TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME



This entire summer I have been trying to find a cap to replace the ratty blue cap I've had for ages. I stumbled upon Ebbets Field Flannels which has a lot of unique, well-made products - and is actually based out of my beloved Seattle!

For some reason, everyone in the Pacific Northwest gets really into local sports teams, even if they are absolutely terrible. With the Seattle Mariners, this is also true, but it doesn't stop me from going to a game every season! A week from today I need to rep my local team so I'll probably get one of these caps based off of designs from 1955 and 1938. If those don't work I also really like this retro logo from the 70's that has come back.

SCHÖNSTAUB





Growing up as a swimmer, towels have become a more important part of my life than I care to admit. For days at the pool at for swim meets, a towel not only needed to dry me off, but it needed to stand out so that no one could take it! (This was a legitimate concern.) For a few years in my early teens, I was the kid with the neon green towel and in college, I was the guy with the fluffy grey towel. I thought I was over my "towel phase" until I saw these works of functional art. I never thought I would ever beg for a $133 towel but I would beg for one of these beauties. 

Schönstaub has both towels and rugs in a handful of photo-realistic designs, all of which I would gladly own if ever given the chance!

BEACHIN' AROUND





Once, I told jokingly told a friend that if I'm ever drawn as a comic book character I'll probably be wearing this scarf. It's been a cool weather staple of mine for years now; probably because the colors in it compliment my wardrobe and the brown matches my hair! I've worn it in below freezing temperatures in New York and blustery summer days in Seattle, I think I even wore it to a job interview once? Today I wore it to the beach. I got home from an amazing trip to Portland Friday so I'm spending the weekend unwinding before I have to head back to work tomorrow!

WEARING: JCREW TWILL SHIRT // LEVI 511 JEANS // UNIQLO SOCKS //  CLARK DESERT BOOTS // JCREW SUNGLASSES // UO SCARF //

I'M A MID-CENTURY MAD MAN



True Life: I'm obsessed with all things mid-century modern. It was a magnificent time for the design world so whenever I go thrift shopping I look for pieces from this era. Finally, I came upon a gem! This dresser was a steal at $20 and since my sister is moving into an apartment (and I still have a year left in New York *sighs*) she got it after some prodding. It was pretty beaten up, scratched, and covered in a sad brown stain, but that can all be easily fixed with some elbow grease. 




With more spare time and far more technical skills than my sister, I took it upon myself to refurbish this piece of furniture. After some examination of the dresser and with the help of the interweb I began to sand the thick veneer down, mostly to see if the stain and scratches would come off. (Always going with the grain!) Once the majority of the sanding was completed with a 150 grit sandpaper, we filled in holes and big cracks with a wood filler and went back over with a 220 grit paper.




While I was advocating for maintaining the wood finish, the owner of the dresser thought a white finish would be a better fit for her room - so we compromised. The drawers were hand sanded using a fine grain sandpaper (the 220 grit again), wiped down, and then coated with an "English Chesnut" stain to give them a little contrast. We topped them off with a satin coat polyurethane and -viola-  a brand new dresser!



Instead of having pulls or handles, the drawers are all angled so that to open all you do is grab the lower lip! The previous bad stain job left patches of dark spots on the face of the drawers but otherwise I'm happy with how it turned out. The bronze leg-caps really contrast against the white which I find aesthetically pleasing. Hopefully, my sister takes care of this piece and it holds up another forty years!

-INGS



READING: The Maze Runner series by James Dashner. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser. The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Brave New Worlds by John Joseph Adams. All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

WATCHING: TV: Sense8, Orphan Black, Orange Is The New Black, Daredevil, Food Network Star, Jeopardy, Chefs Table, Halt And Catch Fire. Movies: While We're Young, Clueless.

REFURBISHING: An old mid-century modern dresser. (More to come on this.)

LISTENING: To every mix CD that was ever given to me. Bands: The Antlers, Alabama Shakes, The 1975, Chet Faker, Leon Bridges, King Krule, Elle King, Milo Greene, The National. Podcasts: Stuff You Should Kno, 99% Invisible, Song Exploder, DnA: Design & Architecture.

RESEARCHING: About where I'd like to travel to after my graduation next summer; England, Iceland, or the Netherlands. What kind of watch I'd like to get myself. Where to get a baseball hat that fits my head. How to save money. Architecture firms on the West Coast.

DRINKING: Sweet tea. Iced coffee. ALL the white wine. Sauvignon blanc and chardonnay. Pale Ale, Red Ale, IPA's galore. Lots and lots of water.

LUSTING: After this shirt. Sunglasses with clear frames. Something to put on the wall above my headboard.

EXCITING: Going to Portland to spend time with good friends later this month. I think I've read more books for pleasure in the past three weeks than I have in the past two years. Having a job this summer that's a lot of fun and educational about the field of architecture without actually drafting plans.
© An Integral Design. Design by Fearne.