good morning! today i’m sharing some more images (all by belathee) from our wedding over at the d*s guest blog. today i’m focusing on our invitations, favors, wedding decor/rentals and our fantastic band. CLICK HERE to check out the full post at the d*s guest blog. [click here to check out yesterday's post on the wedding location and wedding party]

ps: click here to see our full wedding playlist on the ms weddings site

kristen stocks owns a vintage store in brooklyn, is in a band and has two pet bunnies – how cool is that? boyfriend and bandmate andy created the promotional agency loveless music group before starting his own label, self storage recordings. kristen’s store deluxa has become one of my favorite vintage spots – when i don’t have a chance to visit in person, i always keep on top of her finds via her blog and etsy shop (i wanted those mad men glasses!) not only is her home fun and cheery, but it’s also an inspiring testament to chasing your dreams! {thanks, kristen and lorie reilly for the photographs!}

[When we decided to start a vintage store, Deluxa, and a record label, Self Storage Recordings, at roughly the same time (which was roughly when the economic trouble started), it quickly became clear that downsizing our personal space was necessary for our businesses to remain viable.  Instead of moving to a smaller apartment or to a fringe neighborhood, we bravely decided to shed our two bedroom Park Slope apartment to opt for something about half the size of our former living room—we moved into Deluxa’s back office. Living in what is now transformed into our studio apartment in Deluxa taught us to a) keep only what we adore and b) keep only what is functional. Oh, and of course c) keep everything bunny-friendly.  It was a painful divestment, but also liberating to be left with only that which was most precious: being together, being with our bunnies, having our few prized possessions and continuing our new future as self-employed entrepreneurs.]

My favorite thing in our bathroom is my collection of rock displays I hung with ribbon and hot glue.  One set belonged to my father as a child, and the others I’ve picked up who knows where.


Another DIY is the wood grain shelf liner on our fridge.  Our space is so small and our fridge is so large, that when we got it covered it practically disappeared into our space and felt much less obtrusive. Much cuter too!  The magnetic letters I bought at the grocery store for a dollar and spray painted black to be a little more modernist. We spray paint all kinds of things both for our space and for the store—lamp bases to picture frames to coat racks.  The top of our hutch has my single Catherine Holm bargain find and some other great vintage cook wear.  I carry a lot of cookware in my store and find that in general the market for vintage cookware is a bit neglected, but I’m happy to promote enamel and copper wear pieces, not to mention Pyrex, Fire King, and even appliances like hand mixers and blenders that are much sturdier and stylish than their modern counterparts. The print here above my vintage yellow pans, “Chicken in a Hot Air Balloon” is by Jay Schmetz . He does lots of whimsical paintings of animals doing silly things.

CLICK HERE for the rest of Kristen’s sneak peek (including all the images on one page) after the jump!

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d*s reader and graphic designer caroline de winter is about to move, but thought the best send off for her apartment would be a sneak peek. when caroline and her boyfriend first walked into the place it was love at first sight. the place had been recently renovated and featured a minimalist interior design. the space is unique with its black wooden floors, and boxed lighting around the edges, the exposed old wooden beams of this former attic. and on top of it all, the black and white color palette also suited caroline well for her various collections and colorful vintage finds. for more images click here. {thanks caroline, and good luck with the move!} -anne

[above: The orange chairs are my grandmothers old kitchen chairs. The table is from Ikea, it's quite big so I haven't seen this piece pop up that much in other people's homes.]

The paintings all over the apartment are from my boyfriend. His artist name is Toonpoot.

The kitchen is also custom made, very pretty to look at but unfortunately the black finishing stains faster than you can clean it. I added red accessories and vintage finds, to brighten things up.

CLICK HERE for the rest of caroline’s sneak peek after the jump!

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illustrator allison cole and her husband rent a great renovated loft building in downtown pawtucket, rhode island. pawtucket is one town over from providence (allison is a risd alumn). they live down the street from slater mill, the first water powered cotton spinning mill in north america, but their particular building was built in 1870 and was most recently used to manufacture tinsel and holiday decorations. don’t miss more images of allison’s place here, and you can check out her illustration work here, and i love her fun handmade work – bang bang you’re thread too (what a great name!). {thanks, allison!} -anne

[above: This is a view of my computer desk area. The little white shelves are lined with little toys and trinkets ( a mixture of artist toys - Gary Baseman, Nathan Jurevicius - and Decole japanese stuff).]

This is my husband Eric’s desk – above he has two framed Fort Thunder silkscreened posters from shows his band played in. He is a musician – he was the singer for Arab on Radar (well known among noise music fans ) and is now the singer for The Chinese Stars. He also runs a record label called Anchor Brain that releases Providence-based bands.

Our dining area.

Our giant bookshelf – the first two rows contain my indie comic book collection, the bottom two rows are our vinyl record collection.  Above the shelf are some more rock posters and a Nathan Jurevicius silkscreened print.

CLICK HERE for the rest of allison’s sneak peek after the jump!

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question: i have seen so many before & afters that have been transformed by a good paint job. i want to jiffy up a piece with color, but want it to end up looking well-worn. one example is the hutch in this post. i’ve heard of sanding, but am afraid that would look too contrived. how else can I achieve this look? -trina

answer: hi trina! a distressed look can be achieved many ways- here are some of the most popular: crackle glaze (applied over a base coat of paint), sandpaper (rubbed on areas that would typically show signs of wear and tear), liquid paint remover (can be brushed or applied with a towel), manual distressing with objects (using a chain or other rough objects to physically wear a piece. this can really damage a piece though so i don’t suggest it normally, but some people love it). but my favorite option is the wax method. all you have to do is: clean your furniture, apply wax (you can even use a crayon) over portions of the furniture you’d like to look distressed, then paint over top. once the paint is dry you can use a light piece of sandpaper or brillo to remove the paint on the wax portions. it will have a hard time sticking to the wax so it will easily come off. barb from knack adds:

“in my opinion, the best way to get it is to use an orbital sander with 120 grit or finer paper on it. an orbital sands much rougher than you can hand sand and takes off more paint. if you want it to look less contrived than you need to look at it as a canvas add more paint in the corners or edges, take away some in the middle, etc. you can also dry brush on a couple shades lighter (or a light gray) in places to simulate the weathered look.”

here are some more great ideas online.

question: my boyfriend and i like the idea of taking our shoes off when we enter the front door (which has no foyer, just bam! and you’re in the living room). any suggestions as to how to keep shoes (only a few pairs) organized and not too eye-catching? -jessica

answer: hi jessica! as someone who shares the same problem as you, i figured i would tackle this question. my apartment door opens right into our living room and almost hits the couch it’s so close, so storage for shoes, coats and rain gear can be tough- and pretty unsightly. but here are some solutions i love:

• j-me horizontal shoe rack: slim, modern and great for just a few pairs (here’s similar pre-made version and a diy version)
• baskets/containers: if you don’t mind having your shoes a little visible, using this or this as a storage spot for shoes can look pretty cool. there was an image in dwell magazine years ago of a guy who used a planter to hold his collection of vans and it always made me want to try it
• bissa shoe cabinet: i have seen these wallpapered, painted, stained and even decoupaged to match rooms. bonus points for hiding the actual shoes
• hanging storage: if you have a closet in the room, consider hanging options to keep things totally out of sight
• upholstered storage seating: this is my favorite option and one i use at home. whether you diy one or buy a pre-made upholstered storage bench/cubes, you’re left with extra seating for the living room and a place to stash shoes and winter/rain gear.

[have a design question you'd like answered? just shoot us an email right here with the title "dear d*s". if you're asking a specific interior design question please include a picture of the space in question and your budget for any new projects.]

CLICK HERE for jenny’s living room redesign question after the jump (SHE NEEDS YOUR HELP!)

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the lovely jen hill just launched her brand new “places i have never been” wall calendar for 2010. the 11×17 calendar features one pattern per month, along with tidbits of information about each never-visited location. you can pick up one of jen’s calendars right here for $28. great work, jen! [photos by elizabeth vaughan]

last week i feel a little behind on email and wasn’t able to announce julia rothman and jennifer judd-mcgee’s new show “flora and fauna” at nahcotta in new hampshire. after watching this sweet stop-motion video of julia and jennifer drawing on the front of nahcotta’s windows, i was so bummed because it looks like the opening night was wonderful! julia and jennifer are both showcasing beautiful illustrations of flora and fauna at nahcotta through november 1st, so if you’re in town be sure to stop by and check it out in person. if a trip to new hampshire isn’t in your immediate future, you can check out more info on the show right here, julia’s work right here, and jennifer’s work right here.

the day has finally come when i’m allowed to talk about our wedding! this morning the fall issue of martha stewart weddings if officially on stands, so if you’d like to pick up a copy and check out their beautiful shots of our special day, it should be in bookstores and magazine shops across the country. the martha team will be posting additional pictures, interviews and information from the vendors, artists and friends involved in our wedding each day this week, so you can click here to check everything out.

but since we were so happy with the way our photos (thanks dorothee and annabel) turned out, i decided to share different pictures here this week, on the d*s guest blog. i know weddings aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, so if you don’t want to read them, feel free to skip the guest blog or scroll on by the morning post linking to them.

today i wanted to kick things off with a post about our wedding location, with lots of pictures of the wedding site, reception spot and a few shots of some design blog folks you might recognize. each day i’ll be focusing on different elements (diy ideas, invites, flowers, food/cake) so if you’re up for a little wedding fun, be sure to check out the guest blog this week.

CLICK HERE for the first full post on our wedding over at the d*s guest blog. [all images by our wonderful photographers, belathee]