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...

house love pt.6

Okay, so this post might a bit biased since this house belongs to Eric - but even if he wasn't my boyfriend, I'd still love it. About 4 1/2 years ago, Eric bought a 900 SF, 2-story rowhome in South Philly. The house was built in the early 1900's but not very many of the original details were left - the stairs, some doors (not all) and some trim around the doors and windows. He preserved as many of the original details as possible, but it required some updating - the before:




Look at that terrible arch! Eeek. This is what he did:

I removed dropped ceilings from some of the rooms and put up drywall. I installed bamboo floors throughout the living areas and bedrooms. I did a mini kitchen renovation that involved painting the cabinets, installing a new countertop, backsplash and cork floor. I installed some salvaged doors to match the remaining original doors. I painted every single surface of the interior of the home. The exterior of the house was in relatively good shape and just needed some minor sprucing up and painting.

And the after...



Can you believe the difference? Pretty amazing right? The change in flooring from that disgusting carpet to the beautiful, light bamboo probably has the most impact to the space - and also Eric's favorite element of his home:

They were my first DIY home improvement project, so I'm sort of proud of that. I love the color, it really warms up the house.



I love the image above - it shows off some of my favorite pieces that he owns: the gargoyle, Eames rocker, Saarinen end table, arco lamp and Badger (do you see him, he's lounging on the chair). It's a great mix of materials, styles and color - really shows off his design sensibility. This is how he describes his personal style:

I love modern design, but I also love old houses, so I'm really into mixing the two. I wanted the house to have a sort of mid-century modern, bachelor pad feel to it, while also retaining all of the original woodwork and detailing that still remained. The furnishings are a mix of classic modern pieces (eames rocker, saarinen table and arco lamp), vintage finds (refinished dining chairs and console) and new pieces with clean lines. I used color and some funky accessories to inject some fun into the space. Sary helped quite a bit too.

Thanks for the shout out Eric :)













Eric's work on his kitchen is probably the most impressive thing that he's done to his house. Not only is it an incredible transformation, but besides the countertop, he did it all himself. I can't say enough about his craft - he's a perfectionist. You wouldn't be able to tell that he's never had experience doing home improvement projects before.





Eric lives in the best part of South Philly (in my biased opinion - I also live in the area) and I was curious to see what he would say his favorite local spots were:

I'm fortunate that Fond, one of my favorite restaurants in the city, is only a couple of blocks away. It's an amazing little BYO on Passyunk that Sary has already given lots of love on this blog. Cantina de los Caballitos and Devils Den are two other local spots that I frequent often.

They would be my picks too:)

Awesome job, Eric! You did an incredible job - you should be very proud of yourself!!

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!!

presents

I finished my Christmas shopping yesterday and started on my wrapping. Wrapping gifts might be one of my favorite things to do and I tend to go overboard when it comes to buying wrapping supplies...except for this year:( Being on a budget is NOT fun. Luckily, I have plenty of leftover ribbon, paper and other goodies to dress up my gifts. Here are a few I finished last night:



I love kraft paper - it comes in handy for so many things and great for wrapping. Add a pretty ribbon and you have a great looking gift, but I thought I'd try something a little different. I took a sharpie and wrote a note on the kraft paper (replaces the need for a card) - although it got a bit tricky because the box was fairly big and I started blabbing about random things. On the second box, I just wrote lyrics to Christmas songs (which also proved to be difficult since I'm terrible with remembering song lyrics).

I also opened my first Christmas gift of the holiday! And it was a good one from Jonathan Adler...







A vase! Isn't it so cute? Can't wait to use it. BTW - how nice is Jonathan Adler's packaging?! Thanks Eric:)

spoonflower

(fabrics via Spoonflower: geometry octagon, green and blue flowers, orange chevron)

I have to say that the hardest thing for me to select when working on an interior renovation is fabric - especially when you have a budget. I always have an idea of what I want in my head but can never seem to find it when I'm looking! Well I found the solution (via Martha Stewart!): Spoonflower. Spoonflower is an online fabric store that has hundreds of already designed fabrics, but if you still can't find what you're looking for, you can design something and have it made! How cool is that? There are no minimums and at $18 - $32/yard (depending on the type of fabric you want the pattern printed on) - its very affordable. Very excited to give them a try!

holiday party 2010

Every year, my friends and I host a holiday party at my house and this year's was this past Saturday night. We had a blast - lots of great friends, good food, good wine, and of course a dance party at the end of the night. Didn't take many pictures during the party but Eric took a few before people started showing up:








I had to include a picture of these cookies - aren't they so pretty? They were made by Tina.

who's groovy, happy, chic and coming to philly?

image via

JONATHAN ADLER!! Well, maybe not the real Jonathan Adler...although I do hope he'll stop by at least once...a Jonathan Adler store will be opening soon and according to Brownstoner, it's taking over Foster's old space in Old City. Philly is seriously lacking in the GOOD contemporary furniture store department (notice emphasis on good). I'm not saying we don't have any, but we definitely don't have many. And it really hurt to see DWR go:( That was a sad day for me.

It's hard not to like Jonathan Adler - his pieces are so fun and funky but they also have really great lines. I've completely fallen for this sofa:



It's very simple and almost minimalist until you get to the tufting. The tufting gives it a more classic look and makes it feel grown up.

Jonathan Adler started out as a potter and his pottery pieces are pretty fantastic. This horse head is probably my favorite:



It would fit in well with my horse collection...especially since I already own one of his other horse pieces:

It's so adorable - actually pretty smalI at about 4" tall. I got it at his store in Miami - it was the first Jonathan Adler store I had ever visited and I loved it so much that I needed to buy something! Does that ever happen to you? I find that it happens to me a fair amount... And I also purchased this cute little tray.

I love the color and it's a handy little holder for my mail and keys.

I'm not sure when the it's set to open, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a grand opening party with a meet and greet with Jonathan Adler himself!

happy friendsgiving!

We had our annual Friendsgiving dinner this past Sunday and I had an amazing time. Everything just came together so well - Eric and I weren't as stressed as we typically have been, the table was set and the candles were lit by the time guests arrived (that has never happened before!), the turkey was delicious (some even said it was the best turkey they've ever had - kudos to Eric!) and all the side dishes that everyone brought were perfect. Maybe it was because it had been such a beautiful day and was a beautiful night, or that we were celebrating not one, but two pregnant couples, or maybe I was just happy to be able to wear my new dress - but I wasn't the only person in such a good mood - everyone seemed really excited to be celebrating and being together.

I had wanted to get disposable plates this year, but in an effort to save money, I decided not to. To dress up my plain white plates, I put the EAT. napkins that I made on top. What do you think? Since I already had the stamps, I stamped everyone's first and last initials onto cardstock and used that as placecards.

These branches were leftover from a wedding that I helped design. I was so excited when the bride decided to let me keep them (thanks Cristy!) because I knew I wanted to use them for Friendsgiving:) I got the paper flowers from West Elm. They had wire stems so I was able to easily wrap them around the branches.

I wanted to add a touch of color to the table, so I made little bouquets of orange tulips. The table probably could've used a few more tulips... OH - aren't the birds adorable?! They are paper mache and I got them at West Elm also. I couldn't resist. And I wanted all the whites and beiges to pop, so I made the tablecloth out of navy cotton, even though it looks black in the photos.

And I saved the best picture for last:

Now THAT is a good plate of food!! Happy Thanksgiving everybody! Enjoy your weekend and I'll be back on Monday!

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