Knocked down all the knee-high weeds but everything is still a horrid mess.

Being full on freaky for furniture, I wanted to check out how the table looked in the side yard (and at least free up some storage space). I kind of feel like it might be too nice to leave out here…but maybe that’s all the ghetto looking surroundings working their magical guilt.

The ground is super uneven and it’ll definitely be a long time before that final “look” is achieved. We still have a bunch of stuff to do to get this area looking and functioning like that fancy virtually landscaped yard.

Wait? But what things?!

Things like this:

SIDE YARD TO DO

+ Rototill soil
+ Level/grade dirt
+ Drip irrigation
+ Plumb/filter pool
+ Run electrical
+ Weed barrier
+ Weld metal edging
+ Decomposed granite
+ Concrete paver walkway
+ Stain/seal fence
+ Plants
+ Tree
+ Lighting

Look at that beat up table top. This thing was ridden hard and put away wet. The teak will do well outdoors though.

I’ve got a ghetto tarp covering up the table to protect it from the harsh sun for now, but it still needs a nice weather resistant cover to keep it from getting too abused. At least I know rain won’t be an issue. Thank you wicked dry desert climate!

+++++

In other unrelated thoughts and boring stuff:

I’ve been working on the show with Laure again, as well as tirelessly on the shop and other sneaky ventures. Summer time means that it’s 8,000 degrees in the desert and working on the house is a physically torturous and sweaty nightmare. Admittedly, I’ve been phoning shit in around this old blog as of late, but in all honesty, I just got nothing. No great ideas, no fun content, no big projects I can share. I’m exhausted and totally uninspired and the house is a disaster pit that I just awkwardly walk around while trying to ignore random piles of laundry.

Otherwise, it seems that I’ve been straying away from blogs and spending more time on twitter and instagram and other micro-blogging (I hate myself for even typing that) formats which are easily accessed on my phone. As I’m traveling more and spending less and less time at a computer, these little venues feel like an immediately accessible option and are seemingly where more and faster interaction is taking place.

So, to you – you fine summer loving and attractive folks – here are a few things I’ve been asking around about:

How do you deal with crappy uninspired creative lulls?

Have you noticed a shift in the way peeps are interacting with blogs and the blogging community (please punch me for writing blogging community)?

Anyone feeling slightly burnt out? Please say it’s not just me feeling completely cray-cray crazy lately.

After a few months of talking and working and cleaning and stressing the ‘eff out, we finally had the big BrickHouse + Modernhaus + Terri Planty pop-up sale this past Sunday (with extra special help and management pizazz from the super talented Laure Joliet).

Lots and lots of folks showed up, lined up and then heckled us when we were a few minutes late opening (not that they knew it had rained all morning and the seven of us spent FOUR hours as well as all of Saturday prepping to open for the sale – so you know – give us an extra ten minutes to wipe the sweat off and slap on some deodorant).

If you’ve ever sold at a flea market or pulled together a pop-up shop, you know that this kind of event can be a bit of a nightmare. Weeks of prep and labor and refinishing and stress and rentals add up into a singular moment where the crowd bum rushes in an orgy of shopping frenzied madness. It was like Thunderdome, but with less leather.

See the guy in the white shirt on the right full on running? He wasn’t the only one. I almost got trampled by a lady trying to get to a lamp.

People grabbed their wears and we tried our best to invoice and process payments quickly. Thank the lordy for the boys (Erick, Ruben and Jeremy) who functioned as our cashiers, brute strength and water suppliers. I have to say, the first hour was completely overwhelming and a bit chaotic. People be hard core about their vintage buys.

Laure and I tried to grab some quick photos of the setup before it was all torn to shreds. Gotta love that bright noon time light to make everything look extra harsh and sexy in the parking lot (Thankfully Laure got around and took a bunch of pictures that I am now reusing with reckless abandon).

This little girl was my best salesman. She got her folks to buy this little Lane storage table by sheer adorableness – she kept climbing inside like it was a little house!

Check out Erick & Ruben working it at the cashier table and charming the ladies. It seems like we never got a shot of Jeremy during all the chaos, not even one of him bending over.

But Laure, me, Bianca and Summer all got wicked ass sunburns. Sexy right?

I hope you hecklers feel bad. We forgot to put suntan lotion on because we were rushing to open up. SHAME. SHAAAAAMMMMEEE on you.

In the end it went really, really, EXTRAORDINARILY well – sunburns, rainstorms, hecklers and those two crabby hipsters (we could hear you, also, put on some real pants – your camel toe is terrifying) and all. We were burnt, exhausted, dehydrated and hungry but still had a completely killer time meeting readers, new visitors and letting our stuff go to great new homes. Jeremy and I brought a huge load including a full 6×12′ trailer, full truck and fully stuffed Scion and left with just a tiny fraction of the original mass. The garage is finally walkable and the house needs some rearranging, but slowly everything is getting put back into place.

Maybe you missed out? Maybe you feel so sad? Maybe we can help? I’m not sure if we could do another one of these pop-up sale things anytime soon, we are officially pooped and busy napping. Well, be sure to check out the online shops all year ’round.

TERRI PLANTY (Custom and gorgeous handmade terrariums)

MODERNHAUS (Tasty vintage awesomeness)

BRICKHOUSE (Not temporary and still full of magic)

*Thank you all you amazing peeps who helped pull this together. I was a stressed out basket case of a mess and you guys were incredible and brought the best stuff and helped with all the heavy lifting. I’d listen to weird techno mixed with mariachi while eating hamburgers in a parking lot and cleaning furniture all day, any day. Most fun I’ve had in a long, long, long time.

Mia recently wrote in with a rug dilemma. For someone who pretty much only has cowhides covering the floor, I seem to get a lot of rug questions. Also landscaping. Which is strange since there are weeds throughout the entire yard. Who cares! I love to have an opinion and you guys do to.

Without further rambling, here we go.

Mia writes…

Hello!

I’ve just about saved enough money to buy a Moroccan rug from Moroccan Maryam’s website – but I can’t decide which one to get!  Your taste is awesome so I thought I would ask you for advice! I really love *(#1) – but I think it may be too huge for my tiny living room.

Thanks for your help : )

mia

This is the living room in question:

ooohhh. White floors. Fancy.

This is the Room & Board sofa (in Terra) that Mia is buying to go with the rug:

And here are the four rug candidates she’s chosen:

Here is my take:

My first style choice is rug #1. You are concerned it won’t fit, (and rightly so) but at 63″ it’s only a little over 5′ wide. Now what I would need to know is the width of the room (is it 8′ or 10′?), but what may be a bigger issue is the length of the room. Rug #1 is almost 15′ long. Do you have over 15′ in that room or will you walk right through the front door straight onto the rug? Because front door to rug = hot dirty rug mess.

I know there are a number of rugs available at Maryam’s site, so the first thing to do is to take some painters tape and outline the most appropriately sized rug for the room – in other words, where you want it to go. Obviously you want it to float under the sofa and allow some breathing room in front of the media unit. Measure those dimensions and find a rug that is similar in pattern to #1 and as close to your dream dimensions as possible.

Also, I really like THIS pattern.

I think before you do any buying it would behoove you to do a little bit of measuring work. A bit of pre-planning can save you a bunch of money down the road, since the worst thing to do is invest a bunch of cash in an oversized or undersized rug. Nothing looks weirder in a room than a strangely proportioned rug.

My other question is – where is that sofa going?  Looks like that room is super narrow and awkwardly shaped with lots of broken up architecture. Space planning seems like it would be extremely difficult. Will your current pieces be moved around or moved out? How is the rest of the furniture layout being addressed?

OK, instead of a simple answer to your question I just raised a bunch of issues.

What do you guys think? Which rug should she go for?

Since my inbox isn’t giving anyone else but me endless hours of decision making joy, I thought this might be a fun new thing to try.

Here’s the plan. I shamelessly repost someones burning question (I ask nicely), give a little context to the dilemma and of course my two cents. Then you guys can as well, since it’s fun having opinions.

Ann & Dabney Inquire:

“hi morgan-
i don’t often email people out of the blue, but my partner and i are stuck.  we went to see a rug yesterday on craigslist, and can’t decide if we love it or if it’s butt ugly.   we need a backup opinion and, in our minds, i’m afraid only you will do.  (we both have been obsessing about your blog recently.)  if you don’t have time to weigh in, or don’t want to, we totally understand.  we will still keep reading your blog, and muttering to ourselves periodically, “what would morgan do?”

usually, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but the purchase violates the $100 rule – not by much, but enough to make the decision pause-worthy.  here’s what we know: it’s a huge 100% wool, 9′ x 12′, thick berber pile moroccan rug. from the look of the label, i want to say this sucker looks like it’s from the 70s at the earliest.   we usually have strong opinions on things, but we can’t quite figure out the bright navajo meets swank beni ourain vibe it’s got going on.  and if that’s a good thing.  yet we still find ourselves thinking about today…”

Flattery will get you all over this blog.

But wait! Ann & Dabney have a really incredible (and giant) converted home.

I mean come on! They have style to spare. Check out their house tour HERE.

Below is a cell phone snap of the rug in question:

OK. Here are my two cents to rub together:

Yeah. Go for it.

Seriously, it’s a 9×12 wool rug in what looks like pretty excellent shape – that is a hard find my friends. Used Craigslist rugs are usually THRASHED and skeevy, and at around $100, this isn’t a huge investment for something that big. You already have a number of colorful patterned rugs scattered around your very awesome pad, so this isn’t going to stick out like a complete hot mess.

To clarify – the $100 rule is mostly a guide to keep budgets on track. It’s not so hard and fast, but gives a sense of where your boundaries are and context for certain purchases. I find it helpful, but there have been times I violate it of course. It’s like a mental wallet strap. Just look at Ikea, you can really only get a jute rug that big for this low price.

I’m pretty sure that this is not super duper vintage (it looks very fresh and machine made) but who cares! It’s cool and graphic and weird and is going to make a floor statement. Trust me, if you can’t stop thinking about it – you love it – it is very unique with a hint of that tribal flair that is so the jam right now. I say, throw it in the bedroom with the small white bed and if it doesn’t fit, go for the fireplace room under that great slab table. Move some things around and try it out, its always nice to switch things up.

What do you guys think? YES or BLECH?

F-f-f-f-FRIDAY! Oh yes please, break out the wine spritzers. I am ready to take a break – and by break – I mean run around all weekend working on the house and other projects.

Check it:

-Iggy gets his own personal interview over at Pawesome. Learn interesting facts about how he prances and loves crappy beer.

-Design*Sponge shares Brick House oily advice.

-Seems like some of you guys really want The Captain’s Chair. I’m getting a hefty amount of emails offering a new home for that bad boy…so I’m wondering…should I do the honorable thing and host a chair giveaway when my Womb comes in or go the greedy route and support exterior projects with a chair auction? I’m leaning towards some sort of giveaway! But cash for landscaping sounds awesome! What? So many confusing and morally ambiguous thoughts…

Go nuts! Enjoy your weekend! Stop looking at the internet box! Forget all this unnecessary punctuation!

We bought our sofa in a pinch from Alex at Modern Furniture Rental in Orange County not so long ago. After having four (four!!! wtf) sofas in the den I have to say that this has been my favorite so far and the first I wasn’t imagining immediately removing from the space.

Alex recently emailed to let me know that he is doing a custom order on Oct. 15 for some clients and wanted to know if there was any classic piece my greedy little heart desired.

Yeah, of course. Womb Chair pretty please. And then he said sure, no problem – it’s yours.

AND then my brain exploded with joy!!!

I’ve always loved the Womb, but never thought I would have one (even a knock off). Now the big decision. What fabric?!?!

Alex sent the solid options:

And the tweeds:

I think the new addition would end up in the master bedroom (which I’m still working on…ugh…) which means that my thrifted rocker will have to go.

Looks like one astute reader called it.

jenn, “i don’t want to rain all over this parade, but you are gonna hate that chair in a month. bets? regardless, it’s a good find!”

to which I replied,

THE BRICK HOUSE, “I actually really love the chair, but if something better came along…well…yeah. I’m a bit of a whore, so I would probably switch.”

Apparently I called it as well, I’m a whore and I am switching – but I do still really like the black chair. So Jenn, I owe you half a coke. The scary thing is that I think it would make a perfect nursery chair. It rocks and swivels and is super comfy and would be good for some momma and her baby…just not this young lady with no babies.

Back to the Womb, not mine – but the chair. What do you guys think? I’m leaning towards a light gray tweed or maybe go crazy with navy? I can’t decide. I’m stumped.

If you guys are looking for a classic piece at a good price, let Alex know. He can order just about anything but needs to know before the 15th.

After running around all weekend, entertaining guests and working on some killer new design projects (like this one!) by Sunday afternoon I was pretty pumped to prep and paint the porch in wickedly hot 95° plus temperatures. Pysch! Seriously, I wasn’t pumped at all.

Sometimes we have to do things even though we don’t want to (is that what the psychiatrist lady said to bratty little Sally on Mad Men? Which was AWESOME, BTW). Or maybe it came down to the recently purchased paint sitting on the porch for a week mocking me with our inefficiency.

The cool looking red robot? That’s a power washer. Best thing ever.

The ugly maroon paint? That’s about thirty years of ugly paint layers on the cement. Why couldn’t the P.O.’s just leave the cement alone? Jerks.

Check out my caulk. We caulked a bunch of cracks and holes and all the edging around the house. The boy swears by caulk and loves to prep everything with it because it totally works miracles. Caulk makes painted areas look a ton cleaner since it fills the gap between two unlike surfaces – which are usually riddled with cracks and weirdness.

Check out all that caulk!

We also scraped and sanded all the areas where the paint was flaking or scratched up. That was awesome fun.

So…

I gave up one important decision to The Boy. Of course, if you haven’t inferred this yet, I’m a bit of a design nazi when it comes to the homestead. That was always sort of my gig in the partnership. But The Boy has been going on and on and on about what color he wanted for the front porch. He wanted something dark, something to break things up, some color. My immediate reaction was CRAP, those are the three things I’m trying to avoid. I want light, lots of cohesion and a neutral backdrop for landscaping.

While we were painting his choice of color, he was like “You are going to put this on your blog and blame me if it goes bad.” Yeah, totally. Duh.

I mean really, he drinks tall boys of Bud Light (check out the photo evidence). This dudes choices are a bit suspect. I mean come on, he’s been with me for over eight years now and I’m a nightmare. So, like I said – suspect.

He picked Behr’s “Intellectual”. I kind of want to make clear why we always use Behr. It’s not because I love it, in fact I think it’s super crappy, but there is no Benjamin Moore or good paint within a fifty mile radius of the house and Home Depot is pretty much our main source for everything. Not a lot of demand in Hemet for the classier things, so we make due with the options available and the price is always right.

Anyhow, it was super hot and the paint was drying too quickly, so we had to wait till the sun went down to try and finish the first coat at dusk. We didn’t finish painting everything, but from what I’m seeing so far my big main concerns might have come to fruition.

I know it reads a bit darker because the sun was down, but that is DARK gray. Really dark. Like, looks like a battleship or a shark, dark.

We aren’t done obviously, that whole white bit of the planter will be painted out dark as well. I’m trying to imagine it with tons of Mexican Feathergrass billowing out of the planter and the landscape softening things up a bit…try imagining that too. I think I like it, but still feel a bit worried.

My question for you is this: Did The Boy do good? Or do I need to do the second coat in a shade similar to the roof?

]]> http://www.the-brick-house.com/2010/09/porch-painting/feed/ 125 http://www.the-brick-house.com/2010/09/brick-house-design/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=brick-house-design http://www.the-brick-house.com/2010/09/brick-house-design/#comments Fri, 10 Sep 2010 05:20:31 +0000 THE BRICK HOUSE http://www.the-brick-house.com/?p=4284 Okay folks, this here is a new venture around the old Brick House, so put on your comfy pants and settle in as we ease into this thang. For the past few years I’ve been getting a number of emails each week asking for design advice, asking for help identifying/locating vintage furniture, asking about DIY projects and asking for product suggestions. I know, crazy! It’s super fun helping out where I can, but also super time consuming. Normally I answered as best (and quickly) as I could, but never really had a chance to answer in depth.

Now is the era of consulting in depth.

Welcome to Brick House Design – Modern design for frugal folks. (just like yyyyyyyoooooouuuuu)

For the next few weeks I’m going to roll out some projects I’ve been working on with some super cool folks. Lets ease into this whole BHD transition; should be fun times. Okay, lets get cracking!

Britt and Ryan from Cucumbersome recently moved into a very contemporary live/work space and are a bit bewildered by the modern elements and are not sure how to address the platformed bedroom to make it warm, homey and comfortable. They love vintage, they like modern and they aren’t afraid to use color. Check out the office:

Love that dark wall and over sized photo!

For a a little more context here is the living room:

Nice sofa, great pouf, snazzy art and a fun rug. Getting a feel for their style (love the floors, I’m all about modern modern modern floors)

Let’s discuss the area in need. Welcome to the bedroom:

Like most of us, they don’t have a gazillion dollars to spend on tricking out the bedroom. They wanted some design solutions for addressing this small space, keeping it affordable and having it be cohesive with the rest of the apartment.

On the list of things to keep:

-Dark Brown Malm Bedframe
-Dwell Studio Draper Stripe Ash Duvet Set

On the list of things to address:

-Lighting
-Nightstands
-Storage
-Privacy
-Room darkening

The Floor Plan:

It’s a tight squeeze.

Above is the finalized mood board (BTW, I hate the term mood board, lets figure out a better word. Oh, also blog.)

1 | Custom built night stands. 4x4x4” wood blocks stack in three row grid. White painted top for finish
2 | CB2 Hinge Sconce (Pair)
3 | Ikea Aspvik Wall Unit
4 | “Deep Space” Benjamin Moore 2125-20 (same as office)
5 | Light grey wool army blanket
6 | Dwell Studio Draper Stripe Ash Duvet Set
7 | Ikea Flokati Rug, 6 ‘ 7 ” x 4 ‘ 7 “
8 | Custom 1/2” galvanized plumbing conduit curtain rod, two flanges, matte black paint
9 | Ikea Merete bleached curtain pair
10 | Vintage Herati Rug, 5’ x 8’
11 | Vintage PH Snowball / Poul Henningsen inspired Danish ceiling light
12 | Ikea Enje Roller Shade, Dark Gray

These are the elements I recommend to add to the space to pull the look together. In order for Britt and Ryan to better visualize how the final look will come together I created a sketchup model using the dimensions and images they provided.

They already have curtains installed to close off the bedroom and give a little privacy from the rest of the apartment. I recommended they build a custom curtain rod and use the heavier bleached Merete curtains from Ikea to create an extra wall for privacy or pushed back unobtrusively when they don’t.

I kept what they have with the Malm bedframe and DwellStudio bedding and added a Flokati throw on the end of the bed for that comfy and warm texture. I also added a 5′ x 8′ Herati Rug to the floor to warm it up, bring in a bit of eclectic flair and help break up the wooden floors. The main colors for the rug should be red, navy blue or black, some cream and maybe a bit of yellow. You can find rugs like these in a number of places at reasonable prices. Check Ebay, Craigslist, Overstock.com, Consignment stores, Import stores, even Ikea.

For the wall behind the bed I brought over the dark gray office wall color (Deep Space – Benjamin Moore 2125-20). They had leftover paint and bringing the color to the hidden bedroom wall would establish continuity with the rest of the apartment and help darken the room for those bright mornings (when a little sleeping in would be nice). I also added a dark gray Enje roller shade to also address the room darkening they asked for, for just such occasions.

The Ikea Aspvik wall unit is normally used for offces, but it is shallow enough and the width small enough that it can fit nicely in the tight space at the end of the bed. The wall unit allows for some extra storage as well as a nice place to lean some more art or vignette up some collectibles. Because the doors slide instead of open outward that feature helps with the space saving. Keeping it white against the white wall will allow the space to still feel open and since it is floating without legs that keeps things nice and airy. It’s a great little wall unit and not outrageously expensive.

I included a painting by Joshua Abelow on top of the Aspvik. Why? Well, I just really like his work and think Britt and Ryan have a nice art collection going and could add something super interesting in that area.

They have a hardwired ceiling light connection (that is not currently in use) in the back left corner of the room. I recommended they find a vintage light inspired by Poul Henningsen’s PH Snowball. Snowball lights are crazy expensive, but you can invest a little, find something similar, go a little different, or maybe a lot different. Round, angular and white. Keep your eyes peeled because that’s the thing with vintage – you might have to do some footwork and be patient, but there is stuff out there. Flea Markets, Thrift stores, Vintage stores (I got a similar light HERE), or Ebay if you get desperate.

For the tight space next to the bed I recommended the CB2 Hinge Sconce. Keeping them dark gray like the wall makes things monochromatic, which in a small tight space like this can help with the feeling of openness that is difficult to achieve. They are also plug-ins, and since there is no hardwired spots next to the bed, they would be super easy to install.

There are three major DIY projects to get the look and keep costs down:

-Upholstering the Malm headboard with a light grey wool. Check out THIS for inspiration
-Building the wood block nightstand. THIS was the image that inspired that idea.
-Installing the custom curtain rod. I love plumbing pipe, and am doing a similar project right now.

I’ve discussed with them how to do these three projects if they choose. They aren’t super complicated and can be done easily with supplies from the local Home Depot type store if you are willing to get a little DIY. Sometimes getting creative and reusing items you have in new ways is more cost effective and unique than buying everything brand new.

You can check out the final PDF that outlines the plan and is the culmination of working back and forth with Britt and Ryan, in order to address their needs and budget. Thank you guys, I had a ton of fun! Check out the great projects at Cucumbersome. Very nice.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Did you get through it? That was a lot of words and ideas, much more than a typical Brick House post. Whew. We made it.

Designing is obviously complicated.

If you have a space, big or small and need some design consultation and advice please email me at contact@the-brick-house.com to discuss solutions for all your decor dilemmas. Depending on your budget and the scope of your project, a quote for services ranging from 3-D rendering, mood boarding, product sourcing, or actual physical shopping can be arranged.

Brick House Design is a next step, folks. Can you smell it? The excitement? I’m excited.

xoxoxo

Morgan

Tough times my friends, tough times.

The Brick House is now accepting advertising. I am also now available for any freelance writing, photography work or design consultation you may need. Also, if you are in the Inland Empire and need a whip smart, design savvy and motivated employee I’d love to submit an application. I can be reached via: contact@the-brick-house.com

Any suggestions for available positions or firms to approach would be much appreciated. I will be combing the employment pages.

Thank you readers, fellow bloggers, new friends. You are my constant joy to read, exchange ideas with and be inspired by. I’m looking forward to transitioning into a new career and would be ecstatic to receive any suggestions, tips or advice.

xoxo

Morgan Satterfield

You guys spoke and I tried to listen. We are going to go ahead and do a big sale!

Mark your calendars, gas up your cars, put on clean underwear because we are having an all out ESTATE SALE at the Brick House. All of this and MORE will be available for your shopping pleasure on Saturday, June 12th from 9am till 4pm. 

Mod Orange Chaise, Eames Knock Off Lounger, 1960′s Mosaic Tile Coffee Table, Brass Laurel Lamp, Brown Saltman Hexagon Tables, Mod Table Pair, Rattan Hanging Egg Chair…

Yeah, you want this!

OMG. So much crap for your house!

Orange Eames Rocker, Lamps! Brown Saltman Hexagon Coffee Table, Monkey Pod Raw Edge Table, Black Krueger Metal Arm Chairs, Lane Side Table with Storage, Did I mention Danish modern LAMPS?

George Nelson Style Slat Bench! Holler.

Brown Jordan Faux Bamboo Patio Chairs, Freestanding Malm Fireplace

Check out that Fuzzy Bench.

Lamps!

Brass Faux Bamboo Bar Cart, Panton Flower Pot Lamp, Retractable Red Lamp, Big Ass Yellow Lamp

This AWESOME mid century sofa. New upholstery and barely used.

Plus there are tons of bric-a-brac including Studio Pottery, Dansk, Rosti, Art Glass, Blenko, Catherine Holm, Alexander Girard, Terrariums, Paintings, Needlepoint, Kilims, and so much MORE.

I got too much stuff, and it’s overwhelming to list it all online. I’m going crazy just trying to figure out what to do with all this crap it till Saturday.  Hopefully I can sell a lot of it at the sale and then Craigslist the rest of the bigger ticket items. If there is anything you desperately want RIGHT NOW, please email me at contact@the-brick-house.com and we can discuss. Sorry homies shipping is a-making me crazy! I know I suck!

When I went to go post the sale on Craigslist it reminded me not to worry too much…

Please come! I swear that it might be fun. Maybe there will be something delicious to drink and some music bumping to get the party started…