2. One of our biggest design gripes is that we loooove table bases, but we feel like it’s often a waste of design since there are so few moments and angles when they can be appreciated since they are blocked by chairs and our vantage point is from above…

Well, we were introduced to this little beauty at Cliff Young’s event this week and we fell in love. A glass insert centered on the table allows you to see below, from above.

Not to mention this base itself – it is dyna.mite!

3. Tile. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. We really love tile. Here are some new stunners from Studium.

black, white and bold

mirror and glass mosaic

more mirror, and zig zag!

They are all glam in their own perfect way.

4. We popped into the millwork shop today and are in awe of how this cabinetry is turning out.

5. My father (my her0) saved the key from the hotel room he and my mom shared the night of their wedding at The Plaza 40 years ago. What a romantic. And now I’m having it made into a completely unique necklace by Lulu Frost. Here she is working on it (and I’ll share photos once it’s finished!)

PS I’m a lucky girl!

]]> http://houseofsiennamack.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/five-things-11-14-11/feed/ 0 houseofsiennamack Bistro Blue High Gloss Door Cliff Young table Cliff Young base black and white tile Mirror and glass tile mirror mosaic custom cabinetry Lisa Salzer Lulu Frost Lulu Frost Lulu Frost http://houseofsiennamack.wordpress.com/2011/11/06/five-things-10-31-11/ http://houseofsiennamack.wordpress.com/2011/11/06/five-things-10-31-11/#comments Sun, 06 Nov 2011 14:56:07 +0000 houseofsiennamack http://houseofsiennamack.wordpress.com/?p=1972 ]]> 1. I was included in Elle Decor’s Design Insiders’ Weekly Finds this week!

2. Is it weird that I think the clover marble tiles we are using in a powder room are almost as cute in autocad as they are in real life?

Well, not really, but I did think it was cute when I turned around and saw Virginia drafting with two cups of coffee and a bottle of airborne at hand.

3. Floor stain samples going down at the pied a terre! Let the countdown begin – we’re about a month away til our drop dead move in date!

We’re partial to the natural walnut with a slight sheen.

4. Best part of a cold NYC night? Having a fireplace.

5. Another NYC best? The incredible restaurants that can transport you to another place and time. My trip to The Darby took me to the bygone era of cabaret dining and glamourous nightlife. The live jazz, the ceiling clad in a nickel plated grid-like cage, and the tune of champagne bottles popping left and right…such a great experience.

And the icing on the cake was the foyer clad in a chevron made of molding. Pretty genius.

Read an older post about chevron here and have a great weekend!

Walnut floors are going down…

And octagon ceiling design going up…

2. We went to a great industry talk at Williams-Sonoma and guess what was waiting for us when we left the Time Warner Center?

That’s right. Our most favorite of the food trucks. Wafels and Dinges. That’s the light and chewy with bananas, strawberries and nutella that V got, and I had my classic combo – spekuloos and bananas. And I know, you’re thinking, “Jessica, what in the world is spekuloos?!” Well, my friends, all I can tell you is that it’s heaven on a wafel (or a spoon, or an apple, or a finger, really), and you should follow Wafels and Dinges on twitter so you can find their cute yellow trucks and go find out yourself.

3. The Architecture and Film Festival began this week reminding us how important architecture and design are and how good the good stuff can make you feel.

Virginia caught an inspiring film called “Unfinished Spaces”   about young visionary architects who were hired by Fidel Castro to build Cuba’s National Art Schools in 1961. The people were beyond excited about the facility, but, well, you know about Castro….The project was put on hold and never completed. But the citizens loved it, and still used the half built, decaying building. Because good design makes you feel good inside.

4. Love a good (pop of) color story.

5. Spotted: a clover-ish ottoman. Made us think of our clover-loving client.

To begin with, when we first walked into this loft in Flatiron, this is what we saw.

Yup. That’s a before shot. Want another? Don’t say we never gave you anything…

Yowza. Is it fair to say we had our work cut out for us?

While loft-living is totally conducive to having an open floorplan, for us, it’s all about the architectural details and giving the apartment a strong presence,  while still making the space feel homey, even with it’s soaring ceilings and exposed pipes.

In order to accomplish this we knocked down the walls and created a continuous flow by allowing access to the bedroom from both the dressing room and the living room, complete with 3 sets of double doors so that privacy is available when necessary. This also helped achieve that “house in an apartment” feel that our clients know us for. 

What you didn’t see in the Rue issue is the amazing closet and dressing area just beyond the double doors that we created for our man.

When we first met him we were struck immediately by his style and wardrobe so we gave him a dressing room where he can piece it all together. He’s got hats and shoes, plaid and denim, blazers and outerwear that any man would envy, and it was seriously awesome to be able to give a guy the equivalent of the shoe closet that us chicks adore for our own heels and pumps.

photo by Emily Johnston Anderson

This is the area outside of his closet – instead of making it a transition area and wasted space (because clearly every square inch in NYC counts!) we created this awesome nook as his dressing area with a weathered metal oversize mirror and these sweet library sconces from Circa Lighting. That crazy green velvet arm chair was one of the few possessions that made the move with the owner. He was willing to see it go, but we fell in love at first sight (especially with the fierce lions head arms and claw feet)!

photo by Emily Johnston Anderson

Oh, and that column in the foreground? We nurtured and made love to those bad boys like it was our job (which, it was). Our client hated the awkward octagon base so we rounded it out, and then we had the contractor cement them to give them that this-has-been-here-forever feel. What a 180.

And how bizarre is this? The previous owner had the bedroom built around the column in an “Oh, maybe if I pretend it’s part of the wall it won’t be noticeable” moment. Quite the epic fail.

Those houndstooth grandpa chairs that got some press in the issue but weren’t so prominently featured? Well, here they are. The fabric is from Kravet, and the chairs swivel, so that when he entertains (which is often) the entire living/dining/kitchen area can be utilized as one.

We also used a great Kravet fabric to reupholster a Ralph Lauren sofa that has been in the family for years…it was a gorgeous worn brown leather before, but perhaps became too worn, and this durable neutral sure did the trick breathing new life into a not-so-gently loved sofa.

photo by Emily Johnston Anderson

And now, just because her work is so darn good, here are some more of Emily’s shots that didn’t make their way into the zine.

Reptile wallcovering doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. This one is by Wolf-Gordon  and it’s available in many colors. We’re also big fans of the creamy white version – it has a completely different feel – luxurious and fabulous when compared with this dark and moody one we used here. 

And if you’re in the mood for a good Before and After situation, take a look at this:

A little behind the scenes tidbit – we just had to have these Arteriors Henson wood and iron swivel barstools for this project, but unfortunately we needed counter height and at the time they were only sold in bar stool height. We took them to a local metal worker and had them cut down to the perfect height. Lucky for you, if you’re in love with them too, they are now sold in both heights. We also used Arteriors’ Flynn table lamps and Edmund pendant in the bedroom, which were kinda (and by kinda, we mean totally) perfect for the space.

A big mushy thanks to Rue, Emily and Shoko for helping make our work shine!

2. We enjoyed some sips and quips at Fort Street Studio. They have such luxurious, gorgeous rugs. We are particularly smitten with Rocken and Walton (go see them in person – justice not being done on the web).

3. Saw the sickest rainbow ever. And it was a double rainbow. Kind of makes up for all the rain we had last week. But not really.

4. Loooove prewar architecture. And loooove walking into a meeting on Park Avenue to be greeted by this.

And this.

5. Bravo to Duralee for making this twin-size sleeper ottoman. I had a why-didn’t-I-think-of-that moment when I saw this (I have these a lot…welcome to my world). It’s just so cute and smart, and obvious.

Genius right? Have a feeling we’ll be spec’ing a bunch of these.

Have a meaningful weekend (for those who observe Yom Kippur, and if you don’t, well, yours should be meaningful as well)!

Ladies and Gentleman, we are thrilled to direct your design loving attention to Rue Magazine to see our favorite guy’s space featured on their glossy digital pages! Check out page 176 for our spread!

All photos are by the incredibly gorgeous and talented Emily Johnston Anderson – we adore her, and so will you – promise!

We’ll be posting some details, before shots and a few fantastic afters which didn’t make their way into the article so check back soon.

1. What’s New, What’s Next? at 200 Lex.

Clearly we enjoyed ourselves at this event – but what’s not to love when handed champagne and cupcakes and other deliciousness (not to mention a demo and tasting of Wolf’s induction cooktop, which BTW, boils water in a jiffy).

And obviously, the best part for these two chicas is being surrounded by brand new to the market gorgeous home furnishings.

2. And the next night we surrounded ourselves by antiques at the Armory. We couldn’t snap pics of the gigantic diamonds, the Louis Vuitton wardrobe suitcases or the $160,000 chaise that we saw, but we did catch this one…

Highly refreshing cocktails by Follow The Woody, in this adorable Woody (duh).

And give these girls an old building filled with architecture, history, and probably some ghosts and we can just stand there and stare. For hours. Til we are asked to leave.

3. Our girl Cameo from Dornbracht stopped by for a visit with her guy from Alape. If you don’t know – Dornbracht and Alape are like the Porsches and Maybachs of the plumbing world. So get to know them.

Here are our two favorites that Alape has to offer:

This classic original design – so utilitarian, so retro, but oh-so-modern. And paired with that sleek faucet. Well, it doesn’t get any better.

And this one. Well, I don’t have words. Because it’s faceted and I love it.

And speaking of Dornbracht, I also love the serious simplicity of this shower system.

4. And, we also had visit from our friends at Urban Electric Co. who we’ve been dying to get our paws on for awhile now.

This one is killing me (softly). 

And we plan on building an entire library around these bad boys.

5. Annnd, my Mom and Dad’s house is so close to done (for now). The powder room wallpaper went up and it’s too bad that you can’t all come over and see it in person because it is so freaking wow.

Hope you have a beautiful weekend!

Within the past 7 days we’ve been featured in The Daily News, Apartment Therapy, and Elle Decor’s designer registry. Can’t hardly believe it all.

And, to keep up with our big week, we have a big announcement as number 5 of the week (so keep reading).

2. Some of the gorgeous-ness we are considering for a project:

3. Two things crossed our paths that made us go hmmm….

First: Holy tufting! This is a flat wallpaper that oh-my-god looks like an upholstered, tufted wall! Do you know how real it looks? Really real! It had us fooled from about 5 feet away! And in case you don’t know, upholstering a wall is bonkers expensive. But when it’s a paper that looks like tufting…it’s about 1/16th of the price! And I love everything tufted. I could live in a tufted house.

This wallpaper is available at Romo.

Second: Did you know that Virginia could live in a plaid house? Not just in the fall and winter, but, like, all year long. And there would be plaid carpeting, plaid window treatments, plaid furniture, plaid lamp shades, and now, PLAID MARBLE TILE!

Guys, you have no idea how tremendous this tile is! I’m telling you, you could hear our jaws hit the floor! Sorry it’s all plastic wrapped up in the photo, but it was a sneak peak from our friends at Studium since it’s a brand new product. So now when I design Virginia’s fantasy house, she is going to have a plaid powder room, and you are all going to want to use it!

Oh, P.S. she’ll probably make you a fancy meal while wearing a plaid dress and serve you on a plaid tablecloth.

4. Had a visit from our favorite rep Julie from Osborne and Little to preview the amazing fall 2011 collection of O & B and Designer’s Guild (two of our faaaavorite go-to lines). Apparently animal skins are STILL IN. Not that we’re complaining…

This wallpaper is a funkified hologram reptile skin – crazy! But in the right place it would be smashing! 

Reptiles don’t discriminate. They also shed their skin on velvets and velours and what have you. 

And just because they do their oversized colorful florals so right…

5. And, finally, our “Do It Yourself Design” program giving id 810 style lovers our signature look for (much) less, launched this week (coincidence that it launched at the same time as Missoni’s Target line? We think not! Great minds, people. Great minds.)

It’s aptly titled Blueprint 810, since we provide you with the “blueprint” to build your home in your own decorative style .

In all honesty, we really can’t put in words how excited we are to now be able to accommodate a wide variety of budgets and price points.

For real. We’re this excited.

(see? this is us, being excited.)

We’ve always believed that everyone is entitled to an incredibly designed home, no matter what the budget, but interior design in it’s traditional sense is somewhat limited (to giant budgets, ya know?). But thankfully we have a really good relationship with our BFF the interweb and now we can make magic happen.

photos by the phenomenal Jacob Snavely

And because we are SO EXCITED to launch this program, we are giving YOU our blog readers a limited time 10% discount offer! Just head on over to the site and enter “IREADTHEBLOG” in the promo code, and voila! You are officially a Blueprinter!

Happy weekend, weekenders!

Mythic Paint: Emerald City, Mythic Paint: Camel Coat, Pillow, China Seas Fabric, Glassy Baby: Cognac, Horn Bowls, Tray, Lamp, Cocktail Table, Rug, Half Round Console, Mirror, Sofa