April 4th, 2013
This company is the answer to all my Ikea related prayers. Sadly, they don’t ship to the US, yet. Besides offering cabinet fronts to dress up your standard Ikea cabinets, they also offer cabinet pulls and furniture legs to take your Ikea pieces from predictable to custom designy, and the prices are surprisingly great.
I want these leather loop handles so bad.
I wish I could throw out those pathetic 4×4 wood stumps and dress up our guest bed with the clean lean legs.
Look through their gallery for some transformational ideas for new tops, fronts, sides, legs, and handles on your existing pieces. I’ll keep checking back to see when they include the US in their market.
Tags: customize, ikea
Posted in products to obsess over |
April 3rd, 2013
The sad truth is I am the worst at sleep training and Ilana is scared of her crib. When we brought in the locker bed for Lev’s room, it was an opportunity to bring in a matching second twin size bed for Ilana for the future and chuck the crib. I know its too soon for her since she is not even 1, but that’s what happened. And her room got a restyle. Nothing major.
I only changed the layout of her tiny bedroom to make room for a larger bed. I bought in a Componibili storage unit as a nightstand, and new bedding. A simple striped duvet cover and colorful hex patterned sheets. Hex is trendy, but if you are going to dip your toes in the trendy pool it might as well be with Target brand sheets for under $20 until you get sick of it.
Now you know where the tissue paper tassels I made for Valentine’s Day decoration ended up. Above her bed on the blackboard wall. They are festive.
I also had to hang the “For Neil” poster by Martin Krusche. I have been obsessed with this sweet moon face graphic since I first saw it on the blogosphere and hunted one down from a German shop. Ilana’s points with delight every time she sees it.
The midcentury dresser with brass details is still there, along with my hand made cloud mobile, and Flokati rug. I thrifted the kitschy kitty print and could not resist hanging it.
The Eames rocker sits at the foot of the bed, under the window, with a few personal touches: a wool baby blanket our friends brought back from a trip to Scotland, a monogram pillow hand embroidered by her grandmother. I like her restyled room even more than the nursery. Now, to get her to sleep in it is another project…
Tags: bedroom, compinibili, eames, flokati rug, girl, hexagon, midcentury modern, moon, stripes, tassles
Posted in decor |
March 29th, 2013
Sometimes things are perfectly fine and good and yet we, I mean I, still feel the urge to mix it up. Take my dining room for example. Everything is AOK in a traditional and functional sense. It looks good. But lately, I know it can look great if we swap out some key pieces.
The existing fan is silly. We never use it and the light is so low we need a secondary floor lamp to see our food. Our bedroom gets hot in the summer so I think it makes sense to move the fan up there. And in its place, finally take on the DIY challenge of the Lindsey Adelman chandelier. I was intimidated in the past and kind of forgot about it, but now it seems like its back on everyone’s radar and I want to do it. The parts have been ordered. This is happening.
As much as I like my midcentury Broyhill style hutch, I have learned that I am a stower, not a shower, and seeing all these objects on display doesn’t make me happy. I’ll sell it and bring in a vintage midcentury low sideboard instead. It will sit under the window and provide storage for all those dishes and glasses. The reconfiguration should give the seating around the dining table some breathing room. I haven’t found a vintage piece yet, but they aren’t too hard to find with my craigslist skills :)
The recently aquired bentwood Thonet chairs I’m keeping. The Stokke highchairs too. Both are natural wood. Now I’m toying with the idea of swapping out the glass dining table with a white one. I’m not sure Parsons is my style, its a placeholder. But I’m over the glass and I think white would brighten up the space. I have to get Alec on board with the table swap though. He really likes our current table.
I’ll let you see how this little update comes along. Its nice to flesh it out in virtual space first and talk through it to see if I like it. That’s the plan right now.
Posted in on the boards |
March 29th, 2013
Its spring break this week which makes getting anything really done harder with 2 kids requiring full time attention. Luckily, the grandparents are here in town visiting too, which takes some pressure off of me. But still, besides a killer Passover Seder on Monday night, not a lot is getting accomplished.
1) I cooked ahead a load of veggies for the week as I was prepping some Seder dishes and it felt good to be so domestic. 2) This faux taxidermy moose head was a leftover from the Urban Cowgirl bedroom project. Unfortunately, I dropped it and broke the resin into smitherins before I found a place to hang it. Sad, don’t tell K. 3) Lev and Ilana get lots of trips to the playground on Spring Break. The swings are Ilana’s new fave. 4) We have fun indoors too. 5) I still manage to carve out some time for this sick remodel I’m working on in Santa Monica. Look at the structure – the interiors are going to be amazing once I’m done. 6) I’m also mid restyling Ilana’s bedroom. Full post to come after I hang up new art and document.
Happy Pesach, Happy Easter!
Tags: holiday, Instagram, restyle
Posted in decor |
March 22nd, 2013
My client K is one of the most trusting people I have yet to meet. Originally from Austin, she wanted to infuse her LA crash pad with farmhouse rustic touches, but let the bedroom bask in its full feminine and glamorous glory. She wanted lots of white and wood, a bed that was layers upon layers of comfort, and to keep it on a smaller budget since this was not her main home. She hands me a wad of cash and says “go”, she doesn’t need to approve any of my selections, just to surprise her. Talk about a fun task! And here are the eye candy results. A dream bedroom haven for our inner girly girl.
That is a bed dreams are made of. A ruffled bed skirt, pinched duvet cover, mountains of pillows, and a Moroccan wedding blanket for sparkle.
With a salvaged wood slice to act as a headboard and contrast all that white, can we talk about how cool the faux taxidermy copper Bison head is? He is both rustic and glamorous as he watches over her while she sleeps.
K is here in LA to work, so another requirement was a white Parson’s style desk. The wire mesh Bertoia style chair adds is a nice compliment and pictures of family and friends back home are propped above on the white picture ledges.
When guests are over, the caramel brown leather armchair is a nice place for them to sit. A Craigslist score for $150. She found the pair of midcentury wall sconces on her own in Austin and they are rad.
We needed something to fill this blank wall. K was skeptical about this oversized Baroque mirror but I knew it would work as a feminine feature with its antique gold finish and over the top detailing. And now she is smitten with it. With a bench made of salvaged wood and hair pin legs (copper dipped) we got the rustic part covered too.
On the floor, I wanted a calfskin rug with a metallic finish to work both angles of rustic and glamour. Its can handle a lot of abuse and still looks really good in a rock and roll sort of way. Layered with a sweater rug, we have texture.
No bedroom would be complete without some green. Succulents of course. Especially with the amazing light this room gets. And wouldn’t you know it, as soon as the bedroom was 100% complete, we got word that K was relocating to San Francisco for her next assignment. She will be missed in LA, but I know she can recreate this room in her new crash pad and bring the living room scheme to completion.
Tags: bedroom, farmhouse, feminine, glamour, rustic, salvaged wood, white
Posted in decor |
March 21st, 2013
Lev is so lucky to be growing up in sunny California and I think he does appreciate his station in life. He loves California as much as his parents and we decided to show our pride by displaying a flag in his bedroom.
His room layout got a remix when we upgraded his bed to the PB Teen locker bed. This thing is solid. The bed orientation changed from against the wall and under the window which I felt was awkward to floating mid room since I no longer worry about him falling out of bed in the middle of the night.
Now the room has been split up into more zones, for playing, for dressing, sleeping, and even a little reading nook. It feels bigger. Everything else stayed as is since I loved his rug, Hudson Bay blanket, and midcentury vintage dresser, but it all looks more pulled together and legit now. Its the real deal big boy’s room.
I’m happy to report he likes the new look and actually sleeps better at night. Both the kids enjoy hanging about.
Tags: bed, boys room, furnish, industrial, kiddos
Posted in furnish |
March 20th, 2013
Its the first day of Spring and looking around doesn’t it feel like everything is just about to be refreshed. Good thing my package from West Elm arrived today so that I could give the guest bathroom a quick spruce up before we have back to back guests for the entire month of April. All I needed was a new painterly dhurrie rug and shibori shower curtain (told you this was trending) for the whole room to feel new and fresh. I also found a reason to bring out my navy and white Turkish bath towel and Moroccan style candle
Tags: keeping it clean, spring
Posted in decor |
February 26th, 2013
Remember these gorgeous live edge wood slices I happened upon a few weeks ago?
Well, a few steel hairpin legs later, they are now some serious live edge coffee tables/bench. Simple project, inexpensive relatively, and the results make me feel really good and productive. Compared to those tables we have seen in the fancy magazines, these feel like manna from heaven.
In the guest room we created a bench for the foot of the bed. I can’t seem to get a handle on the exposure for this room and all the colors are off and greenish. But it looks very handsome in person. And yes, that is a drop cloth acting as a bed spread. Tres chic.
Posted in things I made |
February 22nd, 2013
I’m not sure what these are called so I’ll call them eggy treats. The recipe is as simple as can be and they come out both crispy and fluffy. Try it this weekend for breakfast. You will seem oh so fancy. All you need to do:
- Whisk eggs (like you would to make scrambled eggs). Then line your muffin tin cups with bacon (I use turkey bacon).
- Pour eggs into the bacon cups.
- Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
Done. You can sprinkle it with shredded cheese for a little extra fanciness.
We are off to Ojai. I shall report back. Enjoy your weekend.
Posted in things I made |
February 20th, 2013
Sometimes, I’m inspired by my own posts and I hope you are too. That’s the point right? I bought some Turkish kilim pillows on eBay and swapped out some existing pillow covers for a brighter living room sofa. Its a fun and easy way to mix things up, like buying a few new tops.
Tags: bohemian, kilim, living room, pillows, vintage
Posted in decor |
February 19th, 2013
The area under our stairs was a real mess. Nice hooks and Flor carpet tile were not doing enough to keep it in check. My husband didn’t see anything wrong with it, but I saw a real failure with the dorm like shoe display. I’ve been hoping to find some kind of industrial storage unit to organize those shoes (we are “no shoes inside” house).
And I lucked out at the Flea Market with these $10 bins. Its hard to photograph this dark spot of our house and this was the best I could do.
The zip of orange spray paint really makes me happy.
Tags: flea market, industrial, storage, vintage
Posted in decor |
February 18th, 2013
A three day weekend justifies posting my week in review on Monday, right?
1) We attended a free Chinese New Year celebration at the UCLA Hammer Museum. Calligraphy, food seminar, music, and lantern making. 2) Isn’t it funny that Valentine’s Day coincided with the Chinese New Year this year and there were red garland decorations in abundance. 3) Ilana takes a ride on her new rocking horse. 4) I’m just loving each morning when Ilana and I get quality time alone together. 5) Lev is obsessed with his capes and hero play. He is my hero. 6) Just a ridiculously cute stuffed toy. Nuf said.
Posted in things I made |
