heaven...

...also known as ABC Carpet and Home. Eric's band played a show in NYC this Friday so we decided to make a weekend out of it. And ABC Carpet was at the top of my list of places to check out (besides Momofuku for the fried chicken dinner, but we'll talk about that another time). You can easily spend a couple hours at ABC Carpet - its HUGE. It actually takes up 2 buildings, but one was just rugs which we didn't go into. The building that we did visit had six stories of home accessories, furniture, lighting, rugs, etc. There's something for everyone - whether your style is contemporary, traditional or vintage. It really is a one stop shop for all things home...as long as you can afford the prices. Although I did notice that some of the glassware and tableware on the first floor was pretty reasonably priced. I think it was my favorite floor - everything was beautifully displayed and it felt so pretty and romantic. Here are a few of my favorite vignettes:











I loved these pieces. The legs look like carved wood, but they are made completely of metal. They're gorgeous.



How cute is this lamp? Although I feel like I could make something similar out of some vintage materials...

amada

Last week I expressed my love of Jose Garces and his newest restaurant JG Domestic. Today, I'm continuing the lovefest and talking about his first restaurant in Philly - Amada. Amada pretty much started the tapas trend here in Philly and set a pretty high standard - and still continues to do so. It's a wonderful restaurant to go to for a delicious (Spanish) meal or to stop in to grab a drink and some snacks. And it doesn't hurt that the space is beautiful - it's hard to see all the great details in the space through photos - you'll need to stop in to see for yourself...


image via

I stopped in the other day with a friend to have a couple of drinks and a couple of dishes. But a couple dishes turned into 5, and by the time we left I was pretty full. And very happy.

We started with some cocktails - I had a "Dark Habits" - lime, strawberries and gin. Tasty, but I preferred Coll's choice - "Tie Me Up Tie Me Down". It had lemon, vodka and rosemary. I was nervous that the rosemary would be overpowering but it was perfect.



Complimentary dish of tortilla-like chips and dip/spread that tasted somewhat fishy and very yummy:



Alcachofas y setas - Spanish flatbread with artichoke, wild mushrooms, black truffles and manchego:



Gambas al ajillo - garlic shrimp. So good we had to order extra bread to soak up the garlic oil:



Madre e hijo - chicken breast with fried egg, mojama and truffles. I'm a sucker for anything with an egg on top:



We had the leche frita - fried vanilla cream, chocolate hazelnut sauce, hazelnut ice cream - for dessert. But we ate it so quickly that I didn't even get a chance to photograph - I seem to have this problem with Jose Garces's desserts! It was delicious!!

pantone credit cards

These days, there are so many different credit cards out there that you can pretty much find a credit card to fit your personal style...even if your style is, say, the Kardashian sisters (yes, they have their own Mastercard). I never thought I'd care about what my credit card looked like until I saw this....



I like the lavender and honeysuckle colors the best. I don't currently need anymore credit cards, but if I did, this would be my #1 choice. Go here for more info.

house love pt.5

My neighborhood association has been doing a house tour the past few years and it's really cool. Basically, people in the area open up their doors and allow strangers to walk through their home and talk to them about the work they've done. It's a great way to get to know your neighbors and get some good ideas/tips for your own place. I love staring into people's windows and seeing how other people live, so this allows me to do that without being creepy. There was one home that I was so impressed with that I asked the owner if I could feature it on my blog and luckily for you guys, he agreed:)

I've walked by his building a million times and never really thought twice about it - from the front it looks like someone took two rowhomes and made one really large home and put in a garage. Besides that, it fits in with the other houses on the block. Was I surprised to see what was inside!

The building, which was built in the early 1900's, used to be many things - some sort of commercial building, a liquor store, community center - but it now consists of six condos with a private (and quite spacious) garage. John, the owner of the condo I visited, has the largest unit at 1,600 sq ft and has lived there for 2 1/2 years now. What I love so much about his home is the openess. It's so rare to find a space like his in South Philadelphia - actually I'm still surprised that it exists! What's also awesome is that although the condo is definitely modern, a lot of the character and original details of the building were preserved and allowed to seep in. Example no.1:

These tin doors are amazing - and they are John's favorite element of the house. They are in their original location and are still functional - although instead of an elevator shaft on the other side, there is now a wall.

If you walk up the stairs, you will find yourself in the main living area. It's a large open space that combines a kitchen, a dining room and a living room. It would be an incredible space for entertaining. Great for large dinner parties- I could definitley invite all my friends over for Friendsgiving instead of having to limit it to 14...

The kitchen is small, but it has all the necessities: large refrigerator, microwave, stove and a dishwasher. And it somehow has more storage than I do in my house! It was very efficiently planned out! And you can't go wrong with dark wood cabinets and white subway tile - a classic combination. And the counters are granite, which usually isn't my favorite material, but this granite was really nice.

And the view. You can't really see how amazing the view is in this photo, but believe me, it is. The door on the left leads out to the deck...

...where you'll have an even better view of the city. The deck is pretty fantastic as well. The metal railing is really cool and John did a great job of selecting outdoor furniture (he did a great selecting ALL of the furniture. period.)

Can't you see yourself lounging on this outdoor sofa on a warm summer night with a mojito in hand enjoying the twinkling lights of the city? Sigh...

If you go back downstairs, you'll find the master bedroom complete with a bathroom and walkin closet, a second bedroom that he turned into a sitting area and a small office space. There is a lot of exposed brick in this home, which could be overwhelming, but somehow really works. I think it's because John is a bit of a minimalist (he describes himself as minimalist that likes reuse) and that allows the brick to take center stage without competing with a lot of other elements.

This huge tin door is my favorite thing in the condo. It's so unique - I LOVE it. And what's better - it still works! You can use it to close off the second bedroom (or rather sitting area) from the office.

From looking at his house, you'd thinking John was a designer or an architect right? But he's not, he's just always been interested in art and design:

I took a strong interest in Frank Lloyd Wright as a kid and it is something that has always stuck with me, I am also a sucker for a good view as all the places I have lived in have had full views of the city.

Did you notice all the artwork? That was the other thing that really stood out to me - they fit in so well with the house. When I asked about them, he said:

I have accumulated most of them over the years with quite a few being created by a good friend from San Francisco. When he visited he even took the the time to paint the red and yellow diptych.

There are a lot of great bars and restaurants in the area, but he says that his favorite local spot is:

...D'mitri's at third and catherine as it always has a good energy level, the fresh fish is delicious, you don't need a reservation and you can bring the wine of your choice.

Great choice. If you've never been to D'mitri's, you need to check it out. There's one in Fitler Square, but I think the one in Queen Village is better plus it's BYOB while the other has a bar.

Isn't John's space awesome? Makes you think twice about what a space really looks like on the other side of the doors, doesn't it? I'm so glad I had the chance to see it and the chance to visit it for a second time and take a closer look at everything. Thanks John!!

images: eric heidel

going cuckoo for cuckoo clocks!

I know...lame title...but very true! I have been obsessed with cuckoo clocks since I bought my house and wanted this one SO badly:



It's by a German designer named Tobias Reischle and it used to be sold thru the MOMA store, but it's no longer on their website. And I can't seem to find it anywhere else online. Does anyone know if this clock is still being sold elsewhere? At $450, it's a bit out of my price range, but isn't it so nice? I love that it's a cuckoo clock but it's designed in such a sleek and modern style. It would look perfect in my house, don't you think?

These clocks from the Italian company Diamantini Domeniconi (designed by Pascal Tarabay) are similar to the traditional cuckoo clock in their ornate-ness but are modern in their finish and their two dimnensional quality:

They come in a variety of colors and a variety of finishes including stainless steel, powder coated metal and wood. You can order them here and they are $323 and can go for more than $600 depending on the finish you decide on. Yikes.

If you're looking for something that doesn't cost a week's pay (or in my case, more!), this is for you:

It's a 1/4" piece of birch laminated plywood with an image of a cuckoo clock printed on top. You can get custom colors done and it's only $34! I heart Etsy!

OR, you can try your luck at Marshalls and you may be able to find something like this:

Well, it didn't exactly look like this when I found it. It was an ugly color but with the help of some green paint and silver spray paint...TA DA! Doesn't look like it only cost me $10 does it? And my boyfriend doesn't think I can be a bargain shopper...

collectables...

I don't like clutter - a cluttered room, space, house makes me feel anxious. Which is one of the reasons I don't own a lot of knickknacks. However, there are a couple of things that I can't resist collecting - horse figurines and mini eiffel towers. Strange, huh? I mean, the eiffel towers make sense - I'm a total Francophile, but horses? I don't even particularly love real horses - but there's something about horse figurines that I'm drawn to. I'm not talking about the kind that look realistic - I like ones that look more abstracted...like this one:

Eric's mom gave me this horse - she got it when they were living in Japan years ago. I love the shape and the detailing of the reins - it's beautiful. It's my favorite in my collection...did I also mention that there are only three pieces in my collection? But three officially makes a collection, right?

I also find the Tema e Variazioni (Themes and Variations) plates by Italian artist, Piero Fornasetti, irresistable. They depict a woman's face that Fornasetti found in a 19th century French magazine and there are over 350 variations on this image.

image via

They are definitely a little strange and creepy, but in a good way. Her face is...spellbinding. At almost $200 a plate, I don't think I'll be starting this collection anytime soon. But there is a more affordable option:

Wallpaper! You can get it through Cole and Son and it comes in a few different background colors - I think a cream, a magenta and the grey-blue-green color pictured above. I found it for sale online for less than $100 - a bargain compared to the plates! Now I just need to find a place in my house to use it...

lanvin preview...

Photos of the Lanvin for H&M line came out yesterday and I'm getting pretty excited! The line arrives in stores in North America on the 20th and on the 23rd for the rest of the world. Most of the clothes are more appropriate for party wear rather than everyday wear, but that's perfect for this time of year! The clothes are a bit expensive - especially for your typical H&M customer - dresses range from $149 to $249, coats could be as much as $349 and the shoes are all $99. But when else would most of us be able to afford Lanvin? Here are my favorite looks from the lookbook:

I'm in LOVE with this dress...


This dress is so cute! Who doesn't love ruffles? Reminds me of the Stella McCartney dresses from this past spring/summer...


I really like the print of this dress and how its paired with the heavy jewelery...


The most casual of the 4 looks - it's adorable! Love the sheer little jacket and those shoes!!

If you haven't yet seen the full collection, you can check it out here.

house love pt. 4

A few weeks ago I posted about Janisak Designs, a custom furniture company started by my former classmate Josh Janisak. After spending most of the day as a fulltime architect and parttime furniture designer/builder, Josh spends the rest of his time working on his 100 year old trinity in Bella Vista. After renting the house for about four years, Josh fell in love with the space as well as the neighborhood and decided to purchase it in 2009. Most weekends, you can find him at home steadily fixing up his house.

The work that Josh has done on the exterior of the house is what I'm most impressed with. He really lucked out with the brick on the front facade of the house - it may not have been perfect, but after some repointing and patching, it now looks beautiful. In addition to work on the brick, Josh has replaced all the glass and hardware on the windows, installed new steel sidewalk doors, poured a new concrete sidewalk at door opening, installed a new exterior light fixture, installed new house numbers, and the list goes on and on.

image c/o j. janisak

I don't think there would be enough room on this blog to list everything that he's done, but I do have to mention two things: the window grates and the cornice. Josh installed new plasma cut steel window grates that he designed and had custom made by O'Rourke Steel. Isn't it such a difference from the old grates he had on those windows? Such an improvement - shows that beauty doesn't have to be lost to functionality.

And then there's the cornice that I'm totally jealous of. It's also Josh's favorite element of the house:

I replicated about 80% of the existing lines and geometry, but tweaked some of the lines I didn’t like on the existing cornice, like the end finials were very blocky with squared transitions. Plus the bottom half of the existing cornice end finials were rusted away and bastardly patched with aluminum, so I had to guestimate what was there. It gave me a chance to introduce some more graceful elliptical based curves. I also added a series of modillions to support the length of the underside of the cornice which added some nice articulation to the length of the cornice. Between each modillion, I added a panel raise. In the center of the panel raises, and on the face of the end finial, I applied a stamped medallion from the WF Norman Company. This is kind of cheesy, but I picked a shell medallion theme because we live on Schell St. After about a year of the cornice being in place, the lead coated copper has lost it’s shine and is taking on a darker more muted gray patina, and I am happy the way it is aging.

image c/o j. janisak

The interior of his house has the same sort of rustic yet refined aesthetic that his furniture embodies. He was able to keep and refinish a lot of the original details (wood floors, wood beam ceilings, brick fireplaces, wood doors) which really add a lot of character. His personal sense of style/design can be best described in his own words:

I appreciate the feeling of fulfillment after a hard days work, don’t mind getting dirty, and I appreciate the finer details. My childhood dream was to be a steam locomotive operator. I believe my best qualities are determination and persistance. Architecturally, I think design should be respectful, referential, contextual, and often times use tasteful duplication. I like how we have the ability to assemble the kit of parts. I like when things are reinterpreted, and I like when their are glimpses of new architectural insertions that create some contrast.

I love that a lot of the artwork throughout the house are drawings or projects that he did while in architecture school.

He uses the room on his second floor as an office and storage space for all of his tools:

And can you believe he has three fireplaces? He has three and I don't even have one! Sigh. This one is in his bedroom:

The third floor (where the bedroom is) has a cute little deck where they have a container garden and are able to grow some vegetables, herbs and flowers. The ladder leads up to the roof which allows you to have an amazing view of the city.

Before I bought my house, I rented an apartment in Bella Vista and I absolutely loved it. It's such a beautiful area and within walking distance to so many amazing restaurants and bars - and of course the Italian Market! One of my favorite places is right around the corner from Josh - a French bistro called Beau Monde. They have amazing crepes and the bar upstairs (L'etage) is the best place in the city to go dancing in my opinion. I asked Josh what his favorite neighborhood spot was and he said:

Sarcone's Bakery. The hoagie is a treat every once in a while, but a seeded loaf for a $1.80 is a must every weekend, fresh and hot out of the oven right at 7:30 in the morning, chewing on a big chunk of bread while walking home.

Sarcone's has been around for almost 100 years. If they are still going strong after that many years, they must be doing something right!

Thanks to Josh for allowing me (and Eric) into his home and taking time out of his busy schedule to talk to us about his (many) projects. His house may still be a work in progress, but I think it looks pretty incredible already. Can't wait to see what else he does!

images: eric heidel