lil’ spot

Bambino’s Nursery Plan

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If you’ve been keeping up with this blog for the last few months, you know that we’re expecting a baby this February (!!) and we’re having a boy who we affectionately refer to as Bambino. I’m resisting the temptation to be all Baby Town over here, but I’m sure you can imagine how excited I am to design Bambino’s nursery. And I promised I would dish once we got some details squared away, so today I’m sharing The Plan for the baby’s room. Here goes…

THE SPACE:

Here’s a rough sketch of the room’s floor plan and how I’m imaging the furniture layout:

The room is separated by a sort of invisible corridor created by the door to enter the room off the living room and the external door that leads out to the driveway. In the original floor plan, this room was the eat-in kitchen which is why there is an exit. (Until we created an exit off the new kitchen to the backyard, this door functioned as the back door.) We left the door in place because we weren’t sure how we would use the room long term. For now, we’ve placed furniture in front of it so that it functions more like a window.

I wrote here about how the West side of the room is my office space, which will stay that way for as long as I can manage.

The East side of the room will be Bambino Territory. There is plenty of space for a crib, a large dresser that we’ll use as a changing table, a bookcase and a glider.

LOGISTICS:

There are a few challenges in converting this space to a nursery:

The scary-steep basement stairs right off the room. We will need a serious Alcatraz-style baby gate there some day. The tricky part is that Roxy’s litter box is down there so we always keep the door cracked for her. Eff. Do they make baby gates with pet doors? Somebody get on that and become a millionaire.
The counter-height outlets leftover from the kitchen layout. DANGIT! In some ways these are great because they’re out of reach when baby is crawling on the floor. But they are perfectly within reach when baby is on the changing table or in the crib. To solve this one we’ll be hanging artwork over the one above the changing table and we’ll be putting the crib on the wall without an outlet under the windows.
It’s chilly in this room. Probably because of the drafty door but also because this room stays pretty shaded by the house next door during the day. Having the crib under the window may not work well if it’s too cold so we may have to rethink the layout.
There isn’t a closet. The one you see in the floor plan is actually our front hall/coat closet and we haven’t figured out how that’s going to work yet. We currently stash our coats, vacuum, ironing board, drying rack and umbrellas there. Where will we store all of our impending baby gear and huge packages of diapers? Our solution to that problem is to wing it until a solution presents itself.

FURNITURE:

For the most part, we have tried to repurpose furniture and decor that we already own or use things endowed to us by our families in their timely effort to downsize. But we will need to buy a new crib and a chair for rocking baby to sleep.

We have our eye on the Midcentury Crib in Natural from Dwell Studio. There are a bazillion cribs out there that we like, but this one is our favorite because of the killer x-shaped base and gold-toed legs.

For cuddling up with Bambino and late night feedings, we are going with the Graham Glider from West Elm in Lagoon. The deep blue faux-velvet is a bold choice that will give the room a good jolt of personality. I’m kind of obsessed with it. The chair has a nice high wingback shape – which means Mommy and Daddy can rest their weary heads while rocking fusspants to sleep.

I’m holding off on getting the matching ottoman until I can say for sure that the room can fit one. If we have the room, I may look for something fun from a different maker to mix things up.

Next to the glider, we are keeping the brass/walnut bar cart in front of the door as an end table. I found that guy about 7 years ago at a thrift store in Roslindale, MA years ago for $40. It’s kick ass. I’m happy it can hang in the nursery.

We are (happily) taking my little sis’s orphaned Hemnes 8-drawer dresser from IKEA to use as Bambino’s dresser/changing table. This big guy didn’t make the cut when she moved into her studio apartment but its only a few years old and is incredibly versatile. The Hemnes is the perfect height to use as a changing table and the 8 gliding drawers should be enough storage to house diaper changing supplies, clothes, crib bedding and maybe a few toys.

Speaking of toys, for the majority of Bambino’s prized possessions we are planning to use two hand-me-downs from my parents: an extra large braided basket from Mexico and an antique bookcase with adjustable shelves. The basket will be a catch-all for easy cleanups and the bookcase will house books and things we want to have on display.

Once we settled on the pieces we would be bringing into the space – all basics for the most part – I started to brainstorm ‘themes’ to round out the decor. OH BOY! That’s where the fun starts.

I’m going to share the Mood Board with you later this week so you can see what we’re doing to fun the place up for Bambino.

Stay tuned!

Loveyoubye, Magoo.

Before + After – Painted Blanket Chest

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In the bedroom of today’s woman, it’s absolutely, 100%, no bull crap essential to have a place where you can slump your clothes, sit and zip up your moto boots or rest a stack of clean laundry for a week before you finally get around to putting it away. Double bonus points if said place can also store extra blankets or bulky sweaters that don’t fit in your closet.

Ever since we moved into the smaller bedroom I’ve been searching for the right piece to go at the end of our bed. This toy chest from my childhood bedroom fit perfectly, but it needed a little love to go from 80’s nursery life to grown-ass lady bedroom.

Sometimes, all you need to pull off a good Before + After is a couple coats of paint, for real. All designers will tell you that paint is their best pal – the quickest (and cheapest) route to big time change.

For this project I used two coats of Benjamin Moore’s Midnight – a deep navy with slate gray undertones. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

In natural light, it looks more blue but by lamplight it looks almost black. It’s moody and lovely, just like me.

I’m especially happy with the way it makes the colorful art we hung above it pop.

The top work is a 1980 Mary Engelbreit original of three girls that reads “Koki, Muffie, and Bitsy shop for circle pins.” I love this drawing dearly because “Muffie” is my Mom, “Koki” is Mary – my faerie/art godmother – and “Bitsy” is Nicki Dwyer – my actual Godmother. I love these ladies and I love the cherry red frame Mary chose all those years back. This illustration hung right where I had my timeouts growing up. I wonder if Mom did that on purpose so we had to sit and reflect on how cute she was while we were being punished.

The bottom piece is an original masterpiece by my little sister, Mo, from when she was probably four or five years old – elevated to legit abstract art in an IKEA matte and frame. I adore the colors she chose – she had an eye for style even back then.

Here’s a view from the door of our bedroom:

And here’s a closeup of the dreamy breakfast in bed that I’ve never enjoyed in real life but totally makes the picture feel cozy:

And that, my friends, is all there is to it. Paint saves the day. Now you’ll have to excuse me while I eat that piece of apple cake in two bites.

Loveyoubye! Maggie

Office Update

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I’m in full blown nesting mode these days (as opposed to medium nesting as my normal mode). These supposed productivity hormones are a good thing for the long list of small projects that we’ve left undone since finishing the major renovations around here, including finally fixing up my workspace just in time to have it trashed by a baby.

This room was the last room we tackled in the house and although we finished it up in the fall of 2012 it has remained a hodgepodge of homeless furniture and ‘I’ll deal with it later‘ projects. The arrival of a tiny Natarelli is just the kind of kick in the uterus I need to finally whip this room into shape. Here’s what it looks like today:

In the original floor plan this room was the kitchen. Stained linoleum flooring and a green and yellow vintage kitchen once lived here. We relocated the kitchen to the back of the house to create open concept living and access to the backyard. Here’s the Before from the day we closed on the house, looking at the opposite side of the room.

(Disclaimer for those of you scoffing at the idea of tearing out this cute vintage kitchen: the [very cute, very worn] Homart cabinets are still in the house, being loved and repurposed in the laundry area downstairs. The range, whose oven door had to be held closed with a broomstick, was sent to a salvage company along with the cracked sink and yellow formica countertops. The light fixtures are still in the room.)

For the last two years this side of the room has functioned as a guest room but will be transformed into a nursery early next year for Bambino. (Here’s a sneak peak of our beloved driftwood mobile, made for us by a friend as a wedding present. Rumor has it, my Mom and Michael Kors are the only other owners of these mobiles. Oh heyyy!)

The opposite side will pretty much stay the way it is until Bambino is old enough to fuck with my shit and accumulate a significant dowry of toys. Then it will probably become a total kid zone and I’ll be squeezed out and relegated to the kitchen or basement. But for a little bit longer…

There are a few unique features in this space. For starters, it’s a long and narrow room measuring 18′ long by 9′ wide. There is also a doorway that exits to the driveway. That doorway creates an avenue down the middle of the room, separating it into two spaces roughly 7 ½’ x 9′. (Floorplans would be good, I know.)

We weren’t quite sure how we would be using this space in the long term, so we left the external door in tact but we don’t use it anymore. We also didn’t bother to move the outlets down to the baseboards so they are still counter height – as fit for a kitchen – which annoys the crap out of me, but maybe less than patching and painting which I hateses.

Behind my desk we used IKEA shelving to create floor to ceiling storage and a printing station. My inspiration board is made from two magnet boards also from IKEA. (The shelves are no longer sold at IKEA but these are pretty badass and would be good for an office.

Above the desk I hung a collection of artwork that has personal meaning to us (as all artwork should!). The Cosmic Bunny print is signed and numbered by one of my favorite illustrators, Diana Sudyka. It was a gift from my mom. Below it hangs a snapshot of my late Grandpa and his buddy taken in 1967.

raised by design - maggie natarelli - office artwork - cosmic bunny by diana sudyka — Cosmic Bunny by Diana Sudyka

For our wedding a dear friend and mentor, Jeff O’Connor, gifted us this original illustration of a warren of Eastern Cottontails. Bunnies were the main motif of our wedding and his wife, a Chicago-based graphic designer, designed all of our paper goods. Jeff is a natural science illustrator and his work populates several of the exhibits at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. Some of his beautiful entomology sketches are pinned on my inspiration board.

Below hangs a collection of vintage postcards including one from Emerald Bay in Lake Tahoe, where I lived after college and one from Samoa, where my other Grandfather lived. The framed print is titled Mountains by Karina Eibatova which I blogged about here.

raised by design - home office - bunny illustration by jeff o'connor — Original Illustration by Jeff O’Connor

I’m enjoying having the space to myself while I can, and daydreaming about a (napping) baby on the other side of the room.

Loveyoubye! Maggie

Before + After – Lil’ Spot Renovations The Bathroom

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Hi hi hi. So yesterday I shared all of the dingy ‘BEFORE’ pics of our pink and black tile bathroom. Today it’s time to get to the goods. Real quick – here’s what the bathroom looked like when we bought the house:

The space was super cramped, poorly lit, without ventilation and, other than the medicine cabinet, completely without storage. The one thing that the room had going for it was a nice, big American Standard cast iron bathtub in great condition. (By the way – that nice vignette of a hand mirror, roll of toilet paper and bottle of Suave shampoo came with the house. Bonus!)

Here’s what our Master/Guest/Family/Only Bathroom looks like today:

raised by design - bathroom renovation after

We went with a relaxed, neutral palette of bright white walls and slate blue/gray floors. I like that it skews a little masculine but is still elegant and airy. We installed and painted bead board along the ‘dry’ wall of the bathroom and classic white subway tile along the ‘wet’ wall – the tile is wrapped around the tub/shower surround and behind the new sink.

We solved the layout and storage issues by reclaiming some square footage from the second bedroom (now our Master) that was being used as an extra closet. We robbed Peter to pay Paul, you could say. It hurts to get rid of closet space in a small house, but ~~Paul~~ the bathroom really needed the space, so we didn’t lose sleep over it. Plus, we didn’t take all of the storage of the other room – the remaining space was used for custom built-in shelves which now function as my vanity and shoe storage.

The added square footage allowed for a clear path and more spacious layout without any crowding. Hoo-ray! The nook we created also accommodated a full size vanity with plenty of storage. The vanity is actually a vintage sideboard that I spray painted and chopped up to accommodate a sink and plumbing. There are loads of DIY tutorials out there for this move and in our case, it was the best solution for maximizing counter space and storage and it’s much easier on the budget than a brand new vanity. Plus, look at that sexy hardware!

We opted for a wall mounted faucet and vessel sink to make converting the vanity easier. I found a giant vintage mirror that was perfectly sized for our space and paired it with industrial cage pendants.

We keep our everyday toiletries corralled on a tray to cut down on clutter (my all-time favorite styling tip). When guests come and we feel fancy, we stash our toothbrushes away and just leave out the hand soap, a lightly scented candle (like one of these) and some pretty hand towels.

Above the litany of light switches and outlets we added, I hung this sweet trio of miniature house collages in vintage gold frames that my Mom made for me.

I like the way the antique gold finish is repeated in the mirror frame and original brass door knob.

For a long time, the bright, bare walls on the opposite side of the bathroom were too pretty to mess with. Something happens when you take the trouble to paint a room yourself: you have nightmares about patching a poorly place nail hole so you chicken out on hanging anything at all.

Last winter I finally got over it and hung a gallery wall of vintage class photos I’ve collected and charcoal nudes drawn by James’ late grandmother. She was such a glamorous woman and I love the ultra feminine touch that her drawings lend to the otherwise masculine space.

We added a ledge to help transition between the bead board and dry wall – a trick we borrowed from my parents’ bathroom. The ledge is low profile, but creates a spot to keep small things like a clock or eyeglasses.

My collection of vintage black and white class photos includes a photo of my 8th grade class trip to Washington D.C. I remember thinking it was just silly that my Mom wanted to order the framed photo (“Whaddya want that for?”), but I’m so thankful for the time capsule and it’s one of my favorite pieces of art. Gosh, she’s always right. We hung it right next to the commode and when we have parties the conversation inevitably comes around to the number of flannels, Nirvana t-shirts and Air Jordans in the pic. It was 1995…

It’s also fun to let guests play ‘Where’s Waldo’ to find me. Here, I solved it for you… Also in this closeup are my kindergarten bestie, my first kiss, the friend I got in the most trouble with and the kid who moved into my house when we move to New York a couple years later (whose sister is now a cast member on SNL!).

While we’re talking about what’s near the toilet, I have to show you the TP holder we installed, which is probably the smartest choice I’ve made in life besides going to college and marrying James. It’s the best and deserves a chance to shine. The price was ridiculous but it’s the only acceptable design for changing the roll in my book – one of my all-time least favorite things to do (besides replacing the trash liner). Once you go $100 toilet paper roll holder, you never go back. I’m bringing it with me to the next house.

Lastly, our beautiful porcelain throne. When my mother-in-law heard that we planned on just keeping the existing (60 year old) John, which was in fine shape as far as my back woods self was concerned, she insisted it was a much better idea to get a new one. We hemmed and hawed over adding the expense to our climbing budget, but in a ‘you’ll thank me later’ moment she put her foot down and offered to buy a new one for us. Moms…they’re always right! I LOVE this toilet and I now appreciate that Johns have a life span and when it’s up…it’s just up. She’s a beaut and uses less water so everyone’s happy. (I wish I’d moved our trash can or ironed my stubborn shower curtain for this shot. Oh well…real life.)

The vignette behind the toilet changes with my mood. These days I have a porcelain and pewter tray, a vase of flowers from our backyard and one of my Great Aunt Virginia’s Herend figurines. Fancy! I’m feelin’ it.

And finally, I sewed a small cafe curtain from some cheap-o IKEA fabric and lined the windows with a stick-on film that gives the same opaque effect as frosted glass. Privacy + natural light = muy importante.

So, there you have it. 4 years later I’m still happy with everything in the space and I don’t miss the pink and black tile one bit, it turns out.

Here’s a source list for our project. Some of the items are discontinued because we completed this renovation 4 years ago, but I tried to list an alternate in those cases. Enjoy your project and love your bathroom, I say!

Wall Paint – Benjamin Moore Cloud Nine
White Subway Tile – Home Depot
Floor Tile – Home Depot
Vanity – John Street Antiques, Stamford, CT
Mirror – John Street Antiques, Stamford, CT
Pendants – Schoolhouse Electric
Sink – Overstock.com + don’t forget the drain
Wall-mounted Faucet – Kohler (we got a similar faucet with a right angle spout)
Hand Towel Holder – IKEA
Towel Bar – IKEA (I’m laughing because I just realized we installed it upside down…welp, still works!)
Tissue Holder – Kohler
Shower Head and Trim – Kohler
Soap Dispenser – CB2
House Candle Holder – CB2
Toothbrush Cup – a gift from friends, you can find here
Curtain Fabric – IKEA
Toilet – TOTO
Laundry Hamper – HomeGoods, here’s a cute alternative though
Bath Towels – West Elm (we didn’t monogram ours with a bossy red “RELAX” as pictured)
Trash Can – Simple Human
Frames for Nudes – IKEA
Pewter Tray – Arte Italica (a wedding gift that we use all over the house)
Black and White Vintage Class Photos – collected, easily found at vintage shops or on Etsy
Window Film – we used something like this

Loveyoubye! Mags

Before + After – Lil’ Spot Renovations The Bathroom

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When we submitted an offer on our house in 2009 we knew we would be doing a lot of work to the place. I gave you a quick little recap of our house’s story in this post, months back. But what I didn’t get into was the fact that our little 1950’s Aladdin Kit abode hadn’t been updated one bit since it was first born, aside from painting over wallpaper several times and replacing the windows. Seriously – there weren’t even grounded outlets in the joint.

Of course there was something so appealing about this little house that had been so meticulously cared for in its original state – good bones and a clean slate. We were excited to transform it into a bright, airy, modern cottage and bring it up to snuff for present day living.

Grown up people with grown up bank accounts usually gut renovate the whole house before they move in so there are no traces of previous life and their busy lives are virtually uninterrupted. But we were young, first-time home buyers with young baby savings accounts. Which meant we were going to have to do things little by little and with our own two hands on nights and weekends. Our renovations have unfolded over the last 4 years and we’re still working on things like our basement and our exterior.

It’s going to take lots of blog posts to share everything we’ve done in this piece. So get ready!

raised by design - our house — A little house lookin’ for love in all kinds of places.

LIL’ SPOT RENOVATIONS >>> THE BATHROOM

Lil’ Spot has just one bathroom. It’s really tough times to live in a house without a toilet in commission so we decided to tackle the bathroom as our first project – before we moved in. At the time, we’d been renting a cute little place in town, but to save cheese for our new home we decided not to renew our lease and we moved home with our parents. Separately. Oh, the ways you can test a relationship.

Here’s the side by side of our bathroom Before + After from the main living space of the house.

We decided to nix the pink and black tile for a more gender-neutral slate blue-gray and white palette. Looking back now 5 years later, a pink bathroom would have been a fun design challenge and there are lots of ways to make the pink tiles made famous by Mamie Eisenhower work with today’s interiors. I’d love to see a modern riff on this hue paired with metallics, geometric shapes and the current southwestern desert trends. Here are some examples of bathrooms that are working pink well:

Christina Simon's bathroom via Apartment Therapy — Christina Simon’s bathroom via Apartment Therapy

Although there is plenty to love about pink and black tile, we knew right away we wouldn’t be keeping it. For starters, with only one bathroom in the whole dang house we knew that we really had to make it count. This bath would function as our Master Bath, our Guest Bath and someday, our shared bath with kids. So not only did we need to be in love with the look and feel, but the design had to be versatile and super functional.

Secondly, after years of rentals in all sorts of colors, qualities and conditions, I couldn’t wait to have the freedom to design a beautifully appointed, sparkly white, all-my-taste-and-nobody-else’s bathroom. Finally. (I briefly consulted James, of course, who graciously agreed with everything I had in mind).

And last, the layout was heinously cramped and the storage options were nil. So change was in order.

raised by design - our house - pink bathroom — It was hard to say goodbye to the basket weave tile, but once we added square footage to the room, keeping it wasn’t an option.

Note the proximity of the sink to the toilet and the tub. Squishy! In this tight little narrow space, the man who built this house had to stand at an angle to use the toilet for 60 years, rest his soul. Also, if you bent over the sink to wash your face your bum would bump into the shower curtain. We knew we could do better.

We put our heads together, along with my Dad and James’ Uncle who are both experienced contractors, and came up with a design that we were happy with…which changed soon after we got started working…then got halted due to needing a proper building permit. Before we knew it we had spent 4 months living in separate homes and commuting to our new house after work to finish the tiniest room in the house. Thankfully, we had a lot of help from our families and a major pot of gold waiting for us…move-in day! Tomorrow I’ll share more details about our plans and the ‘AFTER’ photos of our total douching of the pink tile bathroom.

Loveyoubye! Maggie

In Like With: Couches for Small Spaces

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Welcome to Planet Couch. Also known as our living space, which houses our humongous hand-me-down island of lounge space. This couch, a joint bromance purchase between James and his old roommate, was traded straight-up for an Xbox when they parted ways. It’s from Bob’s Discount Furniture and it’s been going strong for over 8 years now. It’s not all that sexy, I know. But it’s ridiculously comfortable, it’s big enough for someone 7′ tall to sleep on and it’s neutral, making it easy to decorate around. Aside from a few minor gripes, I actually love it, proving that places like Bob’s aren’t kryptonite to people with (reasonable) taste.

But someday, we will replace it. And here’s why: it’s really just too big for our space and the way we like to use it. We use our living space both for entertaining and winding down at the end of the day. So we need something that hits that sweet spot between cocktail and cozy. Too soft and you can’t tell a hilarious story while balancing a plate of food on your lap. Too rigid and you want to cry before the opening credits of the latest ridiculously long movie.

Our olive green guy measures in at 100″ x 40″ x 36″, which in Sofa Land is like a submarine-sized piece. It’s too huge for our 12′ x 14′ multitasking living space. If we traded it for a smaller couch (or love seat) we would be able to comfortably fit a cocktail table and two arm chairs.

Right now we can only fit one arm chair, and while our megasauraus-sofa is big enough for four butts, we rarely have three folks take a seat there. People like to sit across from one another or at an angle – not shoulder to shoulder. Breaking up the seating options around the room, even if the number of butts you can accommodate is the same, is actually a much better arrangement for entertaining.

But remember, we can’t sacrifice comfort, since husband and I get pretty lazy after 9pm. So buh-bye to settees, camelbacks, tuxedos and daybeds. It was nice knowing your beautiful scrolling arms, cocoon-like walls and cabriole legs.

Here’s my couch-crushing criteria:

Medium-tone upholstery (in blues, greens or grays) that holds up to life and hides the stubborn cat hair that my vacuum sucks at sucking up.
Relatively high arms so that I can curl up in the corner with my coffee and not fall on the floor.
Less than 85″ inches in total length and 40″ of total depth.
Nothing so low to the ground that tall folks and Baby Boomers curse as they’re standing up.
Comfortable enough to accommodate hours of binge-watching Orange Is The New Black.
Extra points for sofa beds or secret storage.

And here are some picks I’ve pinned for consideration:

This moody guy get extra points for a secret storage drawer…what would you put in there? Oxford Storage Sofa in Ink from Room & Board – $1,999.00
A tribal patterned pillow would liven the joint up fast. Jacinto Rectangle Pillow from Anthropologie – $29.95
A blue beauty with rich velvet upholstery and nailhead trim…think I can commit? Charlotte Sofa in Indigo from One Kings Lane – $1,999.00
I like the single cushion and relaxed feel of this pick but it comes with a high price point and only one upholstery option. Graydon Sofa in Riva Dune from Jayson Home – $3,695.00
This is my current favorite with a punchy upholstery option, nice lines and a pull-out! Whammy! Paidge Sleeper Sofa in Blue Lagoon from West Elm – $1,549.00
I’ll take one of these cute atomic/tribal throw pillows just in case. Endless Summer Peach & Gray Tribal Pillow from Zazzle – $28.95
This color is so now I can hardly look away. But I think it skews a little too feminine and I like things to be more David Bowie, less Katy Perry. Club Spray Sofa from CB2 – $1,199.00

Do you think we have a winner here?

Loveyoubye! Maggie

Backyard Work /// Before + After Porn

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I wrote a couple weeks back about our back yard and the progress we’ve made since we moved in 4 years ago. The other day it was overcast and rainy, so I grabbed my camera and took some snaps of what it looks like back there these days. *Here’s a tip I picked up: An overcast day is actually one of the best times to photograph landscapes. In full sun, plants lose dimension and photos will turn out flat and washed out. Aim for overcast or partly cloudy days and choose early morning or twilight hours if you can.

That big river birch is our favorite tree ever; it screens the 3-flat behind us for 3 seasons and provides some much needed shade to our full-sun yard. Can you believe it’s only 3 years old this year and already popping out of my frame?

We’re also pretty proud of this eastern hemlock we planted the same year. It kinda looks like The Sorting Hat. But it’s hosted 2 robins’ nests in a row so I would say it’s WINNING!

I know you’re wondering WTF that piece of wood is about. It’s just a piece of weathered wood. I like to keep things a little trish-trash around here.

And don’t judge me because our fire pit needs a bikini wax. I have to pull up all of those rocks one by one and put down a proper weed barrier. Because it’s pretty much all weeds back here.

We’re not planning any major projects in the yard this season, after a couple years of some hardcore home improvement back there we are ready to just enjoy it. Wait, enjoy it? I mean let out a loud ass groan as we realize that it needs mowing…again.

This is us: Did you water the new grass this morning? Something dug up the seedling I planted yesterday and left a swath of dirt spread all over the deck. Nice. Is that fuckin’ raccoon back again? No? Maybe it was the skunk I saw the other night. Yeah, or the ground hog? IDK. Did you check for ticks in the shower? I think we should put a container of beer out to drown the slugs. I heard that shit works. Oh look, time to mow again.

We tried to plant fresh grass seed where our monstrous driveway once lived. It looks like a Chia pet on Day 3 or a botched Rogaine application. Think we need to reseed.

Now you see why we call it Lil’ Spot, right?! Our little suburban cabin. On a more serious design note, I would eventually like to get 2 big planters for either corner of the deck instead of a bunch of little pots. I think it will look cleaner and help anchor the asymmetric layout (lattice on one side, trees on the other). But did you know those shits are like $200 a piece? I feel a DIY comin’ on!

In the meantime, I planted some of my mom’s vintage pails and pots with herbs so I can grab them in the middle of cooking dinner. Working towards always having fresh herbs on hand…remember?

After I’m done griping about weeding and run-ins with nocturnal rodents or these bad boys, I try to remember that the payoff is major: a sunny semi-private place to sit and have coffee and read the ~~paper~~ iPad in the morning. It’s great to wake up to birds chirping in the trees that I planted. And it’s the best ever to have friends over to make pizzas on the grill and laugh so loud it wakes up our neighbors’ kids.

Our friends in the city always say the only reason they would move to the ‘burbs is so they can have a back yard. I get that. The only reason I would move to the city is so I can have a shorter commute and decent thai food.

If I had any sage advice for soon-to-be-suburbanites it’s this: this shit doesn’t just pop up like a blow-up castle. It takes a lot of sweaty, slimy, put-your-back-into-it work. At least for any homeowner who refuses to hire a landscaper, like me. It builds character. It ruins your shoes. It takes time out of your weekend. It’s a losing battle against weeds and pests. But yeah, it’s so totally worth it.

Here is the promised Before + After Porn:

Before + After - Backyard Redo

Loveyoubye! Maggie

Around the House

/ lil' spot / 7 Comments

It’s raining today. Which means I’m inside. I haven’t turned the TV off from the news this morning which means I can hear some super excited lady screeling on The Price Is Right…ding! ding! ding! Turning…off…now…phew! Ick.

Being in here reminded me that I need to share some snaps with you of the inside of our little house. We’ve done a lot of work to Lil’ Spot in the last 4 years – a full scale renovation, actually. We still have lots of other projects to tackle – like renovating our basement, replacing our vinyl siding (which isn’t so bad, but is starting to show its age) and putting on a new roof (which is spitting shingles onto our driveway). Since the day we put an offer on this place we’ve talked about putting on a second floor someday. But that’s a far off someday.

We’ve done most of the fun stuff though: put a fresh coat of paint on all the walls, installed new carpeting in both bedrooms, gutted our bathroom, revised our floor plan, designed a totally new kitchen in a new location and built a deck. These days we’re just tweaking. And by we, I mean me. And by tweaking I mean driving my husband nuts moving things around.

I’m also psyching myself up for the basement project. Which I’m totally dreading because I’m scared of spiders. I know it’s pathetic but it’s the biggest thing keeping me from just doing it.

Here’s what it looks like in here these days:

Loveyoubye! Maggie

Before + After: Landscaping Progress

/ beginner level, lil' spot, projects, Uncategorized / 3 Comments

I know, I haven’t really given you a proper introduction to Lil’ Spot. So here’s a quick backstory. Our 882 sq. ft. kit house was built in the 1950’s by a couple who emigrated from Eastern Europe. They built this little spot with their own hands and took great care of it for 60-some-odd years. When they passed on it was sold as part of their estate. Lucky for us, we were first-time home buyers looking for fixer-upper to cut our teeth on home ownership and renovations. Here’s what it looked like the day we closed on it, 4 years ago this April:

I must confess that today it looks almost exactly the same from this view. My Dad always says, “You fix the inside of your house for you, you fix the outside for your neighbors.” So the front has been bumped to the bottom of our very long list of renovation projects. Sorry, neighbors! We did swap out the mailbox (a wedding gift from friends with number decals I added), painted the front door a nice dark navy blue (Benjamin Moore Hale Navy) and replaced the screen door with a more modern full glass door (sans eagle).

But we haven’t done a thing to the poor overcrowded boxwoods, hydrangeas, azaleas, mountain laurel, dwarf pine and japonica. We also haven’t ripped out the last hedgerow of invasive barberry and privet. Or fixed our broke-ass concrete path and crumbling steps. Or painted our peeling porch. We’re not proud of it. We’re just busy. And not made of money.

Over the last 4 years we’ve really focused in on the back yard, where we spend most of our time in the warm months. With such a small house, having a big backyard makes us feel like we have more living space. Here are some BEFORE snaps from 2010.

backyard-before — View facing North into our neighbor’s yard. With a tin-can-man that is funky but I kind of love.

Our neighbor to the south has a small yard that is mostly occupied by a well-maintained vegetable garden. We love learning about growing vegetables from the elderly couple that owns the property. They even share extra plants with us.

I’m sure those ginormous laundry line poles didn’t escape your trained eye either. They’re retired since everyone has electric dryers these days. But they’ve found a second life as nesting sites for nuthatches and training poles for woodpeckers.

Don’t mind the John Baldessari-esque dots. I’m protecting privacy here, it’s serious business.

backyard-before-driveway — View facing east. This chain link beauty is still there and I’m doing my best to hide it with plantings.

Oh, and then there’s the infamous pear tree. There was so much that I loved about this tree. The scale was perfect for the house and I adored its cute lollipop shape. In spring there were fragrant white flowers and it provided privacy from the 2-story house to the north. Plus, it produced dozens upon dozens of pears each summer. But…it produced dozens upon dozens of pears each summer. And we couldn’t keep up with them. And they tasted like crab apples. And they attracted bees. And got stuck in our lawnmower. And STUNK like rotting fruit. And…we eventually decided it had to go.

Down she goes…

pear tree coming down — I think I actually teared up. Poor tree. We’ll never forget you.

Also I should mention the teeny-tiny sad peach tree planted in the middle of the yard. We gave it the college try but it just wasn’t thriving. Plus, we noticed it had developed an oozing fungus and an ant infestation. Buy-bye, little nasty tree.

The last corner of our backyard was occupied by this crazy contraption covering the steps to the basement. Complete with corrugated composite, sheet metal, rusty poles and plenty of jagged wire. A wonderland for young children looking to get tetanus.

So, here’s the BEFORE + AFTER of our backyard plan, illustrated by yours truly.

Garden Plan - BEFORE + AFTER - Existing Plants — BEFORE garden plan (with a creative way of spelling “lilac” for your enjoyment.)

backyard plan before + after — AFTER garden plan

I justified cutting down a beautiful, mature fruit tree by planting not one, but SIX other native trees in the yard. Do you think I overcompensated? The pictures I took are horrendous so I made this list instead:

We also put in a pre-fab shed since we don’t have a garage. It’s wonderful, I would like to move in like a hipster. Maybe one day when we replace the siding on our house it will match. For now, it’s just so dang cute.

garden shed and climbing rose — our cute shed being upstaged by the climbing rose

We also planted a native perennial garden along the chain-link fence. In our hood we don’t put up tall fences because then you don’t get vegetable plants from your neighbors. Just a little privacy goes a long way so we did switchgrass and red osier dogwoods in the back row and filled in with purple coneflower, lavender bee balm and purple agastache. This will be the second year for this bed so we’ll see how it all fills in.

Last summer, my kick ass Dad built a huge, awesome deck on the back of the house. He’s turning 65 this year and can still rip up a driveway, drill for pilings, pour concrete and build a freakin’ deck! Yee-haw. The deck has by far been the biggest improvement to our yard, especially paired with the renovations we did inside which allow for direct access to the backyard through sliding doors off of the kitchen.

The deck is home to our Beetlejuicey black and white striped patio umbrella. I can’t tell you how much I love this umbrella!

Actually, yes I can. I love it just a little less than the set of 4 original Russell Woodard Sculptura chairs handed down to me by my mother-in-law, which were passed down to her from her mother. I feel so lucky to have them. When we were growing up my Mom chained our porch furniture down after some problems with theft in our neighborhood. Don’t think I haven’t considered the same for these babies.

deck-table-chairs-umbrella — Russell Woodard Sculptura Chairs + West Elm Table

And that’s pretty much where we are these days. This year I’m letting things grow in and become more established. I’m resolving to water when my garden needs it and learn about pruning and caring for the plants that I have.

Is anyone still reading?! Holy Marathon Blogpost! Sorry to post so late tonight. I gotta go make dinner and watch some trish-trash on the TV.

Loveyoubye, Mags

2014 Garden Plan – 10 Lessons

/ beginner level, lil' spot / 4 Comments

So it’s definitely spring in the Northeast and the forsythia, oaks, tulip trees, redbuds and red maples are all poppin’ off. In that order, everything looks like this:

We have NONE of that happening here at Lil’ Spot. Everything is still twiggy and muddy and I don’t have any early bloomers that brighten things up this time of year. That’s okay though – gardening is a slow process and I’m learning to enjoy it. Each year I add a few things, move a few things and learn a lot of things.

I’m making a huge effort to plant only native species on our small piece of suburban property. Planting native takes a ~~little~~ bunch of extra research and planning. But it pays off in the form of a green conscience, plants that are easier to care for (because they’re meant to grow in your conditions) and a yard full of birds and butterflies (because you’re providing their favorite food and nesting sites). That last part really sold me. #birdnerd

People are always amazed to learn that in our area, just 25 miles north of Manhattan, we have hummingbirds! (Don’t tell anyone, but they’re in Manhattan too.) Well listen, if you plant native Trumpet Honeysuckle instead of invasive poo-pants Japanese Honeysuckle, you’ll actually SEE them in your own backyard. For REALZ. It’s science.

ruby throated hummingbird | image credit: chris dupe (CC)

Here are my favorite resources for learning about native plants:

American Beauties Native Plants – a comprehensive resource for building a garden plan around native plants; look for their branded pots at your local nursery to help you distinguish native cultivars
National Wildlife Federation’s Garden for Wildlife – a great guide for native plants with instructions for turning your space into a Certified Wildlife Habitat (yes, please!)
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – I love their list of recommended species searchable by state or effort; you can find out which plants are good for honey bees or monarch butterflies, for example
PlantNative – a thorough database for native plants by type – trees, shrubs, perennials, ground cover, etc.

Chanticleer Garden | image credit: JR P (CC)

And here are 10 lessons that I’ve learned the hard way and am happy to share with you:

Don’t be fooled by what you see in your neighbor’s yard. Many of the most popular plants used in landscapes are actually super invasive (forsythia, privet, bamboo), and nurseries don’t necessarily advertise plants as invasive. So it’s up to you. Here’s the Naughty List you can use to cross-check your shopping list before you leave home.
Speaking of, make a list before you go to the nursery. Plants aren’t good impulse-buys. Trust me. Please trust me. Plus, it’s hard to remember their crazy long names by heart.
Ahem, learn the scientific names that are crazy long and impossible to pronounce. The common name (i.e. winterberry) is SO much easier to say than the scientific name (i.e. ilex verticillata), I know. But common names are not as specific and there are multiple common names per species so they’re all jumbled in a big drunk 18th-century-botanist mess. It’s actually a terrible nomenclature system, unless you stick to the scientific. Plus it makes you sound SMART! Bottom line is that using the common name may lead you to purchase a species or cultivar (variety) that isn’t what you were looking for. No bueno.
Learn about cultivars and varietals. If you want to plant a red stem dogwood in your yard do a little homework first. I learned that there are 2 species of dogwood shrubs that have red stems and each has SEVERAL CULTIVARS. Oye! All are different sizes, shapes, growth rates and colors. So if you buy one plant that’s a different cultivar…you’ll end up like me and have a “3 of These Things Belong Together” situation on your hands.
Figure out which Hardiness Zone you live in and don’t try to deny it! If you live in New York, you shouldn’t be growing palms or succulents outside. Our harsh winters will kill those babies right away and everyone will be sad and poor. If you just can’t live without palms and succulents, move to Arizona. Here’s a map where you can just plug in your zip code to find your zone.
Non-native doesn’t always mean invasive. There are many non-native naturalized plants out there that aren’t harmful to our ecosystem, they just weren’t born here. Over the years, naturalized plants have learned to play nicely in our sandbox and they are not invasive. They’re good guys, they just may be more high maintenance.
Don’t take the nursery staff’s word for it. Unfortunately, staff knowledge can be hit or miss. Plus, not all nurseries are up to speed on the demand for native plants. For serious questions, ask for the head gardener. And at some nurseries you can look for the American Beauties pots and know that you’re choosing a US native.
Try to choose a color palette and stick to it. Back to the cultivar issue – if you’re trying to grow a purple, white and gray garden and you accidentally install a plant that flowers red, you blew it. Just kidding, but now you have to either move the red plant or plant more red so it looks intentional. This part has been hard for me , but I’m trying to stick to purple, white and yellow.
Don’t forget about the leaves! They’re part of the plant too and will contribute more to the look of your garden than the flower, most likely. Try to mix up broad leaves with feathery, waxy with fuzzy, chartreuse with deep green and so on.
Plant for all seasons. This goes along with #5 – remember that most deciduous plants, most perennials and all annuals will lose their leaves in the fall and die back in the winter. Mix in plants that stay beautiful and evergreen all year long and you’ll have “winter interest” (and birds!) in the cold months.

I’ve learned all of these things through trial and error…and more error. Gardening is about patience, planning and coaxing – skills that we aren’t used to honing in our modern lives. A beautiful garden doesn’t happen overnight and doesn’t always work out the way you hoped. Which is why it’s something worth having.

Tomorrow I’ll share some of the before + after progress we’ve made in transforming Lil’ Spot’s Plot (aka our yard).

Loveyoubye! Maggie

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