Designskool.net

children’s books at present and correct

by Justine on January 14, 2013

Browsing around the web this weekend, I became enchanted by the selection of children’s books at UK-based Present and Correct. From vintage classics to 3-D pop-ups, this original collection seems carefully curated to foster in our children as much imagination, wit, and cleverness as is humanly possible. Beautifully designed, sophisticated and engaging, they are as much for parents as they are for kids.

pop up forest

tea party cut outs
I love the idea of teaching your children to turn a phrase with a sugary dusting of cakes.

winter

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inspiration from the “designers in residence”

by Justine on January 11, 2013

in decor,renovations

When Chad and I bought our first home, it took everything we had to scrape together the down payment. Having handed our last $300 to the closing attorney, we couldn’t even afford a fridge, so we kept our food in a cooler for three months. At that time, all renovations were DIY, and thus I learned the art of drywall, plastering, sanding, and painting.

Then for a few years there, with the purchase of our cottage, we could afford to have professionals help with this work, and so we did. Truth be told, having done so much of it before, I didn’t miss it.

But when we were looking to buy in Newton, where the schools are good enough to send one’s kids all the way through, and the property values reflect this, we realized that we would most likely have to buy a DIY fixer-upper. And that was Ok because truth-be-told, I didn’t like most of the renovations I saw, so I didn’t see the point of paying for something I would change anyways. And by this point I had the example of many blog friends who were operating backhoes in order to carve their yards and brewing their own authentic Swedish paint. But we are not as young as we used to be, AND we now have kids. Did we really have the strength to once again do it all ourselves?

Well obviously the answer is, yes. And though it does hurt more this time, I’m once again enjoying the hands-on connection with my home. But work is progressing more slowly than before, because when one of us paints, the other parents. Sometimes when I get discouraged, I once again turn to my blog friends for inspiration.

Pictured here is a recent project by a very industrious and creative couple, Percy and Tara of Jersey Ice Cream Company. A great admirer of their ability to rethink old things in a modern way, I have featured their work before. For this project this dynamic duo transformed Debby’s Brooklyn apartment from ho-hum to wow, in the span of one-week!!!! And it’s merely a precursor to a larger renovation that these practitioners of live-in design (they are literally designers-in-residence wherever they are currently working) are completing on Debby’s upstate NY farmhouse.

I figure if they can tackle this much, then, even with kids, I can slap on some paint.

Here’s a peak at the newly renovated dining room at Debby’s farmhouse. For the complete before and after see here.

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while Olie was napping

by Justine on January 10, 2013

in crafts,holiday,kids

Here’s what Solvi and I did yesterday with tissue, glitter, and a little ribbon. Couldn’t shoot the process because it was too dark. But the results are simple and pretty. A welcome bit of whimsy and cheer in the new dining room.

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today’s companions

by Justine on January 9, 2013

in kids

scenes from a sick day…

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it’s beginning to look like me

by Justine on January 9, 2013

in Our House

Maine stones on the mantle

Oliver has been home sick for the past couple of days, which precludes my getting much work done. Still, in between fetching tea and reading children’s books, I did manage to snap of few shots around the home.

Even though overall the house is mostly in a state of transition and disarray, there are pockets that are beginning to look like me.

vignette with candles and my advent wreaths in the newly stripped dining room

my Grandmother Sylvia’s childhood desk under the stairs
Can’t wait paint the wall French grey!

one of my antique linen sheets resting on an Ikea chair

office radio

hall vignette

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meet my new best (inanimate) friend

by Justine on January 7, 2013

in Our Cottage

I know, a computer, not the most inspired of images, unless you’re me and have been blogging for two years on a 13 inch laptop! Needless to say, it was severely limiting. Now I feel so liberated. Plus, isn’t her sleek profile so pretty? No bulky box or cords. This baby’s wireless! Thank you, Mac.

Also previously inhibiting my creative flow was the original, oppressive color of my office. (Warning! Image below may be damaging to design-sensitive eyes.) So I slapped on some off-white paint, which is too yellow for me and will have to be redone, but at least I don’t feel like I’m working in a men’s club anymore. The rest of the room (like storage) also still needs to be worked out. But for now, with the addition of a generous desk, I can finally work in comfort. Not too mention that my husband can use the computer too.

Argh!!! The room as it was when we just threw stuff into it. Frightening, no? I honestly can’t believe I could get any work done here. All red has now been eliminated. Phew.

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the first of many

by Justine on January 3, 2013

in Our House,renovations,wall

New Year’s Resolutions. Mine include: taking a hip-hop class, teaching myself more about lighting and lenses in photography, and of course, the house. New Year’s day found me tackling at least one of these, as I stripped the dark wall paper from the dining room.

Grueling work, but what results! The light, the space!! As you can see from the “before” picture below, simply removing the dark color greatly expands the room, emphasizing the height and generous windows. Even with dirty walls, it’s already my new favorite room. Of course having the right sized table also helps. The new one by Nick Hollibaugh (a hand-me-down from Aunt Jessie) is a dramatic 30″ by 9′. I love the perspective play as it blends into the window. Also, as a stop gap until fortunes allow for a new pendant, Aunt Sheila had the brilliant idea to cover the existing, saloon-style, brass lamp with an old bed skirt.

What a way to start our first full year in the new house. Just getting this much done, I can now really see the potential of our home. It’s tipped the balance from my being completely overwhelmed (and a little discouraged) to becoming truly inspired.

Now I’m going to pause a bit to give my hands and wrists a rest and to contemplate color. My original intent had been to paint the walls a warm gray and keep the trim off-white. Now I really like the all-white look. And then, Aunt Sheila suggested gray trim. Hmmmm. What do you think?

The “before,” aaaaaaaaahhhh! (Would you ever guess from the picture above that these are 10 foot ceilings?!)

another “before”

same view “after”

examples of white walls and gray trim

examples of gray walls and white trim (this is the look the living room will get)

gray and gray?

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eau de nil

by Justine on January 2, 2013

in inside - design muses

It’s a new year, and what better way to celebrate than to introduce you to the enchanting world of Xenia Andreou. I discovered Xenia via a quiet comment she posted here, and I was immediately struck by her fresh vision. From her island home in the Mediterranean, where she spends her days “chasing shadows” with her five-year-old daughter, Anna, Xenia documents the “exquisite details that stand out in relief against the humdrum (yet miraculous) everyday – little words, the changing light, a landscape seen afresh, a moment.” Eau de Nil is where she shares these moments of inspiration as well as her small-scale creations.

Hailing from the island of Cyprus, Xenia grew up surrounded by “busy hands” – great-grandmothers, grandmothers, aunts, and her mother, who were always spinning, weaving, knitting, crocheting, embroidering, and sewing. From them she too learned to rest and re-fill by making. (Mostly toys for Anna and gifts for friends, but hopefully some day for the rest of us as well.)

Today Xenia lives with her husband and daughter in a traditional, 19th-century, mud-brick house with a stone arch, located in an old suburb of the capital, Nicosia. Restored by the family, this “cocoon” is nestled in a walled garden, filled with olive, lemon, and bay trees as well as jasmine and lavender.

Surrounded by breathtaking scenery as well as a close-knit community, Xenia is nonetheless grateful for that other ‘window’ in her house, the internet. And we are certainly thankful as well, for the glass works both ways, and through it we catch a glimpse of this extraordinary woman. For, much like her native isle, Xenia’s vision is both intimate and utterly captivating. And though winsome and understated, it also immensely powerful.

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welcome 2013

by Justine on January 1, 2013

in Cape Cod,life/family

A year ago today, the family enjoyed an unseasonably warm walk along Pleasant Bay. This New Year’s day, we once again wondered along the same coast, this time wrapped in a winter wonderland.

I love adventures and new experiences; and I revel in all that they have to teach me. But (if I may be so bold as to venture a guess), I believe that one secret of happiness lies in our ability to open ours eyes to and to be continually surprised by that which is familiar. Though I have lived on and visited Cape Cod for 40 years, I never tire of this awesome landscape. That is because neither of us is static. With each new year, as life, the light, or the weather changes, we both grow, morph, and evolve. As dynamic forces each day we greet each other anew. And so, though I have walked this path a million times before, it never ceases to astonish and inspire.