Desk Happiness

I bought this little dish at Anthropologie on Sunday and brought it to work for my paper clips. Seems silly, I know, but for $8.00 it's bringing me loads of happiness and a little ikat to my life! I'm obsessed with the gold rim.

Room & Board

I finally broke the seal and stopped by the new 14th Street Room & Board this weekend with Lizard. DEVINE. I swear this sofa or something like it will be in my next abode. I just have to convince Jefe and save mucho pennies. It's all I can think about. I first got the idea in an Apartment Therapy DC post. DELISH.

Things I'm Lookin' At Today...

Obvi work is a little slow...

Kelly Wearstler's Beverly Hills home is for sale. A cool $46 million. I love her and I love her designs. Not sure I could live here though. Vacation perhaps. Where do you go when you want to wear sweats and watch reruns of 90210 on SOAPnet?

I'm in love with the antique engagement rings at Claude Morady. If I were in the market for an engagement ring, I think this would be my first stop!

Yesterday was Font Day on Design*Sponge. What could be better! Jefe and I recently watched Helvetica and found it fascinating. I have a whole new appreciation of fonts!

And, I really want to check out this book: Crafting a Meaningful Home by Meg Mateo Ilasco. Not because I need things to be meaningful. I just like being crafty!

Sixx Design

I immediately fell in love with the Novogratz family when Bravo aired 9 by Design earlier this year. I'm loving this interview with Cortney and Robert on coco+kelley. Enjoy!

Table Time

So the quest for more furniture continues in the Big Apple! We have been looking for a kitchen table since we moved in two months ago and we finally found one. We came upon this table at the Housing Works Thrift Store in Gramercy. It is a great organization committed to ending the twin crises of AIDS and homelessness.

Anyway, back to the table... as you will see, much to my delight it is a mid-century design! It was made by the H.T. Cushman furniture company in Bennington, Vermont--we are guessing in the late 60’s. After much debate, we finally decided we gotta have it. Now comes the hard part...how to get the table home?

"Why hail a cab of course!"

"Too big?"

"Nah, we’ll hail a ‘van cab’."

"Great idea!"

Ah yeah, over 45 minutes later were still trying to hail a cab!!

Eventually we scored a “SUV cab” and it actually fit in the back! Finally home, I used some fine steel wool and a little wood wax.... and now we have another before and after. I was very happy with the results!

(click to see larger view)

-Nick

So much to share...

Things I've been looking at and thinking about this week...

The Exquisite Book , is definitely on my wish list. Check out the video below.

I'm loving Covet Garden, a Canadian online Magazine. And now I want to name my unborn daughter Clover. Or maybe Puddle. So cute.

Speaking of online magazines. I'm having trouble. I love them, especially Lonny, but I miss the tactile nature of magazines. I want to touch and clip and stack them up on my nightstand. I know in time I will adjust. But it's taking longer than I thought!

I've been wanting to check out Anthology. It's a quarterly print! magazine, but you can also check it out online.

I've also added some new blogs to my reader. Any other suggestions? What are you reading?

Emily Henderson

Bryn Alexandra

Everything LEB

The Seventy Tree

Unruly Things

sfgirlbybay

Yvestown

Design is Mine

Did you watch RH:BH last night? You can watch it here. I only got to watch the first half, but it seems amazing so far... as promised. Washed up child stars, divorce, plastic surgery and all of them are DRIPPING in money as never before seen on RH. I'm in love already!

Next week on Finch...

Office redecorate

Trip to NYC

Books!

Suzani

Everywhere I look these days I see Suzani print. Wiki tells me it's an "embroidered tribal textile made in Central Asia". Namely Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

I can't get enough.

DwellStudio for Target Suzanni Decorative Pillow

Suzani Flat Woven Wool Rug - World Market

Suzani Fabrics at Calico Corners

Suzanni Jewel being my favorite.

Note: Suzani and Suzanni seem to both be acceptable spellings.

My Style...

... is always evolving, naturally. Lately I have found myself loving all things Apartment Therapy and leaning a little more mid-century modern than usual. But today when I saw this post on Design*Sponge, I felt like I had come home. I LOVE all that color. PLUS she has my bamboo kitchen chairs. It's like we're kindred spirits. Do you like it?

Furniture Care

I would like to thank KPQ for having me as a guest contributor! I am so happy to be part of a great blog like Finch. I’ll be blogging about my (and KT's) new apartment in NYC and I hope our findings will provide you with enjoyment and help you with your spaces as well!

Since this apartment is much bigger than our last (whoop!), we have been on the look out for new furniture. I am personally really into mid-century design. And it just so happens, I am lucky enough to have parents with great eyes for design and purchased this coffee table years ago. Then they were kind enough to hand it down to me:

I love this piece. It is about 5 feet long and 16 inches wide. Not exactly sure what we are going to use it for yet. Books? A TV stand? Do you have any ideas?

Before all that, this piece needs a bit of work. Enter: The Brick House. KPQ directed us towards this site for another apartment related reason and I am addicted! This particular link discusses the process of refreshing vintage wood. I followed their directions and will recap my experience below:


So I bought all the supplies:

Murphy's Oil Soap
Teak Oil
Howard Feed-n-Wax
Fine Sand Paper
Super Fine Steel Wool
Rags

First Step: I sanded the troubled areas (scratches, watermarks, etc.)

Second Step: I sprayed the surface with Murphy's Oil Soap and wiped it down. This is to clean up the dust and dirt from the sanding. Also using a small hand held vacuum (ours is called "The Shark") proved very helpful in getting all the excess dust up!

Third Step: With the use of a lint-free rag, I started rubbing the Teak Oil onto the surface. The minute I started rubbing in the Teak Oil it started looking great. I waited 10 minutes or so before putting a 2nd coat on. The wood drank 3 coats of the oil before some of the oil stayed on the surface and wasn't absorbed in (my clue that it was done). Now only one more step to go!

Forth and Final Step: I used the "Supa Fiiiiine" Steel wool to apply the Feed-n-Wax. I wasn't afraid to use a lot. Any of the wax that does not take can be wiped off later. I let the wax sit for 10 minutes and then wiped off the excess. All Done!

Here is the comparison (click to enlarge):

Verdict: I was really hoping for a "WOW" moment when I was done and I was disappointed. I think my expectations were too high. I also think I might have sanded the trouble areas a little too much because they stand out next to the non-sanded areas. Does it look better after? YES. Does it still have water marks and other wear and tear and I was hoping to get rid of? YES! I think the only way to make this piece look new would be to really sand the top and basically remove the top layer of wood! Which in a NYC apartment is tough! All in all a good learning experience and now it will last longer and be less susceptible to other forms of punishment. Hope you all enjoyed my first post. I know I did!

-Nick

Houzz

My favorite cousin, who isn't actually a cousin, sent me a new delicious shelter site. Houzz is a great way to store decor images you like in folders and label what you like about each photo you select. I'm addicted already and my file folders are stuffed! Do it!

Rue?

Hmm... Very intriguing! Maybe it will be like Lonny? I'm anxious for the premiere issue.

Recent Purchases

The 'Haters Gonna Hate' print is for sale again. Whoopee!

I also bought the new Apartment Therapy's Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces.

Delish!

My Chairs!

I was just perusing the Design*Sponge Best of Dining Rooms post and saw the photo above. They are the exact same chairs that I brought back to DC with me in July! They were my paternal grandparent's kitchen chairs. I'm not much of a red person, but I love the bright color on the chairs and the yummy fabric. See mine in bad photo below. I can't wait to get them cleaned up and change out those brown cushions!

A HA!

I think I figured out what I want to blow up. We used these stamps on our wedding invitations and I love the design. How great would they be above a bed!?

Oval Office Upgrade?

While the Obamas were on vacay, the Oval Office got an upgrade.

I like the new wallpaper, fabric on sofas and the coffee table. I LOVE the blue lamps and the red stripe above the wallpaper. I'm not in love with the leather chairs and wish the carpet had a little more design to it. I wish we could see the drapes on the windows behind the desk.

Overall I think it's an upgrade, but wish there was a little more color (shocking, I know). I can't imagine how difficult it must be to decorate the oval office, modernize it while still maintaining tradition and formality.

What do you think?

Why Oh Why Is This Sold Out?

I want it! It makes me giggle everytime I look at it.

Arkansas

I never thought I would say it, but this New York Times spread and accompanying article makes me want to move to Arkansas!

Willie

Because I am my father's daughter, I LOVE Willie Nelson. So much so, that my Dad and I danced to 'Blue Skies' at our wedding in May. I wonder if it would be weird to hang this print in our apartment. That's probably a good question for Jefe.

I also just found this concert poster online and love it... even though I didn't happen to see this show.

Big Art

I am OBSESSED with this idea.

Linnea Design

I've always noticed these bold prints and calendars, but I never really knew what they were called or who designed them. Finally I looked it up online and found the source! Linnea Design has been making the famous poster calendars since 1987. I think the 2011 calendar is a must have. Perfect for a professional scheduler!