Ziggurat, Ziggurat, Ziggurat

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Yesterday I stepped back and realized that Schumacher's Ziggurat is showing up in several of my project piles. It works in modern spaces just as well as traditional spaces and my projects are an even split of both. I used it for the project below in chartreuse, but my new love is the navy colorway. Do you know what a ziggurat is? I thought it was just a fun name for a pattern with zig-zagging shapes. Nope, it goes back to the bible. I can now check my "learn something new" box off for the day. Have a great weekend!

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Recent Work {new york}

I finally got around to editing a few photos from my project in Tribeca. It's only the living and dining rooms and a couple of terrace shots. Visit my website to see more. I hope to have the entire project loaded before I leave for Christmas. Fingers crossed!

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Deal Alert {Chevron Rug}

I told you guys several months ago that I bought a budget chevron rug for our living room. Well, I did, but it got sent back because I sent it to my old address. Sometimes I am very organized like that. I was sad for a minute, then I saw that Britt bought the same one and shared that basically you get what you pay for. I know this, but sometimes when something has the letters S-A-L-E next to it, I get excited and forget.

Today I decided to take another look and found this 100% wool one. 

I got the 5 x7 and with the 50% coupon code the grand total came to $115. 

That is cheaper than Ikea AND I don't have to drive to Ikea!

The only down side with wool is my baby will be covered in it until I vacuum it 100 times. But he has a wool rug in his nursery that has finally quit shedding. 

Go get one! And if someone says "I am so over chevron" (because people are so quickly into and then over things in this fast paced blog world) let's just tell them we are so over them:)

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Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

My little man is teething in a major way, so this mama is a little short on sleep this week. He has a twin bed in his nursery that I have been crashing on the past few nights to save myself the walk across the apartment. Oh how I wish I could get 8 uninterrupted hours in this heavenly beds tonight...

Speaking of heavenly beds, we recently bought the Westin version made by Simmons and it.is. amazing. We are pretty frugal, so it hurt a bit when we slid the card. But it was worth every penny, they say we all spend 1/3 of our lives sleeping.  

I also recently purchased two little louis chairs for Remi, thanks to a craig's list heads up from my sweet friend Christine. I plan on reupholstering them. Look how excited he is...

 I told my husband yesterday that I try to memorize his face, but it is so hard because it changes everyday. Sweet boy, I cannot believe you are about to be grinning at me with 4 new top teeth.

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Our Halfway House

I've come to terms with the fact that my house is pretty much in a constant state of halfway finished projects. My poor husband. My poor baby. Here is what we have on the docket these days, the projects narrating for themselves.

Remember my chairs? I made a white slipcover for one and then they discontinued the fabric. Then I decided I was too lazy to constantly wash slipcovers anyway. So I bought some outdoor fabric, ripped my hands apart stripping the chair, and here is where we are today...

Can you believe the one thing that is holding me up is staples? Only available online...annoying. Sourcing all of the componets has been the toughest obstacle. I could not fathom renting an air compressor and staple gun for $100 for a day when I could own both for $150. So I am now the proud owner of this...

My husband jokes that I need to start a tool renting business in our building. Who lives in a high rise and owns an air compressor and pneumatic staple gun? This girl.

Remember my swagged Ikea chandelier? Well I decided I hated  that too. So I made this contraption.

The main fixture is West Elm, but the shade is made of two giant, oval embroidery hoops and a piece of strathmore paper. Best part? It covers the swag and allows the fixture, as a whole, to be centered over the table. yay!

And lastly, remember my new tv stand? Not 100% finished, but it does currently hold the tv.

I decided I liked it better sans doors. So I had to sand down some imperfections on the green, thus the discoloration on the bottom. I still need to touch that up. And this pretty little number is on it's way to adorn the drawer, which I'm pretty pumped about.

And that is the current state of projects in the Sabbe household. To think we joked that I would have nothing to do since we were moving into a practically brand new space....ha, ha, ha. Like Jenny said, it's a sickness.

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This is How We Roll {Pun Intended}

Behold, my new workshop space..

So this is where I will be making stuff happen for the next 3 years. It's the only non-carpeted space in the new apartment, besides the bathrooms. And a little known fact...normally I cringe at laminate hardwood flooring, but for a workshop floor it just happens to be great. We had it in our old house, in the kitchen. With a little magic eraser action, everything comes up.

So yesterday, while Mr. Sabbe grilled us up some steaks... on a grill pan (ah, city living) I thought it would be a good idea to be all in the way with my latest diy undertaking. I have a sweet husband. He tolerates me saying things like "if you hit this furniture with that refrigerator door I am going to kill you." (joking of course, he's too cute to kill) Because it's normal to be painting 4' long dressers, while someone else is trying to cook, in a 8 x 8 kitchen, right?

I'm not 100% finished, but remember the before...

And here is where I am. I  know, not quite breathtaking...yet.

But is it not so amazing what a difference a coat of paint can make?

This time around I researched painting tips. Centsational Girl has written an excellent post that anyone interested in painting a piece of furniture should read. The biggest ah-ha moment for me was her suggestion to buy this...

It works. They have it at Home Depot. But be warned, no one there had any idea what I was talking about and it was not with the paint thinners, like you would think. Another tip, add cautiously. I think I went a little heavy and ended up having to do a coat or two more because of it...BUT, no roller or brush marks!

Then I also remembered a post Jenny wrote on painting furniture. I use latex now that I have a baby and no outdoor space to paint. Oil based paints are much, much tougher, but they will make you high. So I needed a way to toughen up this piece because we are sitting a 40" tv on  it and I would like it not to have tv stand marks on the top when we move in 3 years. So I followed her instructions and added two coats of this...

The great thing is, the Floetrol takes the sheen out of your paint (it tells you this on the label). So my semi-gloss was not so glossy, but the the wipe-on poly added that gloss back. Problem solved. 

I'm going to paint the inside the same color as our last living room, because I have some left over. 

Cute architecture, I miss you.

But did you catch the cabinets and counters in our new space?

Ugly, 4' wide kitchen, I do not miss you.

So that is that. Seen any good hardware lately? I haven't really started looking, but I want something fun. 

I'm thinking brass. I recently discovered chicken wire comes in brass, get excited.

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Projects I Want to Live In

I am working on a project right now in the South End that I'm pretty sure I am going to want to live in when we are finished. Don't you love projects like that?

It's a tiny little place, and most of the industrial imagery I've been posting lately has come from things I am sourcing for the project. When I tell people that I'm an interior designer they always ask me what my favorite style is. Honest truth, I do not really have a favorite, nor do I care to "specialize" in one aesthetic. That seems so boring. But my this week favorite is the whole industrial chic deal. I love it.

I'm mostly pumped about how the space planning worked out. I bet if you walked through this space empty you would not think it could fit a six person dining table. but. it. can.....

 Like I previously mentioned, the stools swivel down from bar counter height to dining table height. So we're getting a two for one out of those.

This project is in a new building, so my end is mainly decorative. We are doing a custom pot rack I'm pretty pumped about. Pot racks are something I never really thought much about until this project.

Now I think about them all the time. Do you have a pot rack? Does having pots in your face ever bother you? One of my clients is tall (the husband) and the other is short (the wife). She needs to be able to reach the pots (reasonable) he needs to be able to get water without having a pot hit him in his face (also reasonable) It's become and interesting little design study.

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Rug Rat

So I've told ya'll how I'm not super pumped about moving into a carpeted apartment. Although every time I lay down 2 blankets and then the baby's little play pad thing in the floor I think...hmmm...maybe carpet is not going to be such a bad thing after all. But regardless, I've been on the hunt for a big, cheap, soft rug to give the place some pizazz. Look at these beauties I found on Overstock. I'm loving the whole Moroccan/Dhurrie trend going on right now.

All for under $200

1. 2 . 3 . 4

And I don't care if the trend is on it's way out (at least in the fast paced world of blogging) I ended up getting this bad boy for almost nothing. This is, again, another temporary housing situation for us and my little nugget currently poops more outside his diaper than inside. So I'm just not ready to buy a nice rug, but I will follow up with a quality report. 

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My Latest Obsession: Vintage Toledo Stools

You want to know why they are so awesome?? They can be 20" to sit at a 30" high dining table, then raised to also work at a 36" high kitchen island. I think I'm think I'm starting to specialize in maximizing small city apartments. It's way more fun that just filling up space.

Hopefully you will be seeing a pair of these in a little South End condo I've been working on.

1 . 2 . 3 . 4. 

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Reclaimed Hardwood

Heeeelllo! I don't know about you guys, but the 4th falling on a Monday has really made this a crazy-busy week me, crazy-busy in a good way. I had a productive trip to Ann Sacks with one client this week and then this morning I met another client at my new favorite place, Longleaf Lumber. She recently decided she wanted to use a reclaimed hardwood for her bathroom renovation in lieu of floor tile. After a little internet searching, I found an awesome resource right across the river.

They have tons of options and the best part, they are soooooo friendly and helpful. I think I've told you guys before, and I'm sure many of you can relate, snobby sales people are the worst. If at all possible I try to avoid specifying anything from anyone who has a bad attitude or acts like they do not have time to work with me or my client. Hello, is it your job to sell things or to make people feel uncomfortable and inferior?  This was new to me when I started doing residential design. In the commercial, particularly the hospitality world, reps treat you like gold...knowing if they get their product in a 250 key hotel tower, their commission will be gold. I don't care if we are only looking for 20 square feet of something, we should get the same treatment as if it were 2,000, because next time it might be. One day I would love to pull a Pretty Woman on snobby showroom people...ala "big mistake....huuuuuuge mistake."

And Longleaf is no small potatoes. They have an installation in the upstairs portion of the new Starbucks in Harvard Square, if you want to check it out. I was also pleasantly surprised that the products ranged from $5-$11/sf.

Here are some images that motivated her to change paths.

I've blogged about Amy Butler's home (below) and honestly didn't even notice the reclaimed, wide plank on the floor. Probably because I was too focused on the wallpaper. Have I mentioned I love Amy Butler:)

I'm also pretty obsessed with it in a herringbone pattern.

Even though this is 180 degrees different from what we have been working on for the past 5 months, I'm pretty excited about the new direction.

In other news, that might also contribute to me a bad blogger this month, we are officially moving...again! I told Mr. Sabbe that we are turning into small radius gypsies. And speaking of hardwood floors, I need a moment of silence....the new place is carpeted. Sad right? The idea of used carpet, especially with my little nugget eventually crawling around, really gives me the willies. I will tell you more about the positives later. Have a great weekend!

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Meg and Martha's Vineyard

First of all, heaven looks like Martha's Vineyard. It has to. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. As you can imagine, I took a zillion pictures. I can't wait share, but I have not had time to download yet. The first days back to work after a vacation are always tough aren't they?

One cloudy afternoon we took a $10 boat ride. Our tour guide was a college student working on the island for the summer. He pointed out very important things like Ernie Boch's lamas, the future Gaga estate, and Meg Ryan's beach home. Best $10 I ever spent.

I liked seeing Meg Ryan's home because I recalled the spread Elle Decor did a couple of years ago of the interior, which made me feel like I was in the know, like our college tour guide.

 After the tour we had lunch at the Atlantic, which I highly recommend. We were talking rich and famous with our server and he told us Meg Ryan eats there all the time and that she is very nice. Isn't it nice to hear when famous people, who you like because they play nice people in movies, are also nice in real life?

More on MV to come!

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