road trip!

road trip :: alexander hotel indianapolis

28 June 2014 by Andrea Leave a Comment

This past week I traveled to Indianapolis for work and had the opportunity to stay at the very cool and very mod Alexander Hotel. It was so hip, the moment I opened my hotel room door, rather than doing my usual paranoid routine of checking in the closet, shower, and under the bed for a murderer lying in wait, I started a photo shoot. The room was so awesome, I didn’t even remember to lock my door!

The very welcoming word search art…

Drawing me in was this fabulous runner made with super colorful carpet tiles…

Seriously, any one of us could make one of these at home with Flor carpet tiles.

More fab art…

A mod bed set-up…

And a funky chair and lamp by the window…

And you can see a bit of the flooring…woodgrain ceramic tiles. Love!

Even the note paper was artsy!

And the naughty little doorhanger…front…

And back…

Then there was the dream house bathroom…

A perfectly gorgeous sink…

Wonderful wallpaper, ever-so-slighty pearlescent…

And then the shower. Ah yes, the perfect shower. Shower perfection. Dream house quality.

So overall, a wonderfully designed hotel room. Mod perfection. My only complaint, if I had one, would be that the room was a little cold. Not temperature cold. The coziness factor. Not warm and fuzzy enough for me.

But it wasn’t only the room that was great. The whole joint was fun and funky.

Upon walking in, these amazing glass globe lights were hanging in the lobby…

This was a giant hanging piece of metal art by the elevator. Silver script writing. Shocking orange wall behind it.

Check out this cool panel and geometric wallpaper in the hallway…

And if that wasn’t enough, how about this awesome wall decal?

Another angle with my favorite colors – black and white!

Well, that concludes today’s road trip. Believe it or not, I wasn’t even paid for this. Probably should have been!

road trip :: nyc edition

21 August 2013 by Andrea Leave a Comment

View of the Empire State Building from my hotel room

This past week I spent some time in New York City for work. Stayed at the Element on West 39th between 8th and 9th, an “eco-chic” hotel with fabulous green design. Here’s how they describe their eco-chi-chi-ness:

Created to be an oasis of natural light, experience a new kind of NYC hotel with Element New York Times Square West.

With space to live your life, our eco-friendly New York City hotel is fully devoted to helping the environment. Floors feature carpets made from 100% recycled content. Artwork is mounted on bases made from recycled tires. Low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints improve indoor air quality for guests and team members. In the bathroom guests can choose between a half or full flush and wash up in our low-flow sink faucet.

Not a bad place to stay, all in all, especially for New York.

View from my hotel during the day

Thought I’d share a couple of my fave design elements…

The sink! God, how I loved this sink! So simple, yet so cool! I completely and totally covet this sink! And so much nicer to use than a traditional oval basin – so wide and open. My only complaint would be that I would have liked more counter space, but I was in New York City after all, where space is a luxury.

I probably would have enjoyed the sink even more if the faucet were properly affixed, not leaving a space large enough for a giant sewer rat to climb up and kill me in the night…

Rats are notorious for climbing through small spaces

Fortunately, I was neither wounded nor killed by any rodentia, but seriously? Affix the faucet properly, people!

The room, while small, did have a lovely little kitchenette…

So cute and stylized! Very New York. Upon first look the tile looked awesome! Totally in and stylish. But by the end of my stay I had already grown bored with the look of the glass tiles.

It’s an important thing to consider…how stylized and “in” do you want your more permanent fixtures to be? Seeing this kitchenette was a lesson in erring on the side of classic for me. Make your more stylized pieces the things that are easy to change. Unless you have a lot of money to make frequent updates or a husband who likes to replace tile annually. I have neither. Lol.

All in all, it was a great stay in New York. Made me appreciate all of the space I have at home. While I do feel like I could downsize and get rid of a lot of stuff and square footage, I don’t know that I’m quite ready to move into a studio apartment!

road trip!

12 September 2012 by Andrea 1 Comment

We’re going on a Road Trip!

Road Trip! is when I leave my humble abode and take it on the road to someone else’s place to share their decorating savvy.

So let’s Road Trip! to my friend Brandi’s home.

This is Brandi…she’s lots of fun!

Brandi & the Most Interesting Man in the World (I’m sure she’s going to love that I used this pic!)

About a year and a half ago, Brandi bought her first home – an awesome 70s condo. I’ve been sharing unsolicited decorating ideas ever since!

Last winter, Brandi and I were lamenting about her really long living room wall.

I asked Brandi if she’d consider a stencil. Brandi liked the idea and before you know it, the stencil was ordered and work started (Brandi’s a real doer…once she decides on an idea, she moves on it. No curing for her. I like that in a person. Except for me.) There was even a Sunday evening visit from me to help with this awesome project.

Taping the stencil…

The first section complete!

So far, so good!

I’m not going to show the whole project…let’s cut to the finished product…

Doesn’t it look fabulous? I love it! I especially love how it honors the era in which the condo was built. The rug adds a perfect pop of Brandi’s accent colors. And don’t you love the TV stand? Brandi’s dad made it with a pattern from Ana White.

Another angle…

The stenciled pattern really gave definition to what was otherwise a boring wall. Good work, Brandi!

A couple of vignettes by the TV…

Brandi loves all things beachy, and it’s a subtle theme throughout her home, like these shells in a vase…

Let’s travel upstairs to take a sneak peak at Brandi’s bedroom. But first check out this terrific 70s light fixture…

Thankfully Brandi agreed that the 70s light needs to stay. Super mod! The art is by Brandi’s teenage daughter, Madison.

Brandi’s bedroom is still a work in progress, but I couldn’t resist sharing some unique features, like this print, which totally makes me smile…

…framed in this awesome gaudy gold frame…

Then there’s her new shabby chic mermaid lamp on her newly repainted nightstand…

With some fabulous tchotckes from her recent vacation to Florida, like this lobster matchbox…

..and a clock…

…that has a compass on the back…

What a unique piece!

And finally, some art photos that Brandi recently added…

…displaying the calming colors of the sea that Brandi loves…

That’s the end of our Road Trip! today, but I’m sure there will be another trip to Brandi’s, especially after all of the great projects we chatting about today! More to come…

road trip!

28 February 2011 by Andrea 3 Comments

We’re going on a Road Trip!

Road Trip! is when I leave my humble abode and take it on the road to someone else’s place to share their decorating savvy.

So let’s Road Trip! to my dear friend Claire’s home.

Claire is PLU…People Like Us. She’s fun and funny and very clever and creative. And since she and her husband, Aaron bought a house about a year ago, she’s let her inner decorator run wild and I love it!

This is Claire…

I’m sure that Claire will probably not appreciate me hijacking this photo from Facebook, but I love it, and it gives a hint of her wild personality, which shows in her decorating choices.

Lest you think she’s completely insane, here’s a more, ahem, normal pic of Claire and her hubby, Aaron.

Aren’t they sweet and so in love? You can really feel it in their home (which is far more important than any decor), such a sense of warmth and caring that makes their home inviting.

But enough chatter…on to the pictures!

Here it is from the outside…an adorable place in the Clintonville neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio.

Let’s start with the kitchen, which is painted a striking sky blue with lots of red accents…

The thing that surprised me most about Claire’s decorating style when I first saw her house is that she dresses her house like she dresses herself – with bold prints & florals, reminiscent of the 70’s and other vintage eras. Like the kitchen curtains, for instance…I could see her wearing those!

It’s a small kitchen, so they added valuable work space with this long, narrow island from Ikea. Don’t you love the original black & white checkered floor?

One of the things that Claire and I have in common is our love of all things vintage and antique. So you can imagine that I almost died when I saw the vintage restaurant booth that they found in an antique shop. LURVE it!

The kitchen packs a punch with pops of red and lots of vintage style. A welcome sign & place to hang your hat…

Along with a vintage reproduction clock…

…and real vintage light fixtures that really make the space…

…and pink vintage melamine coffee cups that would make any vintage-loving gal green with envy…

On to the dining room that shows off Claire’s versatile eclectic style. A bookshelf and another fun pop of red. And just in case you didn’t notice, there is a package of mustaches on top of the bookshelf. Just what every eclectic dining room needs.

Lots of yummy texture on the dining room table and chairs.

A vintage children’s cat chair and a bird cage add to the eclectic elements…

And more pops of color with red chairs and gorgeous curtains!

A true lesson in what I like to call “eclectica”…none of the dining room pieces really “match” but they all look fabulous together!

On the other wall, an antique table that Claire picked up just yesterday in Springfield, Ohio, which is known for it’s antique malls.

It’s carved and fabulous, and she got it for a song!

Step through the archway, and it’s into the living room. To the left is the main part of the living room…

…with this to-die-for red bench behind the couch…

To the right is a reading nook…

…and a home office area…

Great use of space in corners that would be difficult to incorporate into the main area of the living room. Love the use of lime green in the living room.

But none of it shouts “lime green”.

OK, maybe these shout “lime green,” but aren’t they perfect?

Let’s take a peek upstairs…

At the top of the stairs is the bathroom, which plays the eclectic card, with cool, mod glass tiles and a vessel sink countered by a bohemian mirror frame.

Doesn’t this bathroom make you want to mix it up a bit in your house? Then there’s this, showing Claire and Aaron’s wacky senses of humor…

Or who knows…maybe they play with them in the tub! It’s not my place to judge!

The guest bedroom is warm and serene and made me want to move in. (Guess no one told Claire that a guest bedroom shouldn’t be too comfy cozy or your guests might never leave!)

On to the master bedroom. Let me tell you that today I fell in LOVE with the master bedroom! The last time I saw the master bedroom it wasn’t painted yet. When Claire told me the color she wanted to paint it, well, I was a bit skeptical. But it’s perfect!

Tiffany blue! What girl doesn’t like Tiffany blue? I didn’t think it would be warm and peaceful, but it is both, and it envelopes you in its richness.

The room is large, and has a cozy nook by the closet…

Love the ponyhair cube! The artwork is SO Claire! Another pattern I could see her wearing…

Working the eclectica with a touch of Greek goddess…

A dumpster diving friend in Manhattan rescued the dress form where Claire hangs her necklaces. And check out the lime green cowboy boots that I covet…

A vintage chest of drawers topped with an antique shutter that holds more jewelry and other tchotchkes…

Up close and personal…

Another vintage chest of drawers…

…holds photos and vintage hats…

A wall of family photos make the crawlspace door almost disappear…

That concludes today’s road trip. Wasn’t it fun? And inspiring!

Thanks so much to Claire and Aaron for opening their home to me to share with all of you! It’s a wonderful home, full of warmth and fun. Congrats to Claire for doing such a great job decorating in one short year!