Clockwatching.

Sitting at my REAL desk in my REAL office (read: barfy cubicle) I began to dream about my WISH desk for my WISH office...

First, my George Nelson desk designed for Herman Miller:

Then, a nice comfy desk chair such as the Saarinen Womb Chair (I think it's pretty ergonomic, don't you?):

Then, some shelving upon which to store my design magazines, like the Atlas Industries AS4 Shelving:

Some office supplies...like a beautiful red Swingline stapler and a good, strong Ranger pencil sharpener:

 and

Next I probably would need a better computer so that I could check e-mail, send some tweets and update my blog. Maybe this gold-plated MacBook?

And of course, some "motivational" artwork:

Yep. This is how I wish my design studio would look. Oh, didn't I mention it? My WISH office is actually more of a WISH STUDIO for my MAKE BELIEVE INTERIOR DESIGN FIRM. (The overuse of the Caps Lock key is because I am LAZY today.)

Covet. Covet. Covet.

COVET
Main Entry: cov·et
Pronunciation: \ˈkə-vət\
Function: verb
1 : to wish for earnestly 2 : to desire (what belongs to another) inordinately or culpably

I love house tours. They inspire me and are fun and you can always get some great decorating ideas. But I don't ever want to forceably shove someone out of their house so that I can move in. That has changed due to "Scott and Marie's Perfectly Put Together Home" from Apartment Therapy. I want their place, furniture and all, and I am willing to push hard.

Below are a few photos from the house tour posted on Apartment Therapy back in May, but really, you must check out the entire slideshow posted on the site.

Go to the
GRAND TOUR and prepare to be amazed.


Dining Room:

(Dig the "rough" table and the rug.)

Library:

(Books! Books! Books!)

Retro-fab Kitchen:

If/when JJ and I move/buy/steal a house in SF, I hope it is JUST like this one, right down to the framed bat. *sigh*

NOTE: ALL PHOTOS AND RELATED CONTENT FROM WWW.APARTMENTTHERAPY.COM (giving credit where credit is due. OH and you should check the AT site regularly. It is pretty kick a$$).

Modern Love

This morning I was checking up on my favorite blogs over a cup of coffee and I happened upon the work of Belinda George Architects on desiretoinspire. Wow! So cool. I want this house! I know, I know, the other day I wanted a run-down Tuscan villa, but today I want a modern, uber-cool home. See...

Internal debate ensued:

Brain: "Make up your mind!"
Heart: "Get them both!"
Soul: "Ye-yeah!"

Click HERE to see the original post and be inspired or go straight to the source: Belinda George Architects. If you don't want a modern house after visiting her site, then you are SO. NOT. COOL.

Island Mania!

I know we don't currently have any room (or need) for a work table/island in our kitchen, but I still want one. Preferrably one with a rustic, scarred butcher-block top. One day...

I could settle for a nice stainless steel one too. (See I'm not so picky.)

I mean, look at our kitchen. It could work, right? Right?

I'll keep dreamin'.

My Not-So-Green Thumb

Here are some photos of the backyard. Such as it is. There are more flowers now (yay!) less rose bushes (nay, nay!) and also a bench that I made with JJ's help. Not terribly exciting, but it's a start. The front yard? Well, I'll post those photos later.

(Okay, so this isn't our garden. But, I wish it were...)

Kilim Fever

What is it about old and faded rugs that really gets me going? I truly have no idea. They are so romantic in an Orientalism/English Patient/souk-bazaar/Salaambo sort of way... Clearly I need more rugs in my house. Maybe something to jazz up our "Home Depot Barfed Here" bathroom.

Sunken Garden Pools in my Tuscan Villa

So, when I discover a random pile of money under my mattress and decide to do the "Year in Provence" or "Under the Tuscan Sun" thing and take some time off from work, buy a charmingly run-down villa somewhere in Europe, and renovate the whole property into a magnificent vacation home, I'd really like to have a sunken garden pool installed somewhere on the property. (Of course this diamond-in-the-rough villa comes with a few acres, an old stable and a vineyard). Being open and friendly, I will make friends with the  quirky but friendly neighbor Jacques (or Gianni) who will just happen to be able to help me source some local stone, help me dig up a previously undiscovered artesian well and just so happens to have a cousin who is an artisan bricklayer. And, voila! this is what we'll have:

or maybe something like this:

or:

It will be great. I really look forward to the sitting on the terrace (or terrazo) with JJ, drinking some of our own vineyard's wine (not great, but definitely palatable) and watching our kids splash around in the pool we (okay, Jacques/Gianni and his cousins Alphonse/Alfredo) put in with our bare hands. Now, I just need to start looking for that money...

Were you born in a barn?

Nope. But, I'd love to live in this converted stable:

From Urban Turf (super cool, check it out), here is a delivery stable converted in 2006. Bowling alley lanes as countertops? Me likey. (Reminds me of Alembic Bar's use of Kezar stadium benches as a bar top.) Click the link above to see more photos and to read the full article or go on a virtual tour HERE.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: beautiful.

Black Trim? I'm Intrigued...

(Image via Apartment Therapy.)

Honeymoon's over! Back to work...er blogging!

Okay, I swore to my loyal readership (Hi Mom!) that I would start posting on my blog once the craziness of the wedding was over. So, expect more regular posts from now on. JJ is going to help me organize my photos so that I can easily share some neat stuff...from OUR home.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Navarro. (Um, how weird is that?)



Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - A great place to honeymoon. Beautiful with A LOT of cool things to do and see.