Posted
July 21, 2010 by
erin under
Uncategorized Next up on our little virtual road trip is Florence, and Venice, as well as the Italian countryside.
Isn’t the building decoration gorgeous? Those were all painted on!
Bridge and market in Florence.
The northern countryside was all terraced farms. I couldn’t stop taking pictures of it!
Central Italy. This part of the country was filled with row upon row of vineyards.
Rolling Italian countryside, mile after mile!
Sunset one night over the Dolomite mountains. (They are part of the Alps that are in Italy.) These were the most gorgeous, breathtaking mountains I’d EVER seen! We turned a switchback going up to our resort and saw this, so naturally we stopped to take some pictures and enjoy the sunset! (Note: There is no color editing on this photo!)
Fund doorway I ran across in Trento, Italy. In Europe, most of the large entrance doors to the buildings have door knobs in the center, like the lion head ones above. It’s very rare to find a doorknob not in the center of the door!
Dinner! Wild Fungi (mushroom) pizza, Spaghetti, Calzone, Spinach and Cream Cheese Pizza. All were delicious!!
Vineyards. I think I want to retire in Italy!
Gondolas. (Please let me apologize in advance for all the Venice pictures. There were just SO many opportunities for great photos! I think I’ll be doing a new decor project soon with some of my Venice photos!)
Solitary Gondola. Notice how it’s curved towards the left…gondoliers only ever row on one side, so by making the gondolas curved towards the opposite side, they always go straight!!
I loved how everyone’s front doors are off the water. Instead of driving up in the car, you have to park your boat out front!
Gondolas all in a row! So quaint!
Old time Venice. (Or at least how it might have looked. You can thank Photoshop for the visualization!)
I loved this little hotel in Venice. The bright, cheery blue made me smile as we boated by!
Next up in the Europe series is going to be Austria and Germany, be prepared for a different architectural look!
Tags: alps, dolomites, italy, venice
Posted
January 22, 2010 by
erin under
Uncategorized For the past couple of months we’ve been working on a super sneaky project! The time has come to share it with all of you! Deb and I, along with Christy Nelson at Toolulu and Sarah from Craft Critique have been hashing out the details to make our dream of a crafty conference a reality and CraftyCon was born! You won’t want to miss out!
It is going to be in Chicago, October 21-23. It will be plum chuck full of craft celebrities and inspiration. Consider it the chance to earn your crafting MBA. You’ll have the opportunity to meet and interact with top names in the craft industry and find out what it really takes to make it in the craft world.
If you are serious about crafting, check it out. Registration will open soon. Make sure you sign up with your email address and we’ll let you know as soon as you can register! We’ll have a great early bird deal you won’t want to miss out on.
Are you excited?
and 
Tags: craftycon
Posted
January 13, 2010 by
deb under
One Fresh Nest,
Uncategorized One Fresh Nest is a feature that we have on the site where we highlight a home that is beautiful and inspiring.
Today’s Fresh Nest is Sixx Design’s home. Husband and wife design team, Cortney and Robert Novogratz, have seven children. And somehow they find the time to make their homes lovely and beautiful. And inspirational. They are a-m-a-z-i-n-g! They buy run down properties and turn them around into stunning properties. They are sharing pictures of their current home and we are lucky enough to have them answer a few questions today.
What is your favorite home you’ve renovated & why?
We love all of our homes, including our newest one, which is at 400 West Street in Manhattan. It is certainly our biggest and most ambitious. But we all have a soft spot for our house in Soho on Center Market Place. We just love the vibe of the neighborhood and so proud because we helped turn the block into something special. Before we built four houses on the block, it was dark and dingy, and now full of life and really cool, with shops and restaurants and all the neighbors know each other.
When you are designing your space, where do you get your inspiration from?
We get our inspiration from everywhere. What we see when we walk around New York everyday, travel, nature, books, the web. Inspiration is everywhere. Sometimes it is just a bit of a color or the shape of something that makes you start to think.
What is your favorite piece in your home?
We love our art collection. The outside of our current home has turned into a public art installation because of the Richard Wood treatment on the facade. It is a great way to express yourself, and with every new artist we discover, whether they are new or just new to us, it is exciting.
How did you decide on a color palette for your home?
We always like to use a neutral color palette for the background, like white, and then use pops of bright colors for accessories or to really make a room special.
Share your favorite DIY project in your home. Tell us a little bit about it.
We have had so many. But I think organizing the closets was the best for everybody. We used really basic shelving for all the kid’s closets, put everything away in the closets, and got rid of an enormous amount of clutter. When you have seven kids, this is all-important in a DIY project. The day we painted our shutters bright yellow at our country house was also really fun. Some of the neighbors thought it was a bit loud, but it got a discussion going and that was cool.
Thanks to Sixx Design for sharing their home and inspiration with us. To view more stunning pictures of their homes, take a look on their website. They also have a wonderful book, Downtown Chic that is simply amazing. How many times have I said amazing in this article? Well, this deserves at least a couple more. Keep an eye out for their show debuting on Bravo in April. It’s called 9 X Design. And there’s no doubt it will be amazing.
All photography by Matthew Williams.
Tags: sixx design
Posted
November 13, 2009 by
deb under
Uncategorized Amy contacted us about helping her redesign her bathroom. And we said “Absolutely!” There’s nothing that satisfies us more than helping make people homes a better place. Here are some before pictures of what her bathroom looks like now.
Now, we are ready to get the nitty gritty. We asked her a couple questions that will help us pinpoint her style for her new design.
What are your favorite design store/home décor stores?
- Target
- Bed, Bath & Beyond
- Dillards or Younkers
- I’m really open to anything even if I need to order online.
What 3 words would you use to describe yourself and the feeling of the space you’d like?
*Clean, fresh & modern
What is the most important thing you’d like done with the space?
Add color
What are two of your favorite and least favorite colors? (Keep this particular space in mind, as we know favorite colors vary from space to space)
Least: Orange & Yellow; Favorite: Variations of red or brown
What are the overall dimensions, including ceiling height (if applicable) of your space?
7′6″ x 5″ x 8″
Is there anything else you’d like us to include or consider in designing your space?
Our kids use this bathroom all the time, so kid-friendly. The bathroom is used often and we are worried about using dark paint. My husband said that if we use dark paint that when the girls take a bath and water splashes on the wall, we’ll see lines of water drips. Maybe a lighter color wall with dark accents.
Check back on Monday to see our redesign of the space. If you have any tips, feel free to share them in the comments.
Do you want us to help you redesign your space? See here for the details and how to contact us!
Posted
July 2, 2009 by
deb under
Uncategorized 
{Tea Dyed Flour Sack Towel Walk This Way from Harriet’s Haven}
Hello there dear readers! Have we told you lately how much we love you?
Well, it’s true. We do.
And we want to be friends.
Are you on facebook or twitter? If so, come follow us here on facebook & here on twitter.
and
Tags: facebook, friends, twitter
