Travel Diary: Bowery Hotel

As a little girl I just knew that Eloise had the best life, along with Nanny, Weenie and Skiperdee, she spent her days playing in the Plaza Hotel.  Well faster forward 25 years and I've just had a grown up Eloise moment.  Last night we stayed at the Bowery Hotel in New York's Lower East Side.  It's usually totally bizarre staying in a hotel in NYC, the place I've called home for most of my life.  But, I would happily trade any of my old apartments to move into this hotel!

The entrance has this amazing homey yet, cool feel that permeates through the entire hotel.  The spaces are decorated to feel like they've been lived in for years but equipped with every modern convenience.

Rather than the standard hotel key card, guests are given an old fashion looking key (that is actually digital) and the hotel hangs onto your key when you enter an exit.  Again, giving that feeling of old world charm.

The room was heavenly and the aesthetic felt perfect for a luxury hotel on the Lower East side, a once derelict area which has become the place to be in NY.  Fab custom Olatz bedding complemented the exposed brick walls and beautiful oriental carpets really added a warm touch to the space.

The bar area was perfect for my late night cookie craving (complete with Tate's) and of course the occasional cocktail party that I plan to throw in my new home.

Awesome sink and beautiful stone in the bathroom, love the Waterworks Taps.

View from the other side of our room.

Stained glass detail added to the vintage and homey feel.

How could you not fall in love with this little guy?

I am loving this stool that sits at the desk.

This calendar makes me want to go back to the pre-iphone days of date books!

And when its time to get some rest, your door knob will be beautifully adorned with this privacy sign (I am the first to admit I love taking hotel keepsakes and am seriously regretting not having taken this one with me!)

The view from our room, reminds you that you are in the heart of NYC.

We were lucky enough to have some late night fun and debauchery with friends in the lobby/lounge area. 

Could you die over this fireplace? 

Its amazing that none of this is my go to design aesthetic and yet I want it all!!

If you ever have the chance to stay here, or even just pop into the hotel bar for a drink, I insist you go and have your own Eloise moment!

Holiday Gift Guide: Last Minute Gifts

If you are anything like me, you are one week out from Christmas and have just started your shopping. Well fret not because here is a gift guide for those last minute shoppers.  Enjoy!!

1. Olivia Von Halle  2. Anya Hindmarch 3. Tory Burch 4. Leontine Linens  
5. Net-A-Porter 6. Calypso 7. Net-A-Porter  8. J. Crew

1. Venturi 2. Jawbone Jambox 3. Amazon 4. Timex for J.Crew
5. J. Crew 6. Jack Spade 7.  Villebrequin 8. Church's

1. New York Times 2. Tasting Room by Lot 18 3. J. Crew
4. Iomoi 5. Amazon 6. Leif Spoons 7. Calypso St. Barths

Nantucket Christmas Stroll

It's been a few weeks since I posted, but for good reason!  I have been so busy working on an exciting new project (more details to come in the New Year) and I spent last week with my family in Nantucket,  MA, my favorite place in the world.  I grew up going to Nantucket every summer and most recently got married at the beautiful Great Harbor Yacht Club and so, I thought it would be fun to do a post on Nantucket.

Each year, over the first weekend in January, the town hosts "Christmas Stroll".  Christmas trees decorated by all of the local business' line Main Street, all of the shops host sales, perfect for Christmas shopping, hot chocolate and warm cider is flowing and overall its just a really festive weekend.  Its also a really important tiem for me to be with my family and we all made the long journey (quite a ways especially for me from London!) to the Island last weekend.

Here are a few pictures from the trip:

Santa Arriving on the US Coast Guard Boat

Santa Docking in Nantucket

Beautiful Light on Main Street

Christmas Trees Decorated on Main Street

Lighthouse Decorated for Christmas

Having spent so much time on this amazing island, I cant help but let that East Coast preppy style sneak into my designs...you can never go wrong with navy/white and sisal!  Here is a mood board for a Master Bedroom that im currently working on, the soothing neutrals and pops of blue remind me of my favorite island.

DIY Chair Adventure

My dining chairs are the one thing in my house that I really hate. When we moved to London from NYC, we brought along our amazing Restoration Hardware Table.

Farmhouse Salvaged Table by Restoration Hardware

Unfortunately, I needed chairs to go with the fab table and we had none.  Having just arrived from the US I had no clue where to shop and quite frankly everything I saw was hideous or crazy expensive...So I went the boring and cheap route and after a near death experience of walking through a deserted business park/sketchy neighborhood I made it to Ikea to buy these:

Henriksdal Chair by Ikea

I just assumed that we would replace them after a year or two, once I knew my way around and could find a better alternative.  Well my husband did not agree and in the interest of saving money and giving him some peace of mind, I decided I was going to embellish these with a nailhead trim.  I am by no means a DIY expert, but I think they turned out okay!

Here is the chair before:

It drives me crazy that they are ALWAYS wrinkled.

The best thing about this project was that it was really inexpensive, I had the staple gun and the hammer already and I bought the nailhead trim "tape" as opposed to the individual tacks. It just seemed easier than having to draw out every single tack and nail it in.  Even so, you definitely need to set aside some time, it took me about 4 hours just to get three chairs done.  

You can find the nailheads on Amazon or click here.

Nailing down the first piece...

It took me a while to figure out where I wanted the trim to end.

In the middle of all of this, I decided that what really bothered me was the skirt.  So I cut it off and stapled the remaining fabric under the seat.  Here are the finished chairs:

I think that by removing the skirt and adding the nailhead detail, these look MUCH more tailored and much less Ikea.  Im still hoping to replace them one day (soon :-)) But for now, I think they look a lot better.