Amy Azzarito's Blog, page 2

Entryway Makeover

I have a giant notebook where I list potential home projects. They rise and fall in priority. Some get finished while others are deemed non-important. My favorite projects are those that solve a problem.

The problem here was that we were a “shoes free” house. Yet there was no place for guests to sit while the removing the offending shoes. It might not seem like a huge problem until you watch your guests untying laces while standing precariously near a set of stairs.

Instead, our split level home had two generous entry closets. The space was even too tight for a bench or stool. We hardly used one of the closets, which inspired my idea.

I decided to take the closet out (after all, we had one on the other side). Initially, I thought we’d have a little entry nook, after removing the walls, we learned the space was finished all the way to the ceiling. There was some juggling of electrical, and I had to get new flooring (I found the perfect match). Then there was painting… and finally, picking out the pretty things.

I knew I wanted a giant entry mirror. And I found the perfect piece at one of my favorite local spots, Antiques Legacy, (it was a steal at $350). (The rug is also vintage. Found on Etsy)

Because family usually enters through the garage, I didn’t need to have shoe storage here, which freed me up on choosing the bench. I wanted something to soften the mirror so I chose this upholstered one from West Elm.

(Note: I write about both the history of mirrors and of Persian-style rugs in my new book, Elements of A Home)

How to Set Up the Crib for the Ultimate Good Night's Sleep

Sleeping training changed our lives. It was also one of the hardest things I’ve done. We followed the Taking Cara of Babies plan to the letter, and it totally worked for us. Thankfully, we didn’t have ear issues or any other number of things that would have derailed the plan.

For me, the hardest hurdle was the mental one. It feels so sad to take that little baby out of their cozy bassinet (or from your arms) and leave them in that huge, lonely crib. One of the ways that I prepared us for that long stretch of sleeping was by making her crib as cozy as possible.

Even if you’re not sleep training, and just want to make the crib as cozy as possibly, here are the things that worked for us for the last eleven months of crib sleep. I did so much research on all of these categories that I felt like I should share. Hope this helps in your quest for a good night’s sleep for you and your little.

body heat activated crib mattress pad - Picture that metallic warming blanket that marathon runners are given after a race, and you’ll have a good sense of what this thing is. This goes under the sheet and is designed to radiate your baby’s heat back up. This is not electric. It just captures some of baby’s body heat to keep her feeling cozy.

breathable mesh crib liner - You’ll definitely have to make your own decision, in consultation with your pediatrician, if you want to go this route. These are NOT the old school fluffy bumpers, this is a very thin layer of mesh designed to keep baby’s arm from getting stuck between the slats. Stella was quite mobile early so we felt comfortable using them. (Note: installation is SUPER hard. You’ll definitely have to watch a YouTube video to get these on.)

Super soft sheets - I tried a few brands, but these were the softest. They are super cozy and snuggly.

Woolino Sleep sack - There are so many sleep sack options. We went with Woolino because there is an easier car seat insert, and because it was so easy to slip the baby inside. Then you can unzip for diaper changes. They are expensive but they are designed for 2 months to 2 years. We started using ours at 6 months and Stella is still in them eleven months later.

a lovey - Again, talk to your pediatrician. Stella was so mobile that we felt comfortable letting her having a lovey to self-soothe. She was too little to put her own pacifier back in her mouth (and you are not supposed to put it back in for them when sleep training.) She would suck on the horn of this unicorn and put herself back to sleep. In fact, the crib was so big and she would move around so much that she would loose the unicorn in the crib. So I actually bought four of these: one for each corner. These guys are still her best friends. She’ll entertain herself for up to 45 minutes just pretending that they talk to each other.

Pacifier - We tried a lot of pacifiers. It was so frustrating in the early days of sleep training when she just couldn’t quite it back in her mouth. The easiest to get in, and her favorite are BIBS pacifiers. They have also been a lifesaver when she is teething — she loves to gnaw on them!

Black-Out Curtains - We have a black-out shade on the window in her room, but it wasn’t quite enough to make it completely dark. I tried taping paper to the window. I even bought special blackout film, but nothing worked. So finally, I just drilled holes in her nursery wallpaper and hung these curtains. No matter how bright it is outside, it’s DARK in her room.

White Noise Machine - We had bought this one when Stella was in our room. But it wasn’t quite loud enough when she was sleeping in her own room and we wanted to drown out outside noise. (Although, you definitely don’t want it to be TOO loud and hurt those little ears!)

Indoor Playhouse Makeover

We are fortunate to have a playroom for Stella. I find that I’m more relaxed in there because it’s her ‘yes’ space. (It’s pretty much completely toddler-proofed.) But Stella hadn’t been interested in the toys we had in there. So playhouse to the rescue!

I searched and searched online and finally settled on the Timberlake Discovery Playhouse.

It was small

It had a built in kitchen

It was less than $200

I painted the house before assembling. I marked all the pieces with blue painters tape. It was probably slightly easier to get all crevices painted, and also I didn’t have the big mess in the playroom. I painted everything in the garage and then carried it upstairs to assemble.

The assembly took me a long time. Maybe six hours? It would definitely go faster if you have a second pair of hands to help out.

Once the playhouse was painted and assembled, I got to do the fun part: decorating. I added the floral garland and flower boxes, but I also wanted the playhouse to be interactive. Stella is only 15 months, so there needed to be a lot of things to touch and manipulate. (Note: I’m still waiting on our mini door knocker and doorbell to arrive)

Interactive Components

mailbox

hanging bell

call bell (not pictured)

doorstop that boings (not pictured)

puck light (not pictured)

bird cage

small bucket to carry

baskets inside to hold food, etc.

The small birds are from the Audubon society and make accurate sounds

Decorative Components

garland

flower boxes

topiary bunny

5 Day DIY: Our Covid-19 Office Makeover

Like many people, my husband, Mark, began working from home in March. He had lost his home office space to our daughter Stella a year earlier (when that room became our nursery). All the rooms in the house were spoken for, BUT we had a unused storage space under the house. Mark was really excited about using this space. It had exterior access so he got to feel like he was really off to work. So on Monday, March 16, 2020, California issued a Stay Home Order, and Mark plugged in his computer and started working.

A couple weeks later, we tried to make the space feel a little better.

Here’s the clean-up space on March 19. Everything was pulled from other rooms in the house. (My husband was totally happy with this look!)

But then, weeks turned into months. Mark tried to adapt the office to fit his needs and it looked like this…

Luckily, you can’t get a sense of the dust through the computer, but imagine everything covered in a thin layer of dust. I think the walls might have only been primed so the dust settled onto everything.

That little opening to the right is storage space where I keep all our Christmas decorations.

This is pretty much what six months of Covid-19 work-from-home looks like.

We started talking about future plans for the space. About the possibility of expanding (through the wall to the left) and creating a larger office/guest suite unit. Add a bathroom. Make everything super pretty and clean.

Suddenly it hit me, though. Even if we moved really quickly that plan could be more than year in the future (and even a year would be fast for that kind of renovation project). In the meantime, this didn’t seem like a sustainable working environment.

My epiphany happened to coincide with Mark’s trip to Southern California to see his teenage kids (five days in an AirBnB - staying socially distanced from other people). I already had a handyman lined up to complete another project so we just switched gears for five day surprise office makeover.

The power of paint. The back focal wall and shelves are painted with Sherwin Williams Naval (their 2020 color of the year).

Super simple plywood shelves filled with Mark’s color coded books and accented with pops of orange.

I also created a mini tea station so that he doesn’t have to come up during the day. The little sideboard was a Target find and I filled it with large bottles of water since their is no running water in the space. (The mini fridge was a Father’s Day gift).

We also closed off the opening to the storage space. We had to cut the bottom 1/3 off the door. I put one of the bookcases in the space to create a “supply closet” so that some of the office detritus could be kept out of site.

The Details

Paint - Naval by Sherwin Williams (the ceiling and walls were also repainted: Decorator’s White by Benjamin Moore)
Office Chair - This was a last minute addition to the list. My dad insisted that Mark needed a better chair. We sat in every chair at Office Depot and this was the most comfortable. Seriously, you could sleep in this thing.
Rug - Alexander Home
Desk - live edge table from World Market
Tea Cart - from Target, super cute but a beast to put together
Electric Kettle - Bodum (I’m in love with the cork details)

The various accessories were picked up at World Market, Target and Home Goods. (My favorite is that mini orange tree found for $5 at Target!)

Backyard view of the office: That little window near the bottom is the office space.

One day, we do hope to expand out. Put in a bathroom and create a dream office space (Maybe with a secret bookcase door? Just spitballing here). In the meantime though, we made a really great space with paint, plywood and a few budget furniture pieces.

Ready for Baby! Designing a Girl's Nursery

Planning and setting up Stella’s nursery was one of the most exciting parts of pregnancy. You don’t want to do it too early in the pregnancy, but then suddenly, you are huge and panicked and, YOU NEED IT READY NOW!

In the course of a “pregnancy movie marathon” I rewatched Father of the Bride, Part 2 (it holds up), and watching the nursery reveal scene, I knew that I wanted that vibe for Stella’s nursery. I was lucky to have Anne Sage and Caroline Ingraham Lee make that vision a reality.

The centerpiece of the design was the beautiful wallpaper - Tempaper Designs Chinoiserie. Left to my own devices, the room would have been saturated in over-the-top pink. (Thank goodness, for Anne and Caroline!) The green gives the room a fresh vibe that wouldn’t have been possible with only pinks.

There was a lot of behind-the scenes work to get the space ready. In anticipated of the wallpaper, we skim-coated the walls to get rid of the slight texture, which might have hampered the wallpaper installation. We also put in a new double-paned window. Replacing all the windows in our 1960s home is on the to-do list, but this room has two exterior walls and got really cold at night, so we went ahead and did this one. We don’t have any overhead lights in the rooms (another great 1960s feature), but we added it in here (on a dimmer).

We’ve lived with the space for more than a year, and it’s been really functional and calming. We have made a few changes: The large glass lamp on the changing table has moved to another room as has the floor lamp. Stella never slept in the crib with the canopy (for obvious safety reasons) and the canopy is now in the playroom. I also added blackout curtains over the blackout shade to get the room extra dark.

And that’s it! It’s been a beautiful space to spend hours and hours of precious baby time.

I can’t believe I’m brave enough to share this before. My husband had been using the office as an office space and we were in the midst of boxing it all up and moving it all out when I took this photo. You can really see how the giant area rug camouflages the rather blah carpet. (Pro tip: When layering a rug on rug, you must use a rug pad to prevent bunching)

Sources

Wallpaper: Tempaper Canopy

Crib: Babyletto Jubilee 3-in-1 Convertible Metal Crib

Chair: Babyletto Madison Swivelglider

Rug: Jaipur Fable Mitzy Rug

Dresser (similar): Modernist Extra-Wide Dresser and Topper Set

Lamp: Bessie Candlestick Floor Lamp

Rocking giraffe: Happy Trails Plush Rocking Giraffe

Flush mount ceiling light: Jade 3-Light Gold Leaf/Cream

Photos:  Anne Sage 

Creating a Candle Centerpiece

I was playing around with my collection of brass candlesticks today to create a dramatic centerpiece. (Think I have a problem?) I actually have a very long table, so there’s a chance that even this quantity will get a little lost. Brass candlesticks are super cheap at flea markets, but if you need a large quantity in a hurry, Etsy is your best bet. There are plenty of lots for sale and you can build up your collection in one swoop.

The history of the candle was one of the first essays that I wrote for Elements of a Home. It can be hard to remember that in the not-so recent past, you’d be lighting a matching instead of flicking a switch when you wanted a little extra light. Candles were also expensive. You could tell just how much money someone was spending based on the number and kind of candles they were lighting.

One of my favorite stories in the book is of how London’s famous luxury department store, Fortnum & Mason, owes its start to candles. In 1707, William Fortum was working as a footman for the Royal family in Kensington Palace. At the time, one of the perks of servitude was receiving the unused candle ends, which would be divided amongst the staff based on rank and seniority -- a bonus paid in candles. The Royal family insisted on having new candles every night, which meant there were a lot of high quality candle ends to be parceled out. William Fortum cleverly sold his share of the half-used candles and funneled the profits into a grocery business.  His business acumen paid off. Today, Fortum & Mason is the official grocer of the Queen and the return on the used-candle investment comes in at about $115 million.

For my candle set-up, I wanted an ombre effect so I went with shades of red, but I’d also love this look in shades of green. (Most of the candles are from Mole Hollow candles, an artisan company in Massachusetts, which has so many beautiful colors.)

Japanese Incense: Kyoto Shopping

A couple of years ago, Mark and I travelled to Kyoto at the tail-end of our two-week Japan honeymoon. On the top of my Kyoto shopping list was a visit to LISN incense boutique. The company is a branch of the 300-year-old renowned incense company Shoyeido. LISN marries that traditional knowledge with a modern aesthetic sensibility - the shop is made for Instagram.

It was partially this visit to LISN, and its modern approach to incense (modern display, evocatively named scents and heady aromas) that inspired me to include a section on incense in Elements of a Home (March 17). In the book, I write about the late 8th century, Japanese practice of using incense to mark time. There were two ways of doing this: one could place an incense stick in horizontally wooden box with holes marked at specific intervals. You could tell how much time had passed by noting which hole the incense was coming from. The other way to mark time was to use an incense stick with different fragrances so that a mere sniff would tell you how much time had passed. How chic.

If you’re interested in learning more about the history of scent, I also wrote about the history of the rose and potpourri in Elements of a Home, but another amazing book that deals deftly with the history of scent is Fragrant: A Secret Life of a Scent by my Bay Area neighbor and marvelous perfumer, Mandy Aftel.

Best Toys for Baby (at 6+ months)

Before I had a baby, I was definitely a toy snob. I loved cool, minimal baby toys. My criteria is a little bit different now. The only question is, “Will you keep my baby entertained for more than 30 seconds?” At 7.5 months, Stella has just begun to show real interest in her toys. She has also become quite mobile so I’ve been looking for things that encourage her to move (not that she needs the extra encouragement, but the more she moves, the better she’ll sleep).

Of course, sometimes the best toys are the free ones. Diaper boxes are the perfect size for pulling up. She loves nothing more than a plastic bowl filled with pacifiers. And an empty water bottle is an awesome noise maker. But if you feel like plunging into the world of baby toys, here are a few that knock it out of the park for us.

When I was pregnant, I bookmarked this Lily and River climber in a folder named ‘Stella’ for when she turned six months old. When it arrived, 6.5 month old Stella barely went near it. She’d maybe touch it but that was it. Now, that she is pulling up, she has started playing more with it, and it’s so sweet to see her climbing up. She’s still not great at the getting down part yet. Other parents have told me that she’ll be playing and climbing on this for years. The great thing is it does fold up, so you can put in a corner, if you’re not using. (Note: There is a long lead time so take that into account if you’re hoping to get one within a certain time frame.)

Also in the climbing vein… I bought Stella a small PotteryBarn Kids chair. Right now, it’s intended to be more for climbing and pulling up than sitting. I personally, I would have gone with the plain version of this chair, but Stella has a unicorn lovey (actually we have three!) and I thought she’d find the horn and face interesting. And she does! The horn is very motivating to her and she often tries to climb up to touch it. (I didn’t get it monogrammed so that I can pass it on in a few years, when she outgrows it.)

I bought the TOMY Toomies Hide & Squeak eggs because they had SEVEN THOUSAND overwhelming positive reviews. And sure enough, these are pretty much the first Stella crawls to every morning. Granted, the way she plays with them is that she tips over the entire carton, I put them back, she tips them over. It’s not sophisticated. But then, she’ll chew on the shell for a while and hey, a solid five minutes will have passed.

I got this tunnel when Stella started to crawl. I thought it might be a while before she really gave it a go, but she showed interested right away. Now, at seven months, she’ll go back and forth and back and forth.

Creating a Holiday Table

I was playing around with my collection of brass candlesticks today to create a centerpiece for the holidays. (Think I have a problem?) I actually have a very long table, so there’s a chance that even this quantity will get a little lost. Brass candlesticks are super cheap at flea markets, but if you need a large quantity in a hurry, Etsy is your best bet. There are plenty of lots for sale and you can build up your collection in a hurry.

I went with shades of red, but I’d also love this look in shades of green. (Most of the candles are from Mole Hollow candles, an artisan company in Massachusetts, which has so many beautiful colors.)

The Best Books to Read to Your Baby

I started collecting books to read to Stella before she was born. I knew the research on early reading, but what I didn’t count on, was that she would have clear preferences right from the start. Her favorites clearly held her attention while some of my picks didn’t. Now that she has more bodily control than those early days, she’ll actually wrestle out of my arms, if I read anything that doesn’t meet her approval. And although I’m constantly trying new books on her, these have been the front-runners in our household.

It was amazing to see a newborn as utterly captivated by a book as Stella was with the Checkers and Dot series. Black and white stimulation is particularly important during those early months of life, and Stella loved these. I thought that it was just the black and white that interested her so I tried other books geared toward newborns. Nope. Nothing held her attention the way these did.

We were all about Checkers and Dot until Pout Pout Fish Stella loved the detailed illustrations and the long wordy rhymes (these are some of the lengthiest board books you’ll find!). Now, at nearly seven months, she actually laughs at the illustrations on her favorite pages. It’s pretty darn cute. The illustrations are detailed and she loves the big fishy eyes on Pout Pout Fish. In the series, we love Pout Pout Fish Christmas. The Pout Pout FIsh in the Big Dark is another fun one (although oddly, the rhyming isn’t carried through to the very end.) We learned the hard way that Pout Pout Fishes “mini” adventures do not hold the same charm as the other books — the illustrations and the rhymes are both simplified.

A recent favorite is the Llama Llama books. We found our way to the series through the Christmas book: Llama Llama Holiday Drama. And the first book in the series is also a hit, Llama Llama Red Pajama. The is a nice rhythm to the rhymes that she really enjoys and that I find fun to read.

And just a little note about when we read: Currently, books are not part of our nighttime routine. We read books throughout the course of the day as an activity. Sometimes I read to Stella while she’s playing, sometimes she’s on my lap or sometimes on her stomach. But so far, it’s been a stimulating activity for us rather than a wind-down activity. I’m sure that change as Stella gets older, but now, bedtime is bath, massage, and relaxing music.