thank you very much.
i'll take one of each.
thank you very much.
blog
thank you very much.
inspiration & nostalgia
This time of year I always think back with bittersweet feelings to school days and college. It is sweet because this time of year was always filled with such joy: summer had come, along with another year accomplished and pure jubilance that I had survived one more year of school. Bitter because there was often a lot of blood, sweat and tears that came, too, with finishing up a semester and yet another dreaded project deadline. Now, three years removed from my last interior design studio critique, I realize that I learned the most valuable lesson of all:
[found here on pinterest.]
ta daaa 2!
Now for the rest of the d-day apartment revamp pictures!
When I moved into my apartment, we quickly changed things up a bit from the three guys who lived there previously. They had white walls, a white couch, a recliner (that was pretty close to white) and a picture of University of Virigina's football stadium hanging on the wall. The first thing I did was paint. It's such a quick and (relatively) easy alternative for sprucing up a room stat. For some reason I chose a dark satin navy color, which I never fully loved, but I did like it better than the drab off-white walls that were already there.
The first thing Katherine and I did in our revamp, was cover up the dark blue wall. We had another color in mind, but decided to save ourselves some trouble later on in the day and go ahead and prime the wall with a nice white coat. Turns out, this was the best decision we could have made. It made our afternoon painting a breeze.
Next, we did some spray painting while the white base layer was drying. In case you've never thought of this, finding a spot to spray paint in New York City is a pretty difficult task. Especially when it's raining outside. Katherine and I finally decided on our trash room downstairs (which has NO ventilation whatsoever). We propped our table legs & top on the trash cans in order to avoid getting spray paint on the floor. Then we sprayed as long as we could possibly stand it - while the other wafted as much fresh air in as possible - and then we would switch. Painting two small tables seemed small and manageable at first, but this was actually one of the most difficult tasks of the day. Also, not alerting our neighbors to our project while subjecting them to harsh fumes inadvertently was a task in itself! But, you can see in the bottom left photo below, we got them done! And we now have two beautiful polished metallic nickel tables that were originally yellow and only $7.99 at Ikea!
And now...the beauty! Margaret (my fashion designer roommate) informed me that coral is the hot color this year. But I would have loved it and chosen it anyway. I saw this color at a former employers office, and fell in love. We chose a color from the Benjamin Moore Color Preview series, then tweaked it a little by adding 25% white. It looks a little pinker in the pictures, but it is the perfect shade of coral in person.
Now that our apartment has had the majority of its face lift completed, hopefully we will continue pulling it together piece by piece! But for now, I'm happy with the new look.
When I moved into my apartment, we quickly changed things up a bit from the three guys who lived there previously. They had white walls, a white couch, a recliner (that was pretty close to white) and a picture of University of Virigina's football stadium hanging on the wall. The first thing I did was paint. It's such a quick and (relatively) easy alternative for sprucing up a room stat. For some reason I chose a dark satin navy color, which I never fully loved, but I did like it better than the drab off-white walls that were already there.
The first thing Katherine and I did in our revamp, was cover up the dark blue wall. We had another color in mind, but decided to save ourselves some trouble later on in the day and go ahead and prime the wall with a nice white coat. Turns out, this was the best decision we could have made. It made our afternoon painting a breeze.
ο»ΏWe quickly noticed that the room suddenly took on a completely different look!! Even if we had done nothing else to the room, it would have been a drastic change. But we couldn't stop there - look at the excitement on Kat's face to paint!
Next, we did some spray painting while the white base layer was drying. In case you've never thought of this, finding a spot to spray paint in New York City is a pretty difficult task. Especially when it's raining outside. Katherine and I finally decided on our trash room downstairs (which has NO ventilation whatsoever). We propped our table legs & top on the trash cans in order to avoid getting spray paint on the floor. Then we sprayed as long as we could possibly stand it - while the other wafted as much fresh air in as possible - and then we would switch. Painting two small tables seemed small and manageable at first, but this was actually one of the most difficult tasks of the day. Also, not alerting our neighbors to our project while subjecting them to harsh fumes inadvertently was a task in itself! But, you can see in the bottom left photo below, we got them done! And we now have two beautiful polished metallic nickel tables that were originally yellow and only $7.99 at Ikea!
And now...the beauty! Margaret (my fashion designer roommate) informed me that coral is the hot color this year. But I would have loved it and chosen it anyway. I saw this color at a former employers office, and fell in love. We chose a color from the Benjamin Moore Color Preview series, then tweaked it a little by adding 25% white. It looks a little pinker in the pictures, but it is the perfect shade of coral in person.
And ta daa: the finished product!! We took down the borders around our chalkboard (they were bright purple before), we got new pillows, swapped the two couches, hung new pictures and cleaned off our 1 million issues of People, Glamour and NY Mag on our coffee table. There are still a few finishing touches to do, but it makes for a nice change in the meantime!
...beacuase who wouldn't want a book called "Snog: A Puppy's Guide to Love" with adorable puppies on their coffee table?!
Now that our apartment has had the majority of its face lift completed, hopefully we will continue pulling it together piece by piece! But for now, I'm happy with the new look.
i finally got one!
Back in November, LA's co-blogger Holly posted about this beautiful Kate Spade book that was being published. I immediately fell in LOVE with this book, and asked LA if Holly knew where I could purchase one. Turns out...they weren't for sale! Kate Spade had done it as an internal inspiration piece. Then a couple months later LeeAnne told me the name of the printing company (Graytor Printing) and that it was located in NJ..AND that Holly had gotten one as a gift! Then set in my persistence...
Last week I decided to call the printer and see if I could persuade them into letting me buy one. I spoke with a guy who was so nice and helpful and seemed intrigued that I even knew about the book in the first place. After a quick chat, he said he would be happy to send me one and to send over my contact information to him. I was more than thrilled...and now I have one of these for my very own that I can look at every day!
Last week I decided to call the printer and see if I could persuade them into letting me buy one. I spoke with a guy who was so nice and helpful and seemed intrigued that I even knew about the book in the first place. After a quick chat, he said he would be happy to send me one and to send over my contact information to him. I was more than thrilled...and now I have one of these for my very own that I can look at every day!
Aren't these inspiration images so beautiful? They make me want to design something! Thanks LA and Holly for the lead!
ta daaa!
Remember this post a few weeks ago when I mentioned I was doing some work in my kitchen? Well, the work has actually been completed for a few weeks now (since a couple days after I posted that!), and I finally have the pictures to prove it! And, boy do I love these stripes...and our 'wall of random' as Katherine and I like to refer to it.
When Kat and I had our d-day decorating a couple Saturdays ago, we knocked out our whole apartment (er, at least the areas we wanted to cover) in one fell swoop!
Here is a photo of the stripes as they slowly became unveiled...
I have always been pretty terrified to paint stripes in the past, so I started with a smaller and more manageable wall. And let me say: it wasn't that bad! We have high ceilings in my apt (between 9'-10') and I was also intimidated to try painting a wall that high without a decent ladder. But, I did it part by part and used my trusty straight-edge from my studio days and a pencil with a good eraser, and I came out pleasantly surprised with the overall ease of the task! I do believe it looks a lot harder than it is.
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| The final view! |
Coming next: the living room revamp! Check back soon...
4.23: d-day
And I don't mean the day we stormed Normandy. Katherine and I put an official meeting on our calendars for a decorating day on Saturday for 3E. (The "work in progress" post is part of that too, I just got a head start!) The truth is, I can't hardly wait until Saturday to start. I'm so excited about the revamp our little home is about to undergo. We're going with corals and light greens. New pillows are on their way as I type. Some of this may have to be done in phases, but I'm expecting a big change from just a few small items. Did I mention I'm excited? I'll be sure to post some photos after we storm the living room on Saturday!
i saw the sign!
I saw the Easter Subway poster that I designed for the Women's Bible Society! And, I saw it 2 days in a row. The people on the train next to me, I'm sure, thought I was nuts for taking so many photos of this sign; but, nonetheless, I was undeterred and snapped away. You may remember when I did the Christmas poster for the WBS in December. They asked me to recreate the same design with a few directives to make it more appropriate for Easter. They changed a few things from the original design after I submitted it, but I was happy they commissioned me to do the work again. And, I'm hoping to see the poster a few more times before it comes down!
work in progress
Can you tell what's next? I ran out of blue tape, so don't be fooled by the amount (or lack thereof) covering the walls. Updates soon...when - and if - it's completed!
i could look at this alllll day long...
Balloons! I saw this picture on my friend Kyo's blog and immediately fell in love with it. THEN! I found a birthday card that LA, Pamela and V gave me for my birthday 2 years ago (as I was going through drawers and drawers of old stuff looking for an important document, which unfortunately was never found... but at least I came out with this jewel!). Now, I really can't stop looking at it. And to top it off, I put it as the background screen on my blackberry. I wasn't kidding when I said I could, quite literally, look at this all day long.
what a great way to wrap a gift
oldie but goodie
Last night I was looking through some old New York City pics, and came across this beautiful Anthropologie window display from July 2007. It amazes me how they are always equally beautiful. every.single.time.
warmth
This sheep looks like it has the right idea to me, no?
good morning, &
my completely perfect dream house
is it almost 2011 already?
The only thing that gets me even remotely excited for January is the possibility of a cute, new calendar and day planner. At least I've narrowed down a few options...
Pocket Planner
Because all things Kate Spade are adorable!
Never go wrong with polka dots!
Small Desk Calendar
I love the "Keep Calm and..." series!
Pretty hand-drawn art calendar (that I can't remember where on Etsy I found this...)
Dainty, elegant design (except this one on Etsy is in French)
I also have another great, cute option for a 2011 desk calendar, but I'll have to post that after Christmas!
Pocket Planner
Because all things Kate Spade are adorable!
Never go wrong with polka dots!
Small Desk Calendar
I love the "Keep Calm and..." series!
Pretty hand-drawn art calendar (that I can't remember where on Etsy I found this...)
Dainty, elegant design (except this one on Etsy is in French)
I also have another great, cute option for a 2011 desk calendar, but I'll have to post that after Christmas!