Brad Ford, let's take it outside

This is the room designed by Brad Ford at this year's Kips Bay show. It's the "stereo lounge" and I love it because first it's very unique and second it feels like an outdoor room. It's also a bit masculine which is something that could be cool. When I saw it in the New York Times I couldn't but imagine a summer outdoor wedding or event that carries the same atmosphere. Below, I came up with an Organic-like event decor.

sphere industrial chandelier, plate, stool, flatware, napkin rings, horn canape sticks and agate bowl, table, champagne coupes and tissue papers.

Top two images via.

Boho style taken outside

Everything about Boho Style is relaxing and laid back glamorous and it gets even better when it's taken outside. I have said before how nothing inspired more than the outdoors and due to the beautiful days we're finally enjoying lately I feel such a desire of being outside and enjoying these short days of summer. If I had a big enough outdoor space I think I would go for a Boho style. Yeah, definitely.
The two first images are via Interior Design Magazine and last via Domino.

Chandelier, bench and rattan chair, pillows, platta decking, rattan striped stool, miner's bottle, hammock.
I almost forgot how fun it's to make these inspirational boards. To see more go here, here and here.

Marbleous showers

Steven Gambrel via Elle Decor

Remember my dilemma with not having enough space for a deep bathtub in our master bathroom. Well, after I figured out how to make it work (by replacing the adjacent bathroom's door by a pocket door and taking over 5 inches); I sat down and thought why all the hustle and bustle for a bathtub that is not going to be deeper than 17 inches? Unfortunately bathtubs start getting deeper after 6'. So I decided for a shower instead with a wooden bench to sit on and give myself my own pedicure. That's what we have right now anyway and it's worked pretty well. It'll only be a lot nicer. All these images are more than inspirational and even our bathroom won’t be lined in Onyx or in any of those one-of-a kind marbles that Kelly Wearstler seem to love; I'll let you know later what I'll use.
Steven Gambrel (above) seems to favor travertine marble for the showers he designs.

Kate Spade

Kate Spades is my kind of girl because she rather have bigger common spaces like a living room, library and bedroom than bigger baths. I prefer that too.

Nathan Egan

David Jimenez

So far my week & The Golfer Flat in process

I had a pretty busy week and I can't be more glad that the weekend is here. The Golfer Flat is coming along very well; a lot to do yet. But this past week my client who is a Civil Engineer and a golf aficionado was in Palm Springs, CA, playing in a tournament which worked out great because we had the whole apartment for ourselves to work our magic. Furniture and rugs were brought in, custom made linen shades were installed, seat cushions were redone and chandeliers were hung, but there still a lot to be done. The apartment doesn't receive a lot of natural light as you can see in these images so there is a lot of lighting that I need to incorporate. He wanted to keep the same dining chairs which we painted in black to contrast the mahogany table.
But the week was not only about working, it was also about having fun. On Thursday night I went to the lounge party of Tradhome magazine where I had a great time meeting interesting people such as Nate Berkus and had a very nice chat with him and my friend Vyna. The party was absolutely beautiful and full of pretty people. I had a blast. I wish you a great and cozy weekend.

The home office off the dining area still needs more furniture and also needs to be organized and the chair will be replaced.

One of the dining chairs after painted in black and cushion redone.

I love this sideboard which was originally in a hideous wood color that we painted in high lacquered black; it's not noticeable here but its doors are very beautiful.

One of the custom linen shades and the chandelier in the dinning area. Can you spot the view of the Empire State?

images by Julie Yenicag Paulino for Belle Vivir

Ain't your mama's bathroom...

My files, unknown

Things are a little bit over my head right now, While in the process of finishing up the Golfer Flat, starting of a family's uptown apartment and now I'm about to start redoing our two bathrooms. Our master and Lucas', which also happens to be the guest bathroom. All these (our bathrooms) my hubby and I want it to be completed before Spring is over, right..., so we can enjoy the beautiful days without stress. Let's see if I can deliver.
For Lucas' bathroom I'm planning to install a one pedestal tub which I find more dynamic and appealing for a little boy than clawfoot ones. Now, for our master bath I'm needing, (do I really need it?) a soaking tub, but our bathroom is smaller or I shall say narrower than the other bathroom and because of the floor plans of both bathrooms (more on that later) I cannot remove any of the walls in order to be able to fulfill my need. But I'm determined to do it. My husband always tells me "why do you opt for difficult things?" I guess it's in my nature. Any suggestions as what I could do?

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Unknown

Nate Berkus

The world of Interiors

Kerry Joyce via Elle Decor.

Sneak Peek of a work in progress

I thought it would be nice to show you a little bit of what I did today. I went out on the snow today to start setting up a client's apartment that I've been working on for a few months. While awaiting for the truck full of furniture and lighting I walked around the beautiful neighborhood and snapped this beautiful shot.

This is a small corner of the living room, we chose a vintage modern demilune sofa with great lines upholstered in beige leather. Below is the chandelier that still needs to be hung above the dining table. I love everything about that chandelier, the lines, the regency influences and the masculinity of it. There is still a lot to be done like hang art work, window treatments. I'm going to make custom shades with Greek key borders for the windows in the dining area but I will show you more as soon as things are in the final stage.

Have a great weekend!

What a folding table can do for you

As I promised yesterday I'm posting three fabulous looks of how to convert a corner into something pretty and functional for very little money. All you'll need is a folding table, a tablecloth which you can make out of anything from curtains to bed sheets and a few accessories.

A Tropical bar...

I wanted to create a tropical bar, so in order to do that I thought of all the elements with tropical influences; for instance rattan, cane hats, cigar boxes, orchids, leafs, etc. The same can be applied to create any atmosphere into a room or vignette. I framed a piece of fabric I got at Brunschwig & Fils sale using an Ikea frame for an impact effect; used some cigar boxes we kept from our wedding, a cane lamp, my own hats, silver little trays for contrasting against the woods and pink orchids to bring out the pink on the fabric and on the Monte Carlo casino cards (these ones were used in Monte Carlo by the way.) It's fun to see their black marks, it's a great topic of conversation and makes everything more real and interesting.

A Global Chic Collector's Table

For displaying a personal collection. I agree with everyone who believes that collections look better when grouped together. In this case I used our vintage shelves that are handed down to us by my lovely in-laws. To add to the traveler collector setting I used the Vitruvian Man by Leonardo Da Vinci as the art piece, on sale for only $15 here. Dried plants, yes, I think they look perfect on this table, books, Chinese broaches, Chinese porcelain and a parsley tablecloth add the perfect touch to the soul of this Global Chic collector's table.

A Home Office...

For the home desk I selected white and blue as the color scheme, but in a more fresh and modern way. The tablecloth is actually a curtain but I loved the detail of the faded polka dots so much that I thought it would add a fun effect. For wall art I hanged our Dali lithograph as the focal point and sided with two very inexpensive silhouettes I got from KZukowski and finished it up with two bronze plates I got at my local vintage store. The use of bronze on the walls and on the table act as an invisible string that pulls it all together. I love to use every surface for inspiration hence the lampshade and the flower base used as inspirational boards, something I have done before.

How to make a Floor Plan

It's easier to make than you think and it's the first thing to do when it comes to decorating a room. What you'll need: preferably big white paper, a triangle, a t-square, enough tracing paper and perhaps the most important tool, an architectural ruler. After you take two measurements of the room making sure to include doors, radiators, stair landing window seals and their respective heights, also take notes of electric and telephone outlets. It's always a good idea as long as you take measurements to draw an unofficial floor plan as well as take pictures of the place to remember it accurately. Once ready to start drawing decide on the scale you want to use. I prefer to use a scale of 1/4 or 1/2 because I like the furniture to look big enough. After having the floor plan of an empty room then the fun part begins. Having enough tracing paper will allow you to be able to try different furniture layouts without having to erase anything. A T-square will keep your drawing straight. Don't be afraid of your not-so-good looking drawings, the shape of the furniture don't need to be as perfect as long as the measurements are correct. Have fun and go and make your room as beautiful as you deserve it.

Above a (rough picture) of a floor plan of a living room/dining room of a home I'm currently working on. The wallpaper under the floor plan is Spring Close by Brunschwig & Fils hopefully my client will agree on putting it on her foyer.

My most recent project

I wanted to share with you a few images of my most recent project. I finished it last week and had it professionally photographed by Robert Levin for my up-coming website. My sweet client and myself are very pleased with the result. Ms. Whiton moved into this small pre-war rental apartment a few months ago and she wanted to make it feel hers as much as possible. Similar to many other pre-war apartments this one was lacking light so we decided to keep it as open, airy and clean as possible. This also served well for the extensive art collection to shine on its own. When I came to this apartment a few months ago there was only an old sofa and plenty of art resting on the walls. The sofa has been under Ms. Whiton's possession for quit a while now but it was in need of a complete re-do. I chose a neutral tone of damask fabric and added a few pillows in different textures to add some character. The curtains were done in gorgeous stripes that bring out the colors in the pillows and in the sofa. The two chairs are from ABC Carpet in New York. To make the light in the room multiply I painted the mahogany fireplace in white and added a layer of mirror around the inside. The dining room opens up from the living room but we wanted to make it look separate so we wallpapered the walls in Acapulco Sand. I had an inlay console custom made in a long but narrow shape in order for the space to be functional but not crowded. The magnificent sconces are from Lerebours Antiques. Once I saw them I knew they would be perfect for the sophisticated tropical ambiance we wanted for the dining room. Hence the beautiful Louis XVI-style caned chairs. The cowhide rugs used in both rooms are also from ABC Carpet. (you can click on the pictures to see them better)