House Crashing
House Crashing: It’s A Mod Mod World
Woot, it’s Friday! And we’re hard at work painting the trim in the living room at this. very. moment. So it seems like as good a time as any to go house crashing. We thought we’d share pics of this amazingly inspiring NYC pad that we virtually house crashed while we’re off getting our paint on. One thing’s for sure – Herman and Eduardo (the proud owners) definitely have made every last inch count. Speaking of size, their pad is just 500 square feet and it consists of a modestly sized kitchen, dining area, living area, bedroom, and bathroom. But it feels luxe and lovely, like it’s all anyone would ever need. It’s such a good example of living simply and making the smartest use of your space. Plus Herman and Eduardo did a ton of stuff themselves (from demo and floor planning to sewing their own pillows and curtains). But enough chitchat. Let’s start with the living area…
See that big black piece that they added to create a nice partition (from the bedroom) and tons of storage (accessible from all three sides)? It’s genius. An of course we love the art and those pillows and that gorgeous texture-rich rug from West Elm.
Speaking of that colorful art, we like that it doesn’t take itself too seriously (and it’s just begging to be DIYed for anyone out there in need of some wall interest). And there are some of those DIYed pillows that Eduardo made.
Here’s the TV that’s placed across from the sofa in front of a charming painted brick stripe (which was built out with drywall to include a little display nook- such a fun modern departure from the average wood mantel).
And see those Knoll Bertoia chairs over yonder? They’re like a celebrity crush. I know I’ll probably never be able to get my mitts on them, but oh how they make me weak in the knees (John says I’m allowed to look all I want, I just can’t touch. I know, I’m a lucky lady).
As you can see from the last picture, the living area is just a few feet away from this über chic dining zone complete with a gorgeous marble topped tulip table (get that look on the budget with this similar version from Ikea). Oh and speaking of budget, Eduardo made that gorgeous mirror himself.
And around the corner there’s a short hallway that leads to a dreamy bedroom. But I’m getting ahead of myself. We’ll get there in a minute (but check out those great built-in drawers for a second):
Before moving back to the bedroom we have the office, which is really just a corner of the same room that includes the kitchen, living area, and dining zone. And get this, they built the desk themselves. And then covered it with plexiglass for a slick look.
Speaking of the kitchen, here’s that corner (they raised it up a bit on a clean-lined pedestal to help define that zone in the room). It’s amazing how there’s room for everything and even a nice large span of countertop work space thanks to the peninsula packed with storage that was also added to subtly section off the area. Plus the counters and cabinets are from Ikea, so they didn’t break the bank. Even though they look like they did with that customized everything-fits-perfectly layout.
The time has come to revisit the bedroom that you saw a peek of from that second dining room shot. It’s gorgeous and dramatic yet super serene, complete with lovely metallic curtains along the back wall paired with a gleaming silver texture-rich headboard and a sunny yellow extra long bolster pillow. And in money-saving news, not only did Eduardo make that pillow, they actually got the coverlet from Bed Bath & Beyond. Sweet.
Next we have a peek at the bathroom (small rooms are hard to shoot- but we love this glimpse!):
So that’s Herman and Eduardo’s amazing home. Sometimes it’s the smallest spaces that force people to be the most creative- and we love soaking up all the eye candy and inspiration. We’re sending out a big thank you to H & E for sharing the virtual tour while we paint the day away. Oh and you can drop in on Eduardo’s blog here for more info and inspiration. Now let’s play the what’s-your-favorite-part game. I’m obsessed with the gorgeous metallic headboard and the punchy art in the living room. John’s digging the amazing three sided storage unit in the living room and the cool modern light fixture in the dining area. Your turn.
Psst- Check out more house crashing adventures here.
House Re-Crashing: Stacie’s Insane Porch
When Stacie told us she was redoing the front of her amazingly glorious home in Richmond’s Historic Fan district, we knew she wouldn’t disappoint. I mean, she totally wowed us with her style here and here, so we were prepared to wet ourselves a little when we saw her exterior upgrade. Good thing we were prepared, because her overhaul was nothing short of insane. And like any sweet homeowner she wants to shout out her restoration guy for his commitment to keeping things historic and cutting no corners (his name is Eric Schmoldt at Advantage Construction, whose house we actually crashed here – small world). Hats off to Eric and Stacie. Between her vision and his amazing handiwork, it seriously doesn’t even look like the same house. So if we’re late to her annual Christmas party, Stacie will know why (because we might not recognize her place). Enough gabbing. Here’s the before:
And a few durings:
And here are the amazing after shots:
Isn’t it gorgeous? It’s so funny that the exterior in the before could ever become the one in the after. How is that even possible? It’s like a unicorn or a transported cupcake that doesn’t get smashed in the car. The stuff of legends. Anyway, thanks for sharing your gem with us Stacie! It’s a great reminder that houses that don’t always look lovely from the front often leave the most room for improvement! Off to stare at our new house’s exterior with renewed enthusiasm…
Pssst- We’re selling our slipcovered Pottery Barn sofa (which looks like new, thanks to those handy washable slipcovers) for nearly 60% off what we paid for it over on craigslist. And since we know you locals like a heads up about those things, we thought we’d share the link. If you’re interested, just respond to the craigslist ad and we’ll get back to you.
House Crashing: Where Historic Meets Modern
When our good friend Noah Scalin (who happens to be a published author slash skull enthusiast) recommended that we check out his mom and dad’s amazing house in Richmond’s hip downtown district called The Fan, we were intrigued. And when we got there we couldn’t snap pictures fast enough. Chuck and Mim are both well known fine artists who used to live in NYC before relocating to their charming 100 year old Richmond home. And their love of metropolitan loft-like living is obvious even in their historic casa. Let’s have a virtual look around, shall we?
Here’s the lovely exterior…
… and the entryway (complete with custom tile work commissioned by a fellow artist that Chuck & Mim adored).
This is their light and lovely living area complete with chairs that Chuck found on the street, thrift store items, a ton of DIY art, bartered accessories (trading is free, why not, right?) and even an item or two from Target. They also worked in art from various student exhibitions at VCU, which is a great way to collect amazing one of a kind pieces without draining the ol’ savings account. We love that even though their house looks like it’s full of bank-breaking antiques and reproduction pieces, it was all affordably acquired over time on the cheap. Chuck even hired one of his handy art school students to patch missing boards in the home’s original flooring to save money (and support the arts, haha).
Here’s their modest yet totally charming and functional kitchen complete with open shelving and a nice little peninsula with plenty of space to serve up a home cooked meal (or eat that entire mouthwatering pie like I wanted to do the whole time we were there).
We love that the house itself is full of historic and stately details (like the gorgeous high ceilings and this amazing staircase) while more modern furnishings and art still feel right at home. Gotta love the whole mixed & matched thing when it’s done right.
Chuck and Mim’s home really is a testament that the style of your house (like their historic 1900′s home) doesn’t have to dictate every item that you bring into it (since they have many modern, industrial, and clean-lined pieces it all feels cohesive and just seems to “fit”). So just because your house may be 100 years old doesn’t mean every piece in it has to be an antique. We love that Chuck and Mim can appreciate and seamlessly introduce a nice mix of objects both old and new.
And their artistic eye for special “moments” that they can create in a room is super inspiring. Check out that glowing recessed rectangle in the wall below:
That’s actually a cool little niche they added that’s backlit thanks to light streaming in from outside (it also has a light source below that illuminates the sleek rectangular pane of glass, even at night). It’s such a great place to display their pretty collection of glass bowls, plates, and vases. We just love that they took a detail-less solid wall and created a one of a kind feature.
We also love the hallway that leads to their bedroom. See, the bedroom floor is dark while the area on the other side of the hallway has lighter bleached floors. So to keep things feeling cohesive instead of mismatched, Chuck and Mim opted to redo the hall flooring with both colors – so they flow right into each other. All while creating an eye catching transition. Genius.
They also recently tackled a big bathroom reno, where they not only designed a cool linear sink vanity (see those horizontal strips of wood on the front that create such a great modern texture?) but also designed a totally gorgeous radiator cover with the same horizontally spaced strips to mimic the vanity. And they reused the original bathroom door. The doorknob was re-chromed and the interior panel of the door was removed, then recycled glass from a window originally above the radiator was inserted. Seriously, it was just a gorgeous room (and of course we love the work-with-watcha-got spirit). The thought they put into every little choice that they made was so inspiring.
It also felt really open thanks to the large glass block panel that they added to let in loads of light (there used to be a door there, which led to an unused upstairs porch). And the addition of the nearly invisible floating glass shower enclosure and the rainhead fixture definitely made it an envy inducing space.
But just in case you still doubt this duo’s DIY creativity, check out these amazing metal doors that were inspired by this favorite designer of theirs. Chuck saw them in a design book and decided to recreate the cool checkerboard effect himself.
He just taped off a bunch of squares (so that part of the door would stay smooth) and sanded the other exposed squares that weren’t taped off (to create that brushed look). Long modern Ikea handles polished things off nicely- without costing an arm and a leg.
And since these two are real-deal artists (they both have pieces in galleries and art shows in their honor) they actually need and frequently use their studio space. Here’s a peek into Chuck’s studio which bowled us over in the “collectable” category. Those gorgeous metal letters all come from store signage that used to hang right here in Richmond (he’s not afraid to drive over to shops that are undergoing a renovation and ask for their old letters). And his bevy of fun gadgets like flashlights and old school pencil sharpeners had us feeling all nostalgic. No wonder the man has no shortage of creativity when he’s surrounded by such fun things.
And we’ll leave you with one more DIY project that Chuck took on since it’s too good not to share. After spotting an interesting (but über expensive) light in an upscale Paris design store, he decided to try to replicate something similar at a fraction of the cost. He saved up a ton of clear film canisters (which you can hunt down online, find at a local photography shop, or collect if you still use a camera that takes film) and poked small holes in the tops of each of them so he could thread a string of white holiday lights into them. This homemade mass o’ lights has moved around quite a bit (it’s definitely a flexible “fixture”) and it now it sits in the corner of his big open living area, adding tons of glowing ambiance to the room (and making us feel even more drunk with DIY desire).
So there you have Chuck and Mim’s amazing house right here in Richmond. They really are two of the sweetest people around, so a huge thank you goes out to them for opening their doors and letting us share their stunning home with all of you. We hope you’ve seen something that has you inspired. Wanna play the what’s-your-favorite-part game? We’re torn between those cool stainless doors, the one-of-a-kind radiator cover in the bathroom, the striped hallway, and that surprise cut out in the bedroom.
Psst- Why stop virtually barging into people’s homes now? Check out a slew of other inspiring spaces in our House Crashing gallery.
