the architectural home

On the other side of the NYC home spectrum, we have the minimalist home of famed architect Santiago Calatrava’s three sons. Each son has their own floor in the three-floor townhouse, which features built-in kitchens and work spaces, and the craziest glass-box entry way ever. Read more about these interesting over-achievers at NY mag.

if you have to ask, you can't afford it: the pierre triplex

Every night this week has been spent searching for NYC apartments on Craigslist and, I know I haven't been out of the Manhattan rental market for that long but Jesus, the situation is BLEAK! Nothing at all close to $2000, even in Williamsburg! (But why the hell would you live in NYC suburbs for the same price, is how I look at living there.) So in honor of feeling like a poor person, let's feel even poorer by exploring the one of the most expensive properties in the city: a $125 million triplex penthouse in the Pierre, on 61st and 5th ave bordering Central Park. 

via NY Times

a tree grows in my living room

During my recent visit to LA I was lucky enough to be a guest for lunch at the Soho House in Hollywood where I was reminded of how magical a space can become when the outdoors comes in. The roof-top dining area featured olive trees planted throughout the space, surrounded by a gorgeous view of the city and the Hollywood Hills. Having huge plants indoors is a great way of capturing serenity and bringing some bohemian glamour to the home. Plant life inspires creativity and calmness, and large scale plants will make your space memorable.
Check out some inspiration below. 

Soho House, Hollywood

Photography by Lori Nix (check her out)

art collecting advice for the newbie

Original art is a great way to elevate your space - making it more personal, more grand and more interesting. However, starting your art collection can sound like a big money-drain and might be difficult for those of us on the broker side of the spectrum and without an "in" in the art world. 

I spoke to NYC-based Art Consultant, Ashley Harris who has a lot of great ideas for starting a collection. So where do we begin? Ashley suggests searching through some of her favorite resources like Artspace, the Tappan Collective (based in LA) and exhibitionA (NYC) that, she says, offer established and emerging artists works ranging from edition works to one of kind pieces and photography. 

"Art.sy is a phenomenal website to begin to get acclimated with art/artists. Most importantly, photography and edition sales as well as summer auction sales through Christies, Sothebys and Phillips are all awesome ways to have access to great artists and works that will appreciate in value!"

When I asked Ashely if she always sees art as an investment, and if we should too, she explained:  

"This may seem absurd, but when I am buying a handbag I know I am investing in a brand name and quality that is classic. I know black leather, gold hardware (medium) and Tom Ford (artist) are all characteristics of a desired and classic bag (art) that is versatile in NYC (region/market), I am paying a premium for those attributes, but know that I could live with the bag forever, or decide later as I mature and trends change that I can eventually pass on to a second hand shop (auction house/private or secondary market) after I have worn and loved it. I don't expect to get retail for my handbag, but realize it has potential to return something for me to reinvest into something new. Most people look at art as something that will always appreciate in value. When they go to the second hand shop (auction house) they believe they will make more than retail. Art always appreciates right? This can be the case, but if you change that psyche to be more like the handbag example, you will feel more secure about your choices and expectations when investing in art. The world is always changing around us and so does art and our own aspheric sensibility and taste. Invest what you have in what you love and what you believe you will live with. The return will be present everyday you covet that item without expectation."

You can contact Ashley on her business website, Ashley Gail Harris, read up on art trends and current exhibits on her blog Art Scene and Seen, or follow her @artsceneandseen on Instagram and Twitter.

When it comes to my own interior design projects, especially restaurants when the budget has been blown up by the time the finishing touches come about (always), I usually head towards Art.com for complementary prints, especially vintage posters. I love how easy it is to narrow down prints from color to style, and the framing option is fantastic - giving you many looks to complement your decor and the artwork. My quick advice with buying "over-the-counter" art is finding out the color and mood you want to project in the room, if you want grand scale or small. I also believe that contradiction adds a lot of depth to the room, so an ornate grand painting looks beautiful in a contemporary, minimalist space, and vice-versa.

 When it comes to framing, you never want the frame to take away from the print - go for something that blends in, but still looks expensive (unless, of course, you're going for an ornate painting-look). Art.com makes the framing part so easy. 

Other resources I love are TINI and any local thrift shop. 

Happy art hunting!

it's official

Yours truly is finally moving back to good old NYC! Which means I have to decline myself a new bedroom AGAIN! This time I plan on staying within a strict budget, and getting furniture that will be simple enough that I can trade things out to incorporate city-finds without disrupting the overall look. I basically want a very inexpensive, blank canvas.

Here are the inspirations:

versailles style

It seems like the gentleman's library trend of the last few years is finally coming to an end, and we might be heading towards a more elegant sleek look for 2013. As of late I've been drawn to the pastel-shades and ornate look reminiscent of Versailles. Here's how to incorporate this feminine look into your home - and if you want to dude-it up switch the pastel shades for deep, dark blues and grays.

You'll want to start with a soft pastel wall color, a minty blue/green, robins egg blue or pink. The wall molding details are key (and can add so much character to a boring ass condo) but if you can't afford to get a contractor in, there are tons of great DIYs for painting faux moldings, like this one here.

Bird's Egg, Teacup Rose and Violetta, are some of my favorite pastel shades from Benjamin Moore. You could paint moldings in a gold paint, or keep it white. Here are some of my favorite wall inspirations!

Make a DIY headboard in a print-heavy fabric, and if you want to go all out do the same fabric for window treatments. Get some gilded framed mirrors or artwork et finis!

my room project: before and after

I can't believe it's finally finished! I started redesigning my bedroom on April 20 of last freaking year and after months of contemplation, budgeting and trial and error, I finally got it together.
Come, join me on the adventure of the My Room Project:

How dreadful. So I had just moved to DC from LA, where I sold everything, and this was a combination of how I found the room (the wall color),and hand-me-down furniture. The combination of that wall color and my ex at the time sent me to therapy I swear to god.

A strange midpoint.1 - and an appearance from Maple and a failed four-poster bed.

Strange midpoint.2,  very confused.

When I design for a client (or myself - this was my first time setting down roots and actually doing my own space) I always like to create a character of the person who will live there - usually an idealized version of the client or patron of the space. With my room I decided I wanted something very feminine mostly due to the fact that I was working on bachelor pads left and right and needed to clean my pallet, and I realized I never had a girly room! 

Here are the inspirations:

French and Feminine!

My character is a young girl who is sweet, playful, loves to paint and loves shopping at antique stores in Paris. She will also stab you in the neck with an antler if you piss her off. Sounds like me? You decide!

And here's the final image. 

I ended up actually loving the light pink color in person, it is a bit bleached in photos. Since painting it, I feel much better rested, and enjoy spending time reading and relaxing in bed. My move from LA left me financially drained and so I made sure to do everything on a super-budget (except I caved a bit eventually). Here's the list.

Wall color - Benjamin Moore Gentle Butterfly (haha)

Side tables - Pangea Home (via One Kings Lane but they are pieces of crap) about $100 each

Lamps - Restoration Hardware super sale $94 each

Headboard - Made by yours truly about $150

Art work and Tripod Brass Side Table - vintage, mostly free

Bench - overstock.com $99

Bed - W hotel Mattress from my ex, PRICELESS

Duvet - Restoration Hardware (Italian stitch in Shore) $more than I should have spent

Rug, throw, Letter Pillow & Antlers all from Jonathan Adler. $$$

brinca dāda dollhouses

Just saw this on a fab.com sale - the coolest dollhouses inspired by real architecture! I still attribute all my childhood badassery and nonsense-making to the fact that I never got a humungous, awesome dollhouse as a kid. If I had more money then sense you better believe I'd get these just so I could rearrange mini furniture all day long. Check out more houses here.

marta's masculine contemporary living room

A designer friend of mine is moving into a new apartment after moving from out of state with zero furniture and looking to completely start fresh. Since many designers have a hard time doing our own homes she asked me for some inspiration and ideas. So here you go Marta!

Inspiration:

Marta initially asked for "contemporary masculine" but after finding out what her favorite accessories were I felt that maybe a sleek look with masculine woods would be a great look, but with South American accents to warm up the space. 

An idea:

I had 30 minutes and no Photoshop so I had to use crappy Word, but it's not bad for Word, right? RIGHT? Anyways, here my idea for Marta - a sleek sofa with contemporary lines from Theodore's rings in as the priciest piece, followed by an RH cocktail table for the masculine touch. Lamp, vases and pillows give a South American vibe from Jonathan Adler (most she owns already), another ethnic touch from the West Elm side table, the Acapulco chairs are pretty cheap on Amazon and rug which can be interchangeable with a navy or white shag. This one is from Williams and Sonoma. Easy and accessible.