Archive for November, 2013

Progress! The guys from Ital Marble were on site recently bringing in our counters for the kitchen. The island is pretty large, so it’s quite an experience to be on site as they carry the massive pieces in and set them. It finally feels like it’s coming together after a year of carrying around tiny little materials from meeting to meeting to make selections! I’ll share some images tomorrow of our other elements and the process that got us here. Before we know it we’ll have barstools in!

Kristina Crestin Design counter install

Counters being installed by Ital Marble, stone sourced at Stone Décor Galleria. Architecture by Water Jacob Architects, cabinetry by Henrybuilt, and the builder is Apex Carpentry.

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Some of the most exciting days happens towards the end when the finishing touches start to go in – typically what feels like an eternity to happen! This last site visit was like Christmas – the wood for the stairs was being made and installed (Killer design from Walter Jacob Architects that we’re collaborating with on this project) and allot of the key lighting pieces were in or in the process of going in. We got to watch our primary piece being installed- the custom Terzani Mizu glass light from Casa Design. Right now it just looks like a bunch of sugar cubes! The glass balls will probably stay looking like sugar cubes till move in to protect them. Check out some more of the excitement below! The last photo is an amazing light with 3 rings, the Citadel Composition 3 Ring from Quasar that we also sourced from Casa Design - those ladies have some amazing modern lighting~!

Kristina Crestin Design_Big P lighting install

Architecture by Water Jacob Architects and the builder is Apex Carpentry.

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Seeing the Living Room come together isn’t as exciting as say the lighting install as the Living Room is more about the view than the decorating; so we’ve been very judicious about the furniture we have picked. The client fell in love very early on (and I mean VERY, this sofa has been in storage for over a year – thats after the SUPER long lead time and getting it here from Europe!) a really interesting sofa from B&B Italia called the ‘bend’. It’s amorphous and a bit of a puzzle. It’s pretty cool and the details get this girl exciting – check out the contrast stitching on one of the images below. We’re pairing that with an ottoman from Holly Hunt that doubles as an ottoman. We’ve also had that on hand for quite awhile, we we’re really good early on making key decisions and getting orders in as construction was happening. It gave us time to go visit pieces in storage!

Kristina Crestin Design Big P Living Room Lighting: LZF Pendant light from Casa Design in Boston, B&B Italia sofa from Montage and Holly Hunt ottoman from Webster & Co.

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Just finally saw the new New England Home Magazine and Designer Bath’s new advertisement using our ‘Designers Shine’ win. Surreal seeing this project everywhere. I promise, we’re planning the next big photo shoot soon so you can start seeing other projects of ours! This photo by Eric Roth.

Kristina Crestin Design Designers Shine

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Project in Progress: Her Study

November 21st, 2013

We’re developing a scheme for cozy destination for a client that is all about unwinding – and being surrounded by things that relax and inspire at the same time. Yummy materials – think silk velvet and worn leather.  Adding in a little vintage like these fabulous savaged  door knobs that came out of the Park Plaza Hotel balanced by interesting lighting with a little glam. Feeling good to me so far!

Kristina Crestin Design_Blog Post_Ladies Study design schemeSourcing & Photo Credit from top: Materials study taken in our studio, fashion inspiration shot from The Chic Bostonian, Arteriors Winston Chandelier, Jayson Home & Garden Abbot sofa, vintage door knob from Olde Good Things,  Arteriors Zelda Lamp and finally the Estate lounge chair from Ceccotti Collezioni via the Daily Icon.

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Finishing off our NYC trip was a fabulously lit (you have to appreciate great dramatic lighting) event where Legrand  announced the winner of their Light Your Imagination contest. A little champagne, a little mingling and spending a bit more time with our blogging team – nice way to end a whirlwind trip to to NYC!

kristina crestin design adorn eventPics:  Blogging team (left to right) Vicki Bolick of The Ace of Space, me, Rayan Turner of the Design Confidential, Jill Nystul of One Good Thing by Jillie and Jenny Komenda of The Little Green Notebook.

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While at the panel discussion in the morning at the Adorne event in NYC we were able to preview all the contestants for their ‘Light Your Imagination’ contest. I have no idea how they settled on a final winner! There were certainly some creative submissions. While that was interesting to get to see them all in person I do get distracted by shiny objects …. especially when there are numerous in a room! The Legrand team thought up a creative interactive display showcasing all their switches. Brilliant idea. The corner was stacked with a myriad of lit crystal balls of varying sizes and you could control them by using the switches. Fantastic!

Congrats to Lauren Rottet the winner of the ’Light Your Imagination’ contest – have fun being a guest designer!

Kristina Crestin Design Adorne Legrand SwitchThanks again to Legrand for bringing me out to NYC to blog about these events!

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Recently (I know, I know, I should have shared this last week!) Legrand brought 4 other bloggers and I to NYC for a couple events. Kicking it off was a morning panel discussion about ‘The Intersection of Design and Innovation’.

Seated down and center we got to listen to the panel discuss  innovation in their own work and have some Q&A after. My design crush Tom Filicia was one of the panelists, so I was pretty excited about seeing him and listening to his remarks; but listening to Phil Prestigomo, Legrands Director of Industrial Design I think was my highlight. Listening about bringing a redesign of the forgotten light switch to market and the process was pretty interesting. It was remarked that the light switch came out in 1908 and it wasn’t until 1968 that the ‘decora’ or paddle type switch came out -then nothing else! The travesty!

Since my job is paying attention to all the details it’s been frustrating having such a lack of options. I put some of the new Adorne switches in my own half bath and I though I personally love them and think they sit quietly in the space, I get more and more remarks on them each time someone new visits my house. Works for me – fun, functional and pretty! Check out the original blog post here.

Kristina Crestin Design Panel LegrandPhotos: Blogging team (left to right) Jenny Komenda of The Little Green Notebook, Jill Nystul of One Good Thing by Jillie, Rayan Turner of the Design Confidential and Vicki Bolick of The Ace of Space.  Panel (left to right) Phil Prestigomo, Legrands Director of Industrial Design, Susan Tilloston, Marc Kushner, Travis Rotelli and Tom Filicia.

Thanks Legrand for the tip – what fun!

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I’ve been on the search for vintage maps lately for my own house as well as a project. We have a couple spaces in a stair hall that needs large art, but there are so many other spaces in the house to work on first that investing in art doesn’t make sense now. Hence the idea of large, oversize art that’s creative and affordable = vintage maps!

I hit the jackpot lately at one of my quick stops into Diamonds & Rust in Beverly. Map heaven! I pretty much asked to borrow all of them. Totally worthwhile. I’ll share my house progress later (hoping to get some special picture lighting on each map this week!)

Kristina Crestin Design Diamonds and Rust vintage maps

So far on the Essex house we did settle on a cool map of North America for the top of the stairs, in it’s original metal casing that the maps rolled back up into and we’re thinking about a map of France for the stair hall – map or a grid of family photos. Hm …. the decisions!

Kristina Crestin Design Vintage MapsPics above of hanging the one we are definitely keeping, the bigger one we’re thinking about, or rather they are thinking about!

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On the Road: ABC Home in NYC

November 7th, 2013

This week I had a little extra time to kill before the Adorne events started and the weather was great in NYC so I weaved my way to ABC Home to do some power shopping for a bunch of projects. I didn’t do so fabulously with the things I was actually looking for, but I did find some new things I did fall in love with!

1. I can spot a turquoise piece of glass a mile away, I may even have super special radar for it! I was honing in on the cluster of Cisco’s jug pendant lights (which I happen to have 3 of in my own dining room) and got totally distracted by the new table lamps I hadn’t known they had in their collection! The scale, the proportion, the color; Oh My! Must have 2!

Kristina Crestin Design Blog ABC Home Cisco2. Another vendor which I’ve used allot of before but can’t see here in Boston is Madeline Weinrib rugs. I’ve used them numerous times as the colors are great and some of her patterns are quite interesting. The way she plays with scale in her patterns I like allot. Being able to visit ABC Home and touch and feel the pieces again was pretty great. I only wish someone here sold them! (HINT HINT).

Kristina Crestin Design ABC Home3.  These cuties caught my eye as they were simple and fun; both attributes of which I like to repeat as often as I can in an interior. The yellow and orange caught my eye and at just under $300 a steal!  It’s called the post counter stool … no idea which vendor!

Kristina Crestin Design ABC home4. I kept coming back to this dining table as the asymmetry of the butterfly joinery I thought was really interesting. Made but a Brooklyn artist Jim Denney; each piece obviously is one of a kind. Wish I had a job that fit his work right now, I totally want to take it home to hold onto for when I ‘needed it’ for a project. Don’t think the husband would enjoy an extra table kicking around though!

ABC Home Kristina Crestin Design 5. I always wanted to see these pendants from Tom Dixon in person, in photos they always just looked too fun! In real life they are even better, they glow and the warm coppery color inside is just gorgeous. I think you can’t have just one though, you may need 7, or 9 … or heck even 13!

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