What We've Been Up to

So I'm finally back!! I've missed everyone - both blog readers & writers- like crazy!!! We've been busy, of course. It's been 2 weeks since we moved into our new house. Here's what it looked like the first night:



The first thing we attacked was the kitchen. Below is a pic of my husband and one of his best friends pretending to help take apart the cabinetry ;)

Here I am taking off the screws that keep the front of the cabinets in place:

Christian was also really great in assisting Dave with the babyproofing of the lower cabinets:

Here's where we got the first Friday night after we moved in: (Oh yes, and that's definitely a dumped over bag of dog food on top of the fridge and my dog going crazy after all the food that spilled on the floor- that's when we knew it was quitting time!!! )

The next day, my (amazing) husband put up the beadboard and then painted it white.

We used $3 cheapie brackets from Home Depot, but I love the black against the white and am really happy with them:

Dave installed 12" painted shelves all the way accross the wall. (I can't thank him enough because he did all of this in the middle of the move!!!)

When I received Cowtan & Tout's sample of Botanique Spectaculaire I was in Heaven!! I had thought it was going to be in black and white and was surprised that the colors used happened to perfectly match all of the fabrics I'd chosen for the living room. No joke. And I already have tons of that Ralph Lauren greige I love so much ("Hopsack") which PERFECTLY matched the leaves in the wallpaper.

One of my best friends, Lindsey, and my cousin, Jen, came over on Sunday to help out (thank you!!!) and Lindsey and I painted the remaining lower cabinets while Jen watched the little guy. (I really gouged the lower cabinets with the belt sander because the I only had really heavy sandpaper and was too impatient/ lazy to go to the store to get a finer grade for the belt sander. Oh well! you can't really see it now-- I hope!) Below is Lindsey digging in to the painting:

And finally, here's how the kitchen looks now:

Still lots left undone but I'm much happier with where we're at:

I have to say that I LOVE open shelving more than I could've dreamed. It really is such simple, easy living. We use almost everything up there all the time and clean up is such a breeze. I don't dread putting away the dishes nearly as much!!

Below is my Grandma Maestranzi's colander and I love it up there right above the stove:

Here's my favorite white bowl my mom gave me. It was brand new a few years ago & has seriously aged with wear & tear !!!! love it.

I found the chandelier (below) on that NY flea market trip with Eddie Ross and was undecided about it when I left. I loved it but planned to put it in my dad's house & couldn't get a hold of him. Eddie was so sweet and picked it up for me a couple of weeks later & mailed it to us when I decided I wanted it. I'm still waiting on new wax drips/ covers but my husband rewired it & got it up and working & I couldn't be happier with it!! It was in an old hotel in NY that has since been torn down:

Here's a detail of the hammered finish:

Here's the breakfast area as it is now:

I picked up the vintage saarinen-style table on Ebay and love it!! I was really picky about the shape of the pedestal because I found that some of the immitations don't have pretty lines & others do. I really loved the lines on this piece & since there's no way we could afford a real one, we went for this one.Here's our little parrot who sits on the window sill. Christian loves him:

So, I ended up changing my mind about the wallpaper when the Studio Printworks Pineapple paper arrived:And here's why I've come to this conculsion. I LOVE both and will consider using the other somewhere else in the house BUT I'm in the mood for color. Bright color. And the Cowtan & Tout paper has color already, but very subdued color and it won't be as easy to inject fresh colors into all the time with accessories. Being in this all-white house you'd think I'd be in Heaven, but I've already moved onto the stage where I want to add color. And I guess since it's so bright & warm out I'm looking for bright!! I think the black & white will be a better backdrop for bright color. So, I'm going to paint over the greige on the cabinets and I'll be going for a fun color. It will take about an hour and I figure it's a cheap & easy color fix. I'm considering a kicky green, inspired by our parrot or maybe even a turquoise or aqua ... whatever we go with, I'll be aging so it doesn't look too new. Below is a pic of my fun little magnetic spice rack that I made from a cookie sheet: (yet to be hung!! :)

I saw the idea in Real Simple way back in college & have taken this baby with me to 3 homes since! We've also been really busy outside and a friend of mine is a landscape designer & she and her husband have been amazing!!! Below is a pic of him in the yard with my husband taking down a tree!!! He's been coming over and helping so much!!

The next order of business was the living room. At this point the white was driving me mad!!! But now that I think of it, it was more than the white, it was the overall sterillity of the place:

My mother-in-law and I made white linen drapes & my husband hung them with Christian's help:They softened the room incredibly!!! (I have no idea why this is underlined but oh well- computers are the worst and hopefully it'll go away!!) I didn't hem the vertical edges because I was impatient and wanted them hung & because I also wanted a raw look. I figured it I didn't like them I could go back later, but I love the look!!!

Here's what the living room looks like for now:

We're using all of our old furniture because the basement is a complete construction zone. (My father-in-law came to visit and worked so hard down there & I can't wait to show pics!!!) Eventually, a lot of these pieces will be going downstairs and we'll be bringing in newer things (like the reupholstered craigslist sofa!!) but for now, this is what we're working with. We went out to Lucketts this weekend to find a mantle and here's what we found:

It's raw oak from an 1800s house in Pennsylvania. Currently we have it nailed into the wall and when things calm down a bit I've got big plans for making this baby look a bit more realistic. That's my grandparents' old camel sadel in front of it for warming your hands in front if the fire ;) ;) Below is a close-up of my old man oil painting I scored at a thrift shop: (I really love him)

Below is a close-up of one of my favorite etched pitchers. It, too, has old men engraved all over it!! hahaha I think I may have a new living room theme?!! ;) ;)

My favorite thing about the house is all the light & windows. I still haven't hung much & have plans for the main wall...

Here's an area of the dining room where I just sort of stuck a bunch of things on a whim because I was mad for some color. I used my desk and a huge oil painting and some botanical prints:

I just stuck a bunch of accessories all over & didn't put much thought into any of them as most of our things are still in boxes but I was actually really happy with how my collection of things has finally seemed to just work together:

I found these pillows for $5 at a thrift shop a few years ago. Putting them on the sofa really made me happy because like I said before, I was CRAVING some color & energy:

Below is my pretty door knocker lady. She's been moving around since we got here on various surfaces:

So, that's it for now. And this is me for now:

so glad to be back!!!

xoxo,

lauren

Almost Back!!!

Hello again!!!! It's me, lauren, and I'm at my parents' house (with a computer!) and just wanted to leave a quick post. Things have been great at the new house- super-busy & exhausting in a good way.

The image above is from Calico Corners & represents a little more of what I'm looking for right now- color & pattern. (I'll explain in more detail below!)

We hit the kitchen the first weekend & tore out that funny stage/ petting zoon in the basement down to the studs. (Thanks goodness for my in-laws visiting!!!- my father-in-law is a workhorse and my mother-in-law really helped me get going.) Our (WONDERFUL) friends (a landscape designer & her husband) have been amazing & have helped us cut down dead trees & get started on the yard, which is a swamp (SERIOUS WATER ISSUES!! ) I put out our adirondack chairs under a dry spot in the yard and Christian & I and our dog Ashby have been enjoying them.

This is going to sound really crazy coming from me, but I have to be honest, having all white is DRIVING ME CRAZY.

No joke, it's killing me. Once I put up the drapes I started feeling better, but I'm really craving some bright color right now!! (I'm already way past the "base stage " and ready to get to the stage where I want to add my color!! hahaha) =The fabric below is 'Keira' which can be found at Calico Corners and we used on the guest bedroom drapes.

Ok, off to paint!! I'll have internet on Monday & will be back in full-swing. I've missed you all so much & feel very out of the loop!

xoxo,

lauren

ps- Thank you so much Camila for your posts while I way away!!!! (Hee hee I love all the ideas!!;)

xoxo

Branching out

In my continuing search for the perfect housewarming gift I was hit with an idea during my daily walks with the pups. I know that Lauren loves to bring the outdoors in and I’ve never seen someone get so excited to see Forsythia’s branches so I figured why not try to find a gift will keep on giving year in and out, she can use it to decorate, and add a touch of girly color.

Enter my latest idea:

A small quince tree that she can plant in her yard:

I love the way the branches look with the pops of pink throughout the brown branches. Maybe these little branches were inspiration for the whole pink plus brown trend!

Close up shot of flower:

Don’t you already see Lauren out there snipping away at the branches and making some amazing arrangements inside her Treehouse?

Apparently there is a special way for you to force your branches to bloom. Click here for a little how-to from Martha of course!

Hope you all enjoy your weekend! I’ll be back on Monday with some more ideas, which I’m sure will end up being PINK!

xoxo

Camila

The Perfect Houseguest

Hello Everyone,

It's Camila from High-Heeled Foot in the Door since Lauren is a very busy lady this week fixing up her lovely Treehouse and without internet access til Mid-May I thought it would fun to come on over and entertain you all!

While it may seem that me and Lauren are a bit opposite in our design styles we are really quite similar. We both love clean lines, the mixing of old and new and having a room reflex your true style. I just like to throw a little okay maybe a lot more color into the mix.

So while the cat's away the mice will play! Let me know what you would like to see more of here. I'm going to channel my inner Lauren and try to find you all some wonderful eye candy that would make Lauren proud.

Now off to the first matter at hand.

Since I currently have Lauren working away on her guest room. (Purely for selfish reasons, because I want to visit her as soon as possible!) Due to this I have been on the hunt for the perfect housewarming gift.

My current front-runner is this:

The book is a dinner game of sorts. During Proust's time he came up with two questionnaires that were meant to allow the reader to discover his/hers fears, fantasies, favorite poets, writers, embarrassing moments, etc. The books features answers from a number of celebrities along with having blank questionnaires that your guests can fill out.

I'm not totally sold on this idea, but I like it so it's on my list, but the search continues.

What are your go-to gifts for a new home owner?

The Treehouse: Living Room Plans & Ideas

INSPIRATION: (Above Chaffee Braithwaite's living room AGAIN ;) I'm using it as inspiration... I'll be going with a bit more warmth & a little washed/ muted pattern. My goal is for the room to feel light airy, natural, raw, fresh with a classic modern feel and a hint of old-fashioned pretty. I want a fairly neutral backdrop for ever-changing accessories & shots of color. (In the image above, I love the jolts of green from the wheatgrass and views for Springtime!)

Below, here's what our living room looks like now: (Since the living space is on the second floor, you're way high up in the trees, hence the name "treehouse.") For now, I'm keeping it this shade of white & will get the perfect white on the walls once we're more settled. (we've got bigger fish to fry for starters!!)

For now I'm putting the sofa on the right wall facing into the room. Opposite it will be two chairs with a table in between and under the window i'd like to have a couple of chairs or possibly a settee. (My computer & scanner are still down so I'm not able to get you the floorplan) We're hanging drapes from the ceiling on simple iron rods. I'm going with simple white linen for an airy feel & a fresh, clean backdrop for changing up accessories, slicovers, pillows, etc: For the sofa, I knew exactly what I wanted: English arms with turned legs on casters. (Because- #1- I like to rearrange often & usually do it by myself while my husband's gone & the sofa is always the toughest thing to move, so casters = problem solved!! #2- I want the space to feel large, open & airy, and of course legs will help with this, and #3- I love the classic with a hint of old-fashioned lines of this sofa. It'll work perfectly with both traditional & modern pieces. So, below is what I was looking for ( I was hoping for 1 or 2 cusions instead of 3)

And the sofa below is the one we just bought on Craiglist!!! (Since we're on a budget & the similar sofas I was finding were all around the $2500- $3000 range, I decided the search on craiglist. After searching through listing after listing & saving a few possible options that were close to my dream sofa, I came across this one!!)

I couldn't believe my (exhausted) eyes!! it was exactly what I wanted!! It's a Lee Industries sofa that retails for around $3000! We picked the sofa up in our new (to us) pick-up truck (it's actually old- 250,000 miles) in Capitol Hill and the family couldn't have been nicer!! The owner of the sofa worked for the Kellog Collection for many years & was so sweet & her son arranged the whole deal & helped my husband load the sofa. (I'm sure I sounded like my usual nutcase-self, because I just couldn't stop telling them how excited I was to have "THE" sofa I was looking for!! haha) So, we're reupholstering it in this cotton velvet below:

As I mentioned in my previous post, this image doesn't do the fabric justice. It changes witht he angle and it looks creamy, golden or whitey-beige. It should look something like this chair (from Oly Studio) below when reupholstered:

I'm planning on pulling in some grays & whites in the pillows for "base" time (when the room's not decorated seasonally with other colors) with lots of different textures including this super-nubby linen (below) *** You can find a very similar fabric to this one at Calico Corners called "Slubby linen" ***

Now, here's where things become less settled-upon. I'm using the fabric below on the reverse to give the piece a more time-worn, muted look. (Darryl Carter's trick!!)

Now I'd like whichever piece the fabric goes on to be situated under the windows & facing into the room. So, this could possibly be couple of chairs or a settee (I was condsidering a gilding settee with a shirt, how fun would that be?! I don't love the shape of this one but did come across a pretty one & have now forgotten the source!)

The only thing is, I just came accross this driftwood chair from Oly Studios & I'm sort of in love... I really like balance & don't feel that a piece like this should have a matching partner & don't so much have a spot for a lone chair... (I might be able to squeeze it on somewhere though)

Now, across from the sofa will be two chairs with my fun metal vintage table in between:

I'm having so many different thoughts on the chairs. (In reality, I'll most likely thrift store/ flea market or craiglist them but here are some of my loves now. Also, any of the chairs pictured could possibly under the window as a pair or combined with the reversed toile or driftwood chair)

A pair of (washable!!) slipcovered wing chairs like the chair below would work really nicely because the shirts to the floor would stop the eye and that's sort of what I want because the dining area/ work area is on the other end & I like the separation. This is pretty budget-friendly because old wingchairs are really easy to find via thrift stores & craiglist and they could be easilty reupholstered!

I also can't help loving this modern wingchair from Oly Studio (below). It comes in other leathers but I really love this one... A pair of these with the silver table between would be amazing... I love the modern jolt in the room (I'd like to have at least 1 in each room becasue the house is so contemporary).. These could go across from the sofa or under the window. (Oh, and quick reality check here--- these would not be arriving for a VERY long time because of the unfortunate existence of a low budget.)

And here are some other chairs I like:

I like the thought of this one (below, Martha Stewart) upholsered in the toile... The only problem is the legs are a bit red for me & don't come in other colors... I'd hate to buy a new chair that I'd need to change...We love to entertain & of course kick up our feet so I love the idea of one of these 2 leather 0upholstered benches from Oly Studio:

I picture them moving around wherever needed & think they would look really pretty accross from the windows when you first walk in, so as to clsoe off the conversation area but not block the view. Here's the other:

I also have a cool camel saddle that looks similar to this one (image from here) but isn't in cow hide. (It's in a terrible brown vinyl right now & I'd reupholster it in a prettier one.)

I actually would love a cowhide rug... Here's the view of the dining area/ work area... Since we'll have an eat-in kitchen & island with stools I don't envision nightly meals in the dining area. We'll primarily use it for projects, reading, and entertaining. It'll be nice not to have to put projects away every night!

I love the idea of a trestle table piled high with books & 2 comfy chairs on one side and a bench on the other ... I'm having so many thoughts about tables, but it will have to be something rectangular & fairly narrow... (However, my square folding table will have to do for a while!)

But I love some of these options, like this zinc sawhorse table from Bobo Intriguing Objects: (I wonder if we could try to make something like this??--- I did look up some zinc countertop places & they seemed INSANELY expensive... does anyone have a cheap source for zinc sheets?)

I'd also love a trestle table similar to the one in Kirsten Hollister's (of Boho Belgian) dining room: (And look, she has the bench I want too!!! - I know Ikea used to make a bench like this, does anyone know if they still do? -- I couldn't find it online.)

I picture the table with wingchairs & I could possibly go with the white slipcovered ones if I don't go with them in the Living room: (Again, they'd be nice on casters so I could always have options)The wingchair below is one of my favorite wingchairs, by Martha Stewart. It's got nailhead detailing & is of a really manageable size for smaller spaces. (Some are so huge!!) Now, for the chandelier... Here are some I love from Bobo Intriguing Objects: The wine barrel chandelier:

And also the "planet" wine barrel: (I think this would be kind of cool with all the books!)

And this one I'm CRAZY over, but it's way too big for my house!!! (Over 4 feet high!! JEESH) The drfitwood chandelier: (I really wanted it in my entryway & it would still be too big!! arg)

And here's a chandelier I really love that's so much more in my price range. I saw it at On a Whim & need to go and see if they have anything like it or if it could still be there: (Please don't go buy this!!! heehee ;) Part of me thinks I need to stay natural & rough & quirly like the others but it's just so hard to resist this pretty vintage crystal!!!

And for the back wall behind the table, I want some type of storage. It's really important to me that I have surfaces that I can change up accessories on & also some hidden storage for my son's toys. (I like to keep toys in all the living areas as long as they can be hidden away so that every room's kid-friendly.) I'd use big baskets for toys on the bottom shelves & put pretty things & books on the upper shelves of this pharmacy rack from Bobo Intriguing Objects:

(It's highly unlikely we'll buy that exact piece but we'll be looking for similar items.) I'd also like some type of dresser or cabinet in the living room for more toy storage.

Well, we move tomorrow & over the weekend & I am having a bit of blogging withdrawal from not having my computer!! Also, I just did another post right before this one as a follow up on my kitchen decisions(2 posts in 1 day, I know! haha) so check it out below.

miss you guys,

lauren