Soooo, notice that it was quiet here for awhile? That’s because I was in Morocco. ‘Twas a vacation but of course I chose that region for it’s architectural style and antiques. Schlepping around Marrakech in the boiling temperatures while being tourist-harassed wasn’t fun, but I think I’ve come back with enough cool ideas to have made it worthwhile.

Firstly, I want to recommend the amazing hotel that made the heat and harassment bearable. Our (Hubby and I) original plan was to sign up with an off-the-beaten-path tour and trek though the desert on camels staying in tents and such. Then I realized “summer”. Since the price for these rough tours are not cheap, Diva here came up with a brilliant plan to stay in a quality Marrakech hotel with concierge service that would arrange our trips and dinners.

Enter Riad Kniza in the old medina. The Moroccan owner is also a tour guide and antiques dealer so the choice was a no brainer. A few back and forth emails with them prior to booking and they set us up for overnights in different areas and included transportation, some meals and massage with our room package. All for the same price of suffering through the desert. The place was gorgeous. And air conditioned. It was wise to choose a riad with a highly rated restaurant because we ate here most of the time. Marrakech restaurants were not all that impressive as far as vegetarian fare.

We didn’t come across markets full of glorious antiques, nor did we see much architectural salvage. One theory is that the artisans still exist, so it’s easy enough and inexpensive enough to recreate historic masterpieces. Personally, I was trying to figure out a cheater way to reproduce this stuff myself.

Who doesn’t love Moroccan tile? You know when you buy mosaic tiles in the U.S. and they come on 12 x 12 mesh sheets? Well, mosaics are old school in Morocco. Each piece is hand cut and placed into the design. Tedious work! We came across this abandoned building in the middle of town and wanted to rip the tiles from the wall to bring home with us.

Tile and hand painting

If there is something that is just as fabulous as the tiles, it’s the hand painted wood ceilings and plaster detail. These boards were painted before installation but even still….lotsa work! Nowadays people can replicate the look with wallpaper as seen in some super duper Victorian renovations.

These ceilings got me thinking that I can make up panels of wallpaper or less extensive painting for future installation. It won’t be cost effective but it will be fabulous!

Even the modern lighting is meticulously cut by hand. At least that’s what we were told by this fairly expensive (even by U.S. standards) shop. The thing is, there are similar, less expensive lights in loads of souks, so it makes it difficult to justify paying for something that looks the same. Not sure if the mass produced lights are even mass produced. They could very well be hand made also. It’s all cheap labor, no matter how talented the labor is.

Finally, there’s the plaster and carved woodwork. We did come across some souks that were selling these but didn’t want to ship or schlep back. The carved wood panels are used to cover electrical and plumbing work instead of ugly Home Depot metal panel doors like we have here.

So now I either need to renovate my house again or buy another one so I can do Moroccan designs. Or….you can hire me to do it in your place so I get it out of my system.

We were recently commissioned to do a stenciled damask patina wall in Tribeca for designer Liz Tiesi of Threshold Interiors. The application process took four days to complete and the results are fabulous!

Liz fell in love with a sample of our patinaed stencil that was meant for use in any area, but we had only ever worked on horizontal surfaces and didn’t consider the water-like consistency patina spray dripping down a wall. The actual application took less than a week including rolling the base coat, but the testing and preparation that went into it was a learning experience.

In the end, Emilia was able to create a faux patina look with paint. More controllable as far as coloring and a lot less touch up! A real patina solid wall without the stencil would look über cool with the drips, but faking it was the best solution for this project.

We can’t wait to take on more projects like this!

How many Lego pieces does it take to build a dividing wall? 55,000 according to German creative agency NPIRE. They should know, because they went ahead and did it in their Hamburg office.

It’s an incredible looking wall, but before you go ahead and say you’re going to install a toy wall instead of using the usual building materials, keep in mind that it would actually be more expensive, not to mention time consuming. Fifty five thousand new Lego pieces would calculate to around $3000. Compare to a few $12-$15 pieces of Sheetrock and some studs that would be sturdier.

But can you glue Lego to an existing wall for a similar effect?

Our answer is: Sure, why not?

Via: Design Taxi and Inhabitat

We’ve done some custom pieces at the shop and let’s face it…that’s the best thing since ice cream for us (coconut milk ice cream, for you vegans) since we know the piece is sold as soon as it’s finished.  We love custom orders!!

When we picked up this desk last week, we knew that it needed work, but it’s also such a great desk as far as size and design.  It’s in great shape structurally as well.  We kind of have an idea of how we would rescue it, but we thought we might put it out there first to see if anyone wants us to customize it.

The chipped veneer has already been filled with spackle for painting, so it’s not like it’s going to have the same look. We’re thinking of something more like the coffee table below with a stencil on parts, but showing the original wood where it’s not damaged.

What do you think?  If you want us to customize, come in and have a look.  Pick out colors and stencils.  The price depends on how much work it is, but we did at least get a good deal when purchasing the desk.

Measurements are 46″ wide x 20.5″ deep x 31.5″ high.  Shipping would definitely cost more than the desk, so we’d like to keep it as local pick up.  Plus, it will be more fun if you come in to help design it!

This blog has been going since 2007.  Can you guess which post has received the highest amount of views in all these years?  No, of course you can’t.  The highest rated article is “Updating Raised Ranches“. Just because we appreciate rows of historic housing here in NYC doesn’t mean newer architectural styles should be ignored.  So once again, let’s try to celebrate what people have done with their raised ranch homes!

Check out the rest of the photos that go along with this Mission style raised ranch.  You won’t be sorry!

This 1980’s raised ranch in Arlington, Virginia is completely modern now. More photos here.

Again, modern works great here with this split level design.

More modern in San Francisco from Quezada Architecture.

 

What’s better than multi purposed or compact furniture for small urban apartments?  Well, if these pieces were made of reclaimed materials, that would be better, but until we come up with our own ideas, check out some of these awesome designs. Click on each image for source.