Posts Tagged ‘Baltimore’

Rowhouse Renovation Resources

Sunday, July 10th, 2011

 

Our house was a re-do from gut a little more than ten years ago.  If you’ve got the wherewithal, a Baltimore  row house renovation can yield beautiful rewards.  Here a few resources for anyone thinking about undertaking a renovation in Charm City.

Rowhouse Baltimore a forum with insider advice from A to Z

Locust Point Rowhouse blog with plenty of great day one pics

Baltimore Rowhouse chronicle of a rowhouse renovation from day one

Baltimore Heritage historic and architectural preservation organization

AIA Baltimore will help you find an architect

Live Baltimore has links to incentive programs

Maryland Historic Trust is the state’s site for historic preservation

 

 

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It’s A Book Thing

Saturday, July 2nd, 2011

 

I am adding a few out-of-print 80′s tomes to my collection of interior design titles.  My visit to Baltimore’s free book store–The Book Thing–really paid off today.  This first edition of David Hicks’ Style and Design has been in my Amazon shopping cart since July 1995.  I picked up a pristine copy.  Carrie Donovan’s Living Well: The New York Times Book of Home Design and Decoration, was another fabulous find.

 

And, Slesin’s International Book of Lofts. Each of these titles represents a unique, seminal style of the decade. Hicks’ book out-sized florals and bold geometric patterns; Donovan’s, over-the-top art and glamorous finishes; and Slesin’s urban eclecticism.

 

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The Shape of Things to Come

Saturday, April 24th, 2010

Things are taking shape and starting to come together rather serendipitously.  I was dropping a donation of baby clothes off at the thrift shop around the corner from our house and there it was, standing behind me, filled with bad novels–this solid walnut bookshelf that fits perfectly in a nook of space next to the dining room window.

I planned a trip home for the Easter holiday and started checking out thrifting prospects about a week beforehand.  Alcoa and Westinghouse, two big Knoll manufacturers, had headquarters in Pittsburgh in the 50′s through the 70′s.  So, Pittsburgh’s a great place to find mid century Knoll.  My dad and I picked up these vintage Bertoia chairs while I was there.  They were white and in bad shape so off they went to Chesapeake Coating for  an new finish.  Wow.  We couldn’t be happier.  They did an excellent job and the price was more than fair.  We just got the chairs back today and have fallen in love.  Baby Maxwell on the other hand was not so happy.  He fell in love with the screwdriver I was using to reassemble the chairs and suffered some separation anxiety.

There was a blip in all of this serendipity.  I had to drive out to Ikea in College Park to get my hands on this 24″ diameter Brasa Pendant. The super size shade was out of stock in Baltimore and the 18″ diameter pendant was only available in white.  This was my first time visiting the College Park Ikea and I will say that the section there is by far better than you’ll find here in Baltimore.

I returned from Ikea to find felicity hiding in the store room of my favorite vintage shop, Home Anthology–this walnut wall unit. Not teak, but walnut.  Not full price, but bargain.  Not a compromise, but loved equally by both spouses.  Fi-ˈli-sə-tē.   William thought that the tension rods were too short when we purchased the unit and he was correct.  He went to home depot and swapped out the old metal threaded dowels for new longer ones.  Voila.  Now, we just have to focus on filling this long empty space against the wall.  In the meantime, this weekend’s projects–shelve the books, lay down a rug, hang window shades, hang art.

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Working With A Florist

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

I’ve gotten into the habit of buying fresh cut flowers and wanted to take you along on a visit my neighborhood florist. Working with a florist is not nearly as intimidating or expensive as you think.  So here we are at my favorite shop, fleur de lis, Baltimore, MD. It’s wonderful. Imagine if Anthropologie had a floral shop inside, this would be it. Christine Rubin started up her shop 17 years ago this month. Congrats, Christine!  She did my wedding and I have been hooked ever since.  Here’s the big secret to working with a florist–it’s easy as one, two, three.

One, tell them what you want.  Two, tell them what you want to spend. Three, tell them what you don’t want.  Simple, right.  I want an arrangement of white flowers in a small, bowl-shaped vase. I don’t want to spend more than $25 dollars.  I would like something elegant and fragrant. I don’t want Gerber Daisies.

My florist starts off with Hydrangeas and Tulips–the last of the white Tulips.  It really is best to give the artist  (florists are artists!) an idea of what you are looking for and then step back and let them do the creating. They have the training and the vision. You’ll end up with a much better product this way.  Believe me.  See…no Gerber Daisies.

Something beautiful can be had for just about any price. I started out without taking my own advice.  While I had a price in mind, I didn’t tell Christine’s assistant how much I wanted to spend.  Distracted. Thankfully, she stopped and asked me.  Let’s shoot  for the moon and add these Orchids.  It’s a special occasion, my friend Kevin is celebrating a birthday. He literally has everything.  He’s a big collector.  These flowers will make a nice gift.

Look at this beautiful arrangement!  I love it.  Hydrangeas are notoriously short-lived but, there is a nice mix of flowers here for Kevin to enjoy.  The big blooms should last about a week.   Hydrangeas need lots of water so Kevin should smash the ends of their stems flat.  When the Hydrangeas fade away he can take the Tulips and the Orchids and transfer them out to a vase with a smaller opening.  Later he can move the survivors to bud vases. Thanks to everyone at fleur de lis for being so great.  They are always busy with weddings but still take the time to give little old me special attention.  Lots of love.  You can visit fleur de lis at 226 North Liberty Street, Downtown Baltimore, close to the Central Branch of the Enoch Pratt Library.

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Cozying Up

Monday, March 8th, 2010

A few projects finished over the weekend have given the living room some life.  We repainted an old mirror using matte black spray paint and propped it up atop the newly remade credenza.  I hit my favorite flower shop, Fleur de Lis (close to Enoch Pratt Library’s central branch)  for a couple of stems to fill our favorite vase.  I let the florist choose and she selected stems that matched the hues in the vase’s glaze, yellow and reddish-brown.  Same principle as choosing a mat for framing art work, I suppose.  People usually make the mistake of letting the color palette in the room guide these choices.

The new cover for the butterfly chair arrived from Circa 50.  The chair is now disarmingly comfortable.  I actually fell asleep in it after I put the baby down for a nap.  The leather sling really cradles you.  It had been such a disaster, what with the ripped canvas cover which must have been way too small.  The new cover is terrific, top quality.

Amazing what a few pillows will do.  The sofa upholstery is wool so the cotton cushion covers are really a necessity and not just fluff.  The gray I am sure is here to stay.  I am not sure about the green plaid, however.  We’ll see.

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Trax On Wax

Monday, March 8th, 2010

How did I not know about Gary Gebler’s incredible collection.  The retired Sam Goodie and Record and Tape Traders executive has been running his treasure trove of vintage vinyl, Trax On Wax,  since last June.  Trax has joined the row of unique music stores along the stretch of Frederick Road before Mellor Avenue in Catonsville.  Gary told me that he began traveling up and down the coast gathering records for about a year before he opened shop. Great job, Gary.  What a catalogue.  I found three wax titles I had been searching for without even really digging.

That was within the first 15 minutes I spent in the shop.  Yeah, as you can see above I scored Al Di Meola’s Elegant Gypsy,  Chick Corea’s Circling In and Oscar Brown Jr.’s Sin and Soul.  I came up empty on Eddie Jefferson’s Things are Getting Better.  But, the Oscar Brown more than made up for it.   Imagine if I could have burned an hour or two.  Oh, and Gary’s knowledge is a bonus.  Once he noticed me scooping up Mahavishnu Orchestra he let me know where to find all the Jaco and John Mclaughlin.  That’s one of the things that makes vinyl so great–it sounds better and it brings better company.  Imagine the kid peddling discs at Best Buy anticipating your fusion jazz needs.  I never knew I could feel this way again.  Shout out to Stedeford’s Records back home in Pittsburgh.  You’ll find Trax on Wax at 709 Frederick Road.

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American Craft Council Show in Baltimore

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

Head out to Baltimore’s convention center this weekend, February 25-28 for the 34th annual American Craft Council Show. The juried show displays the handy work of the finest crafters in ceramics, fiber art, furniture, lighting, glass and more.   This year’s show will include selections from the new category Green Craft from artists who use recycled and/or found materials and sustainable techniques.

The catalogue of contributors offers up some promising sights.  Illinois woodworker David Stine’s ” Strawn Table” (above).

Berkley, California fine art furniture maker Jim Rosenau’s wall shelf made of books (above)  and New York textile artist Erin Wilson’s colorful quilts (below).   The convention center is located at One West Pratt Street, Downtown Baltimore, MD 21201. The show begins at 10AM each morning at tickets for non-council members are $15 each.

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