Shopping Trip: Scouting at IKEA

Today we took a family outing to IKEA. (That cafeteria and the frozen yogurt are good motivators for the boys.) We’re about to close on a two-bedroom condo in Delray Beach, Florida, (yes, we are very excited!), and since our furnishings budget is pretty minimal, we figured we’d best check out IKEA. As you know, touching and feeling their stuff is imperative; it’s so hit or miss. I was very disciplined, following the arrowed path, stopping in every department to photograph and take notes as to which sofa might be comfortable , which dining table seemed durable, and which chair wouldn’t wobble. Happily, I think I came away with a few possibilities. I’ll of course be perusing West Elm and CB2 as well, but IKEA can’t be beat in terms of cost. However—and this is a BIG however— I am not going to buy anything we won’t be happy with. Should be quite the challenge.

Here are a bunch of Instagram photos I took today. They’re not necessarily representative of pieces we’re considering for the condo. (Look for “Scheming” posts in coming months.) They’re just slices of what caught my eye.

 

 

 

Design Diary: Rustic Modern in the Berkshires

I wrote about this exquisite Berkshires home designed by Ritch Holben of RhDesign in Southfield, MA for the Boston Globe Magazine earlier this year. It ran June 24, 2012 as “A Camp Conversion” and was photographed by Keller + Keller. Since then, the lead photo has been all over Pinterest, which was fun to discover, because it was not me who posted it. I hear a prominent design blog may be interested in republishing some of the photos too. It’s definitely worthy.

“We wanted something in the New England vernacular, but we also wanted modern.”

The skeleton of the house is outlined inside in reclaimed barn wood.
David Weeks Studio “Torroja Cross” chandelier.

Stone fireplace with steel mantle and  raised steel hearth for log storage.

Vintage Henning Norgaard coffee table.
Madeline Weinrib “Tulu” angora rug.

A chesterfield sofa.

Artwork is “Squares” by Peter Dunham.

Flat, black steel rails were clear-coated to show the manufacturing marks.

George Nelson pendant light.

Dining table by Johannesburg-based designer  Gregor Jenkin
McGuire “Seido” chairs in walnut.

Bamboo kitchen cabinets, limestone countertop.
“Morris Lantern” by Visual Comfort.

Window muntins have an extra-thin profile to mimic industrial steel windows.

Floating horizontal, wood slat wall in the master bedroom.

Schumacher “Chenonceau” wallpaper.

Guest bedroom.

Guest bedroom.

They redid a little cottage that was original to the property.

Lakeside entry.
Standing seam metal roof, corrugated galvanized metal siding.

From the back.

The 200-feet of lakefront includes two docks and a bait house.
A system of gabions were used to hold back the water.

Bluestone patio and cedar boardwalk.