apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Nothing took my breath away, but it's very warm and personalized. The parquet floors and large window remind me of my own studio. Where on earth did you find that wonderful globe lamp? Please don't tell me it's a rare antique handmade by natives that you discovered in some distant land!

Just because something is old doesn't make it beautiful or worthwhile. Not everything can be Sophia Lauren. The Globe lamp is unfortunate.

Apple tea will surely make one stick around the shops of Turkey. Brings back my own memories of rug shopping.....

I think you have exquisite taste! Thanks for sharing.

Those French Art Deco chairs are a very nice find! Those are worth a small fortune, even recovered. I've seen them sell for several thousand dollars. I like your Thonet sette (bench) too.

Your Turkish pillows I am absolutely jealous of! I used to know a Turkish rug dealer in the Seattle area - going to his shop was always a treat (he lost his Visa and had to go back to Turkey).

Can you give us a primer on container shipping? Or point us to a web page? I want to go to Iran really badly and have some things shipped back.

The dining table is fantastic. The rest... not so much. While I am all for including foreign antiques in design, it is not done with sophistication here and looks clumsy.

Some of the stuff that she's collected is quite lovely, and I like the boldness of having big and proper furniture in a small space. Overall, though, the effect is very cluttered and it's hard to distinguish the 'highlight' pieces from the other stuff. The decor could do with a really disciplined edit. Particularly that one wall where everything is put up every which way.

Hi all, Thanks for the comments. I got the globe through an Apartment Therapy listing that was from craigslist. The woman that owned it before me didn't have much of a story for it, but the guy that did the re-wiring thought it was from the early 1900's as it has Ceylon for Sri Lanka, etc., etc.

As for container shipping, it was all pretty easy actually, as there was an Edet shipping office at the Paris flea market. Aside from paying the fees and sending in the proper paperwork there wasn't that much to do!

Noah - I'm always looking to learn, what in your opinion could be done to "up" the sophistication? I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Love the solid wood dining table.

Adrienne, what are some do's and don'ts of shipping large items back to the states from overseas? (I've never been brave enough to buy and ship while traveling and therefore end up bringing home just trinkets and other small souvenirs).

Do shippers deliver to your door or do you have to wrestle with customs dept. and arrange to transport items to your apt yourself?

How about thoe Turkish pillows, what kind of cutoms fees/taxes are involved for bringing in pillows, rugs, etc. ?

Thanks.

I like the overall eclectic approach -- and I love the club chairs -- but I get more of a sense of a work in progress than a finished design....

i love all of it. it reminds me of a lot of the apartments my friends lived in in france. looks very european to me. although i'm not european and i'm sure someone will say "no you crazy person!" but that's what it looks like to me and i ABSOLUTELY love your place. thanks for sharing and i'm sure it makes you very happy. :-)

Adrienne - ignore the snobbish comments. I think your place is great as is.

Jonathan - ideally every place is a work in progress, always evolving and changing.

Love the feeling of comfort, and all the wood. Yeah, it isn't all moderny, and the pieces may not be "name" brands, but it feels so homey.

boomer -- certainly every place evolves -- in some cases involuntarily -- but I meant some elements seem older and more tentative -- spots that could be seen as adrienne finding what works for her. Still like the place though. Nice to know my over gentrified neighborhood still has some of its old bohemian sting

I think the place is great--I love your style, it is very confident and inviting.

My only suggestion would be to maybe tighten up the grouping of the framed stuff on the one wall with all the small framed items on it--it looks you have spaced them out so that the whole wall with be covered with pictures, but I think it would look better if instead all the pictures were grouped together with less space between them. This would mean there would be less space between each thing, and I think overall it would look more like one large item, which would be more in proportion to the large wall, rather than a bunch of little things scattered about. (You could also probably finid room for the frames leaning against the wall if you tightened up the grouping.) I think there's a chapter in the AT book that talks about how to hang groups of pictures.

Thanks for sharing your home! Don't let the snarky comments get you down.

I like the overall eclectic feel and many of the pieces (e.g., dining table) even if some of the pieces aren't to my taste (e.g., the globe).

Very much agree with Jenny's suggestion of grouping the items on the wall -- right now each item feels a bit lost-in-space, and pulling them together into groups would really up the overall impact.

Love the idea of the bathroom sliding door, but wonder about the functionality of the hole-as-doorknob -- how do you prevent peepers?

Thank you for sharing your space! It looks warm and inviting, and ready for the drinking of many more cups of apple tea!

Jonathan - I see your point. It's a good one, I agree.

Gekko, I can't speak for the fees, but I see these things from time to time from importers I buy rugs for resale from.

From what I can see, she has some wonderful pieces that would be many hundreds of dollars if bought here. Whatever she paid in import duties, it was most definitely worth it.

On the subject of pillows, I am furious with Pottery Barn over their kilim pillows. They seem to have started a trend where beautiful old kilims are being cut to pieces to make pillows. It's to the point where the truly nice kilims, ones like Adrienne was very lucky to find, are becoming scarce and expensive.

Even saddle bags, which are really hand woven rugs made into bags, are being cut in half. It's becoming hard to get antique Iranian saddle bags that aren't cut in half anymore.

That said, if you search around, you can find "salt bags" that are the perfect size for stuffing a pillow into.

If you look really hard you can still find 2x2 kilims made out of silk that you can have made into bag faces. I paid about $150 for a 2x2 silk Anatolian kilim from an importer in New York last year. Since I can't find a buyer for it I've decided, especially after seeing Adrienne's wonderful pillows, to find someone who can make mine into a pillow without destroying it.

Another thing you can do with small rugs is cover an ottoman with them. I had a 2x2 Turkish rug that a a Turkish friend gave me made into the top of a custom ottoman - it drove the upholstere nuts because I told him to leave the fringe intact. But it always gets nice comments...

Adrienne's name is wrong in the topic title.

And I adore the whimsical globe lamp. Among other things, like the plants, the kitchen tiles, the chairs, and yes, the Boho vibe. It's great to see a place in which every piece has a thrilling tale of exotic adventure to tell.

"Mini-geranium"?

Great lived in space with eclectic style. I have always dreamed of getting big pieces when I travel and shipping it home. But I always wimp out. I second Boomer in needing a primer on shipping large items. Do you insure and for how much, do you use DHL or something else, how do you deal with customs, etc etc.

Lovely place! I'd like to drink apple tea here! I second the people who said to ignore the snarky comments, although here's one my own: Edina Monsoon, FYI, it's Sophia Loren, not Lauren.

I love the whole thing! It is so personal and inviting. I echo everything boomer said. I live in the boonies so I was wondering, where did you get that cool shower curtain? It fits in with the eclectic charm exuded all around.

Cate - Amazon has one similar :

http://www.amazon.com/Exclusive-Izola-Designer-Shower-Curtain/dp/B000NEEG6C/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_k2a_1_txt/103-4401543-2493406

I feel silly saying this since everyone is commenting on the furniture but I LOVE THE BATHROOM. Very charming.

Hello again, Thanks all for the feedback and for those that defended my living space - that was quite sweet. It is my space, it is constantly evolving and my style will never be everyone else's taste.

Mr. Gekko - I too have heard some negative things about shipping, such as a friend buying a table in Brazil that never arrived, but in this case, I would say bigger is better, at least in terms of familiarity with the environment. Like I said, I was in Paris, I saw some things I liked, and I really just needed to choose which agency I went with for the shipping. In the Port D'Clingnancourt the shipping agencies were all over the place, so while I had some reservations about my items getting there, it was a breeze. I used Edet International and picked them because the guy didn't mind explaining how the system worked.

There was the option of picking the items up from the port where the ship's container was located, but to me it was worth the extra (two hundred?)dollars for the broker to handle trucking the items to my door. Otherwise, it would require hiring a truck, an extra set of hands, taking the day off work. In my mind, paying for trucking was worthwhile, if it could get across the Atlantic, it could get across the BQE. All of this was arranged by the importer who in turn was connected with Edet.

As far as the pillows, they were unstuffed when I bought them, so I was able to fold them up in my luggage. I declared their full value at customs and there was no mind paid to what I had paid. The same thing goes for rugs bought in Turkey and Morocco - I took them as carry on, declared their full value and sailed through customs.

JDog - I don't really have to deal with peepers, so that isn't much of a problem, but the dressing room that leads to the bathroom has a proper closing door. The acrylic is mostly for the illusion of privacy. But, there is a door before that door so one can sequester.

Cate: The shower curtain was another apartmenttherapy find! (Isn't it lovely when things come round like this?) The URL is:
http://www.semplicehome.com/home.html

Being called Andrea is the story of my life; I'm just thrilled to have some good photos of my apartment to show to family members that cannot come to NYC.

Adrienne, great place! Can you tell us more about the sliding bathroom door? Did you have the white acrylic panel custom made, and if so, where did you go and how much did it cost (if you don't mind sharing)? I want to do something similar and although I have found many good sources for the track hardware, the only fabricators I've been able to find for the door are very expensive. We'd also like to do some type of opaque acrylic or plexiglass. Thanks!

The appearance of that bench is ruined by the Gadxookas behind it!

The best thing in this apartment is the wooden table - beautiful!!

Hi aam, I got the door made at Canal Plastics, fabrication was overnight as I went towards the end of the day, and they don't offer delivery. I think the door cost 160 maybe and the hardware cost 61 bucks.

Thanks Adrienne. I've looked at Canal Plastics but I think only inquired about plexiglass, as I'm looking for a clear opaque instead of the milky white you have, if possible. Is what you used just called acrylic or is there a specific name? Do you find that the panel is thick enough for the door (and for the sliding hardware)? Thanks so much!

hi aam, i can't help you much further, as I went in looked at the color options they had and just ordered, I didn't request my materials by name. i think the panel is thick enough and you can only see silhouettes through it, but for others it might not be enough. as the sliding hardware was custom, there wasn't a concern about getting the door to fit the hardware... don't know if that's helpful, but let me know if you have other questions.

Adrienne-where is the freestanding cabinet in the bathroom from? Just remodeled a bath w/exact lavatory & sink and need just that cabinet...thanks

I have to say those are the best radiator covers EVER.

dmoniq5-

I can't believe you made that snarky remark about Adrienne's weight. I think it was rude, unnecessary and out of place for what this blog is about.

Maureen, I agree with you, I cannot believe some of the comments made by some of these posters either.

Adrienne, I love your place. It feels comfortable and bohemian and I think it should stay that way.

I'm eagerly anticipating Dmoniq5's house tour. Do be sure and post pictures of yourself so we can comment on your appearance.

I bet Adrienne's place is lovely to sit in, but visually the living room feels a little "bottom heavy" to me. It feels like there needs to be something to draw the eye up to balance those wonderful chairs.

Tough crowd. Who's next to put themselves out there- just to be reamed and insulted?

adrienne -- can you tell me more about the round hooked/crocheted rug? does anyone know how to make these or where to buy one? it's gorgeous (and so are you)!

Adrienne:

I like the way you've made use of a "long" living room, with the table by the window and the couch in the middle of the room, breaking up the space into two distinct areas. But I'm wondering, what is the view from where you sit on the couch? (I was tempted to arrange my furniture this way, but didn't want to "waste" the view out the window and just look at my foyer, so it's on a side wall. (I have a feeling your room is both wider and longer than mine, anyway.)

Adrienne_P- cute place. It reminds me of apartments I've seen in Europe.
What's with the personal attacks? I hope dmoniq5 is a friend of yours and that was an inside joke.

Adrienne - Your armchairs are wonderful! I also really like the tile backsplash in your kitchen. Thanks for sharing!

Hi all,

I had no idea that this was reposted, I just started a new job and have been caught up with it, so I haven't been checking my favorite blog this week - pardon for not getting back to you sooner. The bathroom cabinet was bought used off of craigslist. The crocheted rug was bought in Costa Rica (in the little town of Monteverde) from this fabulous artist that hooks the whole thing by hand made with scraps of fabric that she gets in town. Her mom owns a fantastic vegetarian cafe there, and the daughter sells her crafts in the store next door (rugs, batiks, etc., etc.).

I enjoyed your home––warm and cozy. Very French!! Nice GLOBE lamp!
Did someone say "clutter"? How else would you find anything? Ignore the snoots I tell you . . .

I love the globe lamp and would be happy to hang it up in my little girl's room if you ever want to sell it! That's the beauty of eclectic...something for everyone. I agree with the comment regarding your frame placement on the big wall...you could fit more pictures etc and it would tighten up the effect...something I've learned by trial and error.

Thanks for the tips on shipping!