Pure Design's Pure and Simple Kitchen

This really clean and simple kitchen that Style at Home's Samantha Pynn designed for an episode of Pure Design is a major source of inspiration for my own little galley kitchen.

There are no bells or whistles - just clean white cabinetry, black countertops, a white subway tile backsplash and stainless appliances.

The look is easy to recreate with simple affordable materials, for example I won't be able to use a real stone counter, but I can certainly pair a black laminate with white cabinets for the same graphic contrast.

While stainless appliances, or even a counter-depth fridge, are out of my reach right now, I will stave have the classic black and white look I'm going for, with a few of my own quirky touches of course!

Photos by John Queenan

My Living Room...Sneak Peek!

Here's a little taste of what's to come:

Are you excited??

PS- I don't want to give you the impression I am moving into some slum with the photos of the bathroom I posted the other day. It is an older building and the previous tenant had been living in the same unit for a couple of decades, so no updates had been made in ages -- hence the complete mess!  Luckily the landlord has graciously offered to let me spec the materials used as they update the unit for me, so no worries - my vintage modern space is on the way!

Conde Nast Store Sale

You can pick up stunning custom prints for 20% off for 3 days only at the Conde Nast store. If I hadn't already bought one last month I'd pick myself up another - specifically Herbert Matter's Golden Sunbursts (1956) which I am lusting over!

Sexy, eh?

Part of the excitement of moving into a new place is the fuss of determining the look you want to achieve and working with what you’ve got to make it happen. My mood for the place is eclectic chic with a Traditional French twist, but unfortunately my bathroom is more derelict-my-balls right now than anything.

I kid you not when I say this is the bathroom I am set to move into in a mere month:

Yuck-- I know. Like super yuck.

I could embrace the retro floor tile were it not damaged and I could even dare work with the junior high school pedestal sink if need be, but I cannot deal with the rest of the decaying mess. Feh..

Hopefully by the time May rolls around I will have a better photo to show you,  because g-d knows any decorator or hygiene-minded person for that matter will simply not settle for this.

PS- yes, a move-in date has actually been set for sometime in May and I can’t wait to share more as the weeks go by!

It's Matzah Time

It’s halfway through Passover and I am trying to think of creative ways to feed myself without solely subsisting on potatoes and eggs. You'd think I'd use the no rice, no pasta, no flour thing as a hard push to eat clean, lean and green for 8 days but I can never seem to pull my shit together as the seders sneak up on me...oh well! Instead I devour endless amounts of matzah pizza, charoset and the best of all: Caramel Matzah Crunch

Thankfully House and Home's latest issue included a fun new matzah pizza recipe for the heebs so I am definitely going to add that to the repertoire and see how it goes.

Hope you’re enjoying this amazingly sunny weekend!