Exposed!

So yeah, we're gonna leave our beams exposed, okay? There's not much to it. The only choice is now... do we paint the beams or leave them in their wooded glory?

To help with our way-in-the-future dilemma, I've gathered some photographic examples of said choices:

Exhibit A: Painted White

For another view of this house *CLICK HERE* and scroll down!

BTW most of these photos from this post come from the links below:
GAP Interiors, Decorology, Carolina Eclectic, Country Living, SF Gate, Just Imagine, The Little Big House,

Exhibit B: Wood

Exhibit C: Wood and White! "The Combo"

Now, try and not be swayed by how these interiors are furnished, try and focus on just the beams... If our beams were old and chunky I'd not give it any thought, I'd leave em! But our guys are from the 50s and look kind of... unspectacular. I think Nick and I are leaning towards white, but you have to be careful...

You don't wanna feel like you're in heaven.

Chalkboard Paint

The possibilities are endless. Sort of.


Pros of chalkboard paint:

• Sooo fun
• Encourages creativity

Cons:

• Chalkboards are inherently ephemeral
• Chalk dust
  
• If you have children in the house how are you supposed to teach them that drawing on one wall is okay and drawing on another is bad? You know what I'm saying?

I leave you with that.

Jenny From The Block (Part I)

This Friday's Faves are brought to us by Jenny Andrews, the blogger and thespian who hails from Atlanta, Georgia. Check out her blog: My Favorite And My Best. I asked what her favorite interiors were lately and she had SO many that her Fridays Faves has a part TWO!!! Stay tuned...

The first interior comes from the March 09 issue of Elle decor UK. It is the home of Mariu De Andreis, who's the owner of the children's clothing line ZEF.

Her Paris apartment was one of the first interiors I thought of when I was asked to take part in this series. It's so full of charm. I love the way she blends flea market finds and Ikea lamps with high end pieces. That balance to me is the essence of unpretentious chic. I also love love love wood and metal together and there is a strong bohemian industrial vibe in this place.

The architecture and original fixtures are the perfect backdrop for all the modern elements, again keeping everything in perfect balance. Mariu says in the article,'start simple and add
details as you go. keep the walls white, add color through accessories and use natural materials like wood, cotton, linen and glass. they're always restful'. I couldn't agree more.

J'adore!

#2 This Brooklyn, New York apartment belongs to stylist Lili Diallo.


I love this space. Not sure if it came out in publication in 2009, in fact I saw it first in Domino last year. The article here comes from the march 09 issue of Living etc. It certainly exploded all over blogland as everyone's favorite, and for good reason.


I love the way nothing is too modern or old fashioned granny, just the right amount of broken-down chic, found objects, glam and mid-century modern. It all works together so well, makes you want to sit in that dining room with Lili and talk about all her cool stuff. I would leave said dinner and go home and immediately reassemble every vignette in my house and probably paint too.


Of her style Lili says, "I like clean lines and tend to leave ornate details to wallpaper and textiles. Houses should reflect the people in them, and be somewhere you can be yourself. Plus, for me, beauty and function must go hand-in-hand." Her top tips for doing a space on a budget- "Invest in good quality paint, it might be pricey, but it will make the place look chic and tailored, which means you can afford to buy cheaper furniture. And fresh cut flowers always add a lot to a room".

Cool!

Thanks Jenny! Can't wait for part 2 next week!!!

D.I.Why? *An Addendum*

Just minutes after writing that last post Nick arrived form the Library and said he'd gotten a book for me:

I looked at the cover, as I advise you to do now, and tell me what's crazy...

"Nick!" I said, "I just used that very same picture on my blog!"

AND- the authors of that book are the very same authors of a book I was obsessed with finding after an all too brief encounter at an Anthropologie a few months ago. It took me days, if not weeks, of trying to describe the book's contents accurately enough to several employees to figure out the title. (They have a lot of interior design books with similar aesthetics. I was like "I dunno, salvaged materials?") SO... AS IT TURNS OUT the book was called...

...and the authors are Mark and Sally Bailey.

This is what it's like to be them:


Cheers!

D.I.Why?

Because it's so cool.

Via Remodelista

P.S. - My mom calls D.I.Y. "D.Y.I." And I say "Mom, it stands for do it yourself." But she doesn't care.

Beautiful Thing

THIS IS GREAT.

I know of a certain friend whose name is all over this.

Today I Tried On My First Wedding Dress!!!

(... and my second.)

I went to Michael's, a consignment store on the Upper East Side, specializing in designer bridal gowns. Most of the dresses looked like Long Island exploded in the form of rhinestones, lace and shiny material, but there were a few simple ones in a reasonably small size that did the trick.

Being engaged pretty much guarantees waves of euphoria. When he proposes there's a tidal wave. The first few weeks you look at your ring, waves. And when you first try on a wedding dress, let me tell you: there's a wave. Afterwards I wanted to talk to people as I passed them on the street "I just tried on my first wedding dress!" I felt myself smiling at people on the subway. They probably thought I was a terrorist.

I made an appointment next week to try on dresses at JCREW. They have only 4 places in the whole world that you can try on their wedding collection and guess where I happen to live? New York City, home of the Rockefeller Center JCREW, one such location. Here are some of the dresses I'll be trying on!!!


JCREW has great dresses at GREAT prices and what's even better is once you know the dress you like you can scour the Internet looking for the dress on eBay, Craigslist or OnceWed (my fave) for a bridal bargain!!!