No Sleep 'til Brooklyn!

Okay this may or may not be totally embarrassing, but at one point in my life I was a bit of a Beastie Boys fan.  Yep. It's the Jersey girl in me. But seriously, you can't tell me you didn't belt out the chorus of "You gotta fight for your right to PAAAARRRTTTTYYYY".  I understand COMPLETELY!!  So what the heck does this have to do with design you might ask? Well, Mike Diamond of the Beastie Boys wanted a Brooklyn themed toile wallpaper for his Brooklyn brownstone.  (And yes, I am completely serious!!) So he had it created:

"Brooklyn Toile captures many angles of life in the King’s borough from Coney Island to Hasidic Jews to Notorious B.I.G., the design covers many of the aspects of daily life dealing with subways and pigeons in a poetic way. Go on and get some!!!"

Seriously,  I might just have to get me some!  HAH!

:) B
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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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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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Rethinking the Carnation

The carnation is, and has always been, my least favorite flower....  I just despise it.

When we were recently featured in the Boston Globe Magazine, we asked the fact checker to remove the sentence saying the dining room wallpaper was inspired by a carnation motif, because I was so upset about the association.  And, before the piece went to press, I had a nightmare that the entire article was about carnations and how they had inspired our entire design business.

The fact of the matter is, in the late 16th and 17th century, the design of rows of carnation palmettes in Ottoman textiles made for some pretty beautiful motifs...

via Sothebys

And I do love how the motif has been revived or reinterpreted for modern interiors...

David Hicks

How awesome is this version, from Osborne and Little?  

You won't see "real" carnations in my home anytime soon, but I'd certainly consider one of these interpretations!

Deb

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Scalamandre: You've Done it Again!

You may be familiar with the iconic Scalamandre Zebra wallpaper, most recently showcased in the foyer done by Bryant Keller Interiors at the Kips Bay Designer Showhouse which we visited this spring.  Additionally, we told you about a client bathroom we papered in this stunner.

Well, they have just released the zebra pattern in what is sure to become an instant classic: grasscloth. Yep. You heard me. They are now doing the Zebra pattern on GRASSCLOTH!!!

Holy moly.  I might need to redo a room!

And if you aren't quite ready to commit to this pattern, you can always pick up a tote, scarf or umbrella!!

Hooray!!!
Becky

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Adelphi Wallpaper and Screens

I've always been fascinated with Adelphi Paper Hanging, the New York based company that hand-prints reproductions of historic wallpaper dating back to the 1750s.  Their catalog is impressive, and I love to know that there are still artisans out there working from salvaged scraps in order to reproduce something beautiful and worthwhile.

Adelphi's latest offerings include these stunning screens, which were highlighted recently in Elle Decor...

Love these!

Deb

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Woods Dining Room

We were thrilled to help our friend/client with this striking "Woods" wallpaper from Cole and Son for her new home's dining room.  The paper went from ordered to hung in less than five days - such a  triumph in a business known for extra loonnnnggg production time, backorders, etc, etc!  Doesn't it look phenomenal?

There are plenty of images floating around of Woods used in bathrooms, bedrooms, and pantries... but not many dining rooms!  

It works well as an accent wall, particularly when pulled across the room via the twigs in the windows below (love that)...

via Green House Vermont

And it's such a fun pattern to use in tight spaces like the kitchens/pantries below...

via Simple Lovely

via Emma's Design Blog

The black colorway is particularly striking - but perhaps best contained to an accent wall as in the photo below (though I've never been a huge "accent wall" person)...

via Lamb and Blonde

Other woodsy bedrooms...

via DecorPad

via Green House Vermont

Again, how striking is the black in this bathroom - and so bold with the black floors to boot!

via Decor Pad

I love how the designers of the following two Woods bathrooms have taken them in two completely different directions - with the first using bold pops of gold and granite, and the second washing everything else in white so as to keep your focus on the wallpaper.  Which do you prefer?

via Lamb and Blonde

via Christina Murphy Interiors

Have a great day,

Deb

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Snakeskin and Scale (No Offense Jessica Simpson)

Did you catch this image of Jessica Simpson at her baby shower?

Hmmm - not sure where I stand on this.  (And I've borne twins, so I'm not intending to pick on size here...)

What do you think of snakeskin on an (ahem) large scale?

via Houzz

I happen to love it in the above bathroom.  I think the pattern generally looks less garish in black as opposed to blue, and the designer has kept the other patterns and colors in the room to a bare minimum.

But, generally, I think a little snakeskin goes a loongggg way, don't you?

via DecorPad

If blue snakeskin was an absolute must for Jess' big day, maybe one of these options would have worked better...

Tory Burch

Trait Tech

Chloe Handbag

How do you like your snakeskin?
Deb



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