nursery project (my favorite rooms to do I think!). She is in love with this nursery and we're using it as our feel/color inspiration. The gray is great because my client is waiting to find out the gender.

I did a round up of nursery gliders on Babble today. I'd love your input if you've got one you really love at home. We haven't placed our order yet.

See you in a few with that room tour! xx

Weekend Recap

2011-11-21T05:30:00.001-05:00

Can you believe it's Thanksgiving week already!? I'm excited! We had a great, super chill weekend. We went to the Met on Saturday with a friend who was in town on business.

The girls love the Egyptian wing best at the museum, not surprisingly. (Weren't you super into Egyptology as a kid? I totally was.) They also really liked the modern art gallery. I think it's cool how kids are always drawn in by the big Pollock. I noticed probably four or five other children hovering here and talking about the artist's approach ("did he paint it? did he pour it?"). I hope my girls grow up loving art as much as Michael and I do.

Yesterday was really low key because we're all fighting off colds. It was a good excuse the lay low and watch some movies and get excited for the short week ahead of us!

I'm prepping my Thanksgiving table and it got me and my assistant Colleen thinking about dinner plates. We worked together to find some really cute ones for all the upcoming holiday dinner parties. I don't really have holiday-specific china, but I feel like anything goes with holiday decorations anyway. My favorite is mixing patterns; like, the dinner plates are one pattern, and the salad plates something else in different colors and scale, etc. Also, I'm super into gold flatware and pick it up whenever I stumble on random pieces at flea markets.

What's your Thanksgiving table going to look like this year? Any fun, inexpensive plate patterns I missed?

I'm working on getting up some more living room tours for you this week, so come back later today for a really exciting one. (Hint: this woman has no fear of color!)

Living Room Tour: A Little Glass Box

2011-11-14T19:35:00.003-05:00

I'm so excited to start sharing some of these beautiful living room tours with you! It makes me so happy to see real homes, filled with affordable AND beautiful furnishings along with lots of great DIY projects. I hope your as inspired as I am by these lovely bloggers!

First up is Courtney from A Little Glass Box. Here she is, sharing her lovely rowhouse living room with us...

This past summer we moved from the East coast to the West coast. Coming from a 105 year old row house in Baltimore I was used to decorating small narrow spaces, but this rental house presented me with quite a design challenge. The living room is only 9.5x8 with three walls of windows. I immediately knew it would be difficult to incorporate color and texture without the help of wall art and the space for multiple upholstered pieces of furniture. However, I didn’t let this challenge deter us because this little house may be smaller than we were used to but it packed a lot of visual punch. The rustic wood ceilings were the original floors of the house before it had been rebuilt and the gorgeous light poured in from the windows making it impossible to do anything but embrace this space. Decorating it has been a labor of love but worth every minute because it has taught me a lot about using every inch of space.

I purchased our couch from Macy’s in 2010 which is the perfect neutral jumping off point. We were worried that it would look too green against the grey stone flooring but it fits in perfectly with the help of the Dhurrie rug from West elm in Sorrel. The bench I am using as a coffee table is actually a craigslist find that was in some rough shape. With a coat of Rustoleum spray paint in Navajo white and some new fabric purchased from Calico Fabrics, I was able to give it new life.

The room gets its rich layer of color by mixing different patterns of pillows and I am able to still enjoy some of my art work by hanging it lower than normal and in an unexpected location.

The ‘spool ‘side table was actually made from an electrical wire spool that we nabbed for free from home depot after all of the electrical wire had been sold. We stained the discs with Behr’s semi transparent stain in Sable. It is wrapped with a bathroom rug purchased from West Elm to look like thread on the spool. It is one of my favorite pieces in the space. It is the perfect side table as well as some extra seating or book holder. In such a small space it is necessary for items to serve more than one purpose.

This room also opens up to our entry way which meant that I needed to use this space to not only set the tone for the house once you walked in, but to act as our own little mudroom while looking pleasing when sitting in the living room.

I repurposed a hutch that was in our dining room in Baltimore and transformed it into decorative shelves by painting it Martha Stewart’s chinchilla grey and creating cardboard backing inserts with a pattern to mimic the look of wallpaper. It’s a great piece to hold my collections and also stores practical everyday items in the cabinet below.

Because we don’t have an entry closet I simply added some hooks; baskets and a bench to increase our usable space. This is a trick I like to use as a previous professional organizer. My handy hubs helped me to create a coat rack out of spare wooden hangers we had laying around and some reclaimed wood. We love it. It now houses jackets, hats, and shoes for all of us, including our little man Oliver Tate. The stool was a retro flea market find that we simply recovered and it creates the perfect place to put down my purse. The basket, which is locally crafted, houses sticks and pinecones from our daily family walks.

We really have grown to love this space and it functions very well for us. It has been incredible in teaching me that the size of a room does not dictate or determine the design impact it will have or the ability it will have to make you happy.

Our design aesthetic is versatile, comfortable, eclectic and adaptable because I am always changing things around and our needs are always evolving. I hope this space can inspire others to think outside the box and explore alternative possibilities from the norm.

Sources:

Wall color is Whispering Wheat by Glidden

Corona Couch in Stone from Macy’s

Blue print pillow from John Robshaw called Ghana

Orange print pillow from Z Gallerie

Cream faux sheep pillows from last year’s winter collection at Pottery Barn

Navajo pillow from Cost Plus World Market

Dhurrie rug in sorrel from West Elm

Small Leather poof from Goodwill

Upholstered bench from Craigslist

Fur throw from Restoration Hardware

Side table from Goodwill with Anthropologie rhino head knobs

Hutch shelving in entry from Trohv in Baltimore

Lamp base purchased at Marshalls

Lamp shade purchased from Trohv in Baltimore

Mercury bubble glass vase from Marshalls

Gold tray from Goodwill

Picture frame from Homegoods

Paper Mache bird from In Watermelon Sugar in Baltimore (sprayed in Rustoleum’s gold metallic paint)

Entry way stool from San Francisco flea market

Entry hutch painted Martha Stewart’s Chinchilla grey

Stencil for cardboard inserts in the back of the hutch from Hobby Lobby

Thank you for sharing Courtney!! Your living room and entry spaces are amazing!

If you'd like to share your living room on LGN, email your submission to jenny at jennykomenda .com.

One Way to Reduce Paint Fumes

2011-11-08T17:42:00.003-05:00

I like to use oil-based paint on moulding, cabinets and doors. It just wears better. But, boy, is it stinky stuff! We used Benjamin Moore's oil-based paint for the closet/built-in portion of the girls' bedroom walls. Luckily the weather has been nicer this week, so we've kept the windows open quite a bit for ventilation. But did you know that burning a candle can reduce paint fumes? I've been (very carefully) burning a candle up on a high shelf while the paint dries, and I've noticed a HUGE difference in the smell situation.

Just a little Tuesday night tip from me to you. :)

Do you have any other tips for reducing paint fumes/smells? I've heard leaving out a quartered onion works. But that seems weird. Like it would only add to the smell factor, right?

According to my phone...

2011-11-07T11:50:00.003-05:00

Happy Monday! How was your weekend? We have house guests coming and some exciting work projects too, so things are bustling around here! My iPhone says this is what I've been up to since last Friday:

This weekend I went to CB2 to pick up another set of Marta glasses and some picture frames. They had these cute little mini chairs that I think are supposed to be tree ornaments, but they are perfect for the Dollhouse Challenge! (PS all the vintage pieces I posted about came in last week. They are crazy-good! Can't wait to share)

When the weather started to turn colder a couple weeks ago, I threw an internal mini-fit. But the Halloween festivities changed my mind and I'm suddenly excited about the upcoming holidays. We made Butterscotch Pumpkin cookies on Saturday morning and we started planning out our Thanksgiving menu (my husband's very favorite meal of the year). The girls are talking about Christmas and Santa again. And excitement levels were through the roof (literally. I think our upstairs neighbors heard the shrieking) when the girls discovered Tommy, our Elf on the Shelf, came back to New York City all the way from the North Pole! That clever little guy sees ever good and bad deed and reports back to Santa each night. I swear, I wish Tommy lived here all year! My girls have been on their best behavior all week.

You never know where Tommy will be sitting in the morning. Sometimes he gets sassy with his seated posture.

Speaking of Christmas, I would seriously consider applying for a seasonal job at Anthropologie if only to justify two or three dozen of these glass ornaments. I mean, look at that COLOR!! (I would also want a pair of these chairs)

Jenny the Carpenter made an appearance this weekend as well. We're making some little changes to the built-ins in the girls rooms. It's all done now and the paint is drying today. I'll share the afters with you once we can put all the books and other 'stuff' back on the shelves and photograph the room.

Grace made her first diorama! Her school is new and amazing, so their class study is on buildings and the new spaces in their school. She made a diorama of the library and wrote the cutest little interview-style report to go with it. She's so in to interviews now and walks around with her notepad, asking questions all day.

I took down the drapes in our living room because I thought I would like the room better without curtains, but now I am sort of missing the finished feeling curtains bring to a space. I'm thinking maybe white with a ruffle trim edge. I love this charcoal gray cotton:

And also this pleated grosgrain:

I also organized my computer desktop off this weekend. No easy feat, I assure you. Hundreds of images. When I came across this one, I lamented the passing of summer again with it's soft warm glow, glorious fruits and vegetables and the pretty FLOWERS!!! That might be my favorite flower arrangement ever. If I could do my wedding reception over, all the flowers would be just like these. Straight-from-the-garden looking.

Speaking of flowers, look what I was sent over from my lovely friends Joanna and Alex (and I like to think Toby was in on the decision too. Have I told you that that little guy has my heart under lock and key? We're buds.). Fresh flowers are my very favorite thank you gifts. UPDATE: the flower shop just brought over a second arrangement by accident. Bonus!

Also this weekend I went to Mitchell Gold Bob Williams to check out the Zondra slipper chair in person for a client's living room. Turns out there isn't a showroom in the tri-state area with a Zondra chair in store. So lame, MGBW! I was also a little bummed the sales guy wouldn't tell me who makes this fabric. Can any of you save me a trip to the D&D and tell me who makes it? Usual suspects are Robert Allen, Kravet and Duralee.

Ladies. Do you ever get sick of doing your makeup? It's eye makeup that especially kills it all for me. So lately I've been just using a little tinted moisturizer, a swipe of mascara and red lipstick. I call it the 45 second makeover. Perfect for when you are running late (which happens to be most days for me). My secret weapon in the lipstick department is this red chapstick from Laura Mercier in Crimson Tint. You can put it on easily without a mirror and it doesn't get on your teeth. I think that means it probably doesn't last as long as regular lipsticks, but you know. You win some you lose some.

My kids are begging for a puppy for Christmas. Do you think they mean a dog of the Staffordshire variety? My love affair with these porcelain pretties continues. Read all about it HERE.

image via Absolutely Beautiful Things

Off to take some photos of the girls room! xx

Acrylic Frames

2011-11-04T05:30:00.001-04:00

I love the look of acrylic frames with metal fasteners (especially brass) in the corners. It's such a unique way to display art, but still neutral enough to let your art be the star.

I was excited to find a really affordable collection of these frames at MUJI (which is a beautiful store - feels sort of like the Japanese version of IKEA).

The largest size is about 12x16, so not huge, but still pretty good size. Perfect for an 8x10 or even a little bigger. If you have some tips on REALLY big acrylic frames, I'm all ears. I have a series of hand-painted panels that I'd love to frame this way. I found some huge sheets at Home Depot that I'm going to go investigate.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

PSA - Cheap Chiang Mai Dragon

2011-11-03T05:30:00.001-04:00

For those of you still wild and crazy for Chiang Mai, this eBay seller in the UK is selling pillows for a whopping $40, which is absolutely unheard of. (Only 25 pounds for you UK readers) Available in both the aquamarine and the alabaster colorways.

RUN. They'll sell out fast.

PS you might try asking the seller if they could make the pillow w/o the dragon front and center. I don't mind the little guy, but really, my favorite part of the pattern is the color in the florals. Might as well try to maximize the best parts, especially when pillows are concerned.

Diamond Tufted Ottoman

2011-11-02T05:30:00.001-04:00

I upholstered two diamond tufted headboards this year for clients and I'm about to start on my third and fourth for my girls' room. Here's a little sneak peek of the first (definitely not perfect, but still pretty) headboard I made. Room reveals and tutorials are on the way!

I <3 metallic linen.

So now that I have a little bit of diamond-tufting practice under my belt, would you call me crazy to want to attempt one of these?...

The settee fabric designing took a turn for the better (thank goodness) and I think I'll be ready to bang out that project this weekend. So now it's time to start ordering fabric/gathering supplies if I'm really going to make this ottoman. Might as well bang it all out while I'm the upholstering zone.

I've been surprised by how much we miss having a big ottoman for the kids to roll around and play on. And wouldn't this be so pretty in our place?

Also, today's Babble post shares couple of ideas (some old, some new) for 'wallpapering' a wall, without really wallpapering.

Dreamy Art

2011-11-01T05:30:00.000-04:00

I am so drawn to the art in these images from Habitually Chic taken on Heather's visit to the Oly Studios showroom at High Point...

It reminded me of these big (and completely affordable!) posters available in Debbie Carlos' Etsy shop. Here are a few of my favorites that have the same dreamy landscape feel. I love them all so much!

Block Printing

2011-10-31T01:30:00.003-04:00

Oh my goodness. Is it seriously the end of October already? Where did this month go? Also, happy Halloween! I hope you have a fun night planned. We've already got so much candy at the house from parties over the weekend, that I'm seriously considering not trick or treating tonight. We'll see if the girls can convince me otherwise. :)

I'm ready to tackle a couple more house projects this month. I ended up getting that really cute antique settee from Craigslist a month or two ago. I added more down to the seat cushion and took it to the cleaners. It needs to be picked up tomorrow. So now the settee is ready to be reupholstered!

I went back and forth about what fabric to choose. I have always loved this one from Lee Jofa and then seeing this image made me seriously think twice. But the rust color is not great with my mustard rug and the price is insane considering I need about 10 yards.

Design by Meagan Camp, who has a lovely blog HERE

I love the busy-ness of the pattern. It feels happy to me and seems perfect for a secondary sofa (still doing the white slipcover on our roll arm - that's happening this month too!). Then when I was thinking of doing the sticker walls in my girls room, I decided a similar idea would make for a really cool fabric. I found or made some quick clip art of things that have special meaning to our family. Mostly reminders of places we've lived.

This is a really really rough draft. I only spent a couple minutes putting this one together, just to get an idea of where this could go. I think there's potential! There will be probably twice as many little objects and the colors and detailing will have to change. I might make a second design to alternate in and create a damask pattern. Each one will be about the size of a salad plate. I'm thinking of just making a couple lino cuts and block printing the whole thing myself on a heavy, inexpensive linen (thinking of sky blue right now). The other obvious option is using Spoonflower, but upholstery weight printing is almost as expensive as trade fabric. I kind of want to just try the hand-blocking project anyway. It seems like an easy and fun thing to do. I feel like the hardest part will be the carving.

Have you ever hand-blocked fabric before? I think I mostly excited by the idea of have a truly special fabric that can't be found anywhere else. Speaking of which, I found some AMAZING custom fabric prints on Etsy. Check them out HERE.

Jenny's Favorite Things Part 2!

2011-10-27T12:50:00.001-04:00

Get excited! It's another Favorite Things give away HERE!!

Jo Totes Give Away

2011-10-26T10:24:00.004-04:00

Up for grabs is an adorable camera bag from Jo Totes! Each bag is lined and padded with completely customizable interior compartments. I think I would pull out our fancy camera more often for day outings if I had one of these.

To enter to win any bag on their site (check them all out HERE), leave a comment on this post before Tuesday November 1 at midnight. For a second chance to win, join the Jo Totes Facebook page.

**CONGRATS TO LIZ!!! and thanks again to Jo Totes!**

Fancy Fridge

2011-10-25T08:46:00.003-04:00

I'm running out the door, but wanted to say a big THANK YOU for all the living room submissions. I'm a little blown away by how many we got and I can't wait to look through all the emails this week! Thanks again, this will be fun.

I'm renting a car today to buy some finishing materials outside the city for a bedroom that is getting photographed this weekend. I can't wait to share the photos with you the first week of November hopefully.

In the meantime I thought I'd share some clever ugly fridge cover up ideas from around the web. I will always love Nick Olsen's Brunschwig wallpaper solution.

via domino

And how can you go wrong with a chevron chalkboard?

image via apt therapy

My friend here has a great prewar apartment, but her refrigerator looks a little prewar too :) so we're going to cover it up. The cork option HERE is my very favorite I think. I don't really need to cover up our fridge, but I would do it anyway. It looks amazing and seems more functional than the regular magnet situation.

Have a great day and see you back here tomorrow. xx

Wanted: House Tours!

2011-10-24T05:30:00.001-04:00

I loved getting to share the nitty gritty details in Emily and Todd's house tour recently. It's so fun to hear about the thought process behind design decisions! I've been thinking that it would be really exciting to add detailed house tour posts into my regular posting schedule here on LGN.

But rather than showing a whole house in one post, I want these tours to be room-specific, sort of like the format we used with Emily's house tour. I like focusing on one room at a time so that we can get all the angles and details.

This month I'd love to feature living rooms. If you're proud of your living space and think it'd be a good fit to share here on LGN, feel free to email me a couple of your images and I'll get back to you with a questionnaire.

jenny @ jennykomenda .com

I'm also looking for project-specific submissions to share here and on my Babble blog. Look who I featured today.

I'm so, SO excited to see what all you amazing, talented, creative readers have been up to!

Images by Aubrey Trinnaman shared in this D*S post. Check it out for more images of Jordan's beautiful apartment, which was so fun to collaborate with her on! Everyone always wants to know where we got the ikat settee (Nate Berkus for HSN) and the drapes in her bedroom (the fabric is by Thomas Paul for Duralee) :)

Fresh Off a Mini Shopping Spree

2011-10-21T05:30:00.000-04:00

[Get it? Mini. Because I was shopping for dollhouse furniture. I'm hilarious on Fridays.]

While I haven't had much time to dedicate to fixing up the dollhouse yet, I've been keeping my eye out for great deals on vintage dollhouse furniture on etsy and eBay. I've been trying to buy only wood pieces, but those Petite Princess pieces are just too cute to pass up, so I nabbed a few favorites from that line to round things out. Want to see what I've got so far?

Brass bed!? You know it!

Either the chairs or the sofa (or both) will get reupholstered.

Look at those teeny tiny little pulls!

For the foot of my brass bed. You know I love my florals, but this bench is crying out for stripes.

Getting a new picture.

Pink phone for the desk probably

Every room needs a mirror!

I got this WHOLE LOT for $5! Check out all the brass pieces.

Including a brass high chair? Not so comfortable for baby, but very chic looking.

Pretty secretary and a demilune.

Big (well, about the size of a piece of paper) persian rug for my living room!

Pretty folding screen that needs some paint desperately.

Yup, that's a zebra hook rug.

I'm sure, like in real life, I'm mess with most of these and paint or reupholster, but I think it's a good start. I'd love to DIY most everything else going into the house. I spent about $100-$150 on all these pieces, which is about what I planned for. The goal is to have the finished dollhouse, including a custom (rotating!) stand, ready to give to the girls on Christmas. They're going to help with the actual house repair projects, but everything else will be a surprise.

Who else joined in on the challenge? I'd love to see what you're up to!

DIY Campaign Style Side Tables

2011-10-20T05:30:00.000-04:00

Yesterday's post on campaign furniture in the kitchen reminded me that I hadn't shared this easy DIY yet. These photos are old in-progress shots from an eDecorating client.

We bought two of these Lack tables in the sky blue color:

And 16 of these brass corners (they're about $5 for a set of eight) and just tapped them into the very outside corners of the tables (tops and feet).

So easy and very inexpensive!

It looks like the light blue Lack table is not available any more, but there are some very pretty high gloss versions at IKEA now. (Wouldn't the birch be just gorgeous with the brass? Or that glossy gray!) Prices range between $7.99 and $12.99 each, which is about the cost of a sandwich here in NYC. Not too bad for a pretty and unique version of a classic Parsons style side table.

Campaigning in the Kitchen

2011-10-19T05:30:00.000-04:00

I'm still loving campaign furniture. I think it looks especially fresh in the kitchen (like in this CHH spread)! Christie had a local carpenter build a campaign style storage piece for her beautiful kitchen and I love the look.

I'm thinking of using my campaign chests together to replace my island (which is on it's last leg - the drawers are getting really hard to use). I did some measuring last night and if I wanted to reuse my marble top, it would fit perfectly. I'm considering doing butcher block instead, but we'll see.

To make the dressers counter height I was thinking about adding a row of drawers (salvage a third dresser with the same dimensions?) but I'm leaning toward building up the height with legs, like the island in this AMAZING kitchen below, though not quite as much leg, I only need about six inches.

image via Plain English

Think I can pull it off? Any tips?

Also, today on Babble, a round up of some of the most affordable furniture the interwebs have to offer!!

Real Estate Dreaming

2011-10-18T05:30:00.001-04:00

It seems like a lot of people say you either really love living in NYC or you really hate it. After more than a year here, I think I can safely say we love New York. I've been surprised at how doable it is with kids. Who knows if we'll stay forever, but it is great for right now. My husband is loving his work and I'm having a great time. I do worry a teeny bit about my girls here though. They say they love it here, but they also talk a lot about wanting a dog and they reminisce about our backyard in Cambridge and in Delaware (they mostly miss the family of bunnies that lived in our backyard in Dover). Part of me thinks we should consider moving up to Connecticut or Westchester next year so the kids can have a more normal childhood, but I just can't wrap my mind around adding a three hour commute to my husband's already too-long work day.

Lately Brooklyn is feeling like a good in-between option. The commute to my husband's downtown job would be super easy. And most Brooklyn neighborhoods feel a little quieter on the streets (more kid-friendly) and it's easier to find a place with outdoor space. I keep telling Michael that we just need a cool 10 million so we can buy a townhouse in Brooklyn Heights. No big deal right?

Check out this one that's available for (only!) $14 mill. What? Don't you real estate stalk all the crazy expensive homes in your city?

This townhouse is HUGE for NYC (or anywhere I think) at 7,000 square feet. I want to marry that front door. Completely amazing.

The view's not bad either.

Welcome home, Mrs. Komenda.

Oh my word, that moulding! Those doors!

Here's the back parlor. ('Parlor' is such a great word, btw. Let's bring it back.)

The butler's pantry is on the first floor by the back parlor. This house was MADE for parties. I think the rolling cabinet is a cool idea for storing away drinks and bigger counter items (like blenders and toasters and stand mixers)

LOVE the thick counter tops in the kitchen, and that range of course.

Another one of the sitting rooms (there are a few). This one feels perfect for teenagers.

This is such a cute girls room. This is purple done right. I really like how there is a great mix of super modern and very traditional antiques in this home. I want that rug for my living room.

And if you're crazy like me and get a ridiculous kick out of floor plans (even when they're super pixilated! sorry), here are the bottom three floors:

and the top three:

While I don't think the decor is completely my style, the place is gorgeous, right? If you want to see even more of the house (in FULL SCREEN!!) click here. But if you buy it, please let me decorate it for you and help you throw your first party! :)

Ikat Table Cloth DIY

2011-10-17T05:30:00.001-04:00

Ikat patterns are trendy and can be expensive, but because the patterns are very organic and loose, it's an easy DIY. There are endless ikat patterns to recreate, but I love Lee Jofa's Ikat de Lin in Brick and used this image for my inspiration. I used four yards of ivory linen (available at Joann's or Gray Lines Linen) and Procion MX fabric dye in Bright Scarlet.

To mix the dye (it comes in powder form), add 1/8 tsp of powder with 16 oz of cold water. This is for a very pale result. If you want a richer, deeper red closer to the colors in the inspiration fabric, double or triple the amount of powder.

Mark the center of the 60" wide fabric and then free hand paint the base design using a thick, soft paint brush.

Once the base patten was finished, mix a stronger concentration of the fabric dye in a small squeeze bottle. Use about 1/8 tsp again for only about 1 oz of cold water. Then use the squeeze bottle to add lines to the ikat pattern. The idea is for the darker lines to line up with each other as if part of the weft of the fabric. It is easiest to work from top to bottom for the straightest lines, rather that right to left.

The pattern will look more like real ikat if there are layers of dye, where everything sort of bleeds into each other. So once the lines are added with the squeeze bottle, go over the design again with the soft brush.

The entire process moves very quickly. This portion was finished in only 15 minutes:

The dye dries on the lighter side, so if you want the pattern darker, maybe try using more powder in the dye solution. You can stitch the two 2-yard pieces of DIY ikat together to make a long table cloth, but it would be just as easy to overlap the pieces on the table and call it good.

I was obviously painting pretty fast and loose here, but if you were a little more careful (and actually marked out some registration marks with tailor's chalk), you could make the pattern exact enough for a big project like curtains or a duvet cover.

PS I did a round up of really cool projects that involve fabric dye HERE.

Elsewhere

2011-10-14T05:30:00.000-04:00

TGIF! I hope you have a great weekend planned! I'm hoping to take a little break from work and to spend some time with my family. My apartment is in desperate need of a deep clean, so that's on the agenda too.

Here are a few things you might have missed this week:

I was one of the bloggers featured in the latest edition of Adore Magazine (dedicated to all things NYC)! Read all about it out here.

Big, exciting news about my favorite Rustoleum Oil-based Enamel! LOTS more colors!!!

I bought this book a couple weeks ago. It's a GREAT resource for botanical prints with black backgrounds. So, so pretty and dramatic! Get a a little sneak peek of some pretty pages here.

It feels dramatic to dedicate a whole post on these little blue towels, but they are MAGICAL.

Have you used magnetic paint before? How did it work for you? Thoughts and inspiration HERE.

And finally, here's the source I always recommend for buying trade fabrics and a few favorite picks that I'm loving right now.

Summer is Gone

2011-10-13T05:30:00.001-04:00

I know it's officially been fall for a few weeks now, but I am still mourning the passing of summer. I blinked and it was over! I didn't even have a chance to get sick of the heat. It came and went so fast I didn't really even put away my winter clothes! This week there is definitely a chill in the air and we've started wearing layers again. Sigh. :(

I was daydreaming about all the things I love about warm weather and I remembered these photos from a party we had on our rooftop.

Balloons are such a cheap and easy way to decorate, and they're even cheaper if you don't have them filled with helium! Party stores usually sell balloons flat for about 10 cents each. I picked up six of each in ivory, peach, baby pink, medium pink, neon pink, dark pink and maroon.

I blew up the balloons myself (and almost passed out in the process - scary feeling on top of a roof, btw) and then I poked a hole with a knife in the leftover portion below the knot.

Then I threaded a 5-foot piece of twine through the new hole and knotted the twine to secure the balloon. Then just repeated with 4-6 balloons of the same color per string, spaced about 8" apart.

Then I hung the strings of balloons in an ombre pattern on our gazebo/trellis thing. It would be just as easy to string another piece of twine between two trees, etc.

Fun, cheap and easy! It made a thrown-together dinner party feel really special.

Touching Up a Vintage Painting

2011-10-12T05:30:00.001-04:00

I love painting and wish I had more time to dedicate to it. It's really relaxing, and there's something so refreshing about going into that pure creation mode. It's a nice counterbalance to all the over-thinking and drawn out time lines that happen with interior design. :) I usually paint flowers or landscapes, just for family and friends, but I would really love to take a portraiture class this year. I'd love to paint portraits of my own kids and I think it would be cool to make portraits for really special gifts. If anyone has any leads on great painting classes here in the city, I'm all ears!

On a related subject, collecting vintage portraits is sort of a trendy thing that I never really got on board with. Maybe I'm too sentimental and it seems a little strange to hang paintings of strangers. Then a couple weeks ago this beautiful vintage portrait caught my eye as I was leaving the Chelsea flea. Isn't she pretty? I love the colors and I like her thoughtful expression.

I had already spent almost all my cash that day so I almost didn't ask the dealer for a price. I thought for sure she would want at least $100 or $200, even though the painting needed some restoration. She wanted $15! SOLD!

When I got home I pulled out some oil paints in the colors that had flaked off on her dress.

It was a pretty easy fix. You sort of just lightly mix the colors you need with a palette knife and then place the colors down.

I added the swipe down the middle here. Because I didn't overmix there are highlights and lowlights that give the fabric of her dress some depth.

The next step was to sort of feather the new paint into the old.

And the painting was fixed in about 5 minutes! Easy!

Obviously I wouldn't have tried this with an expensive painting. Valuable art that needs repair should go to a professional restorer. But since I only spent a few dollars on this painting, I didn't mind trying to fix her myself.

She might be a stranger, but she makes me smile, so she's welcome to hang out on our walls. :)

Kohler Contest - SPONSORED POST

2011-10-11T10:01:00.000-04:00

Hi friends! This is the second installment of a sponsored post written by my friends at Kohler, a company I'm genuinely proud to be working with. Thanks for being supportive of the sponsors that help me keep things running here at LGN! xx

Design Inspiration and a Contest from Kohler

Kohler, known for its bold kitchen and bath fixtures, is running a contest to showcase its Tresham collection through the idea of the past inspiring the present.

Designers will appreciate the way Kohler challenged four of its own designers to create rooms with small budgets using Kohler’s Tresham collection. The experiment resulted in four unique visions that were equally stunning.

Rachel Gremminger incorporated a theatrical flair in her space, which was the polar opposite of Niels Eilmus’ very masculine, rustic bathroom. Travis Rotelli called his room “Instant Professional,” and that’s just the vibe you pick up when you see the leather seating and bearskin rug juxtaposed with stark white pedestal sinks. Katie Begalke’s warm and inviting area is complete with classic literature on the bookshelves. Check out their rooms on Kohler’s Facebook page.

While you’re there, get ready to put your designer’s eye to the test in Kohler’s Tresham Keepsake contest, which runs through October 31. Upload a photo of a treasured keepsake that brings out your inner designer, and submit a short statement (300 characters or less) that explains why your heirloom is the perfect piece to use with Kohler's Tresham collection. One grand-prize winner, as chosen by judges, will win a trip for two to New York City, a professional design consultation, and Kohler products. Three first prize recipients will also win Kohler products.

Visit Kohler.com/tresham to check out the collection.

House Tour: Play Room Under the Stairs!

2011-10-11T05:30:00.000-04:00

I'm sad this is the last post from Todd and Emily's house! It's been so fun to get the inside scoop on their decorating adventures! And thank you to Jessica from JJ Horton Photography for all the photos, except for the ones below that Todd and Emily just sent me here. This adorable play room is a recent addition to their home and I think the idea is genius! I would have LOVED a little play room under the stairs when I was a kid. It's wasted space anyway, why not make it useful and fun? I'm definitely storing this idea away for the future!

Here's Emily:

"When my father in law first visited us in our new home he suggested that we see what was under the stairs and build a play room. After two years of taking on other projects we never thought we could do ourselves, Todd felt ready to tackle a playroom under the stairs.

"He removed the outlet and stuck our camera through the opening to get an idea of what was under there. From what we could tell there was nothing, other than contractor debris and garbage from over 10 years ago. So we cut a hole in the wall and set in on removing a stud, installing the proper support for a load-bearing wall and began to plan the details.

"Knowing that a small door would be too tempting for little boys and their friends to play with (i.e. slam over and over again), we opted not to put a door on this little playroom. That decision also meant that we needed to extend the hardwoods instead of using carpet. This wasn’t too hard to do since we recently put hardwoods in our kitchen to match the rest of the house and already knew what kind and color we needed. It only took one box to cover this room.

"We decided to build a cubby at the foot of the room as it slopes down into such a narrow space and we wanted to have a place to store toys and keep it organized since it is open to the hallway. We installed two small recessed lights, got all of the electrical work in place and hung the drywall.

"Imagine my excitement when Todd was the first to mention that we should wall paper the room (he’s usually against wallpaper in any capacity, but liked the idea of hiding drywall imperfections). While Todd got busy building the room, I was busy looking at wallpapers. We considered a few and since it is such a small room and would only take one roll we looked at some pricier options. We ultimately decided on this wallpaper from Ferm Living. We painted the ceiling Benjamin Moore Sweatshirt Gray to break up the wallpaper and used this same gray inside the cubby.

"Before installing the wallpaper we primed the walls with a water based primer which is recommended. Since Home Depot got rid of their wallpaper section they didn’t have the exact primer that we saw online so we went with a gallon of this one. Parker was able to help with this part which he was more than happy to do. I went to Sherwin-Williams after we primed the walls to buy the supplies we would need to hang wall paper. While there I found out that Sherwin-Williams makes their own water-based primer for wall paper and it comes in a quart size for about $15. I wish we had gone there first, oh well.

"Installing the wallpaper was an interesting experience. The first 10 minutes were frustrating as we tried to figure out the straight line of the wall. Walls and ceilings are never perfectly straight so you have to use a plumb (basically a weight you hang from a string attached to the ceiling) to find the perfect vertical line. You use this to make sure the first sheet is straight and then line each other piece up based on the first one. Corners are tricky (you can’t just wrap a sheet around or inside the corner) and there is a pretty detailed process involved. Thanks to some youtube videos we figured out one technique that made sense for the pattern in our paper and it worked pretty well. Of course, we picked a very hard room to wallpaper especially for our first try.

"We were surprised at how resilient the paper is. We chose a high quality paper so I’m assuming that helps but we would make creases in the smoothing out process that looked like they would never come out, but with a little reworking they always did. Overall, it turned out wonderful and I smile every time I walk by this little room which is probably 20 times a day. Parker loves showing it off to his friends and I like that it’s so close to the kitchen that I can hear the things they say when I'm in there.

"We originally planned on hanging a chalkboard that Todd built but when we put it against the wall I was surprised at how much I loved the wallpaper and didn’t want to cover it up with a big chalk board. Now, we’re thinking of making one of these so it won’t cover up the wall paper as much and doesn’t stick out in an already very small room."

Adorable right? I love that wallpaper so much. A HUGE thanks to Todd and Emily for letting us tour their house and for sharing the process of renovating and decorating a home! I think these two are a great example of how you can get a gorgeous home by spending money where it counts and saving on the other stuff.

House Tour: Emily and Todd's Entry and Laundry Room

2011-10-10T05:30:00.001-04:00

Hi friends! I hope you had a great weekend! We're wrapping up Todd and Emily's house tour today, starting with their entry (I'm still cracking up over their chalk board message) and laundry room (so bright and FUN!). Come back a little later today for their new play room. Enjoy!

The Entry

"We have a very small entry. As soon as you enter the front door, you can either go straight up the stairs, to the left and down the hallway to the kitchen, or to the right into the living room. All that would fit in our little entry was something small like a bench. I found a little antique spindle bench on CL for $80. It was originally painted black which we promptly changed to Martha Stewart Vintage Map (this color is from her old line of paint at Lowes, but ACE Hardware still had the codes in the computer).

"The peach pillow is Anthropologie from about 10 years ago. I found the beachcomber basket at Home Goods for $20! A similar one is at Pottery Barn for more than a $100. We use it for umbrellas and Parker’s baseball bats. We’ve gone back and forth on whether to add baskets under the bench but ultimately we decided that we like the shoes lined up, makes it look like a real home. Todd is probably just agreeing with me on this one because he’s sick of me bringing home baskets and storage containers. I have a slight obsession with both.

"Other than the hooks in our kitchen, we didn’t have any black and white in the house so I made this bench pad using a 3 inch black and white stripe material from Premier Prints. I recently bought some laminated fabric though to make a new pad cover because every time we use the chalk board, chalk dust falls all over the pad. I’ve washed it a couple of times and every time I do the cover gets looser and sloops. But seeing this laminated fabric makes me think that I may need to re-paint the bench all together.

"After seeing and loving Christina’s frame turned chalkboard, I set out to do the same. We found the antique mirror on CL and spray painted it white. Before painting the mirror with chalkboard paint we put on a coat of BIN primer.

"I LOVE our ceiling light! I'm all about vintage crystal lights, plus we needed something that didn’t hang down very far so it wouldn’t hit the door when it opened. This one was perfect.

"The banister and hand rail going up the stairs used to be that awful gold oak from the 90’s, but my sweet dad painted them with white oil paint so they match the rest of the trim. (Jenny here. I'm going to sneak in this photo Emily sent me right after a gallon of paint exploded all over her at the check out at Home Depot. The paint guy forgot to hammer down the lid after mixing! Eeps! :) You can also see the before in the background here)

"To the right of the front door, as you walk into the living room, is a little piece I bought at Home Goods.

"We were looking everywhere on CL and at the flea market to find a narrow piece with storage that could go in this spot. When I saw this at Home Goods it was perfect only it had painted flowers all over it.

"We painted it Benjamin Moore Wolf Gray and added bone white knobs from Anthropologie.

"I’ve had the hardest time decorating the top. Those darn light switches get in the way of everything. Thank you Jen for posting about framed butterflies. I got on ebay and found this set of small framed butterflies. The antique brass lamp is from my parents and the flower pot is from Home Goods.

Sources
Chalkboard: Frame found on CL, turned into chalkboard
Bench: CL
Bench cover: Fabric from Premier Prints
Pillow: Anthropologie
Basket: Home Goods
Vintage crystal light: ebay
Entry console: Home Goods, painted Benjamin Moore Wolf Gray
Knobs on entry console: Anthropologie
Books: Amazon
Framed butterflies: ebay
Flower pot: Home Goods
Blue milk glass dish: flea market
Antique brass lamp: gifted
Hydrangea’s: garden (all of the flowers in these posts have been from our garden)

On to the laundry room!!

"Funny story about this room. It’s probably TMI, but the night before I was going to paint this room Todd and I had a little tiff (I have no idea what it was about). Anyway, when I woke up in the morning he had painted the ceiling, taped everything off, and cut in all the lines. Basically, all I had to do was roll it. And he left me a sweet note on the wall.

"When it came to planning the laundry room we decided to go bold. I always want to use these kinds of colors but I usually chicken out. The laundry room seemed like the best place to have fun. The fabric on the roman shade is by Anna Maria Horner. To hide all of the storage above the washer and dryer I made two lined curtain panels, this fabric is Heather Bailey.

"We needed a place to hang clothes that couldn’t go in the dryer and to dry wet rags and dish towels before throwing them into the laundry basket. I love the drying racks at Ballards but we didn’t want to spend that much money. So Todd built this simple drying rack for about $5 and we painted it a shade lighter than the walls, though you can’t really tell. We opted to get the stands for the washer and dryer for extra storage which meant there isn’t really a surface area for setting clothes down while you switch out the loads. The hamper from Target fills that role. I originally wanted something like this but it was too big. I use the hamper for rags, dish towels, and bath towels, basically things that I don’t wash until we are out. It’s nice to hide them away in a covered hamper and since we dry them on the drying rack before putting in the hamper they don’t get stinky.

"My favorite part about this laundry room other than the color is the art. I first heard about Leslie Graff when Caitlin Creer blogged about her. I ordered a set of 5 post cards and framed my favorites in Target frames. I think she’s come out with a few more prints since we ordered these. These would be so fun in my future office/sewing room too.

"For the red light we bought a $10 brass light fixture from Habitat and spray painted it. The ironing board is mounted on the back of the door and a big linen closet is on the left just as you walk in. Someday I would love to tile this room.

Sources
Wall Color: Peacock Blue, Benjamin Moore
Hamper: Target
Art: Leslie Graff, frames from Target
Rug: Eatman’s Carpets, Raleigh, NC
Light fixture: Brass light from Habitat, spray painted red
Drying rack: homemade
Roman Shade fabric: Anna Maria Horner
Curtain fabric: Heather Bailey

It's the Weekend!!

2011-10-07T22:50:00.003-04:00

This week will go down in Komenda history as 'epic.' It was pretty crazy and I'm ready for a break soon, but thankfully my adrenaline is kicking in again for this weekend! I am really excited to be installing Joanna's bedroom tomorrow. She's out of town for a few days so my little elves and I will hunker down and get everything installed and zhushed for her and Alex to come home to on Sunday. Joanna says it feels like she is on one of those design shows where the room is dramatically revealed to the owner. We sort of did a similar type install for her living room and nursery and it was exciting! :)

I'll also be packaging and shipping out my One Kings Lane sales this weekend. Thanks so much for your support there. That was such a fun thing to be a part of.

I tried really hard to offer only special, one of kind pieces that I truly loved (and wanted to keep myself!). If you're interested getting the back-story on the items I chose (where I got things, what inspired my paint and fabric choices, the history of some of the antiques), I wrote it all up on today's Babble post HERE.

Have a really great weekend!

PS A big thanks to Todd and Emily for sharing their home with us this week. I'm saving one last post from their home for Monday, which I'm really excited about. (hint: they made a secret play room under the stairs. Hot air balloon wallpaper is involved. It's good.)
xoxo

House Tour: Emily and Todd's Kitchen

2011-10-07T19:50:00.001-04:00

We already got an In-Progress peek of Todd and Emily's kitchen HERE, but now we get the full version! Here's Emily:

The day after we closed on our house we had Bull Restoration in Raleigh come and paint our kitchen. They did more than paint, however. They added molding above and below the cabinets, new sides to the exposed cabinets, and new doors. I wasn’t up for living through a kitchen renovation at the time so we opted to have them painted and they were done in about 1.5 days.

While they look beautiful and they did a great job, I regret not taking more time to decide. I had never painted anything before (at the time this was happening) so the thought of painting them myself and having it look professional seemed impossible. But if I had waited 6 months I probably would have had them just add the molding and doors and then we would have done the painting. They used a special kind of paint which makes it look professionally done (like we bought them white) but it’s not an easy paint to work with when you need to do touch-ups, and a white kitchen needs lots of touch-ups.

(kitchen before)

We went with a black granite that has a little bit of texture so it doesn’t show crumbs and fingerprints as much as a jet black granite.

For lighting, Todd removed the huge neon light and installed canned lights. He also hung a pendant from Pottery Barn.

The aqua knobs are from Anthropologie and the pulls are Restoration Hardware. While I love shiny pulls, I had no idea they would show every single little finger print.

To add some color and pattern we fabric wall-papered the backs of the glass front cabinets. The fabric is a Joel Dewberry home décor. Jenny posted this project almost a year and a half ago (time flies!).

We recently continued the hardwood floors in the kitchen (yea!), it looks so much better and now the floor isn’t so cold. Plus, that tile showed everything! Very frustrating from a cleaning perspective. Although I’m a pretty decisive person in general, I cannot decide on whether to do a rug in here or not. I love the look of the Persian rug in a kitchen like what Jenny has, but this area gets trashed and I’m afraid I would get sick of trying to keep the rug clean and free of debris. Maybe just a small one in front of the sink area?

The blue milk glass on the ledge holds all of our little odds and ends that seem to always pile up at the kitchen sink like water color brushes and baby medicine syringes. The basket to the left of the sink is for bottles.

On the other side of the kitchen (the side you see when you walk into the room) we have two hanging wire baskets for miscellaneous items like coupons, magazines, baby monitor, bug repellent, chalk, etc.

Across the hallway is the fabric-covered cork board. We used a mirror that was a gift from my MIL and turned it into this corkboard. This was the first cork board I ever did and I didn’t research it very well thinking it looked pretty straightforward. But after putting it all together the tacks didn’t stay in, so in my ignorance I bought more cork board thinking it just needed another layer. They stay in a little bit better but not great. I definitely recommend cutting a piece of cardboard to put behind cork boards like we did in the office.

On the other side of the fridge are our spices attached to the side of the fridge.

I thought we would eventually get a magnet board for these but there just isn’t room and I like that they are hidden away.

The glass containers of flour, oats, and sugar are from Wal-Mart and the vintage scale is from Anthropologie from years ago.

Last winter we discovered that our back sliding door was broken and had to get it replaced. I really love the French doors. I had a piece of sisal cut at a local rug store to fit the French door and run under the boot tray (Smith and Hawken for Target). A traditional runner was too long. The bench is from my room growing up and holds all of our work clothes, and the pillow is from Anthropologie from 10 or so years ago.

I love my row of hooks. The hooks are Anthropologie and the wood is an old piece of black walnut that a family friend had in his work room. We just stained it darker. He had the hardest time understanding why I wanted an “ugly” piece of wood and kept offering to cut it and make it even. :) We turned our coat closet into a pantry so this row of hooks is where we have all of our daily coats, sweatshirts, and my aprons.

Recently (since taking these pictures) we added a large wire basket to hold all of the outdoor balls. It definitely crowds the space but we really needed something to hold all of the balls for Parker. Plus, I like that it’s wire so it coordinates with the wire baskets next to the fridge.

The process of turning our kitchen into what it is now versus what it used to be has been a really good learning experience for us. Mostly, I’ve realized that I don’t need a huge kitchen like the ones we always see in the magazines. While I would have preferred for this kitchen to be more open, the number of drawers and cupboard space is just about perfect for us. I think I would get lost in a huge kitchen and not remember where everything is.

Sources
Paint color: Benjamin Moore, Abalone
Bench: from childhood bedroom
Pillow on bench: Anthropologie
Wire basket for outdoor balls: Atticus, Spokane, WA
Knobs: Anthropologie
Pulls: Restoration Hardware
Fabric in back of cabinets: Joel Dewberry
Spice containers: Bed, Bath, and Beyond
Boot tray: Smith and Hawken for Target
Sisal runner: Eatman’s Carpets, Raleigh, NC
Fabric covered cork board: gifted mirror turned into cork board using Amy Butler fabric
Wire baskets next to fridge: Gatehouse, Orem, Utah – I’ve seen similar ones at Home Goods
Blue milk glass: flea market, ebay, etsy
Pendant above sink: Pottery Barn
Paper Towel Holder: Papaya and Company, Orem, Utah
Wooden tray (right of stove): World Market
Vintage style scale: Anthropologie
Glass containers: Wal-Mart

House Tour: Emily and Todd's Dining Room

2011-10-06T12:00:00.002-04:00

I looooooove Emily and Todd's dining room. The picture rails? Perfection.

(Coming up next is the kitchen!)

"I was shopping for our first dining room table before we even moved into our house (I took measurements when we walked through before making an offer). I needed a square or round table to fit the room which limited my options. I also wanted a table that was indestructible and we would have for the next 20 years. I almost bought a round pedestal table by Martha Stewart for Bernhardt but when I asked to salesman to lift up the table cloth, I saw scratches all over and the dark stain showed a ton of dust. No go. Whenever I’m in the midst of researching something I consider a “big” decision for our house, Jenny just happens to post the solution at the same time. I was getting a bit desperate to find a table and then Jenny wrote about Stable Tables . They had never shipped anything before especially not a 54 inch square table, but I used my favorite shipping service, uship.com and we were able to ship the table for only $150. The original table we chose was going to have the antique porch posts that were six inches in diameter, but when they went to prep them they found out the posts were rotten. So we went with these eight inch turned legs and I’m so glad we did. The only drawback is it’s hard to find chairs that will comfortably fit side by side and are easy to pull out.

"My only regret is that we didn’t get the 60 inch table. Side note: About a month after getting our table, it started to split between two of the boards. We think it had to do with the climate change and it wasn’t reinforced underneath. There wasn’t much we could do about it until just recently, when Carolina Farm House opened for business. Sam and his team not only fixed our table but they also reinforced it underneath so it won’t split ever again. Thank you Sam! Every time I walk by the table I don’t see a one inch gap stuffed with raisins and play dough I think of you!

"We got our table two days before our first Thanksgiving in this house and we were hosting, yikes! There wasn’t much time to figure out the chair situation. I tried the Craigslist route but I couldn’t find six matching chairs that didn’t include arm chairs. We decided to go with simple Windsor chairs from the unfinished wood shop for $45 each.

(before shot, at Thanksgiving time)

"We painted them a light gray and I sewed chair pads using an Amy Butler home décor fabric. On one side of the table, we’re using a bench because it keeps the room open to the living room and it’s easier for Parker to sit at the table and get up and down. The first bench we used for a while was a CL find for $30 that we painted the same color as the chairs; it also had a long covered pad with the same fabric. I was naïve and thought I wouldn’t mind washing the bench cover when it got stained. Not only was it annoying, but the repetitive washings significantly discolored the fabric. I eventually gave up and let it get covered with ketchup stains. Home Goods came through for us though.

For $80 we got the new bench that you see in the pictures. I added a thick piece of foam to the top to make it extra comfy (Parker can kneel on this bench for an hour – it’s that soft) and recovered it with a laminated fabric, found here. We tackled this project only a couple of months ago and the laminated fabric selection have grown a lot since then. Joel Dewberry just released a great line of laminated fabrics.

"My dream chairs are Tolix chairs, mostly because they are indestructible with kids and I like the industrial mixed with the farmhouse table. Our Windsor chairs turned out beautiful but they do require some maintenance like paint touch-ups and regular dusting between the spindles. If I’m ever able to get Tolix chairs I will probably make new chair pad covers and recover this bench with a my own laminated fabric. This company will laminate up to 10 yards of fabric for $75. When I spoke to the owner he said that Premier Prints fabrics turn out really well in the lamination process, just FYI.

"The pendant above the table is the first light I ever bought. It shocked us how much pendant drum shades are. To save some money we bought the pieces to make this pendant from two different shops on Etsy. We ordered an 18 inch wide, 9 inch tall drum shade for $70 and a three light pendant fixture for $110. Unfortunately, both the shops that made these are no longer in business.

I love the pendant, however, it made it really hard to figure out the art for the wall behind the pendant. It couldn’t be a single piece of art (I was planning on handing Court of the Fairies that’s in our office here) because the drum shade was right in the middle. But Jenny saved us once again when she posted about picture rails.

"We spent about $10 at Home Depot on picture rail moulding and painted with our trim paint. The hooks came from here and the wire from a local hardware store (Home Depot only had silver wire). The frames were found at thrift stores, Home Goods, and Target. If you decide to tackle this project you should know there is a party going on behind the frames to get them to hang right.

"My seamstress friend helped me make the triple pleat curtains out of the Braemore Fioretto in the blue colorway. I found the best prices for this fabric at Mary Jo’s at $18/yard. (Ed. Note: When two rooms are open to each other like Emily's living room and dining room are here, it's a really good idea to use the same curtains in both rooms, even if you want the rooms to have a different feel.)

"We recently (after these pictures were taken) added vintage crystal sconces to flank the curtains. I love the way they look when turned on. These range in price on ebay and some even go into the thousands. I was determined to find a pair for less than a $100. Finally this pair came up on ebay and I was able to get them for $85. They required lots of cleaning; each crystal was covered in dust. I also had to rewire the crystals and order a few extra since some were missing.

It sounds a bit tedious but it was actually kind of fun. The tedious part was figuring out the electrical. Todd gets the hero award for this project. He spent seven hours on a Saturday, mostly in the crawl space, wiring these sconces to work with the main lighting in the room. Overall, the project cost around $150.

"I have to thank Jamie Meares for saving my dining room. I was really stuck on painting a china cabinet but when Jamie dropped off the wardrobe for our room she suggested a vintage buffet. The table is such a big piece that adding a large china cabinet would have over crowded the room. We found this vintage Thomasville buffet on CL. The owner even had the papers, it’s from the 50’s and is in perfect condition. It holds all of my serving pieces, cake stands, vases, table clothes, and other linens.

(before shot)

"On top of the buffet is a tray my sister got for me when she went to the Gien Factory in the south of France. I had nowhere to put my small white milk glass collection so this seemed like the best place.

"Above the buffet is a pair of pedigree charts framed in simple wood gallery frames I found at Michaels. The inspiration for these came from this MS article. I wanted to do both Todd’s and my pedigrees so Todd created the fan charts and we simply turned them on the side."

DINING ROOM SOURCES:
Room Color: First Snowfall, Benjamin Moore
Table: Stable Tables, but fixed by Carolina Farm House
Chairs: Wood Quarters in Cary, NC
Spray paint on chairs: Warm Gray, Valspar Interior/Exterior in Satin
Fabric on chair pads: Amy Butler Nigella Home Decor
Bench: Home Goods, recovered with laminated fabric
Fabric on bench: Ty Pennington Impressions Laminated Cotton Angel Wings
Curtain fabric: Braemore Fioretto
Vintage Thomasville Buffet: Craigslist
Paint on buffet: Pewter, Benjamin Moore
Bird house: Thrift store
Dish in bird house: Anthropologie
Tray: Gift from sister
Pot: Home Goods
Pedigree Chart Frames: Michaels
Picture Rail Moulding: Home Depot
Picture rail clips: House of Antiques
Pendant: Etsy, sellers are no longer in business
Crystal Sconces: ebay
Milk Glass: flea market, thrift store
Large bowl: Pottery Barn

Our thanks again to Jessica of JJ Horton Photography for the images.