Our House is On the Market!

I hinted in my last post that there were big things going on over here at the Nest. Well, the major news is that we are under contract on a new-to-us (but actually very old) house in the neighboring town of South Orange (more on that later) and our house is on the market!  I promise this is the last time I bombard you with photos of this house since you've now seen it staged and shot in three different ways (Woman's Day, Apartment Therapy and AT: Complete and Happy Home).  I can't believe I got so much press for our South Mountain cottage. I can only hope that our new house (which is way cooler, btw) gets the same kind of coverage. In the meantime, here are a few of the listing photos showing some of the spaces that maybe you've haven't seen in previous features.

I love how our green guest room turned out even if I never truly "finished" it.  It's also fun to go back through the blog and find before photos.  Man, this house has come a long way!

For more info, you can check out the slideshow and interactive floorplan here as well as a fun video that includes some amazing aerial shots that our real estate agent shot with his drone (job perk much?)!

Stay tuned for photos of the where we will land in South Orange.

Apartment Therapy Book

Apologies for the blog silence. It's been very busy over at the Nest recently.  Between work and other big developments (more on that later - but a few hints on facebook), it's been hard to find time to blog.  Not to mention that when you take a hiatus it's easy to sort of forget how to blog in the first place.  That said, if you follow me on any other social media, you may have noticed that the Apartment Therapy Book: Complete and Happy Home by Maxwell Ryan just came out and features our house!  Super exciting.  They came back and shot our house in the spring of 2014 for the book after it was featured on an AT House Tour.  I was pregnant with Lucy and crazy kids stuff had not yet overrun our house.  Here are some photos from my instagram feed (although there are a bunch more photos of our house in the book).

We went to the book signing party and Maxwell was such a gracious host. I also got to meet Christiane Lemieux of Dwell Studio and Wayfair which was a big moment for me. She is such an inspiration from a business standpoint. I feel like she is like the Jenna Lyons of the interior design product world.

Anyways, I'm buying the book as everyone's Christmas present this year.  Go out and get yourself a copy if you haven't already. There are some amazing spaces featured. I feel very humbled to be included.

More news on the house front coming up!

-Jess

Satin Brass Lamp

It's Jessica Burne here with an update from the home-front. I've been meaning to write this post now for months. As I mentioned on my blog about kitchen faucets, I'm loving all things brass. I recently discovered this lamp I had hidden away in storage.  It was a hand-me-down from my grandma and I kept it because I loved the size of the shape.  My plan was to remove the yellowed lacquer that screamed 1980s.  The big question was if it was solid or plated brass.

The base of the lamp was actually stamped with the manufacture and the date.  This seemed a promising indicator that it was solid.  Another way to determine if its plated is to simply stick a magnet on the material.  Solid brass is not magnetic so it should not stick. If the magnet adhered to the metal then most likely it is plated over steel or another magnetized substrate.

Lucky for me the lamp passed all my preliminary tests and I deemed it solid!  Then came my ambitious plan of removing the yellowed lacquer and restore the lamp to the original softer brass patina.

My first attempt was to use acetone and a cotton ball but it was really slow to remove the finish.  I switched gears to a chemical stripper and lathered the goofy stuff on the lamp.   I'm a big baby when it comes to watching these chemicals work so I got impatient and tested a little too early.  I panicked a little bit because the underlying brass was so much lighter without the lacquered. I held up a stainless steel knife as a comparison and was relieved to see that lamp was definitely a much warmer color.

After the chemical stripper I simply used an old toothbrush to scrub off the remaining lacquer.  The last step was to wipe the lamp down with a damp towel.

The hardest and most time-consuming part of this whole project was trying to find a lampshade without spending a lot of money.   I searched online, flea markets, lighting stores and then ultimately found something at Home Depot.  It's not perfect but it's a whole lot better than the original yellowed pleated shade.

Overall the project was fun and I’m on the hunt for other castaway 80’s relics.  I keep a magnet in my purse just in case I stumble on a potential find!

-Jessica B

DESIGN BLUEPRINT: Herringbone Kitchen

Sometimes, it just takes one element for a kitchen to really stand out... The rest of the design can be relatively simple. For this space above, it's that awesome herringbone backsplash! 

There's also a perfect contrast going on between the rough-wood furniture and modern dining chairs. All of it comes together to create a kitchen worth spending lots of time.

 

Get this look in your home....

DESIGN BLUEPRINT:

Pendant light via Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams

Subway tile via The Building Depot

Dining Chair via Vitra

Wood boat via Bed Bath & Beyond

Dining table via Crate & Barrel

Dining bench via Crate & Barrel

Inspiration image via Desire to Inspire

 

 - Cori