Bathroom idea for Nicole

A rough sketch and collage of a powder room for a client, Nicole. The tile and fabric isn't to scale but it's a fun presentation. Tile is Jerusalem Blue and fabric for shower curtain works to match with the blue and gold. Nicole needs a full bath on the first floor to accommodate a first floor bath where her in-laws may be coming to live. The hanging lamps are from a Brooklyn based lamp company named Collura and Co.
Beautiful and handmade with different colored shades and glass beads to choose from. To-the-trade-only so call us if you are interested.

Hallway Runner

I blogged earlier about a third floor we were working on and it is coming along. This week the hallway carpeting was installed. It is called Marrakesh. The stairs from the first to second floor are bare wood but from the second to third floor with the new carpet it makes it inviting and warm to go up another floor. It is a pretty brown with cream, a sage green and a pumpkin orange. It really shows off the bannister now also.

Week Three Boy's Bathroom

The Walls are up, the lighting is in, the tub is in. How soon will this all be done? I want an all white bathroom, clean, traditional & sophisticated,  to grow with my kids. I need to figure out wall tiles, floor tiles. What do you think? Should I go with a subway tile or something with color? Share your thoughts with me. I will continue to keep you posted on the renovation!

Padded, Tufted Headboard

My friend Nancy had a picture of a headboard that she had been saving to have made. Then she lost the picture. She described it to me and I found another picture of it and we had it made by a fabulous craftsman in Jersey City. If you think having something made is more expensive it isn't always, especially when you find the right artisans. If anyone is looking for a beautiful, unique covered headboard we can do it for you.

Chinese Brush Painting

I have done quite a bit of Chinese brush painting and here is one example. The paper is made of rice and is very thin. Traditionally it is done with a large brush and black ink. It takes a lot of practice to control the ink and water and the brush. This is a fairly abstract painting of chrysanthemums which is an important flower for the Chinese. I have also done a fair amount of color brush painting. My paintings are fairly large, around 15" x 20". If you are interested in looking at more let me know.

Renovation of a Boys Bathroom

Well week one of my boy's second floor bathroom renovation. This was a 1960's bath with a much needed redo! I will post a step by step process of this project. If you have an old 1895 house what style would you use? Traditional, Eclectic, or Modern. Look and see the blog the next couple of weeks while I make my design choices.

Featured artist-Keith Anderson

This is one of our featured artists who we represent. Keith Anderson lives in Bozeman, MT and is an architect and fine artist. He has a beautiful studio on his property where he works in a medium called egg tempera on a very heavy paper that he has made for him. He has been influenced by the western landscape but has recently moved towards an abstract landscape and has been influenced in that by Paul Klee. Go to our website www.indigodesignandinteriors.com to see a few of his pieces. If you are interested in seeing more respond to our blog or website.

Selling your house with designer shoes

I saw an article about realtors and how they sell apartments in NYC and the last bullet point was. If you have designer shoes in your closet you will get every penny back and more on what you spent on them. Her example was 25 pairs of Christian Louboutins. At $500 per pair that would be $1,250,000. I know this is New York apartments but it might help and then you have a lot of great shoes to wear. I'm tempted to try this.

Rugs

Lilly and I saw some beautiful rugs yesterday at a store in Soho named the The Rug Company. All done by different designers, mostly abstract and modern. They were great but very expensive and they actually reminded me very much of my own living room rug that I got at Macy's for 1/10th the price. I would love to say I could afford one of the other ones but think if you put my rug in that store that everyone would think it was designer done. So sometimes shopping at the dept. stores isn't all bad!

A Third Floor Project

These are two pictures of a "before" on a third floor project we are working on. The rooms were last painted 14 years ago when the family moved in. The older son has been living up here and is now moving out to be with his fiance. The client wants to make it warmer and cozier and have her daughter move in for awhile after she graduates from college this year and before she gets her own apartment. Then it will be a guest area and bedroom for her son and soon-to-be daughter-in-law when they come back to visit, hopefully with grandchildren. We are going to carpet the stairs coming up from the second floor so it is more inviting. The carpet is a beautiful chocolate brown moroccan pattern named "Kasbah" For the 2 bedrooms we are binding some soft sisal-look carpeting. The closets are very small so she needs storage but the walls curve so quickly you can't have any high dressers. We have our eye on a couple West Elm 6 drawer low dressers for the big room. The client has an old wood sleigh bed (from the 80's) that has been in storage so we will resurrect that and hope it looks vintage. For the small room we will use the foot of a brass bed as the headboard (also in the client's attic). The third floor should be done in May so more pics then.

Palace Papers

My friend turned us on to this nice wallpaper company that makes hand screen-printed beautiful papers with fun, different designs. This is called Heroine-Love Lies Bleeding. Romantic name would look great in a bedroom and comes in 3 different colors. A 50 inch repeat so a big statement. Just a simple white bed and antique dresser and you have a fantastic room.

Styling Winter Boots as Art

While we are all struggling with our winter outerwear, don't be afraid to leave your boots out and ready to go. All styled and straightened up they can look pretty and add to a hallway or kitchen especially if you don't have closet floor space. Then when spring comes they go back in their respective places and out come the sandals. We also line our sandals up here in the summer. Among the boots here are Hunters, Uggs, Sorel, Moon, Vintage Cowboy, a Gilt Group find, Timberland and an inexpensive pair of snow boots from Germany.

Feb.18-Vintage Fabrics used as Window Treatments

Feb. 13-Mom Cave

I'm waiting for CBS' Early Show to broadcast a spot they shot in January in my Mom Cave/Sanctuary/Dressing Room. A Mom Cave is a room for mom's in their house where they can get away and not be disturbed.  They may also have all the things that make them happy there that will not be lost or taken. It kind of reminds me of my dad's workshop when my brother's and sister and I were little. My dad didn't have a Man Cave with a TV or pool table but he had all his tools in his workshop and my brother's got in big trouble when they took things and left them outside.  A Mom Cave to me is kind of like that. A space where a mom can have her favorite things and space for herself. For me it doesn't involve anything electronic but it has books and pictures and my knitting.  Reading and thinking and sketching are important here. You may have a pretty pair of shoes sitting out or a pretty glass with a favorite bottle of something, mine being sherry.  My MC also doubles as my dressing room with a dressing table. The room has a lot of light and I also call it my morning room ( the Queen has one ). Some people say a closet will do as a Mom Cave but if it is the opposite of a Man Cave it should be bigger than a closet, a mom deserves more than that.

If you want a Mom Cave we have plenty of ideas so email us or call.