Back to the Closet

Since my hubby is away in Virginia still, I’ve been catching up on all my girly guilty pleasure TV shows like The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. That’s right- I’m not ashamed to admit it! I love Lisa Vanderpump!

Anyways, for anyone else who watches RHWBH, did you see Lisa’s closet in her new house?! It’s like her own boutique! Well, my new closet is no where near that size- nor will it be filled with designer names but you can’t blame a girl for dreaming! So here’s some inspirational pics for those of you with walk ins or at least dreaming of walk ins…

closet 2

closet 3

closet 4

closet

IKEA closet 2

IKEA closet

mens closet

shared closet

And finally an infamous closet… Ms. Carrie Bradshaw’s closet!

carrie's closet


Ready, Set, Action!

Since everyone is still talking about the Oscars, I thought I’d devote a post to my favorite homes from the big screen.

In high school I was a devout techie. For you non-theatrical types, a techie refers to any backstage hand be it set design, construction, lighting, sound, etc. Basically all the awards that people make popcorn during and come back for the Best Actress and Best Picture. I started building sets and moved on to designing them and stage managing. But once a techie, always a techie. We move in the shadows, we dress in black. But here’s a big old spotlight on my favorite set designers…

I’m sure no one would turn up their nose at any house in Santa Barbara but this one from the 2009 movie It’s Complicated was particularly gorgeous! Production Designer Jon Hutman and Set Decorator Beth Rubino created the most stunning home both inside and out.

Universal Pictures Kitchen

Universal Pictures

Another Nancy Meyers film has the beach house of my dreams! Here’s some shots of the lovely house from Something’s Gotta Give.

Something's Gotta Give

Something's Gotta Give

Something's Gotta Give

Something's Gotta Give

And in yet another Nancy Meyers film (notice a theme building here) Set Designers Cindy Carr and David Smith joined Production Designer Jon Hutman to create an L.A. chic home in The Holiday.

The Holiday

The Holiday

The Holiday

Finally, there’s the house in one of my favorite movies The Kids are All Right. The perfect mix of Hippy and Yuppy (personally, I like to call myself a Huppy), Production Designer Julie Berghoff and Set Decorator David Cook created this California casual abode.

The Kids Are All Right

The Kids Are All Right

The Kids Are All Right

What are some of your favorite film sets? 


Trapped in the Closet

That’s an R. Kelly reference just in case anyone was worried about my sexual orientation or if I was indeed physically trapped in a closet.

But moving on…

Ever since we went back to IKEA last weekend I’ve been a little obsessed with the master walk in closet. IKEA has fabulous closet organizational systems and products. Our closet measures about six feet deep and almost five feet across and like the rest of the house, has 9 foot ceilings. There is a window in the closet which is an obstacle but also makes for great light in a small space.

At our last apartment, Jared and I shared a walk in closet that was probably a little bigger than this one. Jared took up a small space of hanging shirts, suit jackets and pants as most of his clothes are folded stored in drawers. I of course took up a lot of hanging space for shirts, a small space for pants, and a decent size space for dresses and skirts. Shoes were stored in see through boxes that stacked five high and the length of the closet (don’t judge). Bags were perched a top the hanging clothes around the perimeter of the closet. There were two baskets of accessories- scarves, sunglasses, etc. and a pin board with hung necklaces.

I figure with IKEA’s system and my own personal organizational skills, we can fit all of that into our new closet. Here’s what I’m thinking…

This is the left side of the closet. This will house all my clothes & accessories.

Left Side

This is the back wall of the closet. The shelves flanking the center unit will be corner units. The one on the left will house my dresses. The right will have drawers for all Jared’s clothes and shelves for bulky sweaters. The center unit will house all Jared’s hanging clothes and shoes.

Back Side

This right side of the closet has the window. I can stack my see through shoe boxes below the window at least. Then the remaining small corner will house all my bags.

Right Side

Keep in mind, all measurements have not been figured out but in an ideal world, this will work! Here’s hoping.


North Shore Showrooms

Jared and I spent another lovely little Saturday perusing showrooms. For those of you who don’t know, I used to work for a radio station and our advertisers were all over the north shore of Massachusetts. Some of my favorite live broadcasts were from these home improvement showrooms so I was dying to take Jared to some of them.

First up was Salem Plumbing Supply & Designer Bath. I had a lot of fun in this showroom back in the day. This was a stop on our famous 14-hour live broadcast Holiday Toy Drive and I remember a group of very appreciative plumbers grabbing coffee and donuts from us when we gave them one of our Friday North Shore Coffee Breaks. It was a fun place to be with great people. Jared and I fell in love with these faucet knobs for the half bath.

faucet

Faucet

After a total crunchy granola lunch at an organic cafe (the things my husband does for me!) we were off to Lucia Lighting in Lynn. Their Grand Opening was the very last event I did before leaving the radio station and it was also one of my most memorable. I can’t say enough nice things about Lucia Lighting’s showrooms. Stunning! Here’s a bunch of favorites that caught our eye.

This giant lantern would be fantastic for the front entryway.

photo

lantern

This is a non-negotiable (although my husband would say everything is a non-negotiable). I must have 2 of these pendants in brushed nickel for the kitchen peninsula.

photo (10)

We went a little crazy in the outdoor lighting showroom. So many great options. Thinking about one of these for over the sink in the half bath.

photo (5)

photo (4)And then there was this adorable orb! Love it!

photo (3)

So after running into owner Lucia Lighting owner Lucy Dearborn (can’t believe she recognized me after 7 years!) I was feeling like quite the North Shore Know it All. Have I mentioned how good it is to be home again?!

Anyways, so after Lucia Lighting we were off to the Ferguson Showroom for more kitchen and bath. Again, we saw the same adorable “hot” and “cold” faucet knobs and tons of high end shower head options. Over in the kitchen section, Jared was loving the Bosch appliances. It was hard not to. Gorgeous! Pricey… but gorgeous.

A quick trip to Home Depot made us really appreciate the luxury bath showrooms we had just visited. You really do get what you pay for with these fixtures. Home Depot’s may look the same but they are all plastic crap. And bath fixtures aren’t just pretty things to look at. You actually handle them everyday. So we’re thinking it might be worth the added expense.

So after another weekend of showrooms, Jared flew to Richmond on Sunday for work. This will be the first time we’ve been apart overnight since we got married. Sniff sniff! Tear! Miss you love!


There’s Nothing Manly About a Powder Room

I just can’t call it a Powder Room. I can’t because I intend to man it up a little. With so much white going on on the first floor, I need to have a little fun with the half bath. So the idea is this…

Half Bath

And this isn’t simply inspiration. I will have that half bath. We’re going to start with white wainscoting  (I know, I know, more white) up half the wall and dark navy blue walls. Right now the toilet is this terrible round scalloped thing so that will be replaced. Then I found this rustic sink base at Lowes.

sink baseThe light is easy. I’m completely in love with this store- Shades of Light. It’s based in Richmond and of course we never went there when we lived there but now here in Massachusetts, I requested the catalog and drooled over it the other night.

It was made for me! So many rustic and industrial fixtures and Edison bulbs galore! It’s fabulous! I highly recommend them.

Anyways, they have the barn light in the photo above. Check it out.

light

And that’s really it. Doesn’t take much to fill a closet sized bathroom.