olive visits: martha's vineyard: wesleyan grove

Stumbling upon Wesleyan Grove is like entering another realm. I really have never seen anything like it and felt almost like time traveling. Wesleyan Grove is was orginally a Methodist "camp meeting" where they would hold sort of a convention for Methodists. Tents were the original form of habitat before the permanent structures were built, hence, "camp meeting." The community was designed in the early to mid 1800s by a professional planner and landscape architect which is evident in the layout of the village.

All of the cottages features ornate architectural details which was popular in the mid 1800s after the scroll saw was invented which made these forms possible. The cottages are dubbed "gingerbread cottages" as a result although they are vernacular versions of  the gothic revival and  stick-style.

The cottages surround a park with a "tabernacle" or place of worship, in the center. (above)

Today, the community still retains some of the original families who were involved in the camp meeting community but most of the cottages are rented out to various people through out the year.

back to reality.
-L-

completing projects from december

So every now and again, I have these visions or see great ideas on other blogs or in magazines and I get motivated to create wonderful things. The motivation will usually last about a day and then I move on to something else. I had these two projects laying around since about December. I had all the supplies I needed, just needed a free weekend which I conveniently had this past weekend. I spent all day Saturday working on my faux bamboo desk, and the ever so popular, bubble chandelier as featured in Readymade.

The desk was purchased at Salvation Army back in January or February. Since I am moving to a bigger apartment, I decided to complete this project as I would finally have a place to display it.  I took the advice of fellow blogger Jenny at Little Green Notebook and used the Rustoleum Safety Red spray paint.

{before: circa 8:00 AM}

{during: after first coat, starting to transform}

{complete: 12 hrs of work, 4 cans of paint, and 3 coats of poly later, a true masterpiece}

I had originally planned on reupholstering the benches, but I don't know how to do the piping, nor do I have a sewing machine. I am considering having them done by a professional, however I am clearly hesitant to do that. I actually don't hate how the teal looks with the red even though its a bit dingy and faded. 

While I was waiting for the paint to dry in between coats, I got bored and didn't feel like doing anything else productive so I remembered I had all the supplies to make the bubble chandelier so I got started on that. One of the balls broke in the construction process but I managed to glue it back together, but you can't really even notice it. 

{let there be bubbly light}

I'm so happy I finally got these projects done and will have a place to display them soon! When I am fully settled in my new apartment, pictures will be posted of the objects in their natural habitat.

Just another manic Monday.
-L-

olive covets: apothecary cabinets and card catalogs

{image via designsponge}

So I may or may not have a list of furniture to own in my lifetime. On said list, among a few other key pieces, are an apothecary cabinet or a card catalog. They are too similar to own both, so yes, I only want either or. I was inspired to post by the above image from the ever so popular "Design on a Dime: 2010" challenge. Once a place to keep library cards and medicinal concoctions, these pieces are now pretty obsolete as far as their orginal uses go. Now, I imagine having one in a bathroom to keep all your different hair, makeup and shower products, or in the office, another space which is always in need of good storage and organization. The only other practical use I see for them would to be an endless set of junk drawers, or you could get really crazy and put your bras and underwear in separate drawers organized by style and color... At What Cheer Antiques in Providence, they have an enormous apothercary cabinet in their shop in which each drawer is labled and contains trinkets for sale like vintage buttons, postcards, door hardware, and keychains. These were my favorite examples I found browsing the internet. Enjoy!

{apartment therapy}

{from the blog, Being-red}

{elledecor magazine}

{poetic home}

Perhaps it's just the combining of the idea of adaptive reuse and interior design that I love so much and that it's not typical "furniture" that you would find at any old store. I prefer the darker toned pieces in these images for some reason. Maybe because apothecaries and libraries lend themselves to a more dimmed environment. I just wish I could find one on Craigslist or at the Salvation Army for a good deal.

Happy Friday

 -L-

i like to call it peacock blue

I think I'm going to paint my bedroom this weekend.  This is a rather sizeable task, as my room is pretty large, and will require me trying to move my four-poster bed away from the wall by myself (this might not be feasible).  I knew I wanted to paint it some sort of darker blue, but navy was just too severe, so I searched around the blog-o-sphere for inspiration images of rooms I thought would convey both color and the overall look I'm trying to achieve.  I knew I wanted my bedroom to be glamorous and convey old Hollywood glam without being too trendy.  Also, because I love design so much, I have a tendency to change my mind frequently about colors, and bedding.  Yes, I admit, I have a bedding problem.  I'm working on it.  Don't judge me. Anyways, I wanted to find a color that I would like for awhile, and be able to easily change accent colors and different fabrics with.  Here is what I found:

[photo credit:  simply seleta]

I love the simple canopy in the first image.  The second image (can't find the photo credit for this one-saved it in my file of images a long time ago), I love the gallery wall of mismatched frames and artwork.  LOVE the tufted chair, HATE that sofa.  ;)  At first, I thought the blue might be a bit overwhelming.  However, I have a chair-rail in my bedroom that is about three feet from the floor.  I'm painting above the chair-rail blue, and just a simple white below. Favorite white paint is,  "White Dove" by Benjamin Moore.   This will tone down the overwhelmingness a bit, and really accentuate the gorgeous crown molding in the room.

Also, thanks Luc for coining the term, "Peacock Blue."  I kept referring to it as navy, but it wasn't doing the color justice.  Plus, It just sounds really good, and super fancy-exactly what I'm going for.

-G-