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In February my son requested a full sized bed in his room to replace the antique wooden twin that had been both my fathers and mine. His room is not super large so I didn't want a huge bed and bed frame and I felt his room needed a bit of color so I really wanted to add some upholstery. My challenge was that the standard headboards that attach to a metal frame require bedskirts as the frame is not something I want to look at and I am not a huge fan of bedskirts. I decided to go with a painted metal bed frame and then to make an upholstered headboard that would hang on the wall. I fond a clean and simple painted metal bed frame from Modway. It is a platform style bed so it does not require a box spring, you simply put the mattress on top of the slats and dress the bed.  Next it was on to designing and making the headboard. I didn't want it to be too heavy as it was going thong on the wall, so I created a frame out of 2 x 2's and wove upholstery webbing to fill in the center portion. The next step was to cover the front of the frame with 2" upholstery foam, which gets stapled down on the sides. Then wrap (cover the front and staple to the back edges) the frame in a layer of batting. The last step before fabric was a layer of white muslin, the muslin get wrapped and attached the same way as the batting. The job of the muslin is to smooth out any lumps and bumps in the edges. To achieve the best result I tack the muslin with upholstery nails first and then smooth and stretch it while stapling it.
Finally, I covered with my upholstery fabric and attached the headboard to the wall using a french cleat system. 
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I just finished up a project for a client that I thought I'd share with you today as I just received some beautiful pictures of the finished project in action! Merimekko makes beautiful sunny fabrics that just beg to be used outside and inside for festive summer fun! My client found this beautiful coated cotton and asked that I make some fun tablecloths for her outdoor picnic tables.  Outside & Ready for a BBQ  And inside You can also see one of Merimekko's Coated Cottons as the seat upholstery on the custom made chairs that we did for this Maine Camp Dining Room.  As I am just catching you all up on the work we have done so far and where we are going from here, I thought I would give you a clearer picture of what we started with and where we are headed.  Original First Floor Plan  This is where we are headed for the first floor plan We have already completed the family room construction by taking down the wall between the study and the office/guest room. We have also completed the construction of the office. We did lose a bedroom and a full bath when we did this renovation, however the plan is to add the bedroom and full bath back into the house on the second floor above the future sun room addition. I am starting to plan out the kitchen now and am currently working on the cabinetry and appliance layout. I will fill you in when I have those plans finished but will give you a sneak peak of my inspiration kitchen:  Mandarin Kitchen from Smallbone of Devizes I found this kitchen in Architectural Digest right around the time we bought this house and I love the light airy and open feeling. I like how it is clean and simple yet timeless. I love the built in banquette, although I am not sure I am going to go that route. I am excited to start thinking about what this space can become!
So right before we moved I bought a beautiful turned bed for my daughter at a flea market and sadly it is still sitting in the storage room waiting to be attended to. I am guessing that it was made in the early to mid 1800's as all the turned pieces are straight and the headboard and foot board are the same height. It needs gluing and refinishing and while all the spindles are intact there are some large gouges, which in my mind just adds charm. It is 3/4 size (48"x75") but it's still pretty easy to buy a mattress that size online, however I will have to adjust full size sheets down to size or go with custom bedding.  As I grew up in a house where it was a federal offense to paint beautiful wood, I am having some difficult deciding what to do with this. I have two ideas in my head: The first is to clean it up and restore it to its original beauty, which my father would completely agree with and my grandmother wouldn't look down on me from heaven and scream. The second would be to fix it up and paint it in a high gloss fun color that my daughter would love, like RAL 5018 from Fine Paints of Europe- RAL Collection  So what do you think? Would you paint or restore?
Once again, it's been awhile and I must say I have no excuse other than it has been exhausting to exist in this house. It's been just about two years since we picked up and moved into this new project and as I now sit in my usable although completely undecorated office (floor plans on trace and vellum serve as my current window treatments) I am marveling at the simple miracle of having green grass in the backyard. For the first year we had a gigantic swimming pool that was home to hundreds of frogs, a daily lunch spot for a family of ducks and the favorite brunch spot for the local blue heron. The second year brought a dirt field and now finally green grass! It has been and continues to be a long haul, even as I write this I can hear the clinking of tile going up in the master bathroom, which has now been without a toilet for a year and completely non-functional since late January. Most people I know never saw this house before, those who did know how far we have come, but most people just ask me how and what I saw that made me know. How could I see past the 70's paneling and mirrors, the funky painted bathrooms and the purely 1960's brick exterior. How could I get over the mouse stench and the massive overgrown shrubbery? My answer is simply three things: 1. Location- it is right where I wanted to be 2. Layout and flow- the major spaces made sense, were the right size, and had the amount of openness that I wanted. Sure, we made a few adjustments as to the use of different rooms. I decided that what they used as the family room made more sense as a dining room and then I combined two smaller rooms to make a great family room, but the plumbing made sense where it was and the bigger spaces all worked as I wanted them to. Also this house had the amount of space we needed, sure we can add on and yes we looked at ranches that we could put a second floor onto but working within the existing shell is so much easier for us. 3. Light- This one was a little harder to determine with this house with all the overgrown shrubs but I knew which way was north and then could figure out what trees would come out and leave open spaces for light to come in. Also, looking at the sight lines throughout the interior of the house helps. For example, if you stand in the dining room (those windows face north and east so not the best for light) but there is a big opening to the living room that has a massive western facing window which makes tons of beautiful afternoon light.  The house the day of our inspection (there were snowshoes involved)  sceond floor bath- everything that looks like white tile is actually lavender tile painted white with flat paint and yes the tub is strangely shoved into the wall and in the middle of the bathroom  The kitchen was "updated" in the late 90's when the house first went on the market. All appliances are original 1966 , the cabinets were refaced and the countertops replaced. Believe it or not the kitchen was one of the better rooms when we moved in.  the master bath, this was the other "renovated room"  fireplace in the family room (our dining room). the walls were wood paneled with painted textured wall paper over  a hall of mirrors to go with the living room of mirrors, dining room of mirrors, and basement of mirrors Stay tuned and I 'll show you how far we've come and how very far we have to go!!!!
Where have I been since April 19th? I have been a bit MIA, but seriously, saying things have been a bit crazy wouldn't even start to explain what has been happening on my end. I guess it all started when we moved at the end of April. Sold the house, packed up everything into storage, and moved to temporary housing for a month. We closed on the new house at the end of May and then the fun really started! We emptied all the storage into the basement, and started by clearing lots of tall trees that were on top of the house. Then we had to replace the roof and the second story windows. We moved some closets, battled some mice, replaced all the walls, insulation, and ceilings, re-plastered (that's messy), ripped out some bathrooms, had the inside painted, moved a few walls, replaced some doors, and moved our stuff around a lot! Now we are getting to the fun part of the actual decoration, and I can't wait to share! Stay tuned and sorry for the absence.
Orange has been in and out for years now. I remember the Spring 2005 Collection when I was at Armani and we received a beautiful tangerine leather satchel, that may have been one of those seasons when "orange is the new pink" was declared. I don't know as if orange will ever be the new pink, but it does seem to hang in a try. When we moved in to this house orange seemed to be having a bit of a peak (fall 2008) and I was looking for a great rug for the green guestroom. My wishes were answered at IKEA where fell in love with a great rust-orange and white rug. Some great deep orange throw pillows from Madura finished off the room, along with a small orange lacquer tray from Pottery Barn. It's interesting that orange can be such a season-less color, I generally think of pinks in springtime, but orange brings up fall leaves, winter fires, spring flowers, and summer heat! 
These amazing new fabrics in orange are from Trina Turk's new outdoor collection for Schumacher. The bold graphics and amazing colors are a great way to welcome summer.
From left to right: Soleil LA Print in Sunset, Santorini Print in Persimmon, Amazing Maze in Coral, and Sunglasses in Orange   If your looking for a orange trial throw these orange cocktail napkins out at your next party and wait for the compliments!   A Beautiful Orange Bench on a forbo linolium orange, blue, red and yellow striped floor. Designed by Ghislaine Vinas and photographed for Elle Decor by Elizabeth Felicella So don't be afraid to add a little orange to your home, it could be just what you need!
As of late I have been drawn to pictures of rooms with bold fresh florals mixed with clean modern geometric patterns.  I love the clean crisp pattern in the carpet and on the hounds tooth pillow with the traditional bold floral damask drape and the crewel made new chair in this living room by Jonathan Adler and photographed for Elle Decor.  This more traditional room has a beautifully soft display of floral in the silver leafed niche and a subtle geometric on the console and in the drapery. It's a soft and formal room by Anne Tarasoff and Gail Tarasoff-Sutton. I love these two together for a sophisticated bedroom or a fun family room.  Schumacher Betwixt in colorway Spark/Ivory  Kravet Jetty In an eclectic bedroom I can see the geometric on the bedding or on a chair and the floral in the window treatments. For a fun family room I can imagine the floral on a set of funky chairs and the geometric on oversized throw pillows on a solid green couch.
Yes, I have been MIA this year and one of the reasons is that I have gotten the amazing opportunity to work on a beautiful property in Maine. It has been wonderful and crazy busy, but I have had so much fun working with my clients the architect and the builders. Groundbreaking was in September and the project will be finished (knock on wood) in mid-June. While most of the winter was structural, electric, plumbing, planning and gathering materials with the spring the house has started to transform back into a home with walls that you cannot walk through! As most of the walls in the house are pine either painted or shellacked they are all going up primed and first coat painted, which makes for a very quick changing look in the house from studs to almost finished looking in a day. So while it is not yet finished, here are some photos from my last visit...  High Gloss Ceiling Boards going up in the Dining Room  Roofer installing my newest obsession a standing seam tin roof (it really is amazing how these are installed)  One of a set of 5 salvage windows in Master Bedroom we found at Old House Parts in Kennebunk, ME (Great Salvage if your in the area) I'm headed up again next week so check back for updates!
 Dwell Patterns for Heath Ceramics I am really loving what Heath Ceramics is doing with Dwell. The new collection of tile designs is fun, beautiful and available made to order or stock. The patterns can all be customized with a huge range of color and finishes. I can imagine an amazing bathroom floor, shower wall, or kitchen backsplash! I also cannot wait until their house numbers become available. They will be available in two styles, Eames and Neutra.   Neutra House Numbers |
About Vallery...I live outside of Boston with my husband, two children, and dog. For the past 8 years I have been working with clients to help them make their home dreams a reality. From helping to build homes from the ground up to helping round out already finished spaces, I listen to my clinets and let their vision guide our process. I have always been a creative person planning spaces and working to make them function better. After completing the Residential Interiors program at Boston Architectural College I learned how to combine my love for funcion and flow with my eye for color, scale, and balance. As a graduate of New York University's Stern School of Business, I understand project planning and budget management. My experience working with clients, contractors, and architects helps to coordinate and streamline the home building and renovation process, helping my clients to have the home they dream of with less of the stress that comes with building and decision making. Archives
June 2013
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