First, I apologize for missing two days of blogging. I took a quick day trip to Connecticut to visit a friend. A friend who has so much faith in my taste that she has hired me to decorate her gorgeous new apartment in New York City. You didn’t realize that I’m an interior designer? This very loyal friend is confident that through my writing and research, experience overseeing the building and renovations of my own places, and years of absorbing interior images, that I can do this. Or rather, we can do this. It’s definitely a collaboration. I’ll mainly be choosing furnishings. The project doesn’t involve any construction, kitchens, or bathrooms. The apartment is brand new and will be delivered finished and pristine. We  will pick paint colors, wallpaper, rugs, furniture, and light fixtures (perhaps from Visual Comfort lighting.) The budget is similar to what I would spend if it were my own home, which makes it a lot easier. I’m nervous, but excited. We’ve decided to go with a gray sofa in her living room.

We’re thinking about a serene white and gray scheme, or white and gray with green accents. The dining room is in the same space, so we can play with that too. I’m sure I’ll be treating you to a lot of posts inspired by our deliberations and eventual decisions. If you’re shopping for a gray sofa, definitely click over to my shopping posts Get the Look: 22 Modern Gray Sofas and Get the Look: 60 Modern Grey Sofas, both of which were updated Spring 2015. Marcelo Lucini’s Buenos Aires apartment Burley Katon Halliday  •  Elle Decor Home of Joanna Berryman of Matrushka Home of stylist/photographer Elisabeth Dunker  •  Design Sponge Courtney Cox’s Malibu home •  Trip Haenisch  •  Elle Decor Turner Davis Interiors – Elle Decor reader’s home – Cote de Texas bloggers own sofa (IKEA)  •  Pretty Petals blog Petrie Sofa  •  Crate & Barrel Emily Robinson of the Dixie Chicks  •  Metropolitan Home

Architects Jim Poteet & Patrick Ousey  •  Interior designer Joel Mozersky Shop gray sofas at StyleCarrot partner Dwell Studio >More Options: Color » Shoji Syle 70.5" x 68" 4 Panel Room Divider 70" x 70" Sonji 4 Panel Room Divider More Options: Finish » Tiplant 71" Tall Diamond Weave Fiber 6 Panel Room Divider by Bay Isle Home 96" x 120" Muslin Single Panel Room Divider Mota 70" x 67" 4 Panel Room Divider Noan 26" Window Tall Desktop Pane Shoji Room Dividertoday’s second sneak peek comes from creative director and prop stylist, olga naiman. olga styled for domino magazine on a regular basis and was the event designer for the magazine’s various events over the years. she currently designs spaces for magazines, catalogs, events, restaurants, and is a creative director for a visual brand development business she is starting with communications strategist amy morris this summer. her home oozes the sort of style that i can only aspire to one day have, so i’ll cut to the chase and let these beautiful images, and olga‘s text, do the talking.

[thank you to tara donne for sharing these photos with us, you can visit tara’s site right here] [When I moved into this Williamsburg, Brooklyn railroad, I decided I’d spend as little money as possible on re-doing the apartment while staying true to my design aesthetic. circo pirate shower curtainExcept for the pricey living room rug (vintage Madeline Weinrib at ABC), everything is from flea markets/hand-me-downs/ebay/Ikea : and my goal was to pull everything together and make everything feel like a deliberate choice, not a collection of randomness. ottilie curtainsI wanted to create an charming, easygoing, imperfect yet intriguing space with each room conveying a different mood. galaxy curtains joondalup

There were no doors in my apartment (save for the bathroom), and I decided to not go to the cost of putting them on. I put curtains onto each doorway instead, and they created softness and provided privacy. The bedroom fits the bed and not much else. lewis curtains tawaBuying a headboard and footboad would have taken away precious inches from the narrow walkway of my railroad, so instead of a bedskirted boxspring on legs situation (felt too formal, too closed in), I went industrial (and cheap!) with these home depot cement blocks. dalton grommet curtainsI put a plank of wood on the blocks to provide support for the mattress…but decided the setup needed some glam. mostyns curtains voucher codeThe gold painted on ‘headboard’ poshed up the room and add some glitz to the industrial cobbled together bed….the gold lamps pushed it even more into glam. chamdor curtains krugersdorp

Yellow bedside table from A&G Merch in Williamsburg (around $250)*Top Image by Ditte Isager] [The living room was windowless pass through room with the ugliest stucco walls imaginable. I decided to not spend the money on redoing the walls, and hung fabric on them instead, for a rich, Tangiers in the 70’s opium lounge feel. I bought the low silver coffee table (around $150) at Butala Emporium in Queens and some pink sarree fabric (around $75) from one of the many saree shops across the street from Butala Emporium. The sleek 1970’s chair is from ebay (around $200)…..and this couch was the tiniest I could find, 55″, that folded out into a double bed. It came from Surprise Surprise in NYC, and was also around $250. I never had good art, but solved the problem by hanging what I did have in an interesting way. *Image by Ditte Isager] [The Office: The front room + biggest room in the apartment. I spent the most time there working and consuming endless cups of coffee. It faces the street and gets the most light.

The middle curtain panel hides a HUGE brown air conditioning unit that was inserted into the wall in the 70’s. The curtain could be pulled aside when the air conditioning is on during the summer months. I tacked all my inspiration pictures right onto the wall to the left of the desk, willy-nilly. I bought these file cabinets through craigslist (they were a beat up black) and had them spray painted a fresh apple green. Pink and gold vase from Ikea (around $60). Stainless steel plant pot under the desk is used as paper recylce bin (around $75)] [The kitchen was big (for NYC) but had no counterspace to speak of. The pluses where pretty 1950’s appliances and the nook sink that I prettified with some lace I bought off ebay. I went to home depot and knocked together this open cupboard/countertop which is perfect for preparing food. I filled the walls with Eastern European odds and ends to push the vibe into eastern european granny kitchen, and make the whole thing visually cohesive.