26Sep

Ikea’s exciting art

Everyone knows that designing a house and making it feel like a home takes many long and exhausting months, if not years. So when I realized that I would only have two months to plan, design, execute, anticipate the smallest details and to think about what we might be needing in the future, I know that in order to not go insanely crazy, I had to rely on things that were not too expensive and too valuable but still good looking. I don’t know much about Sao Paulo yet, but I know that things tend to cost three times more. So where did I go to for basic
things as art? right! Ikea. I was planning to buy things such as a mattress for our little one, a foot step for his sink and so on. Imagine my surprise when walking around I found very good looking prints! God, was I glad, there are an awful lot of empty walls in this house that will need to be filled. We got the second one below by Deborah Azzopardi for Lucas’s room, of which I will only tell you that it will have a bunch of stripes. Yeah!

The top is a motif by Amelia Lancaster. Bellow, Ikea’s selection of Matisse motifs. We also got one or two of those.

28Aug

Our home “after”: Julie Paulino Design

Our home after is a result of all I believe in and stand for. Uniqueness, individuality and comfort. A mind of ones own. It’s a home that reflects our lifestyle as much as possible. It’s rooted in the classics but in a relaxed and young sophisticated way with modern and transitional elements. I strive to be creative and unique so this home does not look like any other home because then it wouldn’t be our own. I like to incorporate modern pieces and/or modernized classic ones because that’s what I consider chic. A home with some modern and/or relaxed mood. I actualized the classic fauteuil arm chairs by upholstering them in red leather and embellished with brass nail heads. I did the same with the black stool. I fell in love with the coffee table thanks to its sculptural lines, another design element I constantly praise about in this blog. It weights like a forced marriage because its legs are solid steel. Every time I look at it, good memories come up to my mind remembering how my father-in-law and I carried it inside the house. I’m just glad no one called the police on us suspecting we were carrying a dead body. I bought the lamps at Gilt Home, excellent delivery time by the way, I added a trim of velvet to the shades to enhance them further. The abstract painting is a bartered piece, really! The sofa is Paul McCobb with a slip cover and the oushak rug is from ABC. The painting above the sofa is an Agam, bought at The Antique Garage. I hope you enjoy a tour of our home after…

our home after- julie paulino design living room

The fireplace behind the watercolor painting is the TV enclosed in the wall. The bookcase is from ABC, the drop shaped stools are form Brookstone. The brass swing arm sconces are from Shades of Light.

27Jul

How to make a folding screen and Snippets of my Home

The first picture below is not the best picture of the folding screen I’m referring to, but you get the idea. How to make a folding screen: I believe, correct me if I’m wrong, there is no standard size for the width of the panels of a folding screen, but there is a need for the thickness to be at least 1-1/2″ in order for the screen not to tilt over. I had the frame custom made (cut-assemble-paint) by my carpenter and then I wallpapered it myself. Now, here is the trick of how I did it. To make the entire process a lot easier for me I asked my carpenter to make each panel the same width as the wallpaper. That helped me to avoid cutting the wallpaper along the sides, which is very complicated and time consuming. The size of the screen is 7′ tall with four panels of 20″ wide. I liked the Block Wallpaper by Erika Wakerly in brown, gold and beige.

I can’t believe that exactly four years ago we moved into this house and started remodeling it slowly. And just when it’s finished it’s time to pack up and move to another country. I look forward to moving to Sao Paulo and start designing our new home. Nothing like having complete autonomy when decorating a home. Below are two more shots of vignettes in our home. On a separate note, the genuine and sweet Ada from Classiq invited me to be part in her beautiful Chic Files series and I’m more than flattered. If you want to see me pretending to be an important person and answering a few fashion-related questions and wearing my loving stripes then head over there. Enjoy!

In case you’re interested. Above, an ebonized inlaid commode from Italy and it’s from Lerebours Antiques at E 60th St. The alabaster candle sticks are by Jardins en Fleur, the Greek key base is a Home Goods find, the brass sculpture, the marble lion sculpture and mirror are from a local vintage store.

A vignette of my vanity. The necklace and scarf are from Anthropologie, the cross is custom made (my mom’s), the coral and the pill case are from Turkey, two of the bangles are from C. Wonder and the one next to the watch is from the Antique Garage Flee Market.

18Jun

Convex Mirror: Federalist Convex Mirror

Probably the mirror used by the witch in Snow White was a convex mirror since it’s a mirror with a power of optical illusion. Also referred to as Bulls-Eyes mirrors, curved mirrors and witch mirrors, convex mirrors reflect images in a way that they look to come from a central point, inside the mirror. The curvier the mirror the closer is the reflection. The outward curvature of convex mirrors make the reflected image look sort of virtual. History has it that for centuries convex mirrors were the only ones existing, as it can be depicted in antique paintings. The mirror became popular in the US during The Federal period where the Eagle was added as a symbol of the Country. I would love one as big as possible for our new house in Sao Paulo. The beauty of the federalist convex mirror is in in the ornamentation that many of these mirrors have. They can bring glam and character to any room when needed. They look great as a stand along wall accessory or as part of a gallery wall combined with other curved or round mirrors. These mirrors are also more fun than regualr one-dimension mirror because the images reflected by them have more movements.

Bruce Budd used on in his very popular Carriage home

13Jun

Modern Classic Furniture: Modern Furniture rooted in the Classic

As a designer I appreciate all kinds of furniture from very traditional to modern and contemporary ones. An Interior designer should be able to create all different kinds of style for their clients. From contemporary design to traditional, from glamorous to unpretentious ones. My lovely mother-in-law, whose taste is more contemporary, once told me “you don’t like modern” and my response was “I like modern furniture with classical reference.” We find comfort in what we know and/or we can relate to, so these types iconic furniture which are modern but have been around for over half a century are the kinds that offer an incredible balance between tradition and modern. Here are some of my favorite Modern classic furniture.

Modern classic furniture via belle vivir interior design blog

Eileen Gray’s bibendum chair

Le Corbusier chaise lounge.

Le Corbusier arm chair

Saarinen Executive side chair

Bertoia side chair

Mies Van Der Rohe

Hans Wegner

Eames side chairs

03May

Gun Metal Finish: A Metal Finish for the Chic Home

Love the mixture of rustic and elegance in this bathroom where the sink bases are of gun metal finish. If you are like me, maybe it’s too soon to think about any other finish than antique brass but, because not all interiors are created equal and because each comes with it’s respective finishing requirement and necessity, here is Gun Metal finish. Gun Metal has that sophisticated rustication in it that proves that Glamour can be shared with a more laid back environment. It’s a great alternative for spaces that are less pretentious.