A Ton of Bricks

Ah, exposed brick. The stuff my dreams are made of. Brick walls effortlessly exude rustic charm and supply loads of character to any space. They were totally on my wish list during our apartment hunt, and since our new place did not come with a lovely stone wall, I decided to make one myself! That's when our renovations hit a wall (pun intended). The bricks I ordered were not available for months, so we had to place the project on hold.

Several weeks ago, with our expected delivery date on the horizon, I started palm-rubbing and getting excited again. Then I received a super distressing phone call - Apparently, there had been a freezing spell at the manufacturing plant in Bigler, PA. My share had cracked and was ruined, and the next batch wouldn't be available for another few months.

I totally flipped out when I heard the news. Looking back now, I sort of feel bad for the guy on the other end of the line. Thankfully, he remained pleasant and reassured me that there were enough bricks salvaged from the ruined batch to cover the square footage I needed. They were cut slightly larger than my original order, but I jumped on the offer and snatched them right up. Like I said, it's all about knowing when to compromise! :)

The shipment was scheduled, and I took a half-day last week to be at home for the drop-off. I didn't know what I was expecting. In my head, I was picturing a few big boxes that could be neatly stacked and tucked away in a corner by the door. You can probably imagine my shock when I saw this huge flatbed rolling up our hill.

The driver (His name is Horacio) had mad skillz. He pulled a U-ie AND parallel parked this ginormous truck in front of our building.
Next, Horacio unhitched the forklift and drove it backwards down the street, against traffic, up to our side entryway. Then he plopped the crate down on the sidewalk and drove off with a wave as I stood there with my jaw hanging open.
Cue ominous rain clouds gathering overhead. It was getting ready to start pouring at any minute, so I didn't even have time to freak. I needed to hustle. I borrowed a heavy-duty hand truck from our super and spent the next hour moving the 35 lb boxes into our apartment.

Needless to say, my arms were ready to fall off by the time I schlepped all 27 boxes upstairs and into our second bedroom. I was completely exhausted, but also felt overwhelmed with relief. I FINALLY had my bricks! Hooray!!

Now the fun can really begin. It's time to roll up my sleeves and turn my dream brick wall into reality! More later :)

Gold Rush

I have been scouting the market for months in search of a triptych mirror to place on my vanity. Not only does this classic three-way mirror evoke feminine elegance, it also allows you to view yourself from various angles, making it a fantastic addition to any dressing table. Yet it has been exceptionally difficult to find many decent selections – most options were too small, too ornate, poorly made, sold as sets with tables, or just insanely expensive.

The Chelsea Vanity mirror from Pottery Barn Teen (PBT, who would’ve thought??) was the closest match to what I had in mind in terms of style and dimensions, but it was only available in white or green. The fact that the mirror would require a paint job in order to compliment my black vanity table made the $350 price tag impossible to justify. Nevertheless, I stalked this mirror for about half a year and nearly choked on my kombucha last week when I saw that the “Heirloom Green” had gone on sale for $87. I gladly bit the $50 delivery surcharge bullet and clicked Add to Basket.

My green mirror arrived a few days later. The delivery guy seemed a bit perplexed when I declined his offer to help with assembly, but I wanted to paint each section individually prior to joining the three panels together. I started by carefully lining the mirrors with painter’s tape and paper. After going over the frame with a fine grain sanding block and cleaning off the dust, I was ready to paint.

Spray painting is really fun and easy – just be sure to use multiple thin coats in order to achieve a smooth and even finish. Using sweeping motions, begin and end spraying away from the item in order to avoid spatters. Give each coat a few minutes to dry before applying an additional layer, and make sure you have plenty of ventilation! We were blessed with gorgeously un-humid weather this past weekend (a total rarity in NYC lately), and the paint dried within an hour. The final steps involved installing hinging hardware, removing the tape and paper, and giving the mirrors a quick wipe.

Initially, I was pretty nervous about going gold, but I’m so glad I took the risk! Its surprisingly subtle sheen completely lights up the corner of our bedroom. Here’s a peek at the final product and as well as a some of the goodies I’ve got stashed away in my glamorous new nook :)

{Shades of Light, Laura Ashley, Architectural Digest, Restoration Hardware}

Pin-Up Girl

Digital media and Web resources such as Pinterest have revolutionized the way we collect, archive, and share our ideas. Call me old fashioned, but I still appreciate having a physical spot to gather snippets of my favorite things in life, as well as inspiration for personal projects.

I'd been admiring some gorgeous linen pinboards from Restoration Hardware, Horchow, and Pottery Barn for quite some time, but their outrageous price tags had kept me at bay. After stalking them for months without encountering any decent promotions, I decided to roll up my sleeves and make my own. Here's how it all went down!

Since l had a rather large pinboard in mind, I needed a lightweight foundation that could easily be mounted and secured to the wall over my desk. I scored a jumbo 36" x 48" gallery wrapped canvas at Michaels, which was a steal at 40% off (Hooray for couponing!), along with two cork rolls, tacky glue, and some D-ring hardware.

I picked up a yard and a half of écru linen at Mood. I absolutely adore the clean look of raw, unbleached linen - it creates a classic and perfectly neutral backdrop for the assortment of elements that will eventually be pinned to this board.

With the canvas placed facedown on the floor, I started by gluing the cork to its backside. I chose tacky glue as my adhesive since it offers a gummy bond after it dries and will accomodate pushpins nicely. It's like wallpapering - make sure you get an even layer of glue, match up your lines, and press down. Tacky glue is pretty forgiving, so if you need to make any adjustments, all you have to do is gently peel the cork up, reposition, and press.

I used a bunch of heavy books (and a puppy) to keep the cork anchored flat as the glue dried for two hours.

After ironing all the wrinkles out of the linen (Thank you, Chris!!), I laid the canvas on top of the fabric and traced/cut a 3" margin around the perimeter. Next, using the fabric's straight edge to ensure that its weave lines were aligned at the borders, I carefully wrapped and stapled the linen around the wooden frame. I opted to reverse the usual "hospital bed" tucking at the joints to create streamlined, yet interesting corners.

Lastly, I attached hanging hardware to the wooden frame. I used three D-ring hangers in order to support the colossal size of my board. Smaller boards would probably only require two hangers.

Voilà! I now have a lovely & splendidly enormous pinboard! I can't wait to dress it up with beautiful mementos, swatches, and muses. This was an incredibly simple project, and I'd highly recommend it for anybody looking to add a some affordable and functional flair to their walls.