See how mahogany piano cases have been remade into fascinating bookcases. As a little girl, I spent many hours tickling the ivories of our baby grand, but later I picked up a flute and never looked back. When my parents built a new home it was a hard decision for Mom to sell the piano as it had been in our family for three generations. While I'm happy it was restored, and is … [Read more...]
Gurney Console Tables
Vintage medical apparatuses are très chic as gurney tables. Metal medical cabinets used for bathroom storage have been in vogue for awhile. But how many vintage gurney tables have you seen used as when visiting friends? These are made by repurposing old medical equipment and they work as part of the larger industrial furniture trend. This salvage style as a hall console has a … [Read more...]
Wine Tasting Tables
Wine tasting tables blend form and function, while remaining versatile pieces. A favored purchase of my youngest daughter for her home was a reproduction French wine tasting table. It's small in size, but big in character - raw, aged oak with hand joinery. She's currently using it as a living room side table, but it would also function nicely as a bedside table. A larger, … [Read more...]
Gradient Color Painted Dressers
Painted dressers, with a smooth blending of shades from light to dark, are attractive and creative. Now and then I run across something so creative that I can't wait to use the idea at my house or --even better -- my youngest daughter's house. These gradient painted dressers qualify. When I first saw the vintage dresser Korrie from Red Hen Home painted in gradient colors … [Read more...]
Eclectic Gender-Neutral Nursery
A gender neutral nursery was created for baby but in style and color harmony with the rest of the house. This gender neutral nursery is near and dear to my heart, as it belongs to our first grandchild. We're having a baby boom at Atticmag and it all started a few weeks ago with the Sophisticated Safari Nursery our pal Brandy created for little Blake. But the nursery I helped … [Read more...]
Sophisticated Safari Nursery
A safari theme baby's room by a DIY mom is designed for growth and exploration. We're having a baby boom at Atticmag, and our first new mom-to-be is Brandy O. You may remember her guest post Rugs in Morocco. I've known her long enough to believe there is nothing she cannot do. Expecting her first child in July, Brandy began a safari theme nursery by painting the walls of the … [Read more...]
My Daughter’s Dining Room Redo
For my daughter's dining room redo we used mix of reproduction and vintage furnishings. Over the past year, our youngest daughter has enjoyed bringing a mid-90's house into this century, including a dining room redo. Entering her home, the foyer opens into the dining room (to the right) and living room (straight ahead). The living area was featured a few weeks ago when I … [Read more...]
Classic Trends in Decorating
Truly timeless objects are classic trends that never go out of style when it comes to accessories. Go to any home decorating forum and it won't be hard to find someone asking about current and classic trends in decorating. The problem with "the latest" is that it probably won't stand the test of time. Often, it ends up in a tag sale at a fraction of its original cost. I've … [Read more...]
Alabama Stone Cottage Details
A closer look at stone cottage details in the Alabama home of home our blogging partner Allison. Our two-part virtual walk-through of Allison’s house was designed to highlight highly original living spaces she has worked so hard to create. This one will focus on her stone cottage details. If you haven’t yet toured the main rooms in part one, or explored her elegant French Gray … [Read more...]
Alabama Stone Cottage II
Our room-by-room walk through of Allison's Alabama stone cottage continues. Our tour of Allison’s lovely stone house on a lake in Alabama continues with a walk through some of the private spaces in the 5-bedroom home that our blogging partner and her husband built on 4-1/2 acres. If you missed part one of the tour, you might want to start there — a good deal of background is … [Read more...]
Jonathan Adler’s Mod Beach House
Tour the modern Shelter Island, NY beach house of designers Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan Some years ago, (certainly within the last decade) I clipped these photos of an A-frame beach house on Shelter Island (Hamptons, New York) belonging to Simon Doonan (L) and Jonathan Adler (R). As a New Yorker, it’s hard not to know of Doonan, legendary Creative Director at Barney’s and … [Read more...]
European Grain Sack Pillows
Vintage linen grain sack pillows are prized for their French or German lettering Interior designer Kymberly Frasier has combined her passion for antiques, textiles and design into exquisite grain sack pillows and upholstery. Referred to as "authenticated originals," the one-of-a-kind European grain sacks are sewn into pillows featuring timeless antique designs and or farmers’ … [Read more...]