What I Did Today

before:

progress:

after:

 

After helping her with her apt (sorry, no pics) this client asked me to take a look at her showroom. While I loved just about everything she did, the front door lacked something. It wasn't bad, but you can see it from every angle of the space so I felt it needed a bit more punch. I suggested painting the door and framing it with pictures.

We settled on Farrow & Ball's Pink Ground, the perfect subtle pink. If you don't know Farrow & Ball they're a small company out of England who make superior paint and wall coverings. And since they only have 132 colors as opposed to the 10,000+ colors offered by other brands, it makes picking the perfect color easy.

We bought a ton of simple white frames and she picked some of her favorite images from books and magazines. My art installer and I pieced it all together, image by image... It took most of the afternoon but was worth it. . . 

New Business Cards

Wanted to show you guys my new business cards. While it's the same layout as my previous cards, it's now blind embossed on double thick ivory paper (white were too stark looking). 'Blind' means there's no ink used. Thanks to the guys at Publicide for all their help. 

Simple, clean, modern without actually having to say it...

How To Choose The Right Apartment

I've helped make moving easier, now here's some tips to help make choosing the right apartment easier. Moving is hard enough, so don't give yourself problems off the bat. Before you start looking, think about what it is you're looking for.

FIRST: what's most important for the apartment; size, location, rent, natural lighting, finishes, outdoor space...

SECOND: what's most important for your lifestyle; area for proper home office, room to entertain, room for a queen size bed...

Living within your means financially is often talked about, but what about living within the physical means of your space? If you have hundreds of books, dozens of shoes, or records, think about where you would store/display them when looking at a space. If you have a lot of stuff, don't get a tiny apartment that you'd have to pack to the rims to hold everything.

THINK ABOUT
- If you have especially large furniture, how will it fit in the new space? Will it limit how you can set up the space?
- If your television is important, don't pick a layout where the sofa can't be directly across from it.
- If you're bad with space planning don't pick something with a weird layout.
- If you have trouble visualizing, take someone with you who is.
- If you have a limited budget and lots of stuff, make sure the space has proper storage so you don't have to buy all new storage furniture.

As an example, in my search, rent and location were the most important things. After that when I saw this apartment I knew the clean open layout would help to keep the small space feeling larger than it is, it had great natural light and the view of the trees in the backyard were the final selling point. And this is a small building (5 apts) not run by a management company, I have greater leeway to make the changes/installs I want.

PS, if anyone knows how to adjust the spacing between paragraphs and make the text black not grey with this new blogger format, please let me know!!! Thanks!

Seriously Hate New Blogger Format

I'm so sorry that the labels aren't working!! I've notified blogger but who knows what if anything they will/can do to fix it. SORRY :O(

Pax Closet New and Improved

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 after:

A client inherited this Pax wardrobe from the previous tenant which I thought would be great for her husband's wardrobe. Since he's tall I removed the top shelf and installed the hanging bar as far up as it could go, with casual clothes to the left and work clothes to the right. A hook on the door holds his tie rack. It's on the right so it doesn't push against the suit jackets when the door is closed. Two additional drawers hold the rest of his casual clothes. His shoes are in the hall closet. 

The key here is separating out the casual vs work clothes and within those categories, grouping like things together; all shorts together, all work-out together (middle drawer), t-shirts, etc.

UPDATE: Yes nessabirdie, it wasn't so bad to begin with but now everything is much more accessible. This unit is 24"D which makes the shelves (as you can see in the before pic) double deep. The pieces in the back of the top shelf are hard to get without having to move everything in the front. And he didn't want to sit on the floor to get his things on the bottom. The inexpensive drawers make it easy to reach everything and keep it neat and categorized. A picture doesn't show how it is to actually use something and all the details that bother someone like how his ties annoyed him hanging on the bar; it took up too much room and it was hard to see them. Thanks for commenting!

Cool Hooks

One of my favorite hooks is back!! Previously sold at DWR, it's now called Gaku Otomo J Hook and is sold thru Urban Outfitters. Made of silicone it's soft, flexible but strong enough to hold a heavy coat. It's available in white, orange and teal...

Musician's Studio After

The small desk she had just wasn't working for this client's needs. She not only needed storage for smaller things as I showed you in the previous post, but also for office supplies, papers, files, etc which this secretary holds beautifully.  And really, the great thing about a secretary is when you're not working you just close it up; it looks great and you have privacy.

I think this client is happiest about having all her art up including an amazing glass globe we hung in the window. I was very happy to free it from the box it's been in since she purchased it a few years ago!!

For more details, check out my flickr.

Musician's Studio After

I liked the basic layout of the space; the large bookshelf and the way she kept her cellos strapped to the back wall but she needed more storage and specifically more closed storage to balance all the open shelves. 


The long low cabinets are perfect for smaller things like cds, stationary, pedals, etc and takes up minimal floor space. She may mount it to the wall, but she'll decide at a later point. Side note, ignore the black shelf leaning against the back wall, it's going to be installed below the existing wall shelves...


I especially love the images of cellists she's been collecting. They really help finish the room. I'll show you the other side of the room and tell you about the new secretary in the next post...