EASEL AS TV STAND

I have completely fallen in love with this easel-as-tv-stand idea that I spotted in my February issue of The World of Interiors.

When Justin and I moved, we kinda wanted to get a sweet flat screen tv...but we realized there was really no good place to put one in our bedroom OR living room. There are so many windows and doors...and the way the furniture was oriented would make any of the available wall space a really awkward spot for a tv. So we stuck our hideous old one in the guest room and hid it behind a folding screen. Which meant we NEVER watched it. We eventually canceled our cable subscription and the tv got relocated to the attic. Now we exclusively watch things on Justin's laptop while lounging in bed (yay for hulu, netflix, and itunes!). This works well until you have guests over. Three people trying to watch something on a small computer screen is NOT ideal. And forget foreign films. Reading those tiny subtitles is headache inducing.

But putting a tv on a moveable easel opens up a whole new realm of possibilities. And it does a lot to warm up the look of cold, cold technology. So, I'm in. I want a tv again.

via Unplggd

via House Beautiful

via Remodelista

PROGRESS

So...Justin and I have taken a break from working on the house to enjoy our first summer upstate. But after a couple months off we're ready to dive back in.

We decided to start with the guest rooms. One is going to double as Justin's writing room, and I want it to feel kinda like the study of a nineteenth-century gentleman naturalist. Think: dark wood, old maps, bird prints, leather bound books. The other is going to double as our closet and I want it to feel like an old fashioned ladies' dressing room. Think: pastels, vintage fashion illustrations, embroidered silk bedspread, deco folding screen.

Over the past few months I've managed to gather some great pieces for each room from garage sales, craigslist, and some upstate junk shops. (All at bargain prices, of course!) And we've gotten back to work painting walls, arranging furniture, and hanging art (my favorite part!). Finally! Progress!

It's been a labor of love...and there are lots of little details from each of the rooms that I want to share with you. Too many to fit in one post. So I'm going to do it over the next few posts. Until then...you get a sneak peek at the color of the dressing room. A shade of minty green, of course. I'm so predictable!

THE ROBERT BRADY MUSEUM

Last time Justin and I were in Mexico City we rented a car and drove 2 hours south to Cuernavaca because Justin had just read Under the Volcano, which takes place there.  In the 1930s, it was apparently an ex-pat haven...full of American artists and writers...and it maintained that reputation for several decades, attracting the likes of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Timothy Leary (bohemian street cred alert!). The city has changed a lot since then...and the Cuernavaca of today is unfortunately pretty touristy and fairly commercial.  But there is one thing that made the drive TOTALLY worth it:  The Robert Brady Museum.

Casa de la Torre is the home of Robert Brady, an American artist who moved to Cuernavaca in 1962 and set up camp in a massive XVI Franciscan Monastery.  His decorating style is RIGHT up my alley.  Lots of color, lots of art, and lots of COLLECTIONS.  Collections of pillows, masks, crosses, bottles, ceramics, statues.  Art hung salon style!  Objects en masse!  Everything just the way I like it.  

Here are some of my photos from the trip and a few I found on flickr. 

So much decorating inspiration!  I love the way he chooses to display his art collection.  The mix of high and low.  An original Frida Kahlo self portrait next to a bunch of random tchotchkes and Mexican handicrafts.  Nothing too fussy.  Everything done with a sense of humor.  A necklace thrown around a statue...a giant gaucho doll slumped in an antique chair.  I love it all.  This house REALLY appeals to my maximalist side.  Hmm...do I have a minimalist side?  

Photo Sources: #4, #5, #16 from here; #7, #11, #15 from here; #13 from here; #17 from here

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BOOKSHELVES

Justin and I have accumulated an unbelievable amount of books.  When we packed up our old apartment we ended up with about 40 boxes of them.  And since we moved in to our new house we have acquired about 10 MORE boxes.  So, one of the first things we have to do to get this place in shape is build bookshelves.  LOTS of them.  

I love the look of statement bookshelves.  You know....ones that go wall to wall, floor to ceiling, over doors, around windows.  And if there's a big tall ladder involved that's even better!

Here are some images I pulled for inspiration:

There are two spots in our house where we are going to do some form of wall to wall books.  The first is in the living room around the pocket doors that lead to the foyer (photo below).  The plan is to build bookcases that fit on either side of the door and that connect with a shelf above the door.  My dad is going to help with this one.

And the other spot is in the attic studio (photo below...please excuse the mess!).  Since there are exposed beams that go vertically from floor to ceiling we decided to go super utilitarian and put metal shelf tracks on each one.  We've already done the area to the right of the window....but we're going to do the whole wall...all the way up to the tippy-top.  

Sources: (from top to bottom) 1: design is mine, 2: flickr, 3: flickr, 4: apartment therapy, 5: katy elliott, 6: flickr, 7 & 8: apartment therapy, 9: katy elliott, 10: flickr.

I recently took a day trip to see the laboratory and home of Thomas Edison in West Orange, NJ. I'm always on the lookout for decorating inspiration...and let me tell you...this place was full of it. Glenmont, his estate, was lovely...but his laboratory was to die for. Picture 20,000 square feet of Factory 20 style amazingness - work-worn tabletops, antique industrial fixtures, wooden flat files, old drawing tables, apothecary bottles galore. This is the stuff that dreams are made of! Well...at least MY dreams.