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BIG INDIAN, NY

July 8, 2013 by Tara Mangini 3 Comments

Try as we might to plan our lives these days, our job seems to be leading the way, introducing us to new people, plopping us down in parts of the country that are nowhere on our “Places We Should Maybe Live” list. For now, it’s really the most perfect thing for us, since as the aforementioned list title might suggest, we’re a little unsure which way to point the wagon at this point. You know, the covered wagon that we’ll take to travel west, with hammers and saws and paint brushes and old mason jars falling out of the back.

So where in the world are we? Thanks to some soon-to-be famous Brooklyn restauranteurs, we are spending the summer in Big Indian, NY. A tiny little enclave up in the Catskill mountains, bursting with green trees, wildflowers, rushing rivers, and mosquitos. The project? To bring some charm and authenticity to a Catskill cabin that currently feels a bit too much like a modern condo in the middle of the woods. Well, currently it feels like a house with it’s guts hanging out, but one thing at a time here.

We are insistent that we have some time to enjoy the glories of summer, so we’ve tried to build in some time for weekends and afternoons trips to the local watering hole. (And yes, I do mean that in the good old-fashioned watering hole kind of way.) Still, we’ve given ourselves 8 weeks to take this place from an empty house with little charm, to a perfect, fully furnished and decorated, cabin getaway. As of now we’ve been here for about two weeks, and the place looks VERY different than it does in these pictures. But to give you an idea of what we’re working with, let the grand tour begin!

View of the house! And our trusty Suburban.

More after the jump!

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The Master Bedroom : Creepy Dollhouse Make-Over

October 23, 2012 by Tara Mangini 1 Comment

Even though we’ll probably end up leaving no surface left unaltered by the end of this project, the upstairs was definitely a place that we knew needed some work. We’ve been trying to figure out the house’s story as we pull up rugs and knock down walls, but it seems that it’s undergone many changes since it was originally built.

The upstairs in general was a little gloomy, but the master bedroom looked like a haunted dollhouse where they used to lock up little kids.

The dark floral wallpaper and small windows were bad, but the ceilings and miniature doorway were the major problem. I’m 5’2″ and I still felt like I had to duck when I walked in there. Percy could literally touch the ceiling with his head. It was creep-town, and something had to be done. (ps. i realize these pictures make it seem almost charming. But still, hope you’re getting that haunted dollhouse because TRUST ME it was in there.)

We did the only thing we could do, aside from lowering the floors, and knocked into the ceiling. Best decision ever. Well, for me especially. Percy was buried in blown-in insulation for a few hours which didn’t look very fun, but it was undoubtedly worth it. There were still a few days of moving stuff around, re-insulating, rocking, and mudding ahead, but it was an instant relief to have that ceiling bumped up.

Plus, once we started ripping the wallpaper down, there were layers of past wallpaper underneath. We’ve got some plaster plans in the works for the walls, but definitely plan on keeping some glimpses or even walls of the old floral prints.

Check out our snowstorm of insulation and vintage wallpaper works of art below.

Our First Dream Job : Part II

October 22, 2012 by Tara Mangini 1 Comment

It’s funny, looking back now at Debby’s initial email, to wonder what she really had in mind when she hired us to work on her upstate home.

She wrote, “I have a fantasy of the family arriving upstate to a home without boxes and comfy places to sit. I don’t think anyone could face another set of boxes to unpack.” Somehow in that sentence we saw, “I have a fantasy of you completely renovating, designing and furnishing our new house into the perfect home.” If you can’t dress for it, dream for the job you want, right?

Shortly after we finished up in Brooklyn, we hopped in our fancy white van and headed upstate for Brimfield shopping and of course, to see the little house that would become our lives for the next few months. It felt like we were going to see our new baby for the first time. Not that I have any idea what that’s like but, that’s the best way I can put it.

We’ve been at our official post up there since late September, though the past week we’ve been back in NYC on another job, and can I tell you, I truly miss being up at that house.

Life up there is like a creative retreat. Wall after wall to experiment with. Hidden wood floors. Years of flowered wallpaper to uncover. Endless possibilities. Cookbooks and a fireplace. Leaves changing all around us.

I worried that I would go crazy with all the silence around me, and miss New York and all its spirit, but to be honest, I’ve never felt more content.

We work from sunrise to sunset, and still the days pass all too quickly. We make dinner as the deer tiptoe in the yard. We snuggle up to relax with an episode of Downton Abbey. It might not be for everyone. But for us, for now, it’s perfect.

Debby is an amazing client, and completely trusts us to create a home for her. She has shared her vision for each room, but aside from that, she has left us to our own devices. As any designer can tell you, this

is a gift in itself.

We have our own visions for the house, but living where you work creates an intimacy that is invaluable. The house was build in the 1800’s and it has a spirit of it’s own. We don’t hesitate to take our cues from the walls, the floors, the way the light hits, and the energy of each room.

This is where we spend our days. This is our dream job.

Our First Dream Job : Part I

October 22, 2012 by Tara Mangini Leave a Comment

I’ve been meaning to tell this story for awhile now. It’s one that has only gotten longer the more I’ve put it off, so at this point, to cover all of the twists and turns seems almost impossible.

But I think that a bit of distance and perspective has done me the favor of editing out the headaches that no one needs to hear about anyway. Because all that rises to the top is the good. And in this story, that still leaves a lot to be told.

Still, it’s a bit of a struggle for me to make this coherent when all I want to do is show you a thousand pictures of what’s happening now and say LOOK! But everyone likes stories. So here goes.

Over the summer, which is now light years away, our little Brooklyn sublet was featured on Design Sponge. Transforming that place into a home of our own was a mental challenge, knowing that as soon as we finished we were going to have to pack everything up and move back out. There were many afternoons when I wondered what on earth I was doing, but one email that came our way after that post changed everything.

This is literally how the message began.

“Hi Tara and Percy,

I saw your homes on Design Sponge.

I possibly have your dream job as you describe it.”

I had just left the house to go on a run and Percy texted me something along the lines of, “EMAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Debby, a wonderful woman, wife and mother of three was writing to us because she has just sold a house in Park Slope, rented an apartment in Clinton Hill, closed on a house in upstate New York, and broken her hip in the span of a week.

She had seen our post, admired and related to our frequent moves, and was hoping we could work our magic (quickly) on her new apartment and if the fit was right, their upstate home. Being in the state she was, she needed some help to make this happen. And the sooner their current apartment could go from feeling like a whirlwind to a place they could actually live, the better.

We met with her the next day, fell in love with her family instantly, and were on the job. Debby’s husband was away for business, and she was hoping to surprise him with a TV-worthy reveal, which meant we had a week to design, source, and build everything needed to overhaul their Brooklyn apartment. And so the madness began.

I’ll spare you the gory details (and there are quite a few) but over the next seven days we completely transformed Debby’s home, packed up and moved out of our Brooklyn apartment, attempted to move into a new apartment, decided not to take the new apartment, moved everything into storage, racked up five parking tickets and even managed to get a car towed.

But every single bit of agony we went through that week was 900% worth it.

After days of planning and building, we were finally working in the apartment around day #5. As we walked out that day, Debby stopped us and said “By the way, you’re on for the upstate house.”

I still get giddy when I think about it.

– – – – – – – –

Check out the pictures below of some of the magic we worked on their Brooklyn apartment.

Swoon city, right?

Next up, Part II.

Apartment Borrowing

September 20, 2012 by Tara Mangini 1 Comment

My dear friend Kathleen recently escaped Brooklyn for a little Spanish getaway, and was kind enough to lend me her and bed and lovely apartment while she was gone. She even threw in her roommate Avi, who perfectly enough is a wonderful old friend of mine as well.

I couldn’t help but snap some pictures. The apartment is filled with whimsy, light and joy, and feels like Kathleen even when she isn’t there.

Hand-sewn pillow case made by Kathleen herself. Love love love.

Original artwork by Kathleen. Yes, she is happy to make you one too.

One of Avi’s gorgeous family heirlooms hanging over the couch.

Oh, Brooklyn. Oh, New York. Oh, Kathleen. Oh, Avi.

I love you all.

But I must be off for a little bit. Country living here we come.

The Fantastic Mr. Berg

September 20, 2012 by Tara Mangini 2 Comments

One of the best things to come from our Nate Berkus appearance was meeting the fabulous and fantastic Mr. Steve Berg.

When we first heard that Nate’s hair and make-up guy was looking to get in touch with us, we were just thrilled that a semi-famous person (to us at least) was interested in our work. But after a quick meeting, that turned into a very long meeting, we were so happy that fate had crossed our path with such a hilarious and warm-hearted guy. There is no such thing as “swinging by real quick” with Steve. Minutes turns into hours in minutes. In a wonderful way.

Seriously, if you need a hair cut let me know. I’ll have my people tell his people to call your people. You will leave looking and feeling fabulous.

Until then, take a look at these final shots from his newly updated West Village pad.

Subway tiling, lighting, reclaimed wood shelving and weathered breakfast bar made by Percy Bright. All styling and photography done by yours truly, aka Miss Tara Mangini.

Our Second Sneak Peek!

August 21, 2012 by Percy Bright Leave a Comment

Remember when we moved into our summer sublet and it looked like this?

Well, we’ve made some major changes over the past few weeks and are so happy to share the space transformation with you all. We’re even more thrilled that one of our favorite blogs wanted to feature our little slice of summer heaven too!

Check out the design*sponge post here! And a few photos that didn’t quite make the cut:

Desk for One

July 19, 2012 by Tara Mangini Leave a Comment

Dear rainy Thursday plus working at home for too many days straight,

You’re the worst. Oh, what I wouldn’t give for a place to be at 9am tomorrow.

It’s so nice to be in charge of your own time, until that actually happens and even though there is stuff that has to get done, you are a total pushover of a boss and can’t seem to get your “employee” to be very productive.

“Hey, there’s a ton of work to get done, but you know, take your time. Do it when you’re ready. Why don’t you look around on Spotify for a bit until you find just the right music to suit your mood?”

Why aren’t there places where people all go to get things done? They could all show up at the same time and dress to impress each other, and talk about problems they are running into. There’d be a little teasing and goofing around, but they’d be in an environment dedicated to actually getting things done. Maybe they could even grab lunch together to decompress a little. Grab a 2:30 coffee. The possibilities are endless! At the end of the day, when they know that nothing else is going be accomplished, everybody closes their laptops, gives one of those swift dusting of the hands motions, and says “Alright, that’s it for today. Anybody want to go to happy hour?”

Oh, if only if only if only.