home tour

I've lived in six Brooklyn apartments (and counting!) since living in NYC and they've all been very tiny. I don't claim to be any sort of expert on small space living, but I have learned a few things along the way. Each year I've loved pouring over Apartment Therapy's Small Cool Contest entries and seeing how other people manage to live stylishly in small footprints. I've always wanted to enter myself but never felt like my place was up to the challenge....until now! After moving into our new apartment last December, Kurt and I ditched some of our crappy old furniture in exchange for nicer investment pieces and made a huge effort to pull our space together. We entered the contest and are so excited to be featured! We're up against some stiff competition, so we would love to have your vote! See our entry page HERE or follow the link on the sidebar.

Thanks so much to Kurt for taking all these amazing photographs! Sadly, we could only submit five but here are all my favorites.

The living room. I'm in love with our couch. We sat in tailgate chairs for three months waiting for it to arrive and it's been life changing. Plus, it can be arranged to fit twin or king sheets and doubles as a guest bed. I loved the gallery wall at our last apartment but decided to use picture rails here for our extensive "art" collection.

Kurt and I watch TV while we eat together and love to have friends over for dinner, so carving out some dining space in the living room was key. The table is reclaimed wood with hairpin legs and we've finally graduated to a set of matching chairs. 

I call the nook off the living room our "Map Room".

Of course our state of Ohio flag is still prominently displayed.

Some of my first DIY projects were painting the doors and kitchen cabinets black. I think it makes such a difference. We hang our bags and hats by the door on a piece of wood from Kurt's parents' front yard back in Ohio.

The bedroom. I've still got some work to do in here. Those walls are too bare :)

The plan in all its 450 SF glory.

Aubie says hi! and DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!

weekend in review

If every weekend could be as gorgeous as this one, Fall might slowly overtake Summer as my favorite season. It was warm and sunny with the slightest hint of crispness. If only Winter weren't right around the corner...I'm trying to enjoy the lovely weather while I can!

Kurt is in the process of changing jobs, so we had some going away drinks with his current coworkers on Friday night in Brooklyn. On Saturday, we attended an Oktoberfest backyard cookout a little outside the city (currently in its 26th year!) before coming back to the city to watch Ohio State take on Wisconsin (the Buckeyes won!). On Sunday, I took part in the City Modern Home Tours and volunteered as a docent at an awesome house in Brooklyn. It's a long day on your feet but so fun to see in some gorgeous homes and talk to lots of random people about design. After my volunteer stint, Kurt and I met up with a friend who is moving away from the city this week :( We shared a pitcher of beer at Connie O's and yummy donuts (red velvet crumble, chocolate sprinkles, lemon filled) from Peter Pan* before getting authentic Polish food in Greenpoint. New jobs and cities are best prepared for with lots of good food and drink, obvs. 

*(I've been less than on top of the NYC Donut Tour, but it is not forgotten. I'm probably better off sprinkling it in when I can. See what I did there?!) Peter Pan had a large selection of really classic flavors and they were super cheap. Very tasty but a little messy. Definitely grab some napkins! Thanks to Daina for the suggestion!

Peter Pan Donut and Pastry Shop

727 Manhattan Avenue

Greenpoint, Brooklyn

black doors

Around the same time I decided I wanted to install a gallery wall in our apartment (i.e. before we even moved in) I decided I wanted to paint all our doors black. My inspiration: Daniel from Manhattan Nest (while you are checking out his black door project, also be in awe of this kitchen transformation he just did!). Our little neighborhood hardware store has a limited paint selection and I didn't want to use black-black, so I chose Midnight Black by Pratt and Lambert. At first I was upset that it looked too charcoal/purple but I'm really happy with the color now. I love the contrast with our white walls and moldings.

All the doors in our apartment are old and solid and have some nice panel details except the bedroom door. I didn't want it to feel left out, so I followed this tutorial on Little Green Notebook and added some cheap molding from Lowe's.

I cut all the wood pieces on a miter box with a hack saw. It felt like I was using a nail file. Keep those blades sharp! 

Then paint!

Ta da! I love our black doors!

nate berkus c/o apartment therapy

Jenn and I hit up the latest Apartment Therapy Design Evening last week with featured guest, Nate Berkus. AT has changed up its structure a little. Instead of a completely free evening for about 400 people at ABC Carpet and Home, they've transitioned for a paid rsvp for about 100 people at TriBeCa Cinemas. No more free wine either....cash bar only (complete with TriBeCa prices).

As usual, there were a couple opening acts talking about their small design businesses. I think the whole terrarium trend has gotten a little out of control. I was pushed over the edge by Jeffrey Terrariums and his "bespoke" process. On the other hand, I really liked the business model of The Sill that helps New Yorkers incorporate low maintenance, well designed plants into their homes.

Finally, Nate Berkus took the stage for a discussion. They covered his background, his Oprah years, his design philosophies, and his new book. I was really impressed with all Nate's answers and responses. He seemed very intelligent and down to earth. I really liked his idea of design as surrounding yourself with quality things you love gradually instead of catering to trends and rushing to make your space "complete". He was also pretty funny and cracked quite a few jokes with his new fiance in the front row. Adorable.

I can't wait to see who next month's guest is!

man cave: accessories

This is my last post about the garage renovation for a while, I promise. Hopefully, I can convince my parents to buy some furniture and allow me to unleash some DIY projects on the space to make the room more livable and fun to hang out in. The final issue to address is all the bare walls and shelves. Let's clutter it up!

man cave: the light

This week I'm helping my parents work through their garage renovation. I did some drawings last year, but now we're changing a few things to better suit their needs. We had never directly addressed the lighting situation, but my dad and I discussed some track lighting to replace the existing garage-y flush mounted fixtures. Over the summer, my parents had an electrician install this general lighting but now the big question remains, what will THE statement light above the pool table be?!

man cave: furniture

This week I'm helping my parents work through their garage renovation. I did some drawings last year, but now we're changing a few things to better suit their needs. In the original design, I wanted to install a bar complete with built in base cabinets and stone (or similar) countertop. They weren't sure they would use it all that much and and decent countertop material ended up being prohibitively expensive. Instead, we're now considering some free standing furniture pieces. 

man cave: windows

This week I'm helping my parents work through their garage renovation. I did some drawings last year, but now we're changing a few things to better suit their needs. The first reconsideration: window treatments. My dad thought the curtains from my last design were a little too girly. And since we're trying to make this sort of a masculine room, we're moving in a different direction with the window coverings.

man cave progress!

Test #6 is in the books! I'm so burnt out over all this studying that I find myself doing less each time...and then getting to the test and being dumbfounded at all the information I don't know. The system seems to be working out so far (I don't know how they grade these things), so I'll cross my fingers and hope for the best once again. If all goes as planned, I take #7 sometime in December and will have this whole ARE nonsense wrapped up before the end of 2012. Then I will be a free woman! Or an architect...oh jeez, what am I going to do then?!

Anyway, after my test, I devoted the whole afternoon to working on my parent's garage renovation project. It's hard to believe that it's been just about a year since I submitted my last designs. Well, I surveyed the progress when I was home in August (and I'm just getting around to telling you about it in November). Things are moving along at a snail's Graveline's pace but it's looking pretty good so far. Check out all the hard work my dad has put in! See the "before" images here.

skyline for your thursday

Last week, Kurt and I went to a happy hour at Resolution: 4 Architecture. We had a few drinks, made some new friends, and took in the amazing rooftop view of the city. Not bad for a Friday night.

p.s. Don't forget to get your tickets to the Party@TheCenter! It's only a week away! For more info, see the link on the sidebar >>>>>>

city modern house tour

Here in NYC, it's Archtober, the month where architecture and October collide. Open House New York was the first weekend of the month (last year we went to see the TWA Terminal) but I was lazy and didn't get around to any sites this year. However, I did volunteer to be a docent at a City Modern House Tour in Brooklyn (put on by Dwell and New York Magazines) the same weekend. I was stationed at the most homey, adorable townhouse in Boerum Hill. The architect is MADE and Dwell sort of has the rights to the first round of photos of the place, so we were only allowed to take phone images. Please excuse the blurry iPhone shots. This was before I upgraded to my fancy new 4...

Ground floor office/playroom/den. The house sits on a corner lot and has the miraculous opportunity for windows on two sides. Believe me, even on a rainy day, the extra light is amazing!

auburn, design parties, and hoboken

The NYC Auburn club is a bit fickle. We've switched bars the last two years. I hope we've found a winner with Tavern on Third. It's back in the neighborhood with all the other college bars, and the bar was so happy to have us on board that they threw the club a free happy hour. How nice is that?! I think we've found a winner :)

Kurt, Christian, and I enjoyed a few drinks and snacks while checking out the bar's setup. I think it will be great for gameday!

The next evening, Kurt and I went to a party at McGuire to celebrate the launch of New York Magazine's Design Hunting issue. My firm was featured in the resource section!

Kurt was impressed that the moss was real :)

We enjoyed some drinks and snacks while wandering around the showrooms, rubbing elbows with fancy pants designers. Plus, I had some celebrity sightings! I spotted Nate Berkus but he was too fast and I couldn't get a picture. Then I saw Cathy Hobbs from season six of Design Star (above in the green dress)! Hardly a celebrity, you say? We all have our things :) Too bad I was with Kurt and he had no idea who any of these people were. Sigh.

Kurt and I decided to meet up for lunch one day and check out Madison Square Eats. It was absolutely packed but really fun and we had some great food! (panoramic thanks to Kurt)

Aren't the Marimekko umbrellas awesome? 

Choosing something to eat was nearly impossible because the options all sounded so good. In the end we landed at Mexicue because the line was short and I was intrigued by the Alabama BBQ Chicken Slider. They also serve beer and wine! Bonus points for Friday lunches!

It was a gorgeous day to have lunch outside. The market is going on until June 4th, so Kurt and I can't wait to go back and try all the things we missed!

On Friday evening we went to a promotional event for Tsar Carpets. Kurt's boss' sister, Lucy, is the US rep for the company and the showroom is actually in her gorgeous and enormous apartment near Tribeca.

Kurt and I were able to chat with this lovely couple who do a lot of world traveling. We compared notes on Italy and they said we must go to Greece. I'm sold :)

Kurt, Erik, Andrea, and I had to leave our socializing a little early and hop on the train to Hoboken, NJ. The station is at the World Trade Center and here you can see one of the new buildings going up.

In Hoboken, we met up with Kurt and Erik's friends from Ohio State, Scot and Kelly, who now called the great state of New Jersey home. We had sushi outside at a nice spot on Washington Street. I'm hooked on their Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Rolls!

Next, we took a stroll to the waterfront to see the piers and the view of Manhattan.

Kurt and I shared a couple more beers with Scot and Kelly before taking the long trek back to Brooklyn.

I spent most of the day Saturday studying, fighting my allergies, and snacking on these chickpeas. 

I am so upset I forgot to watch the Preakness! I can't believe it totally slipped my mind. I hear my fave horse, I'll Have Another, won, so at least I can cheer his Triple Crown chances on at the Belmont Stakes in June! I've got my calendar marked this time.

While not watching the horse race, Kurt, Will, and I pedaled up to Williamsburg. We had some snacks at Lodge before heading to Public Assembly for the NYC Popfest.

One of Kurt's friends from Ohio State has a sister that was in one of the performing bands called Seapony. They were great but could use a little more projection in the microphones. Other than that, it was fun, happy music. (At this point I was falling asleep against a wall, so this photo is courtesy of Kurt.)

On Sunday, I realized that out of the $30+ of allergy medicine I had purchased the day before, nothing was non-drowsy. I spent most of the day like a zombie but built up the energy to play Kurt in our inaugural tennis outing of the year. It was great to get back on the court but it completely wiped me out. I was out of commission for the rest of the day, and I developed this sore throat that suspiciously seemed like more then allergies.

After a long nap, I hyped myself up to make the walk to Baskin Robbins for some soft serve to cool my sore throat. It was the best decision I had made in a while. That counts as dinner, right?

After waking up on Monday morning with an even worse sore throat and newly acquired ear ache, I called off from work and begged my doctor to squeeze me in for an appointment. Turns out I have an inner ear infection. Who over the age of ten gets one of those?! Me, apparently. Now I am on a regimen of antibiotics, Advil, and a periodic trip to Baskin Robbins to get me back on the mend. Let's hope it's a quick recovery!