Details from the Designer - Vol. 13

Hello there and happy first of the month! Summer is officially here in both calendar date and weather. The first item on my bucket list has been completed - I tried a new ice cream shop: Lickety Split in North Conway, NH. The hilarious part of this taste test is that Lickety Split sells Richardson’s ice cream, which is our local ice cream spot! I think this means I need to try another new ice cream shop.

Styling Breakdown

In case you missed it in our Instagram stories a couple weeks ago, I shared a whole bunch of flush mount light fixtures. I received a direct message request for some ideas and I got very into it. Living and designing in New England means that I’m often working in midcentury built homes with low ceilings. Those big, beautiful fixtures that you see hanging from a 10 foot ceiling in a new build in Utah won’t work. By a long shot. But that doesn’t mean you have to accept defeat and keep a boob light.

When considering if a fixture will fit in your space, make sure there will be at least 7 feet of clearance below the fixture. Also compare the diameter of the fixture to the room size. As a general rule of thumb, you can add the lengths of two perpendicular wall in feet and that sum should be the diameter of your fixture in inches. For example, if you have a room that is 12’ x 14’ then your fixture should be approximately 26” in diameter. We will go a little smaller (maybe down to 22”) if we find the perfect fixture, but not typically bigger (there are always exceptions - i.e. vaulted ceilings make a space feel bigger and can handle bigger).

1) Woven 2) Fabric shade with metal cage 3) Green 4) Tiered shade 5) Blue 6) Black trim shade 7) Wood shade 8) White shade 9) Triple black shade

Fashion Find

I recently discovered a tanning spray thanks to Jillian Harris (it was featured in her seasonal Jilly bag). It’s for your face and neck. I gave it a whirl because I was feeling quite greenish/white-ish after a long winter. I absolutely love it. I use it about twice a week to keep myself looking a little glowy. I love that it’s made in Australia where standards for clean makeup are serious.

Keeping Myself Busy

For Father’s Day, my family headed to Portsmouth, New Hampshire for a day trip. The loose plan was to walk around and have a bite to eat. A “take it as it comes” day. Last minute, I got nervous that my kids were going to be bored and, in turn, whiny and, in turn, ruin Father’s Day. So, I found a scavenger hunt to keep them focused through the walk and the discovery. It can be done as a competition or as a team effort. And it worked wonders. It kept kids and adults alike happy and focused in between the destination site seeing (gardens, bridges, statues, etc,). I would highly recommend it for a true walking tour of a city. And, it’s free.

Local Fun

The Northshore Music Theater has a host of kid friendly shows later this month: Frozen, Beauty and the Beast Jr. and Mean Girls. Beauty and the Beast and Mean Girls are the kid versions (abbreviated) and are full kid casts. It’s a great activity to break up the outdoor marathon of the season. Not only is it fun for kids to see other kids perform, but the shorter show is particular nice for toddler and little kid viewers.

Have a wonderful month! Stay cool!

Cheers, Leah

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Details from the Designer - Vol. 12

June is here and I’m so happy about it. I’ve been craving consistent warm weather. There is something emotionally (and physically) light about throwing on flip flops and getting out the door. I’m ready for a season of less is more.

Other summer bucket list items: nap in the sunshine, lots of evening walks, discover new icecream shops and flavors, Canobie Lake (!), New Hampshire hikes, slow weekends with friends. How about you?

Styling Breakdown

Today, rather than share a specific vignette, I’m going to share 3 frames that we use all the time. Big brass, small acrylic, all sizes black beveled.

Fashion Find

I have two new finds to share that I’m incredibly excited about. First, a $10 t-shirt at Target. I got this cotton tee in tan and black/white stripe. I wash them and wear them again, wash them and wear them again. Just love them.

The next is a concealer stick from Merit. It’s a new addition to my daily makeup routine. Just a swipe under each eye, gently blend and I feel more awake and ready to face the day. I love that it’s not powdery and doesn’t cluster in my fine lines of wisdom and grace (ha!). I did get help from a makeup expert in Sephora when choosing my correct skin match.

Keeping Myself Busy

I have been keeping myself busy with the Karen Read trial. Have you?!? What do you think? And if you know any of the involved parties or have random inside scoop, I want all the details. As a former criminal defense attorney I have a whole other layer of interest in the minutia of the trial. It’s utter madness.

Meanwhile, I just finished ready The Midnight Library, which was a very sweet book. It was an easy read and an uplifting read. Just the thing we need sometimes. My biggest takeaway is that we have all the potential in the world. It’s right at our finger tips…if we want it.

Next up - I’m about to start reading Remarkably Bright Creatures.

Local Fun

This is easy - this Saturday (June 8) I’m heading to the Rise + Shine spring market. My mom and I are heading to see some vendors we already love and learn about new vendors. I love, love, love Eeya cermanics and Noted candles. But I’m excited to try some treats from Healthy Nut (snacks), Gray Heron (the sweetest cotton blankets) and Porcelain & Stone (jewelry).

Tickets are $25 and include snacks and drinks. I hope to see you there!

Until July!!!

Cheers, Leah

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Details from the Designer - Vol. 11

This is a PACKED blog post full of so much good stuff. Let’s get right to it.

Styling Breakdown

This photo is from a recent Install afternoon at our Crestwood Project. We have just a couple sources to share, but they’re all fantastic. Please note that we don’t share furniture sources until 6 months after a project reveal. So, as much as I want to share this amazing rug source…you’ll have to wait!

Source List

• Duvet Cover (best price for this quality!!!)

• End of Bed Throw Blanket

• Sneakers (there are frequent 20% off sales…wait it out!)

Fashion Find

In April, I splurged on my first ever pair of Lululemon pants. I wanted something cute and very comfortable for a plane ride and I landed on THESE. I love the color. I am not a fashion addict or in the know in any sort of real way. But my girl Natalie Borton recently talked about how chocolate is the new color. My wardrobe is almost exclusively black, so I went for it.

Keeping Myself Busy

I am still listening to the book The Covenant of Water. Someone please tell me the juice is worth the squeeze. I have been listening for 14 hours and there is 17 more to go. And, I’m currently listening at 1.7 speed.

But, what I think you’re really interested in is my April vacation. A couple weeks ago, I did something very out of character and shared a quick Instagram story slide about my family vacation. I always get nervous about deviating too much from the foundation of interior design. BUT, I got a lot of follow-up questions - where did I go? did I like it? would I go back? I completely understand the interest. There are so many tropical, all-inclusive options and it can feel like a very expensive leap of faith to pick one.

I went to The Finest Resort in Punta Cana. It is an all-inclusive resort and that includes: meals and snacks (including room service), drinks, Kid’s Club and a nightly show (magic, “Las Vegas”, etc.). It doesn’t include some “club level” restaurants or the spa.

LOVED:

1) Huge bouncy mountain in the large pool and the matching small mountain one in the toddler pool. This truly provided endless fun.

2) Drinks. Surprisingly quality liquor, decent wine and delicious water from coconuts (slice off the top and pop in a straw).

3) Free Kid’s Club. This is an additional charge at a lot of all-inclusive resorts.

4) Snack options at The Sweet Shop (ice cream, fruit cups, fancy coffee, etc.) were available all day, a huge buffet was open continuously from breakfast through dinner, and several food trucks were open at varying times. These were in addition to restaurants that were open during classic meal times. As compared to a trip to Beaches in Turks and Caicos, this was a huge win. At Beaches we found there to be frustrating breaks in the day when no food was available.

5) Room service was included. Our beverage fridge was restocked everyday (alcohol, drinks and snacks) and room service meals and snacks were available 24 hours/day (although I didn’t try it at odd hours).

6) It was not crowded. We got “our spot” by the pool every day. There were cabanas open at the beach all day long.

7) It is a new resort so everything is notably new and clean.

DIDN’T LOVE:

1) The food was just alright. The breakfast buffet had everything we needed, including a whole section of gluten free options. But lunch was more of the same buffet or one restaurant option. And dinner had a variety of decent or meh restaurants. It seemed that the best restaurants were reserved for “Club Members” at an upgraded rate.

2) Big kid activities were lacking. The Kid’s Club was geared for kids between 2 and 7 years old. There was a large basket ball court, pickle ball court and tennis court area, but it was on the opposite side of the resort as the pool and ocean. So you either need to trust your kids or accompany them. Beyond this, nothing was geared to tweens or teens.

Local Fun

This month’s local fun is at our studio! We are hosting a stockroom clearance sale on Friday, May 17th. We are on a mission to clear out our stockroom before the summer and we will be selling several bookshelves of decor and a heck of a lot of pillow covers for 50% or more. Plus larger items like table lamps, frames, art and small furnishings. Last time we had a big clearance sale there was an early morning crowd that was a little bigger than our small studio could handle. SO, we are asking that everyone planning to attend between 9 am and 11 am sign up in 15 minute increments. We will allow 5 people to shop every 15 minutes. If you come between 9 am and 11 am and you haven’t signed up in advance we will kindly ask you to wait until there is an available slot. The sign out sheet will come out in a week on Friday, May 10th. If you would like to be included in the email to sign up, please add your email below.

DETAILS

Location: 590A Main Street in Lynnfield. The stockroom and studio are on the 2nd floor of the building. There is a large sign that includes “Gray Oak Studio” in the front of the building. In the center of the building is a glass door that says “Nikki Martin Team”. Go through the door and up the stairs!!!

Parking: Parking is limited in the front and plentiful in the back. Our door is at the front of the front building.

Caveats: CASH ONLY and final sale. This means no Venmo, no Paypal, no check, no credit card. Cash and cash only. All items are final sale and as is. Feel free to negotiate. We are here for it.

Bonus: There will be a huge handful of new products and best sellers that are not part of the sale. You can, however, purchase these for 10% by sharing the promo code: SPRINGSALE. And you can use Venmo, Paypal, check and credit cards for these purchases.

Extra Bonus: Our new items are currently on sale on our website and you can also use the promo code SPRINGSALE to purchase anything for 10% now and pick it up on Friday, May 17.

If you have any questions about the stockroom sale, please email Joni at Joni@grayoakstudio.com.

Hope to see you later this month!!!

Cheers, Leah

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