Brooklyn Brown Blog

Home Rules Style – #nateday

David DuRocher — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 16:58:45 +0000

Yay! It’s #nateday! I thought the best way to celebrate this unofficial Twitter holiday would be to answer the questions he included in the inspiration section of his 2005 book Home Rules. What’s your style? Sounds easy, right?! Here goes …

#1: What kinds of surroundings make you happy?

Bright, sunny spaces make me instantly happy … oh and windows with great views! Life in New York City is demanding. You have to be ambitious and adventurous which requires a level of focus and resolve that makes you crave a restorative space – something that both comforts and inspires. Quite a challenge!

via Apartment Therapy

#2: Do you respond to neat and organized or chock-full of accessories?

I would say that I am somewhere in the middle. I appreciate clean and simple, but I do love art and vintage items. It is important to curate your collections – you do not have to have everything on display at all times. Here is one of my favorites – a vintage pottery vase I found at a Quakertown antique store …

pottery perfection!

signature

#3: What is your favorite room in the house? What is your least favorite?

hmm, Nate not everyone lives in a house … I live in a 700+ square foot railroad apartment in an early 1900s Brooklyn tenement building. My favorite room is the front room. It is the largest room {approximately 12 feet by 12 feet} with original details, high ceilings, two large windows and a fireplace. The views are also fantastic! We are on the fourth floor and overlook a gorgeous church. My favorite time of the year is Lent because there are more evening masses and the enormous stained glass windows are beautifully illuminated. My least favorite room would be kitchen because even though it is rather large for a nyc apartment it wasn’t configured properly which can make cooking frustrating. I have delusions of a kitchen remodel … I say delusion because we are renters!

#4: Where do you feel the most at home? Are you city sleek or country casual?

I do not commune well with nature; am a definite city dweller!

#5: How much time, energy and money are you willing to sped right now? Next month? In a year?

Oh that’s easy … none, little and zero – wait that isn’t too helpful!

#6: If you could change one thing about your home today, what would it be?

Oh that is easy! It wouldn’t be a railroad … it would magically become a classic six or a brownstone in Brooklyn Heights!

#7: Do you have a favorite piece of furniture or art or collectible object that could be a starting point?

Yes, I have a stunning 19960s regency caned canopy wing back chair in pristine condition. {please do not judge a great piece of furniture by its tacky ebay photo}

maybe monocrome diminishes the gaudy?!

original ebay photo

#8: Where would you take a dream vacation? Could you translate that feeling to your home?

I would love to go on a luxury safari in Africa. I am sure that could be easily translated, but I am not sure I’d want to unless that dream vacation is taken and then it would be with framed photograph prints or handcrafted artisan or vintage souvenirs.

#9: Which people inspire you? How do they live?

@elliottkaty – www.katyelliott.com

@mrslimestone – www.brooklynlimestone.com

I am more inspired by real, attainable homes that people design for themselves. These two lovely ladies are both fortunate to own enviable historic homes in fabulous locations!

Katy Elliott Marblehead Home

Katy Elliott - original woodwork

Brooklyn Limestone

Although completely unrealistic I do appreciate the homes Martha Stewart has crafted – especially Turkey Hill. Perhaps it is our shared love of the color grey and classic New England architecture.

Turkey Hill {realtor photo}

#10: Do your decorating dreams correspond to the way you actually live?

Yes … I am too practical not to.

“bring out the best”

David DuRocher — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 05:05:28 +0000

I am super excited about Hellmann’s recent announcement that its Light Mayonnaise recipe in the United States will be made from 100% certified cage-free eggs – renewing their commitment to real food and simple ingredients. They are pioneers in the use of American Humane Certified (AHA) 100% cage free eggs and plan to integrate their use into all products once a consistent supply becomes available, but at this point for their light mayonnaise product only they are consuming approximately 3.5 million pounds of eggs.

www.freshdirect.com

This is wonderful news!!! I am proud to say that I am a 4^th generation customer. In my family it is sacrilege to use any other mayonnaise. My Great Grandfather Emil Arthur Zwingelstein, of Pittsfield Mass, owned and operated a Hellmann’s distribution company and it was that business that enabled him to provide for his immediate and extended family during the Great Depression.

Distributor Extraordinaire Mr. Zwingelstein

Here is one of my favorite recipes with Hellmann’s mayonnaise:

½ cup Hellmann’s light mayonnaise

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

Juice of 1 lemon

1 lb of fresh tilapia fillets

Salt & Pepper

Combine Hellmann’s mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. Place tilapia fillets in a glass Pyrex dish and season with salt and pepper. Cover the fillets with the mayonnaise mixture and bake for 20 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees or until flaky.

Best served with rice pilaf and steamed carrots.

Enjoy!

the best laid plans of mice and men …

David DuRocher — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 04:17:16 +0000

Now the question is what to do with our apartment now that the redesign is on an indefinite hold. This is New York City … space is at a major premium and storage is non-existent. How do we reconfigure everything to accommodate our new priorities?! If we had a basement or an attic it would be simple, but we only have a small climate controlled storage space in Riverhead which is in desperate need of organization. Our current idea leaves the back room as our general living area with both our dining room and den {which still needs to be repainted with the correct Sherwin William Status Bronze paint!} Our hardwood floors are also worse than we thought. When we rented our apartment almost 5 years ago we were told by both the realtor and owner that our apartment was completely gut renovated and that everything was brand new. That was a BIG FAT LIE as we later found out from our neighbors. Only our appliances were new, but the apartment had been renovated 4 years prior and not only had it been rented a couple times but was also vacant for a couple years. No wonder our floors need to be refinished since they were undoubtedly neglected the first 4 years. At this point I am so beyond sick and tired of trying to keep these floors clean {impossible task} that I just want to refinish the floors ourselves. Anyone attempt this before?! No idea how feasible this idea actually is.

Lately I have been having thoughts of gorgeous Swedish floors – either unfinished waxed pine or white painted. What are your thoughts?! I am thinking that the unfinished waxed pine floors would look the best, but a painted floor would probably be the cheapest, quickest and easiest. Anything is better than our current urine colored floors with large patches of finish worn off … attractive, right?!

Katrine Martensen-Larsen photographed by Kira Brandt

Alvhem Mäkleri Interiör

The original direction for the dining room/den space was to be a warm, cozy space which would be mostly used in the evenings. One of the major challenges for this space is that it was originally two separate rooms. I understand that “open floorplans” are the new norm, but this space does not benefit from the wall being removed. All it achieved was one long, narrow space that is infuriating on so many different levels. If time and money were not an issue I would have that wall replaced immediately. Until then I think the biggest impact for our time and money would be to address the floors. I have done some research, searched through some fantastic blogs that featured Swedish design. {see photos above} The wall color for that space is the Sherwin Williams Status Bronze and the ceiling, fireplace, window and trim are painted Sherwin Williams Alabaster. Initially the space was to be more rustic. Our Crate and Barrel Basque table, chairs and bench are perfect for large dinner parties or to spread out on while working on projects. Plus the eco-friendly mango wood and the natural oiled finish is just gorgeous and super easy to maintain.

Crate & Barrel Basque Table

Crate & Barrel Basque Chair

Crate & Barrel Basque Bench

Crate & Barrel finish

We also use several antique items for some necessary storage which included an antique glass front bookcase and an antique pigeon blood empire chest. The petite antique bookcase was the first furniture item we purchased here in Brooklyn for our apartment. Both pieces were found on ebay – the bookcase came from a local Fort Greene antique warehouse and the chest came from a favorite antique store in Quakertown, PA. Our empire chest is a beast! It stores our antique Japanese tea service, tureens, linens, glassware, china and our fancy flatware. http://bit.ly/bqmdTw

Another design challenge for this space is that is also includes the entry to our apartment and needs to accommodate easily accessible storage for at the very least dog leashes and rain jackets. Before our redesign we had an antique commode that was the perfect size for the small wall to the right of our entry door with a single drawer and open storage area. It is a piece from the late 1800s and at one point had been with a white oil based paint. We purchased the stand at an antiques auction house in rural Upstate New York for $3.21. Since the commode no longer works in our new configuration we needed to find something that would provide both storage and seating. My Hubs found an antique piano bench in the garbage while walking the boys one morning and brought it home. The top needs to be reattached but that is a simple fix. I might upholster the top, but right now I have so many other projects that I cannot even think about adding another!

Another major problem is where to temporarily store coats and such near the door. It would be awesome if we had an entry closet of some sort, but there is no possible space for one. I think that a coat tree would be best. This one from Factory 20 is brilliant, but unfortunately it has been sold.

Factory 20

For the den we need to determine what we want and need from that space and then try to incorporate some of the items we originally purchased for the front room. I would love to liberate our vintage hooded wing-back chair and the new braided jute rug from storage!

The bedroom we have a good plan for, but we still need to measure to be sure everything will fit since we are dealing with such a tiny room … actually it is more of a nook off of a hallway than an actual room. I am hopeful that we can flank our bed with the antique Swedish secretary on one side and a small nightstand on the other. We have a gorgeous vintage Scandinavian Pukeburg blown glass lamp that we purchased via etsy for the front room. It would look great in the bedroom but I am afraid it is too large for the nightstand. I still need to purchase a custom shade for the lamp, but it is worth trying in the bedroom to at least see if it would work.

I also want to include sheepskin in some manner and I’m not exactly sure where or how at this point. Here is a sheepskin rug I found recently that I think would be ideal for the bedroom {for my side of the bed, of course!} I thought about going the hide route, but I think this is a less creepy compromise.

www.westelm.com

reformer

David DuRocher — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 03:59:13 +0000

It appears that our priorities have changed, significantly and it all started sometime after last Thanksgiving. No, we are not pregnant nor plan to be anytime in the next few years. {sorry Moms!} We are also definitely not separating or divorcing {sorry you know who!} and there are no real plans to ever leave New York City. {yay!} The real news is that our apartment redesign will NOT be completed and I am completely okay with it … no seriously, I am!!! Fickle, maybe but we have decided that the apartment design we wanted in early 2009 isn’t what we want now in 2010. It is simple, right now function is king and our old plans did not incorporate our new direction or reflect the lifestyle changes we have made. So, as it stands today … our Hollywood regency living room with mid-century modern and Swedish influences is out. The largest and brightest space in our Brooklyn apartment will now be rearranged to accommodate this …

Stamina AeroPilates Pro XP 686 Reformer

Yes, that is right … we now have a Pilates reformer!!! It is scheduled to be delivered this week and we are super excited. Maybe, just maybe this asthmatic {me!} might actually enjoy cardio instead of dread it. The jump board has been replaced with a rebounder that is suppose to achieve similar heart rate numbers as a treadmill but with much lower impact which is fantastic for my crunchy- kneed Hubby! I haven’t used a reformer in years, close to a decade … loved it then, but between the additional studio and trainer fees on top of a pricey health club membership it was all just too much for 19 year old me to afford.

No idea when my Husband will have time to assemble the reformer since this weekend we will be celebrating both David’s 27^th birthday and our niece Juliet’s 1^st birthday! Maybe next weekend …

economic retrenchment

David DuRocher — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 03:54:50 +0000

Brooklyn Brown Blog was originally suppose to be my Husband’s blog … but just like any good wife with a super busy Husband I thought we could start the blog together so we were at least moving forward. Initially our apartment redesign was a good topic for both of us to tackle … like a Mr. and Mrs. point of view on design. To this point is has mostly been the Mrs. on design because the Mr. is busier than ever. Honestly, this whole redesign of our apartment has majorly derailed from the initial plan. It was suppose to be completely by last Thanksgiving which it still isn’t even close many, many, many months past that deadline. Also, we have since started a major lifestyle change with regard to our meals … we have eliminated all “faux” foods which are much more pervasive than you could imagine. We no longer consume anything with high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated anythings, artificial flavors, preservatives or in general ingredients my Great-Grandmother wouldn’t recognize. David and I have also donated all of our canned foods to avoid the leached synthetic estrogen that is often from the seals made of bpa that are punctured or torn during the canning process; however, at this point the only canned food we purchase is tuna because the non-canned options are prohibitively expensive. I would love to be able to eliminate all non-bpa free plastic containers, but that is a little pie-in-the-sky at this point. Ideally I’d love to be in the position to only buy organic, but considering my Husband is pathetically underpaid at NYU and will only receive a 1.5% increase this year {the University cried poor, but has since launched plans to expand the campus by 40% – opportunist scum bags!} our conversion to 100% organic will have to take a bit longer … just like our apartment!

This whole process has taught me some very valuable lessons. Mainly that patience is a bitter pill to swallow, but sometimes it is more important to be patient than to be finished. I hope that I have become a more patient person, but in the end only time will tell. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason … it is basic physics, for every action there is a reaction. In 2008 my Husband was laid off courtesy of Bernie Madoff who bilked countless organizations and individuals out of billions of dollars, one of those organizations happened to be the non-profit where my Husband had worked for years … with their endowments and major donors decimated 60% of the staff was eliminated due to “economic retrenchment.” {a phrase I will never forget.} It was our relentlessly positive approach that enabled opportunity to avail itself … well that and our headstrong determination to stay in New York City! A month later my Husband was appointed to an Adjunct Professor position … it had always been a goal of his, but academia is extremely difficult to enter as opportunities are rare and highly competitive {especially without a terminal degree.} Professor David is now in his third semester and absolutely thriving!

Though 2009 was a challenge and our Christmas cards from ABCD reflected that, I think it was the catalyst to enable David and I to make necessary and lasting change. Somewhere between last Thanksgiving and Christmas we started to make small changes in our diets. My Husband decided to start making all of our bread from scratch and now our breadmaker churns out about 2 loaves a week. I also decided to start buying anti-biotic and hormone free dairy. The weight has just fallen off!!! For once in my life it has been absolutely effortless. It is my hope that now I have the patience necessary to be undaunted by the considerable amount I have left to lose … perhaps the foundation of real, significant change is the culmination of a hope nourished by love and sustained by patience.

land ho!

David DuRocher — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 03:38:43 +0000

I found these gorgeous wool throw blankets on clearance at Lands End and had to share! Originally $99.50 currently on sale for $29.99.

www.landsend.com

I bought two, one of each … cannot wait to be cozy and warm under one watching a movie with my Husband!!! Any good movie recommendations for us?!

Oh, don’t miss out on free shipping use promotional code: SHOWERS pin: 7421 on orders over $50.

Maine-stream Dream

David DuRocher — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:46:13 +0000

My first great love was cherries, my second cats and my third the sea. There is nothing on earth that both excites me and relaxes me instantly like the ocean. I spent my childhood summers on the North and South shores of Boston; now my Husband and I spend our summers on the beach in Southampton. I can honestly say I have always lived near water. I was born and raised in Chicago {Lake Michigan} lived in Rochester {Lake Ontario} and now Brooklyn {Atlantic Ocean/East River} so Maine with its rocky shoreline and rustic islands would be complete bliss.

It’s a fact indeed. We are fascinated with Maine, but the shocker is that my Husband has never been and I have only been twice. Sometimes we daydream about starting a new life together with our animals up North. Definitely far from a practical idea considering our somewhat well established life here in New York City with my Husband’s appointment as an Adjunct Professor, his regular 9 to 5 at New York University and all of his freelance projects. Plus I am a true city girl and love absolutely everything about city life. All of the energy, the sounds, the people, the culture … even the traffic! But there are times when everyone craves something different; those times when despite all of the great things in your life you just want a little flip. It could be the allure of new challenges or wanting some simple quiet time to pursue whims …

Today I found this lovely property via Realtor.com and I sent the listing to my Husband. He loves it! The house is the quintessential Victorian by the sea with oodles of charm. It is perfect!

See …

Exposed

David DuRocher — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 03:24:08 +0000

Exposed brick has run the gamut from trendy industrial charm to tired, cliché and all too commonly found in most New York City apartments. I am a firm believer that it can be a great thing if done properly and in moderation. My Husband and I decided that our apartment in an early 1900s tenement building would be perfect for exposed brick. I Then had to convince him not to go crazy and expose it all. We decided that we would expose the brick in the hallway which is about a 6 ft long section and like all of our projects it started with a buying trip to our local Home Depot. There my Husband tried to convince me that we needed this monstrosity of a tool that looked more suitable to demo Fort Knox instead of our plaster wall. {Seriously – it had a skull on it!} We purchased a more reasonable demo bar, gathered our other supplies and headed home. About 5 minutes later my Husband was “testing” the tool and wall for demo the next day, but about 15 minute later we were in the middle of a full fledged, brick exposing demo!

Since this was more of a Husband project {aren’t they all at this point?!} I started photographing the process.

{note the paint samples we tested only to pick the same color & find out ours had been mixed wrong!}

{note my Husband’s 1st wardrobe change – Banana Republic jeans are not the correct dress code for demo.}

{note my Husband’s 2nd wardrobe change – the short sleeve shirt was quickly replaced with a long sleeve tee.}

Mirror Mirror {finally on the wall}

David DuRocher — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 02:35:55 +0000

I found this gorgeous antique Victorian mirror in New Jersey over the summer. It had been stored in a dusty, dirty basement for years and not only was it filthy but had its finish scrapped and sanded at one point. Honestly, my Husband did not like the mirror at all initially when I found it. It did not take long at all for him to see it the way I did. I absolutely love its charm! The shape and carved details are just ever so slightly Swedish and though not a fan of shabby chic its rustic finish strangely fascinated me. Now instead of painting the mirror with milk paint we’ve decided to simply oil and wax it instead. While my Husband cleaned the mirror I photographed it.

Here are some of the macro photos …

Welcome Home From The Holidays

David DuRocher — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 01:24:03 +0000

Arrived back from our Christmas in Upstate New York with my Husband’s family to find part of our apartment full of steam and covered in mold. Fun! So I unearthed my camera and photographed everything while the Mr. played handyman. The steam resulted from a broken valve and whenever the heat turned on the entire room filled with steam and while we were gone this caused mold to grow and paint to peel. David replaced the valve and quickly resolved the steam issue. Then he sprayed the ceiling with Tilex to kill the mold and then scraped off the loose paint. Definitely not back to “normal” but we were about to paint that room in the near future so it will be fine soon enough.

Here are some photos from the ordeal …

{gross!}

steamy

safety first

{note my Husband’s favorite “tools” the ove glove and his small LED flashlight}