Another day, another Alchemy Eclectic interior...

Y'all are lookin' at a screen grab of one of the shots (by fab photog Kelly Marshall) from another one of my interior projects:

This is a detail pic of a bar, that I made from an old armoire from Salvation Army...

Check back soon for the hawt REVEAL shots of the rest of the space! HOLLA!

The Little Black...Nightstands!

A few weeks back I admitted, with gusto, that I painted wood...in copious amounts...all the time. And these Craigslist scores started like this:

Then were primed like so:

To turn out like THIS, Betch:

I mean...are y'all seeing this????:

WHAT?!?!

How insanely glossy gorgeous did this paint job make the old hardware look? WAY Gloss, WAY!

Show me those curves...sexy-time, oh!:

These gals just went from frau to mutha-f$%ckin' WOW! Class, how many of y'all are gonna start paintin' your wooden furniture now? Consider y'all-selves properly schooled!

Boo Yeah!

From banal to beauti-mous, my Battery Park City executrix got exactly what she wanted:

Bam biotch! Obvi, the 'blurred lines' happening in the above pic weren't intentional-- I'm clearly no photographer, y'all. and some key items that weren't on either proposal ended up being winners: that fab chesterfield sofa, perky floor lamp and luscious rug...but that's how the process werks...I present client with my ideal picks, they love or hate & when necessary, we throw down like Crystal & Alexis, all "Dynasty" like, until sufficient style slapping and shoulder pad tearing has been achieved...

I loved curating her existing killer art collection in fun and unexpected ways throughout...oh and LOOK y'all, the pooch even got his own spot to chill:

This sexy media console below is giving me FULL LIFE!

And this hottie mid century inspired leather armchair below gives my gal that hit of leather she lusts for, yet in a toned & tight silhouette-- I'll take some of THAT!

I angled her desk/dining table as well as her newly painted (& papered) bookcase to shake things up a bit. Remember that when your arranging or re-arranging your own furniture-- trying things on an angle could be the unexpected genius solution you never considered ...LURV...here's a close-up of the bookcase-- that's the clients' own pattern design that we had printed on adhesive-backed vinyl! It's subtle but SO CHIC and was uber-easy to do!

and

This divine blue velvet scooped side chair and mirrored side table (actually one of a three-piece set; the other two live on left side of sofa in first pic. awesome way to budget stretch-- buy a 'set' and break it, up for multiples) were scored from Joss & Main-- they are such a great source for crazy affordable 'liciousness-- become a member NOW biotch!!! (They do curated limited-run sales, so sorry there's no direct link for these items...you gotta get 'em when you see 'em on there!)

Given her budget and the limitations with being a renter in a strict-ass building like hers, overall, the space looks incredible! Upon seeing it for the first time after install, my client commented, "I feel like someone creative lives here". I'd say my job was done.

Banal 2: Style Served

On yesterday's episode, my adorbs client in a banal Battery Park City apartment needed serious style help w/her multifunction living & dining rooms. It's almost unfathomable: popcorn ceilings, gargantuan furniture...beige. OH-- the SHADE of it all! But, clutch your pearls, Betches...'cause things are 'bout to get correct-ed:

Proposal #1 above is just melt-in-your-mouth yummy...but WAIT, there's MORE!:

Proposal #2 is also scrumptious, yet giving y'all a melange of different flavors to make you whip your hair back & forth! Whip your hair back & forth!

What's happening in both proposals is that I'm trying to give the lady what she wants: hits of industrial & wood, a sense of 'lightness' w/slimmer profile furniture, color, reusing some pieces that WERK and several nods to her feminine bling side, which she didn't even know she had til I READ HER, all proper-like...

Check back tomorrow to see the HAWT reveal pics of what we ended up going with, but in the meantime...which of the proposals do y'all prefer?

Just add Slatthult, y'all!!!

IKEA, $9.99...now shut the FU$% YOU and go peel and stick FOR YOUR LIFE!!!

Don't hate me...

Because I PAINT wood!!! In copious amounts-- all the time!!! That's right y'all...and those of you wood-o-philes might want to avert your eyes at this:

These fab chests--scored off Craigslist a few weeks ago-- will be used as nightstands in my clients' bedroom, now look like this:

This is just the primer, 'cause these gals are eventually going to be bedecked in BLACK paint, but I'm happy with how good they're taking the primer...take that primer, biotch! Take it ALL!:

And:

These ladies are getting new makeovers...how appropriate that it's fashion week here in NYC! Stay tuned for the HAWT reveal y'all!!!

Stylish trade show booth? Done.

Blume is an amazing clothing brand that offers personalized patches on everything from tshirts to burp cloths and underwear for him and her-- check out the 'licious link above!!! Created by friend & dynamo Stacey Blume, I was asked to serve up some sass & style for her booth at a recent Children's trade show. The goal: focus and unify the Blume brand into a visual and cool physical shopping experience for buyers-- all on a considered budget. Here's what went down:

These hawt vintage industrial sewing machines/tables were re-purposed as chic 'order-taking' tables in the booth. These were an awesome score, y'all, b/c not only were they FREE, but they were once in use at Stacey's family's uniform manufacturing business. After a thorough cleaning, and the machines were carefully removed, they were prepped for a spray job:

We wanted the original gray metal bases on each table, as well as one of the lamps left 'as is', so all that stuff was draped & taped off, in plastic. The table tops are some sort of formica and though cute, they needed some LIFE.

Of course that means paint those biotches RED-- oh and red just so happens to be in Blume's logo:

Remember when spraying to make even passes back and forth about 8"-12" from your surface, y'all. Look at all this yummy:

I mean...these tables are just LIVING! When paired with our industrial chairs, industrial rolling racks, c-clamp hanger displays, signage and hand-painted red stitch trim detail, the place went OFF and this happened:

I'd say style and sass has been brought-en!

This fabulous

antique side table seen here, giving y'all FULL LIFE is part of a pair scored off...say it with me y'all, CRAIGSLIST...for $180 just-the-F*CK-YOU dollas!!!

And sometimes fabulous has to be purchased & picked-up in Westport, Connecticut, then driven back to NYC to clients' house by ME in a Zipcar:

'Cause that's the kind of decorator I am. I LUV my clients & scour the tri-state area for style value! Stay tuned to see how these ladies look as nighstands in the new bedroom! I'm thinking HAWTNESS, y'all!

The Alchemical Armoires

This luscious-ness is part of a pair that was scored off Craigslist for a clients office...Craigslist callback y'all!:

Like a lot of folks, she was desperado for extra storage...I'd say these gals fit the bill! Doors! Drawers! Cubbies & Shelves- OH MY!

Problem? Chicken wire door inserts w/polyester curtain-age and heinous finish...

I'm just sayin'...lets fix that, shall we? Starting by chicken wire poly curtain removal and a gloss white paint job.

We used one coat Zinsser BIN primer and this new Advance Benjamin Moore paint that absolutely fulfilled our painting dreams!

Next, chicken wire poly curtain replacement. Mirrors, y'all! I mean...tots obvi! I made a paper template for one door insert and had my glass guy cut four mirrors. Why? Symmetry, Dollbabies! So he cut two one way, then just flipped the template over to cut the other two mirror inserts the other way...make sense? Then I used Liquid Nails adhesive to secure the mirror panels in place. And then this happened:

And this:

The room has a way to go still, but I'd say Drama-glam has been had, y'all!! Happy Friday!

Light 'em up, Cowboy!

These vintage sconces were a total score for my clients at the flea market recently:

To keep them from going too kitsch, I chose those black paper drum shades, which are just insanely chic!!! Those were purchased at Just Shades. It's one of my favorite lampshade sources, btw...by pairing a modern shade with such a cra cra lamp, it becomes more artful. A western style shade would've been too theme-y and same same. Contrast is always interesting!

Here's where the lights ended up:

I MEAN!!!???

Yes, that's a vintage velvet NYC skyline painting that is just slaying us ALL, but how amazing do these bad boys look in place?!? Note the cord covers are painted out to match the wall color. That's a quick/cheap trick that makes such a huge difference-- no one likes looking at cord dangles, esp. when you've got such cuties lighting up your wall!!! Those are available at places like Home Depot, Lowe's, etc...make sure you get the 'paintable' variety...

So, the next time y'all are on the lookout for some lighting, think about choosing something unexpected and fun. Maybe even quirky!?! Lighting is a great way to make a strong style statement that can really reflect who you are! Plus, if you ever grow tired of the look, it's an easy change...unexpected, fun and easy...just the kind of decorating that makes me happy!!!

Sizzlin' Sectional

Disclaimer: I have little love for sectionals...they're usually ugly, cumbersome and all too common. I KNOW, y'all, way betch-y of me! But then this lady came into my life: Delight:

Indulge:

Pamper:

This was a major score at only $600 shut the F$CK YOU dollars!!! She was first being considered as a sofa option for one of my clients' apartments, but we'd already found an alternate option that was divine for that space, when babygirl presented herself for so cheap. But, rather than pass up extreme value, same client wanted her for his office!!! WHAT WHAT...Decorating kismet!!! All wheels were in motion until we got to see her up close and personal...she was a little more rough around the edges...janky upholstery accessorized with some questionable stains and uncomfy foam cushions that were actually disintegrating!!!! WHAT?! Those two problems aren't impossible to rectify, but they can be costly...considering what a bargain she was. Steam cleaning was a necessity! And new foam cushion inserts weren't that costly at around $350, thanks to the good folks at Economy Foam and Futon. But a total reupholstery job...not an option here. So how do you transform an upholstered piece of furniture WITHOUT reupholstering it? PAINT IT! So this:

Becomes this:

Can

y'all

fu%kin'

believe

this????

Consider y'all-selves STYLE SLAPPED BY WAY OF A SECTIONAL!!!! DAMN! Check back later for the yummy detailed how-to info...in the meantime, happy friday!

Get yer COLOR BLOCK on!

So how DO you get your walls and ceilings to look like this?

It's actually quite simple, y'all. Here's what you'll need to make your color block dreams come true:

-painters tape in whatever width you want (I used 2") -paint in two different colors (I opted for two tones that came right out of the area rug) in whatever finish you prefer -rollers, brushes, foam brushes or whatever combo of tools you prefer to paint with

And that's IT! YES!!!

Start by painting all the edges of each wall in one of your colors. Mine was the lighter raspberry/pink. Paint in deeper than the width of your painters tape. Mine was 2", so I painted in at least 3"-4" around all of my wall edges. Like this:

And since we were working on the wall edges already in the lighter tone, we went ahead and tackled the aluminum supports on the drop ceiling:

For the first coat, we chose to carefully lift each ceiling tile and turned it clockwise, resting it atop the backsides of the supports. Or maybe it was counter-clockwise? Whateve's, y'all just want to clear the front sides of supports of all tiles, so get them up and out of the way. And actually, after this first coat on the supports-- and we were moving on to painting in our other color-- we discovered it was almost impossible to get enough paint onto a ceiling tile approaching it from below, so we just went ahead and removed the tiles from the ceiling altogether to paint them. That was a big undertaking, but painting the tiles goes so much faster when you can lay them out. But more on that later.

So, once these coats have dried, start taping all the edges of your walls. You want to tape from the absolute furthest edge of your wall and follow that edge all the way from top to bottom, left to right. You're creating a box, or frame, around the edges of each of your walls with the paint tape. So, walls that are right next to one another will have corners that are basically taped out where they meet...make sense? Sounds odd, but trust it turns out fabulous! As you tape, be sure to push out any air bubbles and run your fingers along all the sides of tape in order to be sure it's 'locked' in place. Then paint the wall in your other color. In my case, it was the darker raspberry. Like this:

Be sure to tape around any significant architectural features, like doors and windows...

Y'all will also notice that lots of the ceiling tiles are already painted here. We did remove most of the tiles from the ceiling and laid them out in order to be able to roll them with paint. It's not impossible to paint them in place, but ceiling tiles are almost like giant sponges in that they're pitted and super-duper absorbent. Lovely! It actually takes a lot of pressure to get the paint inside all the holes AND get an even coat. Witness:

Also, some of your tiles won't be able to come out easily b/c they've got sprinklers, or vents, custom cut through them, so trust that you're gonna get your chance to put your back into it and paint some tiles in place...

But, applying all that pressure from upside down, wasn't working for me, so we laid them all out to paint (apologies for the insanely DARK images below, remember, all this painting was happening inside a nightclub, where the office is...I LOVE my job!):

We ended doing about two-three coats on our walls and probably four-five coats on the ceiling tiles. Then I went back in on a ladder, once we re-installed tiles, to do detail work and any missed spots.

Once everything is dried thoroughly, carefully remove all your tape. A great trick is to pull tape slowly at a 90 degree angle as you remove it, this way if any paint seeped through, etc., the angled direction will usually keep your line rather than pulling paint up. Here's a great shot of where tape is being removed from two walls that meet and both of them have the 2" lighter toned border:

Here's more 'liscious:

I love that b/c drop ceilings are usually hung in a grid, this paint technique was that much more successful b/c it really highlights that graphic quality. By treating the walls in the same way it becomes a huge style statement for the entire room, giving it both pattern AND color. I'm absolutely SLAIN! And if any of y'all try this technique at home or wherever, please share your pics!!! Happy painting!

An artful equation...

YUMMY!

Love me some drop ceilings, y'all

One of my recent projects was the office of a club owner. The existing space came with a drop ceiling featuring amazing overheard flourescent lighting, which is ALWAYS so desirable. Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Exhibit 'what the FU&K am I gonna do with this shiot?!':

Ripping it out completely wasn't an option. So, how do you make something so atrocious become so awesome? You seek inspiration from master designers who have gone before and TURNED IT OUT. That's how. Enter David Hicks, stage right. David Hicks was an English interior decorator and designer who is legendary for his bold use of color & pattern as well as mixing vintage & modern furnishings. He was a genius and is one of my favorite designers. His son Ashley Hicks and daughter, India Hicks, clearly inherited his genes of design genius, both having their own prolific careers in the interior industry as well. That whole family was style-slapped by the universe! In fact, they're actually royalty in the UK?! I mean...

So, David Hicks & his iconic use of color was a major inspiration for my dropped ceiling dilemma:

COLOR BLOCKING!

Instead of trying to hide all that drop, I decided to feature it. Damn! And here's what I ended up with:

As y'all can see, the walls and ceilings got color blocked with two tones of this 'liscious raspberry color, taken right out of our new rugs:

I decided to highlight the graphic grid in the drop ceiling caused by the supports, by painting it out a contrast color. Then repeated that on the walls. Yummy!

And you can't really see it well here, but look very closely on the far left side of image and you can just make out the pink line on the wall:

How HAWT is this office, y'all? Thanks to the fab Kelly Marshall for the incredible pics (& Carnivale and crew at the club who made this paint treatment happen)! And this post was supposed to be about how to color block, but then I just got cra and had to share all the AFTER shots to help illustrate what a bold, interesting paint technique can do to a room, even WITH some janky drop ceiling! But, check back soon for the actual how-to on this paint treatment. Happy Friday!

Renegade Decorating

Y'all, sometimes you have to do this:

No, that's not a new 'Gone With the Wind Fabulous' drama-swagged shower curtain in my bathroom...it's vintage fabric that biotch just hand washed in a bucket! Uh huh! #washedinabucket!!!!

Once it's drip dried, it'll be made into some fab curtains for a new office commission I'm working on...check it:

Yep, y'all, when I carry on about being a hands-on decorator, who's all cost conscious and shiot for my clients...this is what I'm talking about!!! Ummm, k, hunty?!?

If you only have 5 minutes per phone call...

Then biotch, better make it count by taking your call in one of these babies:

YES! Gorg, right? These booths are just BEYOND sassy, with their new paint jobs...and look at the floors too:

These are painted in the company's logo colors using Benjamin Moore's Impervex latex enamel paint. It's water based, so the dry time is substantially less than oil based enamels, but it still took me about 4 days to WERK these two ladies out! Red being the absolute biotch of a color that she is to paint with, and b/c every surface in both of these booths was some kind of weird laminate-y horrid glossy surface, I had to use a primer. I used Benjamin Moore's Stix Waterborne Bonding Primer, which sounds like some sort of torture method. It too is water-based, so it was really easy to use and dried really quickly. Here's what that step looked like:

I hit both booths with two coats of primer. Then painted both out with at least two coats of paint each. The red lady was all kinds of finicky, as pointed out earlier, so of course she ended up getting like 4 coats. Honestly, I could of done even more, but she wasn't the only thing on the agenda for this office makeover, the selfish skank! The linoleum floors got some love by being scrubbed and then reconditioned with a generous coating of boiled linseed oil, which is just God's gift...that stuff works on ALL KINDS OF SURFACES...AMAZE!

Ring Ring!

This is happening:

This baby was scored off Craigslist! She's one of two vintage phone booths-- thanks New Jersey!!!-- that are being primarily repurposed as privacy booths in a new open loft office design project i'm doing! I mean, it's like CAKE, right?

I'm painting the interiors, gasp phone-booth-o-philes and eventually we're going to retrofit the light and even wire them with the company's phones! For now, employee peeps will just use their cellphones to make those delicate calls...like, to their drug dealers! AMAZE! Stay tuned for more process shots of wonder! And happy FRIDAY!!!

Today's Design*Sponge Sneak Peek? Our Apartment!!!

Ok, y'all, I've had a serious case of blog-haustion the past couple months, but I'm delighted to share that our apartment is being featured today as part of DesignSponge's Sneak Peek!!!! Holla! Check out the full story here, shot by the uber-talented, Bob Martus! Thanks also to Grace and Amy (and ALL) at Design*Sponge for the continued support and constant gorgeousness that they put out into the world!!!

The birds have flown the coop in my bathroom...FINALLY!!!

Y'all, it's been since July, but my bathroom pattern repeat paint project is finished...prepare for HOT AFTER ACTION!!!:

I'm really happy with the way it turned out! I think it's an unexpected play on the scale of the existing print of the shower curtain, which looks like this:

And because the print is much more like a line drawing, I could get all cra cra and not worry too much about painting something that was a prefect replica of the original. Talk about not coloring in the lines...damn! Here's how I did it, y'all: 1. Start with a shot of your choice and then proceed with cold beers throughout...this helps your inner Picasso hurl forth! 2. Using interior latex paint in black & brown and a couple foam craft brushes, I picked a cage that inspired me and free-handed it onto the wall. If the cage has a brown base (see above pic), I started with that. To achieve a perfectly round circle for the one cage, I traced the lid of a pot. I typed POT. Hee hee... 3. Next I painted the black bars of cages and other black lines. This was the best part of process b/c I really couldn't make a mistake, since the lines in original print are so askew-- and I was beyond trashed at this point...

Here's a shot of my paint 'set-up'...yes, that IS a cat food can...don't hate, biotch! When cleaned out, they make the BEST paint cans for projects...or, go ahead y'all and leave chunks of food in the can to mix with your paint, the remnants will add texture to your paint treatment, resulting in stucco realness that your cat can eat right off the walls!!! YUMMY!

And here's where this all started:

And let's savor one last look, y'all...this shiot was months in the making...

Meeeeooowww!