Paint It What I Tell You

Meet My Good Friend Otis (the chair, from Room & Board).

This Otis Chair from Room & Board is, by far, my favorite do-anything, fit-anywhere, fit-anybody-comfortably chair.

Three things I love about this little guy are:

1.) Otis is small.

The chair is circular and 32” in diameter. That may mean nothing to you, so let me explain: an average living room chair is about 36” or more in length and width and is square/rectangular. That means unless you have a lot of room in your floor plan, you’re squishing chairs into awkward corners, turning them diagonally, and running into issues when you want to switch up your furniture arrangement. The Otis chair, being small and round, is the perfect size to fit elegantly into most living rooms. And a huge added bonus is that you can almost always fit a pair into a bay window, like I did for this client (space is not finished…forgive the “naked” windows and floor):

2.) Otis is comfortable. Really.

My clients range in height from child-size, to about 6’4”. Their shapes vary similarly. So do the heights and shapes of their family members and guests. One thing we have to remember when buying furniture is that we want it to fit the people who live in the house AND we want it to comfortably fit family, guests, and any future mates/children/pets we may have. This chair fits the bill universally, in my experience. I have recommended it to more than a few wives who have very tall husbands, and each has been surprised to report back that they tested out the chair and it suits them very well, despite its small size. This is due in part to its round shape, which comfortably holds more “person” than a typical rectangular seat. As an added bonus, the chair swivels, so it doesn’t make you crane your neck to watch television or reposition if you need to reorient yourself…you just swivel to get where you need to be!

3.) Otis is (relatively) cheap.

Otis starts at just $699, which is a bargain in my world of custom furniture. If you choose higher-grade fabrics or leather options, you may pay as much as $1,249 per chair, but there is always the option to get one of the many beautiful fabrics at the base price. This means you can get two Otis chairs for the price of one chair at many other comparable retailers (and I mean “comparable” in terms of quality and level or customization).

Here are just a few of the fabrics you can use to upholster the chair, and none of these exceed $899 for a custom job:

One thing I didn’t mention is that its simple and sleek lines blend with most furniture styles you may already have. Mid-century modern? – Sure. Traditional? – We can make that work. Contemporary? – Not a problem.

So I think that settles it: this is my favorite chair right now. …and I don’t even own one!

Disclaimer: I rarely go on and on about my favorite products, but when I do, please know I’m doing so out of my own affinity for them and not because I’m compensated or asked to by the company. In fact, if we’re being honest here, Room & Board doesn’t even offer a trade discount…so you know I must really love them!

Design consultations for all styles and budgets: JGB Interiors.

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Categories Furniture

Cardboard Box Crafts: Never Too Old For This.

16 Aug

I’ve have been known to get a little *too* into crafting (and constructing train tracks, but that’s a different story).

By “too into crafting” I mean that it usually goes like this:

My son asks me to help him with something like making a gas station out of a big cardboard box. Wonderful!

I say “OF COURSE!” and immediately get an idea for what I want to do.

I ignore him while I go round up craft supplies.

I give him a snack to get out of my way while I create templates and brainstorm.

I give him more snacks/start a show on the tv/repeatedly tell him to leave me alone so that my ideas can be fully realized in their cardboard greatness.

Then halfway through, I feel bad and realize this is about HIM, ask him to help me, and he dutifully does.

…Then he gets bored five minutes later and I finish the project. In the end, we complement each other.

A few weeks ago I came home with a few huge boxes and he wanted a house. So we made one together, with him dictating the elements and me making most of them (a rug, working shades, flowers, a mailbox…). He fetched and handed me supplies. This boy has really mastered the art of safely handling heavy duty scissors, an essential skill in our house. This is what we made:

Oh, you thought I was just going to display some photograph? No. Not how we do it around here. You can click on the image for the full-sized version, which should be to scale.

Here is another box craft we made was when he was barely two years old. He wanted a car he could drive, and who am I to say “no.” He got his car, which we called “The Beck Mobile.” I was just getting started with the box crafting here, so things are a little out of proportion. But the steering wheel did work, even if he tried to eat it the second day.

Around the same time he became obsessed with my computer, which as any work-at-home parent knows, is a personal hell. So I made him one. It stood up pretty well. Notice the interactive velcro “icons,” which are pictures of our cat, our wedding, and foods he likes.

I can go on…but I won’t. (But I would if I had pictures of the gas station we made because WOW was it that good.)

My husband isn’t exempt from this craftiness gene. Here I give you “box firetruck.” This was made approximately three months ago, and is still going strong. We even adapted the top to fit a Playmobil flashing police car light, ’cause you know, we aim for realism.

If you’re interested in other box crafts, see 15 of them here (via Apartment Therapy).

Enjoy your weekend!

Design consultations for all styles and budgets: JGB Interiors.

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Categories Crafting, DIY, Kids

Impromptu Residential Photo Shoot…

15 Aug

One of my clients is finishing up work on a very long renovation and her home is coming along GORGEOUSLY. I was at the site for a few hours this past week during a carpet installation, and I had some time to snap a few photos with my iPhone (which by the way, isn’t too shabby for a phone camera). I’m hoping to have this project photographed in full, as it’s incredibly detailed and wonderfully fun. But for now, here are a few of the details that I captured this week.

The custom, light-filled kitchen banquette:

The fun, Parisian-inspired guest bath:

This is the carpet that was being installed. Here you see it in a little reading nook at the top of the stairs. The walls are actually gray, but the brick outside the window is reflecting off of the paint and making it look pink (I didn’t say my camera phone was perfect…):

Looking good, right? I can’t wait to show you more!

Design consultations for all styles and budgets: JGB Interiors.

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Categories Bathrooms, Designers, Washington DC

Vignelli’s Subway Map

10 Aug

Recently I did an exercise with my class about subway maps, and we started by looking at the iconic (and in my opinion, beautiful) map that Massimo Vignelli designed for the New York City subway in the 70s. I adore this map, and though I’m not particularly attached to NYC, I entertain hanging it on my wall in some form from time to time.

This is just a detail, but it captures the vibrant color and bold lines that I love. (image via The New Yorker)

Here is another detail, featuring the man himself (via here):

Here is the full-version, which has a huge impact in real life but probably looks underwhelming tiny and on-screen. (image via here)

I even love the cover of the fold-out. (image via Flickr)

You can read more about the map here at Design Observer. (Have I mentioned before how much I love Design Observer? It’s always a great place to start when you’re in need of inspiration.)

I think this aesthetic – which I think of as a stripey, bold, geometric application of color – is why I like the art of Markus Linnenbrink so much. I first fell in love with his paintings, but also am interested in the installations he started a bit after those. This one in particular really reminds me of the Vignelli map with its graphic lines. (image via here)

Both the map and Linnenbrink’s work are evocative of Jim Lambie’s tape installations, I would argue.

Here’s one of Lambie’s installations at the Tate in London (via Apartment Therapy):

And another at MOMA in NYC:

To break it down further, I even see lines that are similar to the original Vignellli map in things like rugs… (via here)

…posters (via here)…

…and vintage magazine articles like this one from Better Homes and Gardens from around 1975, which was when the map was in use (via here).

It makes me wonder what these artists and designers were inspired by, and if they ever looked to this same map when they were creating.

Sometimes, inspiration comes from the most unexpected and seemingly irrelevant places…

Design consultations for all styles and budgets: JGB Interiors.

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Categories Art, Color, Designers, Flooring, Graphics, Magazines

Let’s Play Catch Up…

7 Aug

I’m doing that thing again. You know, that thing where I blog steadily for a week then don’t log in for two weeks. So let’s play catch up, which is where I fill you in on some recent happenings that I’ve completely neglected to blog about.

I hung a bunch of “tree ring paintings” in my living room. My husband is a bit perplexed by the asymmetrical arrangement, but I am loving it.

I recently checked in on a client and her sweet little boy’s room, and this is how the oddly-angled ceiling turned out. In my opinion, it’s PERFECT. The blue/gray is my go-to favorite, Benjamin Moore’s Mt. Rainier Gray, and the yellow is a secret and I’m not gonna tell you what it is.

I harvested almost all of my tomatoes from my cherry tomato plants, which is surprising, because they usually come later in the year. I’ve even cleared one and planted more herbs in its place. Those little snow pea-looking things are courtesy of my son’s preschool class: they planted them in stryo-foam cups last spring and since transplanting it, it’s grown tremendously.

We made pizza. A lot of pizza. My portion has hot peppers, cherry peppers, and red bell peppers. I like peppers. The boys have pepperoni and mushrooms and red peppers.

I re-discovered an old pocket-watch that belonged to one of my grandmothers. I found a chain for it that will work in the short-term, and put it to good use. (One thing I did not do is invest in better sunscreen, which by the looks of my rapidly expanding freckle-scape, I should….).

I started working with four new clients in the past three weeks for what I expect will be fairly small but really fun projects, wrapped up a course at the Corcoran College of Art + Design, signed on to teach a brand new course that I am VERY excited about, and am about to enjoy two full weeks with my son home for a “real” summer – with no where to be, and with only (if all goes as planned) minimal work to do. Hopefully, I can find some time to blog while August blows by. I’m looking forward to getting out of town for a bit, relaxing, and sitting back to ponder life and eat some snow cones like this guy:

I look forward to sharing LOTS of finished interiors picks in the fall, but am saving them up as I refine some projects and keep plugging away for now…

Hope you’re having a wonderful summer!

Design consultations for all styles and budgets: JGB Interiors.

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Categories Art, Fashion, Gardening, Painting, Personal Musings

Adaptive Reuse At Its Most Exciting: Revisiting 700 Delaware Avenue S.W.

25 Jul

Today I took my interior design students from the Corcoran College of Art + Design to one of my new favorite places in D.C.: the formerly-decaying-now-under-renovation old Baptist church at 700 Delaware Avenue S.W. that has recently been painted by Atlanta-artist Hense Brewer. None of the 12 of them knew what was coming; all they had was an address. So they were all pretty surprised – pleasantly I think – to arrive and find this:

I was here about a month ago and didn’t see anything going on, but now it’s pretty clear they’re deep into renovating the interior. I spoke with the building’s owner, Steve Tanner, and some of his partners in this endeavor over at Art Whino, and the plans are for this to eventually become an event/gallery space.

We walked around the building a bit to see it from all the different angles.

There’s a lot to see.

They even let us inside, which was thrilling. It’s not as dark as it looks from the foreboding open door…

One of the first things we saw in the vast first floor space was this baptismal pool. We all thought it was going to be an altar as we approached…but it wasn’t. Very intense, a little freaky to see it in such a run down state, and ultimately really interesting. It really drove home the type of space this was intended to be, versus the new functions it will house. Steve tells me this building was officially decommissioned by the church a while back, which is when there is an official ceremony conducted that figuratively takes the soul of the building and makes way for the building to move on and serve another purpose.

But back to that baptismal pool, I suppose this is where the DJ booth is going to go… This is adaptive reuse in action. I think it’s fascinating.

The upstairs, which is quite different from the plain downstairs, is just as interesting as the exterior. Here’s a little peek.

The windows are particularly eye-catching, because many are stained glass AND have the exterior paint on them, so the colors they transmit and reflect are really powerful.

(The image immediately above is a panorama, so the wall is not actually curved.)

After the tour, we sat outside and did some sketching. A big component of this particular course is becoming more comfortable with sketching, and this was a great opportunity to sit before a fantastic, very out of the ordinary subject.

Next week we’ll work with this space in class a bit to brainstorm alternative possible uses for it as an exercise in space planning. This will be hypothetical of course, because it’s being developed right now as a cultural, social, and artistic hot spot for a dynamic neighborhood. That’s a function that’s hard to beat!

Additionally, if you’re interested in seeing this building house the G40 Art Summit later this year, or if you want read a bit more about the aspirations of those involved in this project, please visit this page to read up and help out!

Design consultations for all styles and budgets: JGB Interiors.

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Categories Architecture, Art, Color, Painting, Washington DC

Visiting the Watermelon House.

16 Jul

One afternoon last week, instead of heading straight home like we usually do I took my son to one of my favorite spots in DC: the “watermelon house” in Shaw. He was AMAZED. I’ve been wanting to do a photo shoot here for a while, but life doesn’t always happen with a DSLR in-hand, so instead of doing it right we busted out the Instagram and did it sort-of-right. He had on a green shirt, which was just perfect. I love this photo so I thought I’d share.

He looks so sweet and contemplative, when in reality he was bribed to be still instead of repeatedly yelling “WATERMELON! Are you serious? Can I get a watermelon popsicle RIGHT NOW?” He was still sweet. Just not very contemplative.

Below is an image of the whole house (via What About Watermelon), and here is an article from the Washington Post where you can read a little bit about its history. Fun, right?

Design consultations for all styles and budgets: JGB Interiors.

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Categories Architecture, Art, Color, Outdoor, Painting, Photography, Washington DC

Beni Ourain Rugs on a Budget!

15 Jul

Beni Ourain may sound like a person and not a rug to you, but I guarantee that if you pay any attention to home decorating trends or shelter mags you’ve seen one of those black and white rugs like the ones pictured above (via Elle Decor). They get their name because they’re hand woven by the Beni Ourain tribe in Morocco. You’ll recognize a distinct black geometric (usually diamond-“ish” and grid-like) pattern on a cream or off-white background.

Here are three lovely ones. The first is a well-done imitation; even some hand-crafted imitations are pricey these days.

1.) 2.) 3.)

They blend pretty seamlessly with most styles and can fall into place in lots of spaces, but the catch is they’re not cheap. The ones pictured above are starting at $4,800, $4,750, and $2,950, respectively. 1st Dibs has a slew of them, many for about $5,000.

BUT LOOK! I found three look-a-likes for less than $300. Do they look 100% authentic? – No. Are they close to the real thing and 10% of the price and do they look great while being the imposters they are? – Yes. (By the way, I swear I’m not working for Target. I just poked around the website for a little too long last weekend, and had way too much fun. You’re welcome!)

1.) 2.) 3.)

West Elm also has a pretty middle-of-the-road-priced one that is $179-$1,200, depending on the size. Not bad.

I feel like this trend is so versatile and timeless that it’s going to be a classic. Now if only we can work on a durability of that light-colored shag…

Design consultations for all styles and budgets: JGB Interiors.

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Categories Flooring, Look For Less, Textiles

Five Under $50: Target Finds!

14 Jul

I dashed into Target last week to grab my son a towel for swim class, and got distracted by some flashy and CHEAP home goods. If you are familiar with the Columbia Heights Target, and if you are as attracted to graphic prints and novelty coffee cups as much I am, you’ll know that it’s a true test of wills to walk off that second floor elevator, breeze past the kid’s PJs as you make your way to the baby/toddler section, and be confronted with things like this:

…for JUST $19.99!

But I didn’t buy it. I can’t buy everything I like. Did I ever tell you how much my husband disdains unnecessary decoration? He would be happy with a bed, a single sofa, a concrete slab for a dining bench and a few well-placed candles for reading at night. He and Adolf Loos would have gotten along well (that’s for all my fellow architectural historian nerds).

I browsed for a few minutes, and here are some particularly neat finds I spotted. Thought I can’t say I advocate for a house full of Target, I am a huge advocate of mixing and matching across styles, materials, and budgets. You may even remember an edgy desk I posted about the other week…also from Target.

Here are some fantastic low-end contributions that you can easily make to your decor without feeling guilty. Have fun!

1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.)

Design consultations for all styles and budgets: JGB Interiors.

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Categories Accessories, Five Under $50!, Furniture

Making the morning rounds.

3 Jul

This morning I stopped by a client’s house in Columbia Heights to take a look at a design dilemma on their front porch. While there, I snapped a photo of their living room, which was recently painted according to the recommendations I made during a color consultation. I LOVE the blue-green with the original red-brown woodwork!

Since I’m a strong believer in not “prescribing” colors based on what they look like in other people’s homes or magazines (and because I tweaked this one in Photoshop a bit so that it more closely resembles the actual color and not what I photographed on my phone) I am not going to disclose the color name other than to say that it’s Benjamin Moore and it’s perfect. Look at the color combination rather than the photo quality or styling, please…it’s the definition of “complementary” for all my color-theory people.

From there I went on to another client’s house to receive a delivery, specifically, a table that is just the right balance of traditional and contemporary…and just the right amount of weird. I love it. Thanks Daren at And Beige!

When I was at this house the delivery guys couldn’t get enough of the ceiling in the front room. So I guess I’ll give you a sneak peek:

I really hope to have this project photographed soon when it’s complete so that I can show it off. It deserves some serious showing off.

Now the rest of my day is reserved for preparing for a class I’m teaching that begins next week. I haven’t been in the classroom since May and I can’t wait to get back! Have a great rest of the day!

Design consultations for all styles and budgets: JGB Interiors.