big players playing (doll) house

Lonny Dollhouse: Dorothy Draper With a Modern Twist

happy friday everybody! i’m chillin tonight working and just wanted to stop by for minute and say hello! there’s nothing i’d like more than to finish up and play but a couple hundred unanswered emails are calling so it’s just a brief and shining moment out of the minutia. i did come across something fun and hope you enjoy it as much as i did.

of all things, curbed is having a dollhouse competition! house beautiful, lonny, elle decor!? the voting is over now but i’m glad to see we’re all still kids at heart! check it out:

‘What happens when the brightest stars in shelter media, women and men whose job it is to separate spectacular homes from the simply ridiculously beautiful homes, are presented with that Lilliputian wonder we call a dollhouse? That’s exactly what Curbed’s Operation Dollhouse is endeavoring to find out. Right this second, dapper designer James Andrew is delivering dollhouses to Vanessa Holden of Martha Stewart Living, Margaret Russell of Architectural Digest, Michael Boodro of Elle Decor, Newell Turner of House Beautiful, Michelle Adams of Lonny and Sam Grawe of Dwell. Their task? Revamp, renovate, decorate or demo! The dollhouse is theirs to keep, all that we ask is that they photograph the results. And because this bunch does nothing without a deadline, here it is: 12 noon on Friday, Oct. 1. We’ll begin publishing the results Oct. 5. We hope everyone will want to play!

The houses aren’t arriving empty, by the way—each has a magazine-specific dowry of goods and accessories, vignettes of which were shot by photographer Michael Grimm, whose images of full-sized houses have appeared in several of the chosen mags.’

here are the final designs!

lonny magazine

house beautiful

House Beautiful Dollhouse: Cinematic Moody Blues

elle decor

Elle Decor Dollhouse: Signature Style Looks Ahead

i love that an uninvited design student threw his hat into the ring:

curbed.com/archives/2010/09/27/interior-design-student-throws-operation-dollhouse-for-a-loop-1.php#edens-dollhouse-4

so of course i had to play along!

the paris apartment!

haha! what about you? do you have a dollhouse?

have a great weekend!

October 15, 2010. Dollhouses. 20 comments.

sunday afternoon ramblings

yesterday was the first time i’ve gone up rt. 1 in many moons. the strip between dania and west palm beach is full of great old oldies in every shape and size. chairs, mirrors, chests, dollhouses! i took a bunch of shots scouting for a client but going through them none seem to interest me but these. i had a dollhouse growing up, my parents still have it although it is getting ransacked with 6 grand kids who love to play with the tiny chandeliers and silverware, and are basically in awe of it, even the boys!

i found this beauty yesterday. it would be such a gem to restore. the front opens in two sections.

i guess you can see why i was a little obsessed with it. the grandeur and the decay and all…

this must have cranked the electric lights and doorbell. this would be a fun makeover. but i can barely tackle my own house.

on another note, i got my first delivery from paris! two sconces and a chandelier. i’m a little devastated by how they were packed and thank god they were ok when they got here yesterday. when liz saw them she insisted i decorate with them instead of keeping them in storage.

the truth is that i’d love to be around them but live in a place that is completely uninspiring and haven’t even attempted to decorate. she thinks that’s pathetic especially since my motto is that four walls can become anything.

but with no outdoor space and absolutely no view, my plan was not to stay here long. still, months turned to years and we’re still here.

it’s totally humiliating and i’m only telling you cause it’s my own intervention.

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and since i’m rarely here, it’s been a crash pad which is such a cop out. but i went thru the phase of wanting absolutely nothing since i’m on the go.

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but even the cobbler’s kid’s have better shoes. i have to put together a 3 minute video so liz and i are going to do a quick makeover. so we’re off to home depot tonight to start some basics like plants and curtain rods.

(hey guys, me here, next day: i had to take down my before shots, they were just too much, but will repost when the afters go up)!

these are a couple pieces i found yesterday that could be a good start at mixing the old and new. i’m going to use what i have and just accent. well we’ll see. i’d rather move than decorate but will give it the old college try. my friend mb asked me what i wanted when we were in paris. i want to move. she said that anything i do that’s not toward that goal is a waste of time. so i’ll going to get things to take to the new place, but for now, this one will be cozy and respectable. geez. it’s about time. guess thaft’s what friends are for. to get us out of our ruts and kick some @$$! more soon, happy sunday!

last but not least, if you’re in the mood for some nostalgia, check out the promo for the ‘thrill of the hunt’ teaser. we shot it like 7 years ago…in HD, when i had motivation! the premise was a bachelor’s apartment that was pretty together but the bedroom was lackluster and he wanted a place to entertain. it was almost as bad as my place. but i’m hard to beat right now!