Animal boxes

What a cute way to store your keys and quarters!

(Via Post Grad Hair Cut)

Bathroom art

I love how Vicente Wolf hung this Tina Barney photo over his bathtub. "They're looking at me, I'm looking at them," he says. Cheeky!

(Photo by Patrick Cline for Lonny)

Our house tour

I'd love to show you a few photos of our Manhattan apartment, if you'd like to see. I'd always found our place cozy, but we could never get the decor quite right. So this past winter, the amazing designer Jenny Komenda from Little Green Notebook gave our apartment a little makeover. She had beautiful, clever, and surprisingly inexpensive ideas. Want to take a peek?
Since our fireplace is non-working, Jenny filled it with cut wood, which I adore. (It felt like a Domino Magazine touch!) Our mantlepiece displays a photo I bought from Brooklyn photographer Anne Hall (from a series she sweetly describes as "horses and their girls"); two family photos; and Toby's first toy.
Alex loves mixing old-school cocktails, so we thought it would be fun to have a bar cart in the living room. Jenny scouted this amazing vintage brass cart on Craigslist. (The story behind it was sweet: The man who sold it to us revealed that his grandfather had given it to his grandmother as a tenth anniversary present.) Then, to make the room look bigger, Jenny found a giant mirror at a flea market and painted it a rich blue. (She's a genius at transforming things with paint.)
Our place barely has any closets (welcome to New York!), so we're always craving more storage space. Jenny found this vintage campaign-style dresser and painted it black to make it look brand new. She also found the 1960's brass lamp at a flea market. (The vintage brass deer is from etsy, and the Diptyque Paris candle is my favorite scent--Feu de Bois--which smells like a roaring fireplace.)
Since I work from home, I desperately needed a desk. So Jenny found this a-maz-ing campaign-style vintage desk, which is now my favorite piece in our whole apartment. She also scouted a vintage desk chair and painted it dusty blue. (Alex's black globe is from eBay. And I was lucky enough to buy the flying car photo from Brooklyn photographer Matt Porter a few years ago.)Our apartment's hardwood floors are elegant but not that cozy (especially with a new baby), so Jenny found us a graphic Pottery Barn rug on eBay. She sewed the blue linen curtains herself--insisting that long curtains would make the room look bigger (true). She then brightened up our ho-hum wooden coffee table by painting it a glossy black. (I bought the curved-backed wooden chair from Nightwood a few years ago, and our friend Rachel gave us the British pillow as a gift.)
Our prewar apartment has built-in bookcases (such a treat!), but they were looking a little blah, so Jenny cleverly painted the backs of each shelf a gorgeous dusty blue. She also hung our captain's mirror (which I had gotten a while back at Anthropologie) on the bookcase--a classic touch I never would have thought of. Alex had always wanted a sheepskin throw, so Jenny found a soft (and cheap) one at IKEA. Jenny also found the vintage office lamp and...wait for it...painted it blue. :)
Finally, here's a quick photo of our bedroom, which we try to keep sweet and simple, since Alex and I tend toward insomnia. The black-and-white photo shows Alex's family driving an old Triumph TR3 in California (they had stuffed a family of five into a two-seater; "Ahh, the 1960's," says Alex:), and I bought the seagull photograph from Portland fisherman/photographer Corey Arnold. The pendant lamp was $5 from IKEA, and my grandmother made the needlepoint pillow!

Thank you so much for turning our shabby apartment into a beautiful home, Jenny. And, readers, if your house is craving a makeover, I would recommend Jenny 1,000 times over. (FYI, she's moving to New York this summer!)

Next up: Toby's nursery :)

(Photos by our friend Karen Mordechai, who does Sunday Suppers, wedding photography, and family photography)

Toby's nursery

Now I'd love to share a few photos of Toby's nursery! When I was pregnant, I felt a little overwhelmed by the prospect of putting together a nursery, so I was incredibly grateful to collaborate with Jenny Komenda, the designer behind Little Green Notebook (and mother of three). After discussing a few ideas and inspiration images, we rolled up our sleeves and got started...
One of my top priorities was a black-out shade, since the room gets very bright during the day. So Jenny found a basic white shade and hand-painted clouds onto it. Isn't that amazing?! She also made the grey-and-white striped curtains herself.
We'd always loved Dwell's chocolate-dot crib sheets, and Jenny made a yellow crib skirt to complement them. The white crib is from Walmart (they have a surprisingly nice selection).
My brother and sister gave us this sailboat mobile last Christmas, in anticipation of Toby's arrival. They found it at The Ark in San Francisco, and then embroidered the blue boat with the numbers of our grandparents' Wayfarer, which we sailed during childhood summers in Cornwall, England. (Thank you again, Lucy and Nick!)
Although the room is small, we luckily were able to squeeze in a double bed, in which I've been sleeping since Toby was born. (As a new mom, I can't handle being a hallway away quite yet!) To spruce up the bed, Jenny made the blue-and-white striped fabric headboard. Bonus: It's really soft and comfy to lean against when I'm nursing Toby at 2a.m. (and 4a.m. and 6a.m....) (She also scouted the vintage bedside lamp and the cute yellow stool.)
We'd also hoped to create a frame wall for the nursery, so Toby could be surrounded by photos of his loved ones. Jenny not only scouted all the frames (some new, some vintage), but also figured out the arrangement for hanging (one of the hardest parts of putting together a gallery wall!)
Next to the bed, Jenny put a vintage dresser, which she had painted a soft grey. Three brass elephants live on top, along with our J. Schatz egg nightlight, which scatters stars around the room and makes Toby's bedtime feel magical.
Jenny found a vintage wooden dresser to store Toby's (hilariously teeny) clothes and diapers. It looked world weary at first, but she brightened it up by painting the dresser a bold red, the drawers a crisp white, and adding baby blue knobs. So cute! And the sweet baby deer photograph (by our friend animal photographer Sharon Montrose) keeps Toby company during his naps.A huge thanks to Jenny for creating a warm and happy space for our little man. It was an absolute pleasure working with you. Readers, I'd highly recommend Jenny for any decor consulting you might need! xoxo

(Photos by our friend Karen Mordechai, who does Sunday Suppers, wedding photography, and baby/family portraits)

Fragment lights

These lamps are made with fragments found on the San Francisco shoreline, and they glow like candlelight. Love.

(Via Unruly Things)

Dream room

What a beautiful room, don't you think? I'd love to spend an afternoon in that chair.

(Photo credit unknown, via Lost)

Wall of flowers

How breathtaking is this flower wallpaper from Sweden?

(Via Black Eiffel)

Vase love

Loving these handblown vases. That's all. :)

P.S. These are pretty, too.

Guest Post: I can see clearly now...

...through multi-colored glasses...

{left to right, top to bottom: milly gum drops ring, kate
spade gumdrop studs, acquamiki pendant lamp, wine and olive wood jar from moma, and ballet flats from fred flare.}

-- By Joy from Oh Joy and Oh Joy Eats

Guest Post: Portable Ceramic Garden

Zerotreunouno is a portable garden made entirely of ceramic, perfect for moving your herb garden between the terrace and the kitchen table. Inspired by a vintage milk crate, it contains six individual pots and a large handle for easy carrying. So cool!

-- By Rachel from Handmade Charlotte

Tas-ka love

Holland-based shop Tas-ka has the prettiest fabrics. These duvet covers would make a bedroom instantly beautiful.

P.S. Also, their dish towels.

(Via Greedy Girl)

Thomas Paul plates

Loving these Thomas Paul plates (along with everything else in the great Maine-based shop Daytrip Society).

Home Inspiration: Dog portrait

Isn't this dog portrait awesome? He looks hilariously regal! What a playful and surprising touch in a home.

P.S. Happy Menocal paints pet portraits.
P. P.S. Two more cute portraits.

(Photo from Living Etc, via Design is Mine)

9 By Design

Have you guys been watching the new Bravo show 9 By Design? It's all about Cortney and Robert Novogratz, who buy, renovate and decorate fabulously artsy houses (and then sell them for top dollar). The twist? They have seven kids. The family is funny, boisterous and totally charming, and the show is really addictive. (It's on tonight at 10pm if you want to watch.)

P.S. Their baby's name is Major. Adorable.
P.P.S. An interesting NYTimes article about the family.

Simple pleasures

Our friends brought over pink peonies the other day, and every day they're getting bigger and prettier...
And after keeping my eyes peeled for a new vase for ages, I suddenly realized that a wine bottle (with the label peeled off) does the trick beautifully! I love the green color; it's almost like a stem.

P.S. Another wine bottle design tip.

Amsterdam duck

The lovely Pia lives on a houseboat in Amsterdam, and this little lady just paddled up to her desk! How cute is that?

Spring wish list

When we were little, my mom used to wear beautiful, baggy shirts like this one. (See exhibits A and B:) She would roll up the sleeves, wear her hair down, and look so relaxed and chic. When I saw this striped shirt, it reminded me of her, and I'd love to have it as a new mom.
And this elephant pillow is so cute, for kids or grown-ups, don't you think? The print is by the fabulous Elisabeth Dunker, from Sweden. xoxo

Striped sheets

Liking these fresh and simple striped sheets. That's all. (Our current bedsheets have holes in them and I keep getting my feet stuck!)

Bedside cabinet

How cute is this bedside cabinet? (Hey, that's a book on the roof!) It would add such a playful touch to a bedroom.

(Via Carrie Can and Melanie)

Egg nightlight

We just got this Star Egg Nightlight for the nursery. The lamp has tiny pinpricks, so "stars" are scattered all over the walls and ceiling. It makes bedtime feel so magical. I keep daydreaming about rocking the baby in the middle of the night and pointing out fake constellations.

P.S. It's rad for grown-ups, too. We're secretly keeping it in our bedroom for now.