DEN, continued

April 1st, 2011

I mentioned that the den was oddly laid out. I swear, it totally is. It’s tiny, has three entrances, a huge built in desk and most importantly houses the precious cable and television that our lives and decor must revolve around. I watch TV unashamedly and I love it.

Check out the small walking gap between the desk and the chair. This is precise reason the sofa is always in the corner – there is physically no other place it can go. I know, it’s not ideal, but it’s all the space allows for. Suck it den.

This office half of the den is one of my least favorite parts of our home, but ironically, also the place where I spend insane amounts of time. I’m not bitter. I’m not totally seething with fury over this.

When we bought the house the first thing I wanted to do was rip out the desk. This plan was vetoed, but every time I clip that desk edge with my upper thigh I dream of taking a sledge hammer to this thing.

This stupid effing desk. This ugly bulky poorly laid out terrible crappy built in desk. I try to avoid photographing it since its dumb and ugly and I hate it – and normally its covered in paper – because yeah, bloggers lie. My desk is this clean on photograph day or like once a month for special guests.

We can’t tear it out because all the flooring would have to be replaced and frankly, I’m just not willing to dump a bunch of cash into the desks removal and the repair that goes with it (because, oh yeah, there is even more stupid effing wainscoting that would have to be dealt with and the last thing I’m paying for is to fix that hot mess).

I would like to put a door on the weird open section since its stupid. Also, I need to move the electrical outlet down inside the desk, because WHY IS IT OUT THERE ANYWAYS? Then all the ugly cables could be hidden, and not by loose papers, but by being smarter than a desk.

Does this very simplified floor plan explain what the layout dealio is? There isn’t a lot of leeway for another type of furniture layout – although I have tried and failed – so our biggest hope is to just get the right pieces and live harmoniously with the awkward space through sheer perseverance and willpower.

On a happier note, I did recently acquire this vintage Eames DCM chair. This has been on my must have list for forever and I’m ecstatic to report that it is much more comfortable than the Eames shell chair I was rocking before. My big ol’ booty is supported and lower back is enjoying the scoopyness.

I actually picked the chair up on the same trip that I found the lotus pendant. I grabbed it in a little antique store along with this vintage Winnebago toy as a gift for The Boy. He loves motor homes? I guess that’s something you can love right? He’s always trying to convince me we need to get one and is constantly showing me craigslist postings, but if we go traveling via a car I want a vehicle we can stuff furniture into. Talk to me about a box van, honey pants.

DEN

March 28th, 2011

That’s a new coffee table and a new chair. Let’s just get that out of the way.

Well, technically it’s a pair of new chairs, but I can only fit one in the tiny oddly laid out den. Everyone made it quite clear (and I concurred) that the new chesterfield destroyed the Eames lounger and mushed its face into the cement. This I knew when I brought in the chester amd I really wanted something to replace Mr. 670 with something like a Milo Baughman rocker (which surprisingly Emily just used on SFAS for Joy’s place and I was CRAZY JEALOUS). Since I don’t have a gazillion dollars to buy a Baughman, I went the old ebay route to look for something loosely “inspired by” and stumbled on this pair of cantilevered chrome tubular sling chairs. It had the wide 1970′s loungy vibe I was hoping for, so I made a ‘best offer’ which totally low balled the seller therefore I assumed it’d get rejected – but then they surprisingly accepted. Suddenly sh*t got real and I was obligated to arrange for local pick-up in Los Angeles, which turned into a bit of a disaster, but that’s another dumb story and blah blah blah.

Here’s the other half of the chair pair. Look at that nasty and ugly brown town upholstery. Blech.

But…I’m getting this thing redone. Navy. Leather. Sling. Or perhaps heavy duty canvas?

No cushions, no fussy crap, just a simple sling attached to the cantilever frame. Modern it up and make it super duper sex-a-fied.

Then there’s this beast. It’s new, it’s driftwood, it came from a stuffy antique store and was cheap-o until I discovered it was also an additional 40% off which means super SOLD to me. Even though, I have an army of these type of tables, none are driftwood or lightweight or have an awesome shaped top.

I love the shape of the glass but I HATE glass coffee table tops in high use areas. My big plan is to have a piece of marble cut in the same shape and size as the glass and make a crazy Saarinen tulip coffee table driftwood hybrid that I assure you, will rock your entire head off once it’s all done. At least, that’s the plan, but we all know that sometimes plans go awry.

We finally hung the Bumling lamp that I bought a long while ago off Stephanie. It totally still needs a diffuser, but those crazy Euro mm are freaking me out. I’m not quite sure what size I need.

I also need a new floating media unit to  mount under our TV. Been thinking a lot about Anna’s fauxdenza and modifying the idea to be longer and leaner and have sliding media doors. Check back in a few years, because that project is like at the bottom of my huge list.

Ines Colmorgen + André Wyst. So moody. So cool. I bet they eat fancy cheese plates and smell exquisite.

Completely still in love with the Prouvé Potence Lamp. Going to have some sweet stuff to show you soon. Let’s just say, I would like something like this to add to the den as I continue to shift and change things up and I may actually be able to…

BTW:

This is my little quick mock-up of the changes I’d like to make for DEN 2011.

+ Larger Gray/White cowhide rug. Good lord I’ve been searching for an affordable one for forever.
+ Marble coffee table top.
+ Navy leather and chrome sling chair.
+ Smallish Danish cabinet instead of the tension rod shelving unit
+ Potence-ish light
+ Horizontal modernist stain painting? Frankenthaler or Rothko? HA! YEAH RIGHT – but I do know how to oil paint.
+ BM Bear Creek paint? Maybe stop fighting the wainscoting and just go for it? Still considering…
+ The elusive fiddle leaf fig tree or a giant cactus?
+ Accessories, but dudes, that can wait.

Still a long ways to go with the den, but I see where it wants to be. More sophisticated for sure, but also a place to be comfy and eat dinner – yeah, we are coffee table eaters most of the time – so classy. I also spend about 80% of my day hanging out in here, either working at the computer or watching Deadwood so it needs to stop making my brain ache with what I don’t like.

SOFA

March 23rd, 2011

Super fresh sofa. Still steaming.

I’ve been working with some fabulous clients and helping put together their incredible desert home. Just thought I’d preview a recent sofa project since its roots are quite thrifty, and frankly, I’m obsessed with sofas.

BEFORE:

The sofa came from a local thrift store and with its original grungy/filthy crushed velvet upholstery it looked a hot mess…

…but it had curves and comfort and was the perfect scale and shape for the intended living room…

AFTER:

Shazamm.

Reborn as a red hybrid baby of a Toga and a Chesterfield, this thang is all modern and all comfortable – a bona fide TV viewing hang out snuggle up and down sofa.

For some reason my pics are making it look like super crazy neon red, but it’s actually a more toned down rusty red-orange in person. That desert sun, it’s bright – I’m telling you.

Total cost wise it was commensurate with a nice Ikea sofa and cheaper than the big decor stores like West Elm or Room&Board. Plus, this thing is built like a freaking tank, is totally unique and the hardwood frame will last forever. I just thought this idea was something to mention when folks pass on vintage sofas because the upholstery is a gross mess. It might be worth investing a few hundred extra dollars to get it recovered so that you can incorporate something totally unique into your pad.

Things are chugging along with the design projects and I can’t wait to show off more completed spaces as they get finalized. Trust me, it will blow up your face – that’s how good this stuff is coming along.