Vacation All I Ever Wanted (and still want a year later)

About a year ago, just after this blog was born, I wrote a post about one of my favoritest hotels ever ever.  Because I celebrated my independence a week bit too hard this weekend (thank you house of slappy for your mad party throwin skillz) I've decided to repost it today.  Enjoy and I promise all will be back to normal tomorrow ****

You know, Belinda Carlisle really sang her way right into my heart with all her talk of vacation business.  Do you think that the missing verse to that song mentioned anything about well appointed hotel rooms and amenities up the wazoo, like pillows of varying firmness upon request?  I certainly like to think that the Go-Go's would not have been willing to spend said dream vacation traveling across the hot desert in an un-air-conditioned car with nothing but a Howard Johnsons on the horizon.  Gross.  

I digress, the point is, I want to go on vacation, I want to go to the Hotel Particular, and I want to steal every last gold leaf accessory in sight.  Behold:

I know, right?  Do I really need to write a paragraph about how this wallpaper is the most mind blowing thing you've ever seen?  Do I need to point out that the sconces and table lamps make the forest look like it's glowing and only magnify the already awesome dramatic silhouette?  Do you really need little old me to tell you that the uber-minimalist crisp, clean linens are the perfect counterpart to the most perfect wall decor ever?  I didn't think so.

I will tell you that this room was designed by Martine Aballéa, an American artist working in Paris.  

You probably think that I blew my wad on the first picture, but just you wait.

ta-da!  Artist and photographer Natacha Lesueur thought it would be the coolest thing ever to put gigantic glowing portraits on her suite's wall and I agree.  I showed this picture to Matt awhile ago hoping he would rush out and buy a large-format camera for this very purpose.  Funny thing, he didn't like the idea at all.  Does anyone know a good divorce attorney?  I mean, did he really take a good look at this room?  Maybe he thought our space wouldn't look as nice without the spiral staircase in the center of it all.  He would have had a point.  On a side note, I've always loved the idea of a free standing bathtub in the bedroom.  No, I've never been one for practicality.

More:

When you're done bathing in the bedroom, you can cruise on over to the bathroom proper and adore the black and gold walls while brushing your teeth and using the bidet.

Another black bathroom.  This place is rocking my world.  I usually hate pedestal sinks (where do you put your stuff?  I guess I am practical sometimes) but this one is great because it has that other pedestal dealie right next to it for storing said stuff.  And it's a different shape, even better.

If you want to mingle with the other guests, here are some public spaces:

When I first saw this picture I thought that crazy giant angel was the coolest thing in the room, then I decided that the heavy red drapes might trump the crazy cherub, finally I came to my senses and realized that the crown over the mirror is the greatest gold accessory I've ever seen.  I really want to store it right next to my crunk juice goblet.

Still feeling social?  

I will give a dollar to anyone who can tell me what is going on in that photograph above the stunning black tulip chairs.  I will give four dollars to anyone who will bring me the chairs.

Did you spot an American tourist in a starter jacket and need to race back to your room?  Go to this one:

Purple and gold... so regal.  I could wear my gold crown from the breakfast room in here! I have to admit that the distressed scribbly wallpaper is a little 2004, I bet I'll like it again in about 12 years, which works out great as I will have finally saved enough Euros to book this room by then.  (room designed by Pierre Fichefeux)

**Ok, everyone, this is important:  I want you to take a good look at the photo I just showed you.  Did you note the incredible gold bathroom?  Yes?  Got it?  Listen to this:  I painted my master bath in my last rental in the most luxurious (and insanely expensive) metallic gold paint.  Floors, ceiling all of it.  My landlord liked it (it was just a duplex not an apartment) he kept it when I moved.  BUT  the, ahem, stylish, girl who moved in after me is painting over it.  I am so grossed out.  I'm tempted to cut out all the UK magazine articles I've been reading about gold walls and mail them to her with a threatening letter.  Seriously, what is she thinking?  I bet she paints it beige.  yuck! yuck! barf city!**

sorry. back to the hotel.

Incase you're as in love with this hotel as I am and you want to find it, here's what to look for:

so cute, right?  I couldn't find any information on the building, but I'm guessing it was originally a home built forever ago, like everything else in Europe.  Go there, let me know what it's like, bring me back a little scrap of wallpaper.

Happy Happy

Happy Weekend and Fourth Everyone!  If you're celebrating your independence in front of a computer, might I suggest that you flip through Etsy seller Verdigris shop:

Her confusing architectural photo collages make me proud to be American.  Ok, look, I'm trying to tie this into the holiday.  The point is, her composite prints rock and I hope your holiday does, too!

OH, PS, if you're in Austin stop by Birds on East 6th for a cut and get a free six pack of tall boys.  holla

Erin's Extreme Kitchen Makeover: Panic Edition

I wish I had a cyber tour bus to drive in front of my kitchen, just so I could drive it off, thereby making the big reveal dramatic! and exciting! I would jump up and down -- propelled by the overwhelming spirit of joy and gratitude -- screaming and crying about how amazing it is, and about how getting a new kitchen has changed the very core of my being. But that would be untrue, because (let's face it) macaroni cooked over a bunsen burner in a dorm room is the same as macaroni cooked on a brand new stove in my pretty new kitchen. But that don't make it any less pretty.

Remember when I first enlisted your help with my junky kitchen a looooooooong ass time ago?

Yes, the red is very charming (unless you have to live with it), but everything else in the kitchen deserved to be burned in a pressure treated blaze of glory. Trust me, it was a LOT WORSE than it looks in my awesome picture. Well, a mere six months and 10k later -- with only one week to spare before the baby is due -- it looks like this:

I know, I know! You miss the tile and the bank of head bonking cabinets, the chipped almond formica and the spectacularly filthy appliances, but at least the rugs are cute, right? In all seriousness, this was crazy hard to shoot because the light was not cooperating and the paint wants to read as brown instead of gray, but hopefully you get the idea.

We still have a lot of trim issues to deal with and loads of accessorizing to do, but it's 95% done! Hooray! And despite what must be universal hatred of barstools, I love that we have some extra seating near the kitchen instead of wasted space on the living room side, like we had in our old kitchen. Plus, you have to admit that my vintage Thonet stools are pretty fly.

Hallelujah, you can even see into the living room without busting your head open on a fortress of low hanging cabinets! Downside: I have the sudden urge to replace those hideous ceiling fans, STAT! Any recommendations?

So, what did we do in here, anyway? I detailed the floor renovations a while ago, but you can read about them here. We yanked out all the old oak cabinets and mounted them in the garage (whee! extra storage), then replaced them with Ikea Abstrakt gloss white cabinets, and Ikea Applad black cabinets mounted to form a pantry wall.

So much better than the floating fridge situation we had before! Oh, and surprise! I am the kind of person who sticks stuff all over the refrigerator. Hunny Bunny hates it, but how else will I know where to find my Babies R Us coupons? What do you think of my crazy Moroccan brass tray up there? I know it's kind of passe to stack stuff on top of your cabinets, but because our room is vaulted, it felt really naked without something...

The peninsula was ripped out and HB built a new, taller wall for the bar to anchor the cabinets onto. He and Matty bear also tore out the old post and replaced it with a smaller, dry walled post. The counters are Ikea Numerar in oak, and the backsplash is soapstone, which Matt installed. Karly bought the vintage Danish pendant lights on Ebay and decided they didn't work for her. Bonus! They are perfect in my house. I got a new stove on sale at Lowes, the Datid hood for half price at Ikea, and I am unnaturally obsessed with our new Ikea spice rack. Now I just need three more spices to fill it...

On the sink wall, Matt installed a soapstone tile countertop in a very labor (and dust) intensive process so that the countertop looks like a slab. No grout, and half the price! He did a super excellent job, and if you live in Austin I highly recommend you contact him for all your handyman/renovation needs.

We bought a Kohler cast iron sink that has a very low divider, so it's kind of the best of the single/double sink worlds. Love it! The faucet is also Kohler, and the dishwasher was on sale at Lowes. I had the vintage light fixture already and it's ok (I like the brass), but I think I could do better. Someday. Maybe. Oh, and the reversible cotton rugs are from Ikea, of course.

The window wall feels a little unfinished, so we're planning on putting up a couple of shelves where I can display cute dishes and whatchamadoodles. What do you think: glossy white? black? or butcherblock? Who knows when we'll get to it, since we've only got a week until the baby is due and still need to clean renovation dust out from under the furniture, but we can dream, right?

So, that's it for my kitchen tour. We hatched a half baked plot in November of last year, started gutting in January, and "finished" just days ago. I think our original idea was to slap some paint on our ugly cabinets and call it a day, but I'm glad we took the advice that many of you gave us -- which was to rip it out and go for it. Including the appliances (except for the fridge), the floors, counters, sink, hardware, cabinets, lights, paint, and Matt's labor, we came in at around 10k, which was pretty close to my original estimate. It took the short side of forever to complete, but because Hunny did most of the work himself and Matt helped out a lot, we were able to spend most of our budget on materials instead of labor.

So far, we're super happy with it, but I'll be sure to let you know if any of the walls fall down...