before and after by Kate Pruitt 14

before & after: ombre booth walls

It’s a thrilling time of year for me, a former display artist, when I get to see emerging designers not only prepping their goods for exhibitions but also tinkering away to create unexpected, dramatic displays to showcase their designs. The booths deserve their own show for the amount of effort and creativity that go into making them. In honor of the upcoming design shows in NYC, I wanted to share this awesome ombre booth project from Rebekah of Wild Ink Press. With a few 4 x 8 boards and some oil-based monochromatic paints, she created this stunning ombre booth to hold her line of paper goods at NSS this year.

The blues are beautiful, and it has majorly inspired me to try this technique on a wall at home. How gorgeous would this be in a bedroom, bathroom or kitchen? Who am I kidding — this would look amazing anywhere! Now I know how it’s done, although I bet it’s a bit harder than it looks to get the fade so smooth. Awesome job, Rebekah! — Kate

Have a Before & After you’d like to share? Shoot me an email with your images right here! (Low res, under 500k per image, please.)

Read the full post after the jump . . .

interviews by Grace Bonney 4

at home with: broad city (ilana glazer)

Today I’m interviewing two of my favorite comediennes, Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer of Broad City. Abbi gave us a tour of her West Village apartment earlier this morning, and now it’s Ilana’s turn. Ilana’s sense of humor translates so directly to her home, I couldn’t help but laugh every time I found a hilarious gem like her Nicki Minaj and Pharrell collage or hand-written guide to jewelry organization. If the Nicki and Pharrell collage didn’t already make you love Ilana, her comedy and interview below will. You can watch her and Abbi in action in a clip from Broad City below, and I hope you’ll continue after the jump for her full interview and more photos from her apartment. Thanks again to Ilana and Abbi for taking the time to talk with us. xo, grace

All photographs above and below by Jennifer Causey

The full interview and more photos continue after the jump . . .

before and after by Amy Azzarito 17

before & after: dresser transformation

The piles of clothing on the floor were the first clue that I needed some additional clothes storage. I had two criteria: I didn’t want to spend more than $200, and I wanted something attractive. That budget pretty much meant I was looking for a DIY. I stumbled upon this dresser at a consignment shop in Westport, Connecticut, where it was marked down to $65 from $120. Let’s just say that I’m used to New York City prices, so my response was to dash to the register. It was missing big chunks of veneer, so I decided it needed a paint job. I knew that I wanted a masculine look, so I mined the Before & After archives and combined my favorites into a single piece. No more clothes on the floor. — Amy Azzarito

See the full how-to after the jump . . .

interviews by Grace Bonney 7

at home with: broad city (abbi jacobson)

If there’s one thing I currently love more than design, it’s comedy. Over the past few years, I’ve started listening to comedy albums and following comedians online with the same fervency that I once applied to bands alone. I’ve been so impressed by the amazing female comics I’ve been watching lately that I wanted to reach out to two of my favorites and include them in our new interview series, At Home With. Today I’m thrilled to share a two-part interview with the creators and stars of my favorite web comedy series, Broad City. If you haven’t watched Broad City, please do yourself a favor and click play below (warning: some parts NSFW). I dare you not to lose it at 4:21. These women are hilarious.

Today we’re kicking things off with Broad City’s Abbi Jacobson. Abbi is not only an amazing writer and comedienne, she’s also an incredibly talented artist and graduate of MICA. She was kind enough to let us visit her West Village apartment and talk about some of her favorite parts of home and what she loves about her neighborhood (though I think her stories of pie-in-face comedy bits with her grandfather are my favorite). Thanks again to Abbi for talking with me, and I hope you’ll enjoy her interview (and home) as much as I did.

All photographs above and below by Jennifer Causey

The full interview and more photos continue after the jump . . .

products by Grace Bonney 2

type perfume

I’ve got a problem with packaging. If it’s done really well, it can make me stop caring whether something is seasonably appropriate and want it anyway. Sure it’s summer, but these adorable bundled-up perfumes at Ten Over Six make me long for colder weather and thick sweaters. Named for Berlin, Copenhagen and Damascus, each of these perfumes by Henrik Vibskov comes with patterned sweater sleeves that remind me of a ski slope somewhere far away. I’m not much (or at all) of a skier, so I’ll swap the snow for these bottles instead. Click here to check them out online and place an order. xo, grace

furniture by Grace Bonney 3

holler design

Speaking of pretty things made from wood, this table/stool called Beam from Holler Design is really lovely. The hand-charred finish is excellent, and the way the three pieces of reclaimed pine fit together is simple but beautiful. If you’re looking for some well-made side tables/stools, click here to check these out in more detail. Thanks to Katie Vance for the tip! xo, grace