Brooklyn Limestone: April 2009

Was my invite lost in the mail?

Sorry to veer off again about the Real Housewives but much like last time, this is semi on topic as its about renovation.

I'm highly offended that I never received an invite to the McCord-Van Kempens House Party! Perhaps it was lost in the mail? Or maybe it because I am no one important and they don't know I exist? Nah, lets go with the lost in the mail thing.

Thankfully at least two other (much cooler than me) Brooklyn bloggers were invited and they shared their photos. Those two lucky bastards were Mr. Brownstoner and Cobble Hill Blog.
Without further ado, check out the goods:

First off, I'm going to say right now that these are some really bad photos. I mean, come on people. Turn off the flash at least!

Now if only the post office hadn't botched up my invitation delivery, I would have much better photos to share with you. And if by chance Alex & Simon just didn't invite me outright, they really did their home a disservice by allowing it to be photographed this way.

But moving on from this social injustice - I will say that it wasn't really my taste but I imagine they would equally hate what I've done to my house. I'm a little suprised they didn't pick more fashionable styles like super modern or mid century modern. All that said, I think their living room is least bothersome to me because it looks pulled together. Even if its not a final product I would want to live with, they clearly love it! They thought through their choices carefully and it has a lot of personality. But the rest of the rooms look a little bit thrown together without much thought. That bothers me a lot more. That doesn't seem to suit them either- or at least the "them" that I know from the television show.

Who else was watching? What did you think?

Flashback: Entertaing Decor

There isn't much going on at my house that is worth mentioning this week. So I figured this was as good of a time as any to do a little flash from the past post. But instead of home décor, Im turning the wheel sharply and careening into entertaining instead. Its more about decorating for entertaining so that’s sort of on topic. Right?

Get it? Flash + Back. I crack myself up!

Over the past few years, I've had great fun helping a couple of close friends throw some parties. I just lurrve parties so I really love to help do the whole thing up. On average, I've had one big party a year. But this year is notably barren of any big shindigs. That is good in some ways - I don't end up losing sleep for weeks before doing all those last minute projects that take so much longer than I expected. But I admit, I miss the zing of it too.

So onto the topic of this this post.

(Insert sitcom flashback music here)

Back in 2007, my very fabulous and beautiful friend was preggers (same friend I mentioned in this party post). Woo-hoo! A traditional bottles & pacifier themed baby shower was just NOT going to cut it. (Sorry, this is a pet peeve of mind - baby showers are for the MOTHER, not for the baby. Go ahead and do something a grown woman can really appreciate!) Along with her mom, we did up something a little more grown up to celebrate.

As usual, the hardest part is always finding the venue. It had to be in the area, be an attractive place but not too expensive. They also had to be willing to deal with all of my special requests. Trust me, that is a really tall order around here. For some reason, most places tend to be too expensive, ugly, inflexible or a combination of all three! After much searching, we found Central Lounge. Chandeliers? Dark Wood? Lighted Marble Bar? Sign me up! I didn't bring my wide angle lens for the party so this photo from their website will have to do.

After we found the place, I got to work on the invites. Fitting with my friend, it was all about the drama and sparkle. So off I went to make the invites. These were easily one of my most favorite invites ever. They were also one of the most time consuming too…but I tend to lose sight of that kind of thing when I have an idea in my head. A few papercuts and hot glue gun burns later, I had these.

Now on to the decorations. Budget was tight so fresh flowers were definitely out of the budget. Instead, I did my best to glam up some pretty manzanita branches with bronze spray paint and hanging crystals.

And candles went EVERYWHERE. Seriously people - there is no easier or cheaper way to turn up the style in any space. Not to mention candlelit makes everyone look twice as good.
Little handcut tags adorned with chandelier crystals hung from one big branch

The "concept" (sorry, I hate the word theme…it gives me chills) was 'a special delivery' so we carried that term through a lot of different elements like the décor

…the wishing well,

…and the favors.

You can probably tell by now but once I have an idea, I really bash it in the skull until its completely all over everything :) I could go on and on about all the little things here but I'll stop. Hope you enjoyed the trip down memory lane! If you want to see some more, there are a few more photos here.

Postscript #1: For all those professional party planners out there - kudos to you. I would suck very hard at that job as I don't do well with decision by committee. I like to call the shots and then do what Im thinking up, no questions asked.

Postscript #2: For those of you outside of the tri-state area that think a baby shower at a restaurant is unusual, think again. Showers here tend really huge (50 + people is pretty standard by my count). Not sure if that’s a function of families being larger here or houses being smaller requiring an outside venue. Either way - there is no getting around you need a lot more space than you can fit in your living room.

Postscript #3: These photos aren't that hot. I was really running around like mad that day so I had no time to really pay attention to the shots I was taking. A little big regretful about that but hey - what can I do?

I love presents!!

Guess what a very thoughtful Mr. Limestone got for me?

No, not a pygmy goat*!!

A big huge beautifully ornate mirror. Just perfect for this idea!

After my post about the idea last week, one very sweet reader sent me a listing for a Craigslist mirror that was ABSOLUTELY perfect in size and style. Alas, it was not meant to be - it was sold before I could press the 'send' button on my mail. But I kept searching and found this one earlier this week and forwarded it on the husband for approval.

He went way beyond just giving his okay. He emailed the seller, negotiated the price and quietly spent a whole afternoon driving up to some mysterious location just so I could have the mirror waiting for me when I arrived home! (pause for mushy oohs and ahhs) All this without me knowing. See, I knew I married this man for a reason. Thank you honey!

I won't say I'll have the finished product to show you anytime soon. Its supposed to be nearly 90 degrees this weekend and we have plans of enjoying the good weather. This project will have to wait until the weather turns south again. This is NY so thats bound to happen soon enough.

*Clearly, I am too citi-fied for my own good because the idea of keeping a goat as a pet seems completely amazing to me.

Do you sit in the Cheap Seats?

In my never ending quest to have a put together master bedroom, I've toyed with the idea of putting in a small chair. I suspect my cat will get more practical use out of it than we will but it would be nice to have somewhere to sit down to put my socks on. Sometimes a girl needs a little extravagance. Case in point, this lovely chair I photographed in the bathroom of LaDuree

Laduree bathroom, Paris 2007. Thats me in the mirror!

As you might have already guessed - I'm extremely cheap! I'm not spending a fortune on a chair I'll sit in for 90 seconds a day. So my hunt for cheap seats is on. And I can't decide if I like anything I've found enough to take the plunge. What do you think?

Lets start off with the granddaddy of cheap chairs, the Ikea Ektorp.

A steal at $130, this is my front runner. What could be finer?

Other options include this plain jane slipper chair from Target at $279.

A bit more contemporary in styling and even more pricey ($300) is Jc Penney's Meghan chair.

Bonus there is that it can be upholstered in a few different shades including this very matchy-matchy damask.

With that in mind, we have to consider Target's fairly new line of patterned slipper chairs. All at less than $300 with coupon right now.

These two choices are my favorite but I'm not sure if this pattern will work so well in the space as it competes with the pretty bold black and cream pattern on the bed.

So what do you think of these cheap seat options? Which one is your choice? Any alternatives?

Furniture tangent below...

And totally unrelated and impossible to work in my bedroom is this chair that I absolutely adore from Overstock for $230. Fushia and gray wood? Sign me up. But I have no place to put it so I'll have to adore it from afar.

Save Energy: Type fewer characters

A bit of blog business today...

1. I ponied up for my own domain name.
In honor of Earth Day, you can now save energy by typing fewer characters on your way to the blog. I signed up for my own domain name! You can now get here directly from www.brooklynlimestone.com. Please update your links!

(And yes, I'm only joking about it being an energy saving tactic. Can't say I'm a big Earth Day fan. I'm all for making earth friendly choices like using mass transit, having energy efficient appliances, avoiding waste, etc. But Earth Day itself just reeks of self-righteous pseudo environmentalists preaching about how one with the earth they as they shop for trendy tote bags. Not to mention how every company is now selling "green" products - seems like all the packaging they had to throw away so they could replace it with a "green" label is not very earth friendly. Earth Day to me is like Valentines Day - good intentions but mostly bad execution. )

2. Link Love
Unfortunately, in the process of signing up seemed to have broken my sidebar blog link list. So now I have to retype it all in. Annoying! Bare with me as I find all of your bloggy goodness again. Please drop me a comment if you have a home reno/decor/diy/project blog you would like me to to add to my links.

3. Want to be a guest blogger?
In other blog business, you may have noticed I'm looking for guest bloggers. I open to suggestions but I'm especially curious to see share your before and after room transformations. I'm not going anywhere but I want to have some good stuff lined up for you when I'm out of town. Thanks to one very stylish woman, I already have one in the works but I'm hoping for a few more.

4. Free Stuff
Don't forget to enter the giveaway. Thanks to everyone who emailed me. Please continue to post or email me your entries until the end of the month. I'll pick the winner then.

Curtain Catastrophe!

Ok, I know its not really a catastrophe but I'm really annoyed. At myself.

You might remember my post earlier this year about my bare naked windows. I spent a lot of time thinking it over. A lot! I finally settled on a set of double rods with sheers and silk drapes over them as I mentioned in this post.

Well look what we finally got around to Sunday night.

Sorry for the crap photo - all style goes out the window when I'm pissed.

I usually pride myself on being able to visualize things well. Generally speaking, I'm fairly good at painting a picture in my mind. (Sure, I've had my fobbles before.) Well I screwed the pooch on this one royally because its a total mess.

For starters, I didn't factor the problems with putting the bigger double rod brackets on a bay window. Damn, geometry! That means the brackets are a little too close together to allow a seamless look of fabric. Oh well, I could live with that. But worse, there is just entirely too much fabric in a small space. I can barely move the curtains open enough and it creates a dungeon like light situation in there. It certainly provides privacy but its overkill x 10.

So as you can see, I put the brakes on the installation after finishing 2/3rds of the work. And I'm back to square one. No, that's not accurate - I'm at square negative ten because now I have holes in my woodwork that have to be patched & painted before I get back to square one. And still not a freaking clue what to do here. GAH!!

Thanks for listening to me rant. I'm going back to banging my head against the wall now.

Do you tweet?

Im feeling a little bit older than I normally do (and that says a lot for someone who has a Snuggie!) because I really don't get Twitter. It seems like facebook but without the photo updates. And my favorite part of facebook is the photos!

But if its good enough for Oprah and Ashton, who am I to poo-poo it? The word "tweet" is rather fun to say. Tweet. Tweet. Tweet. And damn it if that little bird isn't just adorable. I guess I'm a sucker for marketing.

Rather than ignoring it for any longer, I signed up. So now what?

Giveaway: Breaking up is hard to do!

Based on the feedback I got to this post, there seems to be a good number of renovators and self declared decorators reading so hopefully this giveaway peaks your ears up.

Two years ago I picked up a pair of these in my travels. I've had this one brass sconce collecting dust in the basement for more than a year now. It's mate now lives in my first floor hallway. I admit, I have some reservations about splitting up this couple but sometimes a good clean break is the best for all parties involved :)

excuse those too big bulbs - not sure how that escaped my attention

To enter, comment or email me with one of the following:

1. How you plan to use it - photos & inspiration boards welcome!

2. Your favorite reno or decor transformation in your own home.

3. Let your own blog readers know about the giveaway by posting the first photo in this post with a link back here. (Don't forget to let me know you did it!)

Enter as many times as you like!

I don't know much about it other than its old and heavy but its been rewired. They don't make them like this anymore!

It would make a great asymmetrical statement in an entryway or any other little 'nook'. Personally, I think it would look equally lovely in a traditional or contemporary space. To prove my point, I photographed it against two backdrops.

How will you use it?

Bob's Your Uncle, Fanny's Your Aunt.

This post's title is completely random but I just like the saying. I always though it meant something dirty but evidently I was completely off base - it just a phrase added on to an obvious statement to indicate "there you are!" (Brit and Ausi readers: feel free to give a better explanation.)

Our weekend in London:

We stayed at the Hilton Tower Bridge.

Naturally, we walked across the bridge a few times. The weather was gray and drizzly all weekend. I really wanted to see the Tower of London but the crowds were INSANE! So much for being quiet on a holiday weekend. We'll have to go another time.

Borough Market is located a few blocks from the hotel so we had a good time browsing the food stalls and grabbing lunch there.

Most of the food stuff sold here is more appropriate for someone living here rather than a passerthrough. That didn't stop us from having a taste of parma ham and homemade cheese.

My latest obsession is chandeliers made of unexpected materials. Case in point above at one of the wine sellers stalls.

We ambled around central London for a big part of Friday but because of the rain and packed crowds, I didn't take out my camera much. Aside from a lot of walking, we also became very familar with the underground system. Even though we happened to visit on a weekend when a lot of the lines were not operating for repairs, we still had very little trouble getting anywhere we wanted. Kudos for that!

Then on Saturday we set off for the infamous Portobello Road market.

Did I mention the crowds? Holy hell!

Thankfully it didn't say quite this crowded for the entire length but it never got empty either - even when the rain came down harder. I have to be honest, it was a big disappointment because while there were some lovely shoppes to browse in, the crowds made serious shopping impossible.

Which was a terrible shame because this store, Alice's, had some fun things.

Like these wooden containers that would be great display/storage pieces. Ridiculously overpriced at 29 pounds each but still cute.

As Im apt to do with wall decor I have no place to hang, I had my eyes on this faux vintage sign. Something about the peepers had me mesmorized. But with the crowds, I couldn't find anyone to give me a price so it didn't come home with us. Probably for the best anyway. They had some very lovely painted dress forms inside but because of the no photos policy, I can't share them.

Just a random collection of pretty pieces I saw.

Then I found this nightstand. I don't have any immediate use for the idea but I'm putting this away in the bank for revitalizing an old piece of furniture. Using dictionary pages for a library, medical textbook pages for an office or vintage children's books for a nursery would all work.

We eventually left the throngs on Portobello and explored the entire Notting Hill area. This store caught my eye - note to shopkeepers - fushia really pops!

I think we can all agree with this sentiment.

And I just love this front door color combo. The white, the gray, the wisteria...lovely.

We spent the entire day exploring the area on no particular schedule.

On Sunday, we went to the Britain at War Musuem. Its a lot hokey but Im fascinated with this period of history. Not so much the war itself but with the impact on civilian life. Plus I find the fashion and style of the 1940s to be one of my favorites.