Rain Rain

Well it's been raining cats and dogs here lately. I'm definitely looking forward to the rain when I have my new garden up and running, but for now it has me confused. Four and a half years in LA and I have no idea how to dress for summer rains.  My basic warm weather rain uniform for trekking around in the city has been a t-shirt, shorts rubber flip flops and an umbrella.... not exactly something you'd want to run into anyone important while wearing.  In LA I could wear suede wrapped wedges and not even stop to think about how impractical they were weather wise.  Between trekking around with a stroller in a monsoon (the first time we were in NY I had to use a plastic bag to cover Bryan's feet because I didn't have a stroller cover) to dealing with a torrential downpour while navigating the Pulaski Skyway, New York in the rain is challenging.  What do you do to stay stylish while beating the weather? What's your pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?

A little update....

I apologize for the bouts of blog silence recently. I imagine it will continue for the next month or so with so much going on. We closed on our new house on my birthday (Monday).... I couldn't have asked for a better present!  AND we start demolition on Friday to make way for a new kitchen, bath, new HVAC, refinished basement, and back deck among other things.  Today I got my new business cards in the mail, just in time for a visit to NYIGF on Tuesday with Kelly from Studio DIY.  Looking forward to seeing all the wares that people will be hawking this year. 

I'm thinking I will do a little experiment with gold edge painting to really make them pop. And I'm excited about the way all of my packaging is coming together for my hardware shipments going out in early September.

Weekend Instagram

A few scenes from the past few weeks.....

Art that looks like interiors..

1. Interior Photograph by Paul Raeside
2. Area Rug by Loom Rugs
3. Bathroom by Unknown
- Lauren

Exterior paint colors

So, I promised some progress / concept on the house exterior.  I had a tiny bit of time last week between packing for a family reunion, getting things squared away before closing, figuring out part time child care, etc etc etc.... to get some photoshopping done.  Here is what the house looks like now (photo care of my dad).

And here is what I'm sort of envisioning. 

The siding is vinyl, which I've found out can easily be painted. The issue is that if you paint it much darker than the original color it can absorb too much heat and cause the vinyl to warp.  So I'm thinking maybe a slightly lighter grey with some black trim around the windows and a pop of color on the door. So more photoshopping on that later....

Stylin' Mammas: Beach Babes

Last weekend found us in Bodega Bay, hitting up the windy shore for some sun, salt air, and relaxation.  Up here in Northern California, beaches mean wetsuits and jeans more than skimpy bikinis...or perhaps a comfy cozy dress like this one.  (in "tempest")

If you don't own white Chuck Taylors, BUY SOME.  You will thank me.  

Are you a hipster?  Perhaps not.  But you can fool a lot people in these sunnies.  

I know it's a bit Kardashian, but I love my fedora. 

If your beach baby, like mine, sees sand as a meal alternative, you may need to hold her up for a while. ...although carrying Babygirl close to my chest means I usually forgo necklaces for some good arm candy like this Marc by Marc Jacobs bangle and leather wrap bracelet.

If I'm carrying the kids, my husband is charge of the bag.  

- Jaime

Black Dining Rooms

One of the things I am going to do in the new place (at least I'm pretty sure about this) is paint our dining room black.  I love a cozy / dramatic dining room.  Our guest room at Chez Davis West was black and it really worked out well.  I feel like dining rooms and bedrooms and powder rooms look great in black because you're not focused on getting a ton of lighting into the space and often they are rooms used more during the evening hours than during the day.  That's not to say that black doesn't look great in the daylight as well.  In fact, contrary to popular belief, because black absorbs color and therefore recedes, it can make a room feel bigger.  We have the white Eames Eiffel tower dining chairs, so I think they will really pop against a black backdrop.  Here's a little pinterest roundup of some of my favorite black dining rooms.

All image original sources via this pinboard

And the winner is...

Well, our edition of NJ House Hunters is about to wrap.  We on the Millburn house and have gone through all the rigamarole of inspections and negotiations and we are almost out the other end - closing and officially getting the keys.  Can't wait to start in on those renovations and show you what we have in store.  First on the agenda will be doing a little concepting on the interior and then maybe some photoshopping of exterior paint colors.

Art that looks like interiors...

1. Bathroom by Brooke Giannetti
2. Office by Farrow & Ball
3. Living Room by Unknown

- Lauren

Illustrated Etymology: Wainscot

You know you've heard the term wainscot thrown around on those decorating shows and you may have wondered what in the heck they're talking about.  Even as a designer and art historian, this term confuses me.  Is it spelled "wainscoat" and pronounced "wainscot".... or is it spelled "wainscot" and pronounced "wainscoat"?  It's just one of those things I've never gotten straight in my head.  So I figured it was time to shed a little light on the term.

Wainscot or wainscotting is a type of paneling that is used on the lower portion of a wall between the baseboard and chair rail.  Now a chair rail is pretty straight forward; it's there to protect your wall from chairs and other waist-height objects.  Wainscotting's original purpose was to cover the lower part of walls, not so much from nicks and scratches but from dampness oozing up from the ground. With the advent of various water barriers and damp proof courses of brick, wainscotting became more decorative than functional.

Various types of wainscot paneling.

Originally wainscot paneling started off as a type of tongue and groove vertical paneling similar to bead board (in fact the original term wainscot referred specifically to a type of high-quality quarter-sawn oak that was used for that purpose).  However, nowadays wainscot can be made of vertical panels, raised or recessed panels and moldings or even just flat moldings applied to a sheetrock wall to give an effect.  Wainscotting is typically around 30-36 inches high but can often be made lower or higher to change the proportions of a room.  In the photo above, often in craftsman style houses, the wainscot is raised to give a sense of warmth and to create a plate rail higher up on the wall.  And, some of the houses we are considering have a low wainscot in the dining room and I love how it makes the ceilings feel higher.  Hmm... even if the house we buy doesn't have wainscotting, it could be a great DIY project.

What do you think?  To wainscot or not to wainscot? High, low or in between? Recessed, raised or beaded?