Passport to Design

On Tuesday I got to take a break from the office (who-hoo!) and spend the day hanging with some great local design bloggers at Boston Magazine's Passport To Design.  Fellow blogger Yvonne Blacker organized the event, in which we got to tour great showrooms, take in fabulous design, and even drink champagne & eat cupcakes- twist my arm, right?
(L to R) Yvonne Blacker (hostess with the mostest), Erin Greene (Boston Magazine), Michelle Cortizo,  Linda Holt, Megan Meyers,  John KelseyKristina Crestin,  Linda Merrill, Katherine Hawkins , and myself the amazon lady.


Let me give you a synopsis of a few of my favorite things. 
 (If you follow me on Instagram, you probably noticed a #passport2design hashtag flying around amongst other things- like me eating sweet potatoes the size of my head.)

The day started out at with breakfast at Circle Furniture and I immediately fell in love with this tufted emerald green chair. Extra wide for curling up alone, or with snuggle company- you choose.

                                 I was also inspired by the pattern on this here Arteriors lamp,
filing this away for "one day"...

Next stop was Tile By Design.  They heard bloggers were coming so the broke out the alcohol.
It wasn't quite noon yet, but I was free from the office and being chauffeured around- 
reason enough to celebrate.

 Loved all the Walker Zanger wood tiles:




And my design twinsie Megan Meyers and I realized our houses were going to end up looking an awful lot alike.  Possibly even with matching urinals if my spiel on their virtues sold her.

I want these in my bathroom:

Then it was off to Designer Bath.  
First, can we talk about this Zuchetti bath tub and how sexy it is...

you're super sexy tub, yes you are...

so sexy, it even lured me in...


(me, not so sexy)

Then there were my favorites for his, hers and kids.

These for hers (me):


For the man in your life:

and for the toothpaste spitting child in your life:
 a wall mount faucet- tuck it up and away
Nothing grosser than having to clean the tight space behind the faucet. 
If they get manage to get spit all over this, 
you have an animal on your hands and you will probably need a urinal too.


Michele Cortizo sold me on why I need a Brizo faucet.  
They really are amazing and gorgeous.

And then we were off to get schooled on rugs over at Landry & Arcari.  
So many great rugs it hurt my brain!

Yvonne modeled some sari silk flat weaves:


I fell in love with this painterly design:
and this texture:

and this rug for my office.

thank god my check book stayed home sick.

And then we ended at Lucia Lighting.  
We all know lighting is one of my weaknesses, so I was really happy here.

We were hosted by my friend and owner Lucy Dearborn.  She is a self proclaimed "legal upper", and I will vouched for that.  She has a contagious energy and humor, and kept the 'secco flowing while touring us around.

Love love love Studio Bel Vetra...
just check out their box of bubbles light and how could you not.

I had so much fun, and met so many great people, that it was sad to see the day end.
  
If you live in the Boston area you can still join the Passport to Design Seminar Series, which runs until March, or visit any of these showrooms.  They were all so friendly and helpful, and having worked with many in the past I can tell you first hand how great they are to do business with.
Thanks again Yvonne and all the showrooms for organizing and hosting such a fun event!





Function vs. Aesthetics

 I am usually guilty of being on the aesthetic side of this argument most of the time.
Be it pretty but painful shoes, or a striking chair that feels like you have a rod up your back when you sit on it for more than 5 minutes- 
I will champion for the visually pleasing always.

But sometimes I just have to wave the white flag too.
I have been trying to make my shaggy Beni rug work in my office for a week now.
The poor thing has been in every room of my house practically!
Its just really thick, sheds like a German Shepard and my office doors jam on it as do my chairs. 
So after the 10th time of getting tangled up in it, I had enough.

 This morning I ran down to the basement and dragged this tribal dhurrie into my office:
Despite the the fact that I was loving a pink and yellow office, I do like the pink/reds/rusts thing happening.  So much so, I even committed by painting  my lamps a burnt red too...
 Of, and for those of you asking about how the wrapping paper/ wallpaper was going...
its up...
Two words:
Spray adhesive.
worked like a charm, and allowed me to reposition
- just do it outside b/c it makes you high as a kite, therefore I forgot to take how to pictures- 
I sprayed the backside of the paper, not the wall, and just smoothed it on.
I will get back to you on how easy it is to take down or paint the walls under it when I get bored and change it in about 6 months. 


In the mean time here is my new color inspiration from my Pinterest to finish this bitch up:
Reds, pinks, oranges and burgundyness



See, not done:
 my desk area/wall is looking lonely and sad and quite unruly
(thinking major art wall and heavy organizing.)

off to work now
later







update from reno-land

Hey hey!  
Things have been kinda quiet over here the past few days.  
No one hammering or breaking stuff.
Phase One of demo is done.

And now we wait- about three weeks- for all the new windows to arrive.

Then it is back to plaster dust and banging.
I will relish not having to vacuum and mop my floors nightly these next few weeks.

I will try to keep my reno updates to a minimum around here.
Reno is not that exciting, I know.
You can only look at so much Tyvek, sheetrock and studs before wanting to poke your eyes out.
So I made a quick little before and after montage for you.
(before and afters are a bit more interesting than just Tyvek shots IMO)

SO:
The ugly rotten sunroom is gone.
Roof is patched and shingles are up.
House will get paint job and some major landscape loving come spring.
Do I even need another reason to be excited for spring?


A lot of people are like 
"why would  you get rid of square footage? are you going to add another room on somewhere else?"
the answer is no. bigger isn't always better.
the room leaked, was built on a crumbling slab, had a carpenter ant buffet going on and was 120 degrees most days- or freezing cold come winter.  
we couldn't use it. we won't miss it. 
i think it is looking way cleaner without the crazy roofline too.

As for the inside...
Everything wide is open.
Bust out your roller-skates, its a dance party!
 Neighbors can basically see right through it too...
so our house is like a mega boring peep show.
(unless mopping, making oatmeal and folding laundry are your thing)
hmm, maybe I should start rollerskating.
before/currently
There will be a bathroom and laundry room happening behind those studs 
that have the 5 ton sign on them above:






I have a lot of big decisions to make over the next few weeks.
kitchen layout, floors and overall design layout.
and I really hate making decisions for myself.
I like to blame it on being born on the indecisive Libra cusp-
(yeah, it doesn't get much flakier sounding than that) 
and reading hundreds of design mags and blogs.
But in reality, I think it is a curse shared by most folks.

I will post more when windows are in.
Back to DIY and pretty.






Black & White DIY Weekend Inspiration

I have been heavily inspired lately by runny, streaky paint-like textures and I wanted to share two similar projects I have been working on.

First off: 
My New Super Cheap Wallpaper Project
(this is hopefully going to get hung Sunday)

I found this wrapping paper at Homegood's.
They had so many awesome patterns to choose from.
Very impressed, they get high fives.
 Best part, it was SO cheap, and I love to be cheap.
$2.99.  
30" x 12'. 
heck yes. would have bought 10 rolls if they had it, but only got 3.


Its actually pretty heavy weight, which is what you need- the thin stuff just tears apart and wrinkles.
Think it is going in here...
(that wall was painted over a year ago, so its about time for a change in my book)

...and yes, my office is a massive shit show.
I am going to try using a spray adhesive first so I can peel it off if I get tired of it.
I that doesn't work I will have to use paste.
Stay tuned.

The next easy project is painted drapes. 
Inspired from Porter Teleo (they rock) and their Tangled design:



I had to make some drapes for a photo shoot for work, so I grabbed some white cotton IKEA panels and Black RIT dye and made these babies:


 To do this make sure you put plastic under the panels first. 
It gets REAL messy if you don't:
I mixed 1 part RIT Dye with 2 parts warm water in an empty squeeze bottle.

You don't need the bottle, I was just hoping to squirt the lines, but that was a big messy mess...

Definitely could have been cool, but it would need to be done outside 
since it squirted EVERYWHERE.
(project for spring)
I grabbed a paint brush and poured some dye mixture in a bowl and started painting my lines.


 Keep everything on a plate to catch drips and move around the fabric.

 and just paint until satisfied without a plan. 
I let it dry flat for 30 minutes, then I hung it for the remainder...

Think I might do this in a color for my own house when the reno is done.

I am off to make lasagna, drink wine and watch a movie.

Happy weekend peeps!





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