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Bathroom Remodel Reveal

January 9, 2016 Sue Erneta

How do I love my new bathroom? Let me count the ways:

1. IT’S DONE! We’ve known for years that we would need to remodel the bathroom because the pipes were clogged and we couldn’t use the sink. (Yes, we had multiple plumbers attempt to fix it but they all determined that the wall would need to be removed to access the pipe.) So, after several years of brushing our teeth in the main bath, we can finally use our sink again and for that alone, I say Hallelujah!

2. WALL-TO-WALL COUNTERSPACE. Our old vanity was tiny (offering only an inch or two on the sides) so it made any basic task, like putting on makeup, extremely difficult. Even with all the pretty things in the new bathroom, the counterspace is probably my favorite feature! To have a daily task simplified like this feels like a great luxury to me. Oh – and did I mention that we lucked out by finding a pre-fab marble countertop at Home Depot that fit perfectly? It came with the sink and was a fraction of the cost of a custom marble top!

3. ART. I always knew I wanted some green in the bathroom and even considered banana leaf wallpaper but when I saw these prints from The Aestate (they’re the Beverly I & Beverly II trimmed to fit the frame), I knew they were perfect. (Bonus: they’re cheaper and less of a commitment – perfect for my fickle taste!) Note: The frames are from Crate and Barrel and the wall color is Benjamin Moore Cloud White.

4. AN INDUSTRIAL LIGHT. I fell in love with this gooseneck from Restoration Hardware and didn’t look much further. (Truth be told, if I could go back and change one thing, I’d go with thin sconces on the sides of the mirror instead of the overhead light. It’s cool but you can’t really see the gooseneck detail because it’s up so high.)

5. CERAMIC TILE. I’m obsessed! Isn’t it beautiful? I’ve got to give credit to Pablo on this one. (It’s the Circulos Black from Cement Tile Shop.) We were considering some classic small hex tile and he spotted this on my Pinterest board when I was showing him something else. Note: Our contractor had a lot of trouble with it. The dark grout stained the tiles and he had to buff them to get back to the correct color. So, please – if you ever use this kind of tile, be warned!

6. PRETTY TOWEL HOOKS. They’re from Anthro. Cute, huh?

7. A CUSTOM VANITY. Our contractor also happens to be a master woodworker and he made this beauty to our specifications and just like that, all my vanity dreams come true. (What? Am I the only one who dreams of bathroom furniture?) I love how it looks like a piece of furniture because it has feet and doesn’t quite reach the walls. And it gives us a lot more storage inside than our old one did! (The brass and green hardware is from Anthropologie but they’re sold out now. Sorry.)
8. A MODERN TOWEL RING AND HAND TOWELS. I labored over the hardware but decided that since we just needed a small hand towel, I didn’t want to use a rod. But finding a ring that doesn’t scream “welcome to 1983!” proved difficult. Enter this cheapie from Urban Outfitters (so cheap it didn’t even come with hardware)! I love it and it works perfectly with these thin Turkish towels from West Elm. (Pablo says he’s afraid to use them because they look too fancy!) I think he finally relaxed when I showed him that I bought a bunch of them – from grey to white. Here’s what it looks like with the white one:

9. WAINSCOTING. I originally wanted white subway tile in here but I’m so glad we decided to switch to wainscoting. It looks classic but the dark paint (Benjamin Moore Black Jack) makes it modern. Get this: our contractor MADE every piece of trim. He’s amazing!

10. A PRETTY T.P. HOLDER. I understand that I shouldn’t be this excited about hardware but isn’t it so nice? I love how the antique brass looks against the black wall. (It’s from Pottery Barn if you must know.)

11. ACCESSORIES. I’m not into lots of “stuff” on countertops so we only have a few accessories. I can’t find a soap dispenser I like so until I do, this J.R. Watkins Aloe and Green Tea hand soap while suffice. The malachite bowl from Hillary Thomas was a Christmas present from Pablo last year. I have a malachite obsession but I know there’s a little malachite fatigue in the market right now so I’m actually glad we only made a small investment in it. (This beauty is just the right size to hold rings while I’m washing my hands.)

We keep our toothbrushes in a green glass from Anthropologie. And of course we have a Baies candle cause, duh, it’s the best candle on earth.

12. A MASSIVE MEDICINE CABINET. We fell in love with the Rivet mirror/medicine cabinet from Restoration Hardware and having it inset makes the bathroom feel so much bigger than before. Plus it’s pretty and offers TONS of storage inside (so much that I even let Pablo have some)!

Do you hear the angels singing? Because I do every time I open it!

I hope you enjoyed this update as much as I love our new bathroom! Sorry for the no-bells-and-whistles blog post (i.e.: no links but plenty of crappy iPhone pictures). I haven’t written in so long and I just don’t have the time to do it the “right” way! Right now, it seems that life is more important than blogging for me. Sorry I’ve been MIA for so long but if you’re interested in what projects I’m up to, follow me on Instagram @sue_erneta. (Maybe I’ll eventually get around to writing a post about Sophia’s amazing Starbucks latte Halloween costume!)

Sue at Home

Decor, Fashion

The House of Versace

September 22, 2013 Sue Erneta

Back in high school and college, there was not a designer I worshiped more than Gianni Versace. You need to understand, this was the time of the Elizabeth Hurley safety pin dress and the ads with megawatt supermodels with one name like Helena, Linda and Christy. (Man, do I love this image. )

Versace played an interesting role in my life when I was spending an uphappy semester at UCONN (nothing wrong with the school, just not the right fit for me). That fall, it was a Versace exhibit at FIT that lured me to NYC for a weekend. I saw the exhibit, fell in love with the school (I was already seriously in love with NYC!), and convinced my parents to let me transfer schools (again!) so I could spend my final college years in NYC. Best career move I ever made. Thanks Mom and Dad!

That same year, Versace purchased Casa Casuarina, a spectacular mansion in Miami. Image via Born Rich.

versace mansion overhead

Years later, I was an assistant at ELLE when I heard that he had been murdered on the steps of his mansion. I can still picture where I was when I heard the news.

I was heartbroken and vowed to visit Miami one day to pay my respects. Well, a few years later I took that trip to South Beach and was floored with the location of Casa Casuarina. For anyone who has never been there, his manse was right on South Beach, in the middle of all the tourist traps and right across from the public beach. Needless to say I was still dying to get behind that gate.

Then a few years ago, I had the chance to get inside. I was back in Miami when I found out that the mansion had become a hotel and restaurant so I decided to visit for lunch. And this week when I heard it had been sold again (more on that in a sec), I had to go and dig up my pictures from the visit. Check it out:

Everywhere you looked, there was opulence.

How beautiful is that tile?

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I didn’t get to see the whole space–the restaurant was in the courtyard–but I was able to take a look at the pool area. These steps lead from the courtyard to the pool.

Just a little plunge pool. No biggie.

I can’t imagine the time it would take to do this kind of work. (Note: This is so not my style but I find it fascinating. Don’t you?)

In case you forgot who’s house you were in.

Courtyards are such a European concept. I wish we had more of them in the US.

But the most ridiculous, over-the-top, display of ostentatious behavior was the restaurant’s bathroom. (Image via Born Rich.)

Yup, you’re seeing that correctly. It is in fact a carved marble toilet with a gilded lid. Ah, Gianni Versace. You were one-of-a-kind.

And it seems that Versace has been popping up a bunch in this past week’s news.

VERSACE IN THE NEWS #1) I heard that the mansion was sold to the Jordache Jeans heirs for $41.5 million. That’s a lot of denim.

VERSACE IN THE NEWS #2) On October 5th Lifetime will air an original movie, “The House of Versace” starring Gina Gershon as Donatella and Enrico Colantoni as Gianni. Image via MyLifetime.com

Gina’s got the lips down. Image via ABCnews.

I love this guy and think the casting is great. (Enrico, I’ll forgive you for Just Shoot Me, which was the worst portrayal of a fashion magazine ever, because of your fine work on Veronica Mars.) Image via Styleblazer.

VERSACE IN THE NEWS #3) Check out Donatella’s latest collection that was shown last week during Milan fashion week. I’m missing the jewel-encrusted bustiers but I still think it’s pretty great. Runway images via style.com

Sue at Home

Decor, Home, My house, Uncategorized

Foyer Update: New Lighting and Stools

April 8, 2013April 8, 2013 Sue Erneta

As I told you when I revealed our new foyer table, the lighting I had there was just borrowed from the bedroom and I knew I needed to find something else. Here’s a refresher of the foyer table with the borrowed light:

After the table went in, I went on a lamp shopping spree at Target but none of the options were quite right.

Since then, the foyer has gone through a couple changes. You may have noticed a couple of them when you saw our foyer on Apartment Therapy. (What? You missed that?? Well, our living room–which includes this foyer area–was featured on Apartment Therapy last year. Yup. It sure was!) Anyway, we were using an old mirrored lamp with a quick-fix shade from Target but I wasn’t crazy about it. We also got a new runner from Ballard for a song. It’s an indoor/outdoor rug so it’s super durable which is just what we needed. Is it a perfect forever runner? Probably not. But it’s good for now. (You can pick one up here.)

And then I revealed the little “hi” in the foyer back in November.

And it even got a brighter gold update back in this post:

But let’s get back to the hunt for a lamp…

Like I told you back in October, I was eagerly waiting for Nate Berkus’s collection to hit Target and when it did, I was there. It took a little hunting (read the harrowing tale here) but I found the lamp I wanted.

I figured I would just update this post that I started last fall with a nice picture of the Nate lamp and say it was all done. But…womp, womp…it wasn’t quite perfect. Believe me, I really wanted to love it but it just felt kinda wimpy and just not quite right.

…and I didn’t like the way the shade looked with light shining through it. (Yes, I know it still has the plastic on and yes, I know you’re not supposed to put it on like that but how the hell else are you supposed to see how it looks with light shining through?! I promise I just held it over the bulb for a few seconds, Mom.)

So, back to the drawing board. I picked up another lamp from Target with a panelled shade and that’s filling the space now. (I can’t seem to find either on the site right now so I guess they’re sold out but they’re both from the Threshold line which is killing it so go check out what else they have here.) It’s pretty but it’s not the lamp of my dreams.

So what would the lamp of my dreams be, you ask? Of, I don’t know. Probably something like the Robert table lamp from Matthew Studios in Amethyst:

Or the Veronica in quartz:

If you’re interested in purchasing one of them for me and you have the $3500 required to get one, you can go to rareculture.com to pick it up. (Actually don’t. That’s gross. If you have $3500 to spend on a table lamp, please just use the money to make a donation to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer for me. Thanks.)

You’ll also notice that we finally got some stools that sit on either side of the table. I might be DIYing a little addition to them soon I won’t into too much detail here but they’re from Serena and Lily and yes, they come with the dipped legs. Cute, right?

My little foyer is still a work in progress but it has come a long way since this!

Sue at Home

Family, Fashion

Our Wedding: What We Wore

July 24, 2012June 11, 2020 Sue Erneta

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.

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?)

Before and After, Decor, Family, Home, My house, Uncategorized

DIY Painting for the Dining Room

June 12, 2012June 11, 2020 Sue Erneta

Allow me to reintroduce you to my dining room. Dining room, readers. Readers, dining room. You might remember that you met this room back in this post but here’s the recap. This was our dining room before we moved in. Simple. Subtle.

Cream and brown.

Here’s how it was recently.

The only big problems were 1) the too-short curtains that need to be replaced by something that goes all the way to the ceiling and 2) that weird art by yours truly. The curtains are going to take a little time to hunt down but I got to work on the painting yesterday. I was inspired by this picture I had seen on Amber Interiors but I wanted to do it with a gold background instead of silver. (Yes, I know that silver would “go” better with the gray walls but that’s precisely why I want to use gold. You get me, right?)

OK. So we’re all recapped now. Let the painting begin!

I used Craft Smart acrylic paints from Michael’s in Gold and Neon Pink. I actually had to make a run to the store to get more Neon Pink. That’s what happens when you share your paints with 2 little girls. (Who am I kidding? I used it all myself!) I made my first coat and I could still see some of the other colors through it. I liked it on the pink part but the gold was just looking greenish. (Also – please note my amazing art studio. It’s called laying-newspaper-down-on-the-living-room-floor-and-leaning-over-the-painting. Really fancy, huh?)