Spring Flowers

One of my favorite things about where we live is the proximity to Trader Joe's. I have to pass by it to take my girls to school each day, which makes it easy to pop in for the day's food. I stopped in yesterday and the $5 ranunculus giant bunches are back! I love peonies as much as the next blogger, but there's something special about ranunculus blooms. I love that they are a little quirky with their meandering stems. And I like that some have really dark, almost black centers.

What are you favorite flowers? I'm also a big fan of white anemones and garden roses in any color.

PS I met the queen of flower arranging at a party once and she is hands-down the coolest person. Isn't that the best when online people exceed coolness expectations in real life?

Dentil Moulding

I couldn't love dentil trim more! I love the textural element all those little teeth add to a room. Since all the mouldings were removed from our brownstone in the 70s (boo!), we are planning to replace as much as we can, one room at a time.

Arch Digest


Elle Decor


Domino


Jeffrey Bilhuber

So far we finished hanging dentil crown in the living room and have started in the entry and dining room. You GUYS!! I had no idea it was this tricky to hang crown moulding! I feel like I need a degree in math to do this! I am getting the hang of it though, and will share tips and tricks after I finish setting the nails and caulking in the living room. Thank the sweet heavens above for this 3 in 1 caulk tool. It has changed my life (and has saved my fingers a lot of wear and tear!). I'm going to go on a caulking spree in the bathrooms when I finish up the moulding.

Off to climb my scary-high ladder!

Matches Cup

The pilot light on one of the burners on our stove is a little unreliable (even though it's been fixed a few times - we can't figure it out), so we have to keep matches on hand. I picked up a box of these green tipped matches at Target because I thought the color was cute.

The big box is less cute though and if I see it and have to use it almost every day, I think it should be cute! So I bought a few of these pretty mercury glass votives at Gracious Home and thought one would make a perfect match holder.

I remember seeing this idea in a magazine or blog somewhere. It's a two minute project (my favorite kind!). All you do is cut off a square of striking paper and glue it to the bottom of your cup. I use Magnatacalmost every time I need a glue!

My cup was a little deeper than the matches, so I put an inch or so of coarse salt at the bottom before filling with the matches.

Looks cute and works well too with the striking paper on the bottom. Also, my girls don't know how to use matches, but just to be safe we keep the cup back further where they can't get to it. 

Love seeing those little green tips! :) Much better than a lighter or big old cardboard box!

Mint Green Step Stool

Hey friends! I hope you had a great long weekend! Ours was so perfect! It felt really long, which is about the best way a weekend could feel. :) Last night was especially fun. We went with our friends Dennis and Jenna on a sail boat down by the Statue of Liberty. The weather, food and company were amazing.

Earlier this weekend I had a little time to finish a project on my list. I bought this step stool at a vintage shop for $20 a while back. I filled the joints with a little wood glue to sturdy it up and then it was good as new and ready for a coat of paint.

I love the diamond pattern on the old rubber treads. 

EDIT: I was wrong about the paint color. I used BEHR's Kiwi Squeeze (latex, high gloss).

After two coats of paint (I did prime first with Zinsser), I dug out the rest of these small brass nails and used them to flatten the rubber tread that was starting to pop up a little. Did you know the easiest way to place a nail in an exact place is to use a pair of needle nose pliers to hold the nail while you tap it in. Work SO well!

Man, I love mint green! 

The stool has been so handy in our kitchen. We don't have a ton of cabinets, so we actually use the items stored on our top shelves on a regular basis. It's nice to have easy access to the shelves all the time now. The girls are really good about not using the stool without me around. I usually fold it up when I'm not using it anyway.

It tucks into this little nook really well for the times we want it out of the way. Or I can put it away in the pantry if I want it out of sight.

 

But the color makes me so happy, I doubt we'll put it away much. :) I especially love the way the gold looks on the green.

Thinking about upholstered doors

Hello friends! How was your weekend? We had two dinner parties at our house this weekend! It was a little intense, but so so much fun.

I was researching upholstered doors last night for a DIY I'm working on and I found this image from Elle Decor Espana. It's a different shot of the same dining room Colleen and I wrote about last week!

The room is from Christine D'ornano's London townhouse (featured in both Elle Decor and Elle Decor Espana). After a little digging I found another set of photographs from the lovely home here. Aren't those blue doors something else? I can't WAIT to try this idea out!

Here are some photos of the rest of the house. Don't you just love seeing the same room in different publications? So much changes with the stylist!

It looks like the homeowner is a big fan of upholstering walls. The master bedroom below is upholstered in this stylized floral linen from Osbourne and Little and the pink living room below is also a linen on the walls.

My kids would be alllll over this playhouse!

A George Smith sofa wrapped in silk velvet and Serge Mouille sconces? WOW.

I think this home is a perfect example of how to pull off colorful decor without looking silly or cheap. There are lots of neutrals, lots of muddy colors, and just splashes of clear primary colors. I think the result is an exciting and energizing space that's also completely livable.

Another way to paint your interior doors

Hello friends! Happy President's Day! Michael and I are taking advantage of the three-day weekend to wrap up some half-finished projects together.

As I was working on a DIY yesterday, I had a flash of inspiration when I remembered this shot from Martha Stewart living. I love how they painted the inside rim of the door that punchy red color! Such a fun surprise in an otherwise pretty neutral room.

image via the lovely Abbey Nova

Hoping to finish up the project this afternoon to share with you tomorrow!

Preserved Boxwoods

I am a HUGE fan of preserved plants. They don't look waxy like fake plants do because they are actually real. I read online that you can preserve your own plants, but it sounds like a messy project with glycerine involved.

Restoration Hardware actually carries my favorite (and most reasonably priced) preserved boxwood globes. They come in all different sizes and all in these simple and classic concrete-looking planters.

I have the smallest globe (5" tall- in the first photo) sitting on our entry console. I usually have fresh flowers here too and they look so pretty sitting next to each other. Like most New Yorkers, we don't get a lot of light at the back of our apartment, so my boxwood gives me a little punch of everlasting green life.

I use them in a lot of my client projects too. They are just so easy to care for! No watering is needed at all. And if they start looking a little dusty you can just mist them with a water bottle.

Experimenting with Nailhead Trim Patterns

I found some really pretty solid brass nail head trim at my local Mom and Pop hardware store. It came in two different sizes, which was exciting! I can't wait to play around with some designs for a DIY project I'm working on. Here are a couple of inspiration images:

via Design Manifest

Cool DIY project HERE

BHG

Southern Accents

So many possibilities! I really love how textural the nailhead can look. For me, great decorating is all about these kinds of details.

PS Another really amazing nailhead trim project HERE.