On Sourcing Season

We have spent the last few weeks in the thick of designing and sourcing for a few projects, all in different places and for clients with varying styles. I do all of the creative work for my projects, so when a season like this hits I am riding a creativity high that I can’t get enough of and I’m too busy to remember to drink water. In lieu of a more in depth note this week, I have a few thoughts and links from the field.

Always, always start with good as-built architectural drawings of your space. You need them for a slew of reasons (where are the outlets? is that light centered? etc.) but the most important is scale. I hand draw all of my furniture plans and do a combination of hand drawn and CAD elevations to help confirm scale and give our clients a visual. A survey and architectural drawings can be expensive so if you can’t swing it, grab a measuring tape and try your hand at it. For my first apartment I hand drew the plans and elevations to make sure I got it all right. Buy a scale ruler and sketch out your space on graph paper so that you can draw that dining table or sofa in before you buy it. A 1/4” scale (1/4”= 1 foot) is typically best for floor plans and 1/2” scale is best for most elevations.

Some free online resources will allow you to get the sense that you are doing this to scale by “dropping in” a sofa, but the dimensions are almost never exact to the piece you want to buy, so I think a hand sketch is worth the effort.

A quick google will tell you how much space you need around your dining table for chairs to pull out (+/- 36”, I consider this a guide and not gospel) or how to determine if your ceiling fixture is the right size for over the table (take the length and width of the room in feet and add them up, the total is the ideal diameter in inches, i.e. a 15’ x 20’ room needs a 35” diameter chandelier over the dining table).

Good lighting is essential to enjoying a space. If you spend a small fortune decorating a room and rely on recessed ceiling lights it will only look good in the light of day. At night it will feel like you’re in a bad office park. It is very important to have warm lamp light at your eye level and below, to give you a glowy uplight effect when you walk into a room. The more non-recessed light sources you can add to a space, the better.

Here are few neutral lamps that would do the trick in many settings: An ivory ceramic lamp, cordless rattan accent lamp, classic brass floor lamp, and a floral plaster lamp for a touch of something pretty.

• How cute is this delft style sconce and this fabric pendant light with the floral detail? I don’t have a home for them right now but maybe you do!

• I’m hoping to use these sconces in a project we’re doing in Vero Beach.

• I’ve always wondered why Svenskt Tenn doesn’t print Joseph Frank fabrics in the colorways from this photo of his artwork I found many years ago, and now Sandberg is making this overscale wall mural in that same softer palette. It even comes in peel and stick if you’re in a rental!

• How sweet is this little swing arm hook in the clover? And the fish?

• I really like this rug as a neutral that is not a solid jute, and thought this one would be nice in a bedroom. I love a Pottery Barn surprise!

• The scale and colors in this Lulu & Georgia rug are really beautiful and would make a great starting point for a room.

• Every now and then I do a big Gap haul to refresh the basics and scored a few things worth sharing in my last one: a super comfy cotton crew neck sweater that is somewhere between sweater and sweatshirt (also comes in a good brown), linen pj pants and top, a great white tee.

• These new Julia Berolzheimer for Margaux shoes will be a staple for me this summer. Sadly there was frost on the ground this morning here in CT.

• From kids, a puppy, and a very cold and dry winter the baskets in my house need to be replaced. Pottery Barn beachcomber is a classic for fire logs or large toy overflow.

• Caraway sent me a few pans to try and I really loved their nonstick. We use the 8” so frequently that they don’t last in my house, so I’m ordering a new one.

Happy sourcing!

x Lilse