Thursday, September 9, 2010

Ian's master bedroom

OK.  I'm back.  and I realized that I forgot to post/blog about Ian's master bedroom redo.  The below picture makes me want to build a time machine (as we all know i'm great at building electrical inventions) and go back 6 weeks to style this bed better. I'm not there when the pics are taken, I OK them, and then leave the house to do other around town shots, and then stuff happens.   
So I love Ian's bedroom regardless of the messy bed.  I really wanted it to feel masculine but not too hotel room and I feel like mens bedrooms can go in that direction really easily.  And the more you decorate a man's bedroom, the less straight he looks.  But at the same time I still need to 'design' the room.  So here's what I did.  I painted the walls 'Sandy Hook Gray (BM) which is beautiful, and toom down the window treatments.  Ian didn't want any at all, and I agreed. That room doesn't get very much light and is surrounded by trees, so he doesn't have privacy issues.

After replacing the carpet - OOH i haven't talked about that yet.  So replacing the carpet wasn't in the budget, but i insisted on it because the bland beige looked dirty and just didn't work with any of the colors we had going on.  I looked at a bunch of options that we could possibly afford and get in only a few days and most of them were either too suburban for Ian or too cheap looking. So we went with this medium toned gray commercial grade.  Calm down.  Yes, its kinda weird to put commercial grade carpet in a home, but YES it totally worked and looked great.  (oh, for the record we got estimates for replacing the carpet with wood flooring, but because of the sloping of the hill and how irregular the rooms were it would have taken 10,000 and 3 weeks to do, so not an option unfortunately).  

The carpet was simple and clean and while it was warmer than wood, it still feels modern.  And the whole house (including 3 bedrooms, 2 staircases, 2 hallways and the TV room) was $800 - installation was $1200.  To get the other carpet that I wanted or to get sea grass flooring - wait is that what its called?- it would have cost 3-4000 just for the carpet, plus installation and i'm not sure that it would have looked as good.  This carpet, because it has such a low pile is still cool to throw rugs over. 




The bench I bought at a thrift store and had it reupholstered, by the same guy who did the headboard. I handed the guy navy linen with a picture of the west elm headboard:

 I like it what I got, but there was supposed to be box piping around the front of the sides and more tufting, same with the bench.  Kinda annoying, but nothing you can do about it except learn from it and realize that no matter how much someone says they understand, put EVERYTHING in writing.  The headboard only cost $350 for a queen (west elm was $510 with shipping, and no navy fabric).  The bench cost $100 to reupholster and refinish - although he was supposed to strip the legs and just treat them without staining so it would be a light natural wood and instead he stained them dark which i don't hate, but i don't like.  This is a case of 'you get what you pay for'. 

Diamond foam and fabric (where i got the wingback and 60's chair reupholstered) does amazing work but they aren't cheap.  This guy has a little shop in Echo Park and came highly recommended and is crazy cheap, but we took a risk, for sure.  
The dresser came from Pepe's in Echo Park, it was $350 and its in perfect shape, but from the 60's.  The lamps were Ian's lamps already, but in that terrible green color, and for the show we wanted to use as much of the owners stuff as possible, so I decided that the shape wasn't bad - and the shades were great, so we spray painted them.  Same with that mirror. It came from a thrift store and was brown and ugly metal.  Don't worry, i won't be one of those 'spray paint everything' designers/hosts.  But some things just need it.  

The Sconces:  yes I put goose neck lamps on the wall.  because i be kerazy.  they look awesome and totally work.  For those at home - these lamps have holes at the top, but not the bottom and while they work on the wall ok with just the top being adhered to the wall, eventually with use, they move to much. So you need to drill a hole (with a metal bit) through the bottom, too.  These are great for reading, but not good for ambient lighting because the shades are metal and focus the light down.  

The bedding.  The duvet is from Ikea, we tried to get this one: 
But they were out of stock.
For the pillows:  we made these gray linen pillows - you might know about my obsession with linen.  Its strong durable, textural, cheap and gets softer and softer with age and washings.  There are some linens that cost $30-$40 a yard, they are mainly imported from France and Belgian.  But the American or Asian linens are great and sometimes cost around $7-$12 a yard.  Wash them twice before you use them, so they get super soft and textural.  And the throw pillow that is on the bed is a fabric sample from Diamond that I purchased, then put linen backing on it to make a pillow.  

I've added an awesome turkish rug in here,  and put some art on the wall above the asian chest on the left.  It just needed a couple more elements.  I'll take pics.    

Any questions, folks?

26 comments:

  1. i loved this room! and i really like hearing the things in the room you ultimately wanted. and i agree it would have been more amazing if it all went as you hoped. but still, i would love this room. especially that boat. ah

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  2. I'm so glad you mentioned the upholstery. My super fantastic upholsterer up and vanished (So long United Upholstery, I miss you). Despite the miscommunications, I would love to know who you used. I'm looking for someone decent, but most of all cheap.

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  3. Hi Emily! I want to be your friend! (sounded a lot less creepy in my head). Anyways, when is your next episode? Will you always style rooms in several different "layers?" Thought that was interesting. I loved your first episode, though..I think you have a great aesthetic.

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  4. I really like this room. I agree that men's rooms don't often work. Either they look too clinical or they're overstyled. As Goldilocks would say, this on is just right.

    Sorry that not everything went exactly as you'd hoped, but I totally appreciate hearing about it. Nothing ever goes as I plan. I'm relieved that happens to professionals too...

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  5. Emily, I loved your show and hope to see more soon! Any chance you could be more specific about the carpet (mfr., color name, etc.). I love it; I need it!

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  6. Love this room and found your write up to be most helpful!

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  7. Thanks for more inside information - I can't wait for your show to be on again! When it does, will you have a "team" that's on every episode? And would you get an upholsterer to be part of that team?

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  8. So, since Ian and I now have the same bedding, does that mean he'd like to have me as a house guest? Just checkin'.

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  9. I love the fabric on the bench...and the wall "sconces", very cool.

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  10. I love the dresser, can't believe it was only $350. Do you have a good source for cheap turkish rugs? I'd love to know!

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  11. Now all he needs is a girl to sleep in that bed!

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  12. Emily - I LOVED your first episode. LOVED LOVED LOVED! Like, up there with Candice and Sarah as favorite shows. It was just so refreshing and interesting and fun! I finally got to watch it since HGTV finally got its butt in gear by posting the episode on the website...I'm one of those weird people with no cable so I've been waiting with bated breath to watch and I was not disappointed!!! SO happy you won Design Star. And PS the gooseneck lamps as sconces is brill.

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  13. So, can you tell us a bit more about the budget? Did Ian pay for part & HGTV pay for part - how does that work?

    Shelly

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  14. Nice job Emily!
    Can you maybe tell us/do a post about doing the DS show? Like when you started shooting and how long it took until the final? How long you actually took to do the designs and implement them? I realize that it really doesn't take weeks...or does it? How long were you actually there, staying in the apartment etc.?
    **Tami

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  15. When is the next episode coming on??

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  16. Love your hint about linen! I'm going to remember about washing twice before I use it next time. WHat do you think of kind of wrinkled but relaxed linen curtains for a living room? I'm thinking maybe they could be a nice alternative to really formal pleated curtains....

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  17. My question, and I wish I could convey my excitement through bold or something but I am not that savvy, is when will we see another secrets from a stylist show????

    I guess I thought it was a done deal after you won, though maybe not?

    Anyway, I am a big fan and would watch religiously.

    PS.. One of your posts you say you just woke up and knew this was your year. That has stuck with me and I keep wanting to wake up to the same thing. As if that just happens. So if nothing else mabye you have an alternative career path in motivational speaking. (While hopefully not living in a van, down by the river.). Heh.

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  18. I love your work!! The bedroom looks polished and inviting without looking decorated. Can you give the name of your guy in Echo Park!

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  19. LOVE the gooseneck lamps!! Especially that they don't match.

    And I need that headboard, with or without adequate tufting!

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  20. L-O-V-E-D the show! Though I would love to see how you take on a home of someone that you do not know at all... Say MY home perhaps?? (Silicon Valley, Eichler-esque, and needing a larger dose of the hippy-chick vibe than I seem to be giving it :) Puh-leeeeese HGTV pick this show up! (BTW, where can we let THEM, the muckety-muck guys over there know we want more of your episodes...?) Keep on knockin' 'em outta the park sista'... Way to go!

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  21. Emily, your show is FABULOUS. Fresh, innovative, edgy, witty, cheeky -- and definitely not cookie-cutter and expectable as design shows are now becoming. The process of unraveling the layers of a person's style is intriguing and makes so much sense and adds exponential interest to your designs. Your colloquial, inviting, friend-next-door approach makes you so much easier to relate to for me (as a young professional woman), which is a demographic I believe HGTV is losing the interest of.

    On top of all of these excellent pros to your show, is your blog where you personally comment on the TRUTH about things and describe all the good and bad experiences that happened with the design process. NOTHING else on tv can compete with that! This element really puts you out there on top because it's not simply a design show where everything just happens through metaphysical magic.

    In sum, you rock so hard my face melts off.

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  22. The dresser is CRAZY perfect good and I love the shape of the mirror, good good good finds. Oy yes so frustrating when you say 'could you make it look like this' and you get nods and agreements and then you go pick it up and get something different than you thought you obviously asked for... yar. well. Now hours and hours are spent sketching every. little. detail. because otherwise they won't do it right. shoot. haha. But it worked out!! The legs on the ottoman would have been better natural/unstained wood, you're right. I agree it's not bad this way, but natural would have been better.

    Okkkkk enough feedback.
    Ciao for now!
    xo

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  23. I used remnant charcoal gray commercial grade carpet in 2 bedrooms and my office. I LOVE it and it was cheap-a-roo, which makes me love it even more. Plus, it's durable and I have little kiddos underfoot so, ya know. Great minds.

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  24. gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. I am in love with this bedroom! The windsor chair next to the bed is such a nice touch. Lovely!

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  25. Dear Emily, Thank you so much for auditioning for design star! Without you the show would have been so bland! You inspired me to wear more blue!

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  26. I loved your show and can't wait to see it regularly. You just get better and better!

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