INTERIOR DESIGN Archives - Oh, I Design Studio

OUR NEW FAVORITE PILLOWS!

September 19, 2017

Recently Evie and I were asked to be “models” for our favorite local company, The Everyday Co. Not only did we have a blast and Evie was a natural, but we also LOVED the pillows and thought I’d be fun to share some of the photos with you.

We have this ritual every morning in our house when Evie wakes up, she asks to get “cozy” and that basically means she wants to get in our bed (which has already been made for the day) and have some milk + watch Moana. This does allow me to get a few emails out in the morning, so I’m welcoming the new ritual. That being said, we are going to add a couple The Everyday Co. throw pillows to our bed as they are truly the perfect “cozy” pillows, Evie loves them and so do I. They are oversized and liveable, yet stylish. All good things in our books! Evie is turning 2 this month (WHAT?!) and we are soon going to turn her room into a big girl room. Which means, new bedding, taking the side off of her crib, and adding more storage in her closet for toys/books/etc. I’m using The Everyday Co. Navy Windowpane Lumbar pillow and these xoxo sheets from Land of Nod! Blog post to follow. 😉
How beautiful are these handmade, limited edition Rifle Paper Co. pillows featuring Folk Horse Coral from Les Fleurs Canvas Collection?! Shop them here: lumbar / 18″ square Also, FYI!

The Everyday Co. will be at Field + Supply, 3-day weekend show in Hudson Valley, with their tabletop goods + brand new pillows!

Hutton Brickyards

Kingston, NY

Fri., October 6th 2-5p

Sat., October 7th 11-6p

Sun., October 8th 11-5p

All of the stunning photos in the post are by: Lara Woolfson of Studio Nouveau

5 FRIDAY FAVORITES: FRESH BEAUTY

September 1, 2017

You know what makes me entirely too happy? A well-design shop that smells like a spa – and that’s exactly what Fresh is. You may know Fresh as their products are sold at brands like Sephora and Neiman Marcus. But what you may not know is that their very first apothecary store was opened in Boston in 1991. Ever since I moved to Boston I fell in love with this shop and is part of what got me excited about caring for my skin more and why you see so many skin care posts on Oh, I Design. I’m thrilled that they invited me in to try some of their newest products and I have a few favorites listed below. But first, can we take a moment to “ooh and ahh” at their store design?! Don’t forget to sign up for their new Loyalty Program! It’s free & you basically get a ton of amazing perks like a welcome gift, a free birthday gift, access to private sales and free shipping at Fresh.com. Also, the more you spend the more you receive!

Shop my Favorites Below!

OUR KITCHEN DESIGN PLANS #OHIDESIGNHOME

August 16, 2017

Hello, friends! I haven’t done a #ohidesignhome update in a while as we have been focusing on the front exterior of our home, but now I’m excited to share we are making some kitchen updates. If you’ve been following along on my insta stories, you may have previously seen our new appliances being installed and the drama of getting the old fridge down + new fridge up 4 flights of stairs…and us almost having to pay for a $600 crane to get the darn thing up to the 3rd floor and through the front deck. Gotta love old homes in Boston. Conclusion? We told the delivery guys we could easily fix dry wall in the stairwell if they could at least try because we know it will fit. Well, they did it (cursing us I’m sure) and we tipped them well. 😉 Oh and during this time, we had to replace our hot water tank that we knew would give out eventually but were not ready for that unexpected cost on top of the appliances. Sigh.

Anyway, the floor tile is cracked in multiple areas of the kitchen (you can’t see in the photos below) and the grout has been coming out little by little since we moved in. The tiles were poorly laid which is not shocking considering the other cheap and quick decisions they’ve made around the home. Side note: Evie tried to eat a piece of grout when she was really little (thank goodness I saw her do it and got it out of her mouth right away!) and I think that’s when Cody and I realized we should put the kitchen updates on the priority list. Plus we want to enjoy the updated kitchen before we sell, which could be in the next couple of years. See the before photos below. Our plan: We don’t mind the white cabinets and since this isn’t our forever home, it’s our 3-5 year home (we’ve lived here for 2 years), we decided to keep them and will be fixing some of the chips in the paint and updating the cabinet hardware. All of the new appliances are stainless steel which really opened up the kitchen, the black appliances felt so heavy in the space.

So the plan is to replace the tile flooring, the cabinet hardware, the countertops, the backsplash, painting the toe kicks, and adding a pantry area/open shelving to the right of the cabinets next to the stove/microwave.

Our goal for the space is for it to feel like a modern cafe, keep it bright and bring in more warmth through the countertops and flooring. We also chose finishes that will help us when we sell our place in a couple of years (or whenever that may be). In addition, we have no pantry or storage for dry foods, so I use a rolling cart right now with glass jars, but I’m ready for some shelving to be able to organize them in a better way.

Below are a couple photos from the zillow listing (from the previous owners), but they show more of the space thanks to their wide angle lens. The photos make it look a lot better than it actually does, trust me. one // delta trinsic single handle faucet from wayfair – we decided to go with the matte black option and match the cabinet hardware.

two // ms international hampshire 6″x24″ slate flooring – we will be doing a herringbone pattern.

three // butcher block countertops from IKEA – I get it, everyone might be over the butcher block, but I’m not! 😉

four // we are still in search of a white farmhouse sink because our dimensions are tricky and we are looking for a fireclay option that doesn’t break the bank. 33″ wide and about 22″ deep – any recommendations?! We need one like yesterday.

five // we will be doing subway tile all the way up to the ceilings on the walls that have cabinets (I know, I’m not shocking you with any new design concepts here, but we have a very low budget…I’m my own worst client).
one // ranarp pendant in black from IKEA

two // we already own this gorgeous sequence rug from Room & Board

three // to tie in the matte black we are going to do these lewis pullsu & lewis knobs

four // we also already own this odysessy round white table from cb2 and think it will work nicely in the new kitchen

five // if you saw my adventure to Vermont recently on my insta stories, you will know we scored these (knock-off, unfortunately) Cesca chairs at a rummage sale for $7.50…for both!!! It felt sinful to just leave them. You can find similar ones here.

I will keep you updated on the process, but in the meantime, follow along on insta stories.

inspiration photo credits: photo one // photo two // photo three

GUEST ROOM UPDATES WITH FINALLY BULBS

July 14, 2017

Although we have been in our home for two years now, we are finally getting to the point where we feel things are “coming together”. Two years may not sound like a long time for a home to feel complete, but as an interior designer, it feels like a decade. Our guest room has been the room that has struggled a bit, which looking back, should’ve been the first one to prioritize considering we host guests often and have combined it with my office. I’ve been attempting to make this room feel warmer and more inviting for guests while keeping it functional for my everyday work environment.

Recently I’ve been introduced to Finally Bulbs, a light bulb created with Tesla Technology™ based in Boston, and an energy efficient bulb made to last without the cringe-worthy blue light that a typical LED bulb emits.

“Finally was founded on the notion that people should not have to sacrifice light quality for energy efficiency.” – Finally Bulbs

This is going to be quite the problem-solver for this designer (pointing at me). I’ve been working on energy efficient lighting for various clients and we can’t seem to find a solution when sourcing LED fixtures. There are either not attractive fixtures or they emit a blue light that will eventually make us all…well, sad. Trust me on this, without getting into the nitty-gritty on this topic, I will say: there are studies being done that blue light is not good for us and can leave us in a depressed state causing more health issues.

That being said, with inefficient bulbs filling our home and my bad habit of leaving all the lights on ~~because I’m scared of the dark~~, I decided to test out a couple Finally Bulbs in our guest room to see how they compare. When designing a space, obviously I want as much natural light as possible, but when artificial lighting comes into play during the night hours, I want it to be warm and easy on the eyes. Well, I’m happy to report back I think I’ve found my new go-to light bulb. The quality of light is SO good, you guys – whites are whiter and colors are brighter. I’m truly impressed! In addition to warm, energy-efficient lighting, here are some other ways you can create an inviting guest room:

1. add plants and/or fresh flowers – this is a quick, cheap, and easy way to make a room feel more welcoming. It’s simply the best accessory a room can have!

2. layer your bedding with options for the guests – everyone likes different temperatures while they sleep. I love our new Seersucker Duvet and shams for the Summer months as it’s lightweight and bright white. We also recently switched our uncomfortable mattress to a Nectar Sleep and we LOVE it! (click the Nectar Sleep link to the left for $125 off & 2 pillows). Now we can rest assured our guests aren’t uncomfortable when they stay at our home.

3. leave fresh water and some snacks – traveling guests might arrive with an empty belly and water is always key. I try to make sure guests don’t have to ask for things like water or where more toilet paper is located by leaving them easily accessible.

4. if you want to go the extra mile, create a little basket filled with towels, samples of bath products, water, snacks, the Wi-Fi password, a couple of magazines/books, any touristy items, and anything else you think they would enjoy! I haven’t done this for our previous guests this year (sorry friends) but I’m going to try to begin doing this again!

I try to keep my work area as organized as possible, but I don’t have a lot of space for my interior design samples and it tends to get chaotic during the week. But when I prepare for guests, I will typically put extra samples and random papers, etc. in a box and put it in our basement. We don’t have much storage in our condo, but there’s a ton downstairs. By the way, I changed the light bulb in this Ikea task light to a Finally Bulb and it’s made an incredible difference when I’m working at night or it’s rainy and dark outside.

Click here to switch your bulbs to Finally!

The kind team at Finally Bulbs has kindly offered to giveaway a Finally Bulb to 50 of our readers, and it takes just seconds to enter.

Head over to Oh, I Design Blog & Finally Bulbs around 10:30am today for more info!

This post was kindly sponsored by Finally Bulbs, a brand we are very excited about and use in our home every day. All thoughts & opinions in this post are, as always, my own. Thank you for supporting brands that are supporting Oh, I Design Blog!

INSPIRED BY: JUDY ROSS TEXTILES BY GARNET HILL

March 14, 2017

Although we are in for a blizzard here in New England today, I am excited to refresh our home for Spring. I can’t wait to put away the buffalo check blankets, flannel sheets, and warm throws for some light fabrics and fresh patterns. I recently received a set of the Brushstroke Sheets from Judy Ross’ Collection at Garnet Hill and I cannot wait to put them in our guest room, so much so, that I wanted to share a few more of the pieces from the collection. Judy Ross is an artist and textile designer based in New York, with work seen around the world. In the collection with Garnet Hill, there are two different bedding collections, shower curtains, bath mats, towels, poufs, pillows, area rugs, storage pieces, etc. – all created from a modern drawing or painting by Judy Ross.