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Archive for the ‘Renovation and Decoration Report’ Category

A Possible DIY…Painted Inlay Vanity?

Posted in DIY, Renovation and Decoration Report, tagged , , , , , on April 3, 2013 | 7 Comments »

If you didn’t follow my bathroom re-do last summer, you might want to read this post, before starting this one. As a quick recap, my master bathroom at the shore went from this to this…

master bath from rental listingimg_0097

…and this to this, for almost no money and a just lot of sweat equity, including me personally hand stamping an Indian block print for what felt like a million times.

toilet view master bathtoilet side master bath

The thing that didn’t get finished and thus does not appear in the photos is the vanity which was not changed out. One of the choices I was really interested in was using some kind of mother of pearl or bone inlaid chest or table as the sink vanity. It was complicated, because I couldn’t find one the right height or size and many were absolute budget busters anyway. After I left at the end of the summer, it went on the back burner, but still simmered all year. Well, in this month’s House Beautiful, Rebecca Minkoff did just what I was talking about, converting an inlaid dresser to a vanity by adding a sink. It got me to thinking…

fae27247146db4d786e9347db49fa1ef

A number of favorite bloggers – all master DIYers, though, unlike me – have painted the most extraordinary trompe l’oeil inlaid pieces lately using either stencil kits or in some cases painting free hand. Camille at The Vintique Object painted and stencilled this small chest after practicing on a small stool first. She used a stencil kit from Cutting Edge Stencils, designed by Kim Myles, who also has a great how-to on her blog. Would you ever believe this piece wasn’t actually inlaid?

vintique object painted inlay

Jenny over at Little Green Notebook free-hand painted this dresser for her girls room. It has a more relaxed look, but still that great Moroccan vibe. Visually, she used the same technique, with scrolling floral pattern inside borders.

Little green notebook inlay painted dresser

Marian at Miss Mustard Seed goes even more free form with this hand painted art deco era dresser (you would never believe the before photo!). If she can convert that dresser, then I have to be able to do something with my vanity!

hand painted dresser via miss mustard seed

So I am wondering if I might accomplish a few things at once if I try this on my vanity. One, I won’t have to look at its ugliness anymore until I find the right thing to change it to, and two, I can check out and “practice” having an inlaid piece in the space to see if it is worth the splurge to get a real one. Now, mine has more of a bombé shape, but I am thinking there is potential!

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What say you all?

Master Bathroom Related Posts:

Renovation Report…The Finished Master Bathroom (Almost)
Renovation Report…Vanity Dreams or Vanity Reality?
Renovation Report and a DIY…Using Indian Wood Blocks to Create “Wallpaper” in the Master Bath
Renovation Report…Do You Throw Good Money After Bad? Thoughts on Fixing My Master Bathroom
A Day Too Late…One Perfect Bathroom Photo
Renovation Report…Pocket Door Progress

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A Match Made in Heaven…Bennison and Ticking

Posted in Interior Design, Renovation and Decoration Report, Textiles, tagged , , , , , , on October 8, 2012 | 14 Comments »

All this writing and talk of ticking has helped me to my own small personal epiphany. I have been stalling on making the window valances in my elder daughter’s room at the shore for a while now, but have finally found the right person to construct them.

I have quite a few yards of Bennison‘s gorgeous Lilac linen earmarked for the project as the room has six windows – two sets of bays. The windows and the incredible light are really the focal points of the space and I only want something simple to frame them.  In general, I don’t use curtains in the bedrooms at the beach, preferring plain roller shades for light control hidden behind the valances during the day.  The rooms are all so petite that curtains just take up space and seem heavy for the lightness of the environment. I never understand beach projects with yards and yards of heavy curtains! It is also a great way to use less yardage of beautiful and thus expensive fabrics. I have been searching for the right person to make these as sometimes the fabric is so dear – both emotionally and/or financially – that the expense of the fabricating is less important than the fabric itself. The thought of them coming out wrong is unbearable because I simply couldn’t buy the fabric again, either because it was one of a kind vintage or just plain old costly.

The ceiling in the front bay behind the headboards is quite easy to deal with because it is just straight, but the side bay has a complicated ceiling and the corners of the window molding are cut off. I can’t tell you how many people came through my door and couldn’t or weren’t willing to work with me on solving the problem of those cut corners, suggesting ridiculous things like having the molding show above the valence.

My plan for the valances has been simple scallops which mimic the curvature of the headboards and the clover shaped night table in between the twin beds. The valence below is in Cath Kidson‘s bedroom in another wonderful Bennison roses pattern called Daisy Chain (you already know how much I love their Faded Floral and I’ll be showing how I used their monochrome blue Roses on beige linen soon). Kidson’s window is flat, so she is able to run a single piece valence with small scallops. My bays require a bit of a different treatment, with each window having one single large scallop.

Luckily my lovely new curtain lady understood exactly what I want, where I want them to start from and how I want them to hang.  She took some iPhone photos and created this rendering. While lovely, it is a bit too fancy for me (and my daughter) with the green ruffle in between the scallops – too “decorator-y” if you know what I mean. That said, without some kind of border or contrast the Lilac fabric might look diffused, without punctuation, and I think that issue was what she was trying to solve by adding the secondary fabric. If you look back at the Cath Kidson photo, you’ll see there is a contrasting edging.

So in all these recent posts on ticking fabric I keep coming up with examples that mix well with Bennison florals and scallops. And it got me thinking…

Don’t I have some great lilac ticking put away in my magic fabric closet? And ridiculous me, don’t I have a photograph of it stored somewhere in my files?

Yes!

I don’t remember how much I have but this is real vintage ticking. What if the scalloped Lilac fabric was piped or bordered in it? I think that might be just the bit of sporty casualness it needs while also defining the edge of the large print. What say you all? For a little visual assistance, here is a mock-up, but keep in mind the scale and color is off.

I really enjoy these great monthly newsletters from Bennison – its easy to sign up for them if you are interested. There are always prettily styled photographs, like this one featuring the Lilac in this post as well as the newest Bennison design information. The most recent newsletter features the same photo of a room with ticking plus a Bennison floral pattern that I just used in my ticking post!

Related Posts
Ticking Takes The Stuffiness Out
More on Paint and Pictures

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So Long Summer…Vignettes and Views Around the House

Posted in Furniture, Interior Design, Renovation and Decoration Report, tagged , , , , , on August 26, 2012 | 10 Comments »

As always, a bittersweet moment as we depart one home for another. This post is really for me, to remind myself that while I didn’t do anywhere near as much work on the house as I’d planned, I did get some things accomplished in addition to finishing the bathroom (almost). And as I head back to Tokyo, I know I’ll need little reminders of our beach house goodness for sustenance.

First up, the Sonoma bookcase all filled up (mostly). I have never been as happy with a mass retailer/catalog item as I have been with this one from Ballard Designs. And I am not the only one liking it as yet again I have spotted a pair of them in a high-end design, this time the Nate Berkus designed brownstone for Katie Lee. They really are versatile and great value for the money.

My girls scoured the attic for my gardening books and we added a few other vintage wooden delivery boxes gleaned here and there. And I still cannot believe the way the television fits – as if it was custom made for it.

The bottom section has been filled out since my post on hiding all the cords and the electronic components are basically unnoticeable. I need a few more good coffee table size books which I may have to steal from my shelves in Tokyo this winter.

The top is filled with pretties, gardening books and good reads.

Added some special Japanese details to the downstairs bath, including fishing floats…

…and a big collection of kashigata that look like coral patterns on the ledge above the built-ins.

Didn’t hang any of my lovely Japanese hanga (modern woodblock prints) above the sideboard, but the longer they stayed leaning there, the more I liked them just like that. And I had planned to have the big wire basket full of dried hydrangeas by now, but no matter what I did, I failed on that front. If anyone out there knows the trick to drying them, please let me in on the secret!

I tried early in the summer and filled it with blooms, but they just shriveled and rotted – no drying! So sad, because they were so pretty!

Close-up you can see my $2.50 William Yeoward-esque decanter – garage sales were very very good to me this summer.

You’ll notice you never heard anything about the kitchen. The truth is that with kids and constant house guests the DIYs are hard to get to.  But my palette of cream and white, with texture and mixed metals remains unchanged. Tried the water technique for drying hydrangeas too, but it didn’t work much better.

I always find the stained glass door in the dining room ironic, because I had already picked the color palette based in some part on my Aesthetic Movement transferware even before seeing it, and it could not have been more perfect. Most of the stained glass in houses around town is combinations of bright red, blue and yellow. Obviously this was my destiny house.

A few gifts and trips to the Ladies Auxiliary book sale filled out this little bookshelf at the top of the stairs. The larger artwork is a 19th century Japanese land contract that I bought for the equivalent of a dollar at the Tomioka Hachiman shrine sale and framed. Sharp eyes will recognize a few other Tokyo treasures.

Little girls grow up so fast…

…the bigger girls too. So luckily both of their rooms are close to complete.

The search for master bedroom night tables continues. I had seen some cute scalloped ones here and here, so I picked up this pair for $50, thinking I would paint them. But they are still too low and very blocky and square - the lamp on the stacked books looks cute for styling, but is actually like that for night time reading practicality. The only real decorating mistake of the summer.

More etched mirrors made their way to the wall…

…the Louis XVI-style oval from the bathroom has a great new spot, better suited than its old one, mimicking a favorite Charlotte Moss dresser and mirror combo. As for the lack of lampshades here and in other photos, still waiting on my custom ones after a year, but that is its own story. Just try to imagining one on this lamp made with green marbelized paper, meant to look like malachite…

…and the French chaise found its perfect fabric – a European style ikat from Lee Jofa called Lambelet Stripe, picked up here for a song.

Nothing big changed in the guest room, just a sweet little chair…

…and some sweet little welcoming details, like these vintage wooden shoe lasts and child’s slate.

And someone wrote to ask about the upstairs hall bath which I never mention, because it came to me pretty spot on. Just a coat or two of Farrow & Ball Chinese Blue and it was good to go! Maybe some artwork needed?

Well goodbye New Jersey summer! Hello Tokyo! I can hear the shrine sales beckoning…

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Renovation Report…The Finished Master Bathroom (Almost)

Posted in Design Motif, DIY, Interior Design, Lighting, Renovation and Decoration Report, tagged , on August 24, 2012 | 8 Comments »

To quickly review, how does one make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear? Well, I am not sure if I have done that, but I have done as much as I can to the master bath with what I already had to work with and a tiny budget for change.

With a better structural choice –  changing to a pocket door – we gained square footage, ambient light and a utilitarian feature that turned into a show piece.

We changed the color scheme of the room entirely, from a bright peach box to white and blush, without changing the existing tile work or plumbing fixtures, using paint magic from a textile inspired block print technique on the walls…

…and the simple charm of Benjamin Moore’s White Dove, one of the most perfect whites around, which while being truly white itself, can also make an existing almond toilet look white. Magic!

With a change of metals in the lighting and fixtures from faux this…

…to this, Pottery Barn’s Florence Collection in polished nickel with its fleur-de-lis backplates, elegant glass rod and scrolled brackets…

…and this, Pottery Barn’s Covington Hotel Triple Sconce, also in polished nickel, with its simple, almost Moorish design. There was simply no reason to go to higher end, more expensive fixtures with these well made, well designed ones available at such reasonable prices.

Antique accessories and inspiration are a must, in this case a small collection of pink lustreware, which set the tone and color for the entire room…

…and a vintage mirror from my larger collection. I’m not sure it is quite big enough, but it has an ethereal quality of light and I look softer, younger and prettier in it, so it is staying! And if you were wondering what happened to the gilded French oval mirror that was here before, be sure to check my next post.

And never forget the softness of fabric, which performs its own magic, filling dead space near the ceiling and covering an unusually large and unsightly header, while adding some dressiness. Pottery Barn Textured Cotton Curtain and Cafe Curtain used as the valence.

You’ll note the key thing I am not showing, thus the “almost” in the title. What is it? The vanity, of course. That will have to wait for winter or next year. The vote from all was a resounding yes to a vintage marble-topped wash stand. I could have stopped and painted the one that is there, but I don’t want to get lulled into keeping such an impractical piece. I’ll be keeping my eye out for one, hunting on Ebay and with local dealers around here. Thanks to everyone for all your comments and input!

Master Bathroom Related Posts:
Renovation Report…Do You Throw Good Money After Bad? Thoughts on Fixing My Master Bathroom
A Day Too Late…One Perfect Bathroom Photo
Renovation Report…Pocket Door Progress
Renovation Report…Vanity Dreams or Vanity Reality?
Renovation Report and a DIY…Using Indian Wood Blocks to Create “Wallpaper” in the Master Bath

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Renovation Report and a DIY…Using Indian Wood Blocks to Create “Wallpaper” in the Master Bath

Posted in Design Motif, DIY, Interior Design, Renovation and Decoration Report, tagged , , , , on August 20, 2012 | 18 Comments »

So this is the lovely Madame de Montreuil wallpaper from Les Indiennes that I wanted for the master bathroom. No real reason not to get it, other than its high price and its durability in a small bathroom with poor ventilation, but I also liked the idea of a challenge in creating something similar on my own.

So those of you who have been following for a while know that in Singapore in March of 2011 I purchased these traditional floral Indian wood blocks designed to print fabric with the intent of making my own “wallpaper” in the bathroom. Like any project, there is always some other work that needs to come first and I had been waiting on the installation of the pocket door in this earlier post.

So with that finally done and the sheetrock repaired and painted in BM White Dove as the base background, I bought paint and poster paper, set up a workspace and got to work practicing my block printing technique. Wow, it was so much more difficult than I had imagined and my first attempts were just awful! I had too much paint in the tray and trouble figuring out how much blotting I needed to do before stamping. I was looking forward to an irregular organic look, but not this organic!

I wanted to try out different patterns so I did a dense one, which was waaaay too busy, but more importantly, made me realize that as this isn’t wallpaper, I don’t have a partial block print option and need to leave space between each row so it can finish cleanly around wall edges and the ceiling.

Aha! Now this was starting to look right. And I liked the idea of a band of the small flowers above the tile and bisecting the wall behind the toilet. We even considered a square border of the little flowers all around on each wall – a fillet à la the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire – but discarded it as the room is just too tiny. I did this just casually eyeballing it, so luckily my sweet and very mathematically smart husband decided to help by figuring out the exact spacing and placement for the walls.

Hours of work went into these documents and the success of the project really hinges on his work more than mine.

While the design had started to come together, the quality of the actual prints was not so good. Here’s a close-up of one of the practice flowers – you can see the paint is very thick and three-dimensional.

Then late that night it finally occurred to me to actually research how this should be done and lo and behold, I discovered I was missing one essential piece, a small rubber roller called a brayer. So day two and off to the craft store we went! The brayer solves the gunky paint issue by controlling how much goes on and keeping it on the design part of the block only and out of the deep recesses. You can see from the practice below how much better the printing looks.

We took turns and painted the bathroom all in one evening. Sweet husband would work with a T-square and level and make tiny pencil registration marks (which were so small I couldn’t photograph them) on one wall and then I would paint there. Then we would switch off for the next wall. I didn’t realize how physically exhausting this would be, but it was like an extreme workout with a few hundred lunges and squats – squat and roll the paint, climb the stepstool, push with my arms raised, climb back down, squat again. Days later and I am still extremely sore.

Here is a little video – totally unrehearsed and you can hear how tired I am as I am almost slurring my words – but in the heat of working we forgot to take any more footage. Painting on the wall was very different from painting on the poster board as the wall was much harder and absorbed less paint and I needed to really work it on by pressing, rocking and banging. I even got adept at making repairs by adding paint to the block only in the spots that hadn’t printed well.

As I said before, having the design perfectly planned and marked on the wall made this project much easier than it would have been and guaranteed a great result.

We even went so far as to plan out the exact location and dimensions of the towel bar and did not print there, leaving the space perfectly clear.

How pretty and perfect is this Florence glass towel bar from Pottery Barn? The shape of the escutcheon mimics the shape of the flowers. More on all the accessory details in the final reveal post!

I am holding back on photos for one final post showing the whole bathroom, so just keep in mind that none of these photos do justice to the room or how fabulous the painting came out. It is softer and prettier than any actual wallpaper would have been!

Master Bathroom Related Posts:
Renovation Report…Do You Throw Good Money After Bad? Thoughts on Fixing My Master Bathroom
A Day Too Late…One Perfect Bathroom Photo
Renovation Report…Pocket Door Progress
Renovation Report…Vanity Dreams or Vanity Reality?

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Renovation Report…Vanity Dreams or Vanity Reality?

Posted in Interior Design, Renovation and Decoration Report, tagged , on August 15, 2012 | 13 Comments »

So the big question is, do I compromise for the sake of just being finished? For budgetary reasons? Or are the compromises actually good choices? Let’s start with my list of bathroom vanity wants, which includes a pale gray to tan color, white sink and counter – ideally marble, decent hidden storage and more counter space than I currently have with the silly little faux-French vanity. For a reminder of what that looks like, click here.

With only 10 days left to our time here at the beach, there are two readily available, very reasonably priced vanity choices for my master bathroom that I have found. The first is the Seal Harbor Vanity in Sharkey Gray by Martha Stewart for Home Depot. Infinitely more attractive than in the photo on Home Depot’s website below and surprisingly well made for its bargain price of $299, it has 3 drawers for storage that glide easily and a cabinet side for larger items.

Look how nice it looks in this bathroom redesign on a shoestring by Barbara Stock.

My hesitation with this piece is that while it would look lovely in the other bathrooms in the house, I think it is a bit too “country cottage” for the master bathroom and the design direction it has taken. There is no complimentary beadboard in my bathroom compared to this one and from a practical point of view, while it has a larger sink, it does not have much counter space.

The Savoy Sink Cabinet in gray from Home Decorators is another possibility. Also readily available and reasonably priced at $559, it is dressier, with the white marble top (thin though) that I am craving. Nice cabinet storage and more counter space are another plus as is the dressier design – love the ring pulls.

I’ve pulled this inspiration photo below for comparison with its similar vanity and vibe. If we ever did change out the tile in the master bath, I would want to use Carrera marble instead and love the way this looks. But if I was upgrading to a marble bathroom, wouldn’t I be upgrading the vanity as well? And is this piece just out of line with the feel of the rest of the house? It’s neither tongue-in-cheek nor literal interpretation, which tend to be the two avenues I stick to here and mix together.

So my two fantasy choices are actually obtainable, but they take time and effort. The first is the tongue-in-cheek choice – a bone or mother-of-pearl inlaid piece, which I have always loved, and are now uber-trendy. It plays off the other Indian and Moroccan pieces in the house and the bedroom (remember the suzani valence?). I thought a console or a chest of drawers or small cabinet could be fitted for a sink with a marble top added. It is pretty easy to retro-fit almost any piece of furniture with the right proportions, but the catch is that I can’t seem to find any with the needed measurements. Either too long…

…too high…

…or too small. I have searched major retailers from the Graham and Green pieces above to the Serena and Lily Aleppo Table below. I have combed through the on-line catalogs of Indian importers. No luck!

I could do a plainer vanity (not that this gorgeous painted faux-bamboo vanity is plain!) and get an inlaid mirror instead, but that just isn’t as exciting, although this bathroom from Coastal Living is just gorgeous.

And then the question is whether or not it is just too trendy: to note, see the coffee table on the cover of this month’s House Beautiful.

So now we come to the literal choice, which is to find a vintage washstand with a gorgeous marble top, retro-fit it for a sink and paint the dark wood cabinet below. I adore this one belonging to Kristin Alber! An ironic detail is that the wallpaper is the same pattern you see on many of the inlaid pieces like the ones I just showed. That makes me feel like there is actually some logical link here and that my wood block print “wallpaper” will also work well with a Victorian antique.

There are plenty currently available on eBay right now, like this one with a shelf…

…or this one with the two marble brackets. I think the lines on this one would look great painted!

I’d paint the wooden cabinet gray, highlighting the marble tops. Sad that this one on Ebay doesn’t have a marble top or it has been painted out. I love the color and the drawer pulls.

Similar style ones can also be made out of modern cabinetry pieces and marble.

So there is the basic dilemma in a nutshell. Which of the four choices do you like best? And to help you think about it, here are a few more inspiration photos that have the overall feel I am trying to achieve, even if not the literal pieces.

Oooh, and look at these quatrefoil marble tiles! I know I can’t have these, but makes me even happier to be getting my quatrefoil glass!

And some more dreamy Moroccan shapes…now, let’s not get distracted…

 

Master Bathroom Related Posts:
Renovation Report…Do You Throw Good Money After Bad? Thoughts on Fixing My Master Bathroom
A Day Too Late…One Perfect Bathroom Photo
Renovation Report…Pocket Door Progress

All uncredited inspiration photos via DecorPad.

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Renovation Report…Pocket Door Progress

Posted in Glass, Renovation and Decoration Report, tagged , , on August 14, 2012 | 4 Comments »

So trusty contractor has finally found time to come and install my pocket door. Somehow it always seems to be my imminent departure for shores far away (11 days and counting) that makes things happen, but no real complaints on my part.  If you recall from this post, I had found this vintage door at a nearby salvage yard. While perfect in size and shape, matching the linen closet door outside the master bedroom, I had hoped for a door with a panel of frosted glass as the master bathroom has no window.  We had used a door like that very successfully in a renovation of the bathroom in our Manhattan apartment (where bathrooms rarely have windows!) and I really wanted the same here. Luckily I mentioned it to my trusty contractor and he pointed out that he could change out that upper panel to glass!

So here it is just after installation. It needs cleaning, painting and will be built up a bit along the bottom. Best of all, they worked hard to install it from inside the bathroom and didn’t need to rip out the sheet rock on the bedroom side of the wall, although the outlet did need to be shifted over to the left.

The bathroom now feels huge! OK, well perhaps that is an overstatement, but getting rid of the old door was as necessary as I thought it would be.

In case you don’t remember, this is what it was like before with the door that opened inward!

And here is the vintage style glass, which is a very accurate reproduction of glass used in the houses around here. I picked this one in particular because I loved the exotic look of the quatrefoil pattern and thought it went perfectly with everything else already done or planned. The glass is on order and should be in next week. Keep your fingers crossed!

And by waiting a few days to post, here it is painted! And the horrible peach color in the bathroom has been painted out and is now lovely Ben Moore White Dove. Compare the view through the door here to the one above. And just what I hoped for has happened by changing the paint – the tiles no longer look peach themselves, but instead tan and grey.

Getting ready to start practising my woodblock stamping technique today. I’ll be sure to show you how that is going. For more on the back story to this post, check out Renovation Report…Do You Throw Good Money After Bad? Thoughts on Fixing My Master Bathroom.

Ooh, and this just in – the door pull in polished nickel from Rejuvenation!

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Still Dreaming of a French Marble Bakers Table

Posted in Furniture, Interior Design, Metals, Renovation and Decoration Report, tagged , , , , , , on July 20, 2012 | 12 Comments »

So, I have been offered the chance to buy this amazing French marble-topped bakers table (expensive, but reasonable for what it is) from a friend of a friend. It is the kind of piece I have always dreamed of and written about.

Melding brass and steel, gold and silver, with its classic scrolling base and a white Carrera marble top, it is divine, much like the one I have always adored…

…in Suzanne Rheinstein‘s kitchen…

…and more recently at Charles Spada‘s Normandy Chateau.

Unfortunately, I believe that it is perhaps too large, too grand and too fancy for my humble cottage, although I am tempted to buy it anyway and keep it in the basement – it would be great for folding laundry, don’t you think? – for a future home “someday.”

In the meantime, I have been out looking for a similar style table, something with an iron base and a marble top. I saw this little cutie (much less expensive) down in Point Pleasant made from a vintage sewing machine base with an oval top added. You know what a junkie I am when it comes to repurposing!

The side view shows the nice detail on the base. Unfortunately, I think it is too small and the oval top too rounded to be very useful. You’ll see what I mean in the very next photo.

Searching online I discovered the perfect piece, with a classic French metal base and an oval top that is more like a long rectangle with curved ends, much more practical for serving and display. Unfortunately, it sold at auction somewhere in Atlanta back in March.

Just to torture myself some more, here it is in an outside view – I just love the simplicity of it.

It reminds me of a piece I spotted in a photo from Tone on Tone, Loi Thai’s gorgeous Bethesda, MD antiques store, which I have never actually visited in person, only drooled over on-line. Loi has recently started writing a great blog too, featuring his pitch perfect interiors. While I am posting this photo for the bakers table, I’d happily take anything else from the shop!

Last weekend I bought this vintage school desk at a garage sale (very inexpensive). I just could not resist those amazing ironwork supports. I thought I might replace the desk with a marble top, only it is way too low to be a practical work table. I have been thinking about ways to build up height in the legs but they all seem ugly and cluttery! If you have a good idea – let me know!

I keep coming back to this inspiration photo from stylist Lucyina Moodie. Long oval table with iron base, a lamp and some display items. And note the simple sisal like runner – that is the final decision for my white painted stairs too!

Related Posts
My Kitchen Island is Back on the Table
What’s Cooking? Peri Wolfman’s Kitchens Through the Years and That Marble-Topped Bakers Table

Image credits: 1-2, 5-6 & 10. me, 3. credit unknown, via Cote de Texas, 4. Weranda, photo credit: Andreas von Einsiedel, via Boxwood Terrace, 7-8. via Live Auctioneers, 9. via Tone on Tone, 11. Lucyina Moodie

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Sheraton Style Follow-Up…John Derian’s Versatile Cove Sofa

Posted in Furniture, Interior Design, Renovation and Decoration Report, tagged , , , , , on July 14, 2012 | 6 Comments »

There is simply no one who understands the charm of things from yesteryear better than John Derian. Since the day he announced his furniture line collaboration with Cisco Brothers a few years ago, I carried around the ad page (not quite as cute as the Hugo Guinness Virginia Johnson illustrated one above) featuring the 6 original pieces in the line, took it out of my inspiration folder and sighed over it regularly. He took a Sheraton sofa, a Hepplewhite settee, a Napoleon III armchair, and added to them a versatile tufted bench and stylized loveseat to make a perfect collection of vintage inspired modern-day furniture with modern-day sized people in mind. It has everything good about the original pieces with more comfort and lovely Belgian linen upholstery.

Nowhere did is show itself to better example than in his own 1789 Provincetown home, where a pair of Cove Sofas with a simple Sheraton-shape, took up roost in his living room, complete with peeling wallpaper and paint. Being John Derian, he did not renovate, but instead loved the integrity of the old finishes and details.

Funny how lighting can effect the colors in photographs! What looks like a bright yellow in the Vogue Living photo above is actually closer in color to the pale yellow in the Boston Globe photo below. You can see the corner arm of the Cove and the same throw pillow.

In a newer spread in this June’s Bon Appetit, the Cove sofa looks like it has been moved into a new location – a window niche. There is a great photo of John and his friends playing anagrams while sitting here too.

Another room in the house features the Geranium sofa, based on a Hepplewhite piece from around 1780. It is more upright, less comfy and slouchy than the Cove. I think it would make a good dining banquet.

I can’t resist sneaking in this photo of his guest bedroom too. If you are a longtime reader you know how fond I am of faux bamboo furniture. My guest bedroom here at the shore has a faux bamboo bed and dresser.

So did anything ever come of all that mournful sighing? Why is it I can rave so enthusiastically about the comfort of the Cove sofa? Well, because I have one and it solved such a design dilemma too! The beach house living room has a pair of bay windows that almost make the room seem round. When I first saw the real estate listing for the house I thought it had a turret! Turns out the windows meet in such a way that there is only one stretch of flat wall – exactly 72 inches in length – just the same as the Cove sofa. That wall had a giant radiator on it so the room seemed almost unfurnishable.  Luckily, we were able to remove the radiator, and I knew the Cove would be perfect. The back is low and comes right up to the edge of the windowsill – many modern couches would have sat way too high – so it nestles in the window embrasure just perfectly. I had a washable cotton slipcover made, both because I love the look and wanted that tiny pleated skirt, but also because I figured that the Belgian linen, while durable, might not hold up to beach house wear and tear.

Now I’ve used mine in a vintage-y kind of way – not quite the peeling paint of John Derian’s house – and mixed it with my beloved Bennison Faded Floral, Indian print textiles and Moroccan tray table. But the Cove isn’t limited to antique type designs and when styled differently can look very modern. Covered in the dark grey linen – called Vintage Steel – it takes on a very different feel.

Want that Belgian-French look? Cover it in grain sack linen.

The Cove can do pops-of-color trendy too.

Not convinced? Come by and spend an afternoon reading – you won’t want to leave!

Related Posts:
A Windsor Smith Revival…Camel-Back and Sheraton Style Sofas

Image credits: 1. Virginia Johnson via Ruthie Bird, 2. Cisco Brothers, 3. Vogue Living via Habitually Chic, 4, 6-7. via Shelter Pop, photo credit : Julia Cumes, 5. Bon Appetit June 2012, photo credit: Cedric Angeles, 8. me, 9. via Hammertown, 10. via Remodelista, 11. House Beautiful via Decor Pad

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Shop Talk…Unpacking, Privet House and Target

Posted in Books, Movies & TV, Color, Housewares, Renovation and Decoration Report, Shop Talk, tagged , , , , on June 16, 2012 | 11 Comments »

Back in the USA for about 48 hours and as usual, jet lag has me a bit out of commission, but as usual, I have been to a few of my favorite local antique haunts before making it to the supermarket. As usual I have dragged a bunch of decorative finds from the last year with me, this time in a giant box that I was lucky enough to manage to check on the plane. Many of the things in it you have seen in posts before but there are a few fabulous things that you won’t have seen…

A pair of vintage fans.

A lacquer wagashi (Japanese sweets) covered case, a vintage brass and porcelain iron (can you spot the kanji character?) and a favorite blue and purple transferware bowl forgotten and recently found.

And the piece de resistance, a brass and tin-lined film reel canister, designed to protect old movie reels from fire and damp. It is from a theater in Ginza and seals tightly. I am not sure this photo does it justice, but I am sure you’ll be seeing more of it as I am thinking of using it for recycling in the kitchen. I also brought back this huge wire basket – no purpose in mind yet – but so lovely and sculptural. You can see another one in the background of the photo – I seem to be collecting them!

I am getting the house in order and starting to make a list of everything that needs to be done, but finding the key pieces I still need to be elusive (remember, I have already done a pass through my favorite antique stores with no luck). I might need to travel further afield, and on that note, I am dying to visit Privet House in Connecticut.

Billed as “an Emporium of Home Goods, Antiques and Curiosities” giving it a John Derian-esque air, I first heard about it through a post on the wonderful Good Bones Great Pieces blog written by Lauren and Suzanne McGrath, whose eponymous new book is also on my must read this summer.  Privet House is the baby of Richard Lambertson and Suzanne Cassano, two well-known design industry professionals and neighbors who joined forces to open the shop. Everything in their photos looks interesting, but I am thinking I am so riveted by it because of the paint color - Benjamin Moore Sweet Innocence 2125-50 - so similar to my own beloved Benjamin Moore Pelican Gray 1612. Shopping there would almost be like trying everything out at home!

Vintage leather suitcases – you all know where I stand on those!

Funky swing arm lighting – you know where I stand on that too. And doesn’t the shade remind you of these from here?

I have the feeling it all may be very pricey, so I might just have to content myself with some of these Turkish hammam towels. Dreamy colors, don’t you think?

But the good news is that the Privet look is available to the masses at The Shops at Target - they have a branded line there right now full of lots of things I love including galvanized tin garden supplies.

Dishes galore, including many funky pattern melamine ones, perfect for patio meals…

…and these embossed white china ones which may be my perfect summer home basics!

So in addition to the antique shops, I have also managed to make it over to Target (but still not the supermarket) and loaded up on Privet House items – all on sale too!

Jet lag fugue state closing in so it is time to go sit on the porch. And my children want dinner – the nerve of them! Here’s one more image of wonderful things here at the house – my hydrangeas are gorgeous and look so pretty in the transferware bowl. And you can see how similar the wall paint color is too!

Happy Summer!

Image credits: 1-4 & 14-15. me, 5-7 & 9. via Privet House, 8. via Good Bones Great Pieces, 10-13. via Target

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