mod pod

in downtown corvallis many lovely shops abound, but one of my favorite's is one of the newest: mod pod. the owner, jessica klein, has a great eye for finding chic-contemporary and midcentury, retro-inspired modern furnishings and decor for just about any budget. it's bright & cheery with a great combination of both neutral and colorful furnishings. mod pod is geared towards bringing accessible and affordable modern design in to everything from dorm rooms to offices. and what a blessing ~ especially since it's the only one of its kind in the willamette valley. please enjoy a virtual tour with some of my faves from around the shop. . . .

what a good day.....

.....to start blogging again!
as you might have presumed by now, i have been extremely distracted with all the changes in my life and i just couldn't keep-up with blogging. but, as you can see from the lovely little flower fairy above, i have good reason. with the new season of spring upon us and easter being only a couple days away, i just wanted to pop on here with an update and some spring cheer to share!

first off, is the subject of seating:
here is a lovely little toddler bench i designed & had built with my father. yes, i had it built locally in my dad's woodshop. see i'm a very lucky designer, because i have a very talented carpenter father who can make anything out of wood. any thing. he is an elite member of a rare breed of woodworker ~ he is a true craftsman. i have been reeling with ideas of furniture for him to make {and hopefully someday to sell}! here is the first of our father-daughter projects together ~ i think it turned out really well.it's a solid oak bench/step-stool, sized just right for a toddler. being solid wood, it's not super light-weight, but i think that is a very good thing so it won't go tumbling over when a toddler climbs all over it. it has a handle space in the back for easy mobility and it has an open space beneath the seat for putting special things that need their very own place. it's a clean & simple design, and would fit well in many styles of home decor. know anyone who might want one?

also on the subject of seating, i have been loving going to flea markets lately. here is one of my fabulous finds, or should i say two:
i don't know what it is about this fresh & funky vinyl, but i love it! i mean, really, how could you not be cheered up in the morning sipping coffee & fresh squeezed juice while you're sitting on one of these happy chairs?!?!


second subject, is the subject of home. for those of you who haven't heard, i'm doing a fun little dance between two very wonderful, but very different, places..... san francisco and corvallis. i won't dive into the details of my west coast bounce, but suffice it to say i am loving both places very much. what can i say, i am a true town & country girl.

{at coit tower on top of telegraph hill, a couple weeks ago}

{walking at bald hill outside corvallis two days ago}

we love the sunshine and all this springtime splendor, and we hope you're enjoying all the rejuvenation and fresh sweetness of the season!

{photo of a & a taken by the incredible jeff zender}

show & tell time ~ cpw apartment

i'm so excited to share this with you! a large apartment remodel & redesign project that i was fortunate enough to work on has come to completion, and the project manager has sent over some nice site photos. this is the icing on the cake of a lot of hard work from a lot of talented people. there's really nothing like the satisfaction of seeing a project complete and the clients happily moving in.

this project had a lot of special challenges. . . . . for one, our design office is in san francisco and the project is at central park west in new york. so there was a lot of back-&-forth travel for our team & the clients. another massive challenge is depicted here:

many of the client's art pieces were too large to fit into the building's freight elevator so we had to close off streets, bring in a crane, remove the outer windows of the living room, and lift the art pieces all the way up to the apartment. i'm so glad our project manager was there with camera in hand so we could all share in the marvel of it.

here are a few more of my favorite shots:

{main hallway ~ highlighting the zebra wood floors found throughout the apartment}

{the living room and the grand curving staircase}

{the game table with the piano in the background}

{the den/study with red acrylic backed niches and shelving}

{the kitchen ~ this in particular was my baby of the project. lots of detailing went into it, which can't be seen from a photo, but i suppose that's the mark of good design right? :o) }

{the bar ~ leather paneled walls, resin bar top, patent leather built in sofa and some very chic bar stools}

{the yoga room has cherry wood paneled walls with a dark red/brown stain and a gorgeous antique lotus mandala panel from thailand}

{the design detailing that went into this apartment is staggering ~ these two photos show a nice example: the ceiling coffers in the dining room echo the skylight pattern in the stairwell}

{a lovely view from the deck on a gorgeous new york afternoon}

domestic bliss

these elaborate wall stickers designed by graphic artists, designers and artists such as finnish-born klaus haapaniemi and london-based hanna werning, take the realm of the tired wall sticker to another level. sold through the french site domestic, you can find tons of interesting decals and stickers for any place that needs a little special spice. i fell for about 20 of them.

{yes, this last one is laser cut mirror ~ swoon!}

nailing it

upholstered furniture with exposed nails is making another comeback ~ bringing an old-world look into the contemporary furnishings movement. nailhead trim is a decorative accent used to embelish upholstered furniture that accentuates the style of the piece. usually seen on arms and rails, it is commonly used with leather-upholstered furniture, particularly leather sofas, chairs and ottomans. nailhead trim dates back to the period of 1560-1643 and the advent of french country style during the reign of louis XIII. the best-known innovation from this period is the os de mouton chair. that piece marked the introduction of nailhead trim as well as upholstered backs and seats with the popular flame stitch pattern. {info found on frenchheritage.com}

{the yusopov sofa, from the raymond waites collection, from laneventure}

{edge nailed ottoman, in the upholstery collection, from baker}

{gibson counter stool from marge carson}

{nailhead-trimmed arm chair, from the atelier collection at bolier}

{the sienna chair from brownstone furniture}

{gallina ottoman from emerson et cie}

{barcelona game chairs from fremarc}

{regis leather bed from mitchell gold & bob williams}

{linwood armchair by suzanne kasler for hickory chair}

{lisbon chair from palecek}

{the visconti storage cabinet found on bunglaow5}

living life by the drop

happy friday! i hope you find a refreshing place to spend some quality time with yourself this weekend ~ relaxing, sipping a tall glass of something juicy, and living a dream.....


{click the photo to jump to this post's soundtrack ~ sorry i haven't figured out how to do this without making you jump to another site.....i'm still on the old school blogger and all the customization you see on this humble lil' blog is via my kindegarten-level html skills}

{photo of a studio in wimbourne, london, found on shootfactory}

down by the seashore

{beach sign, miner's lantern and parasol from the uk-based garden trading company}

{deck chairs, seafood signs, striped & sailboat cushions from the uk based re-found objects}