The Mollu Blog vs Tumblr

Starting today, any posts on The Mollu Blog will automatically be posted on The Mollu Tumblr!

New Beginnings

I've moved to a more streamline, easy to keep-up with location.

Find me here!

xo molly

My Cup Of Tea: "This Pretty Space" top picks

Have you been to {this pretty space} yet? Below are my top picks of some of the latest posts. I love so many of the images on this tumblr.

I love the multiple frames in different colors and materials.

This painted door is too good.

I need the quilt on this bed!

Catch ya on the flip side,
Molly

My Cup Of Tea: Beds Up High

I can't remember where I got this photo, which is terrible, I'm pretty sure it was a post on Home Sweet Home. I LOVE THIS BED! I love how sleek it is and I LOVE how high off the ground it is. It's feminine and perfect. I also like the painted wood floors . . . and the plant and the grey throw.

Adventure: Puerto Rico

For the last three months I've been living in Rincon, Puerto Rico, on the northwest corner of the island. It's been a paradise vacation! There is an endless list of incredible things to share about the island but I'll focus on the architecture for now.

The colors and patterns in the architecture here is inspiring and refreshing.


There are some amazing courtyards with interior balconies that feel very tropical with a hint of Europe. I love all of the greenery that's incorporated into all of these spaces, it looks like nature has started to swathe the architecture.


There are a few seemingly abandoned homes that I find so beautiful and full of charm and life. The churches here range from what looks like a single family home with a cross over the door to a monumental structure in the center square with marble floors and incredible stained glass windows.


Many of the single family homes have a mid-century modern form with a tropical, Caribbean flare. I love the metal grills and bright colors.


Most of these multi family homes are in San Juan, on the northeast side of the island. They're absolutely dreamy! I love the balconies with the flowers draping over the bannisters.

If you have the opportunity to visit Puerto Rico be sure to travel the island. There is so much here to see. Just be sure to take it easy and move slow, it's too hot to go quickly and everyone else will be taking their sweet time anyway.

Catch ya on the flip side,
Molly

My Cup Of Tea/Log: Home Sweet Home Top Picks

If you haven't gone to the Home Sweet Home website yet, GO! Below I've posted my two top picks of their most recent posts.

I simply LOVE the eyeball art and the throw pillows. Always have fun with throw pillows, if you get sick of them, just get new covers!

Those giant red swags over the windows add SO much character and personality to this room, I can't get enough!

Catch ya on the flip side,

Molly

Adventure: Seattle Homes

I've spent a few summers in Seattle and every time I'm there I fall in love with the bungalow style homes more and more. They're so charming and cute and they're just the right size.

I love all of the details and front porches. There's just no home like a bungalow home!

Catch ya on the flip side,

Molly

My Cup of Tea: Alvar Alto

"There is an ulterior motive, too, in architecture, that is always peeping out from around the corner, the idea of creating paradise. It is the only purpose of our buildings. If we do not carry this idea with us the whole time, all our buildings would be simpler, more trivial, and life would become - well, would life amount to anything at all?" - Alvar Alto

My Cup Of Tea: Bedding From Ikea

I saw these sheets in the Ikea catalogue a while ago and keep stumbling upon them again and again. While looking them up on the Ikea website may not be considered "stumbling upon" them, I certainly found them there, and on sale no less! The other day while searching through the millions of photographs on The Selby I stumbled upon them (or similar ones) once more and decided I needed to have them for myself!

I love the red, white and blue color scheme and I think the pattern size is perfectly understated without being boring. They're perfect.

Catch ya on the flip side,

Molly

My Cup of Tea/Log: Design Library

This Christmas was an excellent Christmas for my design and architecture library. I simply cannot get enough literature on these topics. They're books I'll go back to all of the time and never get tired of. Every time I look through one of them for a second or third time I find something new, or I'm inspired by something different.

The following are the newest additions to my library, gifted to me from Santa (Friends and Family). I haven't had a chance to read any of them yet but I simply couldn't wait to talk about them!

Zen Architecture

Below is an image of the index for you to get an idea of the contents in this vessel of knowledge and wisdom.


Frank Lloyd Wright
I couldn't find an image of this book on the internet for you. It's literally a 24"x 16" gem! There are images and best of all FLOORPLANS!

Treehouses Of The World

Though I've only paged through this one once I am confident in saying it's absolutely incredible. The houses in this book are so outrageous and whimsical, I just love love love them.

Tiny Tiny Houses: Or How to Get Away From It All

I LOVE TINY HOUSES! This book is so great because it has a large variety of tiny houses with floor plans, elevations and even furniture layouts! I've been so inspired by this book that I've begun working with some of the tiny house plans and re-working them to fit the needs of a modern home (electricity, plumbing etc.).

Thanks to everyone who gave me these wonderful books, rest assured I'll enjoy them forever.

P.S. A book I'm saving up for: The Layout Book


Check all of these books out on Amazon.com and "Take a look inside"

Catch ya on the flip side,

Molly

Adventure: New York Garden House

Over the summer I visited a garden in New York City at 6th Street and B Avenue, properly named 6th and B Garden. There I found a very charming little garden house. The house is used by the local gardeners to store tools and supplies, an over sized shed.

This house, along with my love for tiny homes inspired me to draw up some floor plans and elevations, transforming this oversized garden shed into a tiny home surrounded by a beautiful garden right in the heart of the East Village!

The first floor consists of the Living Room, Kitchen, Dining Space and Bathroom. There is also a deck that wraps around the front of the house and along the right side. The Living Room is a simple space with a sofa, side table and two ottomans with storage inside. The Kitchen takes up the north wall of the first floor. All of the appliances fit under the counter to provide more working space. The Dining Space is defined by the fold-away table just north of the main door. The table provides a space for one to enjoy a meal and then, like an ironing board, folds up and out of the way. The Bathroom is a very simple and tiny room, basically a shower with a toilet inside. The Kitchen sink serves both the Kitchen and the Bathroom.

The second floor is the Bedroom. It is accessed by the outdoor stairway. There is enough room for a Double size bed, two bedside tables and a dresser. There is a balcony over the first floor deck with a beautiful view of the garden below.

Lately I've been interested in hand painted tiles. A trip to Portugal and images found in periodicals and on the internet have inspired me to work on a few tile designs of my own. I plan on creating a separate post about this but wanted to point out the ornate floor tiles in the plans above! It's just one of a few tiles designs I've come up with so far. In these plans I have the tiles at a very large scale. Sometimes it's a little scary to put big patterns in small spaces but I absolutely LOVE it! Go nuts! Make your small space a gem!

Catch ya on the flip side,

Molly

My Cup Of Tea: Chrysler Building

Of all the architecturally significant buildings in New York City, the Chrysler Building is my all time favorite! I love Art Deco design and the Chrysler Building is an icon of the Art Deco era.



I found this image on the internet of some initial schemes for the building. I plan on printing it out 24" x 36" and either cutting it apart and framing each scheme individually or just leaving it as it is and framing it in one larger frame.

Catch ya on the flip side,

Molly

My Cup Of Tea: Selby Bedside Tables

I've been busy going through the incredible library of homes on The Selby discovering a new favorite bedroom necessity, The Bedside Table! They're each so personal and unique. Below are some of my favorites:

Top Left: I love the Saarinen table, it's so simple and elegant. The charcoal grey, tailored bedding with the minimalist bolster pillow and the more ornamental sconce are the perfect compliment to the table. Sconces are great on either side of a bed creating wonderful light without taking up any space on the small bedside table.

Top Right: I love how playful this bedside set up is without being immature or childish. All of the colorful accessories against the white walls and bedding makes them each very special.

Middle Left: The simplicity of the small red chair as a child's side table is so perfect. I like to think the little boy or girl who lives in that bedroom sits on that chair in the morning to tie their shoes and get ready for school.

Middle Right: I simply can't get enough of Marimekko! And with the Starck gnome side table! It's too much! I love the silly rug and art above the bed too . . . and the stick bed.

Bottom Left: I love LUCITE! It goes with everything; modern, traditional, EVERYTHING! The silly tiny deer head is the perfect amount of fun in this bedside table arrangement. I love detailed accessories painted all one color.

Bottom Right: Yes, this is the right side of the same bed as Bottom Left. The tiny, tiny radiator is perfectly accompanied with the yellow flower pot. The second white deer head brings a balance to this asymmetrical bedroom set up.

Catch ya on the flip side,

Molly

My Cup of Tea/Log: Magazines & Periodicals

There are an overwhelming number of magazines and periodicals dedicated to residential architecture, institutional architecture, architecture theory, interior design, product design, graphic design, just design, it's hard to know which ones to subscribe to, which ones to buy when you see something you think you'll like and which ones to just flip through and put back on the shelf. Well, unfortunately, I can't give you any universal advice. What I can do, however, is tell you about the magazines I receive and why I love them. This time around I'll focus on the latest issue of Metropolitan Home.

My Subscriptions:
Dwell Magazine - Great source of Green design information
Elle Decor - Always on top of the latest trends in interiors
Interior Design - A wide range of style in design from traditional to contemporary
Metropolitan Home - Sleek, modern and now; residential spaces.

The July/August 2009 issue of Metropolitan Home is overflowing with inspiring articles and creative design.

Page 32 features an article on "Small Spaces" (my favorite!). Canvas cabins tucked away in the naturally green landscape of Sonoma, California. A couple purchased fairytale land and built three and a half breezy structures, a guest house, a living/dining den, a master suite and an old shed converted into a bathroom.

They plan to build a permanent home by 2011 but admit they'll still sneak into the canvas guest bungalow every now and again.

Page 53 features an article on the design of a home with more constraints than usual, "a couple with very different dreams for their rural New York weekend house".

I've always wanted a desk under a great big window with a tranquil view of sunlight streaming through tree tops. And that light fixture between the two guest beds is too fun!

Page 62 features an article on the dreamiest home with the warmest kitchen.

Lately I've noticed how much you can open up a kitchen by taking down the upper cabinets and replacing them with long, horizontal shelves. This is really just a look for those particularly obsessive about organization, but beautiful none the less. And it never hurts to have a doggy hangin' around.




Page 85 displays a charming bedroom with a unique headboard in a newly renovated 19th century home.

There are times when too much white feels institutional and sterile, but when you combine textures and throw a colorful print that acts as a headboard and art, the white walls warm up and become as important as the print. I love the cube pillows and the exposed wood beams.

Remember there is an endless world of inspiration in magazines and periodicals out there. Keep flipping through new magazines all the time, discover your favorites and then discover more!

Catch ya on the flip side,

Molly

My Cup of Tea/Log: Better Wall

I don't know about you, but I have a hard time finding anything worthy of hanging on my walls. This leaves me with a case of "Blank Wall Syndrome". Well if your a victim of BWS I've got some wonderful news!

While reading the latest issue of Dwell Magazine I discovered Better Wall! Better Wall is a website that sells street banners from museums all over the world. When a museum has a new show coming up they often advertise with large vertical vinyl banners. What's so great about these banners? Now you can have prints of some of your favorite artist's work on a limited, authentic banner AND a percentage of your purchase will go back to the museum the banner came from!



I have a thing for advertisements which makes these banners especially appealing to me. I like the big text and the bright colors. It's important to buy art because you love it; the way it looks, the way it makes you feel, the things it inspires in you. Everything you hang on your walls become the background to your life at home, be comfortable and happy in it. There's such an incredible variety in the banners available, you're bound to find one you fancy. If you don't see one you like today, they're always getting new banners from museums everywhere, so keep going back.

Catch ya on the flip side,

Molly

Adventure: Kips Bay Showhouse

This is half Adventure and half personal advertisement. The architecture and interior design firm I currently work for, Lichten Craig Architects, has two rooms in the 37th Annual Kips Bay Show House in NYC. The house is open from April 17th to May 17th. The show house is located at 22 East 71st street in a beautiful ( and large ) townhouse that is currently for sale through Sotheby's International Realty.

For those who don't know, the show house is an opportunity for interior designers to showcase their talents to the public along side other designers in the city. All designers participating had to go through an application process to recieve a room in the house. Once accepted we had about two months to design and create a room for the showhouse opening. A lot of hard work was completed in very little time and all of the rooms are esspecially wonderful this year.

Our firm was given two rooms, a sitting room and a bedroom off of the sitting room. Joel Woodard, the director of interior design at the firm, was the interior designer of the space. I drafted all of the architectural construction documents and assisted in furniture and material selections.

Below are images of the finished product:


The Sitting Room Club Chairs

These chairs were custom made from my drawings based off of a very similar chair that was too large for the space.


The Bedroom

If you live in New York City come by and have a look around. Tickets are $30 and are sold at the door.

Catch ya on the flip side,

Molly

My Cup of Tea/Log: Four New Log Entries!

My dear friend has been sending me links to other blogs and websites that she thinks I'd fancy. She's been right on every time! All of the links to the following websites/blogs are listed under "Lovely Blogs" on the right column of this blog, so if you fall in love with one, you'll always be able to find it again.

The first is The Selby. It's a wonderful wonderful site with images of all different kinds of people and their homes or work places. Coupled with the images of their funky and unique spaces is a short interview with silly questions that are more telling than you might think. Please take a look at the site when you've got the time, it's inspiring and simply delightful!


Melia and Frank

The second is Shelter Blog. It's a great little blog a couple has been working on to record their home renovations. They start with existing plans of their kitchen, dining room area and then show their renovation plans. At this point they've got before shots of the kitchen, demo photos and images of their inspiration rooms. The last couple posts are of items they're considering using in their new space. It's really fun to watch their progress, I can't wait until they're all done! The lady half of this couple is the very important other half to the next link as well.


Their inspiration kitchen!

The third blog my buddy sent to me was 3191 Miles Apart. If I'm not mistaken, this blog started when two best friends were going to be living 3191 miles apart from each other. They decided in order to stay close while they were so far away, they would create a joint blog where every morning they would each upload one image and then place their two images side by side in one post. They published a book called "A Year of Mornings" and I believe they're working on a year of evenings? It's really wonderful to see how similar some of their images are, they're just really wonderful best friends. I'm not sure what their living situations are at this point, but they've kept the blog going with little projects and fun things friends do together. Ana (my friend who sent me these links) would you please leave a comment correcting me where I'm wrong here? THANKS!



The final link that Ana shared with me is more relevant to those living in or near New York City. There is a free film series at Columbia University on Monday nights. They only show films about design.

A special thanks to Ana.

Catch ya on the flip side,

Molly