Berkshire Estate: Kid Spaces

I am a big believer in designing kid spaces for the future, not just for today.

Kids grow up, so if a space is designed around an age specific theme 

(i.e. Winnie the Pooh, Super Man...) then you have placed an expiration date on the space. 

Someday the kid will outgrown the theme and you will have some redecorating on your hands.

If you design kids spaces that are YOUTHFUL instead of YOUNG, 

then the space will grow with your child.

Great examples of this concept are the 

BERKSHIRE'S KID SPACES.

Though the boys of the house love Toy Story and Cars, 

we designed their rooms around basic stripes and industrial finishes, like gunmetal and chrome.

The 'young'-ness comes in through their toys and easily replaced items, like shower curtain hooks.

Do you recognize the nightstands (or at least the corner of the nightstands)?

They were actually the master bedroom's nightstands that were made to the wrong measurements. 

With the addition of a low profile gunmetal bed, though,

we were able to save these gorgeous pieces from the recycle pile!

The kid's desk area is open to the main kitchen (which I'll be revealing in all it's glory tomorrow) so we repeated the island's materials.  We painted the desk a charcoal grey, added stainless steal pulls, installed stained concrete counter tops and hung three globe pendants in row.

Now for the envy of every kid in the neighborhood:

THE BALL PIT AND SLIDE.

(the concept of keeping kids spaces timeless kind of went out the window with this one...

But come on, it's a BALL PIT with a SLIDE!)

 Such a cool idea to use up the awkward space under the stairs.

Chucky Cheese who?

{Interior Design by Brooke Jones Designs, Photography by Jylare Smith}

Urban Archaeology Architectural Salvage Drafting Table

HOLY CRAP. HOLY CRAP. HOLY CRAP.

I have fallen in love again. 

With a 

DRAFTING TABLE.

Don't judge.

You'll fall in love too.

But I saw it first. 

It's mine.

The polished finish...The thick acrylic top... The sheer scale and mass....

Is it getting hot in here? Just me? WHEW!!! I'm shvitzing.

The only reason it is not in my shopping cart is because I am moving across country next week.

Ya, that's it... nothing to do with the $17K+ price tag.

Nothing at all.

Check out more of this gorgeously 

restored 1910 cast iron drafting table, 

and some of its siblings, at Urban Archaeology. 

(By the way, if you buy this table, they will also give you the original wood top, 

free of charge. Aren't they nice?) 

Greek Key Inspired Style

I have a confession. I'm a design dork. 

When I'm down and need a little pick-me-up, sometimes I'll create 

DESIGN BOARDS.  

When I do this I like to use furniture that I will most likely never be 

able to work with because of the price tag.

Here is one of those boards I created with a mix of designer vintage pieces in an achromatic palette. 

I know gray has been around for awhile but I'm still enamored with this fabulous neutral.

1. Z Gallerie Studio Frames

2. Sheepskin Rug

3. Sciolari Italian 1960s Chandelier

4. Kittenger Greek Key Mandarin 1940s Chest of Drawers

5. Edward Wormley for Dunbar 1960s Tete-a-Tete

Marble Infinity Sink Design Board

Nothing is more timeless than Carrara marble. If it was good enough for 

Michelangelo to sculpt the David out of, 

it's good enough for our modern homes, right?

Here is a classic bathroom designed around the 

CARRARA MARBLE INFINITY SINK.

 The REACH FAUCET 

is from offered at ChicVesselSink.com, as well, in chrome, nickel or oil-rubbed bronze.

Tres chic, don't you think?

1. Restoration Hardware Pivot Mirror

2. Thomas O'Brien Hicks Pendant

3. Chic Vessel Chic Reach Faucet in Chrome

4. Ann Sacks Beveled Subway Tile

5. Carrara Marble Infinity Sink

Desk Lust: Vintage French Desk

Over the weekend, I came across this gorgeous

VINTAGE FRENCH DESK.

Chrome? Brass? Glass? French? Vintage???

Why yes, please. I'll take two, thank you.

{image via 1stDibs}

Sputnik Chandelier

I'm crushing on this 

SPUTNIK CHANDELIER 

 from Z Gallerie. And for only $299??

 Who said style had to cost a lot.

It's going in my wish list for my future home office.

 Love.

{image via Z Gallerie}

Eye Candy: White Barcelona Chairs

It's official. I am in need to two white
BARCELONA CHAIRS.

Swoon...

{image via Airspace}

Perfect Pair: Milo Baughman + White

I gotta say, I'm still obsessed with Milo Baughman.  I wish I could find more information on his life and work 'cause Wikipedia just isn't cutting it for me.  Until then I will drool over his creations:

 

If you want to own a piece of Milo from this era, look no further than Crate & Barrel!  The Milo Classic Leather Lounge Chair is based on a 1966 design and comes in four fabulous colors.  If white isn't your thing, try grey, black, or brown on for a change.  Tres chic!!! 

{images via 1st Dibs & Crate&Barrel}

Jones Living Room Design Board

Remember this post after I sold my living room chairs to make room for a desk? Well, like most of my projects, as soon as I changed one thing, the project snowballed into changing 2... 3... 7...  items and now it's almost a complete redo.  Whoops! I'm absolutely loving it, though.  Here's my game plan:

I already own half of these pieces, thank goodness.  The sofa in the board is not an exact match, but is close to my black velvet sofa I designed when I worked at Bassett Furniture.  I've had a love/hate relationship with the fabric but as it's nylon and black it wears like nailes and cleans like a dream!  The mirrored end tables I bought at Target years ago, I think for $40 a piece-- such a steal!  The nickel and glass coffee table is another memento from my Bassett days (originally it was $1200+, but add in my employee discount on top of the clearance price and I walked out with it for less than $200.  Awesome.).   The lead crystal floor lamp is from Restoration Hardware and retails at about $600+.  I found mine at a scratch-and-dent store (anyone else in UT love DownEast Home?) and it was mis-tagged for only $25.  I asked the sale associate about it and she said she's honor the price. CHA-CHING!!! $575 savings for me! And believe me, it's a quality lamp, 'cause that thing is heav-VY.

Here's where the new stuff comes in.  I had dove grey velvet curtains in my head for my large picture window but in Texas I visited a Restoration Hardware OUTLET.  They accepted my designer discount on top of their prices. I picked up a pair of charcoal grey Belgium twill grommet panels for less than $100 (they were more than that a piece originally). DONE! If you live anywhere near San Marcos, Texas you must visit the outlets-- Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn/West Elm/William-Sonoma, Crate and Barrel, Tory Burch, Michael Kors, etc. etc.  It was a shopping paradise. 

Last week I stopped by a different location of the same scratch-and-dent store where I got my lamp.  In all honesty, I went shopping for a client but ended up buying something for me.  Surprisingly, that doesn't happen as often as you would think.  Anyway, I came across a desk that looked a LOT like this:

Be still my heart...

...except the top portion of the DownEast desk is french blue.  

Upon a little inquiring, I found out that the polished nickel trestle bases are the real deal from William-Sonoma but the top, though it looks the exact same as the WS original besides for the hardware and ...ahem... blue finish, use to have wooden legs that were freight damaged.  With a savings of about $1575, I took the soon-to-be-gorgeous 'Frankenstein-ed' desk (I'm currently in the process of researching who could paint the top white.  The blue has got to go.).  

Next on my shopping list is this little beauty, as seen from Pieces Inc:

I didn't spend $1850 on the William-Sonoma desk, so there's no way I'm going to spend that on a chair.   The chair is from the late 1960's-70's designed by Anton Lorenz.  I have found a few vintage ones on etsy and eBay in pretty good shape but all are in need of some hair-on-hide re-upholstery.  Since hair-on-hide can get spendy, I'm holding out until I can find this chair for less than $100.  If you see one in your local Craigslist, LET ME KNOW!!!

After my pocket book recovers from there, I will invest in a custom-made credenza for my television (have I ever written about how much I HATE media credenzas these days? I don't mind seeing the TV, but do we have to see the cable box and X Box too?).  I'm thinking something that completely closes off the components, in white lacquer, inspired by the 1920's or maybe the 1970's.  

As far as the rest of the accessories, well, I think I'm going to save that for tomorrow.  I think I may need your help on that part...

Not too bad for a savings of $3850+ and counting!

{images via WS Home & Pieces Inc}

My Excuse...

Sorry for being M.I.A. this past week. Life has been nothing but crazy since I made it back from the Lonestar State. Whew!  This is the first time I've had to sit down all week!  Next week I will be better, I promise.  Several posts are in the works, including some inspirations from San Antonio.  Until then, here's a sneak peek at one of the interior design projects I've been working on lately:

I can't wait to show you the final product!!!

Perfect Pair: Turquoise + Chrome

Awhile back, I came across a pre-teen's bedroom that had turquoise walls with gold metal trim.  I've been pulling my hair out trying to re-find it... I think it was in an eMag article?  Maybe...? If anyone know what I'm talking about, let me know!  Until then, here are some pretty chrome and turquoise images to drool over:

{images via Pinterest, Mark Hotel & Kate Spade}

Desk Lust List

I'm on the lookout for the perfect white desk for my living room and while a white Parsons desk is perfect in every way (clean, timeless, functional, plays well with others, etc.) I can't help but have a roaming eye for some other beauties on the market.  I may have more than a slight crush over these pieces.  Here is my lust list of hottie-patatty desks (there no budget in my dreams!!):

5. Lilly Pulizter for Horchow

 Polish with a little glam glitz.

4. Barbara Barry for Henredon

Tradition with an Art Deco vibe.

3. Jonathan Adler's Channing Desk

Retro-chic personified in a desk.

2. Milo Baughman Vintage 1960-70s Desk

Milo Baughman. 'Nuff said.

1. Vintage 1960's Campaign Desk

The definition of high style and design.

Sigh.... one day....

{images via Horchow, Barbara Barry, Jonathan Adler & 1st Dibs}

Design Legend: Milo Baughman

While trying to research the history of my last post's vintage chrome chair I stumbled across the work of Milo Baughman.  Who is Milo Baughman you ask? As it turns out, he was one of the fathers of modern design during the second half of the twentieth century.  He designed furniture for companies including Mode Furniture, Calif-Asia, Design Institute America, Henredon and Drexel, and most famously for Thayer Coggin, Inc.  His style was 'distincly American' and became a staple for the 'California modern' movement.

Baughman's furniture used simple materials typical of the movement namely, walnut, iron, and formica. The 'X' base was a staple in his desks and stools while the 'Z' shape was introduced to chairs for a style that is purely Baughman.  His styles have been reinvented and recreated and continue to be reproduced to this day.

Mr. Baughman practiced design in California throughout the 50's and 60's. Get this-  in 1969 he was invited by Brigham Young University to start the Department of Environmental Design and taught there on and off until his death in 2003.  Who said Mormons where all traditional and had no style!!!  He could quite possibly be the coolest thing to come out of BYU (well, him and the fact my parents met there and spawned your truly, but he still might take the cake).

Have you seen this GORGEOUS desk before?  I can't remember if I've used it in a post before but it has been in my design file under 'lust list' for a few years now.  You know anything with an 'X' base gets me going, but pair it with orange lacquer and chrome??? Be still my heart!

"Good Modern has already proven to be the most enduring, timeless and classic of all design movements." 

Amen Brother Baughman. Amen.

{all items are vintage via 1st Dibs}