In honor of Thomas Jefferson, who would have turned 266 today, I thought I’d bring you a little Monticello moment:

all photos from monticello.org

Some of you know that I am HOPELESSLY addicted to The Real Housewives of NYC (and ATL…and Oh Lord, from the NJ preview there will simply be WAY too much decor to make fun of – tassels and roosters and fringe and leather and fake French Chateau and fake Italian Villa EVERYWHERE; I might just spontaneously combust). I look forward to watching this crap all day long on Tuesdays. Yes, I realize that is probably sad.

Anyway, a little background for the table: Jill had her condo made over by her gay husband Brad (pictured above). Keep in mind that Jill’s family business is fabric. Jill thinks she is going from “traditional girl” to “mid-century modern girl.” It’s Hollywood Regency gone way WAY WAY WAY awry Jill. There are turquoise foo dogs EVERYWHERE, not to mention mirrors, crystals, lacquer, harlequin prints, python walls, elephants, birds, abstract sculptural objects…

So, Brad has “marked his territory all over the apartment,” starting with this table. Brad claims this is a custom made work of art and that the scratches on it are part of the art. He says it says “POP”; I say if I had it I would make it say “OPP” as a tribute to Naughty by Nature and my friend Sallie Davis, who used to request that song at every party or bar we set foot in, and she even carried her own mixtape around with her when she went out in case the bartender didn’t have it. Without further ado, the table:

What do you think? Do you think it will look better with stuff on top of it, as Brad claims? How would you arrange the letters? Is this too wannabe Jonathan Adler or do you like it? Can you picture a more appropriate context for it than Jill’s apartment? I feel like there is one out there, but I can’t conjure it up just yet. Maybe at Snap or Crackle’s house? I just don’t know!

Jill loves the apartment minus the tables, so that’s all that matters. 

Atlanta has this big new area full of hotels, exhibits (will “Bodies” EVER leave? The billboards are GROSS!), stores, condos, apartments, and even temporary Cirque de Soleil tents called Atlantic Station. I think they planned this project fairly well except for the fact that there is no MARTA station onsite. However, the dumbest thing I have ever seen in this city thusfar is this:

I mean, we had an Eiffel Tower at King’s Island Amusement Park in Cincinnati, but an amusement park is the proper context for such a folly. Couldn’t they come up with something more original? Is this supposed to fool us into thinking that the road to IKEA is the Champs-Elysees? Does that make the Chatahoochee river the Seine? Does your city have anything as stupid as this? Do tell!

I spent last weekend visiting Charleston for the first time and totally fell in love with it. Those of you who have been reading this blog for awhile know I have an almost unhealthy fascination with bridges, and I have fallen for the one over the Cooper River big time. Not enough to do the 10K Bridge Run that was going on that weekend, but almost*!

This striking bridge is a diamond tower design. From the restaurant atop the Holiday Inn, it looked like two big paperclips; the cool kind you get somewhere like MoMA. It is such an interesting contrast to look down and see cobblestone streets, then look up and see such a modern feat of engineering in the same place. For me, it really works. You can learn more about the Ravenal Bridge here.

*By the way, my friend who ran the 10K did not anticipate any hilly terrain in Low Country (it was her first one). Somehow she didn’t realize a bridge that is 186′ over the water would have quite an incline! New runners, consider yourself warned!

Olli & Lime founders Karen and Andy share their UK flat renovation story. Keep an eye out for the lime green…it makes me drool. Enjoy!

Karen and I live in a condo within a large Victorian-style building converted into flats in the mid-eighties. It was very run down when we bought it but full of potential with high ceilings, large windows on all sides and plenty of light.

I was sure it was right for us but Karen took some convincing. With hindsight, I think she realized how much work was ahead, having renovated a few properties before. I’d never done anything like this so ploughed ahead in blissful ignorance!

Our motivation for the interior and the layout came from a love of large loft-style apartments typical of New York. We had a desire to replicate that, at least until we could afford the real thing!

First, we stripped everything out, removed all the old carpets, shelves, units etc until we had a blank canvas.

Then we took off all the doors, widened and heightened each doorway and knocked down a few walls, improving the flow throughout. We re-plastered, painted everything white and laid walnut flooring.

We lived with white for a while before adding feature walls in the lounge, office and bedroom.

Our taste is minimal and contemporary but with a retro twist, pretty much like our kids designs, so you’ll notice Read the rest of this entry »