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Joanna's Bathroom Makeover

I’m sure some of you already saw these photos on Joanna’s blog (and I just saw on twitter that Apartment Therapy did a feature too), so sorry for the repeat. This was such a fun (and very quick!) project Joanna, Kendra Smoot and I worked on together. Joanna wanted an easy bathroom update. She and…

I’m sure some of you already saw these photos on Joanna’s blog (and I just saw on twitter that Apartment Therapy did a feature too), so sorry for the repeat. This was such a fun (and very quick!) project Joanna, Kendra Smoot and I worked on together.

Joanna wanted an easy bathroom update. She and Kendra worked together to come up with a direction and I got to help with the execution. Here are the before shots. Such a dramatic difference, right?!

The walls AND ceiling were painted navy blue (the exact color was Ballard Blue by Valspar), which really helped the room both feel bigger and more cozy. We used a lot of brass accents, like these slightly mismatched antique brass hooks from the flea market.

I added white painted cube moulding to the fronts of the medicine cabinet using mirror glue and a little caulk. It was a super easy, 20 minute project. The framing makes the old medicine cabinet look so much more finished, don’t you think?

Last I checked there were a couple nay-sayers on the round captains mirror frame we hung to the left of the medicine cabinet. Some people thought we should have used the space for storage shelves, but I love the frame and there’s enough storage elsewhere. Plus, do you really want to see storage shelves first thing when you walk into a room? Me neither! :) And I really liked the idea of mixing of square and round corners on the frames. As soon as we hung it up I was like “Anna Spiro!” Remember her bathroom in Lonny?

I was originally wanting to to add mirror to the frame, but we all ended up liking the empty frame enough to keep it open. Gosh I love that frame. I found another similar one at the flea market recently and it will be making an appearance at our house I think.

Another little easy project was painting the underside of Joanna’s glass shelf. Remember this post? It’s such a cool way to change things up without getting too crazy.

We wrapped the hot pipe (it literally gets boiling hot in the winter) with jute rope, which added a great textural element, but still allows the pipe to heat up the room, the way it was meant to – this way without burning little Toby’s hands. This was another easy project and there was absolutely zero glue required – just really tight wrapping.

I think these $25 double acrylic shelves are so perfect for small spaces. I picked up two for our house too. Also, the artwork here (the photo with the surfers) is available at 20×200. I’ve got a fun giveaway from that site on the blog tomorrow, so don’t forget to stop by and say hi!

Thanks again to Joanna for letting me pitch in here. And a huge thanks to Kendra and Seth Smooth for the beautiful styling and photos.

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Bathroom

Joanna’s Bathroom Makeover

I’m sure some of you already saw these photos on Joanna’s blog (and I just saw on twitter that Apartment Therapy did a feature too), so sorry for the repeat. This was such a fun (and very quick!) project Joanna, Kendra Smoot and I worked on together. Joanna wanted an easy bathroom update. She and…

I’m sure some of you already saw these photos on Joanna’s blog (and I just saw on twitter that Apartment Therapy did a feature too), so sorry for the repeat. This was such a fun (and very quick!) project Joanna, Kendra Smoot and I worked on together.

Joanna wanted an easy bathroom update. She and Kendra worked together to come up with a direction and I got to help with the execution. Here are the before shots. Such a dramatic difference, right?!

The walls AND ceiling were painted navy blue (the exact color was Ballard Blue by Valspar), which really helped the room both feel bigger and more cozy. We used a lot of brass accents, like these slightly mismatched antique brass hooks from the flea market.

I added white painted cube moulding to the fronts of the medicine cabinet using mirror glue and a little caulk. It was a super easy, 20 minute project. The framing makes the old medicine cabinet look so much more finished, don’t you think?

Last I checked there were a couple nay-sayers on the round captains mirror frame we hung to the left of the medicine cabinet. Some people thought we should have used the space for storage shelves, but I love the frame and there’s enough storage elsewhere. Plus, do you really want to see storage shelves first thing when you walk into a room? Me neither! :) And I really liked the idea of mixing of square and round corners on the frames. As soon as we hung it up I was like “Anna Spiro!” Remember her bathroom in Lonny?

I was originally wanting to to add mirror to the frame, but we all ended up liking the empty frame enough to keep it open. Gosh I love that frame. I found another similar one at the flea market recently and it will be making an appearance at our house I think.

Another little easy project was painting the underside of Joanna’s glass shelf. Remember this post? It’s such a cool way to change things up without getting too crazy.

We wrapped the hot pipe (it literally gets boiling hot in the winter) with jute rope, which added a great textural element, but still allows the pipe to heat up the room, the way it was meant to – this way without burning little Toby’s hands. This was another easy project and there was absolutely zero glue required – just really tight wrapping.

I think these $25 double acrylic shelves are so perfect for small spaces. I picked up two for our house too. Also, the artwork here (the photo with the surfers) is available at 20×200. I’ve got a fun giveaway from that site on the blog tomorrow, so don’t forget to stop by and say hi!

Thanks again to Joanna for letting me pitch in here. And a huge thanks to Kendra and Seth Smooth for the beautiful styling and photos.

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An Update: We Made It!!

Greetings from my local internet cafe! After a whirlwind weekend, we have officially moved to Brooklyn! Friday a photographer and stylist came over to take pictures of the loft (more on that soon!!). We finished at about 4 or 5 pm and then the packing began. We packed all Saturday and bright and early on…

Greetings from my local internet cafe! After a whirlwind weekend, we have officially moved to Brooklyn!

Friday a photographer and stylist came over to take pictures of the loft (more on that soon!!). We finished at about 4 or 5 pm and then the packing began. We packed all Saturday and bright and early on Sunday, the movers showed up to load all our furniture and boxes. They ended up running out of room on the truck so we had to finish up with a Uhaul. I might never buy another solitary thing again. Ever. Why do we have so. much. STUFF!?! I feel like a stoop sale is in my future. I have more chairs and lamps and mirrors than any family could ever need. Any takers?

We finished unloading at about 3 am last night and we are beat. (Shout out to my sister, Heather, sister in law, Kenzi and brother in law, Matt – thanks for sticking it out with me and Michael, guys!!) The house is in a state of pure chaos because the painters are still working, which makes it hard to unpack, but overall I am happy with how things are moving forward. There are so many fun, exciting projects coming. :)

Speaking of paint, I thought I’d give you a little update on paints. Last week while we were crazily prepping for the photo shoot, I swung by the house to throw up some samples. I took this photo when the paint was still pretty wet, which was totally a rookie mistake. The pale blue sample is the Farrow and Ball Cabbage White that I have been obsessing over. It looked much more blue than I was expecting. When I came back the next day, the color had dried into a really lovely, fresh color. Much less baby blue and a little lighter. Very airy and totally PERFECT.




I picked a fun color for the girls room too- a pale lilac called Arctic White. I love it with these pinks and poppy reds.

Also making an appearance in the house – Farrow and Ball’s Pink Ground, Down Pipe and Off Black (on the doors!!!). Stay tuned for the play by play. I’ve been taking photos of everything!

xoxo

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Cabbage White

I have paint colors on the brain today. The landlord is paying to have the whole brownstone professionally painted, which is awesome (and was a bit unexpected to be honest). I’m just so, so glad I don’t have to paint the 20′ high stairwell on the parlor floor myself (YIKES!). I’m probably going to go…

I have paint colors on the brain today. The landlord is paying to have the whole brownstone professionally painted, which is awesome (and was a bit unexpected to be honest). I’m just so, so glad I don’t have to paint the 20′ high stairwell on the parlor floor myself (YIKES!).

I’m probably going to go with a very pale gray for all the common area walls (I LOVE Benjamin Moore’s Pale Oak), but I’m super-duper tempted by Farrow and Ball’s Cabbage White. It’s this really bright, clear greeny-bluey white. I think it would be so fresh!


image from Lonny

Off to grab some sample pots to throw up on the wall this morning before the painter needs my final choices. I’ll be sure to share on instagram (my handle is @jennykomenda).

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We're Home…ish.

We made it back to New York, happy and tired. This week is going to be completely nuts. We originally had until the middle of August to be moved out of our loft, which was going to be nice for getting some of the bigger brownstone renovations done before moving our stuff in. But while…

We made it back to New York, happy and tired. This week is going to be completely nuts. We originally had until the middle of August to be moved out of our loft, which was going to be nice for getting some of the bigger brownstone renovations done before moving our stuff in. But while we were in Arizona, we found out that we have to move out of the loft this weekend! Yikes! Also, we have a photographer coming to shoot the loft on Friday. Double yikes! I’m sure it will work out fine, but I’ll be relieved when this week is over.

While I’m styling the loft for the photos and packing up the contents of our drawers this week, the Olympics will be playing in the background. The summer games are so much more fun to watch than the winter, don’t you think? I love swimming, diving, gymnastics and I’m so excited for the track events to start up! As a side note, does any one else feel old and out of shape while watching the Olympics??

Vintage Olympics posters from eBay

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Musings

We’re Home…ish.

We made it back to New York, happy and tired. This week is going to be completely nuts. We originally had until the middle of August to be moved out of our loft, which was going to be nice for getting some of the bigger brownstone renovations done before moving our stuff in. But while…

We made it back to New York, happy and tired. This week is going to be completely nuts. We originally had until the middle of August to be moved out of our loft, which was going to be nice for getting some of the bigger brownstone renovations done before moving our stuff in. But while we were in Arizona, we found out that we have to move out of the loft this weekend! Yikes! Also, we have a photographer coming to shoot the loft on Friday. Double yikes! I’m sure it will work out fine, but I’ll be relieved when this week is over.

While I’m styling the loft for the photos and packing up the contents of our drawers this week, the Olympics will be playing in the background. The summer games are so much more fun to watch than the winter, don’t you think? I love swimming, diving, gymnastics and I’m so excited for the track events to start up! As a side note, does any one else feel old and out of shape while watching the Olympics??

Vintage Olympics posters from eBay

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How to Upholster Bench Corners

Remember the not-so-vintage bench I was going to reupholster in the spotted leather? I finished it before we went on vacation. I used my favorite corner method and thought I’d share. It’s an easy approach. First I laid out the hide to figure out the pattern placement. I used these new AMAZING heavy-duty scissors to cut…

Remember the not-so-vintage bench I was going to reupholster in the spotted leather? I finished it before we went on vacation. I used my favorite corner method and thought I’d share. It’s an easy approach.

First I laid out the hide to figure out the pattern placement.

I used these new AMAZING heavy-duty scissors to cut the edges of the piece and make a clean, straight edge.

You want about three inches of overhang with bench tops or drop seats for chairs. It’s enough fabric for you to be able to pull nice and tight, but there won’t be leftovers peeking out from underneath.

I like to stagger staples in two lines, one about an inch set in from the edge and the second line running along the inside edge of the fabric.

Once all four edges have been stapled (don’t forget to pull very tight!), it’s time to tackle the corners. There are a few different ways to approach corners, but this way there are almost no folds or bunching (which is tricky especially with thicker fabric and leathers).

You just bring the fabric or leather together in the corner and run staples in lines on either side of the fabric, at a 45 degree angle. Leave about an inch or so loose without staples near the outside edge of the corner.

Using heavy duty scissors, cut the fabric or leather very close to the staples, but stop cutting right at the corner.

Then trim the edges down so that the flap still connected to the corner is about two inches wide.

Then pull the flap very tight and lay it down and staple it on top of the other staples you put in at a 45 degree angle.

If you have been pulling tight the whole time, the flap will lay very flat and the corner will be very smooth and professional looking.

All finished! I love this spotted hide so much more than the taupe velvet.

See just the two tiny folds on either side of the corner? If I had just pulled and stapled around the corners like most upholstery jobs call for, there would be all sorts of bunching and really heavy-looking corners. This method makes the fabric lay almost as flat as sewing the corners (which is a pain to me).

PS The winner for the Jessie Mackay painting give away was chosen and she was emailed, so please check your inboxes! As soon as I hear back from her I’ll update the post. Thanks for entering!

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Copy Cat Design: Caitlin Wilson's Dining Room

Colleen is on fire – I love seeing what she is up to on There Comes A Yes. Also, did you hear that she is now the head graphic designer for Lonny? She is so talented and I feel really lucky that she works with me! She’s joining us today with a copy cat version…

Colleen is on fire – I love seeing what she is up to on There Comes A Yes. Also, did you hear that she is now the head graphic designer for Lonny? She is so talented and I feel really lucky that she works with me! She’s joining us today with a copy cat version of a room designed by another lovely friend, Caitlin Wilson. Here’s Colleen:

I really love Caitlin Wilson’s dining room in the July issue of Matchbook. It’s a pretty mix of traditional and feminine pieces!
It’s pink, but the shape isn’t overtly girly, so it works well in a dining room.
A fresh, light wash of blue on the walls enhances the navies and pinks.
Chintz makes me happy. That’s all.
A very traditional and formal chandelier–it’s best paired with a mix of furniture styles.
To stuff with hydrangeas, of course.
Dress up a run-of-the-mill buffet with glam lucite knobs.
A basic sideboard perfect for customization.
Scour church garage sales, thrift stores, and fleas for a framed oil painting–you’ll get the best deal!
Rarely can you go wrong with a vintage dining set. If you’re searching Ebay or Craigslist, try adding “regency” to your search terms.
To get that Regency look, search for high back chairs and caning.
Upholster the dining chairs in a navy and white/cream stripe!
Use wing back chairs as host chairs–it breaks up the matchy-matchy look of a dining set.
Tie the room together perfectly with this floral fabric.
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Dining Room

Copy Cat Design: Caitlin Wilson’s Dining Room

Colleen is on fire – I love seeing what she is up to on There Comes A Yes. Also, did you hear that she is now the head graphic designer for Lonny? She is so talented and I feel really lucky that she works with me! She’s joining us today with a copy cat version…

Colleen is on fire – I love seeing what she is up to on There Comes A Yes. Also, did you hear that she is now the head graphic designer for Lonny? She is so talented and I feel really lucky that she works with me! She’s joining us today with a copy cat version of a room designed by another lovely friend, Caitlin Wilson. Here’s Colleen:

I really love Caitlin Wilson’s dining room in the July issue of Matchbook. It’s a pretty mix of traditional and feminine pieces!
It’s pink, but the shape isn’t overtly girly, so it works well in a dining room.
A fresh, light wash of blue on the walls enhances the navies and pinks.
Chintz makes me happy. That’s all.
A very traditional and formal chandelier–it’s best paired with a mix of furniture styles.
To stuff with hydrangeas, of course.
Dress up a run-of-the-mill buffet with glam lucite knobs.
A basic sideboard perfect for customization.
Scour church garage sales, thrift stores, and fleas for a framed oil painting–you’ll get the best deal!
Rarely can you go wrong with a vintage dining set. If you’re searching Ebay or Craigslist, try adding “regency” to your search terms.
To get that Regency look, search for high back chairs and caning.
Upholster the dining chairs in a navy and white/cream stripe!
Use wing back chairs as host chairs–it breaks up the matchy-matchy look of a dining set.
Tie the room together perfectly with this floral fabric.
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Making Curtains Out of Drop Cloths

Using canvas drop cloths from the hardware store is a super economical way to make thick, light-filtering curtains. There is magic happening in the interwebs, and all sorts of creative bloggers have come up with great methods for jazzing up the panels – paint, dye, trim, you name it. Check out a lovely assortment of…

Using canvas drop cloths from the hardware store is a super economical way to make thick, light-filtering curtains. There is magic happening in the interwebs, and all sorts of creative bloggers have come up with great methods for jazzing up the panels – paint, dye, trim, you name it.

Check out a lovely assortment of links and ideas for drop cloths HERE on my latest post for the Better Homes and Gardens blog.

images via BHG

PS Remember this project we used drop cloths for? 
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Inspiration

Upholstered Chair Legs

Right before we left to go out of town, I stopped into one of my favorite stores, Canvas, to pick up some glassware for a shoot. While I was there I fell in love with this petite wingback chair. We need a pair of very narrow armchairs in the brownstone. I’m planning to use these…

Right before we left to go out of town, I stopped into one of my favorite stores, Canvas, to pick up some glassware for a shoot. While I was there I fell in love with this petite wingback chair.

We need a pair of very narrow armchairs in the brownstone. I’m planning to use these bergeres right now, but there’s a chance they’ll be just a hair too wide and not nearly deep enough for the long living room (we’ll just have to see once we get in there next week). But these narrow and deep armchairs from Canvas just might be perfect for the space. (and how pretty would bright red pillows be on the blush pink linen?!)
The price on these is not that great, but maybe I could find something vintage with similar proportions? I think I’m mostly just crazy for the upholstered legs! What a great look (and something I could totally DIY).
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Gray's Rock Shop

This weekend my brothers and sisters and their families have been together at my parent’s home in Snowflake, Arizona. After we were all burnt out from the lake, we decided to take a little day trip to Gray’s Rock Shop in Holbrook near the Petrified Wood Forest. It was the coolest place, full of the…

This weekend my brothers and sisters and their families have been together at my parent’s home in Snowflake, Arizona. After we were all burnt out from the lake, we decided to take a little day trip to Gray’s Rock Shop in Holbrook near the Petrified Wood Forest. It was the coolest place, full of the most incredible gems and rocks. Mother Nature really knows how to put together a color palette!
I loved these crystals that looked like a cityscape.
Wearstler-esque petrified wood stump chair and gorgeous mollusk fossils.
The shop had the most beautiful agate all over the place. This little bowl was full of pieces already banded in gold and ready for stringing on a chain.
I wanted these petrified wood bookends so, so bad!
Malachite boxes and trinkets were everywhere!

They also had an awesome selection of brass and acrylic pieces for displaying your rocks. I liked these petal-shaped ones.
The girls helped me pick out this pretty piece of petrified wood and the minty green crystal to take home with us to NYC next week. I’m so crazy about the colors! And aren’t the brass and acrylic stands great?  It will be fun to have little souvenirs of this trip and reminders of our old home in our new home.
PS Did you know petrified wood is estimated to be between 50 and 200 million years old! Amazing.
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