Yep, it has recently been announced that Vanilla Ice of “Ice Ice Baby” fame (he was so cool when i was in the 3rd grade) is slated to have his own home improvement show on the DIY Network. Apparently, Vanilla has spent the last few years flipping houses, so now I guess he is a home improvement expert. Who knew? The show is called The Vanilla Ice Project and premieres on October 14th.
I swore off of IKEA for a few weeks after our move. I just couldn’t afford to keep going. Finally last weekend, I ended my self-imposed IKEA time-out. I drove over to Red Hook, Brooklyn and bought a bunch of little things that I needed for the apartment. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was nice to be back. During my visit I also picked up their new 2011 catalog. The 2011 catalog came out a few weeks ago, but with my new mailing address and my IKEA ban, I wasn’t able to see it until now. Here are some of my favorites from the catalog. Some are new, some aren’t. Anyway, I hope this gets you excited. God, IKEA should be paying me!!
5) EXPEDIT shelving unit $99.00
A few weeks back I introduced you to the hallway/entryway to my new apartment. (Remember?) I still like what we have done, but I’m considering making an upgrade to the two closet doors directly off the hallway. I want to paint them a glossy dark gray or even black. What do you think? Vote or leave me a comment. And check out some examples of black doors below.
From Living Etc.
From Domino
Thomas O’Brien
Nate Berkus vis Desire to Inspire
Have you ever noticed that some people actually use their florescent overhead lights? It amazes me that anyone could stand living that way. I guess maybe I’m just sensitive to that sort of thing, but I insist on having good lighting. Since we moved into our new place there has been one thing bugging me…the lamps in our living room have only one setting. They aren’t dimmers or 3-ways, and this has been driving me crazy because I love to dim the lights at night.
I always thought that adding a dimming function to a lamp would involve wiring and a bunch of technical stuff. BUT, after a little research I discovered that there is a super easy way to add a dimmer to a regular lamp. The key is to buy a dimmer cord for table lamps. I bought two of these cords ($10.93 at Lowes), and all you have to do is plug your lamp into the dimmer cord and then the dimmer cord into the power source. And then voila! Your lights can dim. Last night was the first time I used these bad boys and it was AWESOME!
This is just one of those things that you never hear about unless you are looking for it. So now that I’ve told you, I hope it will inspire you to dim the lights, pour yourself a glass of wine and enjoy how much a little mood lighting can change a room. Ahh how relaxing.
I saw this recipe on Design*Sponge and am determined to try it. Not only is the color amazing, but blood oranges are one of my favorite fruits. Whenever I see them in the grocery store I buy at least 15 at a time. Typically, they aren’t available until the dead of winter, but you can use blood orange juice which is usually pretty easy to find.
The drink was invented by photographer Dia Rao and her fiance after a vacation in Sardinia. Apparently in Sardinia they make the best mojitos and have delicious blood orange juice. When the couple got home they decided to combine the two.
Here are the instructions. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS:
2 Bunches of Mint
1 Cup of Fresh Squeezed Blood Orange Juice (you can substitute Trader Joe’s Blood Orange Soda)
2 shots of Rum
2 Tablespoons of Sugar (omit if you use the TJ’s juice)
Juice of 1 Lime
1 cup of ice
1 shaker & Muddler
Shake well and serve garnished with remaining mint and a slice of lime.
Add mint, lime juice and sugar to shaker.
Muddle the ingredients until the mint is well crushed.
Add rum, blood orange juice and ice.
(Photos by Dia Rao)
Over the weekend I was determined not to spend money. So it was probably a mistake to go the Brooklyn Flea on Saturday. I went with a friend and while both of us went in with the intention of “just looking,” we ended up walking out with bags. Oh well. After much rationalizing I ended up buying the awesome vintage McDonalds/Muppets glasses pictured above. And I don’t regret it either! I haven’t quite figured out where they are going, but they are definitely going to be for display only.
Then earlier today I was [digitally] flipping through the new Lonny Magazine and one house in particular really caught my eye. It is the home of textile and home accessory designer Cath Kidston (http://www.cathkidston.co.uk/). What I love about her home is her sense of humor. It made me realize that without even thinking about it, I have acquired several things that are the opposite of serious. These glasses are a perfect example.
Another example is our beloved velvet painting bought in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
I think its great when a person doesn’t take themselves or what they do too seriously. And I never get tired of combining high-end items with kitschy things. Here’s some photos of Cath Kidston’s house. Here approach is definitely over the top…What do you think?
Of the Mickey Mouse painting above her mantel Kidston says “It makes the room friendly”
Her bathroom is covered in photos of roses and her dog.
We have been in our new place for a month now and we are still very much in the process of setting up everything. The living room, after much debate (and thanks for all your votes!) is painted a solid gray BUT will have molding added in the next few weeks. I’ll be sure to share the finished room once its ready.
Now I’ll introduce you to our kitchen. So far, I have painted it and we have made it functional. But I think now is a good time to take a step back and figure out how to take this room to the next level. Right now it looks like a half-baked space (which it is). I’d like it to feel more intentional. The foundation is there, I think we just need to hone in on some details and refine the color palette a little bit.
I LOVE the color we painted this room. It is Benjamin Moore Lido Green. Its a soft green with a touch of blue, and it works really well with warm colors. I actually love how it looks with reds and oranges! So the good news is that the walls look great.
I’m really proud of how I was able to re purpose an old IKEA desk from our old place and turn it into extra counter space in our kitchen. It was certainly a moment of genius when I put 2 and 2 together. But enough bragging, lets be honest. While the skirt on the table creates a great hiding space for things like cat food bags, I have to admit that it is being held up by the shoddiest velcro job EVER! It could definitely use a refresh. And the shelf above the workspace has so much potential for greatness, but right now its just kind of blah. Here is what I’d like to change:
Shelf: Some functional bookends is probably all it would take to make this shelf look and function better. (Skribent Bookend from IKEA $4.99)
Table Top: I want to add a butcher block since the desk surface isn’t ideal for the kitchen. I think a bread box would also help with storage and keeping the space clear. (Polder Chrome Bread Box from Bed Bath & Beyond $29.99, Exklusivt Butcher Block from IKEA $24.99)
Table Skirt: Instead of the dark gray, I like this fabric from IKEA. I think it would have a fresher look. (Burta Ruta Fabric from IKEA $8.99 a yard)
This area is already pretty cute (if I do say so myself). I like the shelves we installed and the pot hanger. The window more than anything could use some work…
Wall Shelves: I just love the way orange looks against the Lido Green. So I think it would be really cool to get a great piece of cookware to display. This would be a bit of a splurge but its the kind of thing you can keep forever. ( “My First Staub” Round Cocotte 2.5 Qt through Zappos $99.99)
Window: This window gets a great amount of light, but the cheap-o blinds we got are not really cutting it. Ever since I read Little Green Notebook’s guide to making roman shades from cheap blinds I’ve been dying to try it. I’d like to attempt something that will end up looking like the shades pictured above. Except the ribbon trim should be a bright, bold color. (Ribbon Roman Shade from Pottery Barn starting at $71)
Window Part 2: This window poses an additional challenge because it faces our neighbors. The bottom line is that I need to be able to go to the fridge late at night and not worry about someone seeing me in my underwear. This window decal by Emma Jeffs would be a great solution. Its a bit on the pricey side though, so I might try to come up with a DIY alternative. (Emma Jeffs White Moroccan Tile Adhesive Film through Design Public $76)
These floors are cheeeeaaaaapppp! And they like to show every single scuff mark and every stain. They immediately get dirty and they like to stay looking dirty. In short, this floor is not a team player.
Flor Tiles: My solution is a simple rug made from durable (fabric) Flor Tiles. I’ve never really considered rugs a great idea in the kitchen, but this situation is somewhat serious. And I remember a really cool kitchen featured in Domino that had Flor tiles covering the entire kitchen floor (see below). I probably won’t go that far, but I think an area rug would be a nice relief from this awful floor. (Take A Ribbing Flor Tile in Black $11.90)
This area looks pretty junky. We need to use it for storage, and I think I had the right idea with the basket, but it would be nice not have all our cereal boxes on display.
Top of Refrigerator Storage: I think more baskets is the answer. Maybe our cereal will peek out the top, but at least it will be somewhat organized. (Byholma Basket from IKEA $15.99)
New Lighting Solution: Right now, we have a table lamp on our fridge. All it does is take up space and look awkward. I want to get rid of this lamp and install a pendant light to replace our ugly overhead fixture. (Fado Pendant Light from IKEA $39.99)
Before we all go our separate ways this weekend, I want to share a recipe for a really nice summery drink. Its called Tinto de Verano and its a Spanish cocktail similar to Sangria but without the necessary soak time. Supposedly it is what Spaniards drink while tourists have Sangria ha ha.
Its super simple and really refreshing. And it might be all you need to make your Saturday a little more magical (I mean alcohol always helps right?).
The recipe is really simple. All you need is:
Then just mix in equal parts wine and seltzer and add a splash of soda. Serve over ice with garnish.
Have a happy weekend!
(Photo from Pull The Cork)
Its been a really hot summer. And while I sit inside huddled next to my little air conditioning unit, I imagine a more glamorous way to spend the summer…far far away from Brooklyn. How about the famous Beverly Hills Hotel? Ok, that might be out of my price range, but the famous hotel (also known as the “Pink Palace”) has some famous decor. Maybe a little Beverly Hills-inspired decorating would do me some good?
Martinique Wallpaper
This is perhaps the most iconic decor of the hotel. The famous banana leaf “Martinique” wallpaper has been a staple of the hotel’s famous Fountain Coffee Room since it opened in 1949. It is a stunning print that is totally over the top. You might recognize it from the Golden Girls. Blanche’s bedroom featured Martinique wallpaper AND a matching bed spread. Blanche sure knew how to do it up!
Pictured below are two more modern examples of the wallpaper: Nicky Hilton’s kitchen (InStyle Magazine) and Brian Atwood’s Milan apartment (Elle Decor).
Green & White Stripes
This is another major motif of the hotel. And there are countless ways you can mimic these stripes. In fact, IKEA has some great striped fabric that is very reminiscent of the hotel.
Grecian Touches
Its nothing new, but Grecian design motifs are definitely synonymous with many luxury hotels. Check out those Grecian bungalows by the pool.
Getting This Look
While the hotel is also known for its coral pink, I think it is safe to say that this color is probably only going to work in the pristine halls of the Beverly Hills Hotel. When it comes to our real world homes, let’s not go there. So please forgive me for banishing that coral from my shopping suggestions below.
Clockwise From Left To Right: Martinique Wallpaper, Green and White Striped Pillow $20, Yellow Lacquer Ice Bucket $39.70, Yellow Greek Key Trim 3 yards for $8.80
A Little Side Note
Not sure if anyone else remembers this move, but Troop Beverly Hills is a film from the 80′s about a ritzy Beverly Hills girl scout troop. I credit this movie with first introducing me to the Beverly Hills Hotel. Watch the trailer below and feel some nostalgia!
I’ve started a new feature on 2nd Floor Living. Introducing the “How To” post. I’ve actually already written a few how-to’s in the past, they just weren’t labeled as such. But now you can easily access all “How-To’s” in the sidebar. Hopefully, this will be a helpful resource for you. Next time you aren’t sure how to do something, check and see if we have a How-To on it. And if we don’t then suggest it!
I tend to write How-To’s when I myself don’t know how to do something, so when it came time to re-pot my new plants I felt like I needed a little refresher. The plants I needed to re-pot were a Ficus Lyrata or “Fiddle Leaf Fig” and some basic herbs – basil, oregano and rosemary. So three small plants and one giant one. Here’s a step-by-step and some tips I picked up.
Tips:
Step #1: In the new pot, fill up the bottom with about an inch of potting soil. In the end, you will want the re-potted plant and soil to stop about 1-inch from the top of the pot, so if your plant is small and an inch of soil is not enough, add more soil until the height is right.
Before The Move
Use a scoop or measuring cup to add soil.
Step #2: Take the plant and hold by the stems. Turn upside down and gently pull out of old pot. If this is too difficult, use a knife to cut around the edge of the pot.
Step #3: Once you have the plant out of its old container, you want to get rid of excess dirt and make sure the “root ball” is in good condition. It is generally a good idea to get rid of about 1/3 of the old soil. You also want to make sure that the roots are not growing around themselves in a tight bunch. This is not good for the plant. Loosen the roots with your hand…think of it as a massage for your plant. And don’t worry if some of the roots are broken. This is kind of like pruning and will help control the plants growth in the new pot.
Before a Root Massage
After a Root Massage
Step #4: Place the plant into the new pot and begin filling in soil around it. Pat the soil down firmly to get rid of any air bubbles.
And there you have it! The process is basically the same for small and large plants. Getting my ficus out of its old pot was a bit trickier (ended up just cutting the plastic pot) but everything else was the same as my smaller plants just on a larger scale.
Here’s the end result!
And just a reminder to all you city slickers out there…this is messy! I made a huge mess so don’t try to re-pot something in your nice living room!
Also, FYI if you have a cat, he/she will be very interested in what you are doing.
Here’s a sneak peak of the living room in our new apartment…remember the “before” shot? Its not quite ready for a full unveiling, but once we paint, we will be much closer to a finished room.
We have chosen our color: Stonington Gray by Benjamin Moore. Its a nice warm gray so it should work with all the other colors we already have in this room.
So here’s the question…
I’ve done a quick photoshop mock-up (emphasis on quick!) of how the room would look with and without the molding in white. Let me know which you prefer! VOTE BELOW! I’d love some help deciding!
Lately I’ve been dreaming of having a party and the guests being wowed by my lovely table-scape. Of course my friends are really more of the beer and BBQ kind, but its just a personal dream of mine. Alas doing a wonderful table setting means actually owning things like table clothes, matching dishes and other accoutrement. So as I work on acquiring these things, here are some general tips that every good host or hostess should know about table settings.
For probably more information than you want or need, watch Tricia Post from The Emily Post Foundation explain how to set a special “Holiday” table. This video is good in teaching the basics about place settings. It might help to know the “rules” so later you can break them.
StyleatHome.com interviewed stylist Michael Pinet about table setting. You can read the full article here and below are some of the highlights:
On Table Coverings: “The more formal the dinner, the more coverage.”
On Dishes: “being a good host these days is making life easy for your guests, not trying to impress them.”
On Finishing Touches: “The overall look you want to achieve on your table is nice and simple,” says Michael. You don’t want a lot of fussy things. Fresh flower arrangements are nice, but they shouldn’t block the guests’ view of each other. One trend he has noticed is smaller vases along the table with a couple of fresh cut flowers. This is a great place to lean your place cards if you’re at a more formal affair.
1) Keep the color story simple.
2) Try a grouping of small interesting items instead of one large centerpiece.
3) Mix those patterns!
4) Consider runners instead of tablecloths or placemats.
5) Break the rules.
Table by designer Mona Nerenberg via HouseBeautiful.com
Table by Rachel Ashwell via HouseBeautiful.com
A simple, informal setting featured in Domino Magazine. Via Brides.com
*Main photo is from TheSweetestOccasion.com
Wall looking plain and boring? Not sure what it needs? Then might I suggest vintage silk scarves.
These scarves are a throwback to the days when Betty Drapers walked the earth. They may feel too grandmother-y to actually wear (depends on your style), but when they are laid flat and framed you can really appreciate their wonderful designs and great square shape.
Recently, I purchased a Girl Guides scarf off of Etsy and framed it. I LOVE the result. There is something very satisfying about a square, symmetrical design.
You can buy silk scarves individually or in lots for very reasonable prices. And there are tons of options on Etsy and Ebay. One brand in particular called Vera and designed by Vera Neumann has some really great designs.
Here are some stand outs that are available right now:
A vintage Givenchy scarf (needs dry cleaning) but only $9.99 on Etsy.
Red, White & Blue Vera Scarf – $15.00
And here are some other examples of framed scarves
A framed vintage Hermes scarf in Wary Meyer's living room
From House & Garden
From World of Interiors
From Martha Stewart
*All scarves in the first image are designed by Vera Neumann and photographed by Scott Lindberg
At some point in your life – perhaps this has already happened – you will install wall-mounted shelves and then an hour later they will fall out. It’s ok. It happens to everyone. It happened to me the other day actually. I was trying to put up a shelf in the kitchen and the result was 4 giant holes in the wall and a broken bowl.
So here is the basic breakdown of what you should know when installing shelves.
You will need a power drill.
Don’t try to screw these in manually unless you have a death wish. Seriously. Also, you will need to use some kind of anchor. Don’t just screw the shelves in! They will definitely fall out! Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but definitely sometime and probably in the middle of the night!
Figure out what kind of walls you have.
Plaster?
If your apartment is older, as in built in the first half of the 20th century or earlier, then your walls are likely plaster. Plaster is really hard but it can also be flaky. If you hammer a nail in the wall and the area surrounding it becomes flaky then that is a typical sign of plaster (tape the wall before you nail to prevent this from happening). Compared to drywall, plaster is cooler to the touch and much harder to cut.
Drywall?
If you apartment is newer than it is probably drywall. Nails go into drywall very easily. Also, drywall is only about 1/4 inch thick. If you drive a nail into the wall and all of a sudden it hits a hollow space that is a pretty good indicator of drywall.
Make sure you use the correct kinds of screws and anchors.
For Plaster: You will want to use plastic anchors. This simply involves drilling a hole bigger than your screw, tapping the plastic anchor into the hole (should go in easily) and then screwing in the screw. Follow the size of the anchor (on the packaging) to know which drill bit to use.
For drywall: You should use threaded drywall anchors. These come in a couple of different formats. Basically the premise is that you screw in the anchor and a mechanism will open up behind the drywall. Depending on how much stuff you will be putting on the shelf you can use shorter spiral anchors or toggle screws for heavy duty shelves.
So there it is. A quick guide to wall-mounted shelves. Reference back to this next time you are ready to install something.
We made it through our move and we have sore muscles and bruises to prove it! Moving it turns out really sucks. Of course I already knew that but I think I forgot how bad it really is. So I need to live here at least long enough for the past week to fade in my memory. Our building is full of old Russian ladies who love to sit outside the front entrance in a long line. I think I might end up becoming one of them because I will refuse to move ever again. But then on the other hand, decorating a new apartment might just make moving worth it.
To introduce you to my new place I made a floor plan so you can see what the space is like. (Btw to do this I used a great site called FloorPlanner.com.) You enter the apartment through a long hall. On the right are a couple of closets, the kitchen, another closet and the bathroom. At the end of the hall is the living room and right off of that is the bedroom/office.
The obvious benefits of this apartment are that it is an actual one bedroom, gets a ton of natural light (I never knew it was so bright at 5am), is on the corner of the top floor so we are isolated from neighbors and it has great pre-war details. Oh, and also the bathtub is giant!
The only major downside so far is that we are lacking closet space. This is typical of pre-war apartments. I don’t know what people did with their stuff back then, but they certainly weren’t putting it in closets. This is posing a bit of a problem, but I think with some clever management we can make it work.
As we settle into our apartment I plan to chronicle our successes and failures (and there have already been a few). Most of our place is still in disarray, so the first space I’ll share with you is our hallway.
Even before we moved in I decided that I wanted to use the long wall in the hallway to store our books. To do this, we bought four wall-mounted IKEA shelves. My boyfriend was a little skeptical of this idea, but once we installed the shelving and started putting our books up I think we were both excited and pleased by the result.
The other idea I had was to use the hallway to display our myriad of wall art. I have a bit of a wall art addiction, so we have a ton of stuff. And this collection is even more superfluous in our new apartment. Our old place was built in the 1950′s and was basically just a plain box with no architectural details, so it needed a lot of decorative additions. Our new apartment has pre-war details everywhere. Most notably, our living room and bedroom have beautiful molding. Since the molding means there is already a geometric design decorating the walls, we don’t want to over do it with too much stuff of our own. So the hallway (which is sans molding) seemed like a good spot to feature our collection. I was also inspired by my recent trip to Europe to set up the wall in a casual salon style with the items filling the wall completely. I’m pretty happy with the result. The hallway is beginning to feel like a very cheerful way to enter our home.
Below are some photos of the hallway. It is still a work in progress, but I hope you enjoy seeing what we’ve come up with so far.
Our books are out of the way on this wall-mounted shelving.
The view coming out of the bathroom into the hall
I love the way we have arranged the images...and there is room for more!
And best of all, we inherited this hulk hogan light switch from the previous tenant.
