My mom and I did a lot of really fun things while she was in town. A couple of these things deserve their own blog entries due to the amount of information I want to document and/or the amount of pictures. Let's start with our Saturday together...we spent the entire day doing the New York Junior League Spring House Tour. You may remember I did this with Lucy and her mom in the fall and I hoped then my mom would be able to come for it some time. So glad it worked out!! We had a lot of fun and saw some really neat spaces!
First stop, NYJL offices. Their offices are in a really nice Brownstone just off Park Avenue so it's fun to see it, too. We went there to get our maps and information booklets as well as breakfast and the first goodie bag of the day. We also got to sign up for a FREE subscription to the interior design magazine, Veranda. Woo-hoo...love free stuff!
We headed back across the park to hit up the 2 homes on the Upper West Side first. I was so excited that there were homes in my 'hood this time. The first one was a very nice apartment in a very nice and beautiful complex surrounding some pretty gardens. Mom said it reminded her of Europe. The apartment had been totally revamped by it's owner...an interior designer by trade. She had whitewashed all the floors and just about everything else in the apartment was also white. We loved it! It was very sleek, yet still homey. I wish I had taken pictures in this sweet little abode.
Our second stop was a townhome that was located...get this....directly across the street from my apartment! We couldn't believe it! It was very fun to see inside a home on my street! It is one of the few brownstones on my street that is a single family home. It had actually been vacant from the mid-90's until this family bought it around 2004. For the 10 years it was vacant, it had no electricity or water. When the lady of the house went to see it the first time, the agent had to give her a flashlight to go in...it was a mess. But, she's an interior decorator and this was just the kind of project she was up for. She has done a beautiful job with the place. It is 6 stories! Each floor is not too big though. It is still a very nice sized home - especially for NYC. I think there were 5 bedrooms and there must have been 1 bathroom on each floor. There was also an elevator, which my mom said you'd absolutely have to have to live there since everything is so scattered amongst the 6 stories. We loved seeing this place, and the space is awesome, but overall the decor was not really our style...a little too stiff for our liking.
I see this every time I step out
my front door. Now I can
say I have seen the inside, too!
One cool thing - from across the street, I could see the roof of my building, which I had never been in a position to see before. Turns out there is this super cute cottage-y looking thing on the room of my building that is part of the 5th floor tenants apartment. I had no idea! I wish I had snapped a pic of it!
Our next stops were back on the Upper East Side. We went to a crazy tiny apartment of an architect. It had 2 bathrooms, but they were exactly right next to each other - it was so strange. Other than that, it had a living area, a bedroom, and a VERY tiny kitchen. The kitchen did not even have an oven or stove. It was interesting to see what he had done with the tiny space.
Our next stop was the home of Trading Spaces designer,
Laura Day. She and her family have a great apartment - a beautiful space. However, it was a little odd because 1/2 of the apartment had a more contemporary/modern feel to it, while the other 1/2 had a more French/cottage feel to it. If you know me, you can guess which half we liked better :) I loved the guest bedroom! The master bed and bath, however, were a little to "out there" for my liking.
Loved this Guest Bedroom
And love, love the tile at the top of
the Guest Bathroom. She used the
same tile in the laundry room, but
in a beige shade. Love it!
Next stop was lunch. Lunch was SO much better this go around. It was held at the Architecture & Design Building. This place was awesome. It is a huge building filled with different showrooms. We got to see 3 different showrooms - all kitchen spaces and they were amazing. They also provided a lot of room for all of us to eat and they had all the kitchen stuff the chefs needed to prepare our meals. It was a perfect set-up. The food was great too - gourmet pizzas and salads.
Fantastic kitchen set-up at the A&D Building
Following lunch, we headed south to hit up two more homes in the Murray Hill area of town. Next stop was the home of a renowned violinist...no idea who. We only got to see part of his home...the living area, study, and kitchen, but not the bedrooms and baths. He did however have a HUGE outdoor terrace and that was one of the most interesting parts of the day. The views from his terrace were incredible. He had a very nice covered eating area, a hot tub, sitting area with fireplace, and outdoor showers! It was sooooo cool.
This is his living area. Apparently, he holds
mini indoor concerts here and the likes of
Glenn Close attend these intimate gatherings.
Love this clock tower view!
Our final home was at a smaller, but very nice apartment. I don't remember much about this apartment, but that it was nice. And on the wall in the entryway, he had this hanging he had made with gold letters that said "What Would Oprah Say?" Random.
Unfortunately, I had the times wrong and thought the houses were open until 4:30. They closed at 4:00 and we didn't make it to the 7th and last home in time. Such a bummer as it was a residence inside The Plaza Hotel. We'd heard earlier in the day that it wasn't that great, so maybe we didn't miss much, but it still would have been cool to see an apartment in The Plaza!!
After the home tours, we headed to the cocktail reception at an art gallery in mid-town. We didn't stay long, but long enough to get a refreshing drink and pick up our 2nd goodie bag of the day. It was a great day. I love these tours and can't wait to do the next one!!
