June, 2012 | Urban Orchard Interiors

Archive | June, 2012

Another Client Design Board

By Lane McNab on June 29, 2012

I’m working on another client design board this week and it is so different from the one I posted a couple of days ago that I had to show it too. This is for another young family–for their living room. They are kind of funky, hip and eclectic and although they moved to the burbs a year or so ago, they still have a city vibe to them.

This is really just a style board–I still need to add things like storage, etc for the kids’ stuff, more seating, etc–but you get the idea. It’s so fun to have so many different styles to get to try things out for!

Also wanted to give a big thank you to Rene at Cottage and Vine for featuring my guestroom in her post yesterday–what treat and an honor! Thanks also to everyone who stopped by. If you don’t know Cottage and Vine you should definitely check it out–Rene has such beautiful style and so many great ideas.

Have a great weekend!

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Client Design Board Version 1

By Lane McNab on June 27, 2012

Just wanted to do a quick post about a client’s home office design I’m working on. This is the first version and there are things to add–accessories and other fabrics–but I’m liking her soft blue gray palette with the pop of the yellow ikat:

Her house is an adorable 1920s cottage in Atlanta and she’s hoping to work from home more often. Looking forward to hearing her input so I can refine the process more.

Also, I’m having a good visit with my mom and Duncan turned 5 today–so hard to believe! He got some toys but my mom also gave him and Hart each a Venus Flytrap. So cool! She also bought me a Limelight Hydrangea which I planted this afternoon under the kitchen window–SO excited about that! I have such a great mom…

Thanks for stopping in!

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Brick Path Before and After

By Lane McNab on June 25, 2012

Well, it’s finally finished! John powered through this weekend and completed the brick path and it looks great. Now I still have to think about some landscaping and other things but this is a big first step. Here is a before shot from a year and a half ago…

The gravel path was nice but so dusty in the summer and muddy in the winter. When I found the antique bricks I knew they would make a great path. Here is the After:

John worked really hard and did such a good job. He has amazing patience with projects like this as well as attention to detail. I was there for moral support!

Our hydrangeas have come in so nicely this year. Last year they barely bloomed at all but this year they have really taken off…

And the camellia that I hacked back to nothing is making a resurgence. I think by fall it is going to be full again but hopefully more manageable. I read that they respond well to aggressive pruning and I don’t think you can get more aggressive than what I did. You can see in the shot below all the leaves starting to come out:

Now I just have to keep the garden happy through our long dry summer. It was a lovely 69 degrees today but no rain in the forecast for the foreseeable future.

Speaking of which, my mom arrived today from Tallahassee, FL just in time to avoid the tropical storm that is flooding the state. She’ll be here for the next couple of weeks so I apologize if my posting slacks off a little.

Thanks for stopping by!

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Nesting Tables-A Cute Space Saver

By Lane McNab on June 24, 2012

I found these nesting tables recently and thought they would make a cute project. Very sturdy and in great condition–just needing some updating. I forgot to take before pictures so…

Here’s the After:

The tops are in ASCP Graphite and the legs are in Old White. Love the cabriole turn on them–so leggy! And they fully separate.

I know I have been posting almost all furniture rehab projects lately but I feel like that is all I have been doing! I did get some things done this weekend for a few clients so I hope to post that soon. We had a busy but productive weekend–how about you?

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House Tour: Guest Room

By Lane McNab on June 22, 2012

My mom is coming to stay with us for a couple of weeks on Monday so I went in to straighten up the guest room a bit today. I decided to take some photos of the room to add to my portfolio and slideshow and I realized I might as well do a post about a few little things I added. I know if you have been reading this blog for a while, you have seen the guest room many times before but this will be the last for a while, I promise!

Before:

After:

In the photo above you can see a couple of prints under the little demilune table next to the bed. One is an antique lithograph a friend gave me and the the other is a cat portrait I got in London.

Thanks for indulging another post about the guest room! Hope you have a great weekend!

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Maps!

By Lane McNab on June 21, 2012

In my family you fall on one of two sides of the map debate: Either you love looking at maps because they provide you with a clear image of how the world works, where things are, how you get places or how locations relate to each other, or you just think they’re pretty. I think maps are pretty–especially old ones with interesting colors and yellowed edges.

source

I also love antique maps of cities or early maps of the American west. Besides giving a feeling of character and history, maps can add subtle texture and color to a space as well. And including a map of a place important to you or a client in a design can add a layer of authenticity and charm.

You may remember from my previous post of the bachelor pad that I included two vintage maps from the 1930s on his salon wall. My husband scored a bunch of maps at Cal when the Earth Sciences Department was having a big map sale–all vintage and antique maps were $1. Yesterday I decided to contact the department and see if they were selling anymore maps that I could use in my booth at the flea market in August. Although they aren’t having another sale until October, the map cataloger there couldn’t have been more helpful to me. If you like antique maps too and live near a university, you may want to contact their earth sciences department and see if they are clearing out their map library anytime soon. I don’t think it would occur to most cartographers that interior designers might actually want to purchase their outdated maps to use as art! Acquiring antique maps this way could be a great way to add authentic art to a space without breaking the bank.

Also, if you can’t locate an original, apparently the USGS is in the process of putting all their maps in a digital format and pretty much anyone can download them from the USGS website. (The above images are two antique topographical maps of Yosemite from this site). This includes all their topographical and historical maps of the US. Most have to be purchased but they are only about $10-12 apiece. The search is a little cumbersome and downloading them can take a while but it is a massive database with every location and city you can think of. If there is someplace special to you and your family that you might want to have a keepsake from, you can probably find an antique map of it on the USGS website–and have a lovely piece of art!

You can also find nautical maps for sale at the NOAA website but these are a bit more expensive at about $45 apiece. Still a bargain when compared to buying original art from a gallery.

Happy hunting!

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A Summer Vignette of Sorts and Some Updates

By Lane McNab on June 20, 2012

I am not a theme person when it comes to interior design. I see cute themed vignettes in other people’s homes and it works, but I have never been able to pull off cute! But when I saw the pretty mantels featured at The Lettered Cottage last week I had to give the summertime theme a try.

This morning while out for a walk I found a tiny bird’s nest on the ground. (I think it must be a hummingbird nest and it reminded me that I never did an update on the hummingbird that built a nest in our front porch light). These nests, a vintage tool organizer I found the other day while out salvaging, and some twigs from our crabapple tree all felt like summer to me so I put them all together in one little summer time vignette:

I know there aren’t any sailboats or shells. I do have shells though! Maybe I should use them…

Below is the nest we found in the spring on our front porch light. I think the poor little bird must have realized she made a mistake pretty fast. After a few times of the kids stomping in and out of the front door, she hightailed it outta there. She did leave us this delicate little nest though–and I think I see her visiting our sage and delphinium from time to time.

It is so tiny and fuzzy! Just lint and feathers. Below is the one I found this morning–I think I am starting a collection…

So delicate. I had planned to sell this little shelf at the flea market but I am liking it so much for displaying these nests I may have to keep it.

Also, you may remember I mentioned in my post about the buffet that there was warping in one of the cabinets. I couldn’t leave it like that so I started taking apart the bottom and was able to remove the warped veneer and nail down the rest of it and even it out. It left the shelf unfinished though so to unify everything I painted it this deep mustard yellow that is very similar to ASCP Arles. It’s a little dark in the photo but I love the yellow against the ASCP Olive.

I love happy accidents like that! This is so much better than it was with the unpainted interior–and the warping is all gone too!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

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Pedestal Table-Before and After

By Lane McNab on June 19, 2012

The other day I found this great pedestal table at a salvage store. It had beautiful lines and the finish was actually in good condition, just very dated with that 1970s reproduction faux finish–like someone flicked stain all over it to give it a speckled look:

Why was this kind of a finish ever a thing? So strange…

It has a lovely maple veneer and a solid wood base and is very sturdy. It really just needed a little updating…

I stripped the top and refinished it with a golden oak and then walnut wax. The bottom is painted in ASCP Versailles and sealed with a dark wax to bring out the detail of the base.

It’s hard to tell from the photos but it’s an oval shape so it would be perfect for a narrow kitchen nook or other small space.

The veneer is on a lovely diagonal inlay. It’s a more formal style so I didn’t do much distressing. I could see it in one of the lovely updated Victorians in SF or even a bright cottage.

I’ll be adding this one to the Flea Market inventory. I have officially run out of room around the house for stuff–this is just sitting in the middle of the piano room. But I’m headed out again today to go look!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Father’s Day

By Lane McNab on June 18, 2012

I hope everyone had a wonderful Father’s Day yesterday. For us it was much needed time to just get out together as a family instead of using every weekend to run errands, work on projects, work in the yard, etc. We drove up to Tilden Park and hiked for a couple of hours and it was good for all of us to get out into nature. The weather was perfect–clear and not too hot…

My big girl even did a pretty good job of hiking for a while but that soon morphed into a lot of this…What a good dad!

The boys are good hikers now and kept running up ahead and running back…

My sensitive nature boy of course kept finding bugs and other interesting things in the dirt…

We found a shady spot and stopped for a snack…

Plotting her next tantrum…

We stopped for a great view of the SF Bay from the top of the hill. The fog is rolling in and keeping everything cool. I can’t believe my big boy is seven…

Thanks for indulging me in a family post! And thanks to my husband who is such a patient and involved dad.

I hope your Father’s Day was enjoyable too!

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Vintage Buffet: Before and After

By Lane McNab on June 14, 2012

I finished another piece recently and thought I would post some more pics. You may remember this buffet from a few weeks ago:

Here’s the After:

The great thing about this piece is that overall it was in good condition. It’s well-made with dove-tail joinery and a mahogany veneer over solid wood. There’s a slight warping inside the bottom left cabinet (probably from water damage) and I had to replace one pull and both knobs but it’s very sturdy and all the original brass hardware is in great condition with a lovely patina. It’s in ASCP Olive which I like because it gives a nice masculinity to pieces like this. The top is finished with tung oil for durability and wax on top for added warmth and patina.

It struck me as I was painting this piece how great a buffet like this would be for a nursery. It’s a good height for a changing table and there is a lot of storage with the cabinet portion being a perfect spot to put baskets of toys. If I find another one of these I think I will do it with more of a fun kids type redo. This one would make a great entertainment center though as well as a buffet.

As you can guess my house is getting a little crowded–I’ve been doing so many large pieces lately. I’m officially registered to sell at the Alameda Antiques Faire in August so I’m building my inventory. If you live in the Bay Area, be sure to swing by on Sunday August 5, booth V26. I’ll be there with Camille of The Vintique Object and Wendy who partners with Camille for Claremont Finders Keepers will be there as well. Really looking forward to it!

If anyone out there has ever sold at something like this, I would love to hear any advice or tips you might have. Thank you so much!

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