Homey hooks

As a kid I'd read this story about a bear who wore overalls. Was it Corduroy? No, I don't think so. This was a more independent animal. Did Corduroy have a sequel? I think the bear lived in a tree, like Pooh. But this wasn't Pooh.

Basically I have no idea what I'm talking about. In fact, this could have been a dream I concocted after blending many children's stories. Was he even a bear? Or a he?

What I remember most, and all that really matters, was that he hung up his clothes on hooks in his bedroom. He only had one outfit, which I'm not even sure were overalls now. It could have been a rain jacket. Or trousers. Whatever it was I never stopped to consider that after he did this, he was naked. Not once. Little me was fixated on the hooks. Hating to put away my own clothes, I dreamt of having hooks all over my bedroom. A hook for this. A hook for that. No more drawers or hangers. Just hooks for everything. It made complete sense to me at the time. 

For my last apartment I bought dozens of 3M hooks and plastered them all over the place. My hook dreams were coming true. In my bedroom they were to be used for "in process" clothes. You know, the ones you wore once or twice but they aren't dirty or smelly yet, like jeans and hoodies and work button-ups. Putting them back with the clean clothes always seemed off. Piling them on a chair is unsightly (and the waste of a chair). What is one to do?

Hooks to the rescue!

I always see Anthropologie getting nods for hooks and knobs and such. They do have a beautiful (rather expensive) collection.

Etsy has some handmade and lots of vintage/refurbished hooks to choose from.
birch / green / wire loops / colorful / moose and trees / gear

In my current bedroom, on all the walls that allow it, I plan on adding hooks. Heck, I plan on hookin-up my whole apartment! I've learned to keep the hooks (for in-process clothing) about 4 feet off the ground (higher if you have longer legs) so that arresting art can go above them and distract from the blobs of fabric. Hanging clothing at eye-level is not très chic. I have some pine panels that I can paint and then affix onto those a few sturdy metal hooks (like the wire loop hooks above). I like this idea because the pine panels can be screwed into the studs, wherever they may be, very easily. Also, my dirty-ish clothes will be a little more off the wall, less prone to sullying the underlying paint.

I sure do hope no one is keeping track of the DIYs I talk about rather than do. You know the phrase - put your money where your mouth is? I am strongly feeling a new phrase - put your hands where your mouth is. Wait, could that mean shut my mouth? Ok then!

Cod and Courage

A couple of days ago, professional blogger, Joanna Goddard, asked, "What are your favorite things at Trader Joe's?"

I was worried the question might break the internet. Anyone who lives near a TJs can immediately rattle off their 5-15 MUST BUY TJ items (and that one thing that has irritatingly been out of stock for 5 months).

In fact, I've always been meaning to tell you guys my TJ favorites as well. So, to save us all time, I wrote a quick list in her comment section (go check that out). I'm thrilled she asked this question because people actually read her blog AND post comments, therefore this particular comment section is a treasure trove.

Thanks, Joanna and Trader Joe's, for both being awesome. You have me pumped to try some new foods. First up, the frozen Soy Ginger Cod...

....

Aaaand now, here's a bonus Friday round-up of things that made me say hmmm:

While we're on the topic of food, pantry meals I want to eat (or eat more of but don't).

I also really really really want to eat this. Last food item, I promise.

I'm in love with this room. The robes help. And the colors... oh the colors...

Imagine going to work in something beautiful, whether modern or super old yet properly preserved. Scroll through the comments for dozens more amazing buildings!

Helpful advice for overcoming work paralysis.

Verbose shermose - how more direct resume language may up your game in male-dominated career fields.

Live and let live. Sleep and let sleep.

Wise words to keep us grounded.

Modern poetry (and granola recipe, so sue me).

And finally, a quote I found while cruising rabbit blog:

Wall space

Dreaming of wide blank walls, endless possibilities, and art...

uno

dos

tres

quatro

cinco, heh

Learning by disliking

I spied a much-lauded interior recently, and hated nearly all of it. Maybe I'm in a hating mood. It's March after all, and work still gives me the vomits, and one of my cats is enduring quarantine. It's practically the time to get my hate on. Therefore I revisited my hatred over and over, just to be sure. I questioned it. Was it real? Am I just feeling pissy? Is it jealousy?

Behold the offender:

I like the floors. I like the botanical prints. I like the stool. I like the tea towels. Who am I kidding. It's just too fucking white! White white white. I especially hate the built-in shelves being full of white space-filling bullshit. AGHHHH. And it seems this was part of the Domino color issue (which I haven't read). Perhaps this space was featured for the white lovers, and "pops of color" were pointed out as if extra significant.

This is not me. I'm not judging this designer, I'm judging myself - and this is so useful. I'm learning what I like by spotting dislikes. But I'm not flat out hating on it. I'm analyzing why it doesn't attract me. Surely this is part of the enlightenment learning curve (as I've alluded to before). Kudos to me.

Later that same day I got a glimpse of Sarah Jessica Parker's NYC townhome. The video is one silly Pantene commercial, but nonetheless, my love of color is reaffirmed:

Check out all those colorful book spines!

Be my guest

I've always wanted the extra room to have a guest bedroom. A room clean and ready at all times for hospitality. The door always shut --- no cats allowed! But inside, a room is waiting to hug you. Think of it. Your buds can crash at anytime. Late night parties can become Bloody Mary brunches. Out of town friends are in mini-heaven. And best of all, you've got a room where you can craft a mini-home.

I've been a sleepover guest as far back as I can remember. There's no way to explain that sentence without sounding a little trashy, but my point it this --  I know what a guest (like me anyway) wants to feel in a guest room. Let's see if this does the trick...

This 1950's map of Chicago (found for 5 bucks in downtown Chicago in the 2010's) was the inspiration for the room's color palette, which means it was the inspiration for the room's everything. It's a nice change of vantage to see Chicago from the east.

I love the colors and the fonts on this poster. Shots like these can be artistically blown up for cheap art, yes? I think so. If there's extra wall space, that is.

This being a small room, and thus not needing much paint, why not try one of these expensive but "worth it" high depth colors from Farrow & Ball? These colors are said to... how to describe... have a lot going on. In different lights and in different times of day and with different things around them, they look different. Awesome, huh?! Two gallons is... holy fuck, $185! French gray (*) catches my eye and is shown below looking pretty good next to yellow (which the poster has).

This would be really useful.

If this color green (**) managed to not clash with the blue and green in my Chicago poster, I would try to use it at all costs - especially if my guest room had a unique alcove (re-modified closet?) or an adjacent bathroom.

I mean, just look at that awesome Arsenic.

Although if you have an alcove, you may be tempted to indulge in a Farrow & Ball wallpaper... for over double the price of a gallon of paint. Therefore I'd buy a gallon of the paint (come here, Arsenic!) and then do a stencil of some kind. (Shut up, of course I'd get around to it.)

Ahhh, here is where the furniture comes in. First and foremost, a nicely polished vintage valet stand. Everyone needs a place to throw their worn but not dirty traveler clothing. Other than this, I'd have a large chest filled with clean blankets and a small vanity table with chair and well lit mirror. The bed would have a simple wood frame, stained or painted black to match the poster colors. Both sides of the bed would have a reading lamp, nightstand, and outlet access for charging.

I know what you're thinking. Where's the f-in color? COLOR NEEDED!!!! And achieved through fresh flowers placed throughout the room in a plain(ish) set of matching vases. Stupendous! [Ed. note - Getting bright flower colors in PowerPoint was to some extent impossible. I could really pay to learn how to use better graphic design software, hmmm... What do people use for magazine and blog spreads?]

Girl's room

A while back, madly inspired by colors in a picture, I took a stab at roughly designing a boy's bedroom. Well now I can present to you the rough designs for a little girl's room, inspired by a piece of art on Etsy:

Happy Dreams

I love the bright colors. I love the dreamy, whimsical sway. But what wall color does it go on? I'm thinking greenish blues or maybe a peach:

Left color from PowerPoint palette. Rest from Benjamin Moore.

Ahhh, now we're talking.

Now for some prints to hang on a different wall:

Prints from single Etsy shop: red-orange, peacock, leaf, pink-red, peach

But I know what you might be thinking. My daughter loves pink pink pink pink and nothing but pink. She'd never go for this!  Not so, my friend. Behold the special pink area, just for her:

She might grow out of pink but this is her long-term room. Give her these friendly prints and loads of good pink bedding!

Color scheming

Happy Halloween, 2012! Do you like Halloween? I enjoy the sight of kids dressed up and leftover candy. But this isn't about that.

This picture with the roses is extra, mega appealing to me. I keep thinking about the color palate. I like the coolness of it, the lightness, the crispness, yet the drama, the dark, the mysterious and tantalizing.

So over to my paint palate. I'm simply trying to match the color in the picture:

The pink selection did not disappoint. For green, however, I felt the options were more limited, and no one shade was exactly right. Perhaps the greens are complicated and you gotta layer them a bit. 

For the backdrop I liked this dark wallpaper. It kinda gives the hint of blue sky (although it's just billed as "black"). Altogether I would love this palate for a daytime daydreaming den or napping nook. So dreamy. 

Enjoy.

Foray into boyhood

There is so much I can say about this post. So many ways to take it. I'll focus on color...

Walking about in Maine earlier this summer, I saw a color combination that I had to remember:

I stared and stared until I saw the color palette of a little boy's bedroom:

All paint samples are from the easy-to-use Benjamin Moore paint color site. For the art I scoured Etsy art prints with keywords yellow and orange. This was kinda tedious, but I found neat underwater prints and a hella cool abstract map of some area in Boston. Wicked.

My dreamhouse is designed with two upstairs bedrooms for kids. Since the rooms each have a bathroom they can be rented out (when the kids move away and you start your commune) or used as kick-ass guest rooms. (Seriously, how awesome is it to have a private bathroom when you're a guest.) Barring major makeover, it's important to decide on a transitional look.

I wanted to keep the colors soothing so the kid wouldn't spaz out in there, but vibrant enough to invoke imagination. This is primarily a sleeping room. A room of solace. My kid can come play with me in the kitchen or go outside and catch bugs. The colors aim for a neutral personality -- one to grow upon -- one to inspire calm, intelligence, and creativity. 

The bolder elements are to be supplied, with time, by the beautiful child.

Lucite furniture

One way I know my sanity is in check is my dislike of Lucite furniture. When I see Lucite I think of petroleum. Yet many blogs, books, and magazines that cultivate what is chic and modern and stylish are telling me that hard clear plastic pieces, when used sparingly, are a real "it" component. It's hard to explain, but it feels good to look inside myself and see that I don't agree. To notice and identify your artistic inclinations can be very life affirming.

Top 10 Lucite pieces, if you say so.

The word Lucite is really just a trade name for a useful polymer. Another is Plexiglas. To make 1 pound of it takes about 2 pounds of petroleum, the internet tells me. It will burn completely to carbon dioxide and water. That's some good party trivia for you.

While looking at Lucite pieces to hate, I found a room that I insanely love. This is me. This is how I never knew I picture my dream living room. Thank you, Lucite.

Just add a bright splash of color with fresh flowers and give me my tea.

I suppose, thanks to the picture above, that clear plastic furniture isn't an abomination. But it will never be my first choice. Give me wood, stone, glass, art glass! Give me nature. Give me the beet, not the bleached sugar. Ya know?

Floorplans

Getting the floor plan of your dreamhome right is like 90% of the making of the house. Everything relies on the efficient and feel-good use of space. Walls and plumbing don't easily adjust for experimentation, so it's important to get them right from the start.

Although ever-evolving, here are 2 of the 3 levels of my dreamhouse. These are just the walls... you'll have to use your imagination to know what all the rooms are for. Or you can write to me and I'll sell you the details for a few million dollars.

Left, Google SketchUp 1st floor (entry level / street level).
Right, PowerPoint 2nd floor (1st if you're in the UK I think).

The floorplan on the left (and below) was made using Google SketchUp. I didn't take the tutorial, and I gotta say that getting used to the program was hard. Progress was slow. At present I barely know how to use the functions that create 3-D spaces out of my 2-D one. It's also hard to edit and follow the sizes of the boxes and lines you are drawing. The floorplan on the right is made of boxes I laid over a picture of the first floor plan in PowerPoint. I know Powerpoint like the back of my hand.

In SketchUp you can spin around the property like a bird and turn this into 3-D.

Rooms of my dreamhouse - Powder room (half bath)

One of the places my mind likes to go is to my dreamhouse. I can craft this place in my head for hours. It’s two stories high with a fully functioning basement, so 3 total levels. There are porches and gardens outside and nooks and crannies inside. Each square foot has a color and purpose.

The guest bathroom on the main level is a relatively small enclosure that everyone at one time or another finds themself in. I like dramatic and simple guest baths -- super clean, like I’m at a hotel, and a little bit dark, like it could be in the movie Clue. It needs wonderful lighting so that everyone looks spectacular, yet proper storage for bandages and isopropanol.

Enter – Damask. I scoured the Sherwin Williams wallpaper website for affordable, dramatic, and dark wallpapers for my dream guest bathroom. Damn was that annoying. I then paired these with simple and modern, slightly organic bathroom fixtures to keep the room from entering Dallas.

It was easy to find million dollar wallpaper that would look amazing in such a room. I, however, was set on finding affordable stuff, so I rifled through the Sherwin Williams site. The search function there is a total joke -- I couldn't even copy the URL's of these swatches individually! But if I remember correctly they are all "Damask". 

I went to home depot to look for sinks and found just a few things on the more modern side. I have no recollection of how I ended up finding this light fixture. And lastly, I just knew that Overstock.com would be a good place for mirrors.

What do you think (I wonder)? I'm envisioning a super cozy, fun, and memorable place to take a wiz in my dreamhouse.

If I owned a wall

If I owned a wall I would wallpaper it.

Wallpaper in my childhood meant those terrible "borders", and sometimes those extra terrible, peeling tiny flowers in neat vertical lines. Bad. But I have since learned that wallpaper (especially the expensive kind), can be b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l !! What I wouldn't give to own a little home where I could put wallpaper on accent walls.

Here are some of my favorite wallpapers for zen-style accent walls, meaning they incorporate a natural element that makes me feel calm (well, the red one doesn't evoke calm... but it'd work for an accent wall in a sun-salutation-friendly area of a master bedroom - no? I'm not sure.). Links in the caption.

Lovely Leaves, Maidenhair, Lotus, Feather, Tree Bomb