Thursday, May 26, 2011

Field Trip - NYC

This week I'm on a little field trip to New York, and although it's not my first trip, I am finding new inspiration everywhere I look.  I will share the best of what I find in later posts.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Five Qualities of Luxurious Bathrooms

In staging a bathroom I am always trying to achieve a "spa-like" feel.  Much of staging is about creating a life that a buyer wants to live.  While most people are not staging their homes to sell, we all want to live our best life and pamper ourselves a bit.  So, I wanted to share:  Five qualities of luxurious bathrooms so we can all have that little bit of luxury in our own homes.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Timeless Kitchens


Houzz- Kitchen Design, Bathroom Design and More»


I think we can all agree that the one room in the home that is incredibly important is the kitchen.  We want our kitchen to be not only functional, but beautiful since we typically spend a lot of our time there.  Often times people ask me what the newest trends in design are.  Many times I can talk to them about a color seminar I attended, or trends in materials that I am seeing, but when it comes to kitchens I really recommend timeless design and finishes.  That prompted me to put together a Houzz   Ideabook with kitchens that I think will stand the test of time.  The last thing we all want to do is remodel every 10 years.  My advice is select timeless materials and you cannot go wrong.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Thrift Store Chair Transformation

Hard to believe this smart looking chair started out as a $5 thrift store find.  I needed a new desk chair and found this sorry looking barstool, but thought I could transform it into something great.  I want to show you the process of how I went about it so you could see how easy it is.  Below is the "before" picture of how the chair looked when I brought it home.   



It's hard to see from the picture but the chair was pretty scraped up and barstool height as well.  I started by popping out the seat so I could recover it.  



I removed the cording piece, but left the remaining red cover on and decided to recover over it.



In order to recover the seat I selected 5/8 yard of a greek key patterned fabric that I purchased for about $4.  I place the seat face down on the back of the fabric.  I used a staple gun to put one staple in the front, back, and each side.  After these four staples, I went around by pulling the fabric tight and stapling the fabric to the edge of the seat.  When it was all stapled down, I trimmed the excess fabric and the seat was done.



I removed the metal bar from the bottom of the barstool, sanded the entire piece with a fine grit sandpaper and wiped it down to remove the sanding dust.



Finally, I sprayed the whole piece with a satin finish black spray paint and cut 6 inches off the bottom and the chair was ready to re-attach the seat and use.

Monday, May 16, 2011

House of Fifty: New Online Magazine






Welcome to the premier issue of another great online magazine dubbed an "e-zine".  House of Fifty is published by fellow blogger Janell Beals and features lots of great content including top summer fashion picks, how to create a family command center, as well as plenty of fresh interior spaces for inspiration.  I devoured the online content and am already looking forward to the next issue due out this fall.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Jonathan Adler Happy Chic Decorating Books



These two small books really pack a decorating punch!  Jonathan Adler is known for his self-professed "Happy Chic" style of decorating, but he definitely leans toward to the high contrast Hollywood Regency look that I love.


In his new Happy Chic Colors book he shows how different color combinations can be successfully carried out with examples of gorgeous interiors.  The Happy Chic Accessorizing book shows how the right accessories can bring a whole look together.  Either book gives the reader lots of inspiration on how to rev-up their decor and add lots of pop.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Key Lime Cheesecake


Over the weekend, we had our Moms over to celebrate Mothers day and I decided to serve this Key Lime Cheesecake.  This is a recipe I have adapted from one a found several years ago.  It is the perfect balance of tart and sweet and turns out beautifully every time.  Enjoy!

Key Lime Cheesecake

Crust:
1 ¼ cups fine graham crackers crumbs (5oz.)
3 tbs. sugar
½ stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
2 (8oz.) packages cream cheese at room temperature
1 cup plus 2 tbs. sugar
¾ cup fresh or bottled key lime juice
½ cup sour cream
½ tsp. vanilla
2 ½ tbs. all-purpose flour
¼ tsp. salt
3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and butter bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan.  Stir together crumbs, sugar and butter in a bowl with a fork until combined and press into bottom and one-third up side of pan.  Bake crust in middle of oven 8 minutes and cool in pan on a rack.

Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.  Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer at medium speed until fluffy then beat in sugar.  Add lime juice, sour cream and vanilla and beat until smooth.  Mix in flour and salt at low speed, scraping down side as needed, until just incorporated, then add eggs all at once and mix just until incorporated. 

Pour filling into crust and set springform pan in a shallow baking pan.  Bake cake in middle of oven until set in center, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.  Cool completely in sprngform pan on rack. 

Run a thin knife around edge of cake and remove side of pan.  Serve with slightly sweetened whipping cream.

Adapted from Gourmet magazine recipe May 2002

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Copy Cat Design for Less

 

Like many of you, I just love a good deal.  I spend a lot of time pouring over design magazines seeking inspiration and trying to figure out how I can get "the look" for less.  I few years ago I visited Jonathan Adler's LA store and became obsessed with his drum shade chandelier.



                                                    Jonathan Adler Meurice Pendant $375


When I was searching for something similar I came across a very good likeness at Overstock.
                                       Overstock Beige Fabric Chrome Chandelier $80.99


I am happy to report and that I bought the Overstock Chandelier and am feeling quite smug about the savings.  This is just one example, but are lots of design items just like this.  Some places that I like to go to find great designer knockoffs is Zgallerie and Cost Plus.  I also follow a blog called Copy Cat Chic which is devoted solely to finding great copy cat items.  Reichel Broussard writes the blog and she, along with readers submit their great finds.  If you like decorating on a budget, you will want to check this one out!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Korean Skirt Steak with Corn Raita Salad


Although I cook for my family most nights, on Sunday evenings I always try make a special meal and we eat in the dining room instead of at the ho hum kitchen table.  This last weekend I chose to make this fantastic new recipe from Todd English.  I did the steak on my indoor grill and it turned out amazing.  The combination of the steak and the corn salad is certainly what I consider to be restaurant quality food at home.  Todd appeared on The Nate Berkus show last week and you can find the recipe as well as a video demonstration on Nate's website. 


I have been a fan of Todd English since 1998 when I picked up a booklet at Williams and Sonoma entitled "Great American Chefs".  I have to confess that my admiration for Mr. English initially had more to do with his incredible good looks than his talent as a chef.


A couple of years ago while eating at one of Todd's restaurants, Olives in Las Vegas, I noticed him sitting at the bar toward the end of the night.  Of course I had to take the opportunity to meet the man who I have come to know as a great chef, who produces incredibly flavorful and approachable food, and who is not bad to look at either. :)