The Effortless {New} Traditionalism of Nancy Boszhardt

Pin It Marisa at Stylebeat was kind enough to whip up a list of the up and coming Kips Bay design roster, and a roster it is! So may talented designers in one house––I'm going to have to figure out when I can go to New York and immerse myself in this particular showhouse when it opens––IN OCTOBER!! **They have 2 months to implement their designs!!! I would totally have a panic attack. I can't even think about it without my throat clenching up! Aaaack!

 I was perusing the websites of some of the designers that I had not heard of and found Nancy Boszhardt (I assume it's prounced just like Beaux-Arts, so I immediately was in love of course). What a TALENT she is! Look at these jaw dropping-images. Pure genius.

Simplicity is {to me} always the best answer. The elegant lines of the chandelier coupled with the slight movement throughout the chairs and table are just right. So beautiful. 

Notice the thin gilding that subtly flanks the molding–– brilliant!

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Nancy worked for renowned designer Bunny Williams before starting up Nancy Boszhardt Inc. I would say that's an esteemed accomplishment, don't you? In her bio, it states that she's had a twenty year career prior to opening up her firm, which I find hard to believe due to her youthful beauty!

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I flipped over that pendant! Hmm, I wonder why.......tole AND greek key?? Me?

                  

Lacquered walls are just mesmerizing!! I desperately want them somewhere in my house. 

Notice the bedskirt. How sumptuous!! The reeded closet doors also snagged my attention. Beautiful and unexpected. 

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF NANCY BOZSHARDT INC.

She seems to blend so many elements so effortlessly. I'm obsessed with that fixture. I designed a fixture in a similar vein for our kitch, but hers is more lovely I can assure you. 

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So, what do you think? Are you as captivated by this talent as I? I think she's just the cat's pajamas and I am DYING to see what she {among others} comes up with for Kips Bay. I'm certain it will not disappoint!

Who are your favorites for Kips Bay? I want to know! Are you as excited as I am? 

xoxo,

Andrea

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What Are You Listening To These Days?

Pin It I'd love to know what everyone is listening to because I received a hot little iTunes gift certificate and it's burning a hole in my pocket. 

I was taken by this song Joanna Newsom today so I'll do a little rainy day roundup for ya. All of these songs are comfort music to me, what's your's? 

**Give her voice a chance––at 1st I was having a hard time with her pitch, but at about 45 seconds into the song, I appreciated her brilliance. 

Andrew Bird just never gets old to me. God he's a genius! Excellent live too. 

Bon Iver just may be my favorite rainy day or wintery album. 

So, What's your MUST BUY album lately? I'd love to know. 

xoxo,

Andrea

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From THREE-OWWW To THREE-OOH!

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It was a whirlwind of a weekend!

So, I crossed into the darkside last Wednesday by marking a whole 30 years on the planet. Yeah, to say I have been grappling is to put it mildly––woe WAS me. I WAS in such a dismal state about this, you'd swear I thought turning 30 was the beginning of the end and that in my slumber, deep crows feet and mouth wrinkles would appear at the stroke of midnight. Little did I know, it's the beginning of well––the beginning! **Or, at least this is the gospel according to my glamaw, and I take what she says suurrriouzzly.

Only one way to combat this 30 year glitch––throw a party! Do it! So I enlisted the help of Mr. Trapped and got to planning right away. I know, sounds pathetic to plan your own party, right? Truth be told, I'm WAY too much of a control freak to let someone else do it, and dreaming up ideas for parties gets me all warm and fuzzy. My friends know me well enough to just let me do my thing––or so I thought.... read on to see how this bit me in my rapidly flattening butt big time. 

We decided to throw a zydeco brunch over at our house (could I be ANY more of a masochist? I mean, seriousssslllllaaaayyyy) 


**A local hot-spot, Café des Amis does a Zydeco Breakfast every Saturday with live music, so how appropriately cheesy to say Café des Ah-V for the party––I couldn't help myself ;) And if you ever visit you HAVE to go to the real Zydeco Breakfast, trust me...it's a blast!

If you don't know what zydeco is, then please listen up––Zydeco is a regional style of music, and by regional, I mean indigenous to the creole and cajun area of the state––aka Acadiana (Cajun Country) where I have been born, raised and where I live eat and breathe zydeco every chance I get. 

A video by Clifton Chenier––arguably the biggest legend in Zydeco history. I see you dancing in your seat! You can't help but move at least something, when you hear this, right?

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Ahem, back to me. So of course it couldn't be just any party, I had to make things super hard on myself and do this, do that, oh what about this? That? Oh, sure I can run around 50 million places. Pre-made quiche? You outta ya crazy mind, I can make that. Cake I've never attempted to make? Got that too. And of course everything had to be stylized TO DEATH.

THE ONE SMALL SNAFU:

Unbeknownst to me–– my friends, my mother (visiting from Florida) and Mr.Trapped were plotting a surprise birthday party for me on the Friday night. Get that? The night before the brunch, there was another surprise party! I was blindfolded, driven around for 30 minutes, made very nervous, and almost fainted when everyone shouted SURPRRRRRRISEEEEE!!!

When in doubt, dress up. You should have seen what Mr.Trapped almost let me leave the house in until I pressured him for an appropriate dress code. 

Friends, that is the face of a control freak after being kept in the dark for 30 minutes. They said it looked like they might as well have had butcher knives coming at me ;) My friends are a funny lot. 

Suprise Birthday photos generously taken by who other than Gwen!

My poor husband......he worked like a dog to pull this off! My friends too! My mom too!! How they kept it from me is beyond my comprehension. I was flattered beyond words. I was too nervous to cry. I saw friends I had not seen in months, friends who told big lies to me and said they couldn't make the brunch etc., etc. 

The poor things didn't know WHAT to do when I foiled all of their plans and came up with the brunch. They were already knee-deep in planning and decided to just trudge forward knowing that I'd figure them all out if they tried to get me to move my enagagement around (I'm stubborn AND super perceptive, a very dangerous combination I suppose).

The morning after 
{Oh, I only had a wee sip of wine the whole night. Or two bottles. Or three}

photo courtesy of bella sugar


Me: %$%#!@#!#@%$$(*&*%%!!!!!! OMGGGGG, I have 32,473 things to do before 11 a.m.
and it's 8:07––ughhhhhhhh.

Needless to say, I didn't do yoga that morning.

Me: YOU CAN DO IT. YOU'RE THIRTY NOW. YOU CAN DO ANYTHING. BECAUSE  THIRTY MEANS YOU ARE AT AN ALL TIME LEVEL OF MATURITY AND GRACE. {The pep talk was the only thing keeping the hangover at bay}


WRONGGGGG!! My awesome neighbors, mom, dad, friends, aunts saved my hiney BIGTIME. I owe them in a huge way. THAT makes me want to cry.

 pronounced {gree-yahds}

So the THREE-OWW, became the THREE-OOH really quickly. What was most exciting about this whole turn of events was how it gave me the opportunity to reflect on the many people in my life who are SO generous, selfless, so gracious, who would do almost anything for me {and I for them of course} I feel so fortunate, loved and overwhelmed––it was a really touching and humbling past week y'all {sniff sniff} With all of this goodness around me, the thought of aging is a mere wrinkle in my memory––and with that said, I'm more than thrilled about what my thirtayyy's will bring––it don't seem so bad afterall :)




xoxo,


Andrea (ol' hag)

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Give The Man Some Space, Sheesh!

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I know, I've been holding this reveal hostage for longer than I'd like to admit and keeping you people waiting with baited breath, haven't I? {I'm so full of jokes today}

Remember Gwen Aucoin? The fab photographer? Well, she is a supadupa busy gal and so well worth the wait that we just got around to a lil' photoshoot just a few weeks ago. I am so pleased with her talent––she never disappoints!

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 the scene:

 Husband's Client Meeting Space

the project deets:

Create a nice and sophisticated meeting space with a budget of $3.67 and not a penny over 

{Okay, more like $5.00, but who's counting?}

{Okaaaayyyy, seriously––we had NOTHING to work with and the walls were painted  granny's muumuu-mulberry on some walls, and I-wear-highwaisted-pleated-chinos-and chacos-beige on others. Horrors. 

the concept:

 Warm, welcoming, pared down, light, airy, stupidly inexpensive yet nicely appointed. 

   design challenges:

WAY too many to list––remember this post when I urged every last one of you to take my heed and nevahevahEVAHHHH do your own upholstery? This was nearly the death of me––no lie. If I could have stapled my hand to my leg to get out of doing it I would have, but I was in too deep to turn back! 

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 a little about the actual space: 
 My husband is a real estate broker––for years he's worked out of the house alongside moi and it's been fab and his needs were very simple–– however, recently his business started to grow rapidly {great!} and he has expanded, which is incredible! It was time for a more professional space ya know? He nor his agents needed an 'officey-office' they just needed a meeting space to have clients over for an hour or two, have coffee, write contracts, etc. So, I set out to design a place for them to feel comfortable, sort of at home, and for clients to feel calm while they were signing their lives away........

Onyx eggs––I got them for a steal!!!!! I was veddy excited when I saw them+the insane price.  I purchased the grass-cloth on eBay, the lamp was nasty with a white body, brass base and dingy shade–– but a little bit of rust-o-leum and spray paint fixed that right up. 

Another accessory I got for a song, these wooden gourd-y, cactus-y deals were a smokin' $12.99.  I went slummin' and found several old beat up books that worked perfectly––all for under $30. 

And voila! The reception area––simple, understated and comfy. To save even more $$ I had to do the artwork myself! Oh, and of course make the arrangement myself too––what I thought would be a manageable task-list ended up being one of those lists that kept exploding––like bread with too much yeast––growingandgrowingandgrowing. I look back with fond memories now, but at the time I was totally about to rip my eyebrows off ;) 

I love how Gwen finds ordinary details and photographs them in such a beautiful way. 

Chairs: Ikea, $39.99 a piece. Remarkably comfortable even though they don't look it. 

Hey, hey is that a giclée? Sho nuff. I was ecstatic that it blended so well. When I ordered it, I became stricken with anxiety that it would come in purple, but it didn't and I let out a big sigh of relief when it was nice and grey like I thought it was :)

On another slummin' excursion I found that trophy for fah bux––snapped that baby right up. 

Yessssss, I know––cardinal sin––flauxrals, but if you can promise me you will go there 2x a week and replace China's best with fresh fleurs, then we can talk––otherwise they are staying ;)

Every time he comes home from the place he tells me no less than 3 times how much he LOVES it–– which makes me feel so good, so lucky and so happy to have done this for him. A satisfied client, no matter if he is your huzzben, is what makes everyday better than the one before it. 

  Çes't tout! 

xoxo,

andrea

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