West Elm Bath Collection

West Elm is always one of the first retailers to launch their spring collections (I mean here we are in December still!!!), and I recently got a sneak peak.  I love the new bath collection which is globally inspired from tradtional bath houses in Turkey.  I'm espcially fond of these bath mats as they are less "bathroomy" looking (if you've ever been a student in one of my staging seminars you've heard me preach "get the mat off the floor unless in use".  These however, are more like an area rug and the construction seems very durable......and they are machine washable! Whats not to love!

The Turks are world renowned for their super absorbent but thin woven towels called Pestemal.

I usually don't love too many of the soap pumps, tissue box holders etc., but this one really appeals to me.  Its clean lined, organic stone texture means it could really fit in to many bathrooms styles.  

Before & After Basement Redesign

Remember this post: whimsical modern
One of my recently completed projects was furnishing an entire basement living room.  The client had already made great use of the footprint by incorporating extra closets, a kitchenette, and a full bath. This new layout really put the "F" in function for the family of 6, however, there was no cohesive design scheme to keep organized on a daily basis.  The homeowner wanted this to be primarily a kid space for games, TV, art and crafts, but she also wanted to be able to entertain adults as well.  The jumping off point for the space were the Ikea blue and red kids chairs. Since it is a basement where natural light is limited,  I wanted to incorporate bright colors, graphic patterns and a sense of whimsy to the space. 


Before:

After:

The new layout separates the space into two zones.  The first zone above incorporates plush slipcovered chairs for easy cleaning for the adults to sit, read, or entertain.  We even incorporated a cozy little electric fireplace for added ambiance.  I also included two red vintage industrial chairs for extra seating or for using with the folding desks.

The second zone is the kid zone.  This area includes a rattan hanging chair, a chaise lounge, and the original Ikea blue and red kid chairs with customized cushions to play games, or watch movies.   To maximize floor space for the kids toys, I selected two wood stump side tables as opposed to a larger coffee table.

Did you spy the concealed support pole separating the two spaces?  We figured out a really fun and creative way to hide this, and I will dedicate a whole post next week to who, what, and how we made this eyesore a fun part of the design!

Some Contrast For A Quick Fix

With the Hurricane turned Tropical Storm Irene blowing its way through New England today, we are staying indoors and bunkering down for the day.  Its been a newspaper, movie, and clean-up the house kinda day.  I thought it also might be appropriate timing to fix a real eye sore in the house.....our back door.  This was the state of the sloppy-barely-primed-paint job our landlord had done at some point. Add to that a few years of dirt build-up:

Its bothered me since we moved in, but I just didn't think to do anything about it.  I finally decided to prime the door again a few months ago, and the new primer at least took care of the cracks and dirt showing on the door.  I figured at some point I would get around to selecting the right black or gray paint....The pantry needed something dark to ground all the stark white going on.  As luck would have it, I was at my local hardware store a few weeks back and decided to check out the "oops" paints they have from time to time.  Low and behold there was a little quart of charcoal gray sitting there calling my name!  I picked up the $5 can and thanks to Hurricane Irene, here is the finished door today:

I love my new door! Now if I could just snap my fingers and have the rest of the pantry freshly painted.......