In With the New

Yesterday was emotional. I decided to retire, for the most part, my favorite and most sentimental pair of booties. These boys were picked up in a little town outside of Cinque Terre for, I’d say, $20. Impervious to the fact that I was purchasing them from a store with an aesthetic similar to America’s Rave, I took a chance on them. They quickly became my favorite pair of boots and the wear and literal tears on them are proof.

I’d been looking for a replacement pair for a few months but couldn’t find one that compared. The toes were perfectly round, the heel a perfect length to bring my flare jeans off the ground and the height just right to tuck my skinny jeans. As I hobbled over to the new pair due to the dulling and uneven heels of the former, I knew I had found their match.

So while you enjoy a laugh imagining me sitting in my room putting jewelry on my new pairs of shoes, because, in reality, isn’t everything a place to display your jewelry, I know my Siena friends will smile at these boots, knowing they come with a lot of history and love.

For you. I just don’t think I’ve ever been happier.

Intermediate Stage: The Living Room

This new sisal rug from Crate & Barrel has completely transformed our living room, bringing in light and really making the room feel alive. Our previous rug, a dark red oriental rug was pretty, but it really weighed down the room. Next on my list is a new swing arm wall sconce and a new coffee table. Some ideas below….

Sconces: 1 . 2 . 3 . 4

Coffee Tables: 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9

New Year, New Surroundings

Wish a new year upon me, I’m taking myself up on one of my new year’s resolutions and putting these new fabrics to use. The upside of being in the design field is that I am constantly seeing new products and new uses of old products. The downside: my style preference is constantly changing (reason 100 my blog is titled as it is)! This time around I wanted playful fabrics, and the option to change things around without much effort. By creating reversible pillows, the patterns are interchangeable and it should take me a while before I get sick of all six sides.

The new piece above my bed is a photograph by Gray Malin, shot in Marfa, Texas. It’s a Prada store art installation filled with purses and shoes from the 2005 collection. It is sealed shut and Malin has created a series using mules, cowboys and models to bring the installation some humor. Read more about Maison Gray here.

Phase 1: Replace Ugly Carpet.

 

The ugly green carpet that used to haunt my dreams is gone. The lighter carpet completely brightens up the space and is such a welcomed change. More house updates in the future…

 

 

 

 

 

A Potential DIY and Inspiring Image

I absolutely love the image above designed by Moises Esquenazi & Associates. The whole scene is perfect. But more than that, the door looks like it could be a potential DIY project. Instead of just wishing for something, I’ve learned this past year through blogs that creating something instead of just pining for something is possible. You just have to get a little creative, find inspiration, and take a chance!

Inspired by Belladwella’s door makeover, I think it’s possible!

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Once upon a time, long long ago….

I set out to make a clutch (see the initial attempt here). Finally, it has come to a close. It’s ready for a night out on the town! I’m considering adding a strap but would like to do a gold chain and that may take even longer to source. There may be a part III in another 11 months.

 

Summer Chest

The sun was roasting last week while I was in Michigan so I took a much needed morning off to do a little craft project that has been pleading for a makeover.

The wicker chest was in rough shape to begin with, but it has such cool details with its bamboo wood that I couldn’t part with it. My mom found me some adorable Lilly Pulitzer fabric, pulled out the white spray paint, and I went to work make it look summery and fresh.

I wanted to keep the brown bamboo detail that was left unpainted so I covered it with painters tape

While the print is a bit girly, I can’t help but love Lilly and where better to fit than in a summer home!

Tips and Tricks

While I’m in a profession that can easily spend over a million dollars on just the interior design (Who’s excited for season 2 of Million Dollar Decorators?), I’ve also got to know the tricks to designing on a budet and making good design available to everyone. So here are some quick tricks that are easily accessible to all that I achieved in a single weekend.

The above is a pillow i quickly sewed together using a memo sample from some years ago. Because I didn’t have enough fabric for the front and the back, I used another somewhat matching memo sample on the other side, creating a duel-patterned pillow! You can use fabric scraps or take a trip to your nearest fabric store.

I made my first trip to the SoWa Market after it being highly recommended by Whitney, a better Bostonian than me. While my cohorts dragged their feet a bit, I picked up this gold faux bamboo magazine rack within seconds of stepping into the antiques market. I carried it around like a purse for the rest of the afternoon.

There are so many amazing antique finds at great steals. I loved these perfume bottles and the asian screen.

Winmil Fabrics is my new favorite place to hang out. I manage to make friends with the sales people every time I go. While the fabrics aren’t all labeled, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these once resided in the design center. The quantities are definitely limited, but they’re great for making pillows. Or blinds!

Ta da! Reupholstery in the making… while I don’t think there will be enough fabric to recover the entire chair, I may reupholster the main part of the chair and make the cushion a different fabric just to make it work. These are two different chairs so I have to find enough fabric to cover both.

Bedroom Makeover: The Windows

This was an extremely busy, productive, and satisfying weekend. My bedroom has been an ongoing battle between making it reflect my personal style and finding the time to work on it. I’m finally ready to reveal some parts of my room and I’m so excited. The above is my new window view: sheer curtains from Bed Bath & Beyond (108″ long so they touch the ground) and homemade blinds. The blinds took me all day and currently they’re rather dubiously attached but with time, they will be the real thing.

The before… it’s okay, you can scream.

I finally fixed my sewing machine!

The Tale of the Homemade Blinds:

I went to Winmil Fabrics in Chinatown to buy some fabric. First time around I got cheap cotton fabric that had a neat blue shagreen pattern but from far away, the pattern totally disappeared. I returned and purchased this upholstery-weight fabric with a bigger pattern. I hemmed the edges, and then tested the blinds only to find out that the sun shone through the fabric and disguised the pattern I so proudly wanted to display. Putting the original fabric to use, I backed the blinds to prevent the sun from shining through. I used the bottom weight from my previous blinds so that they stay in place, wrapped the top of the fabric around the existing blind pully and doodley doo. you have the above.