Photo Shoot!

Now that I have a new camera, I was finally able to go to my friends Kellie and Adam's house to take some photos.  I helped them with their place almost two years ago and it's still looking great!  The Lumix (and my new tripod) did great!  And that wide angle lens proved to be incredibly handy.

For today - some shots of the living room:

Colonial Eclectic

I'm helping our friend David with the renovation of his condo.  Now David is super handy (actually, he's a handyman!) so he's replacing the floors himself, installing new kitchen cabinets, painting the walls etc.  I've been tasked with helping him select furniture, colors, accessories etc. David lives by the beach, but isn't super into the shabby chic beach house vibe.  He prefers a cleaner look with a touch of British Colonial mixed in.  Here is what his pad looks like currently.

Even David would admit - slightly scary!

The new concept.  A TV watching area, a reading nook by the fireplace (replete with colonial armchairs) and a sunny breakfast area.  Super durable furniture for him and his dog with a nice collected comfortable feel.

CB2 Dining Table, West Elm Rug, West Elm Sofa, Pottery Barn Lantern, Ballard Designs Dining Chair, Z Gallerie Lounge Chair, Ballard Designs Table Lamp, Home DecoratorsTV Cabinet, Home Decorators Ottoman, Home Decorators Mirror, West Elm Tray, Ballard Designs Floor Lamp, Ballard Designs Map Prints

ModKat

If I still lived in a tiny New York apartment I would consider investing in one of these ingenious ModKat litter boxes:

No more litter strewn on the floor

 A compact design with scoop and brush

A hinged top so any excess litter falls right back in

 A reuseable liner

This is the like the mini cooper of litter boxes.  Well designed, compact and cool.

Weekend Sign Off

Well, it's another weekend chalk full of activities.  At what age does it end up that your weekend itinerary ends up jam packed and you're scheduling things out a month or six in advance?  Between traveling, visits from friends (this is not a dig at my friends - please keep visiting), and trips to the hardware store, it seems like an entire month's worth of weekends can get gobbled up in no time (well, in a month...).  How I long for a weekend of no plans, a jaunt in the garden, a run, some lounging, impromptu brunch.....  "Impromptu" ... what does that word mean?

 

Photo by pfala on Flickr

More Social Media

Nest Studio is now on facebook. You can Like Nest Studio here.  Or check out the new app to the right.  Just click the "like" button.

Clever no?

A 360 degree rotating outlet.  Who'd have thunk.

 

From 360 Electrical.

Tweet Tweet

Yup - I have finally succumbed to the Twitter Gods.  Nest Studio is now on twitter.  Follow me at jessdnest

Kung Hei Fat Choy!

Nest on Etsy

I've been dropping a few hints on my blog about some new items that were coming your way in 2011. Well, the first has finally arrived!  I'm happy to announce the opening of my new Nest Studio Etsy Shop.  The first item I'll be selling is a duvet set designed by yours truly (and based on some of your comments from a little survey I did a while back).

It's a simple white 400 thread count duvet set - a duvet cover and 2 shams -  with a rust colored Bird-on-a-wire theme. 

My friend Thien is making the duvet sets in Vietnam for me and hopefully  this will be a long lasting partnership.  Initially the set is only  available in Queen size, but if you want a King let me know and once I  get enough interest, I'll put in a production order for Kings.  The  first run is limited to 20 only, so get on over to my Etsy shop before  they're all sold out!

Oh, I'm also loving the new Chinoiserie wallcovering panels that I had framed and hung as large scale art in the bedroom. The bird theme carries through subtly in the pieces.  Now we just need some drapery panels to keep the windows from looking so sad and spare.

And for those of you who are wondering, no, I didn't get the idea after watching the new Portlandia clip "Put a Bird on it". But I guess I've hit on a trend?

Hamper Time

The laundry storage situation at the Ahnert Davis household is rather bleak.  As you can see from the photo below, we have the foldable laundry bag hamper from our Brooklyn days, a cheap plastic (and broken) laundry basket, the IKEA "bug" hamper which we use to tote the laundry to and from the laundry room (because the plastic basket is broken) and pile of dry cleaning on the floor (which Floopy has claimed as a bed).

Since we're on our way to making our bedroom into a space that is more worthy of the 8+ hours a day we spend in it, I think something has to happen with the hampers, stat.  And since I already separate the whites and colors as the laundry accumulates, a multiple basket arrangement seems appropriate.  Something that doesn't scream "LAUNDRY" would also be nice.  And of course, with self-imposed austerity measures in place and a general aversion to paying an arm and a leg for a laundry receptacle, the solution must be inexpensive.  Here are some options I found:

Willow laundry basket from Pier 1. A steal at $12.48.  The cloth liner is useful, but it does sort of emphasize the laundry-ness.

Water Hyacinth laundry basket from Pier 1.  $20. Less laundry like and nice structure.

Large Curved Basket from West Elm. $54

Ikat Woven Basket from West Elm. $39-$59.  I am in love with these but in the end they're just too small for laundry

Bolga Basket from Bamboula.  $36. I love the leather handle and the rustic look.

Market Basket from Bamboula.  $36.  A more colorful version of the same thing.

Industrial Mesh Hamper from CB2. $49.95.  Good volume but maybe shows a little too much of the laundry contents.  And too industrial for our room.

Rio Collapsible Storage Basket from World Market.  $17.99. Definitely fun and well priced but since there is no size shown, I'll have to check it out in person. And perhaps it's a little dorm room-ish.

Cornelia Totes from World Market $14.99.  Again a great price - and fun colors!

Red Rim Basket from Wisteria Home.  $79.00.  I like this route and it would look great in the laundry room but not so much in our bedroom.

Which one (or two) gets your vote?