The name...Hamptontoes

It is with great enthusiasm that I have entered the interior design blogging world! In case you are curious about the blog name...it's simple...I love the Hamptons (beautiful beaches along the South Fork of Long Island, NY) and I love dipping my toes in the water! It is one of the pleasures of life that makes me smile and makes me happy! It is the same sentiment I have for one's home...it should make you happy and make you smile! With that thought, I realize it's way past my bedtime! I am happily going to the New York International Gift Fair tomorrow and need to get some rest now...good night!

A little playroom nook transformed into a little girl's playhouse

One of the things we loved about our new home when we moved in was the size of the basement. (Let me remind you we came from NYC, where our apartment in the city could fit into our basement here...well, almost)! My husband and I looked at the basement (which includes a full bathroom, a laundry room, a guest bedroom, a fireplace, a very large storage closet (which remained) and another large storage closet (which we converted into a little, but chic bedroom with a twin bed) and immediately thought what a perfect playroom! Hmmm, I should be more honest and say I thought the above; while my husband thought about where he would put a very large flatscreen television!  The rest of our home is very polished, for the basement I wanted to embrace a family space where little kids could be little kids!  When we moved into this house we only had our daughter (I was pregnant with our son at the time who is now 17 months) and I wanted to convert this nook into a special space just for her. Since her bedroom is not pink, I painted this little nook pink and created a playhouse (at the age of three she refers to it as her castle).

Here, imaginative play is limitless!

BEFORE

AFTER

We replaced the carpeting for the entire basement with a neutral tone Berber carpeting. In addition: we replaced the trim work, removed the wooden ball fixture on the outside of the nook, demolished the seat inside the nook to make room for a "kitchen", made another shelf to replace the missing one, painted the inside pink and hung a small chandelier to complete the fantasy!

    

Just outside her playhouse is this space.

New York International Gift Fair

This weekend opens the New York International Gift Fair. I can't wait to see what's in store! I attended the show in August and was smiling ear to ear the entire time thinking I love what I do! I will take lots of photos of lighting fixtures, gorgeous linens, beautiful furniture, stunning mirrors, unique toys and accessories for the home that inspire me and share it all with you. Is it Saturday, yet?

Our Son's Bedroom...

The design for our son's room started with this wool, blackwatch plaid carpeting. The carpeting had been installed by the previous owners of our home, but it had been installed in the bedroom they used for their sons. When we moved in that room was going to become our daughter's bedroom. With that said, I had it gently taken up when our daughter's new wool carpeting was installed. Once the installers for the new carpet removed this carpeting I had them roll it and put it in the bedroom that would be for Baby #2 (I was expecting at the time, but we did not know the baby's gender). At the time I thought, if I have a son this is going to be re-carpeted in his room....I love this rug! Since our son's bedroom is smaller than our daughter's this could be accomplished quite easily.  I added all new trim work to his room. I personally applied the wallpaper below the chair rail. The wall color is Benjamin Moore's Old Navy and the trim work is Benjamin Moore's Super White. I love the result...his room is striking, handsome and timeless.

 

    I surprised my husband by having his rugby jersey framed and hung in our son's bedroom! The jersey is framed in a white shadow box using the same wallpaper as below the chair rail.

 

I found this adorable magnetic board and could not resist. I hung it on the back of our son's door...it's very functional, fun and out of the way on the back of the door. He loves to look in the mirror; as well as play with all of his magnetic toys (the type you hang on the refrig)!

I hope you have enjoyed!

     

Princess party!

With my daughter having received a handful of birthday invites in the past two weeks, it got me thinking that it might be fun to share images of her third birthday party from 2009. Like most three year olds, my daughter loves princesses...reading about them, dressing up like them, pretending to be one and well, the list goes on!

The invite sets the tone for a party and we wanted all to be sure it would be a princess gathering! The envelopes were addressed as Princess Meg, Princess Emma, Princess Emily...you get the idea! The invites were printed on a die cut princess castle invite with the following words:

   Here Ye, Here Ye

Princess Ella is turning three!

She is calling upon her princesses

to celebrate with thee!

Please report to her castle…

(our address)

(date)
(time)

Please RSVP to Queen Lisa

(our telephone number)

Please be dressed for a royal celebration…

Princess attire necessary!
Scenes from her 3rd birthday celebration...

Photography by Traci Giles Photography (once based in NY, now in CA)

It was fun to visit the fairy princess dream world for a couple of hours!

 I have such fond memories of my beautiful daughter and her equally beautiful friends on that day! 

Before/After of the seating area in my kitchen

After living in NYC with a kitchen the size of a postage stamp, the one thing I hoped for in the 'burbs was a decent size kitchen! My goal for the seating area of the kitchen was to be able to seat many people, display family photos, have a calmness to it and to maximize my space. Here is a photo from when we bought the home, good space...right?

   before

after

I had a banquette built so that we could maximize seating capacity. The banquette will soon have a vinyl cushion to finish the look. I am doing a vinyl because washable is not an option where kids eats three times a day and do art projects; wipeable is the way to go! I hung photo ledges to display family pictures and my kiddies artwork. The lighting fixure is on a dimmer. The walls and the ceiling were painted one color, the inside of thy sky lights were painted white...all to play to the height of the room. We love this space!

Do you have a tag sale treasure?

This past summer I was driving to take my kiddies to play minature golf in Montauk. While driving through Amagansett I spotted two women walking from behind a hedgerow (as it's so commonly called in the Hamptons) carrying the most gorgeous settee and at the same time I noticed a sign that read "Tag Sale!" Well, I immediately pulled over knowing that by the looks of the settee this was a sale to see. I got out of my car and walked with a pace so fast that it could have easily been called jogging! I could not wait to see what was waiting behind the hedgerow for me!
Ready for this? What was waiting was one of Domino Magazine's swag sales! Yes, that's right, after the magazine folded (which still leaves me feeling sad) they had a couple of tag sales (I know of two, one in the city and one in the Hamptons). I only attended the one in the Hamptons. I scored this amazing headboard...it was calling my name! I convinced the gal in charge that I was going to play minature golf with my kiddies, that I needed her to hold it and that I'd be back to buy. What a lovely gal...I'm grateful she trusted I'd return. So, this queen size headboard is my tag sale treasure! What's yours?

The duvet on the bed...

Where are your guests hanging their coats?

I have two little kiddies and on a regular basis we have playdates in our home. Finding the "perfect" coat rack to fit our needs took some time. I was looking for something unique, but attractive and very functional. To be functional it had to be something that kiddies, mothers and caregivers could pop their coats on and be ready for play without the fuss of hangers. Having found this piece fulfills my functional and aesthetic needs, plus it looks like a piece of art when not in use.

 I purchased this coat rack from Zgallerie...it's a fun spot for getting unique accessories for the home.

http://www.zgallerie.com/p-4944-twig-coat-rack.aspx

What does your front door say?

By adding a little touch, your front door can whet the pallet for what's to come, or not.

Here are a few little touches that enhance the "introduction" to your home.

A great door knocker is always eye catching!

What about adding a wreath to the knocker? I know, then guests need to use the doorbell!

More options to come!

The fireplace details

Okay, so I "test drove" my new blog on a few friends and to them I owe a big thank you! I was asked a couple of the same questions from those "test driving" my blog, so I thought I'd address them here. Some were interested in the "dog" in front of the fireplace! He is a hand carved wooden bench that I purchased years ago from a shop in Annapolis, MD. He is the perfect whimsical touch to a modern home! Here are a few close-up photos:

And, yes, you can sit on the dog!

Also, the dog wasn't the only piece in the fireplace photo "fetching" compliments...many inquired about the colorful artwork! The artwork is an original from Eric Lee with Presteau Studios...check out his website!

http://www.presteau.com/

Here is a close-up of the piece above the fireplace.

Good night!

New year, new blog!

Welcome to my design blog! I hope you are keeping warm next to a fire or under a comfy blanket!

All the best for a happy 2010!