Hunting for Dresser

I like this dresser a lot.  I've been on a hunt for a Mid Century dresser with 6 drawers for our bedroom. Actually, I'd like to find one slightly wider.  I also don't want to spend more than $300, at most.  I've seen a few great options on Craigslist but I wasn't ready to pull the trigger on the purchase when I saw them.  Ugh!  Of course now that I am, I can't find one.


I need a dresser like this for a few reasons:  

1. My poor husband has his clothes spread out in three different rooms. I'd like to consolidate for his sanity.
2. We hope to have a second child in the next year and I'd like to use the dresser as a changing table in our room.  
3. With the addition of a second kid it means I need to kick my hubbie's clothes out of our daughter's closet to make room for the baby's things.  So, I need a place to put his things or else he may kick me out of the house!

Willa's Wild Life

Any of you with a sense of design, a love for Mid Century and kids seen this show?  Willa's Wild Life?! I saw it for the first time today on the qubo channel.  What is this channel?  Where did it come from? I've been under the Nick Jr./DVR rock!  


Even if you're not into cartoons watch the show.  If only for the great Mid Century styled house this little girl lives in with her dad and all her animals.   In the name of art education, this has become my show of choice for P!  

A Previous Life

I just found these pictures from my previous life.  I thought I'd post them here so I don't lose them again.


Before my husband and I got together I lived in a studio apartment in Santa Monica. I loved it.  The building had 5 units and all the neighbors were good friends. It was 600 square feet but it had a fantastic garden patio.  The entire building had a cottage feel with vines on most of the walls.  I only paid $650 a month for rent.  


My only concern was that we, the 4 women who lived there and the one gay guy, were all single .  I thought I was jinxed.  After several bad first dates, I decided I was going to be single forever. So, if I was going to live there alone forever then I was going to make it a great space.  I remodeled.   


The only pictures I have were the ones below and three other blurry ones which I can't find.  I remember wanting to mix cottage with modern with Frieda Kahlo and struggling to do so.  I also remember that with only 600sq feet everything had to have multiple uses and good storage. This is how it turned out. 

Paris

About a month ago I was surfing another blog...whose name I can't remember for the life of me.  Anyway, it had these brilliant pictures of an amazing restaurant in Paris. Yesterday, I saw the same restaurant in Travel and Leisure's March issue.  I'm sure it'll now be booked forever.


Art Home is a temporary, functional work of art created by Electrolux and Palais de Tokyo in Paris.  When I showed my husband the blog he said "that is where we'll have our wedding reception for a very limited crowd".  (We had a civil marriage in 2007 but we are still planning a church wedding for the future.) 


I just found out the restaurant will only be open until July 2010.  I really, really wanted to experience this place.  It's a cooking school, dining experience with an indescribable view.  It's breath taking.    It's all my passions rolled into one.  


Well, the best I can do is post pictures here so I have something to reference when planning our wedding.

pictures by Kleinefenn

Finally, off the bench!

I FINALLY finished making our entry way bench!  


I  bought the wood plank and legs back in October.  Yes, October!  This past weekend I spent my "mommy free" time working on this. And you may ask yourself how much manual labor could possibly go into screwing legs into wood...right?  The hard part was in the sanding as I bought the plank from a wood recycler.  


Here is where I got the supplies:
wood: Reclaimed Wood Products
legs:  Hairpin Legs


As with most of my projects, once I finish one it spurs more projects or purchases.  I'm not digging our baskets or our entryway runner.  There's too much brown. Nothing is popping. The whole thing has too much of an "organic" feel because of all the natural materials.  I think if the baskets were more "industrial" or really bright with color it would be better. 


I'd like to get three of these baskets from CB2, or something along these lines:

And I'd like to replace the runner with Flor tiles. Something bold with color and pattern.  Our hooks on the wall, under the mirror are now only good for our daughters jackets or hats.  I'm going to have to do some rethinking about the wall hooks.


But at least the bench is finished!  And then I saw a similar bench on The Brick House from Modernism Week in Palm Springs and I felt so proud of myself for putting it together.  

The fruit doesn't fall far from the tree

A friend once told me that a very creatively, talented and very tasteful friend of hers said "There are no degrees of taste. You either have it or you don't."  


I often wonder if my children will have taste.  I try to show P as much art, in its various forms, as I can.  My husband and I also have many books ranging in topics like photography, graphic design, interior design, architecture, etc.  P seems to be interested in all of them, in particular this pop-up architecture book. So far so good....right?

Modernism Week in Palm Springs

Oh, I so wish we could go to Palm Springs for Modernism Week. A documentary of William Krisel is premiering, The Architecture and Design Film Series: William Krisel, Architect.  He's speaking afterwards as well.  


Instead I'll reminisce.  In June 2007, we put an offer in on our house and spent four months in limbo waiting to hear from the bank.  It was a short sale purchase.  I'm a believer of visualizing your life into reality.  So, I told my husband we need to visualize ourselves in the home. We also needed to design the changes we were going to do to the house and therefore needed a trip to inspire us.  Off to Palm Springs we went....in AUGUST! 


At the time we did not know our home was designed by William Krisel or who he was really.  We just knew we loved the bones and Mid Century design of the house.  We took an architectual tour in Palm Springs and the guide mentioned Krisel many times.  She wanted us to meet him.  Because my hubby  is a location scout for commercials, people are always open to showing him more properties so he has them on file.  We wanted to see the Elrod House but the owner was away. Krisel was also away so we didn't get to meet him either.  We did get to see two other amazing properties and meet some great people.  A friend of the hubby owns a Neutra house in Palm Springs. She is redoing it based on original plans but that little gem I'm going to save for another post.  


Here are some pictures that inspired us back then and today as well. I'm sure our neighbors are wondering where this inspiration has gone.  Time and money are never a factor when being inspired.

I just realized what inspired our carpet choice.

oh, and did I mention I was PREGNANT when we went to Palm Springs in AUGUST! 

I thought I was going to die from the heat!!!

Dog House? No, dog IN house!

This is Clooney.  He is our "new" dog. We got him back in January from Karma Rescue.  They told us he is a 3-year old lab, shepherd mix. After getting to know him I know he's lab, pointer and rhodesian ridgeback.  There is no doubt he's a hunter.

You see how Clooney is on the floor?  That's where he'll remain.  All these blogs with pictures of pets on furniture?! You will not see that in our house. At least not with me knowing it.  I love Clooney but I would never let him on our Barcelona chair, or the Jonathan Adler pillows or our Dwell bedding....if we had any of it.  

Our dog is big. We take him hiking, running and we wrestle with him outside on the wet, muddy lawn. I bathe and wash before placing my tooshie on any of our furniture. Clooney wears his same shiny (but most likely dirty) coat inside and outside so he'll remain on the floor.

To keep our house minimal and clean we've had to up our housekeeper from every two weeks to once a week.  I vacuum the house at least once in between her visits.  A dog of this size and breed really doesn't go with a white-walled minimalist interior but there is just too much love and fun in this house with him.  

His "function" wins over the house's "form".  Plus he's got quite some "form" himself. I love the color of his coat and his white markings on his face, paws and tail.  He fits with the furniture...just not ON the furniture.  

Super Bowl Spots

I haven't posted in a really long time.  I'll talk more about that later.  I've missed my little place in space.  


While watching the Super Bowl,  I spotted a house I knew in one of the commercials.  My husband had photographed it when scouting for one of his jobs. I can't remember who the ad was for but I remember Megan Fox in a bathtub.  I recognized the kitchen with its great wall tiles, beautiful cabinets and great tin containers.  I'm not the only one who thinks the containers are fabulous.  Obviously the production designer, director and agency thought they were cool because they to were in the commercial.  


Here's a few pics of this fab house.