Brass-Plated Industrial Shelving

How amazing are these brass-plated industrial shelves?

Windsor Smith had these run-of-the-mill hardware store metal shelves plated for Tracy Anderson's new flagship studio (the whole place is incredible).  It looks like she used something similar to these $90 shelves and replaced the MDF with marble and added casters. 

I know I'd definitely get my laundry done more often with a pair of these next to my washer/dryer. :)

How to Paint Perfectly Crisp and Straight Lines on Walls

After this post, some of you emailed for tips on painting really crisp and straight lines on walls. I have a simple approach, but it works every time for me! One little disclaimer though - stripes don't work well on highly textured walls. The lines just never look perfect, which would bug me a bit. So, best to attempt stripes only if you have smooth or close to smooth walls.(Oooh! An update from the comments section: If you have textured walls, use caulking to seal the tape and you lines will be straight!!) To start, use a ruler to make your registration marks. My stripes are 8" wide, so I made a little mark with a pencil 8" above the floor board, every 18" or so around the wall of the closet, making sure to mark at the corners and turns especially. Then just measure and mark 8" above every one of those marks, going all the way up the wall.

Then use painters tape to connect the marks. Try hard to not bend the tape. If you pull the tape out gently and straight, you can trust that your lines will also be straight.

You can see here that the stripes don't look evenly spaced (because they're not). You'll need to tape above the registration mark and then below the registration mark to block out the full 8" for the stripe.

Then go back over the tape with your thumb and really smooth out and lay down the tape, just on the edges you'll be painting.

Here's the real trick for perfectly crisp lines: seal the edges of the painters tape with some of the base wall color before painting on the contrasting color. Don't paint the whole width of the tape. Just a bit along the edge of the tape on the side where the stripe will be painted.

Let that dry before you paint on the stripe color.

For my stripe color, I wanted to do a gray that sort of coordinated with the gray I just painted in my powder bath, since the doors are across the hall, only about three feet apart from each other. I didn't want to do the exact same color and I wanted something much lighter, so I mixed about one part BM Chelsea Gray with two parts White Dove.

You can roll or brush on the stripe color, and then I like to pull the tape off while the paint is still wet. I don't think it matters either way though, if you prefer waiting til it's dry. (#impatient)

Check out those lines! Not a bit of paint bled through because that extra little strep of sealing the edges with the base coat paint. I've used all brands of painters tape before too, and none of them give me the same results without doing the sealing step.

It's one of those completely satisfying projects that moves pretty fast. I busted out this closet in about two hours.

PS Some of you asked about the citron boxes I have on the shelf here. They're shoe boxes from Crewcuts! Ha! J. Crew is having an additional 40% off sale items plus free shipping, so how could I resist picking up some new spring kicks for the girls? The cute, sturdy boxes were a little bonus though, for sure. :)

dot oxfords
neon t-strap ballet flats
neon zipper boots
sven clogs

Cleaning Up My Recycling Closet

In the past, I've always tried to recycle, but that usually meant just sorting the obvious things - plastic bottles and cardboard boxes. We were never all that diligent about sorting... until we moved to Brooklyn Heights. People really care about recycling here (including and maybe especially the people that live next to us).  :) There might have been a situation where they tattled on us for not sorting good enough (whoopsies).

I have to say though, I'm actually sort of grateful we got busted. We were pushed to figure out a solution where we carved out some space to quickly and easily sort out our plastics, glass and paper. And now, recycling is a breeze, truly, and I feel less guilt-ridden. Like we are doing our part.

Here's how we did it:

We have a little closet right by the front door on the parlor level. It's across from the powder bath and around the corner from the kitchen. I think it was meant to be a coat closet or maybe even a pantry at one time. Mostly it was just disgusting. (seriously)

 

The painters the landlord hired to paint the brownstone before we moved in did a pretty shoddy job. They didn't paint the insides of any of the closets. I mean, what? Weird. So slowly I've been tackling one closet at a time to fix the situation, but I hadn't had a chance to do the recycling closet until recently. See that gross cream color? That was the color of the entire house before we moved in and it just looked dirty. (doesn't the Cabbage White look much more fresh?)

Gross. I'm am totally disgusted by the state of this closet and I live here. Apologies. No wonder I was no good at recycling! Who would want to open the door for this view:

30+ years of cream paint in a garbage closet is bound to look bad, even after a few scrubbings! So a new coat of paint in the closet was added to the to-do list. But probably the biggest issue we've had with the recycling situation is the girls had trouble figuring out how to sort items in the identical bins we had in the closet.

So on the fly I primed and painted just the outsides of the bins with chalkboard paint. Then I went outside to the recycling bins in front of our house and snapped photos of the two sorting guides.

I'd been dying to put my chalkboard pen to use again (they are so cool - totally recommend picking one up at an art supply store or you can buy one here). Gracie and I chose a couple of items to display on each of the bins and talked about layout and then she got to work with the chalkboard pen.

Claire was a little bummed she missed out on the illustrating action this time, but that's the good news about chalkboard (pen) recycling bins - the pen wipes off with a wet rag, so she can have a turn as often as she likes. Whatever helps them to learn their sorting, right? :)

Also, don't the walls look about a million times better? They got a fresh coat of white paint, which  was a huge improvement on its own, but horizontal stripes make every space more fun. Especially in tiny little secret spaces, where the stripes surprise you every time you need the broom or go to throw away an empty olive oil bottle.

And I'm happy to report that the mini-makeover and the new recycling bins have totally improved our recycling habits, and by a lot. The girls are just about pro-level recyclers now and it's so cool to see them excitedly taking ownership over what used to be a chore for us all.

I'd love to hear what you guys do to make recycling (or anything to live a more green lifestyle) an easy habit for you and your family. I'm working on adding more eco-friendly cleaning products into my housekeeping routine. My sister in law is a budgeting super-star and an all-around phenomenal housekeeper. When I mentioned this post to her, she says she uses and completely loves Green Works, and I'm excited to take her word for it and try it myself.


This post is sponsored by Green Works. You don't have to compromise to be clean when you use hard working, plant-based cleaners by The Clorox Company.

Check out this quick video to learn more. :)

Pretty in Park Slope

Today I am SO excited to share a brand new project from my friends Suzanne and Lauren McGrath from Good Bones, Great Pieces. (Did you check out their amazing book yet? I wrote about it here.) I love how fresh this Brooklyn space feels! 

Here's Lauren:

"This apartment is of a lovely young couple that found us through our blog. They live in an old brownstone apartment building turned co-op in Park Slope facing Prospect Park. Their apartment is small but Natalie (the wife) who is a real estate agent and often works from home, really wanted a space that felt cozy and chic. Natalie and her husband, a lawyer, are both from the Midwest, and they're still discovering the wonders of living in New York City. They love living here. It is so refreshing to see their enthusiasm! 

"They chose to live near the park so that they could be able to walk their beloved and ginormous dog :) The dog was in the apartment when we were installing all the furniture and artwork, and it was hysterical trying to navigate around him! Fortunately for us, Natalie and her husband truly wanted to hand over the design of this new place, so with a fresh start, they actually brought almost nothing to their new place. Most of the hodgepodge of merged furniture pieces was sold off on Craig's List. We were happy because we got to work with a clean slate- every decorators dream. It also helped that Natalie is such a delightful young woman.

"We wanted Natalie's apartment to feel young and fresh and fun, like her! The first thing we purchased was the sofa at the Lilian August warehouse in Norwalk, CT. Once we had the main seating piece down, we were off and running! In terms of the color palette, we used the framed bird prints above the sofa as inspiration.These were taken from an old copy of "Audubon Birds of America" we found on a dusty shelf at a flea market. 

"We kept the largest upholstered piece neutral, as well as the rug, and injected pops of blue, red, green and pink with art, lighting, pillows, and other accessories. The show stopper was probably the amazing bird's egg blue lacquered Chippendale style chair Lauren found at Circa Who in Palm Beach, Florida. We chose to reupholster the seat cushion in one of our favorite Sister Parish inspired red and white prints. The combination jumps off the wall and makes us smile. Of course, we had to add cherry red tape to embellish the white roman shade on the window. It's so happy! 

"The lamp on the West Elm Parson's desk is quite oversized, and we like it that way. It's important to have some pieces in the room that are of different scale, particularly in small spaces. The LOVE artwork was a small stroke of genius. We fell in love with this textile from Lu Lu DK's latest collection at Schumacher. We decided to buy a yard and had it strung to a canvas. Apparently this technique was all the rage in college dorm rooms in the 1980's. We're bringing it back, with whimsy.

     

"The bedroom is actually a very small room, but we made it look grand by walllpapering the wall behind the bed- they insisted on a King! We found an amazing headboard at an antique emporium, tucked behind many others. Upholstering it in a cotton velvet just made it look so luxe. Inexpensive swing arm lamps save room when there isn't any for bedside tables. In the end, it looks quite fancy, but it's not. Their dog sleeps at the foot of the bed, we think! Whatever, we know they're happy with their first nest, and so are we.

"This kitchen is very long and narrow but it was important to Natalie to have a place to sit and eat (since there is no dining room). We came up with a design for a built-in breakfast nook space which would utilize every square foot of space, and look like it was always there.

"We chose an adorable print fabric to make a custom seat cushion with, and it immediately looked welcoming and comfortable. The client found this table top at a thrift shop, then had a custom pedestal made to allow for leg room."

SOURCE LIST

Kitchen:

Custom banquette cushion fabric: Pindler and Pindler

Pillow: Pier 1 

Table (client's own)

Art: Stolen ;) from a Rothko book and framed in Ikea shadow box frames 

Roman shade: custom designed by us, Bright Apple Green Tape for Accent, Samuel and Sons

Living Room:

Sofa: Lilian August found at the warehouse store in Norwalk, CT

Pillows: custom pillows designed by us in a Brunschwig & Fils paisley 

Coffee table: Found at the Salvation Army in Mount Vernon, NY for $15 

Scallop-edge side tables: found at Braswell in Westport, CT , We lacquered them in a Ralph Lauren dark navy blue 

Rug: Overstock.com

Lamps: Apple green, from Dovecoat, Westport Ct.

Bird prints above sofa: Taken out of the pages of "Audubon Birds of America"and framed in inexpensive frames found at A.I Friedman 

Pink upholstered chair: found at Brimfield, from an estate in Maine

Art above chair: we created this large scale piece of art from one of our favorite Lu Lu DK fabrics for Schumacher. When the budget is tight we like to make our own art by framing a large canvas with a dramatic fabric. 

Desk: West Elm Parsons desk 

Stools: Found at Circa Who in Palm Beach, FL and upholstered in a Duralee ikat fabric 

Lamp: Wisteria 

Art: From the 1970's, Found at Consign It in Greenwich, CT 

Turquoise boxes: Wisteria 

Occasional chair: Found at Circa Who in Palm Beach, FL and upholstered in a Brunschwig & Fils fabric 

Duck prints above chair: Found at Brimfield, reframed

Bedroom: 

Headboard: This is an antique French king size headboard that came out of an estate with lots of very old French pieces. We found this piece at one of our favorite auction houses called Braswell (unfortunately it no longer exists) and we had it reupholstered in a soft velvet. The headboard cost us $450. 

Wallpaper: The wallpaper is from Duralee

Side tables: Wisteria

Sconces: House of Troy

Bed pillow: custom made by us from a Schumacher ikat fabric 

A huge thanks the Lauren and Suzanne for sharing this lovely project!

All photos by Matt McGrath.

My Pantry and a $500 Give Away

This post is sponsored by the makers of Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes, the quick and easy way to clean and disinfect your home!

My pantry serves as our laundry room, storage room, cleaning closet, china hutch and tool shed. It can get a little crazy up in here. There's lots going on. 

We have two huge bookshelves (twice the width you see here) for holding everything, as well as the big filing cabinet, which holds all of our bigger tools.

A while back we installed two pegboard panels above the tool cabinet. I usually say that everything should be put away for a clean, uncluttered look. But sometimes, especially in a small space, things can get buried quickly. Making this pegboard has made my life so much more efficient.

Since the pantry door is usually open I wanted the pegboard wall to be as clean and simple-looking as possible. I thought about painting the pegboard a cool color at first, but I didn't want it to stick out more than it already does, so I left the white. But I did spray paint all the organizational hardware the same rose gold color.

It's subtle, but I like the little bit of shine.

I also use about a dozen clear tupperware bins. I bought them at Home Depot for a dollar each. 

I have them labeled with these cute chalkboard labels from Martha Stewart's label line for Avery. 

Each bin holds something small and specific, like upholstery staples or tape or wall anchors.

Another thing that helps keep this room running smoothly is my little whiteboard. I jot down things on this board that we're running out. They're usually things I wouldn't remember while making a shopping list (like laundry detergent or light bulbs). 

Other things that make the room special to me- the persian rug I bought in Belgium for just a few euros (I think it was only three!) and the pair of porcelain animal hooks I got in Delaware at the Amish flea market. We usually hang aprons from these and the girls adore them.

The pantry is sort of like the command center of our home. It's been surprisingly good to us these past two years (not that I won't be excited for a little more space when we move!). I think this room was a great learning experience for me and reminded me how well a space can function when it is well-organized.

So, I'd love to hear about your best organizing tip. What do you do to keep your challenge spaces tidy and running smoothly? Share your tip in the comments section for a chance to win a whopping $500 in gift cards! $250 to Target AND $250 to the Container Store! 

Contest ends June 24. Rules can be read in full here. Good luck!

House Tour: Emily and Todd's Entry and Laundry Room

Hi friends! I hope you had a great weekend! We're wrapping up Todd and Emily's house tour today, starting with their entry (I'm still cracking up over their chalk board message) and laundry room (so bright and FUN!). Come back a little later today for their new play room. Enjoy!

The Entry

"We have a very small entry. As soon as you enter the front door, you can either go straight up the stairs, to the left and down the hallway to the kitchen, or to the right into the living room. All that would fit in our little entry was something small like a bench. I found a little antique spindle bench on CL for $80. It was originally painted black which we promptly changed to Martha Stewart Vintage Map (this color is from her old line of paint at Lowes, but ACE Hardware still had the codes in the computer).

"The peach pillow is Anthropologie from about 10 years ago. I found the beachcomber basket at Home Goods for $20! A similar one is at Pottery Barn for more than a $100. We use it for umbrellas and Parker’s baseball bats. We’ve gone back and forth on whether to add baskets under the bench but ultimately we decided that we like the shoes lined up, makes it look like a real home. Todd is probably just agreeing with me on this one because he’s sick of me bringing home baskets and storage containers. I have a slight obsession with both.

"Other than the hooks in our kitchen, we didn’t have any black and white in the house so I made this bench pad using a 3 inch black and white stripe material from Premier Prints. I recently bought some laminated fabric though to make a new pad cover because every time we use the chalk board, chalk dust falls all over the pad. I’ve washed it a couple of times and every time I do the cover gets looser and sloops. But seeing this laminated fabric makes me think that I may need to re-paint the bench all together.

"After seeing and loving Christina’s frame turned chalkboard, I set out to do the same. We found the antique mirror on CL and spray painted it white. Before painting the mirror with chalkboard paint we put on a coat of BIN primer.

"I LOVE our ceiling light! I'm all about vintage crystal lights, plus we needed something that didn’t hang down very far so it wouldn’t hit the door when it opened. This one was perfect.

"The banister and hand rail going up the stairs used to be that awful gold oak from the 90’s, but my sweet dad painted them with white oil paint so they match the rest of the trim. (Jenny here. I'm going to sneak in this photo Emily sent me right after a gallon of paint exploded all over her at the check out at Home Depot. The paint guy forgot to hammer down the lid after mixing! Eeps! :) You can also see the before in the background here)

"To the right of the front door, as you walk into the living room, is a little piece I bought at Home Goods.

"We were looking everywhere on CL and at the flea market to find a narrow piece with storage that could go in this spot. When I saw this at Home Goods it was perfect only it had painted flowers all over it.

"We painted it Benjamin Moore Wolf Gray and added bone white knobs from Anthropologie.

"I’ve had the hardest time decorating the top. Those darn light switches get in the way of everything. Thank you Jen for posting about framed butterflies. I got on ebay and found this set of small framed butterflies. The antique brass lamp is from my parents and the flower pot is from Home Goods.

Sources
Chalkboard: Frame found on CL, turned into chalkboard
Bench: CL
Bench cover: Fabric from Premier Prints
Pillow: Anthropologie
Basket: Home Goods
Vintage crystal light: ebay
Entry console: Home Goods, painted Benjamin Moore Wolf Gray
Knobs on entry console: Anthropologie
Books: Amazon
Framed butterflies: ebay
Flower pot: Home Goods
Blue milk glass dish: flea market
Antique brass lamp: gifted
Hydrangea’s: garden (all of the flowers in these posts have been from our garden)

On to the laundry room!!

"Funny story about this room. It’s probably TMI, but the night before I was going to paint this room Todd and I had a little tiff (I have no idea what it was about). Anyway, when I woke up in the morning he had painted the ceiling, taped everything off, and cut in all the lines. Basically, all I had to do was roll it. And he left me a sweet note on the wall.

"When it came to planning the laundry room we decided to go bold. I always want to use these kinds of colors but I usually chicken out. The laundry room seemed like the best place to have fun. The fabric on the roman shade is by Anna Maria Horner. To hide all of the storage above the washer and dryer I made two lined curtain panels, this fabric is Heather Bailey.

"We needed a place to hang clothes that couldn’t go in the dryer and to dry wet rags and dish towels before throwing them into the laundry basket. I love the drying racks at Ballards but we didn’t want to spend that much money. So Todd built this simple drying rack for about $5 and we painted it a shade lighter than the walls, though you can’t really tell. We opted to get the stands for the washer and dryer for extra storage which meant there isn’t really a surface area for setting clothes down while you switch out the loads. The hamper from Target fills that role. I originally wanted something like this but it was too big. I use the hamper for rags, dish towels, and bath towels, basically things that I don’t wash until we are out. It’s nice to hide them away in a covered hamper and since we dry them on the drying rack before putting in the hamper they don’t get stinky.

"My favorite part about this laundry room other than the color is the art. I first heard about Leslie Graff when Caitlin Creer blogged about her. I ordered a set of 5 post cards and framed my favorites in Target frames. I think she’s come out with a few more prints since we ordered these. These would be so fun in my future office/sewing room too.

"For the red light we bought a $10 brass light fixture from Habitat and spray painted it. The ironing board is mounted on the back of the door and a big linen closet is on the left just as you walk in. Someday I would love to tile this room.

Sources
Wall Color: Peacock Blue, Benjamin Moore
Hamper: Target
Art: Leslie Graff, frames from Target
Rug: Eatman’s Carpets, Raleigh, NC
Light fixture: Brass light from Habitat, spray painted red
Drying rack: homemade
Roman Shade fabric: Anna Maria Horner
Curtain fabric: Heather Bailey