The $2,000 upholstered headboard, and other frighteningly vivid design fantasies
So I’ve been undergoing a strange metamorphosis. The symptoms started manifesting several weeks ago, when I found myself googling “antique upholstered headboard.” And then I fell in love with this:
(source)
Which is weird, because, well, it’s a bed. And bad, because it’s $2,000 on sale at ABC Home. Not happening. Really, really not happening.
ABC, I’ve recently discovered, has some incredibly beautiful stuff. And it is all overpriced. Even the ugly, random stuff is overpriced:
(source)
This “vintage grape bin” is $595.
It’s weird that I have been in ABC Home, by Union Square, for over an hour, just staring longingly at things and embarrassing myself by carrying a pretty pillow over to the register because I couldn’t find a price tag and learning that ABC always tucks its tags, of course, let’s not be crass, and that the pillow was $300.
I’ve gotten kind of good (maybe), at learning the price and not looking scandalized. Like when a mirror in an antique shop turned out to be $33,000. Yes. Really. I swallowed hard and managed to say, “Well, it’s lovely.”
“Swedish,” she said. “From 1830.” As though that justified it.
It’s weird because I’ve never been interested in the way furniture looked before. In fact, I sort of prided myself on being a woman who did not care about how furniture looked. But something is changing.
Suddenly, I find myself fantasizing about color combinations. The turquoise rug will go in the bedroom, under a plush white bed with a few gold and turquoise pillows scattered on it. On the wall, there will be a heavy, gold mirror. The room will be a symphony of crisp, clean whites, bold turquoise, and ornate, old-fashioned gold. I can visualize it with surprising clarity. I have no idea where the image came from. I think there might be something wrong with me. A decorating virus?
Since I moved out of my parents’ house, I’ve lived in three places. A dorm room (well, technically four, but they count as one), a studio apartment, and this current apartment. I taped photos to the walls of the dorm room, and my big decision was what color sheets to go with. I went with dark brown. Since I still had the dark brown sheets and a little red and brown rug from Target when I moved into the tiny studio, I bought a few red and brown things and called it a day. A couple years later, Bear had moved in with me, and we wanted/needed a little more space, and so we combined our furniture and moved into this place, where nothing matches and it doesn’t matter. When I bought some old ceiling tiles and stuck them up on the wall, I felt like a design genius.
(Brilliant! What incredible mind came up with that captivating concept?)
But now, for the first time, I find myself actually caring about how things are set up. Maybe it’s because we’re moving because I want to move, so this feels like my project. Maybe because the apartment we’re moving into feels a lot more like a real home than the other places I’ve lived. The lights aren’t bare bulbs with strings attached (the other day, I pulled the string on the kitchen light, and it snapped off. Sigh).
Suddenly, I find myself imagining people coming over and admiring the way things fit together in the main room (there are only two rooms). I am nervous that the couch I picked will be too big and crowd the space. I am going to have a real desk to sit at while I write! But what sort of desk should it be?
In my spare time, I visit Housing Works thrift shops, where I bought these two mirrors:
And then Bear and I went to the flea market on Columbus between 76th and 77th, where we bought another:
Which brings us to a total of the most I’ve ever spent on anything decorative. And I did it without flinching, because I was sure that I wanted those mirrors, and that they would be perfect.
I painted this, so that I could stop buying things for the walls:
Notice how she’s turquoise and white and gold? Yeah. Also naked. I don’t know why I only want to paint naked women. But that’s for another day’s self-analysis.
It’s not full-blown (yet)– I tried to look at some design blogs, and felt a little overwhelmed and slightly ill after twenty minutes or so. There’s definitely a point at which it can go too far. But it’s definitely there. Am I nesting? Am I going to get pregnant in a couple weeks?
Maybe I just want my place to look nice.
Who can tell.
I just seriously hope I am right about those mirrors. Because they are huge.
* * *
Unroast: Today I love my thighs.
P.S. The ferry to Ikea is an amazing experience!
The Promised Land! See below:
Kate on July 20th 2011 in Uncategorized
Valerie responded on 20 Jul 2011 at 11:55 am #
You can make a headboard like that and I know it’d be a lot cheaper. I think I saw a tutorial for one on craftster.org or, you know, you could do a google search for headboard tutorials.
P.S. This post makes me fear NYC even more. I haven’t seen prices like that in antique shops over here on the West Coast.
Andee responded on 20 Jul 2011 at 12:01 pm #
I LOVE that mirror you got at the flea market. It’s fantastic. Just go with it, when it starts to feel like a competition or something that makes you tired stop.
Alii Silverwing responded on 20 Jul 2011 at 12:36 pm #
I vote nesting! *teases* Every time I’ve moved I’ve wanted to make everything just-so, arranging things and making them pretty. I think, for me, it has something to do with the thrill of deliberate change, like a ritual renewal. I have no idea, but I enjoy it immensely.
And then my laundry starts to take over my floor. Can’t win them all, I guess. 🙂
teegan responded on 20 Jul 2011 at 12:41 pm #
(i don’t remember if i’ve commented before. if i haven’t, then you should know that i often read your posts aloud to my husband (we’ve been married a year next month) and he thinks it’s me reading what i’ve written about myself. thank you for putting into words some things i’ve never thought about thinking about and many that i have!)
anyway, i’m buying a house. we are, the husband and i. it’s been two and a half months of red tape and waiting because we bought a house that was a victim of the crazy economy and so the seller needed many permissions before we could buy her house. we thought it might never happen.
and monday, we’re closing.
and so, all summer, i’ve been tiptoeing around design blogs. sneaking peeks out of the corner of my eye. first it was just admiring a baker’s rack that some blogger posted a photo of because it was holding the three pies she just made. or the desk set-up someone posted in a ‘look at my new fabric/jewelry/art studio!’ post. but then i subscribed to one design blog. and another. and i can tell you where to find the decorating books in my public library. and i’ve intentionally avoided all thrift stores for fear that i’ll purchase more stuff than my car can carry home.
since leaving my parents’ house, i’ve lived in six dorm rooms, four apartments, and two houses. i’ve never had this bug until now. i want lovely wall colors. i want matching furniture. i want are in frames, not nailed to the wall. i don’t want paint splotches on the floor or milk crates overflowing with notebooks that i say i’ll organize one day. i want built-in bookshelves and bathrooms that feel like day spas and a covered back porch where i can read and drink coffee on rainy summer mornings. i want a place for everything: neat, zen, intuitive. i want people to think of the word ‘charming’ when they picture my home.
i guess it’s just that i’m buying it, not renting. we’re only planning on living there a few years – it’s probably not a forever house. but it’s my house. my home. the place i’ll make & raise babies and grow my own herbs and finish the novel i’m working on and throw dinner parties. the place where my husband will brew beer and carve toys for our kids and grade papers and make his famous eggplant parm.
and i know your situations not exactly the same, but i think it’s the same idea. i found my mate. while i’m not earning a living from my writing or working for the best boss in the world or saving the universe, i’m living the happiest, most comfortable, most right time in my life, and i want my house to reflect that.
teegan responded on 20 Jul 2011 at 12:44 pm #
aii, sorry for the typos.
are=art
situations=situation’s
i must have gotten carried away.
Kate responded on 20 Jul 2011 at 1:06 pm #
@Teegan
Thanks so much for this comment. You’re describing my feelings exactly. And now I have to ask…do you have a favorite design blog?
I wish you all the luck in the world, settling into your new place and making it the home you want! Please let me know how it goes!
And your husband makes famous eggplant parm? Your life sounds amazing.
Marie responded on 20 Jul 2011 at 2:03 pm #
Ha! No, you won’t be pregnant in two weeks. However, if you were pregnant, I would assume you would be going into labor, about….now.
I think it just comes from living in sh*tholes that you don’t care about to moving into a place that you want to be *home*. Also moving into places where you want to invite people over, and you care about what your place says about you.
I’m going through the same thing, just not quite as drastic. I wish I could paint.
Jess responded on 20 Jul 2011 at 2:42 pm #
I love your mirrors. I just received a huge, gold mirror as a gift from an estate-sale-loving friend! I’m so excited. I sadly have cement-block walls and need to borrow a heavy-duty drill to put it up.
Madeleine responded on 20 Jul 2011 at 3:15 pm #
Nesting! I moved so much between age 18 and 25, and as long as I had a bed to sleep on and maybe a dresser or shelves of some sort to put clothes in, I was fine. Then suddenly around age 26, all I could think about was getting a real couch (not a futon!) and a matching coffee table. And now it’s expanded to coordinated bathroom decor, even. It was a huge blessing when I serendipitously came across a great set of couches being sold in my neighborhood by people who were moving that weekend, and so really slashed the price on close-to-new furniture. Several years later, I still love them!
B1 responded on 20 Jul 2011 at 3:31 pm #
I agree with some of the other comments, that you’re now nesting and have a place you’d like to show, so are thinking more about design. Since you already seem to have your own style, stick with it. Mirrors make places look larger than they are.
MarieElizabeth responded on 20 Jul 2011 at 10:26 pm #
The mirrors are gorgeous, love the big tall one the best. You can make that headboard for $200 at most and be proud of your craftiness and budget while still meeting your new design itch. And Ikea…can I have an Amen?
Buffalo Favor Blog responded on 21 Jul 2011 at 12:09 am #
Bought A Design Turquoise…
[…] nervous that the couch I picked will be too big and crowd the space. I am going […]…
teegan responded on 22 Jul 2011 at 9:27 am #
most of the photos i’ve collected (in a desktop folder) come from:
-soulemama.com (not a design blog, but she and her family bought a big farm house last year and i’ve gotten a lot of ideas looking at what she’s done)
-offbeathome.com (got into it for info about buying a house and what you should know, but now i’m a bit addicted to all of the home tours and such)
-designsponge.com (i don’t like a lot of what’s here – some of it is a bit too squaky-clean modern – but they post so much that i keep finding storage ideas i like, or pieces of furniture in the back corner of a shot, or…)
the rest are honestly just crafty bloggers who happen to have beautiful/awesome homes. and lots of books. many of them about old-fashioned american style.
as for the hubby – while we don’t have the jewish/non-jewish factor, his family is third generation italian and mine is dutch-irish that has been here before this was a country. besides the fact that we look like an interracial couple half of the time – most notably in summer, when he tans even darker and my skin just pops a few more freckles – i’ve also faced an education on ‘real’ italian food. which i appreciate every time he or his grandmother or his father-in-law cooks.
Liz S responded on 22 Jul 2011 at 5:19 pm #
i did too! i am on such a furniture painting kick!! those mirrors are amazing. good luck moving!
Meredith R. responded on 23 Jul 2011 at 3:08 pm #
Love this and I do indeed agree! Also try Film Biz Prop Shop in Brooklyn, they take donations from movie sets and resell them, I got an amazingly fancy lamp from them for 50 dollars that had a better resume than I do!
Lauren responded on 25 Jul 2011 at 1:42 am #
IKEA! Yes! I love IKEA… and decorating. Unfortunately, I can’t really fit anymore furniture into my apartment. Here’s a snapshot: http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/31301_424149194514_706484514_5372331_7862204_n.jpg
I love finding old furniture at Goodwill and painting it our decoupaging it. And making pillows and ottoman covers, etc. I think you can have the most fun decorating if you mix-up styles (like the modern look of IKEA with more vintage pieces) and colors. Pick a color palate, as opposed to one or two colors and it will feel very cheery. 🙂
I also like mixing patterns, maybe that’s a bit bold: http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/225393_10150238810204515_706484514_8638368_4211528_n.jpg
Good luck decorating! Take pictures of your new place when you’re done. 🙂
Kate responded on 25 Jul 2011 at 1:23 pm #
@teegan
Thanks for the blog recs!
You and your husband sound adorable together. I want to see a pic, now, but I’ll stop bugging you for personal info 🙂
Kate responded on 25 Jul 2011 at 1:24 pm #
@Lauren
LOVE these shots of your place!! It looks like a happy home to live in.
And that’s exactly what I’m trying to do– mix Ikea modern with vintage. Otherwise, it can obviously get insanely expensive.
At first, I thought I wouldn’t do Ikea, because I wasn’t feeling crazy about that blocky, solid-colors look. Now I’m figuring out ways to integrate it, because how can I decorate WITHOUT Ikea??
teegan responded on 26 Jul 2011 at 8:36 pm #
i keep forgetting to check this for responses!
i can send you a photo, if you like.
and, if you’re interested, i could write a guest post on my not-so-conventional wedding…?
Anonymous responded on 25 Aug 2011 at 2:43 pm #
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