RED, SHE SAID

"Girls in red dresses?" he said
"With new social networks and couture fashion houses," she said.
"Romance and flowers?" he said.
"Stacks of books, abstract art, movie idols, chic sunglasses," she said.
"Wonderful blog posts to bring us from winter to spring?" he said.
"Red," she said.

{This month, on Style Maniac}

Photo here and in February masthead:
Gordon Parks for LIFE via My Vintage Vogue

BEFORE & AFTER: Eco-Chic Living Room

AFTER Living Room (right corner)

BEFORE Living Room (right corner)

BEFORE Living Room (left corner)

AFTER Living Room (left corner)

Here's how some of those scary-tuned-chic vintage pieces from "Before & After: Vintage Furniture Rescued & Revived" (posted 11/15/10) came together in my clients' living room.  We've submitted this project to some shelter mags and sites, so I can't reveal the entire space.  But these images should give you a taste of how sustainable can be simultaneously good for the environment, comfortable to live in, and pretty to look at.

Design by Doreen Creede and Gina Pierantozzi for The Redecorators LLC.  Photos by Doreen Creede.

BEFORE & AFTER: Vintage Furniture Rescued & Revived

Club Chair BEFORE

Club Chair AFTER

Recently my decorating partner, Gina, and I worked with a couple for whom eco-design is not a trendy buzzword but a deeply held life philosophy.  Our clients, both university professors, hired our firm, The Redecorators LLC, to re-do the drawing room of their 1920s stone home in Philadelphia's Garden Court District with this mandate: make it elegant and welcoming for entertaining (which they would need to do on a regular basis as part of their professional positions) but still comfortable and liveable for family gatherings ... and don't use one piece of new wood doing it.

Chaise BEFORE

Chaise AFTER

In Part One of posts highlighting this project, here are Before & Afters of furniture used in the room.  Of nearly two dozen items the only new purchases were three floor lamps and two tables--one made of recycled steel, the other a current issue of a classic Knoll Tulip table.  Every other element was a vintage piece, refurbished and sometimes radically reconstructed.

Sofa BEFORE

Sofa AFTER

To find the furniture and accessories we scoured auctions, vintage stores, Ebay, Craig's List, garage sales and the basement of our upholstery work room.  We then altered finishes and recovered chairs, sofas, ottomans, with high-end yet durable to-the-trade fabrics in a palette ranging from soft ivory to deep charcoal. The results: an Eco Chic room that's luxurious, livable ... and sustainable.

Armchair BEFORE

Armchair AFTER

To see before and afters of the finished space check back next week.

Design and photos by Doreen Creede & Gina Pierantozzi for The Redecorators LLC

THE BEAUTY OF THE INTERNET

It's crazy to think that a decade ago assembling elements for a decorating project required driving to furniture stores, begging for photocopies and waiting weeks for catalogs to arrive in the mail.  Now after a few hours browsing the internet you can emerge with a pile of options to choose from.  Although pricey, for pure inspiration my search often starts at 1st Dibs, a site that does not exaggerate one bit when it states it carries "the most beautiful things on earth."  Especially the lighting.  Above, one of my all-time faves: Sputnik, a 1950s Austrian Chandelier from 1st Dibs dealer Orange.