I’m sure anyone of you have ever felt at home when entering a furniture showroom. Well, I just discovered my furniture heaven last weekend. Even though my personal style changes pretty often, Mecox is the representation of everything ME this summer from the accessories, to the books, to the dog. The only thing missing is the ocean view.
Relaxed yet sophisticated, pared-down yet intellectual… I know which site I’ll be checking quite often. 
<images via me>
As promised I’m reviling one more DIY transformation of my apartment for the latest party weekend. As a regular married couple we also have the TV discussions. And although we haven’t bought it yet (it’s been a year now!), the question of where to place it has been raised several times. Of course, my husband wants to put it on the pedestal in the most prominent place in the room and to be honest, we don’t have that much choice. So my challenge was how to visually divert the eye from this monster in the room and have the TV to be the last thing people will notice. I needed a statement!
So here what I came up with.
BEFORE: Regular white rental wall got painted in “Russian Blue”. Yes, I’ve selected the color by its name:)
Then I taped off irregular width stripes and primed the surface of the stripes with Acrylic Medium Gel, that way the edges come out very crisp and precise. 
The fun part began. I used white, green, black and 3 tones of gray, all of which are left overs from previous projects. 
After 2 days of re-taping, re-priming and painting again, the result was quite a statement which I was looking for. I bought two Manzanita Branches and nailed them to bring in the element of nature. 
As for the rest, I got two TV stands form Ikea (yes, I know… designers use Ikea too) and upholstered the doors in this amazing linen with printed fonts. I was looking for this fabric everywhere and finally found it in F&S Fabrics (Thanks Maison 21). Now, as the set is done, I’m ready for the arrival of the TV in our house.
<images via me>
Hosting a party is a true stimulus for the progress of your long forgotten DIY projects. That’s what happened to me last week, as you might have noticed with the lack of posts. Hosting my mother-in-law birthday pushed me to finally take out those paints, masking tape, sewing machine and what not. Everybody wanted to see “the interior designer”‘s house. All of those in the industry know, that the real ID-er house looks more like a mess or a bunch of unfinished projects rather than the picture perfect dream come true.
Anyways, I decided to reveal a few TLC projects that were both wallet-friendly and actually quite fun to do. Although I redid these side tables quite a while ago, I just never had a chance to take a good picture of them. So here we go.
BEFORE: I got these pieces on the brink of being thrown away in rather miserable condition. I really liked the solid frame and the fact that they are not completely the same. 
AFTER: Half of the quarter of black high-gloss paint did wonders. 
<images via me>
I’m always excited to see places that house contemporary interior in a historic building. What a great designer challenge. How do you show appreciation for the space heritage and create funky atmosphere without period touch? And especially if the historic building faces nothing less than Arc de Triomph in Paris.
Well, Prospect Design have solved this dilemma quite successfully.
I absolutely amazed by the ceiling of the main dining area. The abstract collage of the classical moldings so accurately translates the concept. With the right touches of glitz and glamor (look and the reflective pendant balls and gilded suede frames of the mirrors…yum!) the place scream PARIS.
The night club on the bottom floor continues the same sleek modern design although too neon-y for my taste. I found a few pictures in a “normal” lighting.
You see what I’m talking about? Neon Rainbow (on the pic below) just killing it, don’t you agree? 
<images via www.prospect-design.com>
Nothing brings in spring like blooming flowers. And as much as I try to have fresh flowers at home I always feel sad when they are withering. Lucky for us, there is Thiliblooms. Thilie is a 27-year old artist from Miami, who hand-crafts absolutely adorable blooms from fabric scraps which otherwise would have been tossed out. Although her Etsy shop is on the smaller size (yet!), her specialty is custom work. Be sure to check out her portfolio for the full spectrum. I’m lost in the possibilities.
<images via www.thiliblooms.blogspot.com>