J's Room Redo

New reading nook. Every little one needs a big cozy chair!


The room before.

My little boy's room was very country quaint the way the original owner staged it.

We painted the walls Benjamin Moore's Aura thunder, put in a modern light fixture, added the Ligne Roset Togo chair, a lamp from UpSix Vintage www.upsixvintage.com in St. Paul to create a reading nook.

More photos to come of the rest of the room makeover...

Big,Big Lights

The large industrial pendants are salvaged from the Minneapolis Ligne Roset showroom,
the mirrored bath cabinets are Restoration Hardware. The husband sanded the cabinets and I painted them. It's been so much fun experimenting with what we have and changing it up.

Here's a detail of the bathroom, after repainting etc.

The photo is from she hit pause studios of Brooklyn. The work is amazing, looks vintage but is current. It's a polaroid transfer of Coney Island beach. View more work here:

http://www.shehitpausestudios.com/

Say Goodbye to the Seventies Bathroom

Don't get me wrong, I love the seventies. I love the bell bottoms, rock music and long hair. I dig the Ligne RosetTogo sofa by Michel Ducaroy with a shag rug. But not all of the design of the seventies should be preserved. My house was built in 1915 but the bathroom seemed to be stuck in 1975. So we decided to refresh some things, like the toilet, lighting and paint color. I actually like the patterned tile on the floor, although husband dislikes. I think it looks like Ann Sacks!
http://www.annsacks.com/home.jsp

Here's the husband after they encountered many unexpected challenges with the toilet installation. It's pretty late at night at this point.

The cultured marble sink will be replaced at a later date. More images to come of the salvaged pendants that replaced the track lighting.

I tested several paint swatches, and chose Benjamin Moore's Thunder, a warm gray.

Anyone who knows me knows of my love for interior gray paint. At our previous residence I used Sandy Hook Gray and Cashmere Gray, and any home visits where I've done paint consultations always include a gray recommendation!

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/good-questions/la-good-question-perfect-shade-of-grey-046263

For great advice on replacing your old toilet, see this article by the young house love. The measure first advice is VERY important as the husband and father in law found out in our case.

The dual flush toilet we chose had some installation challenges...

http://www.younghouselove.com/2009/01/how-to-replace-a-toilet/

latest finds

http://www.1stdibs.com/furniture_item_detail.php?id=357505

I was excited to find a chair I found at an antique store a few years ago in Bryn Mawr posted on 1st Dibs! The antique shop is no longer there, but in its place is a very cool shop called Nola Home.

I loved the chair when I saw it, it is extremely comfortable and it had a caramel color leather that speaks of a certain era. I am not sure where this will go in our home but it could work with a desk or as an occasional chair.

Another lucky find of mine happened when I stopped by the now closed Artemide showroom in International Market Square. Jen, the manager was gracious enough to go to the basement and dig out a remaining Nesso lamp. It had a few scratches, but with the help of a Magic Eraser, it is lovely.

downtown St. Paul skyway walk

It's not often I walk through downtown St. Paul and it is such a gorgeous city.

I visited the James J. Hill library and viewed the Clyde Butcher photography on display. "America the Beautiful: The Monumental Landscape of Clyde Butcher."

These are amazing prints taken with a large format camera, in black and white.

http://www.clydebutcher.com/

The photographs are aptly juxtaposed with the rich surroundings of the library, you can almost smell tobacco and leather from the past...

goodbye black wallpaper

Our dining room is small to begin with and it felt even more compressed because of the black floral wallpaper. Bringing in our furniture helped. We changed the light fixture to the Fun 1 pendant, painted the walls with Benjamin Moore's Ice Cubed Silver, it feels lighter and brighter now...

thomas's place

Check out these images of my friend Thomas's renovation. This was a challenge because he has his own business and works out of the home. He is a super talented landscape designer and he has collaborated with many people on his re model. I have helped him with some design details and it is so exciting to see how it has transformed! I will try to post some before pictures to put it in perspective...