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Master bedroom Inspiration: Olatz Schnabel

If you’re like me, you’re used to devouring image after image of beautiful interiors whether it’s through magazines, blogs or everyone’s beloved Pinterest. But every once in awhile, you hit upon an image that stops you dead in your tracks and just stays with you. For me, that feeling hit when I saw this image of Olatz Schnabel’s bedroom in House Beautiful.

olatz house beautiful

It’s totally elegant but the colors make it completely fun. It features primarily white bedding (my favorite) but with a band of the richest purple I’ve ever seen to make it totally decadent. That aqua wall color (HB said it’s Benjamin Moore Blue Diamond) is totally up my alley but the bedding, rug, art, and draperies make the wall color almost an afterthought.

blue diamond

In case you don’t know who Olatz Schnabel is, here’s the brief: She’s the ex-wife of artist Julian Schnabel (Yes, that’s his art in the room) and she designs a beautiful bedding line called Olatz. (Yes, that would be her line on the bed.) In case you’re thinking of clicking on over there and picking up a set, let me first tell you that a king duvet cover in cotton will run you $1265. What’s that you say? You’d like the linen one instead of cotton? Oh. Then that’ll be $2015. Ouch.

olatz-schnabel-on bed

This more recent shot of the other side of the room, below, featured in T, shows the wall color a lot closer to the real thing. I love how she uses dark frames against the blue wall. Looks like she might have switched out the rug at some point, too.

olatz in t

So, anyway – I pulled this pic from House Beautiful back in the summer of 2010 and held onto it assuming my husband would never sign off on something so “decorated”. All that color would just be too much for him! But after we moved in and we were planning a way to take our master out of the cream zone and into the light, we revisited the picture and–surprise, surprise– I got the okay! Granted, we’re just using the color palette as an inspiration. (Alas, there will be no Olatz bedding or Julian Schnabel originals.)

Just to get a real appreciation for the sad room we’re starting with, check out what our master bedroom looked like when we saw the house. Granted, it’s not hideous. Not at all. But for people who love color, it’s a little “vanilla”. (Forgive the horrible picture!)

So, after I decided on this palette, I started realizing I had so many other pictures in my tearsheet folders or pinned that were in a similar color scheme. I love that they all read as very elegant rooms (even the kid’s rooms in the mix!) but they’re totally fun and not at all “vanilla”.

Check out these red twin beds via Domino (all pics can be found via my Master Bedroom Pinterest board unless otherwise noted.)

domino twins

Love this sexy red bed that comes from designer Miles Redd. Also from Domino.

miles redd red

Little girl’s room via Hi Sugarplum! (I highly contemplated painting Sophia’s vintage bed to look like this awhile back. I still might.)

painted bed

 Australian Designer Diane Bergeron created this room. I saw it on House of Turquoise.

diane bergeron

Purple walls! A divine suzani! I don’t have the original source! (Let me know if you can help.)

purple walls

Love this teen bedroom by Jennifer Flanders Interior Design. What teenager gets a crystal light fixture like that!?

tween room

This is a newbie pin for me. I love it! From Carla Lane Interiors.

carla lane

I have to wonder if any of these were inspired by Olatz’s bedroom!

I’ve finally taken some pics of our bedroom so I promise lots of “After” shots coming soon. For now, a little teaser:

More coming soon! (UPDATE: You can find more pics of our bedroom here!)

XO

Sue at Home

Family

Our wedding: Happy Anniversary!

We’ve come to the end of Wedding Week and I’m so glad that so many of you clicked on the posts. Thanks for sharing the memories with me! Now, it’s time to turn my direction to someone other than you. I promise I won’t get too sappy here. That’s just not my style!

Dear Pablo,

To the best husband, dad, and partner-in-everything that anyone could ever ask for,  I can’t believe it’s been 10 years. Here’s to many more decades together!

I love you, baby!

(Lily and Sophia better throw us an awesome 50th anniversary party when they’re 47 and 44!)

XO

Sue at Home

For more on the wedding, check out these earlier posts:

The setting

The clothes

The decorative details

The family and friends

All photos by Mark Nelson

Family

Our Wedding: What It’s All About

Wedding week continues and after the location, the clothes and the decorative details, we finally get down to what it’s all about:

The people.

I was sure as the wedding approached that I had it all figured out. I had my lists and everything was designed, booked, and organized. But on the day of the wedding, I realized that all the stressing over cake and flowers and dresses was silly. Because I finally figured out that it’s all about marrying the love of your life surrounded by all the people who love both of you. It was truly surreal to be surrounded by my family and friends and his family and friends and to realize that they were all there for us. I loved seeing “his people” having fun with “my people”. In fact, one of my friends and one of his friends “met again” that night and now they’ve been married for nearly 7 years and just became parents. (Is it wrong that I take a little credit for that?)

So, here is what it’s all about:

     

The best advice I can give a bride-to-be is just enjoy it. Something will probably go wrong (like, why are there flowers on the cake when they’re not supposed to be there? or what do you mean you don’t have the CD that has our wedding song on it?) but only you can ruin your day. Just brush it off and move on because as long as he shows up, you’re going to have the time of your life. (And I owe it all to youuuuuu! Sorry. Couldn’t resist.)

Did I mention that we were a featured Wedding of the Week on The Knot in 2003. Check it out here.

Plus, check out my other 1o year anniversary wedding posts:

Our Wedding: Newport, Rhode Island

Our Wedding: What We Wore

Our Wedding: The Details

XO

Sue at Home

All photos by Mark Nelson.

crafts, Family, Food

Our Wedding: The Details

First of all, thanks so much for your interest in our wedding! Monday’s post on the setting for our wedding, and Tuesday’s post on the fashion choices were two of my most read blog posts EVER, so thanks!

Today, I’d like to show you some of the details from the wedding. Let me first explain something to the youngins out there: Before Pinterest, there was a wedding binder. And let me tell you, mine was huge! I pulled it out of the attic (of course I still have it!) to take a peek again. Honestly, the binder seems to be the most outdated part of my wedding! The cover, which features a flower inspiration pic and our teal detailed invitation, shows the color palette we worked with. There were also touches of Tiffany Blue throughout the wedding.

Here’s a picture of a flower inspiration page. Pretty, huh? I would have died to have carried a huge arrangement of peonies but they weren’t in season so when I saw this picture of cabbage roses from Martha Stewart Weddings,I was smitten.

The arrangement came out beautifully. It was heavy as hell – but I loved it. (That’s me and my dad before we left the mansion to walk down the aisle.)

 

Funny story: My dad is no sap but he can be known to get a little sentimental.  So, I warned him. I said, “Dad, don’t you dare turn to me right before we walk down the aisle and say something that makes me cry. I want you to tell me a joke.” And he took this task very seriously. He bought joke books and looked for the perfect one for weeks. Finally, he decided on this short, sweet, and giggle-inducing one: A pig is sitting at a bar drinking beer and after beer. Finally, the bartender asks him if he needs to use the bathroom and he says no thanks. He continues to drink and the bartender is baffled. After a few more beers, the bartender asks again, “Don’t you need to use the bathroom?” and finally the pig says, “No. Don’t you know who I am? I’m the little pig who goes Wee Wee Wee all the way home!”

Thanks Dad for the potty humor when I needed it the most. (You can actually see me gaffaw in the wedding video!)

Ok – back to the decorative details:

The bridesmaids all carried different flowers in various shades of pink. Everything from hydrangeas to daisies to snapdragons. They were small and simple and they looked great. (For more about the bridesmaids dresses and where you should NOT get yours, check yesterday’s post).

For centerpieces we had some low and some tall and they were mixes of pinks and greens.  I spent weeks making beaded table numbers but they were a bit of a bust. In fact, they’re crooked and you can’t even see them in these pics. I feel like I need to explain: I took wires, added large silvery clear beads and bent the wires in the shapes of the table numbers. Then I had the florist insert them into the centerpieces. Unfortunately, they were too small/clear and no one could see them. Oh well.

     

One of my favorite flower arrangements was the huge one in the Music Room. As guests arrived, they entered through the foyer and then were directed into this small blue room that had a large arrangement in it with all the seating cards stuck in the arrangement. (I guess sticking things into flowers was a big thing 10 years ago! Or at least I thought it was!)

Now to the yummiest detail – the cake! Now listen, my mood on my wedding day was one that I have never had before or after. (Yes, even different than the birth of my kids.) I was giddy, elated, and high-on-life. I drank several glasses of champagne throughout the evening and none of it touched me. It was like I was drunk from the day itself and nothing else could compare. So maybe you don’t want to trust me when I tell you that my wedding cake was The. Most. Delicious. Cake. Ever.

But it was.

It was simple – white cake with buttercream and chocolate ganache covered in fondant. And now that I think of it, I need to take a trip to Fall River, Massachusetts and get an anniversary cake sometime this summer from Confections.  We rented the vintage cake stand from the bakery and I think it really added the perfect touch.

Our favors were another favorite detail of mine. I discovered early on when we were dating that our initials were the same as the initials for salt and pepper (S&P) so it was natural that we gave shakers as our favors. I found these great stainless steel ones from Crate and Barrel which featured holes in the shape of the letters S&P. I found acrylic boxes to put them in and I decorated each one with a wide silk blue ribbon and a label that said “S&P  – Love is the Spice of Life – July 27, 2002”

The best is that they’re totally personal. They wouldn’t make sense for anyone but us. Unless you have S&P initials, of course! I’m happy to say that many of our friends use them everyday – and we do too!

Hope you enjoyed all the details of our wedding! Stay tuned for more wedding fun tomorrow.

XO

Sue at Home

Family, Fashion

Our Wedding: What We Wore

On Friday, Pablo and I will celebrate 10 years of marriage so in honor of the big day, I’m having Wedding Week here at Sue At Home. Yesterday, I introduced you to Newport and the Beechwood mansion.

Today, the clothes!

As a fashion editor, I had a special kind of pressure when shopping for my wedding dress. I looked EVERYWHERE and tried on every dress in existence. Finally, I fell in love with a halter gown from Carolina Herrera with a pleated organza underskirt that peaked out underneath and swung in a huge train in the back. I loved it then and I love it now. Considering it was 10 years ago, I think I should be sort of mortified by what I picked but alas, I’m not. Check out this amazing ad with my dress from way back then. (I showed it to S and L today and L said, “Why is she playing chess and not at a wedding or something?” Good question, kid.)

The closest pose I have is the one below where I sat down in someone else’s seat while my dad made a speech. I love this picture. (The dress didn’t bustle so I just dragged it around all night. It was filthy by the end of the night but I didn’t care!)

I was an editor at ELLE at the time of the wedding so I was able to order my dress directly through the Carolina Herrera showroom and have all my fittings done there by the head of her atelier. If I were you, I might want to punch me after reading that but I promise that I know I was incredibly lucky to have that treatment and I pinch myself just thinking about it. Even as my wedding diet kicked in, they did an amazing  job altering everything so that it fit like a glove. It fit so perfectly that I didn’t even have to wear a bra which is a testament to both their talent and my pre-kid boobs. (That’s right. I just linked something to that phrase. You’ll have to click it and see what it goes to!)

I wore a blusher and a full length veil for the ceremony and then removed the long one and left the shortie on for the reception. Yes, I am one of the those people who wore her veil for the whole night. I’m kind of old fashioned like that.

  

As for shoes, I spent a ton on a pair that no one saw. Advice for brides-to-be: Get something under $250, like these, and spend some money on a nice pair of sandals for your honeymoon instead.  FYI: They were Manolo Blahnik and they were similar to these but in champagne satin. I wish I could show you a picture but there isn’t one!

My bridesmaid’s wore cream lace strapless cocktail dresses that were custom made from Blue on St. Marks Place in NYC. I don’t think the place still exists but if it does, DO NOT go there. The woman is crazy and a few of the dresses barely made it to the girls on time. And they were made like crap. You can see on the wedding video how my ladies are repeatedly pulling their dresses up while dancing. My maid-of honor wore a sleeveless v-neck version. That smart girl avoided the potential nip slips the other bridesmaids were dealing with all night. All that dress trouble for this photo opp. Thanks ladies!

For my main man’s attire, I sat Pablo down for the Oscar pre-show and made him watch the red carpet to pick out his look. He loved Benjamin Bratt’s classic black tux with a black vest and a long white tie. And I agreed! By using some store credits and an editor discount, I was able to score him a Burberry tux for a few hundred dollars! (That’s me – always bargain hunting!) The tie was from Saks. I’m pretty sure it was Brioni. Doesn’t he look handsome – and so young! – in these pictures?

There we are giggling and happy. It really was a very magical day! Stay tuned for more wedding pics all week long as we lead up to our 10 year anniversary on Friday.

XO

Sue at Home

All photos by Mark Nelson except for the Carolina Herrera ad which was a picture I took of the ad from an old magazine. (How the hell else am I supposed to credit that?)

Family, Home

Our Wedding: Newport, Rhode Island

It’s Wedding Week at Sue At Home!

This Friday July 27th, Pablo and I will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary. I can’t believe that the time has flown by so quickly. I figured I’d share some wedding pics with you this week to help commemorate one of the most amazing days of my life. Today, I’ll set the scene.

We were married at the Astors’ Beechwood mansion in Newport, Rhode Island. When we were dating, we spent a lot of time in Newport with my parents (who had a boat at the time) and we fell in love with the charm of the seaside city. Plus – we loved the fact that we could have a destination wedding that wouldn’t require air travel for most of our guests. Much to our delight, many of our friends and family made a vacation out of it and spent several days in Newport.

Back in 2002 when we got married, the mansion was open for tours during the day and was rented out for weddings and events in the evenings.  It was originally owned by the Astor family and Mrs. Caroline Astor was quite the grand dame of New York and Newport society. Her son, John Jacob Astor was married in the ballroom where our reception was held. He was famous for being the wealthiest man to die on the Titanic. (Remind me not to take a cruise.) Recently, it was sold to the founder of Oracle who now owns it as a private residence. I read an article saying that he has plans to renovate it and use it as a gallery. I don’t care what he does with it, as long as I can walk through it again someday!

Our ceremony took place on the lawn behind the mansion overlooking the water. Pretty dreamy, huh?

Did you notice those people in the far distance by the fence? They’re on Newport’s Cliffwalk. It’s a walkway that goes between the Bellevue Avenue mansions and the ocean. The views are spectacular – and it’s free! If you’re visiting Newport, it’s not to be missed.

More ceremony pictures:

The cocktail hour was held on the veranda on the back of the mansion. (I wish I could tell you more about this part but I was busy taking pictures so we missed the whole thing. If I could redo one thing from our wedding, it would be to skip the formal family and wedding party pics. Other than that, I wouldn’t change a thing!)

The reception was held in the ballroom of the mansion. I usually don’t get into such antiquey stuff but I love the gold details and all the amazing lighting. It was so romantic!

I’ll end on that sappy picture. I hope it has you saying “Awwww!”, though I know my kids will say “Ewww!”

Hope you liked the tour of Newport and the Beechwood mansion. I’ll be back tomorrow to talk about wedding attire. (The best part!)

XO

Sue at Home

Aerial shot from here. All other photos by Mark Nelson. If you can’t wait to see more wedding details, check this out now.