The Mudroom

Stylish Food Safety

May 19, 2009 by Paige @ Mudroom Boston

I know, I know, I’ve heard it a million times — when prepping ingredients to cook, it’s really important that you keep your meats, fish, poultry and veggies separate. But honestly, with the mayhem of life, I just can’t seem to remember whether I use my white cutting board for salmon or chicken. And the red one…it’s the color of tomatoes, so it must be for veggies…or is it red meat? So when I was visiting my best friend in Atlanta this weekend, I instantly fell in love with her super-thin, super-stylish and toomanythingstothinkabout-proof cutting mats from Sur La Table. Complete with color-coding and little icons, now there’s no way I’ll end up with Ratatouille avec Salmonella.

Set of 4 Color-Coded Flexible Cutting Boards, $15

Image credit: Sur La Table

Posted in Organization, Shop It | 4 Comments »

SoWa Sundays Begin!

May 15, 2009 by Paige @ Mudroom Boston

Eight years ago, when I moved back to Boston from New York, I was surprised to find that there wasn’t an open-air art market (like the ones that you can find every weekend in nearly every Manhattan neighborhood) anywhere to be found. But just a few years later, the SoWa Open Market began to fill that void, pitching tents in Boston’s South End and filling them with local vendors offering everything from original art to handmade accessories to fresh-off-the-farm produce. This weekend, the brains behind Open Market launch their newest addition to the SoWa family — the SoWa Antiques Market, housed in the historic Trolley Barn. Dealers offering antique and vintage pottery, furniture, textiles, collectibles, glassware and more, promise to be a great addition to this Boston institution-in-the-making. And if I weren’t away this weekend I would be angling for some child-free time to roam the aisles…

SoWa Open Market, Antiques Market and Produce Market, Sundays through October; opening weekend only open Saturday and Sunday, May 16 and 17; 540 Harrison Avenue, South End, Boston.

Image credit: SoWa Open Market

Posted in Art, Décor, Furniture, Shop It | 1 Comment »

Bag for a Superhero(ine)

May 14, 2009 by Paige @ Mudroom Boston

Given the name of this blog, and my own penchant for accessories, on occasion I may (ok, will) post on a really great product that you might find in a mudroom. As most everyone who knows me will tell you, I am a huge collector of bags — it really doesn’t matter what label or material, great design is what hooks me. So when I was rushing to my car last week, already late to pick up my boys, I had to stop when a bag in the window of Mint Julep (one of my favorite dress shops in Cambridge) caught my eye. I ran in, grabbed it out of the display and after assessing its key qualities — super-lightweight, huge capacity for stuff, great pattern, reasonably priced — bought it on the spot. As I was being rung up, I looked at the label and thought, Jane Marvel? Who is this marvelous Jane Marvel?

The next day, in the next town over, in another store completely, I was running a few errands when I came across Miss Marvel’s line again — clearly the universe was speaking to me and I just had to share.

So if you’re in need of a new bag, or even if you’re not, check ’em out. The Vegan bags — laminated canvas and non-leather trim/handles — are lightweight, virtually waterproof, ridiculously easy-to-clean and come in a huge range of styles and patterns (I picked up the All Day Long in Plaid Flowers).

Jane Marvel All Day Long Tote in White with Red. Check here for store and web locations.

Image credit: eBags.com

Posted in Inside the Mudroom, Shop It | Leave a Comment »

C’mon Lilly, Light My Fire

May 13, 2009 by Paige @ Mudroom Boston

Everybody needs a little Lilly. In my heyday as a pink-and-green-blooded prepster, I used to pull off the whole Lilly look — patchwork shift, Jack Rogers sandals, patent headband. But even though my personal style has evolved, I can still have a little of that classic Lilly Pulitzer fruit punch-drunk color in my life with her new matchbooks. At $4.50 a box, I might fill up a little vessel in my pink-tiled bathroom…

Lilly Pulitzer Strike It Hot Matches first spotted in the June issue of Country Living, available online at Preppy Princess.

Image credit: Preppy Princess

Posted in Décor, Shop It | 2 Comments »

The Well-Appointed Guest Room

May 12, 2009 by Paige @ Mudroom Boston

We have guests regularly, but for about 18 months after we moved in, our guest room/office/magazine storage facility was in really bad shape (white walls, hardwood floors, unpacked moving boxes as a bedside table, roller shades that fell down if you tugged too hard). Finally this winter, after my stepmom had put up with our spartan accomodations more than she probably wanted, she suggested sincerely — maybe you could get a reading lamp? Really, she assured us, that’s all the room needs.

Fast forward, and although it is still not the ideal space, we’re a little bit closer to creating a cozy spot for guests to relax, store their stuff and catch some zzz’s (warm walls with art, rug, proper bedside table, functional and pretty curtains from previous post). So when I came across this great checklist from the May issue of House Beautiul, I did a quick scan to be sure I was covering all the bases:

Guest Room Essentials (from Tom Scheerer, Interior Designer)

Bath and hand towels, washcloths
Fresh soap
Shampoo
Bath oil or foam (hmm…I’d replace this suggestion with a tube of 30 spf sunscreen)
A unisex XL terry robe
A hair dryer
A refillable water vessel and glass
A pad and pencil
An alarm clock
A range of magazines (!)
A range of hangers
Luggage rack
Bedside nosegay or single blossom
An orange or apple

I love this list because it seems so, well, normal. I’ve seen lists like this before that include suggestions for city maps, a list of telephone numbers for services (dry cleaner, taxi), extra toothbrushes and other items that make it feel like we should be running one-room hotels rather than providing the essentials that make a guest feel at home.

Of course, there’s one thing missing from Mr. Scheerer’s list: a reading lamp.

For Tom’s list and 15 other expert checklists of “The Essentials,” ranging from Kitchen to Barware to Fashion, visit House Beautiful or pick up the May issue (or both!).

Image credit: Women’s Lightweight Calf-length Terry Robe at Lands’ End

Posted in Décor, Reinvent It | 1 Comment »

Patio Vintage

May 11, 2009 by Paige @ Mudroom Boston

With the arrival of summer-like weather this weekend and a stream of visitors celebrating kids’ birthdays and Mother’s Day, I was reminded of our lack of outdoor seating. We spent all weekend hanging out in utilitarian and decidedly un-chic foldable chairs — you know the ones I mean — meant for outdoor concerts or trips to the beach, most emblazoned with corporate logos of one kind or another. If only I had caught a glimpse of these beauties a few days earlier, we might have been sitting pretty sipping our drinks watching the kiddos knock heads in the birthday bouncy house.

Garden Treasures Dining Patio Chair, $31, from Lowe’s.

Image credit: Lowe’s

Posted in Furniture, Outside, Shop It | 2 Comments »

Lilac Love

May 8, 2009 by Paige @ Mudroom Boston

I’m a sucker for fresh flowers.

Most interior design gurus will tell you that adding live, natural elements do wonders for the feel of a room, but since I have a serious black thumb, houseplants are out (honestly, I killed a cactus last year…do you know how hard that is to do?). So instead, I try to pick up fresh cut flowers whenever I remember — at the grocery store, farmer’s market, whatever — and put together a few bunches around my house.

This week, mother nature started delivering one of my favorite flowers, and a single stem needs nothing more than a simple vase (even a water glass!). Lilacs, with their intoxicating scent and gorgeous shades of lavender, blue, purple, pink and white, will peak in New England from now until the end of May. This weekend, I’ll be hunting down some blossoms to add new life to my home, and officially welcome the arrival of Spring.

Image credit: Arnold Arboretum

Posted in Décor, Shop It | 1 Comment »

Great White Towels

May 7, 2009 by Paige @ Mudroom Boston

Looking to replace your towels? We were this winter when we realized that the reason ours were looking so shabby was that they were over ten years old. We decided we could justify replacing them (we recycled our old ones as gym towels), but I couldn’t quite fathom spending what most good quality towels cost (mostly because I would have rather spent that dough on sassy new heels). The problem? The quality of most “budget” towels stink. But I found the exception to that rule at the holy land of designer labels at reasonable prices (that would be Target, of course). The Thomas O’Brien Vintage Modern towels are fantastic — plush, with a velvety softness that has stayed put even through a whole lot of washes.

I bought all white — simple, classic, perfect with every bathroom and best of all, bleach ’em and they look new.

Posted in Décor, Shop It | 4 Comments »

DIY Art: Books

May 6, 2009 by Paige @ Mudroom Boston

Last summer I was poking around a bookstore in Vermont and came across Mice, Morals & Monkey Business, an incredible children’s book filled with gorgeous block prints by artist Christopher Wormell. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to have it – not for our kids’ library, but for my kitchen wall.

When we got home, I hit my fab local stationery shop and picked up decorative paper that coordinated with the prints in the book, along with several LP album frames (thin metal frames with plexiglass fronts meant to showcase vintage vinyl). Using the frame backer as a template, I cut the decorative paper to the exact size of the frame. Then I went to town on Mr. Wormell’s masterpiece. First, using a box cutter (an X-acto knife might be better, but I don’t have one on hand) and great caution, I nicked the seams throughout the inside of the book, loosening up most of the pages. Then I carefully took apart the binding of the book with the knife. I trimmed the rough edges of the pages I wanted to frame and using double stick tape, attached the pages to the decorative paper. After repeating the trimming and taping process with the rest of the pieces, I popped them all into the frames and hung them up.

With a book, box cutter, straight edge, a couple of hours work (including shopping) and about $150 for the book, ten frames and paper, I had stunning, custom-made art!

Posted in Art, Make It, Reinvent It, Walls | 7 Comments »

Kid-Proof Rug

May 5, 2009 by Paige @ Mudroom Boston

I really wish we had a mudroom, but since we don’t, we relegate our shoes, coats, and the seven-or-so bags that arrive home with our little family every evening to a 30-inch “mudspace” right inside the entrance of our home. To help define the space and give our two kiddos a little more room to walk in, stretch out and take off their shoes, we purchased Pottery Barn’s Diamond Outdoor Rug made out of polypropolene (yes, it’s plastic!). This hip, neutral rug is supersoft underfoot and fit perfectly with our décor, our budget, and the total lack of time we have to devote to cleaning – it can be hosed down outside and still look fabulous.