Thursday, July 29, 2010

Corporate!

To the surprise of most, I LOVE designing corporate interiors. Love it. There is such a formula. It's so methodical and organized, but still lends itself to very fun and creative design opportunities. I love it because I get it. I get the process. I know all the parts and pieces. I can somewhat accurately estimate the duration of the project. Since establishing Sabbe Interior Design, corporate interiors was one thing I have greatly missed. Don't get me wrong, I am loving residential as well. I love getting into people's minds and helping them create their own perfect space. But corporate and residential could not be more opposite. I have always said this is so because people don't (typically) sleep in their office, they don't raise a family there, they don't photograph their holiday card in the reception lobby, and therefore corporate interiors tend to be a little more cut and dry. It removes the personal factor. It's somewhat of a machine. It's efficient as well as aesthetically pleasing and it's very, very fun to design.

So this week I was very excited to officially land my first commercial interiors project since starting my own firm. I will be spending the next couple of months helping the Harvard Stem Cell Institute design their new administrative office space. The client is great and I am very excited for the opportunity.

Our ceiling is very low in this space, so we will not have the opportunity to do a lot with ceiling plane changes, which is one of my favorite corporate design elements. But we are going to have some fun with carpet tile.



Stay tuned for more about this project.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Wisteria Wish List

We are currently in the process of re-vamping our living room. It's a great space, but very oddly shaped and I am having the hardest time figuring out exactly what pieces of furniture I want and where I want them. By the way, those IKEA chairs went back. There was no amount of IKEA hacking that would have made them look nice.
I was browsing through the Wisteria site yesterday and found a few pieces that I would love to come into our house.
I have zero Moroccan influence in my house, but I'm thinking I may need to add a little.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

First Impressions

I love a good entry foyer.
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Monday, July 26, 2010

Good Monday Morning

Wish I was having breakfast in this cheery little nook. I love it right down to the Kaufmann House pool photo on the wall, very Mad Men. Where does one get such a thing? We know where the lemon pillow came from. And you can get the ikat fabric here and a couple of wire frame chairs here.  Good job Palmer Weiss! I like.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Tutorials: For Her Edition

I definitely have not been sewing as much this summer as I was last, but I am still an avid reader of many wonderful craft blogs. So I thought I would share with you some of the great tutorials floating around the blogesphere these days. Last year I posted my favorite baby crafts. This list is for us.

Tops
Skirts/Dresses
Accessories
Bags

And here are some of the aprons my class made last week. This group is very talented and so much fun!
All of these aprons are from first time sewers.
Amazing right!? 
If you are in the Boston area and would like to learn how to sew, sign up for my next class at the BCAE.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

A Few of My Favorite Things

Here are a few things I am liking these days.
random (but purposeful)  horizontal stripes
vintage plate wall displays
romantic outdoor spaces
these pendants (someone southern needs these fast)
Jenny's DIY Roman shades, which I plan to tackle asap.

What are some of your favorites this week?

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Le Pompidou

One of my favorite blogs these days is Caitlin Wilson's Style Files. She's not only a terrific Interior Designer, but she travels more than any person I have ever met and blogs about it, so we can all live vicariously through her. She recently went to Paris, which made me go back and look at some photos of Mr. Sabbe and I's trip to Paris and I found some great images from our visit to the Pompidou. As with many things in Paris, the Pompidou is something I had learned a great deal about in college and was beyond thrilled to get to experience it first hand. The architectural history is amazing, and the art inside is even more amazing.

Never in my life have I been more excited to see a urinal.
I want to go back. Today.