Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Photo Love


My friend, Andrea, has an incredible photography blog. During the day, this creative lady designs commercial interiors, and at night, she moonlights as a photographer of all sorts.
Check out her blog. She's awesome!


xoxo,

 

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Designer Spotlight: 2Michaels

Fantastic residential interior images from 2Michaels Interior Design, a sister design duo. I love that all these rooms feel like they'd be comfortable. They feel put together but lived in. They also feel like some of the pieces and art work are collected, not purchased from a big store. 

Don't you agree?







Isn't this coffee table great with those chairs? Who knew such a neutral could look so rich?





 I adore this big stripe and the long and low credenzas behind the pair of small scale upholstered chairs.





Do you like this style?


xoxo,

Friday, June 25, 2010

Sweetened Condensed Coffee



Vietnamese coffee. 
My introduction to this delicious confection was while we were in L.A. last year. Our good friend buddy took us to this great Vietnamese restaurant and had us order them when he was shocked to hear we'd never tried one.

I kind of forgot about it until recently. 
Now it's all I can think about and I want to try making one. Maybe I'll try this version.

Do you have an easy way to make these? Secrets, please. :)



xoxo,

 

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Daybed DIY


DIY Daybed Tutorial from SecondHandHannah

She says it's "a solid wood door from my husband, the large cushions were found and given a through cleaning, the hairpin legs were also found by my husband attached to a old warped piece of plywood. The back cushions were in my attic, I bought a couple of yards of unbleached muslin, I had the gray wool for the contrast welt on the back cushions, and after using some danish oil... bought a small can of walnut stain.
So, the total on that is about $10."
 
So amazing! I want to make one!

xoxo, 

 

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Girls Only


 This is for the girls: Beachy Hair tutorial from Hair Thursday. It might be changing my life. ;)

(At least, the part about how you blow-dry your bangs is changing my life)



xoxo,

Monday, June 14, 2010

Breakfast Club- members? 1.

Does this look amazing or does this look amazing? 


These photos looks delish. Of course, I found this on Design*Sponge. You can get the recipe there. SAGE pesto? Has anyone tried this before???

I've been in a serious breakfast/brunch phase lately. I even mentioned this to my hubby, saying musingly, "I think I'm just really into breakfast-y kinds of food lately." His facial expression response was one that said, "Ya think?!" I mean, how many times can I make that Smitten Kitchen Breakfast pizza? Or French toast? Or coerce my husband into taking me to my favorite brunchy restaurant Black Walnut Cafe for Eggs Benedict?

Oh, speaking of going to brunch, we had some of our very best friends drive through town for a quick brunch visit. We ate at this great restaurant on Montrose called Canopy
 (photo from Canopyhouston.com)

The interior was well designed, materials were beautiful, and the artistic touches (like the twig/nest ceiling sculpture hanging above us) were very clever. Plus, how can you not love that every chair in the place is an Eames potato chip chair!?


I loved the interior, however my man (he's an artist with incredible instinct) mentioned to me that it was lacking something to make it distinctive. He was right. There needed to be something like a trademark piece of art or something not so literally interpreted as a tree canopy. 


Nonetheless, the restaurant was lovely and the breakfast was delish! 
Steak and Eggs for the man (with some kind of chalupa with black beans...)


Eggs Benedict for me (those are sweet potatoe cakes underneath, topped with canadian bacon, asparagus, then the eggs, sauce, and chives- MMM! and a fresh fruit salad on the side)

Yum.



Am I the only one obsessed with breakfast food at the moment? Anyone else?





xoxo,

 

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Groovy



The 12-year old girl in me SO wants this mood nail polish. I want the blue that turns green!
Buy it here.



xoxo,

 

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Decorator A.D.D.?

 Do you have it? I do. And I'm an interior designer! This is a great post by YHL on how to take control of your design A.D.D. and figure out your own personal style.

The bullet points are:
1. Gather ONLY 15 inspiration images and note what they have in common;
2. Take a couple online style quizzes (like the ones linked);
3. Don't get caught up in style labels or in getting it all together- it's a process!


 image from Elle Decor.




xoxo, 

 

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Working Hard or Hardly Working?

My project currently has me immersed in studying ergonomic task chairs. I can't help but pine for something new to sit in for myself. Here are a few of my favorites:


I love this chair- Freedom, by Humanscale! My good friend, and fellow interior designer Collin (and his lovely fiance Andrea) pointed me to this chair for presence as well as ergonomics. It has a certain Eames Lounge chair aesthetic, I think.

I would love one in white:
Available to the trade from your Humanscale dealer or retail at Design Within Reach.

I also love this chair. My Knoll rep absolutely sold it to me when she demonstrated all the ways you can sit in it.

Because of the flexible frame material, you can sit sideways, backwards, reclining, leaning forward- and it still supports! The cantilevered arms keep it from bumping a desk edge, which is great.



I would want it in a white frame, fuschia seat (yes, you can custom order it). The standard colors available for retail at Design Within Reach.

Check out the demo here.

Also, I like the simple aesthetic of the Knoll Life chair. It's clean. It's not big and dark and techno-looking like some work chairs. It does all the adjustments you need for a tast chair, lumbar support, tilt, recline, adjustable arms, etc. You can purchase this retail at DWR or through Knoll, to the trade.



I'm gaga for this image. ANY chair would look amazing in this home office. I also really love the simplicity of the desks. They look like file cabinets with tops! That picture rail with big framed b&w art and the herringbone wood floors are what send me through the roof.
(Notice also, the canned lights above the desks- ALWAYS go with cans, instead of one big ceiling light fixture. Each desk also has its own task light which is definitely a must in a work environment).

So, those are some work chairs I'm digging. Which is your favorite?


xoxo,

 

Friday, June 4, 2010

More Backyard/Alley Ideas


 I've been on a quest to somehow for free or otherwise super cheap re-do my back little patio/alley.
This image is wonderful. I absolutely LOVE those orange chairs. Maybe I need orange chairs?


Spray paint some Craiglist finds, perhaps?


 I found this amazing blog via AT. This Brooklyn native MADE all their patio furniture and it's rad. I think I could reproduce a budget-friendly version out of wood pallets. Here are more pics of their back oasis.


SO cool, isn't it?
They even made a planter station, which I have no room for, but is so cool nonetheless.


So then there's this idea (also via AT) of a little banquette. You could put ready made outdoor cushions on this.


And sprinkle little bricks with glowing tealights and cute plantings around all the little nooks and crannies of the back yard.

Maybe rig some old colored bottles rigged up with some twinkley lights! Or maybe lights like these from Tar-jay.


Then of course, this is South Texas, so we would definitely need to spend money on something like this if we're going to spend the summer evenings outside:






Man, I am liking this vision more and more. :)


xoxo,