Is your house holiday-ready?

It's barely Halloween and while the Fright Night masks are still on the shelves, retailers are stocking their spaces with holiday baubles, garlands, glass ornaments, and fake wreaths. It may seem crazy to launch the countdown to the holiday festivities so soon, but the celebrating, cooking, and partying of the the last few months of the year begins pretty much NOW and there's nothing like the occasion of entertaining friends and family (and co-workers, in-laws, neighbors, et al) to make you wonder aloud, perhaps gripped with a wave of coinciding panic, "IS MY HOUSE HOLIDAY-READY?"

Never fear, my dears!

Deb and I were talking the other day about how often we operate under tight deadlines with clients for one reason or another - surprise birthday party, cast and crew party, fundraising event, and the list goes on. We LOVE helping people get their homes together to not only feel like a place THEY love to be, but also a place they're proud to share with others. And sometimes all it takes is an outside well-practiced, creative perspective to bring your space to a more gorgeous place -- whether it involves additions or omissions or shifting the awesome things you already own (usually a combination of all three!), we Lily Spindle ladies thrive in the art of reinvigorating everything from a teeny room to an entire home. 

Case in point, for many months our friend Heather had been hunting for a rug to bring together her living room. So after a few conversations with her, Deb and I immediately hopped to it and scored her an awesome deep pink and apricot striped Turkish 5' x 8' rug (having told her we thought that Amalfi/Venetian pink was the right vibe).  The rug arrived within five days, she got herself the rug pad, and Heather was entirely stoked with the result. This is what she had to say about our work: "You two birds helped me conquer my carpet block within 24 hours! Your expert eyes quickly honed in on just the right textures and colors and I love my joyous living room even more now." Check it out below...

Heather's Noguchi coffee table and Eames molded plywood chairs are now fabulously moored by the colorful Turkish rug we discovered..

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This Franklin Hills patio with an incredible view was staged and ready to roll for our client's cast and crew party and, come evening, the summer air and flickering candlelight completed the cozy scene. 

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We also just wrapped up a project that took three and a half weeks from start to finish. Lily Spindle outfitted our client for an entirely new space, starting 100% from scratch and sourcing every single thing for his pied a terre from doormats to dining chairs and pretty much every conceivable thing in between! *Not-so-great iPhone snaps shown below! 

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And so, DON'T FRET ABOUT THE IMMINENT HOLIDAY PARTIES + DINNERS, ok? Lily Spindle is at your service with our years of design experience. 

Need a new sofa?
Done.

Need an oversized vintage mirror in the alcove?
Copy that.

In need of an original painting?
Check.

Not even quite sure what it is that you need?
No worries! We'll sort it for you/with you/on your behalf. 

xx ~ Rebecca + Deb 

A "FULL HOUSE" IN LOS FELIZ: REVAMPING A LIVELY L.A. HOUSEHOLD

Name: Scot + Kerry Armstrong
Location: Los Feliz, California
Size: 2300-square-feet, 3-bedroom, 2-bath, 1 1/2 bath
Years lived in: 9

Located at the foot of Los Angeles'  iconic Griffith Park in sun-dappled and lovely Los Feliz is the beautiful one-story home of the Armstrong crew. An incredibly busy house just by the nature of its inhabitants -- husband, Scot, is a screenwriter/director known for, most recently, as the creator, writer, and director of the Showtime series "DICE" featuring Andrew Dice Clay, as well as  his work on "Road Trip," "The Hangover:Part II", and "Old School," while Kerry is the director of HOME DOG LA, an animal rescue intervention program, and they're parents to 9-year-old fashionista, Lake, and 5-year-old Charlie. They've got a bevy of mid-sized, fabulous rescue dogs and a corn snake, to boot. Hello, literal "full house"!

When we first walked into their home, we immediately sensed the innate energy within its walls - ebullient, mirthful, and wonderfully contagious. Most elements of the house didn't convey that innate liveliness and happiness, however. 

"WE MOVED INTO OUR HOME IN LOS FELIZ RIGHT AFTER THE BIRTH OF OUR FIRST CHILD," SAYS KERRY. "OVER THE YEARS WE ADDED ONE MORE KID AND 4 MORE DOGS! OUR KIDS WENT FROM BEING BABIES TO A 5 AND A 9 YEAR OLD AND OUR HOUSE NEEDED A GLAMOUR OVERHAUL! WE LOVE OUR HOME BUT ALL THE DECOR AND THE WALL COLORS WERE FEELING OUTDATED AND DULL . . ."

We sought to make a totally livable, 100% lovable space for this family of four and all their darling animals wherein beauty, richness, color, and light was infused into the space without becoming "precious" about anything. We felt like nothing newly introduced by us could be delicate and fragile -  in terms of textiles, accessories, and furniture, we brought in pieces that were hardy but spectacular: indigo cotton pillows and poufs, modern wool rugs, washable cotton coverlets, a variety of vintage lamps in sunny yellow and burnt sienna, a custom credenza made locally in L.A.; new paint colors for the master bedroom, den, and daughter's bedroom are bold and bright (deep azure, radiant yellow, and fuchsia, respectively) and we hung large-scale, abstract contemporary artwork from Los Angeles artists' whose work we adore, and these balanced perfectly the couple's rather substantial art collection, comprised predominantly of photography and representational paintings. 

For us, the challenge was in finding that fine, ineffable balance between the utilitarian and "sturdy" to ensure that the awesome Armstrong crew gleefully and comfortably lives with the home's changes, while also making the space come to life and reflect the joyful nature of its creative and captivating people. I think (and hope!)  we succeeded! Some Before and After photos are shown below, as well as a few individual room shots. 

This bedroom was a combination of pale blues and dapple-greys. Totally fine, for all intents and purposes, but a bit ho-hum. We proposed something more sumptuous and deeper, a combination of vintage and new. And they were ready to do it! Wall color is Benjamin Moore's Adriatic Sea; abstract painting by Los Angeles artist David Lloyd, bedding is Pine Cone HIll and Pendleton, ceramic lamps are vintage, bed and bedside tables are clients' own. 

Welcome to the bedroom of a rock and roll 9-year-old. Making the transition from her childhood wallpaper and furniture wasn't without its flashes of fear, but giving her the ability to choose the paint, bedding patterns, and art from our specific proposals made this 9-year-old a part of the transformation. And it's one helluva bedroom now!  A Warhol print hangs on Benjamin Moore's Hot Lips, vintage frosted glass desk lamp, anodized aluminum trunk for costume + accessory storage, custom-made pillows and zebra print coverlet, client's own bed, desk, and desk chair. 

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Vintage indigos paired with sunshine yellow make this den glow. Painting by LA artist Ned Evans. Wall color is Benjamin Moore Dalila. Client's own coffee table, sectional sofa, and floor lamp. 

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A salon-style assemblage of their many animalium paintings makes the den of these dog lovers even sweeter. 

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A quiet space in the front alcove, which once served as the kids' art storage space. Credenza custom-made in Los Angeles, tall bright yellow table lamp and shade are vintage, pottery by Venice ceramicist Nancy Wright, black and white photograph is client's own. 

*(Total Lily Spindle re-design non-sequitur here, but if you haven't checked out DICE, do it as soon as possible. It is damn funny + clever.)

xx - Rebecca + Deb 

The Power of the Pillow

Ferm Living's Kelim Cushions; $100+up; available at Lawson Fenning. (image source: Domino)
 

Pillows are powerful - good ones can make your space pretty damn spectacular; bad ones can create a real downer of a room. For that matter, even a boatload of superfluous pillows piled onto a sofa can make your space look disorganized and somewhat junky and, hey, if you've gotta move pillows from one piece of furniture onto another just to be able to sit your butt down, you've got too many pillows. And that's much too much of a good thing.

Deb and I find we're shopping for pillows several times a week, as throw pillows are entirely unique to each space we see and there are zillions of options out there in the world. In our exhaustive and entertaining adventures in pillows, we've learned a thing or two. Here are a few Lily Spindle tips:

#1 - Whatever size the pillow cover is, go one or two sizes up with regards to the insert (i.e. a 20"x20" pillow would call for a 22"x22" insert). Unless you happen to love a flaccid pillow and abhor a plush, fulsome pillow, of course. And in that case, entirely ignore this wisdom..

#2 - If the sofa is leather and slopes backwards at all, try to find pillows that can (literally) stand on their own, like a thick Kilim or cowhide pillow. A slippery silk or velvet pillow typically slides onto its back like a helpless turtle when placed against leather upholstery, which may sound kind of adorable but it looks kind of terrible. Trust me.

#3 - Mix your patterns and textures, but do so with discretion to avoid looking like a lunatic. For instance, if you're using a bold pattern in bright primary colors in one or two pillows, the others should be relatively neutral - quiet patterns or one particular background color with a single stripe or detail that complements the whole lot of them.

In general, pillows should require zero assistance and effort once you've got the right ones dialed in. Their job is to hang out and be awesome. We've gathered up a few of our favorites right here, from the divine to the darling. Have at it!

xx - Rebecca

 

Mid-20th century Indonesian silk Ikat pillow, $330; 1stdibs.

Aviva Stanoff Purple Stain Velvet Pillow; $275+up; abchome.com

Stone Textile Studio's Tuxedo Pillow; $215

Vintage Moroccan pillow; $450; Habibi Imports.

Mud cloth pillows; $110-$140; Etsy

Donna Wilson wool pillows - Badger, Pup, Elk, and Kitty; $140/each

Dark Indigo, $200+, House of Cindy

Malibu pillow (made of vintage Mexican Serape); $230; House of Cindy