Our First Dream Job : Part II

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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

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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

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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

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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!

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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:

Wasting Paper and Writing Nonsense

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While packing up boxes and boxes of vintage books during our recent move, I somehow stumbled upon this amazing snippet about New York City.

In real life this is just a stack of books and shells, but this picture makes it feel like a little work of art.

And I sort of totally love it.

a tiny head explosion.

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I always forget that during a design project things usually get worse before they get better.

Dealing with a completely empty sun-filled apartment is no problem. But then you drag all of your boxes of stuff up four flights of stairs and there’s no where to walk and suddenly leaving the house and never coming back seems like a pretty good idea.

Right now things at our place look like this, which pretty much makes my head explode.

our messy brooklyn apartment in fort greene

our messy brooklyn apartment in fort greene

I swear the pictures aren’t doing justice to the chaos, because somehow the place still looks pretty great, but take my word for it. Setting up the apartment to look adorable feels like a huge daunting task instead of a super fun project, which makes me doubt myself and every single thing in my life. Luckily, Percy didn’t snap any pictures of me crying on the couch in a panic as proof of this fact, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

However, what I know now (that I didn’t always realize in the past) is that I always get to this point, and the only thing to do is push through push through push through. You just need to start somewhere with something, really anything, and create that tiny pinprick of hope.

we heart brooklyn

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living room in our empty brooklyn apartment in fort greene, new york

living room in our empty brooklyn apartment in fort greene, new york

our empty brooklyn apartment in fort greene, new york

kitchen in our empty brooklyn apartment in fort greene, new york

kitchen in our empty brooklyn apartment in fort greene, new york
bedroom in our empty brooklyn apartment in fort greene, new york

bedroom in our empty brooklyn apartment in fort greene, new york

This news feels like it’s been three years in the making, and in fact, I think that’s just about right.

Goodbye, Philadelphia. Hello, New York!

Ever since I left New York in a flurry of life panic a few years ago, I’ve been dreaming and plotting and planning on coming back. I remember there being a vague plan to find a great guy, figure out what I’m going with my life and move out to California.

At the time I didn’t really expect any of those things to come true, but lucky old young me almost got it all. The magic-making Percy Bright, a completely revamped and improved career, and a rekindled love for New York that I think might really last. Especially with a few International love affairs thrown in here and there.

People aren’t exactly dying to rent to two people taking the leap with a new business, so we are so grateful to have found such a beautiful place to spend the summer while the hunt for our real apartment continues. Sun streaming in the windows, Fort Greene buzzing around us, a banana whipping juicer that we found in the kitchen – we’ve got it all!

The place is pretty adorable to start, but we can’t wait to show you the spruced up Jersey Ice Cream Co. version. Especially after we hit Brimfield this week.

As Ira Glass would say, in his Ira Glass way, stay tuned.

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