The Yard – Advice, Please?

I hate showing in-the-rough before pictures without having some pretty after (or at least during!) shots for you, so I’ve been hesitant to share any photos of the brownstone. Those bachelors have not been so tidy! I could really use your help though. (and to make it clear – this is not our stuff. We haven’t moved…

I would love to be a really good gardener, but honestly, I have no idea where to even start. When we were first married, we lived in Arizona and our yard was mostly gravel and just a small lawn – totally minimal. Since then we’ve lived in places with no outdoor space. I haven’t had the chance to learn about plants and yard care/design. I’m SO excited to finally start now.

We have an upper and a lower deck, both are about 5′ deep and 20′ wide – not super huge, but just big enough for a small grill, a table and four chairs on the upper deck (which connects to the living room). I’ll probably put a small seating area on the bottom deck too (which connects to my office), but I think mostly that area will be for outdoor toy storage. I haven’t figured that all out yet.

As I look through Pinterest and my inspiration folders at brownstone yards, it seems like a lot of them have stone or brick pavers. When we first walked through the house, I thought those flagstone pavers should go out immediately in favor for just grass (right after that astroturf gets pulled up off the deck! yeesh!)

But now I’m worrying about mud. Maybe putting down (prettier) pavers is the best idea?

Okay, all you yard experts – help! What would you do with this space? Ideas I’m bouncing around – a tallish hedge along the back wall for added privacy, some flowers and/or vegetables planted along the sides (I want to take out all those low bushy trees to the left). Raised garden beds? Maybe a teeny tiny playhouse or a covered sandbox? The yard itself is 20′ wide x 40′ deep (this is a shot from the upstairs landing).

Any thoughts?

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Furniture

Mint Green Step Stool

Hey friends! I hope you had a great long weekend! Ours was so perfect! It felt really long, which is about the best way a weekend could feel. :) Last night was especially fun. We went with our friends Dennis and Jenna on a sail boat down by the Statue of Liberty. The weather, food…

Earlier this weekend I had a little time to finish a project on my list. I bought this step stool at a vintage shop for $20 a while back. I filled the joints with a little wood glue to sturdy it up and then it was good as new and ready for a coat of paint.

I love the diamond pattern on the old rubber treads.

EDIT: I was wrong about the paint color. I used BEHR’s Kiwi Squeeze (latex, high gloss).

After two coats of paint (I did prime first with Zinsser), I dug out the rest of these small brass nails and used them to flatten the rubber tread that was starting to pop up a little. Did you know the easiest way to place a nail in an exact place is to use a pair of needle nose pliers to hold the nail while you tap it in. Work SO well!

Man, I love mint green!

The stool has been so handy in our kitchen. We don’t have a ton of cabinets, so we actually use the items stored on our top shelves on a regular basis. It’s nice to have easy access to the shelves all the time now. The girls are really good about not using the stool without me around. I usually fold it up when I’m not using it anyway.

It tucks into this little nook really well for the times we want it out of the way. Or I can put it away in the pantry if I want it out of sight.

But the color makes me so happy, I doubt we’ll put it away much. :) I especially love the way the gold looks on the green.

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Musings

Websites, Catalogs and In-store

Wow! What a whirlwind week! It feels like I haven’t had time to even blink since last weekend. Do you have any fun plans for the holiday? We’re staying in town, but hoping to get out of the house everyday for some adventures. Also hoping to see the new Wes Anderson film, which is getting…

Yesterday Michael helped me move some things to our storage unit in preparation for the move (I’m getting SO excited!) and then last night we did a little shopping outside the city. The sales are good this year and we bought Michael some new suits (which helped me feel less guilty about the summer shopping I’ve been doing lately for me and the girls. Must stop!). We also dropped by Home Decorators in NJ. Did you know they have a handful of brick and mortar stores? It was so nice to be able to check out a few items in person before ordering them.

It frustrates me that it feels so risky to order things online! Wouldn’t it save so much hassle for customers and for the companies just to include lots of images (close and far away), with truly accurate color representation? I hope this gets better over time. I’ve noticed some eBay sellers include a hex color code for fabric they are selling so you can refer to a second source. That is SO smart! More retailers should do this!

Anyway. Home Decorators was interesting. They had some cute accessories that I didn’t take many photos of – glass cake stands and tons of great planters.

And I really loved these two large wall clocks. Aren’t the hands awesome? Feels like it should be in a Kate Spade store.

Even though it’s a bit pricey, I’m thinking about buying this one. I’ve been looking for a more modern-feeling square clock forever and this one is a good size.

I had considered these chairs based on the online photo (don’t they look like they’d be a breeze to reupholster?), but in person the proportions were not good. And the chair was totally uncomfortable – you could feel the frame underneath the foam seat.

These were comfy though, if you’re looking for a good price on Louis style chairs. ($169 ea)

I also saw the zinc table I was so excited about.

From a few feet back it looks really great and I like the smokey blue gray color.

But the finish was a little different than I was expecting. It’s a little more bumpy, which doesn’t remind me of zinc. I don’t know if it really bothered me, but it was good to know I guess. It’s on sale and there’s free shipping this weekend. so…..hmm.

I’m still thinking about pairing the table with these Bertoia style chairs (the vintage ones I looked at before were too beat up for the price). Plus, I wouldn’t feel bad about painting these a fun color.

Hope you have a GREAT weekend! xoxo

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Inspiration

Mixing Metals

I’m a gold jewelry person, through and through. It just looks better with my skin tone I think. But when it comes to hardware and metallic finishes for the home, I like to mix things up and throw in some polished nickel/silvery finishes with my brass pieces. I feel like I have an abundance of…

This lamp has always been a favorite and I’m thinking it might be time to finally try the DIY version – fingers crossed it looks okay!

This basket project from MS Living was gorgeous! SO in love with that finish and want to use these in a nursery project I’m working on. Every room needs some sparkle, but that does mean it has to be a ‘glam’ look, you know? These baskets still feel very boho.

This new desk from West Elm is going into a consulting client’s design plan. I saw some zinc and aluminum-wrapped case goods pieces at ABC a few months back that were about 10x this price. It’s a great look and the West Elm price point is much more affordable.

PS I’m also loving rose gold and I’m coming around to copper. These new copper chairs from Blu Dot are like woah.

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Dining Room

Room Tour: Anne’s Living and Dining Room

I am so excited about today’s room tour! Reader Anne enlisted the help of my lovely and super-talented friend Lauren (who is due with her third baby any second now!) for some eDecorating advice. I LOVE how these two collaborated to make Anne’s home bright and cheery and polished. It’s a nice mix of modern and…

Being a graphic designer is a blessing when it comes to creating a look on paper, but translating our style into home decor proved to be, well, challenging.

So when I stumbled across Lauren Liess from Pure Style Home, I knew I wanted her to help me. With a brief over-the-phone consultation, she was able to give me direction on the larger paralyzing decisions…like “Buy something modern for the second buffet,” or “Fill this wall to the ceiling with art.” She’s a genius!

I then spent the next ten months collecting furniture and art (Lauren also helped us with our master bedroom) and putting the pieces together to create a look that truly reflected our style. My husband is traditional and I like a bit of quirk. Voila!

When we started this transformation, many of the larger items were in place, but the rooms felt unfinished and off balance. Lauren’s advice to create symmetry (around the picture window and couch) and filling the space with ‘pretties’ proved to be the key to making it feel cozy and inviting.

My husband was afraid that filling the walls with art would make the space feel smaller, but in fact your eye is now drawn up and around the rooms, creating the illusion of more space.

And adopting the mindset that ‘it might get broken, but it’s worth having out and not hidden for the next ten years’ helped with creating table tops suitable for a toddler (we have since moved the cactus-ha!). As long as we have a few things out that our two year old son can touch, he is happy to leave the breakables alone.

Another key piece to pulling things together was a color ‘theme’. I wanted the rooms to connect, but I didn’t want to be matchy-matchy. The pillow on the sofa (which I just LOVE) was a gift from missionary friends in Bosnia and it became my ‘go to’ when I was tempted to purchase something. If it didn’t jive with the pillow … I had to pass.

The conversation starter in the room is definitely the large black and white image in the dining room. It’s an image of my dad as a boy and we just love it! I sat for months on the couch wondering what do with that space and now having it filled with a little piece of family history is a treat.

In fact, if you look around, animals play a theme in most of the vignettes. A happy accident I guess, but we love the subtle ‘lodge’ feel.

Well, there you have it. Our living and dining rooms. Thanks for looking!

I will list sources below.

All images by amymajorsphotography.com

P.S. I added a photo of our nursery here too. It was finished when I spoke with Lauren and I told her ‘THIS is our style’. Amazing how nesting will kick you into gear to get a nursery ready while the rest of the house sits undone. :)

Resources:

Sofa – Ethan Allen

Rug – West Elm

Drapery – JCPenny

Club Chairs – Thrifted

Round End Table – Overstock

Campaign Side Table – Urban Outfitters

Three Drawer End Table – Antique

Coffee Table – Overstock

Lamps – Target/JCPenny

Living Room Art – Collected over the years

Sofa Pillow – Bosnian rug turned pillow (gift)

Pink Throws – West Elm

Coffee Table Baskets – Target

Coffee Table Tray – Target

Elephant – Thrifted

Floor Lamp – Antique

Chandelier – Antique

Dining Table – Thrifted

Dining Chairs – Ikea

Wood Buffet – Antique

White Buffet – Ikea

Buffet Lamps – JCPenny base with Target shades

Books – Thrifted

Art – Collected over the years

Large Print – Photo printed at Canvas On Demand

Vases – Thrifted

Dog – Thrifted

Buffet Tray – Target

Bar Glasses – Williams-Sonoma

Silver Cheese Server – Thrifted

Cigar Boxes – Local Cigar Shop

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Dining Room

Room Tour: Anne's Living and Dining Room

Being a graphic designer is a blessing when it comes to creating a look on paper, but translating our style into home decor proved to be, well, challenging.

My husband was afraid that filling the walls with art would make the space feel smaller, but in fact your eye is now drawn up and around the rooms, creating the illusion of more space.

In fact, if you look around, animals play a theme in most of the vignettes. A happy accident I guess, but we love the subtle ‘lodge’ feel.

Well, there you have it. Our living and dining rooms. Thanks for looking!

I will list sources below.

All images by amymajorsphotography.com

Resources:

Sofa – Ethan Allen

Rug – West Elm

Drapery – JCPenny

Club Chairs – Thrifted

Round End Table – Overstock

Campaign Side Table – Urban Outfitters

Three Drawer End Table – Antique

Coffee Table – Overstock

Lamps – Target/JCPenny

Living Room Art – Collected over the years

Sofa Pillow – Bosnian rug turned pillow (gift)

Pink Throws – West Elm

Coffee Table Baskets – Target

Coffee Table Tray – Target

Elephant – Thrifted

Floor Lamp – Antique

Chandelier – Antique

Dining Table – Thrifted

Dining Chairs – Ikea

Wood Buffet – Antique

White Buffet – Ikea

Buffet Lamps – JCPenny base with Target shades

Books – Thrifted

Art – Collected over the years

Large Print – Photo printed at Canvas On Demand

Vases – Thrifted

Dog – Thrifted

Buffet Tray – Target

Bar Glasses – Williams-Sonoma

Silver Cheese Server – Thrifted

Cigar Boxes – Local Cigar Shop

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Red

Every room needs a pop of red

There’s a tiny little open-air flea market in a lot on 25th st just east of the Chelsea Flea/Antiques Garage (my favorite!). It’s easy to miss if you don’t know where to look for it. The offerings are super shabby compared to the vendors in the antiques garage, and there’s almost no furniture, but it’s a fun place to look for cheap accessories. This guy’s stand usually has one or two little vases or bowls that are perfect for styling rooms.

What do you think I was drawn to here?

I love a pair of anything, but the color of these vintage persimmon splatter vases was just perfect. And the shape of these was ever so slightly off, which I think is so great.

I thought for a minute they might be old Jonathan Adler vases because of the initials on the bottom, but I think these are too old to be his. The vases are midcentury (I think) and he started working in the 80s. Anyway, I still really liked them though and $25 for the pair was more than fair, so I took them home.

I love how they look on my bookshelves. A little red in every room goes a long way.

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Musings

Sign of a good weekend ahead?

I had little stroke of good luck yesterday afternoon. I was walking home from a meeting with a favorite client at Oly Studio, where we were both admiring these amazing doors. Note to future self: you want doors like these! So cool. Anyway, on the way home I popped into Housing Works thrift and saw…

I had little stroke of good luck yesterday afternoon. I was walking home from a meeting with a favorite client at Oly Studio, where we were both admiring these amazing doors.

Note to future self: you want doors like these! So cool.

Anyway, on the way home I popped into Housing Works thrift and saw a BRAND NEW (still on the leg stabilizers!) Bungalow 5 Harlow coffee table in all it’s lacquered charcoal gray glory. Price tag? $50.

I bought the table as fast as possible (don’t you do that at thrift stores when you find something good? also I practically threw my body across the table when I caught someone else giving it a side glance :)

There is a little knick on the edge of one side, but I think I can patch it without a problem. You know what was a HUGE problem though? I paid for the thing and as I was walking it out the door I realized
A) No wonder this coffee table retails for about $1k, it is really well built and it weighs a LOT more than you’d think, and
B) It was 4:30 pm, aka the witching hour when all the city is cabless while the taxi drivers switch shifts. NOOooooooooo.

So lucky me got to awkwardly waddle all the way home with a deceivingly heavy, but oh so pretty coffee table, soon to be united this summer with the stripey settee in my new big office. I decided I could skip the gym last night since my feet and arms were tingly/shaky for hours after the fact! So worth it.

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Furniture

Upholstering a Parsons Console Table

One of the things I bought last weekend at the Chelsea Flea was this old, beat up Parsons console table. The dimensions are *perfect* for the wall I want to put the tv on in the the living room of the brownstone. But, guys, look at this heavily textured crackle finish. Blerg. There’s nothing you…

But, guys, look at this heavily textured crackle finish. Blerg. There’s nothing you can do with that other than strip it. Which is totally an option, but I’m leaning toward upholstering the table with an embossed vinyl or a grasscloth (maybe lacquered grasscloth).

My friends over at Matters of Style did a great tutorial on upholstering an IKEA Malm table.

I think Sarah did such a great job here! Looks super expensive for not a lot of money actually spent. It would be fun to try this with a little nailhead trim too. (here’s some inspiration)

PS Sarah also runs an online shop called MoS Marketplace and it’s always being updated with the greatest vintage finds! I have the shop’s url in my Google Reader subscriptions so I can snag the pieces I want as soon as they’re posted.

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Musings

No Sleep Til Brooklyn! (RIP MCA)

I’m so excited that we can finally share our news! We’re moving to Brooklyn Heights this summer! We found the perfect-for-us brownstone. It has lots of space (even a back yard!) and Michael’s commute will be about 10 minutes, door to door. The best and worst part of all – the house needs some renovating….

The best and worst part of all – the house needs some renovating. For the past decade, four bachelors have been living there and they have not been super… tidy, let’s say. Mostly, the house needs a good scrubbing and some new paint. But also the kitchen and bathrooms need various levels of upgrading. The great news is the owners are willing to subsidize our rent and pay for the renovating. And I get to blog about it! Hooray!

I can’t tell you how thrilled we are. We’ve been having a nagging feeling for the past couple months that we needed to move, though we weren’t sure where. We looked at a couple of apartments in our neighborhood, and I stalked real estate (in other states even!) and then I randomly checked the Craiglist listings for Brooklyn Heights one day about a month ago. There was this tiny little sentence or two about a brownstone available and that they were looking for a family. Not much more info than that, and no photos (normally sort of a deal breaker, right?). I decided to call anyway and I’m SO glad I did. The owners are just the nicest people. The process has taken about a million times longer than most NYC real estate transactions (two years ago we found, toured and signed on our loft in less than 72 hours!), but it’s sort of nice to do things the good old fashioned slow way every once in a while. We feel good, they feel good – it really is the perfect place for our family.

We’re going to finish up the school year here in Manhattan, then we’ll go out of town for a little vacation and come back at the end of July to move just a hop, skip and a jump across the bridge. I still have some projects I’d like to wrap up and photograph here at the loft anyway, so the timing works really well.

I’m so jazzed about this, guys! It’s been sort of a rough year for us in some aspects, and we needed a big win. This was totally in the ‘win’ category. :)

xoxo

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Bedrooms

Marlien Rentmeester’s LA Home

Marlien Rentmeester is the west coast editor of Lucky Magazine. She also writes one of my favorite blogs, Le Catch, an amazing fashion site that shares how to mix high and low pieces. I especially love that she shares several times a week an ‘it’ item – a cheap and chic piece in the online…

One tip from Le Catch – if you’re having a hard time choosing an outfit, start with an accessory (like a necklace or a pair of heels) you feel like wearing and then work backwards to build your outfit. So clever!

It probably seems intuitive that Marlien’s home is beyond gorgeous. She worked closely with her friend, designer Hillary Thomas, to decorate her home which has been shot for many publications (including Lonny here). These are a few of my favorite images of her spaces.

The majority of her furniture and accessories were purchased in a whirlwind shopping spree with Hillary to the Dixie Highway in Florida. I am DYING to go myself this summer!

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Bedrooms

Marlien Rentmeester's LA Home

The majority of her furniture and accessories were purchased in a whirlwind shopping spree with Hillary to the Dixie Highway in Florida. I am DYING to go myself this summer!

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