To Tuft or Not To Tuft ...

As many of you know by now, I moved in September. This is the second move in 2015, a move instigated by this guy:

Arlo - French Bulldog and General Awesome Sidekick!

 

There were a few things that I needed in a new place, and finding it in my budget, with a dog, wasn't easy. In fact, it wasn't even nearly possible. Thankfully, I work for a great property management company with a diverse portfolio, including apartments that are dog-friendly, in a rather elite suburb of Buffalo.

 

It was, however, not without its fair share of challenges. Here's what the living room in the model apartment looks like:

 

 

Carpeted from wall to wall, void of any molding or architectural interest, and an eye-sore of an air-conditioning unit: it's not a dump - but it's not the ritz, either. I knew that I could make some improvements, thanks to my position with the company. They'd be out of my own pocket, but the positives far outweighed the initial ding to my pocket.

 

When I took my unit, it looked like this:

 

 

Pretty, right? I got permission to put down a different floor in the living room of the apartment than the carpet that they typically install prior to a tenant moving in. Thankfully! I still have carpet in the hallway and in the bedrooms, but for just a little over $350, the living room eventually looked like this:

 

 



Not too shabby, right? Once the furniture went into place, it became a little more obvious that in order to get a look that I wanted, I was going to have to spend some more money and create some architectural interest in the space. I started with a giant piece of art, which I did myself, a Cy Twombly inspired piece that I think I could have sold 15 times already:

 

At just over 6' tall and 8' long, it's a large statement in the room. Of course, I took the squat little window on the other side and visually raised the height of it by adding my bamboo roman shades and custom curtains. It wasn't quite enough though. So, inspired by mirrored walls I created a little mirror alcove of my own:

 

 

Using mirrors from the dollar store, (yes, they were $1/ea!) and doing a fun treatment on them to have them look like antique mirrors really added a beautiful and architecturally interesting piece to the room, for about $50 for the molding, mirrors, and glue.

 

So, this is really where the living room is today. This morning in fact. So why is this post called To Tuft or Not To Tuft? See those mouton leg French ottomans? They're moving on. The room is large enough to have a pretty significant piece of furniture there, and the opportunity to have the layout I want is worth the switch up. You see, the living room is 20' long! And there's plenty of opportunity for two seating groups. The sofa and two Bergere chairs create one group, and this large ottoman I'm creating for the center of the room creates another along with two additional Bergere chairs, serving as a backless sofa to both spaces.

 

So, the question is not whether or not to fill the space with a very large ottoman that will be multifunctional. That's happening. The question is whether or not tufting is the ticket, and I think it is. Take a look at a few inspiration pics, and let me know what you think!

 

Inspiration photos sourced on Pinterest

 

Mirrored Walls, Alcoves, and Niches

My mind wanders ... and recently it landed on the possibility of creating a mirrored wall or niche in the new apartment to add some sorely lacking architectural interest.

Veranda - Mark D. Sikes

 

House Beautiful - Mark D. Sikes

 

 

Rooms like these, in the personal home of designer Mark D. Sikes and Michael Griffin have been a constant inspiration. But the idea of a room almost completely mirrored has me quite scared, and the expense of that, in a rental - isn't reasonable. Instead, I need something I can take with me. Something I can build to look intentional and architectural, but that would easily become movable to a new place. After all, if I've learned anything at all in the last year, it's that nothing is forever.

 

So, I leaned into thinking about something more like this:

 

Pinterest - Bunny Mellon

 

Pinterest - Luis Puerta

 

Pinterest - John Jacob Interiors

 

Pinterest via House Beautiful - unknown

 

Pinterest via Elle Decor- Todd Romano

 

Pinterest - Luis Puerta

 

Pinterest - unknown

 

So, the idea, is to build something that will hang behind the sofa that will look like a molding cased niche, original to the apartment.

 

Pinterest - unknown

 

Pinterest via Elle Décor - unknown

 

Pinterest - unkown

 

I'm still unsure. It just seems like such a great, and relatively inexpensive way to help aid with light, and visual extension of the space that I can't see any negatives. Stay tuned ... I've decided to blog about the new place from the very beginning of the process and certainly as I grow into it. We get the keys on Friday and floors go in on Saturday! Stay tuned! 



A Picture is Worth ...

The Pied-à-terre

 

Remember when I used to do these posts?

A Picture is Worth ...

They were a shameless copy of Joan's "Snapshot" posts which featured one photo, expertly styled, and stunningly captured (all of her photos are) with little or no writing. They were quick, refreshing, and left you longing for more.

They were the precursor to Instagram!

 

I remember asking Joan if I could copy her ... changing the name of course.

My mother raised me better.

 

Of course Joan ...

(and in the event you don't know who this Joan is)

she writes the fabulous blog For the Love of a House

granted me full permission to be a bit of a plagiarist,

and I started in her footsteps.

 

I figured while I'm working on the pied-à-terre, it might be useful to revive these posts.

So you can see what's going on.

As it happens.

Like news.

REALLY IMPORTANT NEWS!

 

 I'll be posting soon about the FABULOUS art framed on either side of the mirror above the sofa.

Until then, here it is.

Phase One, View One.

The Foyer : Mirrors

Keeping with our theme of Foyers, we've talked about front doors (best painted black unless they're antique), lanterns for light (unless you don't have the height - then think of flush mount lantern options - there are several at Shades of Light), Console tables for the much needed linear flat space for the deposit of mail and keys - and now the other necessary piece when decorating a foyer: Mirrors.

Mirrors in a foyer serve two major functions: 1) as a way to widen the visual space of the room by creating an expanding view of the walls beyond and 2) to provide yourself and guests with a place to double check their appearance before leaving or entering the rest of your home. 

There are a lot of ways to use mirrors in a foyer ... 

Photographer Credit: Lucas Allen

You can make a big and artful impact in a foyer by layering or hanging multiple mirrors on the entry wall. In this case, the frames are all the same hue, while the mirrors are different sizes. I think this combination works best. 

Designer Credit: Jean-Louis Denoit

Found: Pinterest

Architect Credit: Gibson Builders

Another option, and one that you might want to choose if you live in a home or space that doesn't have much architectural interest, is applying several mirrored squares to the wall in your entry and then framing it with mouldings that coordinate with your existing. Using mercerized or antique mirrors for this process gives a great look.

If you don't want to go through the process of applying mirrors to your wall - you could always find a very large mirror to hang or lean behind an open leg console table:

Designer Credit: Turner Davis Interiors

Designer Credit: Atmosphere Interior Design

It's a great option to not only expand the width of the space, but also the height - visually speaking. Of course, there is always the most traditional option:

Design Credit: William Hodkins

Found: http://belgianpearls.blogspot.com/2011/06/side-tables-and-pottery.html

Designer Credit: Mia James 

Designer Credit: Kay O'Toole - Found: http://cotedetexas.blogspot.com/2010_02_06_archive.html

So there you have it - what's the last thing we could possibly talk about when it comes to foyers? Well, check back with me tomorrow and see. 

Kitchen Inspiration Month: Day 28 - Mirrors, Glass Fridge Doors, Emma Bridgewater Ceramics, Bloggers, and more...

On this, the eve of the end of our month of Kitchen Inspiration photos, I hope that you've found at least one kitchen that you love! This hasn't been an easy series, and I'm not sorry to say that I'm running out of themes. Finding 10-20 photos each day of great kitchens, wholly inspiring, has brought me to this collection of photos that don't quite fit any one of our prior sets.

MIRRORS

Designer Credit: Steve at An Urban Cottage

One of my favorite blogs, An Urban Cottage is written by my bloggy friend Steve who did a relatively quick redo of his Massachusetts kitchen prior to his photographic feature in the upcoming book, "Better Homes & Gardens: New Cottage Style" and had us all standing in applause. Follow the changes here: http://anurbancottage.blogspot.com/2011/06/kitchen-progress.html

GLASS FRIDGE DOORS

Designer Credit: Joan - for the love of a house

Another of my fave bloggers is Joan, of for the love of a house. Her beautiful New Hampshire home has already been featured in BHG's Renovation Style, and I see many, many more features in her future. Thanks in no small part to the amazing kitchen renovation, she and her husband Dan oversaw. Joan shared her fridge in this post: http://fortheloveofahouse.blogspot.com/2010/12/glass-door-refrigerator.html, and commented that her secret for always making it look good: "My secret weapon in having a glass door refrigerator is .....organized chaos!" Joan goes on to say: "I keep all labels facing forward ... Everything else is willy-nilly, but because the beer, water, milk, yogurts, etc. are all facing straight ahead you get... organized chaos!" See all of Joan's kitchen on here: http://fortheloveofahouse.blogspot.com/2011/01/kitchen.html

OPEN KITCHEN GREAT ROOMS

Designer Credit: Shazalynn Cavin-Winfrey

Designer Credit: Brooke Giannetti - Giannetti Home / Velvet&Linen



Certainly one of the most popular interior designers in the blog world is Brooke Giannetti of Velvet & Linen. Together with her husband, renown architect Steve Giannetti, they have built and designed some of the most beautiful homes in California. In the rehab of their Channel Islands home, Brooke chose a much softer color palette (her signature) and created this amazing Kitchen Great Room. Read about all the before and afters here: http://brookegiannetti.typepad.com/velvet_and_linen/my-home-in-channel-islands-harbor/, or buy their absolutely amazing book, filled with this and other inspiring rooms you'll never tire of looking of: "Patina Style" on the blog, or on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Patina-Style-Brooke-Giannetti/dp/1423622537/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1303840873&sr=8-1

EMMA BRIDGEWATER CERAMICS

Designer Credit: Joni Webb - Cote de Texas

I first saw the beautiful "PURE BUTTER" tray inspired by the English ceramics of Emma Bridgewater in the fabulous kitchen remodel of Cote de Texas author, and blogging hallmark, Joni Webb. One of my very best bloggy friends, Joni has inspired countless readers in the quintessential Houston style, defined by clean, white linen, seagrass, and symmetrical design. Her home has been featured in Better Homes & Gardens, Houston House and Home, and her kitchen was recently photographed for another BHG publication which should be on stands soon. If you're as taken with them as I am, you can shop for the trays and EB ceramics (in the US) here: http://www.joannehudson.com/, or visit the Emma Bridgewater site (UK) here: http://www.emmabridgewater.co.uk/.

So that's it - we've exhausted my inspiration files - FINALLY! I thought that the day would never come! Tomorrow we'll end February and Kitchen Inspiration Month with the fabulous decorative paint work of Houston artist, Leslie Sinclair - and her new, and jaw dropping book: Segreto Finishes: Secrets To Finishing Beautiful Interiors. It's gonna be the best post of the whole month!