it’s been such a thrill having abby at the d*s guest blog this week- today she’s got THREE fantastic posts up. each one showcases a fantastic space behind one of her favorite wedding vendors. click here to check out all three.

This next space is so my style…clean and simple, with touches of beauty tucked in every corner. The gorgeous studio was designed by Stephanie Cristalli, a hugely talented photographer out of Seattle. Her professional style is unobtrusive and rather romantic, focusing on the sweet emotion of the day. Whether it’s a secret look from a bride or a perfect detail from the charming weddings that she shoots, each image is absolutely lovely…

Stephanie’s home is such a reflection of her work aesthetic. Pure, Clean and Romantic. The home was built in 1913 and has since been a complete restoration project.

The rooms within her home are all slightly different. Some, like this one, are white-washed and clean. They are peaceful and slightly feminine, without being over styled. This room doubles as a studio where Stephanie meets with clients, and a guest bedroom. I love the detail in the children’s chairs and the simplicity of the palette…

In other areas, Stephanie has gorgeous antiques, pretty flowers placed in various corners and that sense of wispy romance that her photographs always capture. Her furnishings were randomly found at estate sales, auctions or smaller boutiques…with a little IKEA thrown in here and there!

Stephanie’s home is the perfect balance to me…one part completely peaceful, almost like a cottage at the Cape, one part homey and inviting. Love that.

This next feature is actually a collaboration of two insanely talented artists…Catherine Conlin, creative designer of Wiggy Flowers and Lauri Levenfeld (who brought along her partner, Kate Webber, to help shoot the photos) of Zoom Photography. The pair work together regularly on some of the Bay Areas most gorgeous events, so it seemed natural for them to partner up on this project.

Lauri is well versed in Catherine’s unique style of beauty and grit, thus the photos represent both of the vendor’s philosophies…”finding the unusual, the experimental, the industrial and the modern, while encompassing the sensual, the sensible, the romantic and the whimsical.”

When searching for studio space, Catherine was looking for a raw urban space with great light and community. It took her nearly a year, but when she stumbled upon Tammy Bickel’s incredible metal sculpture studios and garden, she knew that this would be the ultimate space for her work. The studio became a melting pot for all of Catherine’s loves and dedications.

The studio houses three wall size Monopoly paintings by Catherine herself. Catherine had been playing Monopoly with her nephews, when she came up with a plan to help her fellow artists obtain studios for their artistry. While she created all the property cards for the monopoly board in life-size, (the paintings are 5’3” wide—her height—by 6’ tall, to scale of the cards), her metal sculptor friends would make the die cast pieces in statue size, and others would make the game board. At the end, Catherine had hoped to have an interactive Monopoly game and auction where all the proceeds would go towards grants for living spaces for artists, however, Wiggy Flowers took off in a whirlwind of excitement and she never had the opportunity to finish the set.

Overall, the studio is an imaginative structure housing an eclectic, yet decisive style. Conlin’s design sensibilities come from the concept of clean and modern in the midst of ruin and decay. Beauty in cracked walls, patterns in conduit pipes. And the end result is nothing short of gorgeous.

I am obsessed with the work that Chenin of Boutwell Studio produces. Her photographs are the perfect balance of whimsy and humor, with hard-hitting emotion. You really feel their photography, from eclectic and colorful shots that make you laugh to the more subtle, deeply moving images…

Chenin’s studio is a complete reflection of who she is as an artist. If her photography is defined by whimsy and irreverence, with touches of vintage flair, the studio follows suit. She blended pure white hardwoods with industrial shelving and ultra feminine fabrics, knowing that the mismatched look would come together flawlessly…

Color is a common thread in both Chenin’s work and her sense of design…the bold greens, blues and oranges in the studio speak to her need for color, while the upholstered furniture adds a touch of calm. She wanted a space that was inviting and warm, not intimidating as fine art can often be, thus she challenged herself to create a space that was simple and approachable. .she hung panels of brocade fabric to add depth and dimension to the space (each is approximately 6 ft. tall and 4 ft. wide) to which she then hung her own photography in front of each panel from the ceiling with s-hooks and twine. A simple, unintimidating way to display her work….

The challenge that Chenin had when designing a work space was in creating a place that was comfortable and yet functional (code, she had to fight the ugly). Creativity became a main component of the space. She uses an old, beat-up ladder to display her albums. She uses a vintage wrought iron chair as a side table and a DIY sawhorse legged, glass-topped table as a reception desk. To cut down on messiness, she hung gossamer-like panels from the ceiling to hide her producution area.

From crystal chandeliers hanging from exposed wood ceilings to that awesome faux fireplace, every detail reflects Chenin both an artist and as a girl. She doesn’t ever take herself too seriously and it shows. Her whimsical photos bring a smile to your face and her home away from home captures the same unique charm.

If you are interested in seeing more work done by Boutwell Studios, check out her feature on Style Me Pretty. Chenin is one of our favorite Little Black Book members so we love that she let us peak inside the doors of her creative studio!

ever since i saw one on a bedside table in domino magazine, i have been in love with and searching for vintage cork lamps. they are hard to find though, and often pretty expensive, so i finally decided to try to make one! i was looking for bases that had a nice modern shape, and surprisingly i found them both at ikea, in the form of a garden pot (upside down) and two cutlery drying caddies taped together! you could really use any base you wanted, as long as you can drill a hole in the top for the lamp kit. i am really happy with the bare cork right now, but i think if i ever get bored with it i could paint some stripes on it to liven it up…i hope you enjoy this one; clearly i have lamps on the brain! click here for the full post (or just click “read more” below) and happy crafting! -kate

full instructions after the jump…

abby has some great interiors on the guest blog this morning- she’s featuring the offices and homes of maribeth romslo and yvette roman. maribeth’s office makes for a fantastic before & after, too! click here to check them out…

[stay tuned for a new diy project from kate at 11]

This next featured space is such an inspiration. Maribeth, the creative talent behind Red Ribbon Studio in Minneapolis, transformed a bare bones, sad looking retail space (that just happened to be right next door to her favorite coffee shop) into a fresh, modern studio that any designer would be proud to own. I actually fell in love with Maribeth’s work because of her incredibly clean, smart perspective. She approaches photography in a sweet and honest way, so that the crispness of the image and the pure emotion of the day are always captured. It’s easy to see how the style of her photographs translates into the style of her studio space…

The remodeling of the studio seems to have been approached the same way that she approaches her work…giving life and color to an otherwise ordinary space. Here are the before images of the retail studio…

It’s incredible what a fresh coat of paint can do for a rather blah room. White porch paint was used on the wood floors, red stripes on the exterior. The ceiling medallions (shown in the first picture), though, are the shining star of the studio. Maribeth used the original tile grid as a support, tearing out the standard office tiles and replacing them with the Celiume Medallion Tiles. They are actually plastic but have that rich appearance of tin tiles…at a fraction of the cost (roughly $5 a piece).

All of the accents and décor were purchased through IKEA (the console for storing albums and prints and the curtain panels), Pottery Barn (the rug and the work table) and Dining Rooms Direct (the aluminum café style side chairs).

We are featuring a couple of Maribeth’s weddings over on Style Me Pretty today. If you’re looking for a fresh dose of wedding style, she is your girl!

Continuing on with our look into the creative spaces of some of my favorite wedding professionals, Yvette Roman is one of loveliest photographers I have had the privilege to know. With Yvette, it’s all in the detail…the perfect little accents that only a great photographer would notice.

Yvette’s gorgeous California home is no different. The subtle details have all been infused by Yvette…each piece of furniture, each flower thoughtfully placed with an air of approachability and style. The home itself was built in 1927 in Mar Vista, a craftsman style house just east of Venice Beach and has since been completely remodeled….

Tidbits to Note…last summer Yvette tore out the front lawn, fenced in the yard and planted a vegetable garden with the hope that they could grow and eat as much of their food as possible, within 100 feet of the front door / The flower beds against the house are a mix of fruits (blueberries, strawberries), herbs and veggies / The garden was featured on a sustainable home tour last summer sponsored by Otis College of Art and was a finalist in the Sundance Channel’s “What’s The Big Idea?” contest in 2007 / Yvette’s passion for gardening is chronicled on her blog Beyond the Lawn.

The interior of Yvette’s home is just what you would want in an easy, laid back California bungalow. It isn’t over-designed or styled and yet you can see the TLC that went into every detail…

Tidbits to Note… all of the cabinets and the crown molding were crafted by Sam Clay, our contracter and a gifted woodworker; The bulletin board hangs in Yvette’s kitchen, purchased at Pottery Barn to keep shopping lists, etc., but someone always draws on it. This one was done by her hubby, Fred / This is Carl’s (the dog’s) favorite Napping Spot on the landing at the top of the stairs / The guest room is the perfect spot for friends, nieces and nephews. Fred bought the bed at a flea market and the photo was shot by Yvette then coated with encaustic wax by Leah MacDonald.

I really love the craftsman inspired charm paired with Yvette’s fresh, modern color palette. Every room has been tended to with the sole purpose of creating a warm and inviting space that Yvette and her husband can call home. Although at first glance, it’s a pretty home…when you look closely, it’s the details that really make this space beautiful.

We are featuring more of Yvette’s work over at Style Me Pretty today!

in two weeks this little sponge will be turning 27 years old. sometimes it feels like just yesterday that i first sat down in front of a computer and started writing about chairs- but sadly, when i look in the mirror, i can see the years under my eyes, on my face and in my hands (carpal tunnel, argh). so rather than giving myself something more material, i’m going to give myself the biggest present a girl like me could want- time off. even though my birthday is in june, i have some work commitments that won’t allow me to take my actual b-day week off so i’m going to be taking this week to relax, regroup and refocus.

in the meantime we’ll have a new guest blog post from abby each day, along with a few regular posts (diy projects, etc) here and there, but my normal daily posts will take a mini vacation until monday. i hope you all have a wonderful week- and lastly, thank you to all of you for sharing your time with me over the past few years- it’s such an honor to wake up each morning and do what i do here. i couldn’t do that without you, the incredible community of artists that we cover and the support of everyone who works with me here at d*s. thank you.

*the beautiful chairs above are from molly at chairloom. if i was gifting myself something material this year these would definitely be on the list.