Update: The Bathroom

So happy to have my accent wallpaper installed in the powder room last evening!  

I'm in looovve.... and slightly nervous to hear my husband's reaction.  Yes, the husband who never asked why only three of the walls of the bathroom were painted one color, the husband who let the wallpaper hanger in the house and was here for the entire two hours he worked, the husband who peered around the corner to offer the wallpaper hanger a drink half way through the job without looking at the wallpaper.  That husband!

The pedestal sink and toilet will be installed here, hopefully tomorrow...

The faux bamboo mirror will be rehung under the light fixture (which won't work again until Christmas when my dad comes to change the 3 burnt out light bulbs)...

I'm going to hang this Taiwanese block print piece, which I just lifted from my parents' place in NYC (with my mom's permission), on the opposing, painted wall.  Unless my dad notices it when he's changing the light bulbs at Christmas and wants it back.

Have a great weekend!
Deb

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Scope Creep: The Bathroom

During the course of my kitchen renovation, I mused out loud to my contractor that my next project, someday, would be the 1st floor powder room (it with the ugly brick floor, tacky fixtures, and yes, that's duct tape holding together the toilet tank).

Mercifully, Todd quickly talked me into folding this smaller project into the kitchen renovation, and I want to give you a glimpse of the work-in-progress!

The impossible-to-clean brick has been replaced with this marble weave tile, which I adore!

Bye-bye ugly yellowish pedestal sink and cracked toilet (which sent me to the E.R. once for stitches when I caught my hand on it)... new Kohler fixtures are on their way!

The last, and hardest question came to how to treat the walls.  I was sick of painted walls in there, but due to nearby wallpaper, flooring, and decoration, I knew I was limited to wallpaper that was 1.) not geometric or stripe, 2.) not printed on a cream or white background, 3.) likely large-scale and floral, and 4.) multi-colored, with green included.  I tried to deny it, but the only logical choice was, of course...

Yep, Chiang Mai Dragon in Mocha, by Schumacher.  Next challenges: it's crazy expensive, and there were only 3 of the 8 rolls I needed in stock, with no more expected for months!  Wahhhh!  Solution?  Chiang Mai accent wall on the main wall with the toilet/sink/mirror, and the surrounding three walls painted to match the background of the wallcovering...

accent wall primed for wallpaper

The Imperial Trellis cafe curtain will be replaced (anyone want it?) with a Chiang Mai cafe curtain.

The wallpaper should be hung today or tomorrow!  

Stay tuned...

Deb

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Lovin' It: Ballard's Recent Offerings in Lighting

It's that time of year, when we're bombarded with seemingly a hundred catalogs on a daily basis, in the name of holiday marketing, sales, and - oh yeah- cheer.  There's too many to carefully peruse, but I make a point to pull a few aside - including Ballard Designs, for its affordable and generally stylish products.  I particularly love their offerings in lighting this season...

You know I bemoan the lack of decent offerings on the market in the realm of flush and semi-flush mounts.  So, I was thrilled to see two great, affordable options that fit the bill!

Moravian Star Ceiling Mount, $189

Philipe Ceiling Mount, $179

I love sconces, but I especially love candle sconces for folks looking for a fantastic accent without paying for an electrician!   And Ballard's Elise Candle Sconces are a perfect, elegant example...

Elise Candle Sconce, $49

I'm SO fascinated with Ballard's instant pendant light adaptor, which takes you from recessed to pendant lighting in an instant...

... with NO wiring required!  Brilliant!

We've seen honeycomb lighting everywhere, and it's nice to see Ballard keeping up with the trend!

Seeded Honeycomb Pendant, $179

Happy Shopping!

Deb

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We're So Honored! Thank You Schumacher!!!

We recently won a contest by the exclusive fabric house "Schumacher" to showcase a project featuring their fabrics. We entered with the photos pictured below (you might recognize them from our recent Boston Globe Magazine article) and were thrilled to receive an honorable mention!!!

Congratulations to Solbrook Collections & Design of Woodward, OK who captured the top prize and to our fellow winners: Jill Goldberg Hudson Interior Design – Boston, MA and Donna Morgan Antoinette’s Tri-Towne Interiors – Cohasset, MA.

:)  B

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The Finish Line - Only Minutes Away!

The team at Well Built has been consistently working hard to get our family room finished by the time my 2 nieces, 1 nephew, mother-in-law, sister-in-law and brother-in-law all arrive TOMORROW for a week long Thanksgiving visit.  The room is just about done (minus some final finish work and of course the expected windows) and I can hardly believe the transformation that has occurred in less than two weeks!!  A huge thanks to Todd, Walter and the gang!

You can see the before photos here!

Now the real fun begins with furnishing it!  Stay tuned with inspiration photos of what I have up my sleeve!

Happy Weekend!
:) B

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Thanksgiving Table Inspiration

If you are anything like me, I haven't even thought about Thanksgiving other than the fact that we have to get our family room finished and that we have family arriving on Sunday. But as far as food and what the table is going to look like...zip.zilch.nada.

So here are some ideas from Pinterest to get your juices flowing - afterall, Thanksgiving is ONE WEEK AWAY!! Holy cr*p!!!!!

I think these are my favorite - the warm light, burnt orange flowers in a birch vase, accented with whites and greens. Stunning.

Another fresh take on Thanksgiving is to minimize the traditional orange and instead go with whites and greens.

I have a little "thing" for tulips so this one is right up my alley.

Here the fall feeling comes from the distressed wood plank and the chestnuts strewn about.  This could actually be beautiful for Christmas too.

The pheasant feathers get me every time....

And of course, the traditional autumnal wheat:

What's your favorite "look" for thanksgiving?

Gobble. gobble.
:) B

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Black is Anything but Basic

I have been seeing a ton of black rooms lately.  And I can't decide if I LOVE them of if I hate them. I certainly can't get enough of black lacquer. The reflective quality is absolutely stunning. 

Source: google.com via Becky on Pinterest

This little number is absolutely amazing - from those incredible leather chairs to the hide rug...O.M.G.

Source: mydesignchic.com via Becky on Pinterest

And this one is the perfect compliment to all that beautiful white china and stoneware.

Source: housebeautiful.com via Becky on Pinterest

Another great example of using black in the kitchen:

Source: housebeautiful.com via Becky on Pinterest

I have to admit that this one feels a little circus-y to me...

Source: housebeautiful.com via Becky on Pinterest

And this one seems just a bit odd with that funky tree and blue ping pong table. I would have rather seen the designer go through with the black theme. It sort of looks like they started down the "black" theme and abandoned ship half way.

Source: housebeautiful.com via Becky on Pinterest

What are you thoughts on black rooms? Love it or leave it?

Becky

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Seeing Stars

I've been brainstorming some ways to add a little pizazz to my new kitchen design, with its white cabinets, tile, and walls.  What's left to treat?  The ceiling, of course.  My Moravian star pendant got thinking about extending the star motif...

Both Domino and Lonny Magazines featured spreads of children's rooms with this Osborne and Little pattern on the ceiling...

Jaime Meares killed it in this nursery... amazing...

It comes in other colors, too...

One of the workers in my house asked me, quite seriously, why I didn't just buy a bunch of the glow in the dark stars to stick up on the ceiling.  And that kind of ruined the whole concept for me!

Deb

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Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock.....

I thought you might be curious to see what has become of my family room after almost 5 days of banging, sawing, prying and generally lots of fun!   My gut is that we (and by we I really mean the awesome crew at WellBuilt) are totally on track to have everything finished by the time my family arrives for Thanksgiving on the 18th of November...a mere 10 days away!  Yep - that's right, Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away...holy moly.  Sometimes I think I should have my head examined.

What was once an awkward window between the family room and living room is now well on its way to being a full fledged door!  We are bringing the height of it down about 5 inches to a "normal" height of 80" so it doesn't look like Franken-door from the living room.

Sorry the angle is sort of off, but you can see that the closet and stairway has been removed and the new, much needed lighting has been roughed in and ready to light up my life!

Here is a shot back towards what I fondly call the "upper deck". You'll notice that new stairs have been added and that horrendous book shelf is now sitting politely off to the left ready to find another home.

And this is my absolute favorite shot - back towards what is going to be my new office space; complete with brand new HUGE window and future built-in window seat/storage cabinet. Additionally there is a better view of the new steps to the "upper deck", the old door on its way to becoming a wall, and the old window being transformed into a new door.

Have I mentioned that I am one LUCKY gal?!? Yeah, my husband rocks to let me have my way with this room!

Tomorrow brings more electrical work and - get this - they start to hang the blue board and plaster.  Paint and hardwood flooring is coming soon. Holy h*ll I can hardly believe it!!

Yippeeeee! 
:) B

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