DESIGNING | NEW NURSERY PROJECT

June 17th, 2013

The Animal Print Shop by Sharon Montrose

I recently got to team back up with The Animal Print Shop to design a bright and cozy nursery for photographers Max and Margaux Wanger and their adorably spunky new baby boy Dash. This marks the second addition to The Animal Print Nursery Project (previous nursery is right over here) and was inspired by this equally spunky and newly released Baby Elephant print as well as the Wanger’s modern style and charming vintage Los Angeles home.

The Animal Print Shop by Sharon Montrose

The Animal Print Shop by Sharon Montrose

The Animal Print Shop by Sharon Montrose

The Animal Print Shop by Sharon Montrose

The Animal Print Shop by Sharon Montrose

The Animal Print Shop by Sharon Montrose

The Animal Print Shop by Sharon Montrose

I bet a pretty cool baby kicks it here.

Design-wise, this wee little room had a bit of a quirky layout that was super tight on space but packed full of great vintage architectural details. I wanted the nurseries layout to be functional for the family and baby Dash’s day to day baby needs, but also adaptable enough to eventually smoothly transition as Dash gets older and his needs change. Big basics like the changing table / floating dresser, beautiful rocker and wall shelving are minimally modern enough to remain looking stylishly age appropriate for years to come but are currently a perfect and functional backdrop for the rest of the rooms cheeky and unexpectedly colorful accessories that any baby, that enjoys style and bright unique handmade things, thoroughly adores.

Speaking of.

Perhaps you’d like to know what’s what and where to get some of the pieces seen here in this nursery for your own stylish baby? Well, lucky duck, look below for sources on the pieces I picked up to design out Dash’s stylish digs:

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SOURCES

1. Crib and Changing Tray: Ouef
2.Chartreuse Tassel Garland: The Minimalist
3. Baby Elephant Art (available in 5 sizes–here in 30″x40″): The Animal Print Shop
4. Neon Edge Blanket: The Minimalist 
5. Circle Pillow: The Minimalist
6. Brass Swing Arm Lamp: OneFortyThree
7. Whale Pillow: Ferm Living
8. Rocking Chair: OneFortyThree
9. Floating Storage: See Fauxdenza DIY here (we used 24″ depth)
10. Sheets: Little Auggie
11. Curtains (hand stamped with black triangle pattern): Ikea 
12. Eames hang-it-all with a yellow paint update.

*Other accessories include a custom made wood facet mobile by OneFortyThree, leather and brass cabinet pulls from CAMP, Ikea picture ledges, white MODIKIN eames elephant and faux sheepskin rug via ebay.

The Animal Print Shop by Sharon Montrose

BABY ELEPHANT, yo.

Extra thanks abound to Max and Margaux for trusting me with the design of someplace special for such an important little guy, The MinimalistOeufOneFortyThree for their incredible product contributions and endless support, but especially to Sharon Montrose and The Animal Print Shop for always making magic happen.

RENOVATE IT (INTERNATIONAL EDITION)

June 5th, 2013

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Hey there. What. Up.

Short story? Things got busy and the house and blog suffered some major neglect. Hiatuses happen or whatever. Now slowly I’m reintegrating into interwebbing and thought a nice way to kick off and refresh some of my old time renovation vigor and determination was to show off a smattering of this incredible renovation project & blog happening in Finland.

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I mean.

Quit it now with all your modernist architecture and good things.

Anyways, a few weeks back I received a super sweet and undeservedly flattering email from longtime Brick House reader Pekka Kumpula (Finnish industrial designer/modernism fan/vintage collector) and his partner Minna (plus their adorable dachshund and baby girl) that included a few teaser images of their 1960’s modernist home renovation project and a link to Olive Green Window, their blog that chronicles it all. The blog also has a few great vintage restoration tips and tutorials along with all sorts of modernist furniture eye candy. So obviously go check it out to see more of this sassy home and then quickly mark their blog as one of your new go-to favorite things.

Oh, and all the Cherner. Come to me.

NATIONAL PAINTING WEEK

April 18th, 2013

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Hey now. Look at that updated living room.

As mentioned earlier I’ve been working on a painting project with Sherwin-Williams for National Painting Week. Most of the time my taste and the house leans towards a pretty predictably neutral (aka browntown), so when it came time to add a bit of orange to the mix I wanted it to be BOLDLY orange and therefore decided on Sherwin Williams ‘Raucous Orange‘.

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DIY ART  |   MINIMALIST PAINTED FRAME

Art ain’t easy, but hey, at least this project is.

Materials

– Basic White Frame  >  these are from Target, but Ikea and many others have similar options.

– Paint  >  as mentioned this is Sherwin Williams ‘Raucous Orange

– Art  >  I used a couple black & white minimalism inspired pieces I printed out at home.

– Sponge Brush / Fine Paint Brush

– Painters Tape

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On the mantel is a larger framed piece painted symmetrically about 3/4 of the way around while the smaller framed piece leaned on the fauxdenza is painted asymmetrically for an unexpected hit of color.

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How To

– Decide where the painted detail begins and ends on the frame.

– Wrap a piece of painters tape straightly and evenly around the front and side of the frame.

– Use a sponge brush / fine paint brush to apply paint evenly on the front and side of the frame.

– Do a few coats for even coverage.

– Remove the tape and call it a day.

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Hey now. A bit of graphic color makes a difference.

I’ve been messing around with a bunch of DIY art type projects and it’s been difficult to get something going that doesn’t look too ‘DIY’ or actually adds to a space in a positive way. The addition of some unexpected color and an unusual composition painted onto the frame turned out to be a nice twist to an old idea and keeps things modern amongst all the vintage. Minimal and bold, easy and budget friendly art for anyone who – like me – is also stuck in browntown. Color it up!

Check out some more orange themed paint action over at Design Crush and look out for some red/pink projects tomorrow on  Vintage Revivals & Style By Emily Henderson. Paint it up!

*This post sponsored by Sherwin-Williams. All photos and words are my own, yo.