PACIFIC NORTHWEST VIBES

Oh my god, you guys, I'm going to L.A.! I bought the plane tickets yesterday. I've never been before and I'm freaking. I get the impression it's many different things to people and I wonder what it will be for me. To me. For just under a week. Conveniently enough, Dab just blogged about what to do out there, so I guess I have a head start on creating an itinerary.

This post isn't really about the City of Angels, though, as you might have surmised from the title. Basically, it's another fugly gray day in NYC and all I wanna do is stay in bed, reading and drinking Earl Grey. Alas, I had to get up and "live my life", which sounded better as a Rihanna hook. Anyway, here are some indulgently spartan interiors that make me want to curl up with a good book (or back issue) and just read, read, read...more on my L.A. trip later!

Sources, clockwise from top-left: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06.

OFFICE ART UPDATE

Just a super brief bedroom situation update—it's all I've got the time for, sorry!
01 New art over the desk! (See the previous set-up here). I first saw this painting in my friend Rod's shop, The Curious Orange, when I was visiting my parents last August. I wanted to buy it, but was overwhelmed by its size and the prospect of bringing it up to NYC with me on the train. Fast forward half a year and I'm standing in the AmTrak lobby holding this massive painting, all taped up in bubble wrap, hoping no one will notice it violates the carry-on size restrictions. (Someone did, but they didn't make a big deal of it. No one else said anything, and I got it up here in one piece!)
02 Along with the new rug that I also bought from Rod, which is a welcome (and slightly more plush) addition to my space. Now the first rug I bought for the room (heretoforth known as "The Other Rug") is on the opposite side of my bed, which means nothing to y'all yet. But mark my words—one day, it will.
03 Also I found my old copy of White Teeth. I remember reading this in college and telling myself I really liked it, maybe just to feel intellectual, but now I can say that I do, indeed, really love this book. Highly recommend! So very! Much buy!

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COZYING UP TO FUR

A faux fur throw for my desk chair, specifically—not big daddy's chest hair (wink). In all seriousness, the look is seasonal and cozy, but also rustic and big-city chic at the same time. They look great on pretty much all the seats! And, TBH, I'd go for a real fur throw if it were vintage...is that bad? Reduce, reuse, recycle? What's nice is that the look can also be achieved with a furry throw pillow. Images via (clockwise from top-left): 1, 2, 3, 4.

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The Corner Office

After last week's post about my old apartment I realized that I've been putting this off for way too long. Behold: an itty-bitty corner office vignette! I change the look of my room pretty frequently; it's an ever-evolving space, so instead of doing one giant post about the entire thing I'm just going to start sharing "bite-size" parts of it. Sound like a plan? Awesome.

Clockwise, from top left:
01 My desk! From Strawser & Smith; chair and lamp (same style seen here in Jason Yates' house tour on FvF) from the Brooklyn Flea. The art I picked up for $10 at a flea market as well—I don't know who the artist is, but the date on the back of the frame it came in is April 20, 1976.
02 Currently reading the new issue of apartamento, atop one of my favorite fabrics I have, which I'm currently using as a headboard, actually—more on that later!
03 Love this big leaf, atop a stack of Inventory magazines.

FÁTIMA DE BURNAY

It's time for my weekly blog update wherein I disclose what fun new ways I've found to put off finishing my damn bedroom. I have one of my co-workers coming over this weekend with her husband in tow to help me finally hang my drapery hardware. I Googled a DIY for this last weekend, the fourth weekend in a row I'd told myself "I can definitely do this!" and promptly freaked myself the fuck out. Dude, DIY-ing is hard. Nobody tells you that! Did you know that if I put this up wrong it could fall out of the wall? That it could end up being too heavy for the plaster or whatnot and tear everything down? Sweet Jesus! So, yeah, someone else's husband is going to come over and help make this happen and it's going to be amazing. Feminism!

On another wavelength, I was diddling around on Elle Decor España's website when I came across the amazingly textural/colorful abode of Fátima De Burnay. I actually blogged her living room last spring (third image down in this post), but had no idea where the image came from (damn it, internet!) In a fortuitous twist of fate, the whole apartment came back to me plus I found another peek inside her home on a totally different site, and now I'm obsessed.

That art! And the layers and the textiles and the colors! It's definitely got a feminine energy about it, but I think I'd feel perfectly at home here. I seem to wobble between slavish devotion to Scandi-chic minimalism and artsy hippie creative whatever (see: Erin Wasson). But I think this place is just so beautiful. It feels lived in—she travels, she eats, she entertains...I think that bathroom shot might be my favorite (the colors are great, but also those twin sinks have beaucoup industrial appeal.) I'll be sure to tweet and/or insta when/if my isht gets done this weekend, so stay tuned! Images via Elle Décor España and Germán Saiz for El País.

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MICHAEL ALLEN AT HOME

I'm loving the sleepy Wabi-sabi elegance of fellow #BrooklynHipsterGay Michael Allen's Williamsburg loft. I found it on FvF, of course, while looking for some inspiration for my bedroom. That lil' project is coming along nicely, for the record, but the big fat makeover I mentioned on practically day one of moving in still has no definite end in sight. That being said, I think I can 100% promise a reveal by the end of the year, how does that sound? And until then, Instagram updates and a weekly think piece about stacks of magazines and decorative planters.

I was going to say Allen's place reminds me a bit of Brian Ferry's, and then I scrolled to the bottom of the article and realized that that's at least partly because Ferry shot this. Small world. Basically, Brian Ferry is sick talented and I die. (Can we just pause for a second and just talk about how stunning that picture of the little tree in the planter next to the clock is? It like...moves me.) Also really love those hooks for displaying jeans...

LINGERED UPON

Last week my Pinterest was blowing up with images from this shoot. I understand why—there's a lot of takeaway for the reader, even though the space is so sparsely decorated. Granted, this apartment has a lot in common with other spaces I've saved to one board or another and you might feel like you've seen it a million times before, but that, to me, is Pinterest's greatest strength. It's actually really helpful to look at a half bajillion white-walled apartments that vary from each other by only the slightest bit. I also just like variations on a theme, so sue me.

The real a-ha moment for me was this simple bulb, wrapped around this peg thing. I stopped into Top Hat last weekend and saw something very similar, just outsized bulbs, really, hanging from rope. I think you're supposed to put them in some sort of fixture, like a cool chandelier, but this could be the perfect idea for them. The only other lamp option I really like is prohibitively expensive, so we'll see what I come up with...All photos © Alice Gao.

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VALÉRY DAMNON AT HOME

This apartment is, for lack of a better phrase, c'est fantastique! But, in particular—all those gorgeous chairs! I've been thinking about chairs almost as much as I usually think about penises or baby cacti (Oh, whoa, just realized how phallic cacti are! I guess I only really think about penises!) But also chairs. I have been borrowing an extra chair of my roommate's now for like, eight weeks. I'm kind of a shit roommate, huh? But I can't find the perfect damn desk chair! You'd think all I'd have to do is walk around Brooklyn with my eyes open, but no. No worries, I'll keep you updated re: my struggle. All photos © Carla Coulson for Designsponge.

UPDATE: It is 12:30am and I just ordered a chair on the internet O_O

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MAYBE NOT MONOCHROME

Or maybe color is the new white, in my case...

These are some interiors I've seen lately that have me reconsidering my dedication to a neutral palette. And can I just say that I am like, waaaay to concerned with what kind of curtains to get—washed natural linen or poppy, vintage cotton panels? I feel like if I don't bring color in with my window treatments, then maybe I could do so with the pillows on my bed. Or maybe I can't do one or the other, I have to do both? Sweet Jesus, maybe it doesn't matter?

Anyway, the textiles, art and objets in these abodes are so brilliantly layered, and I love the paint job in that guy's living room. So much perfection! Counter-clockwise from the top: Leah Bartholomew's Australian home via The Design Files & Jean-Christophe Aumas' Paris apartment via Dwell.

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OUT ON LAWN GUYLAND

I've been lucky enough to take not one, but two work trips out to the ends of Long Island within the last month. First I visited Montauk for a photo shoot at the home of Ben Watts (you can read my article in the July/August issue of Lonny.) These are some details from Watts' home that I was really into:

Watts' home was so gorgeous, awash in natural light and full of sophisticated textures and layers—definitely feeding into my rustic-whitewashed-Scandi fetish. I made a return trip to the area to cover the Holiday House Hamptons (read my '12 Inspired Design Moments' here.) It was a very trad space, but there were some details worth relishing:

And I also got to sneak in a brief trip to Sag Harbor's Monc XIII (details in Lonny's June issue.) Created by the former president of Wilhelmina Models, Natasha Esch, the space is crazy beautiful and the perfect antidote if you're suffering Hamptons prep overload. (FYI: the ceramics next to the tree, below, is actually from the Holiday House, but I think it looks best next to that chair!)

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DECORATING WITH PINTEREST

I moved into my new place last week and have since devolved into a complete lunatic. Well, a decorating lunatic. I spent multiple hours searching online for drapery hardware the other day, ordered seven different linen swatches from Restoration Hardware, and I'm pretty sure I broke my rotator cuff painting my room—6 hours to go from 'burnt custard' to 'lustrous white' (but it was worth it!) God bless the discovery of a Home Depot in my backyard.

The building is five blocks down from my last place here in South Slope, Brooklyn. It's not my dream location, but beggars can't be choosers and the price was right, plus my roommates are great and the apartment itself isn't half bad. I can already tell this space will have a much different vibe from my last apartment (seen here and here.) I feel relieved to have only one room to work on and an actual budget. I'm here for a year, so my goal is to get everything pretty much perfect within these first two months and then sit back and relax. Unless I decide to redecorate, but that's neither here nor there.

ERIN WASSON X THE COVETEUR

I remember seeing this shoot on Rackk and Ruin when it first came out, but for one reason or another it didn't stick with me until I revisited it the other day. I love how some elements of Wasson's space are graphic and sculptural while others have an enviable patina, and all of it perfectly reflects her personal brand of rock-'n-roll cowgirl chic. I know I've been on that Scandi grind, but I really like here seeing the way her tchotchkes and mementos and artifacts mesh so well with all sorts of cool rich white lady shit like Prada shoes and expensive candles.

I'm currently apartment hunting like a wild banshee and will hopefully, by some point this summer, have my own #supercute space to share with you guys. Until then, you know where to find me. (Pinterest is where to find me.) All photos via The Coveteur. Like this post? Check out one of my other favorite Coveteur'd interiors here!

CRAIGSLIST VS. SWEDEN

I hate having to do this, but: sooorrrryyy the blog has been so quiet this week! I have some PBN (pretty big news) to announce - but not yet. Needless to say, I have less time on my hands, even for planning out posts and scheduling them. My rhythm is off, and I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things soon - bear with me!

Speaking of rhythms, I'm apartment hunting again - a July 1 move is imminent (well, imminent enough). I have so far divided my time between Craigslist (and weeping) and poring over Swedish real estate (and drooling). Cross your fingers for me and feel free to send any leads my way!

Images via Fantastic Frank and Bolaget. Like this post? Find more in the Decor + Living tab!

BOOKS + PLANTS

{Images via 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8}

Interiors I'm loving lately, all with a beautiful bounty of books and some leaves in sight...

THE BLUE HOUR

Brian Ferry's Brooklyn apartment on Sight Unseen, a totally awesome new-to-me website that you should check out. That mantle is so wabi-sabi...the living room so inviting...the bedroom so clean! And this is a boy's house, you guys.

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