To Sleep, Perchance to Dream Part 3 - Resting on a Cloud

With three previous posts on my sofa bed you might think I'm a trifle obsessed with it - and you'd be right. Here is number 4! The reason for my obsession is that when you live in a studio apartment, it's a very important piece of furniture. It must perform three functions, and they must be performed flawlessly. It's taken some work, but I've now gotten two of the three perfected - comfortable seating and comfortable sleeping. The latter is what I'll address today with a great product that has turned what is normally an unpleasant, lumpy sleep experience into a dream - an Air Dream, in fact.

When I was deciding what sort of sleeping situation I wanted in my new apartment I considered a day bed, but was worried about the room looking like a bedroom all the time and a murphy bed, but that would have required some major demolition and construction with the current layout of my place. A sofa bed seemed like the best option to make the place work for entertaining and still provide me a real bed. If Mary could do it, so could I.

My one concern with the whole sofa bed oeuvre was the notoriously uncomfortable sleeping experience. I set out to see if there had been any advances in sofa bed sleep technology and was pleasantly surprised to find the Air Dream mattress. Its air over coil technology easily eliminates the bar across your back that is the hallmark of a sofa bed mechanism. Simply inflate the mattress with the included air pump...

...and it becomes an 11" thick mattress that feels like a regular bed. Here it is dressed out in some of my vintage sheets.

The next morning just flip up the cap on the air chamber and it deflates quickly.

After making sure all the air is out of the ends and corners it folds up like a normal sofa bed mattress.

I had a few concerns before ordering, so I called the company to ask some questions. I spoke with Sean and he was very helpful. I was worried about what to do if there was a power failure. I couldn't inflate the mattress without power. Sean said that I could sleep on the mattress without inflating it, just like sleeping on a regular sofa bed mattress because under the air bladder is a standard flexible coil mattress. My sleep experience wouldn't be as comfortable as with the bladder inflated, but it would do in a pinch. My second question had to do with longevity. This mattress is really designed to be a guest room replacement. I wanted to know how well it would hold up to daily use. Sean told me that as long as I took care of it (making sure the air had all been expelled before folding it up, not letting the bladder get pinched in the mechanism, etc.) it would be just fine - plus, there is a three year warranty on the mattress, air chamber and valve. So I was sold, I ordered it and haven't looked back. It's been a wonderful solution for me.

You can find them on their website. They're a great solution for guests and daily use alike. Just so you know this isn't a biased review, I did pay full price for my mattress, and I do feel that it was worth it.

No more sofa bed posts. I promise! At least not until I address the third important aspect - how it looks, and get it reupholstered...

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream Pt. 2 - My New Sofa Bed

Hi people! Well, I've taken another step toward a completed apartment. I bought a sleeper sofa today.

I found it on Craigslist and it was only $50! I've been scrolling through the sofa bed listings there for a week or two, looking for a vintage sofa that would have the right flavor for the scheme I'm planning. It wasn't easy! Sofas tend to be somewhat perishable, so finding one dating back that far is tricky. I waded through relatively new, and somewhat bland offerings from Crate and Barrel and Jennifer Convertibles, slightly older models from the 80's with lots of over stuffed cushions and button tufting, and leather sectionals with recliners built in. I knew if I kept at it I would find what I needed. Indeed, this little model appeared this week and I was intrigued enough to take a look.

The proportions are very 70's, but it's simple enough to be somewhat timeless, so at first I wasn't sure if it was period or not. The owner had bought it second hand as well, but was under the impression that it had been new in 2004. Further examination proved this to be false, much to my pleasure!

Ball casters always look 70's to me. They were on everything that wasn't nailed down back then. This piece has them on the front, but not the back. This was my first clue that it wasn't new.

The graphics on the mattress clinched it. The space age logo and tag line "Motif - Contemporary as Tomorrow" just screams 1970.

It's upholstered in a mottled faux brown suede, typical of the period and the inside of the frame sports an inventory tag with a swatch of the upholstery stapled to it, and the inventory numbers typed on it with a typewriter, which is further evidence of it's pedigree.

I'm excited to welcome it into my home and will eventually reupholster it to suit my decorating scheme. I'm thinking dark grey with contrast piping. I'm also going to replace the mattress with an Air Dream. It should make sleeping in it almost like sleeping in a real bed!

Prints for a Pretty Pad - Fabric Choices for my Renovation

Hi people! I've been going through some of the fabric I set aside for the apartment renovation. I know it's a bit pre-mature to be thinking about fabric before the construction is complete, but it keeps me going... I thought I'd show you some of my favorite possibilities.

This one is very chic - sort of a Roman revival style from the early 60's. I love the rich blue with shades of gray in them. The circles look sort of like coins to me. There isn't enough for upholstery or curtains, but it's perfect for accent pillows, don't you think?

This is one of my favorites. I love the wandering, painterly pattern and the color palate is so sophisticated. The scale of it is enormous as well. The repeat is so large, only two repeats fit on one width of fabric. There's enough of it to do over a small accent chair or hassock too! Expect to see it featured in the new scheme.

Here's a fun pattern that might work in my kitchen. It's a bit bright, and perhaps a bit off message if I use the gray print above in the living room. I like it though. It has that colonial quality that I enjoy so much.

This will probably be my kitchen fabric. I have enough for curtains and accessories like pot holders and appliance covers. I love the old style labels on the simple off white ground. I also love the color palate.

I love vintage prints. They seem so much more unique to me and have an air of affluence to them that can't be matched pricewise by buying new. You can find great vintage prints on eBay and Etsy. It can be hit or miss with yardage, but the more you look the more you'll find and eventually you'll find the quantity you need.

It may be a while before you see me implement these choices. We still have to re-do the kitchen, install the new appliances, put in some built-ins and carpeting, among other things. It'll take some time, but I'm excited about tackling it!

I'm selling still off some of my extraneous belongings to help fund the renovation. Right now you'll find some great jewelry and vintage clothing up on eBay. Have a look!

Mid Century Style Straight From the Source - My Grandparents Glamorous House

Have you seen HippyKitchen.tumbler.com? I was introduced to it through Twitter last week and browsing through the nostalgic pictures of vintage 60's and 70's kitchens I was reminded of my grandparents house on Westchester Park Drive in Springfield, Ohio. Don't get me wrong, they were anything but hippies - you couldn't get much more establishment than my grandfather. It was just the vintage quality of the photos that brought it to mind. Their house was a big inspiration to me, and I still find myself referring to it when I work on design projects. I pulled together a few photographs of it to share here, and as I unpack and find others I may share them as well.

Here's the living room. They had a long, low wall that divided it into two different conversation areas. One was two steps lower than the other. The wall was covered with an ever growing collection of objet d'art. Notice the Asian symbol on the door. It was a feature throughout the house and coordinated with the symbols set into the poured terrazzo floor. I love the Hollywood regency hardware on the cabinet doors!

Here's another photo of the living room, looking the other way. That's my grandmother, by the way. The two white poles in the background are actually the chimney for a fireplace. It was never used because it smoked up the house. In the background over grandma's shoulder you see an Eames lounger, and to her right, the base of a Saarinen chair - their dining set. That far wall was warmly paneled in wood.

Outside was a terra-cotta tile patio that took up the whole yard. It was surrounded with a low concrete block wall that was plastered and painted to match the terra-cotta. The yard was lit with all sorts of colored flood lights in bullet shaped fixtures. Grandma is standing in front of a sun screen that my mother made panels for. The design she used was one of my drawings of a boy fishing in a stream - why I chose that subject, I have no idea...

Set into the patio was a kidney shaped pool. My grandmother used to swim the breast stroke in it every day, all summer, careful, of course, to keep her hair dry. That's my grandfather on the left. Behind him were three red wood cabanas with corrugated green fiberglass roofs. One was for the filter equipment, one for pool toys and the last was for changing. They had sliding wood doors with primitive style figures of bronze depicting hunting scenes on each one.

I think this is where I got my love of MCM and Hollywood Regency. It was a glamorous house and my grandparents entertained a lot. I still have some of the things from that house, and I was pleased that on a visit to Springfield, when we drove by, it looked like the new owners appreciated the mid-century style of the house.

It's fun to revisit old photos. They can help you detect how you became you! Why not dig into some of your own?

Before Shabby Chic There Was Carl Larsson

When I was a child I was given a book called A Home. It featured watercolor paintings by Carl Larsson of daily life at his family home in Sweden at the turn of the last century. Larsson was part of the Arts and Crafts movement. The home depicted in the paintings is a glorious hodge podge of images, colors and textures all rendered in delicate detail. These images have inspired and stuck with me through the years and I find myself referring to them when I have a visual project to do that needs a touch of traditional elegance.

This room is the subject of several of his paintings. Here, his son Pontus, punished for an infraction at the dinner table sits in the beautiful room next to one of those elegant kachelofens I mentioned in an earlier post. Notice the delightful designs featured on the door in the center of the image - the flower appears to grow behind the cross piece dividing the two panels.

Here's another picture of the same room from a different angle. I love how they turned the corners with the long runner carpet. The panels on the walls help define the space so nicely.

Here is Carl and Karin, his wife, after the children have gone to bed seated in the dining room. Notice the other kachelofen in the corner.

These beautiful images are a great source of inspiration for interiors. I suggest picking up a copy of the book for reference. There are several others that are equally as beautiful - A Farm and A Family. All are available on Amazon. If you'd like to find out more about Carl Larsson you can visit his official website and his wikipedia page.

Trim and Tubing - A Match Made in Heaven

A few months ago I featured a craft project from Conso Trimming's 1001 Decorating Ideas Magazine. While leafing through another issue I came across this project which is reminiscent of both that project and the Mexican style terry cloth mirror from a few weeks ago. This project has so many possible applications and is such fun to make!

These columns are perfect for framing a window or doorway, but they can also be used as posts for a headboard, table legs or on a smaller scale as accents in a centerpiece or even candle holders! They're made with heavy weight paper tubing - the kind carpets are rolled on. You can usually get the carpet cores from carpet and rug stores, stop by and ask.

Once you've gotten your tubes, test them out for height. If you want them to be a specific length you may have to cut them down to fit. This can be done with a saw. This project is great if you have lots of trims left over from other projects. It doesn't take a lot of trim to encircle the tube. Keep in mind that if you want two tubes that match you need to have twice as much trim. The trimming used in the above picture is all about bright colors, but imagine how beautiful it would be done in monochromatic white or even all black!

Wrap your tubing with the trims and glue them in place with Aileen's Fast Grab Tacky Glue, then stand them up in place and you have an instant statement! As shown in the picture, when put at a window they can dramatically increase the height and add some drama to your architecture. I like the table leg idea also though. If you have a table with 4 ordinary legs just sheath the legs in the trimmed tubing for a festive touch for a Mexican dinner, or for good!

The sale continues on eBay. New listings go up tonight (7/21/10) at 9 eastern! Be sure and have a look!

A Touch of Gold - Regency Accents for the Bathroom

Hello people! I've been spending these sweltering summer days thinking about the renovations of my apartment and making plans. This week has found me thinking mostly about the bathroom. It's a bit problematic, but I have plans...

A few months ago I found some ornate vintage switch and outlet plates on eBay and they've given me some ideas for how I'd like the bathroom to look.

The charm of Hollywood regency as a style is undeniable. These switch plates have that quality to them. I see the outlet plates used on either side of the medicine cabinet, maybe on a mirrored wall. The switch plate will be perfect for the light switch and the power switch for the jacuzzi tub, should I decide to keep it. While leafing through a vintage home remodeling magazine from 1977 I found an ad for similar fixtures designed specifically for a bathroom.

I like how these fixtures combine white and gold together. I may paint the inner field of the switch plates with white enamel after seeing these.

This sort of ornamental hardware is difficult to find these days. Most of what's out there is has a kind of austerity to it, and the pieces that don't are devoid of any whimsy or irony. Your best bet is to find vintage versions of it if you're aching for a touch of glamour. There are lots of sources for it - eBay, thrift shops, Habitat for Humanity and salvage yards all come to mind. It's these little details that bring a room to life. Time spent hunting them down is definitely rewarded by the finished look of the room. Life is in the details!

I've been busy listing some fun items on eBay. Stop by and have a look at some great vintage clothing featured on my television show for Style!

Summer Fun With Terry

No, I don't mean Terry Bradshaw, or Terry Garr, or Tarrytown - This terry is cloth! Something about terry cloth just makes me think of summer. It's a great fabric for easy living and has had it's place in beach and poolside entertaining for many years.

While looking for a project for my post today, I was leafing through a McCall's 1968 You-Do-It Home Decorating magazine and came across some fun terry projects. One of them reminded me of a project we did on my television show - terry cloth pillows!

These pillows from the magazine are made with Pucci washcloths and tea towels and they said you could find them for between $2 and $5. Good luck with that. You can still find fun printed towels at thrift shops and bright solids, which can be found anywhere, can be fun too. The process to make them is super simple. Just stitch them together around all the edges with wrong sides together. If you're feeling ambitious you can make them a little more special by stitching them together with right sides in and putting a velvet welt in the seam as shown above. Leave a 5 - 6" opening at the bottom for stuffing and when stuffed, just stitch the opening up. You can stuff them with polyfill or if you'd like to be frugal, do what we did on the show and use old nylons that have been laundered. The nylons won't rot if they get wet by the pool.

Another charming project is a terry cloth tea cozy.

It's made from two printed washcloths and backed with batting and lightweight cotton. You can use an insulating fabric for more heat retention, if you prefer. Stitch around the pattern for a trapunto effect.

The piece de resistance of these projects from 1968 is the terry cloth covered mirror frame.

This one is a little more complicated. It's made up of 7 different brightly colored wash cloths that have been cut into rectangles and wrapped around a plywood frame. I just love how it looks, don't you?

You'll need:

7 washcloths, each in different bright colors
2 18" square pieces of 3/4" plywood
12 decorative nails with 3/4" heads
8 1 1/4" finishing nails
1 8x8" mirror
12 large head tacks
Aileen's tacky glue
18" of decorative chain to coordinate with your decorative nails
2 3/4" round head wood screws and washers

Draw lines 3" in from the edge of one of the plywood pieces and then cut out the resulting 12" hole. On the second piece draw a line 6" in and cut out the resulting 6" hole. On bottom frame, draw a line 2" in from edges. this designates where the fabric will end. Extend the inner edges of the cuts with lines drawn out to the outer edges of the bottom and top frames. On the top frame, draw lines bisecting the center of each side.

The corners of the bottom frame will take 4" squares of terry. The sides will take 6" squares. Mix and match your colors for a pleasing effect. It's best to plan the arrangement out in advance to avoid having colors overlap between the top and bottom frames. Cut the squares of terry out carefully making sure the edges are straight. The fabric is too thick to seam in place, so the raw edges will be exposed. Using the tacky glue, glue down the corners on the bottom frame first, following the guide lines you drew on the wood. Then move on to the edge pieces and carefully glue them down and wrap the edges around to the back of the frame. Set the bottom frame aside to dry and move on to the top frame. The corners of the top frame will be 6" squares, the edges of the bottom frame will be 6x8" pieces. Repeat the process of glueing the pieces down to the face of the frame, but only wrap the fabric around the inner opening edges, don't wrap the fabric around to the back on the outer edge.

After your glued frames have dried completely you can connect the two with the finishing nails. Nail the frames together in the four inside corners and on the seam lines between the fabrics along the edges. Keep the nails close to the edge. Turn the frames over and carefully wrap the loose edges of the top fabric around both layers of plywood and glue them in place. After they dry you can attach the decorative nails to the front at each inner seam edge covering the finishing nails used to hold the frames together. Place the mirror over the opening in the back and hold it in place with the large head tacks. The last step is to attach the chain using the round head screws and washers. Screw it into the back corners and hang your mirror!

Vicky Howell had a fun terry cloth project on her blog recently. Have a look at that one too!

High on Hicks - Design From a David

David Hicks has become a great source of inspiration for modern day designers like Jonathan Adler, and, for that matter, myself for a good reason. He was a master at creating beautiful rooms that were both formal and casual at the same time. His ability to mix traditional and modern pieces and his bold use of color (traits he shares in common with Eero Saarinen) make his interiors both serious and whimsical at the same time.

In the 1970's, he published a series of decorating books that are a bit hard to come by now-a-days. I was lucky enough to get my hands on David Hicks - On Decorating with Fabric a while back, and it's been a joy to study his work.

Some of what he does has an almost candy like quality to it. The rooms look good enough to eat, bursting with flavor. these are a few of my favorite plates from the above mentioned book. I hope you'll find them as inspiring as I do.

This was his own bedroom in New York.

I love the use of lacquered walls in the two images above.

This dining nook is a good example of the mixing of modern and traditional. The architecture in the room has a decidedly antique quality and he mixes it with modern Saarinen tulip chairs and table.

The attention to detail and boldness of spirit are definitely an inspiration to me. I hope they are to you as well! Who are some of your design inspirations? Could you live in a David Hicks room?

Put a Cork In It - Cork Tile Walls

I hope everyone had a nice weekend! I spent Saturday installing cork tile on one wall of my parent's den.

They've just moved to a new apartment on Roosevelt Island and we're in the process of doing over their apartment. My mother wanted a cork wall to hang things on, and I suggested we do over the entire wall and make a statement with the cork. I did some research online and found a company that makes peel and stick adhesive cork tiles. If you've been watching my podcasts you'll remember I installed cork tile on my own desk walls years ago, and used contact adhesive. It was sticky-messy yuck, so I was very interested in self adhesion. The tiles came and we unpacked them as directed on the instructions. They need to acclimate to the environment for 48 hours, apparently. On installation day we were a bit non-plussed by the appearance of the tiles. They were starting to resemble bowls - the corners were curling up quite a bit.

We were a bit worried that they wouldn't adhere firmly. But we soldiered on, hopefully. I gathered the necessary supplies for the job:

A laser level
Pencil
Ruler
Tape measure (not shown)
Matt knife
Cutting surface
And, oddly enough - a rolling pin


The first step was to establish a level horizontal and vertical line on the wall to place the first tile on.

We did this by measuring the tiles (just under 12") and the wall (20.5") and then placing the line so that the whole tiles were centered on the wall with two strips above and below them. We also placed a strip to the left of the first whole tile that was the same width as the strips on the bottom and top. Next it was just the process of peeling off the backing and placing the tiles down and rollering them to make sure they were well adhered.

It's important to keep the tiles on the line or the whole wall will start to go off as you progress down. Also, they have a bit of give, so matching all corners - not just the edge - as you lay them down is important too. Once the whole tiles had all been placed I had to start cutting. Most of the cuts were just strips of differing widths, but there were a few complicated cuts to make around corners.

The end result was a warm, useful surface that deadens sound and gives the room a finished look. The tiles stuck very well, and are still sticking. The first one was placed off square and when pulled up had stuck so well that it pulled some of the wall board surface off with it and tore the tile! We used it for some of the partial pieces...

When we get the room completely styled I'll be sure and post a picture!

Have you ever installed cork on a wall? Did you use tiles or sheets? Did you use contact cement? How did it come out?

Kachelofen! Gesundheit. Glamorous Ceramic Stoves

This past Saturday night, my friend Michael suggested we go see a double feature at the Jersey City Lowes – Notorious and The Third Man. The Jersey City Lowes is an elaborate movie palace built in 1929, but more about that in another post. The films were wonderful, as usual, of course, but one thing has stuck with me since Saturday. The ceramic stove in Anna Schmidt’s apartment.

It was a bit of a mini obsession for me so I spent some time on Sunday exploring the Internet for them. Thanks to the design/lifestyle blog An Aesthete’s Lament, where I learned a little more about them, I now know they originated (not surprisingly) in northern Europe and are called a kachelofen in German, a kakkelovin in Swedish and a poêle en faïence in French.

The seeds of my obsession were planted when I was quite young. One of these glamorous stoves was used in a film that was a big influence during my formative years: Auntie Mame.

It’s heavily featured in one of the raciest incarnations of Mame’s Beekman Place apartment – part of the “only collection of its kind in the Universe” assembled by the fictional designer Yul Ulu. It’s especially interesting to see them used in such different films – the bleak, crumbling post war Austrian setting is so completely foreign to the frothy Technicolor interior of Mame’s apartment.

I think what fascinates me about the examples found in those films and the pictures I’ve assembled here is their quality of whimsy. They’re like tchotchkas on steroids. It’s as if someone super sized a salt shaker and it appeals to my desire for design touches on a grand scale – something I think every room should have at least one of.

Now these delightful little accessories (which I’ve heard are extremely efficient heaters) will set you back quite a pretty penny. I would imagine the examples here would run in the area of $100,000 now, if you could even find them. But they’re wonderful inspiration for an eclectic room. Create their effect with French provincial furniture accented with gay colored paint touches or upholstery and contrast it with sleek modern glass and steel and you’ll have a room to remember!

#03-12 Decorate your Desk with Decoupage

Hello people! Brini here again with some more ideas for your home. This week it’s all about decoupage! Yes, it’s not just for Victoriana anymore – decoupage is a technique that can be adapted to all sorts of fascinating projects.

Now I used it as a furniture finish for the surface of my desk and it’s proved to be both durable and decorative for 7 years now. It’s an easy solution for unfinished furniture and can become the focal point of a room.

What makes decoupage interesting is what you choose to apply to your surface. Now we used computer printouts of a wall paper pattern that mimicked tile. We just scanned the paper into the computer, broke out an individual tile from the pattern using a photo editing program and then printed it out 60 times. We laid the job out like a traditional tile job, working out from the center of the surface. We also planned out the job first, so we could just lay the pre-cut, pre-fitted tiles out without cutting as we went.

Now you don’t have to use tiles or even computer printouts. There are so many options for decoupage out there – magazines, newspapers, playbills, virtually any paper product can be decoupaged to a surface. Some things to remember are that edges can catch and peel, so thin paper is best, if you plan to decoupage a table or desk top it’s a good idea to cover the art with glass and plan the project out before you glue it down – the medium is notoriously unforgiving.