It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

We spent the weekend in Philly with good friends. What a great city!

Not sure how I convinced him to do this...

Our sweet host and hostess

And the meal of champions

Adoption Fundraiser

This is another one for you Memphians!! My friend Wendy and her husband Randy are planning to adopt two little ones from Ethiopia. Do ya'll know how expensive adoption is? I had no idea until I started getting to know families who were going through the process. Adoption is crazy expensive. But wow, what an amazing thing! As a Christian, I am particularly touched by adoption. We were, after all, adopted into a family we were not born to. I see adoption as such an awesome opportunity to mimic our Father.

Randy's sister is a photographer and she is scheduling photo shoots September 10th-12th in Memphis and all of the proceeds with go towards bringing the Provence's youngest children home. Here are the details...

And if you are not in the Memphis area, you can still support the Provence's adoption by purchasing one of Wendy's amazing custom quilts.

For more information about the photoshoot or to learn more about their adoption journey visit their blog.

Drive By

Remember in college, when one of your friends liked a boy and you knew where he lived, you would do the occassional drive by to see if he was home. Wait! are my crazy friends the only ones who did that? I remember being a part of a drive by or two in my college days. My favorite involved actually egging the boy of interest's house (because that's how you get a man), wearing full camo, with the get away car being a topless convertable. I believe the driver is actually now a lawyer. Ohhhhh, those were the days.

Well, designer's and architects do the same thing with our projects. Of course there are scheduled site visits, but if we're in the area and there is something that's been on our mind, a drive by may occur.{sidenote: new construction only! residential clients, I promise I'm not peeping in your windows} I moved last year right before the ground breaking for an elementary school that I was the interior designer for. Any of my Memphis readers live in Midtown? While working with HBG I designed the interior for the new Grace St. Luke's building.

I am dying to know how it all turned out. I think.  Another major problem with moving before a project is complete is you are not around to make sure your design is executed as you intended. I actually think a little birdie told me that my large, graphic wallpaper idea, with the children on it, did not happen. But I am dying to know what did. Anyone up for a drive by?

The Elms

Saturday Mr. Sabbe and I took a day trip to Newport, RI. The best thing about living in New England is day trips. We did not have any particular plans once we got there, but as we drove around we spotted the Elms Mansion and knew we had to go inside. It was amazing. I showcase a great deal of modern interior design on this blog, but I am honestly a fan of any style of design done well.  I loved all of my history classes in design school and walking through the Elms was like walking through a text book. The family lived in New York and only used this house 8-12 weeks out of the year (can you imagine!?) They made their money in the coal industry. The estate was constructed from 1899 to 1901 and cost approximately 1.5 million dollars to build....for 8 weeks! again, can you imagine?

Is this fountain not the weirdest thing! How, in the age of women having to wear three layers of clothing, did this fly? Unfortunately photography was not allowed inside the mansion. But the tour got my wheels turning as to what I would do in a modern day Elms mansion...

My friend Cyndie sent me the image with the yellow drapery. That's her plan for her living room curtains. Can't wait to see the final product!

Do you remember the episode of Friends where Phoebe was so nervous to meet her boyfriend's parents and asked them in a fake New England accent, Where do you summer? Well in the early 1900's a good chunk of the social elite summered in Newport. There were atleast 6 more Elms size mansions on the same street. If you are ever in the area, it's definatley a site to see.

images: mary mcdonald, decor pad, my happy little place

The End of an Era

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you will know that I spent the good part of last Fall looking for a deer head for my living room wall. Well, right before Winter settled in I finally found one and I was SO excited. I know some people are probably way over the taxidermy fad, but I was not there yet. Last Friday I spent some time working on a collage wall in our living room before Mr. Sabbe and I went out to eat the best chinese food ever.

Hmmm, what is the random bracket hanging in the middle?

That's right, we came home to a busted deer head on the floor!! And even worse, it landed right on top of the brand new tv and there is now a huge dent in the back of it (which luckily is only the backside) But still! Can you believe that? It could have killed someone. As you can see, the wall anchor and screw are still hanging there with the mounting bracket. But the head and antlers are porcelain and when they fell off, they shattered everywhere. Bad Ebay seller and bad, bad Chinese manufacturer! (sticker on back) Lesson learned, I will no longer be hanging potentially dangerous art on my walls.

I am officially over the taxidermy trend.

Wall Collage

Along with many these days, I am a big fan of the wall collage. I met with a new client yesterday that has more framed art and photography than anyone I have ever worked with. Unfortunately they have more art than they do walls, so I am excited to see what kind of groupings we can make to utilize as much of it as possible. Here are some of my favorite collage images.

sources: real simple,domino, design*sponge, urban grace {the blog}, pure style home

The Mini Blind Crimper

Favorite Gifts

If you haven't heard, it's baby making season. I feel like I have a friend a day announce they are pregnant. Unfortunately my crafting time has been limited these days so I've been forced to go with store bought gifts. When it was wedding season I usually stuck to the registry. Although one of my personal favorite gifts was a non-registry item, a le creuset casserole dish. But with babies, and me living all the way in Boston, I tend to venture off the registries and find something that will fit in a cute little package.

An easy idea for all my Tennessee friends is anything baby sized and orange. I was perusing the Allmodern.com site today for a client when I decided to take a break and click on the baby gear section. Look how cute...

Baby Star Soy Organic Buddha Onesie in Tangerine

Swaddle Designs Ultimate Receiving Blanket in Orange Mod Circles on White

 This would be a very good shower gift, right Tennessee people? And both are right around $20.

What are some favorite gifts you have given or received that were not on a registry?

 

Diva Lounge

When I worked for the hospitality design firm in Memphis, this image was tacked to the side of my workstation for 2 years.

When I moved to Boston I got a job with a firm in Somerville and discovered that the space that served as an inspiration image for me for so long was located just down the street. My office had our holiday lunch at the Diva Indian Bistro next door and when we were finished eating I ran next door for some design dessert.

Looks like some bar goers loved on the little partition above pre-photo shoot. If I were the designer, that would kill me.

The little dome spaces in the back are the restrooms. 

What I like most about this space is the shoestring budget that in no way, shape, or form limited the level of design.  The architects used skylight domes to achieve the bubbled ceiling look, which are backlit with LEDs. The LEDs probably ate 80% of their budget, but the space would not have made Architectural Record (or my pin up space) without them.

I have yet to go back to Diva at night. Boston is so small and messes up your perception of distance so much, that asking a group of people to go to a bar in Davis Square, a whopping 5 miles from the city center, is like suggesting we all drive to Chicago for the night.


Architect: Hansy Better Barraza and Anthony Piermarini
Source: Architectural Record

DIY Storage Ottoman (phase 1)

Last night I was in the mood to make something. The past couple of months I have been focusing all my design energy on other people, which I enjoy doing, but our apartment is in a seriously unfortunate state. I cringe every time I hear myself say, when we get the apartment situated we'll have you over. It's been over 2 months! People are catching on to me. So one big void in our living room these days was a coffee table. Poor Mr. Sabbe has wanted a sectional since the day we were married, but we have never lived in a house with a living room large enough for a sectional. He wants us both to be able to lay down without touching. #1 I'm not a huge fan of huge furniture and #2 I like touching. So the new sofa, again, is not very large. And our compromise with this was, I told him I would make a comfy upholstered ottoman instead of getting a new coffee table. I said we could flip it around sectional style on movie nights and bingo! room for two, minimal touching.

All of my major projects happen impulsively. We gutted the bathroom of our last house because I was bored one Sunday afternoon while Mr. Sabbe was on call and decided to take a crowbar to it. (terrible wife, I know) So last night my husband went out for drinks with his other resident friends and I went to Home Depot, armed with this...

They now have my picture on the wall with a warning, beware of this woman.

It started with me building this to the side of one of my real projects (around 5 pm, my mind wanders)

And then I worked out how it would open and shut

And then I headed to Home Depot, sans husband.

Sidenote: If you are planning on asking someone to make a million tedious cuts for you at Home Depot, leave your husband at home. They believe a woman saying "wow, sorry, I didn't know it would be this much work. I don't have any tools, I live in a teeny tiny city apartment" far more than a man. All my cuts were free!

When my husband got home I laid out all of the pieces in a very organized way and asked him to please help me screw them together. Usually the man is not up for 9pm DIY projects, but I think my frugality + organization really impressed him. And after about 30 minutes it looked like this....

Remember the title, this is only phase one. It's not very pretty yet, but it's getting there. I am now on the hunt for some great, cleanable fabric. And so far I've only spent $30. The 4'x8' plywood was $20 and I used furniture legs I had previously purchased from this Ebay dealer for $8. When I am finished I will post a full tutorial and better photos. We're pretty excited about this project.

That piece behind the lid is another DIY in the works. Linds found a great piece of campaign furniture and was kind enough to send it my way. Thanks friend!

Flashback

As we get closer and closer to making our new(ish) apartment in Fenway feel like home, I starting thinking about our marathon run through the city to find our first Boston apartment. It was a gorgeous weekend.

But apartment hunting in the city is some serious business.

Remember this little gem we saw in Back Bay? It leased in a day, which I still believe was only due to the renter's cool stuff.

After 17 apartments we were exhausted.

And then we found this guy...a space only a designer (with big time designer goggles on) could love.

And we transformed it into this

And then in June we started all over.

And since I have already painted some walls in this new place, Mr.Sabbe says I'm here for a 3 year minimum.

That's probably ok with me. This place has lots and lots of windows! It was not until I lived behind bars for a year that I realized how much I need bright, happy sunshine pouring in through my windows. Photos of the new place coming soon