Shop of the Month – Rejuvenation

08 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Shop of the Month

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antique, Art Deco, Arts & Crafts, Classical Revival, Colonial Revival, decor, doors, exterior, exterior home, hardware, home, Industrial, lighting, lights, mailboxes, Mid-Century Modern, old world, Period Basics, rejuvenation, victorian, vintage

Rejuvenation is a lighting shop I came across a couple of months ago. Once I saw their products I was in love. They had tons of options from many different time periods which is right my alley. Now that Dan and I own an older home, dated around 1916, looking for vintage and antique items to fill it up is a must. Plus, we adore the vintage style and love to be surrounded by pastime goodies.

The shop carries lighting and hardware within nine collections: Period Basics, Mid-Century Modern, Classical Revival, Industrial, Art Deco, Victorian, Arts & Crafts, Colonial Revival and Old World. I am sure you will find something you love!

I also appreciate the clean and modern design of their website as well as their beautiful photographs of their products. It’s also organized and easy to navigate which is very helpful when you offer so much to your customers.

Besides their inventory, Rejuvenation also offers restored antiques. They also have a blog that showcases the many things that surround their products such as architecture, artists and real spaces that use their lighting. And for any advice or inspiration you may need on the subject, the shop has that too. All of this makes your shopping experience fun and exciting while learning a thing or two in the process.

Check out some of these inspiration photos from their gallery.

Now for some of my favorites! I hope this post inspires the Thomas Edison in all of you and gets you thinking more about lighting and how important it is in a space. Maybe it will remind you to make the exterior of your home just as nice as the inside. With all its hardware and door sets its certainly easy to! Shop around and look at what Rejuvenation offers. I can guarantee you will find something that will look beautiful in your home.

Historic Series: The Joseph Lloyd Manor

07 Thursday Jun 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Historic Places

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Abner Osbor, architecture, arts, colonial, design, federal, federal style architecture, historical, history, house, huntington, Joseph Lloyd Manor, lloyd harbor, manor, mortise and tenon, nature, new york

Part of the Lloyd family land, the Manor house was built in 1766 by Joseph Lloyd after his father Henry passed away. Overlooking the harbor, the Manor sits on 2 acres of land in Huntington, New York and shows off its federal style architecture beautifully.

It’s symmetry and clean design is the result of the timber framed technique which is done by jointing heavy timbers by use of mortise and tenon. This joint technique has been used by woodworkers for thousands of years and became familiar to stonemasons and blacksmiths soon after.

The original gable roof is clearly defined as well. This style and shape was often found in gothic architecture and was a big part of 18th century design. During the 19th century some adjustments were made to the house and even more toward the 20th century when it changed ownership. However, original elements of the house still can be found such as the crown molding, wainscoting, staircase, banister and paneled fireplace. You will also find that the kitchen still has its vintage style hearth and bake oven.

The interior elements of the house were designed by Connecticut born carpenter Abner Osborn. He was recommended by Joseph’s brother James and worked on the project with four apprentices. They completed the exterior sheathing of the house as well as the doors, windows and interior paneling and molding.

There has been a number of owners and guests of the Manor house and some that have even rented it for some time. In 1940 it was leased by Charles Lindbergh who needed an escape from the chaos of his son’s kidnapping. During the Revolutionary War, American troops also built a fort on the west end of the Manor property (now Caumsett) and stayed in the house as well.

During the time of the war Joseph was the only Lloyd family member to remain on the land and was joined by Jupiter Hammon, the famous slave whom he inherited when his father died. Eventually British troops took over and forced them to leave. Joseph then traveled to Hartford, Connecticut in 1776 with Hammon by his side. Later in 1780, he took his own life and Hammon was passed down to his nephew since he had no children of his own.

Today the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities owns the property and offers tours to the public. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. If you haven’t made a visit to the Manor house I suggest that you do. Especially now that the nice weather is here. Whether you take a tour or not, you can appreciate its beauty and design and maybe even get inspired to step back into time to explore your own history. Remember, when you look into the past you can have a new view into the future.

Spring Sweetness – A Backyard Makeover

06 Wednesday Jun 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, The Great Outdoors

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backyard, cherry trees, colorful flowers, dusty miller, flowers, fruit, garden, gardening, gorgeous space, grass, greenery, hydrangeas, iris, leaves, nature, nice weather, patio, peonies, plants, rose bushes, roses, spring, summer, trees, vegetable garden, weeds, wildflower seed

Now that spring is here and summer is right around the corner, Dan and I have been working on our backyard so it looks beautiful for the warmer seasons. From our garden to the patio, we have transformed the space with the determination and love. When we moved in this past February the backyard was a great example of neglect. It was sad how people could let such a gorgeous space go to ruins. Then we came along and gave it life.

So here is a little preview of what it was like before. I know fall was coming to an end but there were leaves everywhere and dead bushes and plants all over. The fence they put up around the patio seemed silly and just blocked the beautiful view. The whole yard needed work for sure.

Then slowly we did our magic and turned this backyard disaster into our heaven. Even though there is a little more to do, we are so happy with how it has turned out. Since the nice weather is here we were able to get more done and now that the wedding is over we can dedicate more time to making it perfect.

As soon as spring came around, the weeds came popping up! So the first step was to get everything pulled out and cleaned up. But it sure looked nice with actual greenery showing its face.

The end of our yard is beautiful on its own. We love the overgrown greenery and pretty rose bushes and flowers that love blooming for us to see. It reminds me of the secret garden. This is where we plan to have our vegetable gardens next year. So excited! Our cherry trees are finally showing some fruit as well.

The next step was to pick out various flowers and plants that would thrive in our garden and bring life to the space. We chose hydrangeas, hollyhocks, tulips, peonies and other tiny colorful flowers. We already had roses and iris which was a nice bonus. For some green and other color we added some small bushes, my Grandmother’s hosta, dusty miller and low foliage around the edge.

In between everything I planted some wildflower seed bombs we had left over from the wedding in hopes they would help to fill in the space. Although it needs some time to all grow in, I think its a huge improvement! I wanted it to feel whimsy, pretty and romantic while also looking wild and free. This is why I chose a number of delicate bushes and flowers along with some that are lush and elegant.

The patio was our next project and we were excited to get it ready for summer. First, we took the fence down which was an improvement all by itself. Then we cleaned it up and painted the cement gray. As soon as we purchased our patio set (from West Elm) we worked our butts off to bring beauty to the space.

With the addition of some greenery and flowers, the patio now looks like a patio. We chose to surround the space with nature and border it off with a small cedar garden fence. We also through in some solar lights and created a small path into the yard with slate stones the previous owners left behind. The dirt area has been seeded so we are crossing our fingers grass shows its face soon. Add in a charcoal grill and we are good to go!

I hope this project will inspire you all to get our there and make Mother Earth shine even brighter. Even if you have a small space to work with there are tons of things you can do to enhance the look and feel. I know as the days pass by it will look even better in our yard so I plan to post photos for all of you to see the progress. Happy Gardening!

My Future Kids Rule

06 Wednesday Jun 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Decor Ideas, Everyday Design, The Home

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antique, artsy, children, crafty, design, future kids, home, inspirations, kids, mid century, shabby chic, style, toys, vintage

Dan and I definitely plan to have a family and are both excited to have kids. Even though we are going to wait a little while that doesn’t mean I can’t start wondering what I will surround them with. Art, design and music of course! Here are a few inspirations, items and ideas that remind me of my future kids. Enjoy!