Like Jess

Rustic Period

01/31/2012

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I have a project I am working on right now for a friend that involves try to incorporate actual antiques into practical pieces like a bathroom vanity. It can be very time consuming to find the right piece of furniture to fit the situation. I like to do some research first and scout the antique websites locally for pieces whose size I think would work first. For example, the picture on the left is a Mahogany side board circa 1910. Its about the right age for the client and the doors appear to be large enough to hide plumbing. Hiding the plumbing is not always necessary - as the plumber can use polished drains that look attractive, but its better to either hide all of the plumbing or have all/most of it showing. Anything in between just looks too unfinished. With this particular piece, I am going to recommend we add a stone top and a vessel sink. The finished piece should resemble something like this:
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Big Move

01/31/2012

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After a long break from blogging, I am happy to announce that I have moved to a new company in Chatham, NJ. I'm very excited to be on board at Kitchen Intuitions and am looking forward to blogging again! 
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Brass is the new Black

08/03/2011

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image by waterworks
Anyone that is interested in interior design or watches home shows on HGTV knows that Satin Nickel or Brushed Nickel has been all the rage in finishes for the last 5 years. While its still popular - gold finishes are coming back in a large way. And its not the shinny bright brass finish most people remember from the 80's...

First up is this gorgeous faucet by Waterworks plumbing fixtures. It has a very classic look with the goose neck spout and the vintage inspired hot and cold, but the style and details make it more modern and the polished brass has a nice tone.
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Faucets are not the only way you can incorporate gold tones. These colors look especially nice in furniture, like this bathroom vanity (right) or in an antique piece of furniture. The vanity uses a vintage or distressed mirrored front to give it the gold tone. Another option would be to look for brass accents in your kitchen appliances. Companies like Ilve, Fivestar, and AGA all offer brass accents on their ranges.

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image by jonathan adler
This is a wall sconce by Jonathan Adler that has a very 'mod' feel to it with the geometric pattern, but the bright brass finish gives it a glamorous look. Switching out a light fixture in your existing space is one of the easiest renovations and can really make an impact.
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Celebrity Love

07/26/2011

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Last  year I became completely enamored with Bob and Courtney Novagratz when they had their first show on Bravo. Self taught designers and builders, they have this great eclectic style that mixes flea market finds and one of a kind artwork. On top of that they have 7 kids! I come from a large family and its really fun to see how great this family works and how happy they seem...despite the fact that its TV.

This season the show is on HGTV and is only 30 min instead of an hour long. And they are taking more of a 'learn how we do it' approach which is a change to the format. You can watch new episodes of the show on Saturday evenings at 10pm or DVR the series like me. 
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Chihuly

07/19/2011

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I had the pleasure of being a member of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts council last year when I lived in Boston. Aside from being a great opportunity to learn about art and meet other people that love art, I had the opportunity to view some of the exhibits before they opened. My favorite was the Chihuly exhibit. For those of you not familair with Dale Chihuly he is a artist that specializes in glass and large public art installations. One of my favorite displays was of his slumped glass baskets that were meant to look like native american baskets. They were displayed on this very long single piece of wood as shown in the picture left.
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Imagine my surprise and excitement when I found that someone had created a lamp with the same feel, color and shape as the Dale Chihuly work I so admired! You can find this lamp and many other very inovative glass pieces at Esque Shop.
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Two weeks!

07/19/2011

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Sorry for being MIA for the last two weeks. My parents were visiting from California for a week and  half and there was a lot going on at work. But...I am officially back to posting!
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Whats new in Knobs

06/30/2011

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What's new in finishes

The newly popular or back in vogue finishes for cabinet hardware are antique brass and polished chrome or polished nickel. Satin Nickel is loosing poplularity by the day folks. I really like this aluminum cast knob with an antique brass center from Tom Dixon

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What's new in Styles

The latch pull is not a new style since its been around for easily 100 years, but this is a new contemporary take on the traditional latch pull by Richelieu. Its not as pricey as the latch pulls often are and it would work well on full overlay or frameless style cabinetry.
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What's new in Vintage

The vintage looks is very in right now and adding vintage inspired knobs to existing cabinets is a great way to change the look of your kitchen with minimal effort. I love everything that Anthropologie does in their home department. Its very funky and a tad girly, but still attractive.
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What's new in Bling

Ah bling. Everyone loves some crystal encrusted cabinet knobs every once in a while. I recommend using these sparingly, but in high impact places such as dresser drawers, night stand drawer, powder room vanity, or on glass cabinets in your kitchen. Check out Edgar Berebi for some fancy knobs.
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Book Review - Heart of the Matter

06/27/2011

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Perhaps some of your recently saw the movie "Something Borrowed" with Kate Hudson. That movie was orginally a book by the same name written by author Emily Giffin. The latest in her slightly more serious chick-lit novels is 'Heart of the Matter'. This books takes place in a suburb of Boston known as Wellesley. I had the privilege of living in Boston for 7 years and did a lot of work in the Wellesley area, so I recognized a lot of the locations in the book - something that is not necessary to enjoy the story, but made it more fun for me.

The story involves two women/mothers and how their lives interact in this "everyone knows everyone else's business" town. The major theme of the book is judgement. The author deals with this theme in several ways, including: facial disfigurement, single motherhood, stay at home motherhood, as well as the perception of a 'perfect marriage'. In short, nothing is as it seems and no one is perfect.

Verdict: Thoughtful Chic-lit, but ultimately kinda forgettable
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OMG...I Love this

06/24/2011

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photo courtesy of Pheobe Howard
Its not that often that I come across a kitchen that I love as much as I love this kitchen. So I immediately wanted to share with my readers. Happy Friday!
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The plight of the small kitchen

06/24/2011

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photo courtesy of Sawhorse Designs - Millburn, NJ
If you live in a small kitchen or have ever rented an apartment with a small kitchen, you know it can be really tough to fit everything in. Every kitchen designer in the world will oohh and awww about all the cool storage options that make having a smaller space more workable, but in realty, as useful as those storage options may be, the space is still small. That is why it can be really important to consider how the space is designed and what size appliances you are using.

 It used to be that all the smaller scale appliances looked like the 24" wide range you had in your tiny apartment, but that's not the case anymore. They make pro-style ranges 30" wide and GE even has the advantium speed oven that will work over that range giving you a second oven option. I would also consider skipping the table in the kitchen in favor of an island or peninsula with seating. Let be honest, a lot of us eat on the couch most of the time anyway. At least with an island/penn you get a lot more storage and counter space. 

You also need to be considering the traffic flow in the area. Is your kitchen a major walkway through the home? If so, maybe you need to rework the layout to give the cook more alone space. If you are blessed with high ceilings you have the option to run cabinetry all the way to the ceiling in order to get extra storage. Keep in mind that it will be seldom used since you will need a ladder to get to everything. 
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