Newton, MA Guest Room Redo

1. Hagalund sofa bed, Ikea; 2. Threshold Natural Core Solid Window Panel, Target; 3.  Blåst finial, Ikea; 4.  Benjamin Moore Gray Owl wall paint; 5.  Assorted throw pillows, Target; 6.  Hemnes chest of drawers, Ikea; 7.  Global Views Nugget Bud Vase, Horchow; 8.  Threshold Iron Wire Table, Target; 9.  Threshold Hand-woven Wool Tie-dye rug, Target

I've been working to help some good friends of mine reorganize and redecorate their condo in Newton, MA.  They've been living there for quite a few years and while there is plenty of room in the condo, they have begun to feel like the space is closing in on them.  To help them reclaim their home and sanity I'm helping them rethink the way each room is used and select furniture that better fits each space.  We're also adding lots of new organizational solutions and a clean, refreshing, gender-neutral color palette.

One of the first rooms we've tackled is the main guest room.  This room functions on a day-to-day basis as the husband's dressing room, serving as a guest room on occasion.  Since it's a secondary space we're keeping things budget-conscious and sourcing lots of Ikea and Target items (see key furnishings and accessories above).  Ikea is a great source if you remember to keep things neutral.  Focus on texture rather than color and keep the lines of the furniture simple.  You can get really great basics at Ikea, like neutral linen window panels and wool or natural fiber rugs, at prices that you truly just cannot find anywhere else.  Just make sure you use the shopping list/check stock features on their website before you go into the store, and get an ice cream cone on the way out to make it bearable!

Here are some before shots of the room.  They are weird panoramas but you get the idea.  Stay tuned for final project photos!

before

before

Apartment Challenge :: An Early Finish

A while back I started a (sporadic) little series, posting about projects I was taking on in my own apartment to spruce it up a bit.  Well, as these things happen, we ended up moving out before I completed all of the projects I'd had in mind - though really, a home should be a reflection of your life, and as such it is always a work in progress!  Here I'm sharing the final photos of our place as it was just before we moved.  

You can probably see that I did replace the sofa legs (read part one of that project here), a minor detail that to me makes a huge difference.  There were lots of little things that I never got around to, like rehanging curtains or doing anything to jazz up the dining area, and I did diddly in the bedroom/office.  But we'll always remember that place fondly.  We were happy and comfortable there for 2.5 super transformative years.  In moving, one of the most amazing things was seeing just how much we had fit into a rather small one-bedroom apartment.  By living an edited life and making sure that every inch of closet and storage space was organized and used in the most efficient way possible, we were able to keep visible areas and surfaces pretty clutter-free and comfortable.  Once spread out, all of our "stuff" managed to fill our new, much larger place with no problem.  

Stay tuned for future photos of our new place!

Reupholstered Bentwood Chair

Found this chair for $30 at Junk in Brooklyn.  They really do have a lot of junk in there, but I thought this was a good find.  In the before pics, below, you'll see that the seat was covered in some safety orange vinyl, which was really dirty and gross.  I replaced it with a pretty linen and voila!  Now I have a nice new chair.

Saarinen Executive Chairs as Dining Chairs

Saw this picture in Canada's Style at Home magazine.  I love the textured gray upholstery on these Saarinen Executive Chairs, and these chairs used as dining chairs.  Mixing them in with all of the glam and feminine touches in this room takes away some of the strange futuristic appearance they can sometimes have.  

I posted awhile back about the home of Bonnie Edelman, and they also used these chairs in their dining room to a totally different effect.  Of course with the same table (different material).

Website Update! Project Reveal!

Our newly updated website is now live and shows photos of our project in Astoria, Queens.  Please have a look!

www.aliveandkickingdesign.com

Apartment Challenge :: Replacing Sofa Legs :: part 1

Our sofa with its current wood block legs

I decided to jump on this project now, since it should be an easy one to tackle.  I am going to change out our sofa legs because I am tired of the standard wood block Ikea legs.  I want something a bit more sophisticated, and am planning on a tapered, midcentury-style leg, about the same height as the existing ones, and in a darker wood tone so that they stand out less visually.  Please kindly ignore the artwork hanging situation in the above photo.  That is my next project.

I found this helpful and inspiring article on the blog Honey Badger Home.  Love the name of the blog, and love the honey badger.  They went a step further than just replacing the legs and tufted the cushions for an even more midcentury look.  I am cool with the untufted cushions though.  Ours are getting pretty slouchy from over two years of use, but I like it that way.  Nice and casual.

Anyway.  I didn't really want to mess with Home Depot (have you been to an urban Home Depot?) and tools and metric/english conversions, so I just kept looking and looking and eventually found Uncle Bob's Workshop, who makes sofa legs that are explicitly billed as replacements for the Ikea Karlstad sofa.  You can order them in a variety of woods and finishes (or unfinished), and even with brass feet.  Here are some pics from their website:

A sofa with Uncle Bob's Workshop replacement sofa legs

A shot of just the sofa legs

I went ahead and ordered twelve replacement walnut legs for our sofa and ottoman and cannot wait for them to arrive.  Since I am picky about things, I emailed first to see how to get a matte finish (I'm thinking a glossy finish will reflect more light and draw more attention to the legs, plus I just personally prefer wood that has a more natural looking finish) and also to see if I can have them sent without the white protective pads on the bottom.  I plan to add my own, slightly smaller, black felt pads so that they won't be visible.  Uncle Bob emailed me back almost immediately with answers that were helpful, which was excellent.

I may try taping and dipping the feet in a gold metallic paint to get the brass feet look, or I might just leave them as is.  We shall see.  Check back soon for pics that show the replacement legs!

On a separate but somewhat related note, I sometimes am looking around at beautiful furniture and wanting to splurge on a really gorgeous sofa (or custom design one), but then something like this happens and I realize that this old Ikea thang with its washable, zip-off covers is really just perfect for us:

Oopsy! Did I do that?

Casual/Luxe Cottage by Peter Dunham

How great is that giant dining nook?  Using two separate tables allows people seated in the center of the long banquette to squeeze in and out, which is smart.  I just love dining areas fitted with custom banquettes.  If I don;t get to design one for myself sometime soon I might have to do it for someone else.  Any takers?

This image is from a Newport Beach cottage designed by Peter Dunham, as featured in House Beautiful February 2013.  Photography by Victoria Pearson.

This project features so many GORGEOUS rugs and textiles.  And also lots of great layering and style mixing.  You can see some more photos after the jump...

Historic Meets Contemporary :: Elle Decor

Great project, and I love the mixture of historic farmhouse and contemporary elements.  Lots of really great chairs in this one.  And I always love me some sisal/rattan/black metal/wood/camel leather/calm, muted palette.  

Interior design by Robert Stilin.  Photographs by William Waldron.  As featured in Elle Decor December 2012: Hamptons Classic.  More photos of this project can be seen on Elle Decor.

Astoria Project Peek

A view of the apartment's entry

So, I haven't forgotten about my own apartment challenge, but I've been so busy with other exciting projects that I haven't had a chance to post about it.  Here are a few sneak peaks at one of those other projects, an apartment in Astoria, Queens.  Look out for a complete set of images in the coming weeks on my website. 

With this project I got a chance to build one of the great black pipe shelving units seen here, on a blog I really love, The Brick House.  It was a LOT of work (prep and schlep), but I really loved how it turned out in the end.  Because the pipes and boards comes in all different lengths and sizes and can be cut to any length you want, it's possible to customize it to suit your needs.

Heading to the install with a tree in the car

Assembling a custom shelving unit with the super handy and fun Will

A glimpse at the finished and styled shelving

Instant Attraction: Study in the Home of Carlos Aparicio

This serene study is from the Home of Carlos Aparicio, as featured in Elle Decor December 2012 in the article Miami International.  This clean, white interior is kept from beng too sterile by the addition of warm, brown wood and leather elements and soft surfaces, especially that shaggy midcentury Swedish rug.  I really, really love that wrought-iron chair.  It is by Marc Du Plantier.

Lots more photos of this interior can be found at Elle Decor.  Photographs by Richard Powers.

Open-Yet-Divided Living Area

What I really love about this feature (Lines in the Sand, Architectural Digest November 2012, Photos by Pieter Estersohn, design by Olson Kundig Architects) is that it allows you to see the overall view of this amazing, open living space, and then also to see a ground level view of each of the zones.

There's the living/sitting zone with that great fireplace:

Then there's the game table/library zone:

And finally that great outdoor, beachside seating area, which can be separated from the indoor zones by glass doors:

Overall a beautiful project.  Great natural palette and good division of space that still maintains a very open feeling.  I love the use of that horizontal wood "canopy" that creates the feeling of a hallway and breaks up the vertical space.

Instant Attraction: Manhattan Apartment of Nate Berkus

The November 2012 issue of Architectural Digest ran a great before and after article featuring Nate Berkus's gorgeous Greenwich Village apartment.  I love the neutral color palette and the mix of graphic and rustic elements.  Nate is always amazing with giving his spaces character.  I've included a couple of my favorite shots here, and there are loads more over on the AD site.

Love the way he super cleverly disguised the oddly placed and proportioned windows in the office (above) (see the "before picture below).

House Beautiful: An American in Kenya

Lovely palm-thatched bedroom featured in House Beautiful October 2012: An American in Kenya.  Interior design by Suzanne Kasler.  Photo by Thibault Jeanson.

So light, airy and natural.  Love that campaign desk.

House Beautiful: Punches of Color

I like the bold pops of color in this interior, and especially dig the pattern that's been added to the backs of the bookshelves.

Images from House Beautiful May 2012.  Interior design by Christina Murphy.  Photographs by Jonny Valiant.

Nate Berkus Home Office Makeover

Loved this one-day home office makeover by Nate Berkus in House Beautiful May 2012.  Perfect balance of masculine and feminine.  Love that 70's sofa!

Image from House Beautiful.  Interior Design by Nate Berkus.  Photo by Björn Wallander.

House Beautiful: California Cottage

Image from House Beautiful: California Cottage, July/Aug 2012.  Interior Design by Stephen Shubel.  Photos by Luca Trovato.

I love this platform seating.  Very casual yet sophisticated.  Great collection of pillows on top and who doesn't love a good box cushion?

Sourcing: Made Goods

Made Goods has some pretty amazing home accents with a big nod to nature.  Trays, shagreen boxes, lamps, stools, tables, mirrors, baskets, objets.  This would be a great source for those pieces that give the finishing touch to a room.  Those less than practical treat yo'self pieces.  Here are a few that stood out to me on a quick trip through the site (which has great, clean product photography, by the way).  All images from www.madegoods.com.

1. Tanek Stool - that is a little Japanese stool CAST IN RESIN!  2.  Adrian Mirror - handmade to look like barnacles and hand painted.  Nature never goes out of style.  3.  Raylan Basket  4.  Tekla Faux Coral Objet - love the color.  5.  Arron Lamp - that base is formed out of metallized rocks.  6.  Cobus Stool - gaps in the wood have been filled with resin and small mirrored squares.  Love the juxtaposition of natural and man-made in this piece.

Architectural Digest: Home of Jenni Kayne and Richard Ehrlich

From Architectural Digest, October 2012: Comfort Zone.  The home of Jenni Kayne and Richard Ehrlich.  I love the simple and relaxed palette and the overall vibe of this project.  Looks very beautiful but still comfy and livable for a family.  Speaking of which, even the children's rooms are amazing.  Project by Standard.

All photos from www.architecturaldigest.com or scanned from the magazine.  Photos by Roger Davies.

More photos of this amazing home after the jump...

Jayson Home Sofas and Chairs

Flipping through the Jayson Home catalog reminded me of what lovely upholstered sofas and chairs they have.  I think what appeals to me is that they all seem to have a story behind them.  They feel approachable, inviting, classic, and lived-in.  Makes me want to curl up with a book.

Above: Theodore Sofa.  Image from www.jaysonhome.com.

Below: Kempton Sofa.  Image from the catalog, via www.ifthelampshadefits.blogspot.com.  Clarke Chair.  Image from www.jaysonhome.com.

And just for fun, how about this gold-plated wishbone they have on offer?  Why not?  Gold Wishbone, image from www.jaysonhome.com.

Instant Attraction: Barn Raising (New York Times)

This beautiful barn was featured on the New York Time blog on May 4, 2012. It's so beautiful, with those big windows, and the light, bright (yet not stark) interiors. With all of the Marimekko and that sophisticated Scandinavian look, it's no surprise that one of the owners, Tiina Laakkonen, is Finnish (and a stylist at that).  And she has a great philosophy on design. In the article she says that she likes "when you can still see the person’s hand in things. Anything that is made by hand will age better than something that has been manufactured."  Love it.

More pics of this Amagansett home below and on the NYT blog.  All photos from www.tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com.