Bum, bum BUM..... !

MY apartment!!! In photos!! FINALLY!!

So I am utterly frustrated, I submitted my entry last Thursday for the Small Cool Contest that I mentioned in my last post and here I am, a week later, and they STILL haven't posted it! Grrrr...

But I did stage a lovely photo shoot of my apartment, so I figure, might as well post them here, since lord knows I've kept you guys waiting long enough to see the (more or less) finished product! So here goes - the official Alex Pandel house tour! Come on in...

WELCOME: THE ENTRY

The entryway landing strip - a repainted and moderately-hacked IKEA Lack

The entryway - the farther door on the right leads to the bathroom, the closer one to the walk-in closet

WASH: THE BATHROOM

Love this cute little table I scored antiquing upstate... and my medicine cabinet that holds more than you could even imagine!

DRESS: THE CLOSET

SLEEP: THE BEDROOM

WORK: THE OFFICE

CHILL: THE LIVING ROOM

View from the bed

View from the office/entryway

EAT: THE KITCHEN

Whew!! Hope y'all like!

AT's Small Cool 2011!

I have finally found an excuse to get my place totally finished and photographed - Apartment Therapy's annual "Small Cool" contest! HALLE-freakin-LUJAH, it's about time, eh?? 

So I've been keeping myself busy the last few days cleaning like a madwoman, feverishly hanging up and arranging last little photos/tchotchkes, and meticulously crafting this kickass (if I do say so myself) floor plan, which is a required part of the entry. 

I'm shooting to have my entry up by the end of the weekend, so I will definitely link my entry here so y'all can take a peek (and vote for my "small, cool" home! It is a contest, after all....), in addition to uploading some additional photos that may not make the cut for the 5 photos permitted in the entry. So keep your eyes peeled! 

a lesson in rustic-modern

Alright kids. I have been procrastinating on my first post back, and while I still have not done my own apartment justice in the photographic documentation department, I did manage to do a pretty thorough job capturing the country house of one of my interior design idols (and pseudo-uncle), Mr. John Benjamin Hickey. I don't know how this was my first jaunt up to see the place since he upgraded from a teeny little cottage to this multi-bedroom (I believe there were four?) stunner in Lakeville, Connecticut, but now that I know what he's been hiding up there I will be sure to take any and every invitation I can get from now on. 

Mom and I went up in the fall to hit all the fabulous antique stores in the area, and while we got a few major scores, you will just have to wait to see 'em til I get some decent photos. For now, some drool-worthy images of Hickey's country hideaway are all I've got for ya... but something tells me they will do just fine :)

Late afternoon arrival...

Open, airy living room.  Love the wacky orange - Hickey is a master at picking quirky accent colors and making them fabulous

The work-in-progress sun room off the living room

Seriously. This staircase. Gimme!

Lofty kitchen,  aerial view

The wood in this house is just amazing. 

Guest room number one (a.k.a. my room)

It was impossible to go to sleep in this room, I was too busy trying to plot how to steal this chair and industrial shelving. Seriously. To DIE for.

Downstairs bathroom - amazing how he manages to make butter-yellow appliances and laminate countertops look deliberate... and even a little sexy. 

Guest bedroom number two (a.k.a. Mom's bedroom)

Love this little library nook

Master bedroom: bliss.

The view. I mean, seriously??

Hello, woodland backyard...

Idyllic.

Mom and Lulu frolicking near Hickey's backyard pond. Tough life, eh?

Oh man. A girl can dream, huh? What a gorgeous escape. Gives me something to aspire to someday... Hope you all enjoyed the eye candy and I promise I'll get you something related to my little abode ASAP! :)

Oh, hey, it's been a while...

Guys. I have totally failed on this whole blogging front. My deepest apologies to my dedicated readers... all three of you. However, it is a new year and I figure there's no better time to pull my shit together and get back on the proverbial horse, so here goes.

A quick recap on what's been going down: I've been to India and back, New York has gone from swelteringly hot to carpeted in 16 inches of snow (and the requisite brown slush), and my apartment is pretty much done, and as a result several friends have enlisted my help in decorating their OWN apartments! WAHOO!

I have also been exploring a little more deeply the local, sustainable food movement, given the fact that I have the lovely Fort Greene Farmers' Market right around the corner from me every Saturday, and have started trading some of my cooking for various services from friends, the most beneficial of which being tech tutoring from my two web-gurus, Adam and Eli.

So in the coming weeks, I intend to catch you guys up with some photos from India, some updates from my home renovation, some brainstorming for my friends' decor projects, and some tasty new recipes. So stay tuned! :)

dear Goodwill: I love you.

Oh my goodness! Mom came home today from a trip up to the country for some relaxation (and inevitable antiquing), and came back with some MAJOR scores, the clear winner of which being this AMAZING, retro office chair tht she found for 16 freaking dollars at the Westport, CT Goodwill. The thing is effing gorgeous, with black leather upholstery, heavy, artfully-aged iron hardware, and a sexy little studded detail around the seat and back. I am IN LOVE with this chair.

The only problem is that it's missing a wheel from one of it's original casters, meaning it is not really sit-in-able yet! Sad face. I assumed it would be a no-brainer to replace, but I've been trying to find a matching caster to replace it (or even just a set of 4 casters of the right size that at least vaguely fit in with the vintage aesthetic), and apparently the exact style and size I have is effing impossible to find!! Grrrr!! Has anyone out there had any luck replacing casters on vintage furniture before? Any and all advice would be much appreciated! I'll keep you posted on the progress, but in the meantime, put those thinking caps on!

INDIA, here I come!

Ok kids, so as some of you know, my favorite yoga teacher on the PLANET, Ashley Albrand (who happens to be based back in Los Angeles - tragedy!), is leading a retreat to Goa, India this October, and ever since she announced the trip at her class back in April, I secretly vowed that I would go if I wasn't tied down to a 9-5 office-y job. And here I am, almost six months later, happily and lucratively working freelance, and I finally decided to take the plunge. I booked my plane ticket yesterday, and that's that. India, here I come!

So who has been to India before?? Is there anything that I must read/see/learn before I go?? I think my plan is to fly directly into Goa, do the week-long retreat at the gorgeous Ashiyana retreat center, and then spend the next week traveling further south with Ashley and some of her buds, and it sounds like our itinerary includes a stop in Mysore, and some exploration through the jungles of Kerala! If anyone has any advice about those regions or about my trip in general, I'd love to hear it! I kind of can't believe I'm actually doing it!! I will keep you posted as my preparations progress, and keep an eye out for some ridiculously amazing photos when I get back!