Moodboard: The Living Room
First up was the living room. I wanted to go with something that was fun, comfortable and modern. A space that evoked both leisure and style, the living room is the heart of our home. I know, I know — the kitchen is supposed to be the heart of the home, but I imagine we will spend countless hours watching TV, playing Wii, reading, listening to music (both iPod and the boyfriend’s guitar) and hosting a friend or two.
With that in mind, I present the rough moodboard for our space. Nothing has been purchased yet (except that lovely Wayne Pate print) so things may get altered slightly..
What do you think? I decided that since I’m really in love with the mid-century modern style, I wanted to reflect that in our home. Let’s break it down, shall we?
Down to a Blanket
After talking to the boyfriend about my “perfect bedroom,” I couldn’t convince him that the DwellStudio Draper Sheet set was right for us. He apparently wanted something warmer, and I think I’ve found it in this photo. This is the bedroom of Jeff Andrews, whom I found via Elle Decor. That should have stopped me right there. I should have said, “Laura, this room is featured on Elle Decor. Elle Decor is a “fru-fru” magazine and has expensive taste, much like Gwyneth Paltrow. You should really just close the tab and move along.”
But nooo, I had to keep looking, keep oogling. And what’s worse, I showed it to the boyfriend, and he LOVES the bedroom. Great. Now the pressure is on. Let’s break the room down, shall we?
Did You Notice?
Under the yellow blanket… see it? Yep! That’s right! I repainted the Bertoia chairs! You may remember them looking more like this:
Well, sans the kitteh. But she makes the photo better, because those chairs, as much as I loved the lines, were gross. See this, gross:
See those legs?!
So a few weeks ago, after thinking about the color I wanted them for quite some time, I decided to paint them a basic, neutral and oh so graphic BLACK. I scrubbed them good and clean, managed to get the 30 year, rusted bolts undone and went to town on them with my favorite tool: spray paint.
From drab to fab in a few hours, I now have two sleek and sexy chairs that resemble art (to me) rather than junk.
Because we’ll be moving into a home with a lack of carpet downstairs (fine by me!), I’ve since put some felt glides on the bottoms of them to protect our upcoming floors from scratches. Next on the list will be to pick up some seat cushions for them in matching black so that they are actually comfortable to sit on, and don’t require a blanket to hide those gorgeous lines!
I’m sure they would have looked wonderful in a repainted white, but after seeing the grime and general grossness of the white, I wanted to go in a whole new direction. Other colors I considered were orange, green and yellow. What color would you have picked? Something to match your decor, or something more timeless like grey, black or white?
Around the Web: Mont Saint Hilaire
Found on DesignMilk this morning. I love the clean lines juxtaposed to the rugged outdoors. You can see more by visiting contemporist.
While the decor is a bit too sparse for my tastes, I love the clean lines of the home. Now if only houses like this didn’t cost millions…
New Dresser from Modern Mobler
A couple weeks ago I met a guy named Doug who had a couple of storage units worth of mid-century modern furniture up in Bethesda for showing. If you search DC craigslist for mid-century, he comes up quite a bit (though now under a new alias). I’ve drooled over his stuff for awhile, and finally found a piece that I loved and could afford.
I was so drawn to it’s unusual nature — tapered legs, slatted drawers and awesome little pulls. It even has a little lip on top to keep all the stuff I store above from falling off.
Though it looks as though there are 6 little drawers, it’s actually one HUGE drawer that’s perfect for storing a ton of clothes. The handles are in great condition, brass with a black inlay that is perfectly graphic.
The legs are a nice little treat. From above they look like your typical mid-century modern tapered legs, but get down on the ground and you’ll notice the “W” detail that attaches the cross-beam to the body of the dresser, both for extra support and added style.
It was such a treat to drive up to Bethesda to check out Doug’s collection. And great news for him, he just opened a store on Georgia Ave called Modern Mobler! I’m hoping to go check it out this summer once the boyfriend and I get settled into our new place and start updating our furniture (with vintage pieces, no less). Doug’s site is still in the works, but bookmark it now and keep an eye out for new pieces! Good luck Doug, and thanks for a lovely find!
