It's War.

Remember THIS "cool" "vintage" army trunk that I was going to put at the foot of our bed? Yeeeaaah. That was going to be so awesome until I realized that the interior of this thing STINKS and the smell cannot be removed. As in, layers of bleach and Febreze and airing out and god knows what other strong products and it still stinks like mold and corpse almost one year later. (I suspect that rather than carrying around the belongings of Major Dean B. McNealy as he sallied forth, it actually CARRIED AROUND Major Dean B. McNealy.)



Vintage Trunk = Smelly Coffin?

And the vintage army blanket ("new condition") that I ordered from the internet? It stinks too. What gives? No amount of cleaning has washed awayeth its stench which wafteth forth like vomit into my linen closet. So, I am now campaigning to get them both out of the house. I must convince JJ that we need to send these items back to whence they came, namely Goodwill.



Barf Blanket!

Mood Board.

Created this "mood board" a while ago. Maybe in April 2008? To me, the items on it are pretty classic. And you know what? I still dig every item over a year later, so they must be timeless. I imagine these items in a home office in a hip, urban loft somewhere like SoMa or Brooklyn or Amsterdam or South London. Don't you think it would make a pretty kick ass home office, especially with that big window? Although with that view, I probably wouldn't get any work done.

Atmosphere.

Lest you think that the furniture/designs from Ochre are too... brooding? dark? moody? and that maybe you're not sure if you love or hate Ochre because of this "feeling" you get, let me show you something that might persuade you to like their stuff as much as I do. (See my earlier post about Ochre.) Because, yes, the photos from the Ochre website, while pretty, do have a certain stormy quality to them. Must be the dark and dusky earth tones and the "rough" textures. Who knows? Below are photos from co-founder Harriet Maxwell Macdonald's home as shown in Domino magazine (RIP Domino). As you can see, this is no dark and stormy home. It's bright and light and cozy and spacious - all at the same time. And yes, most of the furniture is from the Ochre store. You see, it's all about the mix.

And may I add that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the bedroom? Especially the gray/blue wall color? (May I? and may I use ALL CAPS again? No? Okay, sorry.) :)

If only I could mix furnishings like this. Wowza.

(All images from Domino Magazine, taken by Elizabeth Zeschin)

ALL CAPS are the new parentheses (seriously)

Hey, just a quick mea culpa about the sudden increase in the use of the Caps Lock key. Before I used to put emphasis on my writing by using funny "asides" inside parentheses (hey, don't act like you don't do it, too) and of late I've been YELLING ALL OF THE TIME. I just want to get across to my readers, all 5 of you, that I am excited!!! about the things that I'm posting. Maybe it's the blog equivalent of underlining five times in your 7th grade diary the name of the guy you like. So, apologies for the electronic screaming, the not-so-witty witticisms (if any) and the overall poor grammar. All in all, I realize that my horrible writing is a result of one thing: laziness. Dear Readers, you should expect more from someone who had a perfect score on the Verbal (writing) section of the SAT. (I can brag, it's my blog.) What I mean to write is: I'll do better. I promise.

FOR REALZ!!!

Peace out,
Tara :)



P.S. (I'll never stop using exclamation points and smiley faces, however. Never!!!)

I Ache for Ochre

The most beautiful furniture combined with antique items sourced from all over the world, custom-designed lighting and amazing stylings... I'm in love. Ochre is: amazing.

Per the OCHRE STORE website:
"OCHRE was started by two friends at a London art school who started making things they liked regardless of the latest trends. Their elegant understated style proved very popular with a wide audience including the Design Press. Ten years later (and after a third partner had joined), OCHRE and I teamed up to open a shop on Broome Street in Soho, New York. The store is not just meant to showcase OCHRE’s beautiful range of furniture and lighting but also curates other people’s work; rare and exceptional pieces that complement the OCHRE line. OCHRE’s design philosophy always emphasizes the use of high quality materials and flawless craftsmanship to create objects which are both timeless and contemporary - and everything in the OCHRE STORE endeavours to echo these principles."

Now, for some eye candy.

(You see that chair JJ? I LOVE it.)


And if you want to fall in LOVE too, you ABSOLUTELY must check out the two most amazing slideshows on the Ochre Store website:

VINTAGE SLIDESHOW
and
SCRAPBOOK SLIDESHOW

Or, just go straight to the source: OCHRE (Design - Furniture, Accessories and Lighting)and OCHRE STORE (Everything)

(ALL images from Ochre website(s).)

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...)