One of my very favorite movie quotes ever comes from the film Steel Magnolias. The main character Shelby is getting married and when she is asked by the group of oh so southern ladies in the hair salon about her weddin’ colors she proudly drawls, “Mah colors are blush and bashful.” To which her Mama replies, “Your colors are pink and pink.” So when it was time to pick a color palette for my new digs, I thought it would be great fun to incorporate a little blush into my scheme, but with my own New York twist of course.
Interior experts will tell you to build your room around one central item. Whether it’s wallpaper or a rug, one defining piece of art or a fabulous table, that one choice usually kicks off your design journey. And for me that was so true. So I decided that my one thing was going to be wallpaper– a big no-no for renters for as we sign the original lease, we promise to return the space to its natural and unharmed state before our exit. (Does anyone ever do this??) But since I plan to be in the new spot for a good long time, desecrating the walls seems like no big deal. I’ll deal with the ramifications of losing my security deposit two decades from now. Ha!
Excited to begin colorizing my new crib, I visited one of my favorite showrooms in the D&D Building in NYC. If you’re not familiar, the Decoration & Design Building is known nationally and internationally since 1965 as the world’s most important home to over 100+ showrooms. The D&D represents over 3,000 leading manufacturers dedicated to the very best in interior furnishings. Basically it’s a mecca to all things posh gate kept by interior designers. You have to either be a designer or be working with one to enter. And I had a golden key.
So when I entered the showroom on the fifth floor, my goal was wallpaper. I wanted a fun print to cover the blank canvas of my new apartment in the common areas. I met with Annette and told her my wish… something colorful, interesting, and busy, but please no green. So she led me to the walls and walls of samples to click through the gigantic “book pages” of options. And I had quite a time oohing and ahhing, quickly falling in love with this texture and that geometric. But nothing seemed to fit the bill. Until I literally turned the page and found a showstopper. And of course it was (gasp) sooo green. Getting out of my comfort zone is something I do on the regular, but for me this was throwing caution to the wind big time. Hold your applause. So Annette sauntered over when she heard my audible gasps. “This is the one,” I told her. “Jeeeeen! I thought no green?” she questioned. “Yep, I’m a total liar. Do not trust me,” I said. She laughed and it was game on with the one thing I was to build my dream around. And yes, it had some blush and bashful in the print, along with a kaleidoscope of other flavors I was sure I could work with. Wanna see, wanna see??
And that became a fully baked decision; there was no turning back. My decorator tried to talk me out of it. There was no chance I wasn’t going with the green floral I told him. Poor thing lost two nights of sleep over it. But hey, my house, my decision. He warned that the design was so big. They would have to cut each sheet. It would be impossible to hang and take forever. Cost me a fortune. And it was backordered until the summer. I’d get sick of the print. It was going to be a jungle atmosphere. Yeah, no. Done and done. I was sure I loved it. And so began the quest for what goes with a green floral explosion with a touch of Steel Magnolia? And what fun I had sourcing additions!
Blush pillows crossed my path at none other than Home Goods. And friends, they were a steal! They were big, fluffy and the softest velvet. They hit the couch (Barney Junior, now affectionately just called Junior) in record time. And they are so comfy for naps, cuddling and look great when Junior is unoccupied.
The second pinkish plus was the runner near the front door. The lovely folks at the website Gilt.com sent me an amazing $30 gift card, so I browsed their home section and found a this could work pink number with a white diamond pattern. It was the perfect size and voila! My net total (are ya ready??) was $22 that included free shipping. I can’t even! And now it looks great. Right next to…
The most amazing etagere… a fancy word for tall cabinet. Mine is made of glass with a fun grid design and the base is a powder coated steel in none other than a blush-rose color. One might even call it Bashful. I love it. I saw it online at IKEA and thought it was too good to be true. So I drove with Michael to view the sucker in person. Jumped with glee that she was stable and didn’t look cheap. Dragged her home in his car with the backseats lowered and impatiently waited for him to gently per her together in record time. (He is the best TaskRabbit ever!) She is part display case with sentimental trinkets and travel finds, part sunglasses storage, and houses my out the door goodies like business cards, small pouches and purse mirrors. The bottom shelf keeps gloves, cold weather scarves and ear muffs in fun stackables from The Container Store (my second home). The whole shebang is so me. And she was super reasonable. A real find.
Finally my new apartment is starting to feel like mine. But.. the fabulous wallpaper is backordered until July and I still have no rugs, headboards or window treatments yet. The made-to-order media cabinet might arrive as early as August, but possibly as late as October! Ya, I know. Forever from now. But they are all coming. And I can’t wait to see everything in place as I imagine it will look. I will follow up when all the rooms are decked out. Especially if I find a treasure or two at the flea markets in Paris this summer. That would be so chic. Hopefully all the rooms will be completed before I have to resign my lease!
jenslittleblackbook.com 