Philly Pad

About 3 months ago, my grams moved into a two-room studio in Philly. This past week I came to visit and help her put together all her new Ikea purchases. Now that she's got all the basics down, we've been discussing what she could do decor wise, to give it those final touches.

There are a couple of laws we're taught in school when we begin to design a room.

The Law of Tonal Distribution - Every space should have three degrees of tonal value: light, medium and dark areas.

The Law of Chromatic Distribution - The main areas (floor, walls, ceiling) are most neutral. The secondary areas (window treatments, sofas)) are more chromatic. The smallest areas (small upholstery, accessories) are the most chromatic. This law can be completely reversed, but the degree of contrast must remain. 

The Law of Adjacent Hues - When two hues are adjacent to one another, one should be of a different tonal value.

Another variable that is very useful is incorporating different textures into a design. Shadows play on the textures and create aesthetic interest and variety in tone. 

The Living Room Now

With these laws in mind, I suggested my grams might want to add a rug for texture and a mirror above the sofa for some shimmer (as well as making the room appear bigger). I've also tinted the walls with some red and yellow to make it warmer.

Possibly?

Before

After?

Horse Power

Recently I've noticed horses appearing everywhere in design magazines. I'm not a huge horse fan (more of a pig and bulldog kinda gal) but I do love them in interiors. Wallpapers, sculptures, paintings, photographs, you name it.  Check em' out:

Etós NYC

Resin Chinese Horse Sculpture

Apartment Therapy

Early Tang Dynasty Antiques

Marie Burgos Design

Desire to Inspire

Nicole Fahri'ss Drawing Room with Wooden Horse © Michael Boys

1st Dibs Horse Head Sculpture

Apartment Therapy

Mano Blue Design

Brunschwig & Fills Wallcovering

Thom Felicia

Ish and Chi

Thomas Jayne Studio

Roberto Dutesco Photography

Desire to Inspire

Room Re-Do Pt. 3: The Office

Once I settled where my bed would be, the next decision to make was my home office. I want my bedroom to be a bedroom, calm and relaxing. But I have to face reality: I'm a slave to school for 2 more years and I have plenty of all-nighters ahead of me. I'm still in search of a great desk chair. But so far, here's what I've come up with:

Desk Top

Reading Nook

View From my Window

Bedroom Make-Over Pt. 2

Before even attempting to spruce up my room with Ikea and thrift store finds, I started my bedroom makeover with the cheapest method of fixing up a room: spacial planning/ re-arranging furniture.

Problems:
1. My bedroom is long and narrow, has one window and a radiator that blocks a prime corner.
2. My bedroom has to function as a place to sleep and work.
3. My bedroom used to be the dining room, attached to the living room. Now, it appears the landlord decided to hammer a piece of sheet rock to divide the two rooms. Words cannot describe how much this annoys me and inflicts me with design agony.

My first order of business was this wall. For some, this would be their last concern (my roommate didn't even notice it till I pointed it out). It drives me bonkers!

• Option 1 - Paint it with black chalkboard paint or cover it in adhesive cork and center my desk underneath it to create a workstation. No-go: This would leave no room for my bed and it would make the main focus of my bedroom an office. 
• Option 2 - Cover it in adhesive mirror tiles, creating a large full length mirror and also doubling the size of my room (ahhh the magic of mirrors). No-go: I realized I don't want to have to see my reflection THAT much. 
• Option 3 - WINNER. Turn it into my headboard! I've decided to wallpaper this monstrosity and center my bed underneath it. 

Ta-Da!

I'm thinking of painting my walls a purple- tinted gray and wallpapering my new headboard in a black and white toile.

Will Return Shortly!

Dear All,

There's a flu going around and this blogger has caught it. Blogs to be posted soon!!

Let's Chat Ikat

Ikat (ee-kaht)

- noun. A method of printing woven fabric by tie-dyeing the warp yarns, the weft yarns or both before weaving. Origin: 1930-5; < Malay: to tie, bind. dictionary.com

- noun. Gorgeous fabric I can't get enough of.

Seriously, check these out. Ikats have been on the trend alert for awhile now, but they'll always be a classic staple to me.

All fabrics via Lee Jofa

Madeline Weinrib

Turning my Room into a Bedroom Pt. 1

I currently live in a two-bedroom apartment in Woodside, Queens with a good friend. This is the first time I've had a real bedroom to decorate, where my bed didn't have to double as a sofa  and there wasn't a view of the bathroom I had to wake up to every morning.

My efforts to turn this room into a real bedroom have been, to say the least...dismal. Now with a month off before my next semester starts and without any sort of cash flow, I've decided to turn this room around.

Here is my before:

Wallcovering Round-Up

It is said that painting is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to give a room a new look. Often my school projects are a designer's fantasy - no budget. With anything and everything at my fingertips, I like to go all out and use funky wallcoverings. Here are a few to note:

Shumacher

De Gournay

Maharam

Eskayel

Monday Funk

I can't get my creative juices flowing without some funk.
This is my most current Design Playlist.


1. Blue Jeans - Chocolate Milk

2. Could Heaven Ever Be Like This - Idris Muhammad

3. Ego Tripping Out - Marvin Gaye

4. Hey Lover - Chocolate Milk

5. Life is a Dance - Chaka Khan

6. My Love is Waiting - Marvin Gaye

7. Stay With Me -James Brown

8. Turn This Motha Out - Idris Muhammad

First Digs

Being in my earlier twenties and living in New York City, I've never stayed in an apartment for more than a year. To some this sounds like a nightmare, but there is nothing more exciting to me than apartment hunting and decorating a new space to call home. Sadly my dreams of apartment grandeur were never in sync with my bank account. By the time I had saved enough to create my ideal space, it was time to move once again.

Here's a glance at my last studio in Sunnyside, Queens. To the right, you'll find a view of the back of a Duane Reade and a 7 train which ran about every five minutes.

First Day

My "bedroom" with the kitchen directly to my left

My acid green kitchen

"I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck"

Even though most of my meals are spent crouched over my coffee table or at a drafting desk, I still appreciate good tablewares. These are the sorta things that make me want to put down my pencil and throw a lunch for all my friends in my imaginary backyard.

Anthropologie

Gracious Style Vero Linen

Garth Johnson

Bodo Sperlein

Pandora Design

Joseph Pintz