The Big Reveal

There is nothing like the thrill of pulling an almost all-nighter getting a space together. Great team, great boss, great mid century house. 4 hours of sleep, a night spent at a seedy local motel and a great 'big reveal' this morning for the homeowners and the cameras. They cried. And I want to live in the space we put together for them in just 5 days. Thanks to Morgan and Heather and Mike and Mark. I'll let you know when the show is on air. I'm glad we have another episode to do together. And I like the idea of BIG REVEALS.

Apartment Therapy Offices

I finally made it to the new AT offices to meet some of my blogging compatriots face to face. It was great. I got sandwiches with managing editor Aaron and Sarah C and even had a chance to visit with Maxwell before he jetted off to Brazil!

The office is exactly what you would expect: it feels clean and organized (it was so quiet too with everyone tap tap tapping!) and there is great light, a great view and even plants.





(this one was an experiment with a new tilt shift app for the iPhone).

I Heart Merchandising

Happy Friday Everyone! My week ended up being packed with a lot more than I thought it would be, including helping my friend merchandise her storefront. I only have this crappy iPhone picture but we had so much fun rearranging the space and I had forgotten how much I love physically putting rooms together (and not just photographing them). It was a nice change of pace (to not be glued to my chair in front of a computer and photoshopping all night long).

Next month there will be an official launch of the showroom so I'll keep you posted so that you can go there, too.

I also nailed down plans to go to New York for the launch of Rue Magazine (did you see the latest sneak peek on coco and kelly?) and get some East Coast in me before the long hard California winter. Also, before I turn thirty one. Yes. Thirty. One. Sigh.

Also, have you guys seen what Morgan has been up to? Yes, she is finally officially offering design services. Hit her up, she will school you (in a nice way, I promise, she's really very nice).

And for those of you obsessed with tomatoes (I mean, who isn't?) check out Emma's gorgeous post on the subject.

Happy Weekend Everyone, stay out of trouble!

Before Photos

I have a soft spot for the mundane, the broken down, the empty and slightly sad in photographs. So it isn't really any surprise that I love these before pictures from a mid century remodel. They're a little Judy Fiskin , a little Bill Eggleston, a little Candida Hofer. They speak volumes about the history of the house. And though the finished house is basically a dream house (my dream house, even) the before pictures are so rich in texture and history that I have trouble looking away.

More images from Alaska are on their way, in a twist of the time/space continuum I'm actually going back up for a couple of days (leaving tonight) there right now, camping with my cousins.

Refreshed Interiors

Wow, I haven't had such a refreshing weekend in a long time. It somehow felt really long and I could luxuriate in hanging out with family, getting some work done, celebrating fathers day and generally feeling ready for what is sure to be a crazy week at Dwell on Design.



I also ran across this great blog that isn't in English (Swedish is what I'm guessing and I'm too lazy to google translate it). But I love the two versions of this room with that amazing fireplace. Both are crisp and modern but they have such different feels. Love them both. The blog, highway design is a great find, full of inspiring interiors, almost like a little sister to emma's designblogg.

Won't be blogging much this week, but follow me on twitter for some behind the scenes looks at the Dwell on Design Install.

The Marion House Book

I just can't get enough of this house and the stylish family behind it. The Marion House Book is a Canadian blog chronicling the ever changing interior design of an old Victorian Home. I love that it's modern, but still full of textures. It's getting me inspired to readdress this old house's decor.

Check out the blog (complete with recipe for root beer bundt cake). Found it via Bloesom.

Morgan is Having a Sale

You guys, Morgan (of the Brick House) is having a sale. For reals. This weekend. So if you are in LA or near LA or near Palm Springs, you need to go to Hemet and snatch up her finds. I've been out there (look, her house tour), it's not that far and she has so much great, great stuff. Make a day of it, it's so worth it.

Check out All the sale details.

House of Honey

Stumbled across a new(ish) showroom in South Pas called House of Honey run by Tamara Honey. I remember seeing some interiors a while ago on Design Sponge that were a good mix of traditional regency with some modern flair. The showroom is a little more ornate and glammed up than is my personal style but I appreciate the eclectic mix she has going on and how well she does this look. Also, the walls are the most perfect grey and she makes me want gold everything.

But I especially love all the different wallpapers in the store (can anyone tell me where the trees are from?) and how she blends patterns without it getting to be too much.

See a whole slideshow of the store here and some examples of Honey Interiors design work.

Great Rugs From Overstock

(click the image to see it larger)

I got into something of an obsession with overstock today and started sleuthing around for some decent rugs. Ever since I went into a shop in Los Feliz and asked them where they got their cool, graphic rug and they said overstock. I've been periodically checking for another one like it. I love overstock simply because they carry the worst, most hideous things ever, and then, if you're looking and persistent, you find the best scores.

The Rugs (clockwise from upper left):
Ban Grass Stripe Rug, $60.99
World Classic Grey Rug, $169.99
Wool Oasis Rug, $168.99
Hand-woven Kaalein Multi Wool Rug, $174.99
Cream Rug, $229.99
Blue New Zealand Rug, $359.99
Shag Rug, $94.99
Hand-knotted Kuba Kilim Red Wool Rug, $145.99
Flaatwoven, Elite Wool Rug, $91.99
Inca Wool Rug, $177.99
Matrix Indoor/Outdoor, $143.99

Dream Rooms and Dinners

Over on AT we've started doing a lot more 'dream spaces' type posts. They're a lot of fun to put together and I've been surprised by what I actually choose (and how similar they all are) so I wanted to present them here, in one place. One thing I noticed is the color palette that I go to over and over (and ironically it doesn't actually match any room I've ever lived in) and that Plants and France seem to be themes:

Dream Bathroom: The Farmhouse Modern Bathroom



Dream Studio: The White and Bright (and plant filled) Studio (with a frog chair)




Dream Dinner Party: French Countryside, Wine, Stars, Good Food

Framed Paintings

I noticed this simple idea at my dad's house. He has quite a collection of smaller thrift store paintings up around the house. Recently he put some of them in simple Ikea Ribba frames, floating without a matte.

I think it gives them a lot more presence without any of the fuss of 'framing' your artwork.

Show Off Alert

Just wanted to mention that things have been a little slow around here because of a little work I picked up with the man pictured above. Yes, that's who you think it is. I got a special spot in the art department of a show he's working on. I've had a great time over the last week with the crew and even a few funny moments with Thom.

Spring Flowers

I have been good about keeping fresh flowers in this vase on this credenza in the dining room since we moved. And when I'm feeling flexible I'll even get stargazers, even though they inevitably fall apart and leave staining pollen dust on everything. They're just so beautiful they're hard to say no to.

But hands down, my favorite flowers right now are ranunculus. The way they always look wild and the petals feather out and they come in all these colors, they just make me feel so happy. So these sit next to the bathtub and in front of Elliott's zebra (the one he got from his gramma).

Erin and Chris's Fantastic Fixer Upper

If you haven't seen this house tour from a while back, be sure to check out Erin and Chris's Fantastic Fishtown Fixer Upper. It's a treasure trove of inspiration. Mainly I love how they scavenged or built most of what's in the house but it doesn't look like a flea market, it looks modern, comfortable and full of individual style.

Here's the link.

Busy Bee

More soon, but for now I'm deep into another install for the Kor Group with Nadia. This one is in Long Beach and it involves this wallpaper:



It's been described as a floral that's not a floral. I like it, it's jungle-y and floral-y and retro-y and still a little modern. We'll be close to done friday, right now the space is empty. The next 24 hours will reveal a lot.

WestEnd Lofts

Just noticed that WestEnd added images of the lofts we worked on to their website. Looks pretty fancy (if I do say so myself). See some before and afters right here.

Before and After: WestEnd Lofts

A couple of days ago I posted a little mini tour of the WestEnd Lofts that I've given my life to over the past two months. Well today, because I know how much I love it when people post before and afters, here are some to give you a real sense of what one of these units looks like bare, and what it looks like with what I like to call, the magic touch. Many thanks to the designer,Nadia Geller who's been teaching me a whole lot. So behold:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:


These are just of the main sales space. If you like, I'll post more of the other units over the next couple of days!