Since last we spoke

Hi, I've been distracted. When there are things like family and thanksgiving feasts and friends and trips to the cabin in the mix, sitting down in front of the computer is is the first thing to go. Here's what I've been doing since last we were together.

1. During a weekend stay at my family's cabin we took a little day trip. Parking our car in front of the No Trespassing sign, we walked around the frozen lake.   2. It was freezing cold at said lake. Cold enough that my brother allowed my sister to stand that close to him.   3. With snow soaking through our city-slicker shoes, we still stopped to take a picture.   4. A small cabin nearby the lake   5. This is my kind of holiday. We started Christmas a week and a half before Thanksgiving. One can't help it when snow is falling outside.

1. After a family outing we came home to a delicious meal prepared by mama.   2-3. Christmas tree decorating at home and the cabin. (Note: last year we started using the larger, round bulb lights on our tree. The effects are quirky and magical)   4. The joys of the holidays.

I love the holiday season. I love the kindness shared by everyone, the looking inward to see where improvements can be made, and the looking outwards to see where your time and service is needed. Along with this season comes an expectation of time spent with family, the joy of cooler weather contrasted by the bright lights, the many smells reminiscent of years past, and oh, the blessed Christmas music. It's a time when the world seems closer together, when greetings are shared, thanks are given, and smiles are visible on everyone's face. I always appreciate my life more around this time. 

What are some of your favorite parts of this time of year?

Soho House New York

Located in New York is Soho House, a private member's club and hotel in Manhattan's Meatpacking District. The Soho House was "born out of a reaction to the pomposity of the traditional private members club." In an area where private clubs are generally made of a similar crowd - a place for corporate men and women to gather together in their suits to drink some brandy, this private social club has a strict requirement allowing only those working in a creative, unconventional field to qualify for a membership.

I was in a club once. Meetings were held beneath the tree in my grandparent's front yard. We gathered once or twice to discuss in hushed voices what game we should play next. 

I was in another club too, one that met in the closet beneath the stairs in my old house. That club never got further than calling itself a club. 

Soho House has a history far greater than either of my wimpy clubs.

While the Soho House is certainly not in want of money, the designers did an excellent job at keeping the space from feeling like a ritzy museum. Their intention of a comfortable and cozy feel is evident in every room of this renovated factory. They maintained the original brick and aged wood as part of the space and chose inordinate amounts of tufted sofas and arm chairs, detail-ridden ceilings, ridiculously cool light fixtures, and a mix-and-match style to highlight the existing features. 

I'm pretty sure this place is home to every chair crush I have ever had.

Kohler: Tresham Challenge Part III

This is the final bathroom put together by the Kohler team to show off the versatility of the Tresham Collection. I'm most fond of the subltly printed wallpaper, the playful shapes throughout the space, aaaand her outfit.

Between Option one, Option two, and this, Option three, which bathroom do you like most?

Introducing: Swarm

Look at these cool chairs I saw here (a neat house tour, by the way, with the best shade of grey I've seen in a while). 

Made by Leslie Oschmann at Swarm in Amsterdam. Leslie finds objects in Dutch markets, French homes, or Belgian antique shops, then refinishes them. Her focus is in the juxtaposition of materials - silk on oil canvas, linen on wood, or stitching on canvas, then turning the old piece into something unexpected and beautiful.

Leslie is cool.

Kohler: Tresham Challenge Part II

Are you ready to see the greatest residential bathroom ever designed?

It is stunning. Nearly perfect, even. I may have even fallen off my chair when I saw it, though those two events may have been unrelated. I often fall for no reason at all. Just gravity.

As I mentioned earlier, Kohler had a few of their employees engage in a friendly competition to design a bathroom of their taste using the new Tresham collection. I showed a preppy, delightful lounge designed by Kohler art director, Katie Begalke, and today I'm showing the bathroom designed by a team at Kohler. It's charming and delightful. Just...take a gander.

I know, I told you.

Though a space of this size and architectural detail is disappointingly hard to come by, the charming elements can certainly be applied in your own home. Everyone can have a space they enjoy as much as I like this and still pay rent, I promise. It just takes a little extra thought. Pedestal sinks are a classic choice for a restroom, Shaker-style furniture and mismatched frames create an old-time feel, timeless moldings beside the elegant wallpaper add sassy visual interest, and the placement of the chandelier...ohh the placement of the chandelier. Muah! There are a few things in this room that I'm ready to incorporate in my home when the time comes.

What elements (besides the model's outfit) would you like to mimic?

October 25th

Happy birthday to my mama.

My mother is the reason I am in interior design - why I love creating, designing, and coming up with less-expensive options for a beautiful result. She has always been interested in these things herself, so when I came along in my overalls and slicked-back-ponytail glory (blessed, blessed 90's) and had an inborn interest in design, she took me under her wing and showed me the way. I'm so happy to have someone with whom I can get excited over grimy old furniture and scraps of fabric. We are pretty good friends.

Mama, your birthday present is wrapped and ready to be opened.

Kohler: Tresham Challenge Part I

On paper, working for a company that manufactures toilets doesn't sound too magnificent. However, when one has the perk of creating a look for a company like Kohler using latest product like the Tresham Collection, the cons kind of get flushed out.

First up, Katie Begalke, an art director for the Kohler company. Using some things from her own home (the pictures, Nancy Drew books, white rug, and Antoinette Fainting Sofa) Katie created a preppy, traditional space. Once her own pieces were in place, she added the wainscot, baseboards, and the Tresham collection. It's a traditional idea with a quirky twist that was used for a non-traditional purpose.

My favorite elements:
The Pinstripe Faucet in Vibrant French Gold
Various colors on the walls, adding even greater dimension
How easily this look can be achieved with a small budget

Next up: Kohler Company's take on the Tresham Collection challenge. You're going to cry.

And your favorite elements?

Eclectic and Dark Home

Full of texture, patterns, comfortable linens, picture frames, classic shapes, and classic pieces. Yum.

SuzAnn and Will's Eclectic Chicago home from Apartment Therapy.

Emily's Favorite Things

We all hope to find that perfect and unique gift for a friend on Christmas - the type of gift that you would really like to keep for yourself rather than give to your friend. And seeing as I work at Anthropologie, a place full of perfect and unique things, I thought I would help you out this gift-giving season by compiling a list of some of my favorite things. Mind you, this is not my own Christmas list made public - I'm doing just fine - it is simply a help for those who are searching for a gift for a loved one.

Cue the audience of screaming moms, models dressed as elves, and the men who really don't belong there. This is Oprah's Emily's Favorite Things.

Happy browsing!

1. Top-Ranked Sweatshirt $78.00   2. Royal Apothic Hand Creme - Meyer Blooms $20   3. Royal Apothic Hand Creme - Kensington Garden $20   3. Garden Stroll Bobbies $24   5.  Long Jane Loungers $29.95

 

1. Eye Color Shades - Green $38   2. Eye Color Shades - Red Motif $38   3. Capri Blue Jar Candle - Volcano $28

 

1. Swinging Fringe Bracelet $58   2. Hinged Belt $29.95   3. Pin Gleam Belt $38   4. Pinch Posts $48

 

1. Q & A a Day $16.99   2. The Fashion Pack Note Cards $18   3. Blackstock's Collections: The Drawings of an Artist Savant $21.95   4. I Was Here: A Travel Journal for the Curious Minded $16.95  

 

Cadiz Mugs $10

Do you have someone in mind for any of these gifts? Or will you be putting any of these on your Christmas list?

Blackened Spaces

It would have to be in a room with large windows
with really cool floors
with natural materials in use
with light furniture - both in reference to color and visual weight
with some semblance of nature in sight
and in a space I don't spend that much time in
maybe even with a fireplace

With all of those things in mind, I will consider having black walls in my home. The trend has not yet died for me.

here

Still not tired of this shoot of Jenna Lyon's home

here

here

Why does this work?

• While we're often advised to lighten up rooms, a darker paint color can be a bold statement to simplify the space. It can also be a serene addition. It just depends on the feel you want the room to have
• Contrast the darkness with other light colors and natural light, be it on furniture, fabrics, or trim color
• Black walls can be a great backdrop to a more important focal point
• Play with the finish of the paint - glossy, eggshell or flat - they each have their own look

Introducing: Factory 20

Factory 20, you must stop. Your pages are filled with sawdust, rusted nails, raw wood, clean lines, worn-in drawers with labels on their fronts, and....and black! So much black. You make the 20th century look so good. And yet, you tease me. Your prices jump far, FAR above my own meager bankroll. Hmm.

I saw the Old Industrial Infinite Drawer Cabinet (seen above) and let out an audible gasp. My fingers left my keyboard and shielded my open mouth, and I sat that way for a minute or so. Then I realized my reaction may have been too much and I tried to put my hands down, but they couldn't bring themselves to close the page and get back to reality - a reality where that piece is not looking at me saying, "hey, thanks for buying me and putting me in this room. I'm happy here." A reality with cabinets that have six drawers at most because that is practical. Wretched reality.

Caged Light Pendants and 1920's Saltoon Town Hall Wall Clock

Switchboard Operators Stool

Kennett Textile Chest and Artist Sculpture Stand

Victorian Ornate Steamer Trunk

Vintage Shoe Factory Rack

Typesetter Box and Switchboard Tabletop Cabinet

Factory 20, you say that you are "confident that we can give to you the unexpected and the unforgettable". You have achieved that goal for me a hundred times over. Congratulations.

Some find it to be over-priced junk (dad?), and others, like me, are avid obsessors. What is your take?

Toast UK - Hello Autumn

One joy about living in rented apartments is receiving the tail end of the prior tenants magazine subscriptions. Anthropologie, Brides, and Fitness Magazine were common, but my favorite surprise I recieved in the mail was a Toast catalog. Bringing in this rainy, autumn weather with their latest catalog, I find myself once again pouring over each page of old-fashioned homes filled with raw wood, perfectly worn-in linens, cozy crocheted blankets, and subdued light seeping in through wavy glass windows.

Greetings, autumn. I've been waiting for you.

What are your favorite things about autumn?

Before and After: Light and Airy Kitchen

A very well thought out and budget conscious kitchen remodel. My favorite details are the cabinet paint colors and the glass backdrop.

After two years of living with a dreary kitchen, it was finally time for Lindsey Ellis Beatty, Decorating Editor, who shares the space with her husband and two boys. After spending an entire year researching, compiling tear sheets, and planning the space, Lindsey devised a manageable renovation plan.

"I know that anything requiring construction cannot be easily changed, so I played it safe and spent money wisely." Having saved in other areas, Lindsey was able to invest in white quartz countertops, dark, easy-to-mop hardwood floors, and a new tongue-and-groove ceiling - all materials that will hold up well over time. 

Being experienced in the remodeling process, Lindsey ordered all of her paints, fixtures, and appliances before construction even began to prevent delays waiting on products to arrive.

Raising the existing cabinets to the ceiling gave Lindsey space to install the floating shelves above the countertops. That extra space is so smart!

Mindful of her need to save money but not one to cut corners, Lindsey kept the kitchens original footprint and placement of appliances.  She designed a new custom pantry with double doors that echo the look of the refrigerator. The extra storage space now houses the microwave and helps anchor the refrigerator against the wall.

As for the breakfast nook, Lindsey continued to work on a budget. She found the camelback sofa at a yard sale for $25. Having saved so much on the sofa, she reupholstered it in a bright coral. 

So, what are your favorite parts of her new kitchen?

Found via Southern Living

Sources:

Wall paint: Seed Pearl (27-32)         Cabinetry paint: Hardwick White         Ceiling Lights: Clark Ceiling Light         Sink: DOMSJO Double Bowl         Faucet: Ashfield (529-7YPS)         Barstools: Vapor barstools         Range: Professional Series (PRG304GH)         Hood: Professional Series (HPWB30FS)         Refrigerator: GE Energy Star Side-by-Side Refrigerator with Dispenser         Backsplash Tile: Encata Glass Mosaic Herringbone in Everest         Countertops: Zodiaq Quartz in Snow White         Cabinet Hardware: Nouveau III Collection         Sconces: Serge Single Sconce         Curtain Fabric: Smokebrush in Silver         Sofa Fabric: Beach Strie (BST3)         Chair Fabric: Alan Campbell's Zig Zag (AC302-16)         Table: Eero Saarinen Style Tulip Table         Side Chairs: Louis XVI (FC010-4) by Zentique         Art: 1 2 3 4 5 6