Animal Magnetism

Do I need to be stopped? I just can't help myself. I'm drawn to them. Monkeys, horses and now dogs. Foo dogs. Fabulous fanciful foo dogs. I know I know - am I decorating a pre war pied a terre or a Manhattan menagerie? But tell me - if you saw these Barbara Cosgrove numbers - would you be able to resist?

Didn't think so.

Excessive Equine Effusions

So apparently I have a penchant for horses too. And here I was thinking monkeys were the only mammal at risk of gracing my decorating dreams. But this A.M. Cassandre print is positively perfect to perk up my boldly striped bathroom. And a nod to the home country? Oh yes, let's.

Equine Effusions

Anyone have $4000 they want to loan this girl so she can get this fabulous horse triptych for above the couch? She'll let you come look at it whenever you please.

Zarin Fabrics

Obtaining fabric in the city is anything but easy. While there is always my trusty Discount Upholstery Fabric for the covetable-I-must-have designer fabrics - sometimes one needs to touch and feel. When I get this craving, I head downtown (waaaaay downtown) to Zarin Fabrics. The staff is extremely helpful and they have an insanely huge selection of fabrics, home accents, curtain accessories and hundreds of swatch books if you can't find exactly what you're looking for. Plus, they'll humor this DIY dummie when she explains she wants to reupholster her headboard herself. I found fabric for the headboard and the bed skirt and even got some discount batting (which I apprarently need) thrown in. Zarin is always worth the trip.

Will report back on the DIY decor - fingers crossed.

A Bedding Bargain

I know I promised to keep my monkey madness in check, but sometimes you can't help yourself. Both Momma and I agreed we needed to get some color into the navy bedroom and this gorgeous Uzbek duvet cover from Horchow acheived just that. It just happens to have monkeys on it. I promise I didn't go looking for it...mmm.

Bonus it was bought during Horchow's 30% off everything madness. Hurrah sales.

Lamp Love

Another reason I'm thrilled with the guest bedroom decor decision? This lamp:

I will try to keep my primate passion in check. Although I'm not making any promises.

A Regal Retreat

With my new navy walls just barely dry, I begin the rather terrifying task of determining a decor that the whole family can live with. While one member of the team will be thrilled if we go bare bones, Puritan-chic with little more than a bed and a lamp (framed picture of Oliver Cromwell perhaps), and another will no doubt be clamoring for ways to add as much blue and white floral/china/wallpaper into the already blue boudoir, I will have to play mediator and find a middle ground (that I can live with and adore of course). So after quickly ruling out the crisp and clean white and navy look (see previously posted perfect paint pic) as a bit too seaside summer house (Nantucket preferably, in my dreams) we embark on our mission. While navy lends itself marvelously to all things Americana (and by Americana I mean Ralph Lauren), my family hails from that tiny English speaking island across the pond. Union Jacks perhaps? In my Jonathan Adler-dreams. No, we're heading even farther across the pond (or ponds). After stumbling across this fairly fabulous Diaghilev fabric from Clarence House, inspiration came in a blinding flash. India. Or should I say Indjaaaah? An homage to the long gone hey day of those colonizing countrymen of mine. British Imperialism does the British boudoir. And finally, a reason to buy those John Robshaw pillows.

Old Navy

Anyone who's ever searched for navy paint knows it's not as easy as it sounds. A practically perfect paint swatch turns a violent violet on your walls, another looks chalky and yet another slightly brown. Without some guidance, it can be a fruitless and frustrating quest (with far too many hours spent in paint sections of various home improvement stores). Determined to find the best blue out there, I hit the books and came across this:

Benjamin Moore Old Navy. It's paint swatch perfection.

Dialing Up the Draper

Ah the bathroom. While I may dream of a palatial powder room complete with a double vanity, claw foot tub, maybe even a chaise lounge...I am a New Yorker dwelling in a pre-war abode and have some grasp on reality (most of the time). So how does one add some water closet wow to a 5 x 9 marble box? I needed to look no further than to the doyenne of decorating and first lady of fabulous - Miss Dorothy Draper. Her signature style stamp of dull white and shiny black stripes would fit the bill perfectly. A little black paint, a laser level, and a fumes headache that lasted a week, was all it took to Draper-ize the bathroom. An inexpensive interior wow factor. Now all that's missing is that chaise. Dorothy would approve.

Classic Dorothy & my Draper-ized Bathroom

As I Lay Me Down to Sleep

After having my fill of dreary Manhattan rentals with grey-white walls and crown moldings with 64 layers of paint, being able to choose the colors that would adorn the walls was quite a thrill...and also quite daunting. Having determined early on that my beloved pink would grace the foyer, next up was my bedroom. Growing up in the heyday of Laura Ashley - I had little experience with anything that wasn't pink bow-adorned wallpaper. I was searching for something sophisticated, simple and with a little bit of glam. Already the proud owner of multiple pieces of mirrored furniture, my attraction to that vintage Hollywood aesthetic was unavoidable, but I also wanted my bedroom to be soothing. I live on this teensy little side street called Fifth Avenue and while the cars (and M5 bus) fly by just below me, I need the color to feel quiet and cocooned. So to my trusty House Beautiful archives I went - et voila - Benjamin Moore Windmill Wings. It's the perfect pastel backdrop for this gal to rejuvenate and revive. Plus it reflects beautifully of all my mirrored casegoods...now if only I can keep my penchant for reflective furniture under control.

Ballad to Ballard

When searching for the perfect armchair fabric - it came as no surprise when the purveyors of my first choice were none other then GP & J Baker. More than a century old and holders of the Royal Warrant (official fabric makers for all the Royal residences), their traditional florals and damasks, done in eclectic colors (or should I say colours) and weaves, appeal to my English half, er, English whole. So I placed a call to my friends at Discount Upholstery Fabric (where else?) and in just a few days my glorious yardage of Perandor Weave arrived (all the way from London!) in pristine condition. Next step, the chair. Inspired by the picture from the GP & J website - I went searching for it's twin - at a slightly happier price. Behold my dream chair's doppelganger, the Colfax Armchair from the genius minds at Ballard Designs. For $549 ($549!) I purchased the chair, selecting to send my own fabric directly to them for custom upholstery. For free. You heard me. CUSTOM UPHOLSTERY FOR FREE. No upcharge, no 12-14 week wait time, nothing. Just send them for fabric and wait. In 8 short weeks my perfect chairs arrived, the spitting image of their inspiration. Truth be told, I think I like my babies better.

Discount Decor

Leave it to Momma to find fabulous fabrics at bargain basement prices. She discovered Discount Upholstery Fabric - a dream of a website that sells fabric direct to the consumer at 60% off list price. Schumacher, Brunschwig & Fils, Kravet, to name a few - they're all there at wholesale prices. Send them an email with the fabric info, they'll get you a price in 24 hours or less. Give them a call to order and in less than 5 days your gorgeous fabric will arrive at your doorstep (direct from the vendor no less) in perfect condition. Did I mention it's free shipping? Er, this may be the greatest website since Google.

Fabs Vs. the Television

Ok so I'm not a tv person. I mean I LOVE tv (extensive knowledge of B list television stars is my hidden talent) but hate the way they look. I do not get excited about 60 inch plasma screens. I do not get excited about wall mounts. I realize the necessity of a tv - I just don't want it to take up 90% of my available wall space. So after seeing this lovely vignette at the NYC outpost of Mecox Gardens I decided to replicate the look at home. A long buffet would provide excellent storage and the pop color gourd lamps would distract the eye somewhat (I hope) from the tasteful 26 inch television (is that possible?) I'd be placing on top. I enlisted some help from Momma to search out similar lamps at slightly less terrifying prices (Christopher Spitzmiller's beauties will have to wait til I win the lottery) - and she found these Robert Abbey ones at Croft & Little. They're a fabulous alternative to the Mecox numbers and come in a ton of fun colors - we went for the Egg Blue. These bright and cheery lamps on top of the Mao Now Buffet I picked up at the Mitchell Gold downtown replicate the Mecox vignette really well (and at a much friendlier price) - and while I'm still not a television fan, I think I can live with this.

A Treasure Chest

Coffee table time, and this one's a doozy. While I adore the dainty mirrored top numbers favored by chic Parisians and their emulators the world over, I realize that my reality is not one of said Parisians (berets, etc etc). My reality includes three men who put their feet up on anything within reach and occasional visits from a rather rambunctious Frenchie with a fear of reflective surfaces. While a vintage Goyard trunk would be just lovely, so is being able to pay the cable bill (DVR is my life) - so off to my trusty Crate & Barrel where their Taka Trunk fits the bill perfectly. It's nearly indestructible walnut and still provides the steamer trunk look. Bonus - it has a ton of storage (which New Yorkers will never have enough of) and even a secret compartment. Did I mention the in trunk bar? Genius.

Pretty in Pink

One thing you might know about me (or be able to deduce from the earlier foyer picture) - is that I like pink. Correction, love pink. I painted my college bedroom a delightfully daring shade called Partytime Pink - how appropriate. But it really is an amazingly versatile color - it can be soft, bold, bright, dark, cheery, elegant - but mostly it just makes me superbly happy. So naturally it was only a question of which room would be pink, not if there would be a pink room. Then I saw this while perusing my House Beautiful archives:

How fabulous?! It combines my love of pink (Benjamin Moore Coral Pink to be precise) with my genetic predisposition to adore blue and white china (not to mention my mother's willingness to part with some of her extensive collection of Spode) in the chicest way. Pictures to come as soon as the Spode arrives...

Move In Day

Less than 24 hours since closing and this desperate to decorate (and have a brand new stove) New Yorker is moving in. The little place has had quite a transformation since last month (thank God). A little before/after below...

Foyer

Bathroom Hallway

And of COURSE the brand new stove. No more near death experiences with antique ovens in antique NYC rentals...hurrah!

And so it begins...

The Sofa

Approximately 3 minutes after we found the apartment, I began my search for a sofa. Now sofas are an extremely sensitive subject in our house. A certain tastemaker in the clan (English, short, penchant for patent leather loafers) has always favored the formal settee look, which while completely elegant, provides space for no one, save the aforementioned tastemaker, to sit in any degree of comfort. So I was determined to find a couch that was completely chic, yet totally comfortable. All Harding women have a thing for navy (a constant classic), so after my sister stumbled upon this inspiration shot (from Domino) it was decided - we were on a mission. After exhausting my usual catalog, website and Main Street haunts to no avail, I was getting worried. And then one sunny Saturday, I stumbled upon Classic Sofa - would be purveyors of our dream sofa. Navy velvet? No problem. Ready in two weeks? Yup. Really? Yup. I mean, really? Um yup. Can I add nailheads? Yup. I love you Classic Sofa.

A Work In Progress

While it may not look like much at the moment - these unfinished floors and walls will no doubt cause quite a few decorating delights and dramas in the not too distant future...

The foyer - you only get one chance to make a first impression.
My bedroom...
And our number one construction priority - my closet.
Fingers crossed we are carpenter, electrician and plumber free by closing.

Home Sweet Home

We offered. They countered. We countered. They agreed. Hurrah!