Between the Studs

If your current storage space is maxed out and you're still needing more, it might be time to consider the space between the studs.  Christopher Patrick of Christopher Patrick Interiors demonstrates the way with custom recessed shelves he designed for an upstairs bath at the 2012 DC Design House.

Although variations may occur depending on the construction of your home, interior wall studs are typically spaced 16 inches on center with a depth of about 3 ½ inches . In addition to bathrooms, this space is sufficient to provide useful solutions in other rooms too. If you have a cramped entry way, consider a recessed space for coats, hats and umbrellas. A recessed wine rack allows for easy access for entertaining or a storage cabinet with doors conceals extra space for pantry items.  The empty hallway wall space between bedrooms could be the new home for a recessed  cabinet housing cleaning supplies or recessed shelves in a home office can provide orderly storage for desk supplies.

If the interior wall is not load bearing, it may even be possible for you or your carpenter to safely remove a stud to provide for wider storage. If you do decide to tackle this as a do-it-yourself project, make sure  there's no plumbing, ductwork, or electrical wiring behind the wall. Nadia Subaran of Aidan Design created this wide glass cabinet built-in at the 2012 Design House kitchen.  Love it!

Eye Candy: Refreshingly Beautiful

Where was I May 3rd?  I don't recall  off-hand but if I had been attending Near and Far Aid's annual Designer House Tour I surely would have remembered this incredible living room.  Artist Sylvia Martins' oil on linen, titled Bukit, takes center stage but plays so beautifully with all the other elements of the room.  The information I found on the house tour noted four houses but I couldn't locate the designer for this 19c Queen Anne home.  Does anybody happen to know which designer's home this is?   (I also dont' have the source for the photographer, my apologies)

Near and Far Aid is an all volunteer organization working to end poverty in Fairfield County, CT. To learn more, go here.

Haute Fabrics: Now In Arlington & a BIG SALE!!

The fabric gold mine of the east coast, Haute Fabrics, has just opened a second location in Arlington at 730 N. Glebe Rd!  Feels like Christmas in July May!!  To celebrate, Roxene is having a Grand Opening Sale with all in-store fabrics on sale for just $18 a yard and remnants at $12 per yard starting this Monday May 27th - June 8th. If you've read this blog you know that I always come away with amazing high-end fabrics and trims every time I visit the Marshall location.  Well, today I visited the new 2-level Arlington store and can tell I'm going to need to put a new monthly line item in my budget for fabric....

Notice all the trims on the upper level!

The Arlington store is bright and spacious with three sections arranged by colors with an easy-to-access center aisle in each one.

 

  Check out theses gorgeous patterns!

Do I need any more silk velvets or mohairs, hmm...?

Remnants are folded and stacked for easy viewing.  In addition,  Haute offers to-order fabrics, including some incredibly beautiful velvets and  linens and wools from Italy and Belgium (not part of the special sale).  Pretty much any color you need, Haute's got you covered. There will also be a to-order sample room where you can spread out your selections on a large table to make choosing easier.

The velvet on the left (below) is from Baker Furniture.

Trims are upstairs - this is a close-up of just a few of the available ones.

It's a great location - just off the Glebe Rd exit on 66.  There's free parking at the rear of the store on 730 North Glebe in Arlington.  If you're driving and Haute is on your right, it will be your first right and then your next right to get to the parking in the rear.  If spaces are full, there is street parking directly across the store on N. Glebe or also at the Ballston Mall parking garage where it's only $1 for up to 3 hours.

So just to recap - the sale starts Monday May 27th - June 8th, in-store fabrics $18 yard and remnants at $12 a yard.  Be sure to check it out and let me know about the great fabric finds you score!

Open Monday - Saturday 10 am - 5 pm

Off to Be Reupholstered

My living room needed a larger sofa than the 2 seater armless loveseat I've had in there for the last 2 years.  Well, w/the basement renovation I realized I didn't need two sofas for the media area so up came this one.  Always hated the knife-edge cushions it came with so I'm having new box cushions made that will extend about 1 inch above the back. Also, goodbye to the 8" short skirt. It will be replaced with a long skirt that falls from the top edge underneath where the cushions rest.

The 13 yards of gold fabric I had leftover (when I changed my mind for the family room sofa and used Kelly Wearstler's fern tree instead) will be used - but, it's not quite enought to cover the whole sofa!  So...

it will be combined with 8 yards of this gorgeous cut velvet from Haute Fabrics at $24 a yard. (it's a gorgeous Baker Furniture fabric!)  The velvet will go on the backs/undersides of all 6 cushions and the back of the sofa, which faces the window wall.  In the winter I'll be flipping the cushions for a two-fabric look.

Can't wait to get it back from my go-to, best upholsterer in town, Mel at Style Rite Upholstery.

All Over the Place

Do you ever feel discombobulated? Like you should be doing about ten different things, but can't seem to accomplish any of them? No? Then maybe it's just me. But that's what I've been feeling like this past week. It started off beautifully with a Mother's Day lunch in Chattanooga with my mother-in-law and our family . . .

A little pre-lunch photo session.

Then, my daughter, who has an egg allergy, got an egg exposure at the restaurant so the rest of the day wasn't too fun for anyone - because obviously, when your child's in pain, so are you. She recovered within a few hours. Benadryl can't work fast enough sometimes.

I did receive my favorite candle . . . 

If you've never smelled this candle (or any of the Diptyque candles), you must. I don't typically splurge on nice candles for myself but as a gift, I think they're perfect. 

And more importantly I got lots of hugs, kisses and these kind of sentiments . . . 

Do you think "give me things that I want" means meeting his emotional needs? Yeah, that's what I thought too. Certainly couldn't mean all the electronic equipment and video games I buy for him.

Other than a couple of client meetings, the week has been a blur. I did manage to use a store credit I had at Forever 21 to buy this cute little striped raglan tee . . . 

Source: forever21.com via My Interior Life on Pinterest

Don't worry, I didn't get the short shorts. I paired it with a little pencil skirt yesterday though, inspired by this baseball tee look . . .

Source: focusonflair.blogspot.com via My Interior Life on Pinterest

So, now I've got to go find my to do list again. We leave for Disney next week (yikes), so that probably has something to do with my feelings of being overwhelmed as well. But, at least I have a fun birthday dinner tonight to look forward to (did I mention I turn 40 while in Disney World - yay). But what am I going to wear? Focus, Kathy, focus.

Eye Candy: Atlanta Mag & Bill Ingram

Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles recently featured the pied-à-terre of architect Bill Ingram.  I find the off-center placement of that large piece of art so interesting and successful.  The one sconce adds just the right bit to balance to it all.  For more photos of his beautiful apartment head here (photography by Erica George Dines).  TGIF - Hope you have a great weekend.

Our Basement Reno Progess

Did you ever wonder what happened to the basement renovation I mentioned almost 2 years ago? Well, we had a good start and then very slow progress.   Here's the current status.

This the view to the left of the stairs when you first walk down.  A window was added and the door replaced - it exits outs to three steps that bring you level with the backyard.
Below is it's current state.

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You're looking at the future bathroom, through to one of the bedrooms.

Here's the bathroom currently - the bureau in the distance will become the sink vanity.

The bathroom you just saw is to the right in this picture.  We made the hallway fairly wide so it wouldn't feel like a tunnel.  The closet for the right bedroom is behind the end of the hallway.  At the end of the hall, to the left, is the second bedroom.

 Remember the ceilings are yet to be dry walled! :)

I know, this is a crazy pile of assorted stuff but soon it will be the tv/hang out area.  The wall the to the right - behind the sofa - is the walk-in closet for the second bedroom.

Since this area had an existing pine paneling and dry wall combination, I decided to have it paneled to create a cohesive space that ties in these two elements. The plan is to paint it all in one color in a semi-gloss finish.

The door will be painted the same color as the walls.  A wall mounted flat screen will be placed to the left of the door.  (Not quite sure why the electrician placed that outlet so high but the t.v. will cover it.)

Robert Brown at Kips Bay

This room alone would be worth the trip to Kips Bay.  I'm struck by the skillful selection of each and every piece of furniture in this space, not to mention the art and the wallpaper backdrop.   I can't make it to Kips Bay this year, can you?  I'll take solace knowing that I got to see a Robert Brown room in-person in Atlanta.  Images via Robert Brown's site, photography by Peter Rymwid

Tick Tock

Do you hear that? Time is running out. The school year is almost over!

Source: Uploaded by user via Closer on Pinterest

If my summer looked like this, sure, I'd be ready. Let's go jump off a boat into the ocean, shall we?

Seriously though, May 21st is my children's last day of school, and I heard the bus driver greeting them this morning with "8 more days!" Eight more days?! That's it. And one of those is field day, one's a field trip, one's a graduation/ceremony. That leaves precious little time for getting stuff done without my kids constantly asking "do we have to          (usually it's leave the house to run errands) " or "can we please          (go eat ice cream or other junk food)?" Don't get me wrong, I have them enrolled in camps and we've got lots of fun and free time to luxuriate in, but boredom can set in pretty quickly in these parts. Camp Mom is never as fun as it should be. So, before I go softly into that good season of full-time kid wrangling thought I'd share some photos of happenings around here . . .

Okay, so this is a ridiculously bad photo. But, trust me, it was the Black Keys concert on Friday night here in Nashville. Much fun was had by all, except walking back to the car in the rain.

New beauty products, tulips, a new magazine and Trader Joe's all make me happy. I'm lame, I realize.

Aren't they pretty?

Then I just went to Homegoods again looking for nothing in particular. Honestly, I went in to use the facilities (TMI?). So, of course, I find a ton of stuff . . . 

Some pretty rugs . . . none of which I or any of my clients need right now. 

Then, a rug I couldn't decide if I liked or not. It's one of those nylon deals . . . 

This rug was literally moving on that big swing arm thing when I snapped the photo. So, if it's fuzzy you'll understand why. 

There was some cool original-looking (it was all textured, etc.) abstract art from some Australian artist named Sarah Brooke. Huge. Square. Lines. 

And now, for pillow-pa-looza. Honestly, if you find pillows a snore you might want to look away. I think HG has been stepping up the quality a little bit on some of its pillows lately. More down-filled options and natural fabrics. Always a good thing. I got a little carried away snapping photos . . . 

Nice simple link detail edging on this black pillow. And in cream and navy. . .

A little lumbar chevron action. I bought these same pillows except in a square version a while back for a client.

You know I love a good pagoda. I used my leg as a propping device.

 Some embroidered modern ikat. Pretty colors.

 I always like a little faux bois.

 More graphic ikat. And in a convenient two pack. Look they match my toes!

Speaking of graphic, these black and white ones almost came home with me. My only hesitation is that they have yellow piping (sort of like the ribbon wrapped around them). Couldn't decide. Plus, the check-out line was ridiculous (it was the lunch hour).

Also, liked this little leopard lumbar number. I think it was the acid yellow/green spots and charcoal combo.

A little metallic cowhide, just because.

And, lastly, for some reason I was digging on this geometric honeycomb/hexagonal linen and plum pillow. 

So, if you need some pillows (or any of the other stuff), go get you some (or if you'd rather I do the shopping for you . . . I can do that too - just shoot me an email). 

If you're a mom or you have a mom or know a mom, have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend! I may or may not return before then. Tick tock.