the OAK home

one of a kind

Five on Friday: Volume 35

Welcome back! Apparently it’s April, because 2017 is determined to just zoom by!

The One Room Challenge is back! April totally snuck up on us, so we’re just participating as observers this go-round. We’re using it an inspiration to pick up the slack on some projects around our house, like tidying up the front yard, finishing some window treatments, and working on that mudroom bench. I think it’s the spring vibe that makes you want to get stuff done. We’d love to be back as linking participants this Fall- let’s just hope September doesn’t sneak up on us too.

 We love how Nicole advised a reader on her tricky mantle styling. She gives several great options that allow for more traditional symmetry, and some modern elements to dress up a space that is formal and could feel “fussy”. Keeping things simple lets the space breathe a bit, and playing up an asymmetrical look modernizes the formal mantle.

We’ve been a little over the open kitchen shelving trend lately, but that was until we saw it done JUST RIGHT by Serena Mitnik Miller’s Topanga Canyon home. It’s unfussy and so well-collected here, it’s a space that is both incredibly stylish and well-lived in. We wouldn’t have though that we’d think a plywood kitchen was so chic, but here we are. Go ahead and just prove us wrong on everything, Serena.

The teeniest, tiniest, castle in the UK is for sale, and WE NEED IT. The exterior and grounds are absolutely charming, and it wouldn’t take too much work to breathe a little life into the simple interiors.

The interiors at the office for Slack Melbourne are a bit moody, but in a really really good way. The designers at Breathe Architecture kept the palette simple with lots of green, black, and wood tones, and let the drama of the plentiful foliage and stunning wood work steal the show.

That’s it for this week- we’re delivering our big console project today, and we can’t wait to share it with you next week!

Five on Friday: Volume 34

We’ve got another big mix for you today: some BIG tv news, a kitchen project from one of our favorite voices, a new art obsession, a very necessary craft project, and the drool-worthy home of the queen of daytime tv. Enjoy!

Stop what you’re doing RIGHT NOW because this is very important. Trading Spaces is coming back, people. This is not a drill! The O.G. home makeover show is slated to make its return to TLC for the 2017-2018 season. No word yet on whether any original cast members/designers will be involved, but if Hildi’s there, we’ve all been warned.

Possibly my most-favorite blogger ever Orlando Soria is back on Emily Henderson’s site with a series featuring his “Chateaulondo”. Come for the chic and stylish projects, stay for the hilarious, honest and self-effacing commentary.

 Thanks to a great feature from Architectural Digest, we’re now officially obsessed with artist Jennifer Guidi and her mixed media paintings. The multilayered pieces are gouged with handmade dowels and finished with contrasting sand appliqués to create an incredible sense of movement. You better believe she’ll be on our list when we’re rich one day and can collect grown-up art 😉

As if I didn’t already think I needed a cutting machine, this baby-shower invite pushed me over the edge. Somebody buy this lady a Silhouette, ASAP! My brain is running haywire with ideas already!

Ellen’s stunning Santa Barbara home is on the market for a mere $45 million. Ellen has been flipping beautiful properties for a while now, and we have to applaud her latest effort. The Italian-inspired villa seamlessly blends the interiors with the incredible landscaping, and the entire property is chic, stylish, and cozy. (As cozy as 10,500 square feet can be)

Have a great weekend!

The Mid-Mod Planter

We’re back this week sharing a simple DIY with you, and a timely one! I’ve gone into full-on Plant Lady mode lately, and with the emergence of Spring, it’s the perfect time to build your own simple planter. This is an easy one: inexpensive, quick, beginner DIY, and minimal supplies.

Midcentury-modern style planters have been popular for several years now, and the trend doesn’t show signs of stopping.

West Elm // Room and Board // Etsy

While there are some great sources to buy these plant stands, I love the idea of DIYing this project because that way you can totally customize it to the size and shape of your favorite container. This whole project started when I got a beautiful plant from my pop, and I knew I wanted to create a perfect place for it. This was one of those times when I just literally popped out to the workshop and started cutting.

The most important considerations you want to make are:

  1. How high do I want my plant off the ground? (This includes how tall the plant actually is. If it’s a tall cactus or sprawling fig, you’ll probably keep the base low to the ground, whereas if you’re working with “spiller” plants, you can go a little taller so that the plant will have more presence in the room.)
  2. How big is my pot? Your container will determine the dimensions of your stand, and it’s all simple from there. You want the X-base of the stand to be just slightly larger than the diameter of your container, so that it hugs the pot closely. If there’s a lot of room between the container and the “arms”, it looks quite strange.
  3. What proportions do I want? Some of these mid-mod style plant stands have tiny arms that barely come up the sides of the container. The planters from Room and Board (above), have arms that almost reach the top of the containers. This one is totally a personal preference based on what look you’re going for. I think the best look is when the arms are about 1/2 – 3/4 of the way up the side of the container.

 Above you can see my basic components: 4 vertical arms, one long cross piece, and two short cross pieces. The math that we did here was: How tall do I want the arms to be + How high do I want my plant off the ground? Because my plant is tall, I knew it only needed to be about 10″ off the ground, and with my 12″ container, I went with 6″ arms. So, the basic arm pieces needed to be 16″ long, and my X base needed to be 12.5″ across to accommodate the container, so the single piece is 12.5″ long, and the shorter pieces are 12.5″ minus the width of the center piece, divided in half. I used 1″x2″ boards for this project.

I cut all these pieces with my miter saw, but it could easily be done with a hand saw and a miter box. Next up was attaching all the pieces. Here’s where you can really do whatever suits you best. If you have a Kreg Jig, you can pocket hole the pieces together and keep the holes hidden underneath the cross piece. If you want to keep it really simple, you can drill or nail the cross pieces from the outside of the arms, and then make sure to counter-sink them (create space within the wood to accommodate the entire head of the screw so it doesn’t stick out) so you could fill and patch that later. However, that wouldn’t work for attaching the 3 X-base pieces to each other. I really wanted this to be completely sleek and have hidden joints, so I went with my doweling kit.

I’m a big fan of the doweling kit because it is simple and inexpensive. This is the one I use. (Just a regular link, y’all) You can certainly dowel by hand, but this kit takes all the guesswork out. The jig and stops allow you to drill to the exact depth you need, and the pins let you line up your dowels perfectly. Below you can see where I was making the X-base, using the pin to line up one doweled hole with where I’ll drill the next one. The pin fits into your drilled hole, and makes an indent in the exact right place against the other board so that you know they’ll line up perfectly.

I started by making one “H”, using two arms and the long cross piece. You can see where I’ve already drilled the dowel holes where the short cross piece will attach. I used wood glue and my favorite clamp to let this cure up for a bit.

Then I glued the short cross pieces to the center piece and attached them to the other arms. This part is sort of a game of Twister for a moment, but the pieces are so light, it’s not that much of a challenge. I added another clamp to pull that “H” section together and let it all sit for at least an hour.

And that’s it! Seriously, you’re done! The hardest part of this project was waiting to put on my finish. I actually quite like the wood raw, especially with the right kind of container, but I knew that the finish wouldn’t really match the room where I was putting this planter. I could have done a dark stain, and I thought about it, but I decided to paint it with a matte black to make it feel more modern.

The finish is the part where you can really have a lot of fun. You could do any kind of stain or paint, you could color-block it or do something wild with an ombre or splattered finish, or you can keep it really simple and let your container be the star. The Midcentury Modern style generally calls for a mid-toned wood or black painted base, and a simple black or white cylindrical container, but I like the idea of going crazy too. You do  you! I think a gold base and a bright colored container would be totally fun and funky.

I kept it more traditional with a grey container and a matte black base. I love the pop of much-needed greenery it brings to our dining room- it’s just perfect!

Simple, inexpensive, and endlessly customizable, I’d say this one checks all the boxes of an ideal DIY. I wish I had a nice open corner to make a cluster of these. Maybe outside! And here I am making plans for new projects when I’m still in the middle of other ones.. 😉

Five on Friday: Volume 33

Last week was a bit chaotic over here- we had to do some site maintenance, and had a very devastating delivery of our jazzy wine rack. Luckily, I had insurance on the project, and the clients were incredibly understanding. Since this is their winter home, we’ll be rebuilding them a new piece and delivering it when they head back down to Florida this fall. And you better believe Ben and I are turning it into a road trip and delivering it ourselves. I might have severe shipping trust issues from now on..

BUT! On to the more exciting stuff- a fun roundup of discoveries this week, including a helpful look at the realities of flipping, an incredible AirBnB, dated design trends, the most sophisticated kitchen EVER, and some teeny tiny things to obsess over.

We’ve followed Jenna Sue since the very beginning, and were so thrilled when she took on her first flipping project! She has been so honest and open throughout the entire process- and of course, she KILLED the renovation. It’s such a wonderful transformation, but we particularly enjoyed this financial breakdown of the project, and her takeaways of what it was like to work on this kind of project for the first time. We can’t wait until her next flip!

Casa Tiny just might be the world’s most delightful AirBnB. This minimal home is a beautiful, Walden-esque retreat: the locale combines views of the nearby Sierra Mountains, a lush vegetative property, and the ocean just 200 meters away. Designed by then-25-year-old architect Aranza de Ariño, the home features a stunning concrete gabled roof and a wall of parota-wood louvered doors that fit perfectly around the mammoth indoor-outdoor kitchen table. Particularly impressive? It only cost about $4,500 to build!

We loved Lonny’s list of what design trends were popular the year you were born. We were worried about what we might find, but luckily 1988 did us proud with Philippe Starck’s Royalton Hotel. It’s also clear that the 70’s were a scary, scary, time, and that in the late 90’s beige was the name of the game.

This kitchen from Carter Williamson Architects stopped me in my tracks. It’s incredibly sophisticated and sexy- I don’t feel grown up enough to actually cook and make a mess in there. Matte black cabinets? YES. Black penny tile? YES YES. Those turned wooden pendants? YES FOREVER AND EVER.

We’re officially obsessed with Miniature Co. Don’t try to tell me that this chic (and tiny!) kitchen scene isn’t just incredible. The mini Thonet chairs, blue Aga, tiny scalloped tiles and itty bitty KitchenAid mixer? We have lost the ability to even.

So, we’re off to build our dream home, completely in miniature form 🙂

Have a great weekend!

Five on Friday: Volume 32

Hey there! This week’s Five on Friday has no particular rhyme or reason, just 5 things that stood out to us over the past 7 days. We sure hope you enjoy them as well!

We’ve been obsessed with 3D printing since we had the chance to use the machines at our school, so it’s no surprise that we are THRILLED to read about this home, built completely on-site, in just 24 hours. Apis Cor’s test facility in Russia developed an incredibly mobile printing crane that allows for a great deal of flexibility in printing individual homes quickly. Previously, structure-printing generally entailed printing of components that would then have to be assembled.

As big fans of the Big Little Lies book, we anxiously awaited the HBO miniseries version, and it does not disappoint. While the show features incredible performances from the likes of Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, you’ll be equally enthralled by their characters’ stunning homes. We enjoyed this interview with Set Decorator Amy Wells about creating the vibe for each character, as well as her advice on creating the “upscale California-cool look”. Her secret weapon? Home Goods!

Elsie just shared her finished kitchen, and it’s such a gorgeous space! So light, bright, and beautiful- and the touches of greenery are just perfect. We’re especially enamored with her colored appliances, and a little blown away by how she got them: custom printed vinyl! This was such a win: way cheaper than buying colored appliances, completely custom shade matching, no worries about paint not withstanding the heat/wear and tear, and completely removable! All the heart eyes for that mint fridge and stove!

We’re completely smitten with this loft by Mark Lewis Interior Design. The blue moldings are such a stunning counterpoint to the rough wood, and it’s all set off by the sharp contrast of crisp white tile. We love how they transformed this industrial space with thoughtful planning and beautiful touches. Plus, we’re a little bit obsessed with their gorgeous website and project pages 🙂

I think we can all agree that Kristen Bell is a national treasure. So, we we thrilled to see that she teamed up with Houzz to surprise her older sister with a basement transformation. They took an underused basement space and completely transformed it, adding in a bedroom, bathroom, living area, and homework/game room for this family of six. Thoughtful design is a life-changer.

Have a great week everyone!