Say Hello to My Little Friend

Interior Design
March 2, 2010

The Aga Companion. The creme de la creme of tiny apartment stoves. Measuring in at just 24″ wide, this stoves reeks of tradition, sophistication, and capability–and I have wanted one since the first time I saw it.

The Aga Companion is the little brother to Aga’s four oven heat storage cooker. My boyfriend and I had always said that this was our dream oven. Although it might seem strange that we dream about ovens, one look at this one and you see the reason why. We have often fantasized about an historic home in the Scottish Highlands with a large kitchen, and at its center, the Aga. Can’t you just see cooking cozy meals on this amazing piece of equipment? Well, as it turns out, in reality there probably wont be the Highlands estate, but there will be New York Apartments …

Enter architects Richard Sammons and Anne Fairfax of Fairfax & Sammons. I was lucky enough to be invited to their home in the West Village for drinks, and low and behold, I walked into the kitchen and there it was … the Aga Companion. I had never seen anything so wonderful in my entire life. What is it about things in miniature that are just soooo great? Anne explained to me that it was the Aga Companion, and that they could not very well have fit a full sized Aga into their kitchen, but that the Companion was just right.

Part of the love affair with the Aga is the rainbow of vibrant colors that one can choose from. A stove for every personality … Red.

And then a lovely yellow …

Perhaps a cream?

Or maybe pistachio suits you best …

We all know where my allegiances lie in the color department.

Unfortunately my lacquered lifers, these ovens are not cheap. Manufactured and sold primarily in the UK, the only price quotes I could get were in pounds, and if they aren’t giving them away in pounds, the number will be much harder to stomach in dollars. Alas, a girl can dream, can’t she?

Seeing Stripes

Fashion
March 1, 2010

House Beautiful

Ok, so I don’t know about the rest of you, but I have been feeling extremely stripey lately. Perhaps it is the vacation that I am taking in the next week that makes me want to break out my nautical themed attire, or perhaps it is what my boyfriend says is my love for all things slightly masculine … who knows, but I have been seeing and loving stripes everywhere I look.

JCrew

The thing is, me seeing stripes and loving them is not a new thing. If one were to look at my summer wardrobe, one would see that I have a bit of an obsession with navy blue and white stripes–how can you not? They are absolutely timeless. This shirt above, from JCrew, is actually a pewter and white stripe, a bit of a different take on a classic theme!

NYTimes

This striped wall, in the dining area of Elizabeth and Andrew Wooten’s NYC apartment, was featured in the New York Times. Although they don’t have a proper dining room, this wall helps to delineate the space between their living room and dining room.

Avalon Hotel

From my post of a a few weeks ago, the Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills has an amazing blue and white striped ceiling in the public spaces on the ground floor of the hotel. Pictured here is the dining room and bar. I think stripes are appropriate on walls, floors, and ceilings. Like I said, classic and timeless–yet on a ceiling or floor, a bit unexpected and super chic.

House Beautiful

Here you can see the stripes on the floor from above, and it gives an otherwise very simple interior a point of interest.

Another thing that I love about stripes is that they are great DIY projects that are easy for any lacquered lifer to complete on his/her own. Although I typically don’t like accent walls, this one, done by fellow blogger Chic Geek, creates a great division between her eating area and living area. Obviously I just love the blue and white!

This kitchen photo was sent to me by one of my favorite readers, look at how absolutely fabulous this looks! Sometimes these little NYC kitchen nooks can be so “ugh,” but this has totally made the space a focal point in her decorating scheme. She used Behr paints from Home Depot in Country Cottage and Mississippi Mud–both in a satin finish (easier to clean in a kitchen).

Bravo! I love that my readers are not afraid of a good DIY project, and I love that they want to share it with me. If you have any DIY projects you think I would appreciate, feel free to email me at [email protected]. These stripes are absolutely stunning, I Love the colors and I love how this little kitchen becomes a place that you want to spend time in. Who needs expensive wallpaper when you can paint walls like this!

Hit the Lights

Designers
February 23, 2010

So I have been thinking on the subject of light a lot lately. I had some people over for dinner this weekend, and one of them was very complimentary of how my apartment looked, and I am convinced it is all owed to this little device above–the dimmer. They couldn’t be easier to install, and yet in my opinion they can change the tone of the room more than a change in paint color or new fabric ever will.

Most of us lacquered lifers are renters, and as renters there are many aspects of our homes or apartments that we are not in control of. Lighting does not have to be one of them. One of the first things I did when I moved into my apartment in Philadelphia was replace all the overhead lighting cheap, stylish fixtures from Ikea.

So first and foremost, ditch these. Secondly, make sure you install dimmers on all the light switches in your apartment. Typically I prefer to use lamplight, which feels warmer–but since most of us are stuck with overhead lighting, go to the hardware store and get some dimmers. No one looks good under the strong glare of an overhead light, unless you dim it within an inch of its life. It is also important to note that you should never use lightbulbs that are above 60 watts, and I often put 40 watt bulbs in the lamps in my apartment if they don’t have a dimming function built in.

Here is my kitchen–the fixture before and after. These miniature DIY projects are really easy to do, and you should not be afraid of unscrewing a fixture and seeing what your wiring looks like. Please, please make sure that you go to the breaker box first so that you don’t get a shock!

House Beautiful

In both of these Albert Hadley designed rooms, he uses lamps as his primary source of light. I would highly recommend this as a first course of action, with low wattage bulbs of course. However, if you need to use your overhead lights, for everyone’s sake, get a dimmer switch.