Luca's Room

When I began building our nursery design inspiration board on pinterest, I was falling in love with a lot of what is popular these days. Soft whites, grays. Some brass and or silver accents. I wanted the aesthetic to be adult friendly. But then, after a conversation with our doula about infant brain development, we changed tracks completely. Our new plan was to fill the room with contrast and brightness -- but how to do it without seeming garish or looking like a preschool?

If you follow me on Instagram, you might have caught a preview months ago:



We think we achieved a good balance between brain stimulating colors and patterns and integration with our style. We think Luca likes his room too. He loves staring at the curtains and artwork. He immediately seems to feel more calm yet alert when we bring him into his room.















Click here to see the full album of photos.

We finished the room just in time for Luca's newborn portraits. You can see the portraits and better shots of the room on our photographer's blog: maggiekeegangross.com.

It was pretty tough and Sergio did all the work. I think I helped hold up a part when he assembled the crib, but that's about it. I was busy recovering and caring for Luca to have much impact on the transformation. Not that I kept my opinions to myself. I have a nearly complete blog post dated March 23, 2013 titled: Baby Room Progress. I might still post that just for personal archival purposes. I really wanted everything to be done before the baby arrived, but we just couldn't. Sergio did so much exhausting work leading up to the baby room, and then the baby came early!

It's my favorite room in the house now. And it's the most complete. I wish we spent as much time thinking about our own bedroom as we did Luca's.

The lowdown.
Paint: Jill's Paint - Mythic Sweet Sunrise // Mythic Deep Sea Depths // Black Chalkboard Paint
Changing table: Modernhaus
Art: Large watercolor abstract by Nora Kersh // Desert circle (Palm Springs) photograph by Kate Miss // Abstract cat: Pablo's cat by Nora Kersh // Killer whale, rocket ship, monkey illustration triptych: Sergio Spina // Pet the cat illustration by Matt Spangler
Crib: Babyletto Hudson
Hanging plant pot: TW Pottery
Vintage porthole: eBay
Pouf: Target
Rug: Ikea
Curtains: Ikea
Credenza unit: Ikea
Small bookcase: St. Vincent's Thriftshop

Going Postal

I know it's futuretimes right now we're all exchanging information by coding it into invisible zeros and ones, sending it magically through the air to outer space and beaming back to earth. But there is something about hand deliveries from the postman, right? Especially if you're using these beauties.









By the way, the girl who designed the beautiful ribbon love stamp is the girl in this story (if you're into graphic design or just plain amazing skill in any way, prepare to have your mind blown): http://jessandruss.us/

We got decked!

I have complete confidence that Sergio could have built it just as beautifully as he finished the other patios. However, he just doesn't have enough free time right now. I prefer that he spend the bits of free time he does have with me. Since we wanted to enjoy the deck THIS Summer, we took the plunge and hired someone based on a friend's recommendation. It turned out amazing. Thanks Diana and Mike for the tip!



Sergio designed it using Google Sketch-up. There was a slight design revision once construction started, but on the whole, I felt the end product was quite faithful to the original idea.



I loooove all the sexy angles and lines.



The back of the house has come a long way since 2009 when we first moved in. There was no sliding glass door at the time as you can see from this old post. Installing that was a huge leap. And now...wow. You would not believe how dramatic the difference is in terms of how we are relating to the backyard. We go outside more often now that we don't have to balance our way down a wonky plastic step stool. You can sorta see the corner of the wretched stool in this picture. The original door opened on the other side where the brick steps are in that photo.

My new favorite luxury is sipping coffee on the bench while watching all the different birds zoom in and out of the trees foraging for their breakfast. It's the most serene way to start a Sunday.





You can see a few more photos here on my flickr account.

7. Breakfast

6. Drink

Blogger Meet-Up

Jessica Davis is an interior designer who blogs at The Eagle's Nest. She reached out and invited me to a Blogger Meet-Up she hosted last Sunday. I was so honored to be included! Unfortunately, I cut outta there so quick for Nelson's birthday, I only got to chat with a couple of the people! Judging by the burger exchange emails that ensued post meetup, there must have been some great and fun conversations I missed out on. Boo.

Anyway, I did manage to snag a tour of Jessica's beautiful home. It's tucked up against a hill in Eagle Rock and is gorgeously turned out, natch. I was particularly taken with the nursery, adorned with pale blue/white stripes on the ceiling. But, I didn't want to be too rude so I contained my photo taking to the living/dining area when I had a tiny moment to myself.



When you get a chance, hop on over to these blogs. You'll find a treasure of style, creativity and inspiration. Each is a beautiful, delectable rabbit hole to fall into.

Kelly Lambert: www.craftedesign.com/blog/

Jessica Ahnert Davis: www.nesteaglerock.com

Sarah Ehlinger: www.verysarie.com

Amanda Habbershaw: www.lovecreativeblog.com

Theresa Dykes: www.inspirationcooperative.blogspot.com

Kelly Lanza: www.studiodiy.com

Callie Bloem: www.callmecal.com

Jen Sobel: www.punkyandthecity.com

Irene Lovett: www.designstiles.me

Colorful Roadtrip

All photos taken with my blackberry or sergio's iphone.

5. Lunch

4. Dessert

2. Breakfast

1. Lunch

Sprout Pendant Lamp - Jonathan Adler

We installed a new pendant lamp for the vestibule!




I neglected to take a photo of our old light which is standard issue Home Depot. I believe the brand is Hampton Bay based on this photo from the Home Depot website:




It came with the house and works just fine. However, since the vestibule has been slowly getting a little makeover anyway, we've kept our eyes peeled for a suitable replacement. We wanted something stylish but not too flashy and mounted high enough to allow the front door to swing open underneath. Of course, we always consider vintage first. But quite honestly, vintage mounted ceiling lamps in good shape and affordable are hard to find. So we've been looking at new fixtures.

There were two I really liked from West Elm. The Glass Jar Pendant in the Small. (The shorter one.)

And a mirrored semi-flush mount:

If we lived closer to a West Elm store, we might have have taken the plunge with one of these earlier.

But then I saw the Jonathan Adler Sprout pendant on sale right before Halloween. Conveniently, Jennie's birthday breakfast was not far from the store and since we were in the neighborhood anyway, we picked one up! Lucky too. I think there was only a couple left - I guess it's a popular design.

The unglazed, translucent porcelain bisque is so pretty. I think it's refined and clean, with a touch of whimsy.

It's been sitting in a basket until this past Sunday when we raced the setting sun to get it installed.



Yes, that's a pumpkin carving knife and yes, Sergio did use it during the install.



I love it!

The bulb is a little bright for now. Not that we would be hanging out in the vestibule very often.

Fairy

So.

We have another Terri Planty creation.



This little gal was supposed to be a gift to a friend.



But I took one look at her and really, how was I supposed to give her away? I quickly thought of another (and turns out waaay more appreciated) gift and kept her.

She's gonna sit on our sideboard until we decide where to hang her.

A Terri Planty Creation: elsie+sergio.

Hey. You all remember Terri Planty, right? She's one of my bloggity faves.

The lovely Bianca D'Amico created this beautiful custom terrarium for us. It's in a vintage vessel - if you know anything about me+sergio, you know this is SO me+Sergio.



The photographer is me and the painter/artist is Sergio. Apropos, yes?



We both love this creation so much.












Grazie Bianca. We adore it. So: "Quando prendiamo un bicchiere di vino?"

Click here to my photostream.