Renovate Fox Ridge: Moving Right Along!

As promised, we are aggressively tackling an epic (though somewhat scattered) to-do list up at Fox Ridge this week. Sadly, this morning started out rainy-- I mean TORRENTIAL RAINY- so (after a minor discouraged snit-fit on my part) we began by focusing on the indoor portion of our list. Well, okay. Let's be honest here. First we started by focusing on a delicious steak-and-eggs breakfast. For quite a while. But eventually, we got around to the to-do list and decided to startin on the ugly-awesome sconces.

I was pretty certain that wiring these sconces for electricity was going to be a grand plan that ended up hard and horrible, but remarkably, the whole thing went fairly smoothly with a little ingenuity and a substantial amount of assistance from my dad. (Just for the record, I call my dad Papa and my mom Mummy. They're both English and that's what they told me to call them, so that's how I'll be referring to them going forward. Except when I call Mummy The Mother Figure, because sometimes she demands a little more formality/awe/fear than just "Mummy".) About 30 minutes after Papa and I started in on the lights, we were finished with the electricity aspect of this project, but the kinda-ugly-aspect of it had yet to be addressed. I wasn't ready to go for a full-fledged monochromatic spray-painting, so Mummy and I sat down with a little tester pot of latex paint from the hardware store and touched up the oh-so-luminous (unsightly) kelly green paint of the toile leaves with a more muted olive green color. Transformative. Revolutionary. Rad.

Check out some before and after shots: 

 Sconces, before, sans electricity.                     Same sconce, with electricity. Still ugly.

    Sconces now with electricity, and the new paint job! 

Did someone just say "Awesome"? 

That's right. A pair of awesome. Look at those pears shine!

Not to brag, but we actually did a bunch of other little jobs today too- rearranged the front porch furniture, spray-painted the dining table that sits on the porch to match the rest of the outdoor furniture, set up the platform to build the greenhouse on, spray-painted a new mirror for the city bathroom, did a little antiquing, and ordered the wood for the greenhouse... but the sconces were definitely my favorite (and most completed) accomplishment for the day. Tomorrow I'll fill everyone in on more of The Greenhouse Project details, as that project unfolds. Or collapses, as the case may be. 

One Last Thing: A reminder to go and check out Brooklyn Limestone to see our terrific feature there. I am completely thrilled to have been included, and it would mean the world to me if you would let Mrs. Limestone know that you're swinging by from After-Dinner Design. 

Renovate Fox Ridge: The Pre-Epic-Project-Prep-Day

Today was a very productive day up at Fox Ridge, but sadly there is little to show for all of our work thus far. We did all of the required shopping runs, picking up the odds and ends on our mile-long shopping list, in the optimistic hope that we'll actually manage to remember everything required to complete our projects. I'm pretty sure this has never actually happened in the history of Do-It-Yourself, but it's a good laugh to try. Not fun, not exciting, but hopefully tomorrow we can really get cracking without too many more runs to the hardware store. Ha. Ha. Triple ha.

To recap our goals for this weekend: (This too is an ever-growing list...)

1) The Green House Project! Build a greenhouse out of our antique window collection. (Yes- this really is the plan. I find that I often prefer to take the path of most resistance, and this is an excellent example.) John and my dad are going to build the skeleton of the greenhouse this week and then we're going to fill in the gaps with the 2 dozen + antique windows I've been collecting for the last year and a half. This is going to be a crazy (aka wretched) project and if it gets anywhere near completed this weekend, I'll eat my right shoe.

My right shoe...

2) Sew the orange pillows for the city living room, once the fabric arrives. (We bought super cheap feather pillow inserts at Home Goods today, so we can already chalk up Score-1 for this project. Hopefully the fabric shows up soon or we're going to be pretty much stalled out at Score-1.)

3) Clean up and prep the garden for Spring (It's almost here in Upstate New York. I am impatiently waiting for the trees to start to bloom, but we already have a decent showing of daffodils and hyacinth. It's about flipping time.)

4) Wire this kooky pair of Italian-Toile-esque sconces that Mummy brought out with her, so that they are actually electrified. (They are currently just for very skinny candles.) My mom found this wiggy pair of sconces at a yard sale, and though peculiar, they are totally growing on me.

They are balanced precariously on that ever-so-fine-line between awesome and vulgar. An unpredictable see-saw that I enthusiastically embrace in my own home design, but every once in a while, things really go haywire. Initially I thought I would have to spray-paint them to make them a little less weird/heinous, but the technicolor pears are becoming more endearing by the minute.

This is one of my favorite "Why do I love this, when I know it is ugly?" moments. I'll report back on this front.

We're off to a good start, so stay tuned to see how these projects turn out. There are even more projects lurking in the wings, but it seems overly-ambitious to add the pipe-dreams to the list when the Green House Project is looming over us. We'll see how we do...

A Super-Exciting Side Note: We're being featured on the Brooklyn Limestone website on Thursday morning! Brooklyn Limestone is a particularly well-designed and well-written home design site with a plethora of inspirational and envy-inducing projects that is sure to incite action in even the most slovenly of Do-It-Yourself enthusiasts! It is a rad honor to be included on the site, so definitely check out Brooklyn Limestone, and make sure to let Mrs. Limestone know you are visiting from After-Dinner Design!

Hazahh!!! 

Renovate Brooklyn! Back in the saddle!

Sorry, sorry, sorry.

I know I was totally M-I-A there for a bit, but you wouldn't believe the last couple of weeks we've had. We've been working every free second we've had, and doing lots and LOTS of family time in between those free seconds. Tragically, all of that family-time/perpetual-working has completely thrown my renovation aspirations off track and I really didn't have much "After-Dinner Designing" to report.

Crocus sticking up in our unkempt flower beds! Spring is here! 

But all that's gonna change now! We are being rewarded for all of our hard work with a much deserved stretch up at Fox Ridge, with my parents who are here visiting for a week. We've got a mile-long to-do list: Prepare the garden for spring, make pillows for the city (my orange fabric is finally going to arrive this week), John's planning to build me a green house (which I'll believe when I see it), lots of antiquing and yard sale-ing for unknown treasures... It should be a bang-up week with lots to show for it at the end! I will try to diligently document our projects as we start whittling through them, so stay tuned to see us in action!

I can't wait to get started! 

Renovate Massachusetts: My Martha-Inspired Seder Table!

 

As promised, a couple of follow-up shots of our seder table this past weekend. As you can see, the parsley-potted name tags were included, front and center, and were well received by all. And the best part: everyone took home their own little potted plant at the end! 

Talk about reuse-recycle! 

See you tomorrow!

Ps. Here is the link to the Remodelaholic's Feature. We look great!!! Check it out! 

After-Dinner Design Featured Over at REMODELAHOLIC!

Whoopee! Check out After-Dinner Design's feature on the great home design site Remodelaholic later this evening. As soon as the posting goes up, I'll include the direct link, but in the meantime take a spin around the Remodelaholic site for lots of awe-inspiring D-I-Y tips and envy-inducing renovations.

Super Exciting!!!

Ps. Also check back later today for some "AFTER" photos of our Seder Table settings from last night. The parsley-pot-name-tags were a total hit! 

Renovate Massachusetts? Having A Martha Moment...

John and I are spending the weekend up near Boston, celebrating Passover with John's immediate and extended family in Lexington, Massachusetts. In a fit of over-zealous, Martha-Stewart-esque-ness, I decided to make (twenty-five) tiny table decorations to bring along for the Seder dinner.

I bumped into this article in Good Housekeeping (yes- I was reading Good Housekeeping... Don't ask.) However, I cannot find the article on their website, so I snapped a photo of the original, pictured at left.

It was a really cute idea, but while I was making them, I felt a little like a Stepford Wife, which is an unlikely/undesirable role for a twenty-eight year old in Brooklyn.

What You'll Need: 

*25- Little Terra Cotta Pots

*25- Little Parsley Plants (I actually bought 6 biggish plants of parsley and then split them up to keep the cost down, but either way would work)

*25- Little Plastic Planter Tags (which I am writing each guest's name onto...)

*Maybe a little extra soil, but I didn't need any because I bought the bigger plants.

*Patience and a little psychosis. 

I'll post the photos of the set table on Tuesday morning, but thought all of you who will be celebrating Passover on Monday evening might want the heads up on this idea before Passover in case you want to jump on the D-I-Y band wagon. 

Renovate Brooklyn! Day Thirty-Four: An Ode To Art

After shaking up our artwork to accommodate our most recent acquisition (the world's most beautiful painting), I have re-hung the original pieces and added in a couple of other oldies but goodies that hadn't previously been hanging.

The funny thing about tearing down all of our walls was that afterward, we realized we had nowhere to hang most of our artwork. We have been fortunate to have numerous tremendously talented friends who have generously plied us with their artwork, and suddenly we had so few walls to put it on.  But ah-ha! Last night, I hung it all strategically above the mid-century wall unit with the television, and I'm pretty sure it looks awesome. AWE-SOME. 

As I was taking these photographs this morning, two thoughts passed through my mind: 

1.) I am so lucky that this is our living room and that this is our marvelous collection of artwork.

2.) Holy sh---t! I am such a terrible photographer. 

I mean seriously. 

John and I keep talking about doing a tutorial session with the camera, so I can stop assaulting our apartment with these poorly lighted, out-of-focus monstrosities, but when it comes down to game time, I'm like "Yeaaaaahhhh. I'd rather have dinner. Or do anything other than look at the camera. Like mop. Or vacuum." And so I remain sunk in a quagmire of photographic mediocrity. Alas.



Thankfully, my dreadful photos aren't really the focus of this posting, so let's turn our attention back to the beautiful artwork at hand. For those who'd like to know what is what, and who is who... and to give credit where credit is due:

In the top photo, from bottom left and then working our way up and to the right: Photographer Casey Fatchett's "Coney Island Wonder Wheel"; a weird photo of a bookcase that I found online and framed; a charcoal architectural sketch that John & I picked up at a college art fair in Philly, a silkscreen by artist Seth Joseph; "The Desk Clerk/Moray Eel" limited edition silkscreen by Ralph Steadman. In the second photo, from left to right, and then down the wall:  "Sadie" limited edition silkscreen by Ralph Steadman, "Invisible Vibrations" print by artsit Justin Sanz, "Albert's Old Lady" limited edition silkscreen by Ralph Steadman, and then another charcoal drawing by Seth Joseph.  

Sitting on the bookshelf closest to Seth's charcoal drawing is an intricate enamel wall piece made by our great friend Laura Fortune.

In addition to having the coolest name ever, Laura is also an incredibly talented jewelry maker and artist. She made this piece as a wedding present for us, and it lights up my day when I see it. Another talented friend whipped up the custom frame just for this lovely piece, and they're a great pair. It is a perfect reminder of our little house upstate, like looking into a window from here to there. And a great reminder of our friends to boot.

If you're familiar with Fox Ridge, this image might ring a bell, but for everyone else reading... Laura based the piece on a photo of our kitchen upstate, which was originally featured in the NY Times. You can see the article here if you want to take a look.

Believe it or not, we have even more rad work from our infinitely artistic friends throughout the house, so I'll be sure to mention it whenever possible. However, if you see something and want to know where it comes from or who made it, please don't hesitate to inquire...





And then of course hanging across the room from all of that talent is the entrancing Marion "Bonnie" Miller painting. At the behest of various readers, I asked Bonnie a little more about the painting, and here is what she had to say:

"For your consideration: When I did this painting, I was thinking about Vermeer, about how his northern light illuminated not just a space, but an interior, in all the senses of that word. I hope the painting invites the sensibility to enter and dwell in balance in its space, nourished, interested and in equilibrium. Again, I'm deeply happy it's with such an appreciative eye."

I wish I could invite every reader over to our house, just to sit in our living room and soak up this painting. It really must be experienced in person to truly be appreciated. It is like being hypnotized. 

Now, if only I could convince Justin to trust us with one of these on long term loan... 

Sigh! 

Or one of these rad photos from John's super talented brother Peter Moskowitz...

And then of course, there is this phenomenal piece, which at 50"wide and 111" tall, I would have to build a new wall just to accommodate. (And I would, without a second thought.) I have been wooing this gigantic French Tailor advertisement on the Former Furniture website for over a year now, but a recent visit has completely rekindled the love affair. Sadly, I am still as far away from the $4,500.00 price tag as I was in 2010, and don't expect to get any closer anytime soon. 

So much to lust after, so few walls... Even less money! 

Renovate Brooklyn! Day Thirty-Three: Are You DYING To Know???

John and I just had the marvelous opportunity to buy a beautiful piece of artwork. What made this such incredibly good fortune is that I have long loved this painting from a-far and through a topsy-turvy twist of events, had the rare chance to purchase the painting directly from the painter herself. To now be the proud custodian of this piece is a role I never thought I would have, and I couldn't be more pleased. These chances come along almost once in a lifetime, and sometimes you've just got to spring or you'll regret it for the rest of your days.

Without further ado--- the guest of honor:

After I hung the painting this afternoon, I actually just sat in our living room and absorbed it sitting there on my familiar wall, in my familiar room. The dog seemed a little perplexed by this behavior, but I was sincerely transfixed. It has this peculiar, calming, quieting, cooling effect on me, like it is somewhere I have been before, and to just be with it made me feel enormously privileged. I hope this painting hangs above my sofa for years to come, and brings this same uncanny sense of calm to everyone who encounters it. What truly wonderful luck!

Check back tomorrow to see where the other "over-the-sofa" art work is headed... 

I've got a plan! 

*Apologies for the lack-luster photography- it really doesn't do the painting or the room any justice. I will ask John to snap off some more this evening...

PS. Exciting Surprise Tomorrow!

I forgot to mention, check back tomorrow for a (super) exciting surprise. John and I have had the incredible fortune to acquire the most lovely ___________ and we can't wait to show everyone!

Is that suspenseful, or what???

Don't forget to check back tomorrow! 

Renovate Brooklyn! What Is Going On Below That Glorious Chandelier?

There have been some inquiries about the rest of our bathroom, as the previous photos really only highlight the glory that is our new fabulous chandelier. At my request, John attempted the gymnastic-al feat of photographing our (small but tall) New York City bathroom, and hopefully these new pictures will give our viewers a more complete sense of our bathroom.












As shown, there is a half-wall of rather uneventful square greyish-white tiles throughout the bathroom, and the floor tile is equally unexciting. What does make the bathroom great is the ceiling height- about 11'0 up- and the size, which by New York standards is considered to be fairly spacious.

We have a full-sized tub, a sink with vanity, a toilet, and a window, all in one room. I'm sure for most of you that would be a given, but my brother used to brush his teeth in the kitchen sink of his old apartment, and my friend Julia nearly rented an apartment with a shower in a closet next to the bathroom, so you really can't take anything for granted in New York.

When we arrived in this gorgeous apartment (aka. derelict-tenement), the medicine cabinet above the toilet and sink vanity were both of the mediocre-peeling-Home-Depot variety, but with a hefty dose of shellac primer and a coat of my go-to white paint, the ever-trustworthy Benjamin Moore's "Decorator's White", things are a bit more spruced up now. I found the vintage mirrored medicine cabinet (that is above the sink) on the street and swapped it in for the stock-ugly cabinet that was previously installed.

We also replaced the mismatched red towel bars and brassy sink faucet with all chrome accents to make things look a little more pulled together and purposeful. When we eventually buy the place (still slowly moving forward at a record-setting snail's pace!) we will hopefully be able to pull out the sub-par tile work and slowly decaying cabinetry, and replace all of it with something a bit more inspired, but in the meantime we're working with what we've got!

Although it is hard to tell, the wall color is Benjamin Moore's "Healing Aloe", which is the very faintest of blue-greens, and quite possibly one of my favorite paint colors. The towels were a victorious purchase from TJ Maxx-- Calvin Klein's Lush Towels in Celestine. I think I paid about $4.00 per towel, am thrilled with the color match, and even more thrilled with the price.

                                  Hazzahh bargain shopping! 
                Hazzahh making your rental apartment bathroom 
                              look a little bit like your own! 

Renovate Brooklyn! Day Thirty-Two: Holy Buckets of Beauty!

 As promised, John installed the bathroom chandelier this evening, and it is truly a thing of unspeakable beauty. I mean, literally, unspeakable beauty. When I walked into the bathroom, I actually gave out a little gasp. If you don't remember, I had originally wanted to hang one of these, but after a short, but firm "no" from the likes of John, that plan was revised into the spray-painting and re-using of a chandelier we already had. Check out a little before and after...

It continues to amaze me about home design-- you have no real understanding of just how much something is missing until it is finally there, and then it is like the room was missing its front teeth until that moment. Like you've just turned on the lights! 

Another Victory For The Home Team 

VS. The Woeful NYC Apartment! 

P.S. We've been featured! Favorite Paint Colors Blog

How exciting! After-Dinner Design has just been included on a great blog called "Favorite Paint Colors". You can check out our segment here, but also roam around the whole blog for lots of colorful design inspiration!

Hot dog! 

Renovate Brooklyn! Day Thirty-One: Vetoed!

You may remember that I've been lusting after a vintage italian tole chandelier that I had seen hanging in an antique store up near our little house upstate. If not, you can revisit that entry here...

This past weekend, John and I went by the antique shop so I could introduce John to the coveted chandelier, and I think we can safely consider the matter "closed". To be more specific, John hated the chandelier! He said "We would paint it?" because of the faded, garish colors, and then when I told him it was $150.00, he laughed me right out of town. Right out of town! 

So I countered all of those objections with a new suggestion... (ever the diplomat!) We already have a brassy-leafy chandelier (shown at left) on our little porch in the country, which was hanging in a particularly awkward position ever since I moved the dining table it had originally hung above. Every time you walked by it, you get entangled in its curly-cues and pointy metal parts, and I had been planning to rehang it on the porch in a different location.

I suggested that we take it down altogether, spray it with a dose of spray-primer and white paint, and hang that up in the bathroom in the city. No garish color, no $150.00 price tag, and no getting tangled in it on the porch upstate. Everybody wins! (Except maybe John, who is going to have to put it up...)

So far we have it spray-primed and John has promised that he'll give it another round of paint this evening and then get that bad-boy hanging up tonight. Fingers crossed, since I'll be in a meeting until 8:00...


                        I'll keep you posted!