blog

my design projects, inspirations, & a few personal tidbits

Here you will find what inspires me, and a peek into how I pull spaces together – the good, the bad, and the sometimes ugly mishaps along the way. I sprinkle in a little family life, travel, food, fashion, and party events, too.

You may remember my Home Depot Patio Challenge from last year...

[caption id="attachment_8716" align="aligncenter" width="500"]koplavitch & zimmer koplavitch & zimmer[/caption] I love a good cut velvet fabric.  The weight and thickness of a quality silk velvet makes for a luxurious textile indeed.  While I have long admired Koplavitch & Zimmer's (a high end, to the trade textile house) "Panthera" pattern, its $400 a yard price had kept me away.  I have been particularly drawn to the "Navy" color way, since I am after all, a lover of blue.  You can buy this fabric for around $100 a yard here, which is awesome, but a few months ago, while poking around on Ebay, I found this fabric. [caption id="attachment_8720" align="aligncenter" width="486"]ebay ebay[/caption]   Yes, it looks different in the photo, but computers do crazy things to fabrics and hues, so I thought I would try it.  I needed a yard of it to make two pillows that would give a little edge to my very traditional 1920's library.  I paid my nearly $30 (hello STEAL!), and friends, I was amazed when I pulled it out of the bag.  

AStoriedStyle.com The stairwell in our home is right in the center of the house, and it gets a ton of traffic.  To the right of the above photo is the kitchen, and to the left is the living room.  This pass through area is small, but I see it so much that I want it to be pretty. It has gone through a few changes since I started this blog a few years ago.  First, I painted the back wall Benjamin Moore's Hale Navy for a little punch. But this setup just wasn't doing it for me, so I sold the fabulous yet bulky Dorothy Draper chest, framed out Schumacher's Chiang Mai Dragon wallpaper, moved the West Elm Parsons Console from the entry hall to this space, and hung a mirror I found at an estate sale. The stairwell has looked like the above photo for about a year and a half now, and this past weekend, I decided we were due for a change.  I liked having the big basket there for boots and other large, miscellaneous items that like to clutter this space, and of course, I love the vintage blanc de chine lamps and the antique prayer box.  With all we have had going on here lately with continued bathroom construction, and a collapsed porte cochere, this little area had gotten fairly frantic with things that needed to be put away.  Once I had gotten everything clear, it was time to figure out how to give the stairwell a fresh look. When I am rearranging a space, I try to get it as bare bones as possible so I can really see what I am accomplishing/not accomplishing.  So I cleared everything out except for the console which I knew needed to stay there.  I also find that taking photos of each look as I add/take away things is really helpful - I do this with clients, and I do this for my own home, too.  Seeing your space in a photo can really help you find the strengths and the flaws in what you are creating. For a split second, I did ponder exchanging the console with the chest in the dining room, but I decided since this area is so slim, having a piece of furniture that is open at the bottom is best as it lends a more airy overall feel. Side Note:  By the time I finished cleaning up the collected clutter, it was nighttime, so sorry these next few photos are not the best. AStoriedStyle.com I also thought about switching out the rug, but the vintage one I have there compliments the wallpaper so well, and I did not have another good option in my house, so that stayed, too.  After staring awhile, I decided to switch the mirror I had there with the mirror from the dining room. AStoriedStyle.com I liked how the black outline on the mirror picked up on the black silhouettes in the wallpaper, so I added what may be at the top of the list for greatest Craigslist finds, my newest Craigslist treasure, a vintage Sarreid chest. AStoriedStyle.com I originally moved it over to the far left because in my mind, I thought I could still put my big basket next to it.  It did not fit, plus it looked weird, so I decided to center it, and added the lamps from the living room.  The basket is going to go in the closet to the right of the console table for now. AStoriedStyle.com I thought the lamps may work, but the ivory shades were a little blah, so I switched them out with black ones I have from Target. AStoriedStyle.com I really really liked those lamps there, but my husband enjoys seeing the chinoiserie lamps there because of how pretty they look at night.  Therefore, the next day, I switched the lamps back, added an oval brass tray, some books, and my favorite bust, and stepped back... AStoriedStyle.com

  AStoriedStyle.com As you can see from the Master Bathroom Inspiration Board I created above, the tub was a front-and-center element for me.  I love baths, and it was important for the tub to be comfortable and beautiful.  I'm a tall girl, so the tub needed to be long, and I wanted it to be deep.  Oh, and I also wanted to stick with the original tub's material, cast iron.  It holds heat longer, and I wanted to keep with the time period of my home.  My husband was iffy in this - cast iron is so heavy, and he worried about getting it up the stairs.  I will tell you, it was no small feat, it took eight burly men!! I originally wanted the silver matte looking finish shown in the above picture.  Through a little research, I learned this is TRULY silver leaf, and guess what, it tarnishes.  The lady I spoke with told me this was the type of tub you put in a bathroom "you don't use much".  Uhhhhhh this is the Master Bath, and who has a bathroom they don't use much?!  So that was out as I do not plan on polishing my tub every time I use it...was there a way to mix Beauty and Practicality? Why yes, there is.

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