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Would you iron your sheets? Do you?

by Ashley on May 16, 2013

Speaking of our New York apartment

Pop the champagne: we have finally closed the sale on it. Despite finding a buyer within the first two weeks of listing it last year, and then finding another the week after Hurricane Sandy hit, we endured months of obstacles to get to the point of finally saying “sold!” just over a couple of weeks ago.

Now that I’m sure I won’t jinx anything, I can look back and say aloud what a pain in the arse it is to hold an open house—especially when the entire house you’re selling is visible the moment you walk in the door. It was only two weeks, but during those two weeks the apartment was listed, we had someone coming to see it every day.

Let’s just say that I finally understand why anyone would iron their sheets.

I remember reading in shelter magazines, like Domino, that ironing one’s sheets was something one does—and being a bit shocked. And then, Martha Stewart dedicated a portion of an eponymous episode to showing off an amazing rotary iron at which she liked to sit and press sheets during restless nights.

My first thought was ‘that sounds like hell.’ Sleeplessness and  ironing?! But for years I’ve wondered about the secret to a well-made bed—the kind that you’d find in a fancy hotel (and the kind that someone wants to see in a home they’re considering buying)—and I’m afraid pressed sheets, as unrealistic as they may be, might be the answer.

Sigh…

P.S. We cheated: I took our sheets to a launderer to have them pressed before the photographer came, and then slept without pillowcases, and went over the top edges of the sheets with an iron every morning while Hudson was strapped in his high chair. Did I mention it was a pain in the butt?

[Photos: The NoMad Hotel; The Wythe Hotel, via CN Traveler]

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Faking it: Door and Wall Moulding

by Ashley on May 16, 2013

Remember the faux-door moulding we created in our New York apartment? We used used a combination of crown moulding and miter cuts to add a little architecture. (You can see the “after” behind Hudson in this photo, and the “before” here.)

R and R Designworks, on Etsy, has created an inexpensive DIY kit that seems like a terrific, alternative solution.

They’ll work with you on walls, too. I’d love to see someone with the proper style of home go all out and do something like this…

P.S. More photos of our NY apartment; and our current bedroom and kitchen.

[Photos from top: HitherandThither/RandRDesignWorks/West Elm/West Elm/Ewering/ArchiExpo]

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Life’s Measuring Stick

by Ashley on April 18, 2013

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I knew as soon as we moved into our house that I wanted to track Hudson’s growth on a wall or door-frame. But I’m not 100% positive that this will be the home we live in all of the years he’s under our roof. I looked at a lot of options for wall-mounted growth charts, thought of making my own, and landed on Baum-Kuchen’s Life’s Journey Measuring Stick. We’ve tacked it up on the inside of his closet door, so that it hangs vertically, but you could even lay it out on the floor to measure each month or year and then fold it back up to safely store.

Yesterday, when I told Hudson “You’re 21 months old today!” he knew just what to do. I couldn’t believe it! He ran over to the door-frame, backed up against it, and waited for me to place a book on his head. He tried to steal my Sharpie (frightening thought), which made me think I must have let my hand slip. But no, in fact he grew roughly another inch last month!

measuring stick

Slow down, kiddo!

[top photos via Baum-Kuchen; bottom from my iPhone]

 

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Displaying air plants

by Ashley on April 3, 2013

Spotted: Gorgeous air plants at The Gardener in Berkeley, hung simply by their roots. I love the simplicity.

That said, there are some really lovely vessels for displaying these unique, low-maintenance Bromeliads these days.

Read more…

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Where do you buy art online?

by Ashley on March 28, 2013

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I just saw on A Cup of Jo that 20×200 has closed its (virtual) doors. We’ve ordered a few prints from there recently—including the Sharon Montrose Flamingo pictured—and I had half-a-dozen more saved away in a mental pile of consideration. I’d found it to be a great source of affordable art (particularly photography) and had been checking back over the past few weeks hoping that the “we’re taking a break”-notice was not going to become a permanent break. So disappointing!

Some paintings we’ve found at the Alameda Flea recently are my most-treasured purchases thus far, but what are your favorite online sources of art? Who are you noticing on Etsy lately? I’ve pinned a few favorites to my photography and eye candy boards, but am generally slow to commit.

P.S. Funny enough, Joanna mentions Banquet as an alternative to 20×200. I just hung their cacti print this past week! You can see it on my Instagram—a rare non-Hudson photo.

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