Entryway

Keeping with the cameo/faces theme going on in the bathroom I found this beauty on marketplace and it fits perfectly in the entryway.

Bathroom

Besides the vintage dry sink turned vanity there is art, vases, and the towel rack.

Art wall & Plant Corner

This space has vintage bottles, hooks, plant stand, and candle holder. I stuck with black, white, and brass so the space feels cohesive even with pieces of different styles and periods. Some of the art is vintage or new prints of vintage art, and all the frames are thrifted except for a handful of the larger ones.

Kitchenette/Coffee Corner

There are more pieces to be added here like a brass bow towel holder and eventually a backsplash and lighting, but for now this corner has vintage art and some vintage canisters holding things like sugar and extra coffee.

Doorstops

Practical and beautiful I have a few vintage cast iron doorstops in the house and set aside two for the space

Antiques to be added

I have a vintage singer from my grandmother and a vintage silk thread display and mannequin I’d like to add to incorporate into the space. Here’s a peak at the vintage thread display which needs some tlc. And if we could figure out how to get it up here or maybe into the lobby our revamped steamer trunk might make its way into this space as well. For now we have built ins and storage projects ahead to make the space more usable, so those things will take a back seat while we get up and running.

Want to see all the stages of building our new BTS HQ in the Hudson Valley? Find the whole series here BTS Studio Build

Want to see more ideas for home decorating with thrifted or vintage pieces? Find designer Layla’s series Decorating with Vintage

The post building BTS studio – decorating with vintage appeared first on Between The Sheets Blog.

There is still a lot left to do, our punchlist for the next year or two

• Final patch and paint touch ups for trim (there are a few spots on doors frames and trim)
• Finish painting stairs and add runner
• Hang press and gallery wall in entryway
• Finish wall of built ins to hold samples, production supplies, & inventory
• Organize massive amounts of materials and design archives that have been in storage
• Add a few more pieces of equipment including a pressing table and roller for cutting table
• Backsplash and lighting for coffee bar

In the meantime there are collections to be worked on and orders to ship. Thank you for following our journey on here!

In total this build started in May 2023 and we were able to close our building permit by January 2024. Pretty proud of us for going out of our comfort zone and tackling so many things for the first time with this project.

Ultimately taking the time off from designing/producing collections to build a home and find balance has brought me renewed joy in my work and helped me recover from burnout.

Gardening has taught me that seeds germinate in darkness – so it makes sense that creativity is born and can be recovered in isolation. Trees lose their leaves and hibernate every winter, so it makes sense if we need periods of rest to produce creatively. And I’ve also learned that we can travel even though we stay in one place – as the world and landscape has changed around me I have been grounded and grown at the same time.

So stay tuned as we post updates on other projects as we ready the space. We still need a few more things to get up and running before we can begin proper in house production but we’re well on our way there. I can’t wait to begin to bring new collections and restocks to life once it’s all done.

Want to see all the stages of building our new BTS HQ in the Hudson Valley? Find the whole series here BTS Studio Build

The post building BTS studio – Reveal almost final space appeared first on Between The Sheets Blog.

Painting bathroom door and trim

We could have gone the easy route with a pre-hung door for the studio build… but no I really wanted to have a door with half glass since this bathroom only has one tiny window. Most of the prehung versions I found had clear class but when I came across this frosted one it was perfect.

Guess what? I ordered it during the build, but despite knowing we needed extra room for the door to swing, framed the opening in the wall the exact size of the door. This was truly the only big mixup of the project, and I managed to sell the too-big door on marketplace and reorder a smaller size in the same style so it worked out, but yikes. Then despite being advertised as pre-primed, the door really didn’t hold paint the same as the pre-primed trim, so I touched it up after install and it all worked out.

We needed to paint the interior of door one color to match the bathroom and the exterior to match the overall space. I masked off the glass with tape/plastic and used the sprayer and a ladder to paint this outside while temps were still warm enough to do so and we finished up the project in the middle of winter after floors were done.

Installing beadboard

Beadboard wasn’t tricky to install, but there were some not straight sections of drywall along the floor that left us with baseboard trim gap, thankfully the two worst spots ended up being behind the toilet and sink.

Hanging door

To hang the door we had to mark and router out for hinges on the door frame, install that. Then make sure we marked same spots on the door *but with a 1/8 gap all around*. This is again where my measuring and marking skills saved us bc there was no room for error. Josh executed the cuts with a jig and the router and we literally cheered when it opened and closed and had the perfect gap and didnt hang crooked. I like to think this was more than beginners luck, his practice woodworking and my patternmaking background made it happen, but I would most definitely not recommend this to a beginner DIY’er!

Door handle and latch

Did you spot the brass bathroom sign?! Yes part of my vision had been an old office door, but none we found would fit this tiny space, so the brass sign and frosted glass give that vintage look to a brand new door. Next step was installing the handle and latch, equally as stressful as the hinges. Executed with a jig and we chose a matte black handle to match the door.

False wall & Alcove

Flash forward to the spring and we tackled the final item (besides touching up paint) which was making a false wall to hide the water heater in the bathroom. We used leftover 2×4’s to make a small frame to attach beadboard and trim in the same measurements as the space then painted and slid it into place. We also finished trimming out the rest of the space and had to leave a gap on the far end to allow this to slide in front of the baseboard/top trim on the back of the alcove. We also did some nitpicky trimwork that no will ever see in the lower section of alcove but that will cover the gap between tile and wall/ceiling (since the wall here is angled and not perfectly straight this was the tricky part.

We’re getting close now, stay tuned for the space reveal!

Want to see all the stages of building our new BTS HQ in the Hudson Valley? Find the whole series here BTS Studio Build

The post building BTS studio – bathroom & door appeared first on Between The Sheets Blog.

Bringing fabric from factory partners/storage

Over the years I have stored the many bolts of fabric needed to produce BTS collections at our manufacturing partners’ factories and in storage units first in NYC and then in the Hudson Valley. Building the studio space for Between the Sheets and purchasing the cutting table, finally created an area to store fabric in our own space, and not have to rely on rental units or factory temporary storage.

Assembling cutting table

The cutting table came in modular sets consisting of legs, side pieces, and braces that could be assembled into 4 foot long sections of table. I decided that a 16 foot long table would allow for cutting robes and other large items. Because the table has to be sturdy enough to hold hundreds of pounds of fabric, the frame and table top are extremely heavy (the weight on the shipping confirmation was over 1000 lbs). Getting the pieces upstairs was no small feat. The metal frame pieces came packed in boxes. They were heavy, but manageable. The heavy table tops were another story and required me and Josh to use a lifting strap and move very slowly up the stairs.

Josh assembled the frame piece, by piece, bolting the legs, sides, braces, and a rail for a fabric spreader together. The table, 16 feet in total length, was built of four interconnecting sections of 4 feet each. After the frame was assembled we brought up the sections of laminated table top and placed them into the frame.

Loading with fabric underneath

After the table was fully assembled, with the top securely fastened, we started carrying all of the rolls of fabric to the studio from where they had been temporarily staged in the garage. Fabric rolls were organized and stacked under the table.

Want to see all the stages of building our new BTS HQ in the Hudson Valley? Find the whole series here BTS Studio Build

The post building BTS studio – cutting table and fabric storage appeared first on Between The Sheets Blog.

We chose the DIY approach to create a unique vanity for the studio bathroom using a vintage dresser. As with many marketplace finds this piece had some damage that wasn’t visible in listing photos. I see these types of tables all the time but this piece had unique corner details and bevels on the marble that I liked. The damage was actually helpful in that I didn’t feel as bad about destroying the piece’s use as a dresser/vanity!

Marble refinishing & Making room for Plumbing

The marble on this piece sits on top, so we needed to drill a hole for the drain and a hole for the faucet… we later learned the drainhole was a bit narrow and had to redo it. While we were doing that we refinished the surface with a drill and marble wet sanding discs. (This had a bit of a learning curve and I had to do it again bc after it dried I didn’t like the finish.) We marked and cut new plywood to create a section where the plumbing could drop down past the drawer, meaning we can still use the drawer instead of it becoming a false drawer.

Staining and Sealing

After sanding and patching any losses in the wood – I chose a darker stain to mask any issues and finished it with a sealer since it will be in a potentially moist environment.

A Surprise Interior

This was probably my favorite part of the project. I knew I didn’t like the way the new plywood didn’t match the original wood of the dresser so I found a contact paper to line the piece with. This piece has herons/cranes and blossoms and in the same colors as the space and adds such a fun surprise to this piece.

I won’t reveal the full install just yet, but we switched from brass rolling casters to leveling feet, and there’s some hints here at what it looks like set up with vessel sink and faucet.

Want to see all the stages of building our new BTS HQ in the Hudson Valley? Find the whole series here BTS Studio Build

The post building BTS studio – diy vintage dresser to sink conversion appeared first on Between The Sheets Blog.

The next step in the Between the Sheet studio Project was installing floor and stair trim. This was another element of the Project we decided to DIY.

If I learned anything from this project it’s that Pattern making skills are surprisingly similar to carpentry skills. Planning ahead, careful measuring and cutting, and understanding how pieces fit together. For all the parts of the project that we managed it involved calculating materials ahead of time- I was worried that not knowing what I don’t know that I would be over or under and for the most part my typical way of calculating consumption in pattern making of adding 20% to accommodate for mistakes worked out in this project as well.

Painting the trim

Back to the smaller sprayer and the trim size bottle – using pre primed trim and an enamel self leveling paint. This combo with the sprayer gave the best finish and was so much easier and cleaner than trying to tape off and prevent bleeds between black trim and off white walls.

Start with the longest runs

In patternmaking you cut your largest pieces first. So my plan was to start with the longest runs because if we made a mistake we could always cut a board smaller but couldn’t make one longer. Puzzling together this gap/sill on the stairs and the entryway was probably the hardest part. Otherwise it all went relatively smoothly. I measured and marked, Josh made cuts with the miter saw, and I nailed them into place.

Finish nailer vs framing nailer

This is a good time to visit another change in tools needed – when we did the walls I used a framing nailer but here I needed a finishing nailer. For framing we knew we wouldn’t have electrical in yet so we got a battery powered framing nailer. For this finishing portion we opted to get a compressor and finishing nailer combo instead of a battery powered nailer. We added a lot of tools to our arsenal for this project but saved ourselves thousands doing so much of the project ourselves.

Want to see all the stages of building our new BTS HQ in the Hudson Valley? Find the whole series here BTS Studio Build

The post building BTS studio – Floor and Stair Trim install appeared first on Between The Sheets Blog.

Here’s a step by step on how I went about breathing new life into these vintage chairs

Removing cane and cushions

First thing to prep them for paint was removing cushions and damaged cane. One chair the cane wasn’t damaged but it still had to come off bc I knew matching new and old would be nearly impossible so off it all came. A steamer helped loosed the glue and a flat head screw driver to lift spline and help with removing the fabric from cushion. Since the seats had been repaired over the years it needed a new plywood base as well so I only had to remove one seat cushion cover to make a template. This and removing cane was the most tedious part of this project.

Painting

Before painting we glued and checked all the fasteners to make sure the final result was stable. I didn’t want to risk popping off the wheels and not being able to get them back on so I just taped those off. I used the same enamel paint on these as on our floor trim in the studio space. I painted them at a different time though and the temps/humidity meant these may not have cured as nicely. (In hindsight it might’ve been worth trying a chemical stripper before painting.)

Recaning

There are two types of caning- hand woven and spline. Hand woven is basically holes on a chair seat or back and you weave the pattern, spline caning is what these chairs have and it involves cutting and sheet of cane and inserting it using spline and glue. To size this you have to measure the channel the spline is inserted into and then order accordingly.

Cut to size and Soak spline and cane to soften it.

Line it up with chair and use wedges to press it into channel and hold it in place

Use chisel and hammer to trim cane

Insert spine using wood glue into the channel and a mallet to hammer it in without shifting the cane. Actually relatively easy

Let it dry and the cane tightens and glue holds cane and spline in place

New seats & cushions

To fix the seat cushions we started from the plywood base and cut 4 new ones using the old seat as a template. Dry fit to make sure it works

Then k carefully seal ripped the old seat cushion to make a pattern for new cover.

Or this I am using an old set of curtains as material for the new seat cushions (cutting on the floor since our cutting table had not arrived yet)

Also cut new foam for the seats and test fitted this once before getting it right and cutting and assembling all 4

Next step was stapling the fabric to base and adding dust cover to that, then securing it to the seat with screws.

Final result

From start to finish these look like totally new chairs and match the details of the space perfectly. The new storage hutch in the coffee bar area is also black with pale cane and it really ties the look of the space together to have these details echoed throughout the space.

The post DIY – recaning and reupholstering vintage cane chairs appeared first on Between The Sheets Blog.

This was a spot for the studio build where I am glad we DIY’d. I think most contractors we talked to earlier assumed this would be a full kitchenette, like a big space. I had inspiration images of other coffee nooks and wet bars under stairs and in closet type spaces but none with this specific orientation of ceiling. So this is where doing it ourselves made it easier to execute.

Unlike the bathroom we wanted this to have a deeper sink for washing dishes, a mini fridge (maybe one day I will upgrade to an undercabinet fridge but I found this one with plastic wrap still on it at an estate sale and we built around that!) and enough counter space to hold a small espresso maker.

Counter top

For the coffee nook we were anticipating a high use counter so we went with something we could DIY. The long term plans for built ins along one wall I pictured two butcher block desks along that wall so we bought three butcher block pieces – two for the future built ins and one to cut down for this nook. We made a template of the sink and cut this out with a jigsaw and then routered. On looking back it probably would’ve been fine to just jigsaw and then sand bc this wood had some thick knots that caused issues with the router. A learning experience and we patched some of these with wood filler and epoxy.

Cabinet

While we were painting the door and bathroom trim we also painted this ready made cabinet base. It came with a top drawer which we removed and bought hardware to convert it into a false drawer to make room for the sink. This also allowed us to still have a little storage spot for dish sponges etc. to install we lined it up with the counter ensuring it could slide it underneath. After the sink was installed it was attached to wall and counter.

Sink

Here is where we left things off, sink mounted and ready for our plumber – he came and connected the drain and installed faucet. After that was installed I treated the butcher block with tung oil.

Coffee and Beverage Corner

I found this small storage cabinet to match our revamped vintage cane chairs, tucked in this estate sale find mini fridge, and all my vintage details to wrap up this cozy little space next to our “showroom” corner with all our samples.

To be continued bc as cute and functional as it is now, it’s still not complete. Future upgrades I have planned for this spot include installing a tiled backsplash, adding rechargeable LED sconces, and adding a towel hook and small shelves. Oh and *possibly* upgrading the fridge.

Want to see all the stages of building our new BTS HQ in the Hudson Valley? Find the whole series here BTS Studio Build

The post building BTS studio – coffee nook appeared first on Between The Sheets Blog.

This part we chose to DIY, and with only a little practice with a nail gun on the shed table it was surprisingly straightforward. Not going to go building anything structural but nice to know I can rough in an interior wall. Things we took on with interior framing including building a pony wall to replace the safety railing, building the walls and door frame of the bathroom and coffee nook, as well as building the wall to close off the stairs to the space in the lower level of the garage. We later came back before insulation and added blocking for the drywall and fixtures like handrail/future built ins.

Plumbing and Electrical Rough in through Drywall

Taking the space from bare bones to functional we hired out these 4 roles to contractors that specialized in each. The plumbing and electrical had to be split into two parts – step 1 rough in before insulation and drywall and step 2 finishing after we finished flooring.

Paint

This part we decided to DIY, and after practicing using the paint sprayer to paint the shed we knew we would need a bigger one. Very glad we figured that out ahead of time.

Progress

Final result

Flooring

Flooring install we worked with All Floor One. We picked out and purchased the tile and selected the grout color for the studio and bathroom, and Nick and his crew did the rest.

Finished Flooring

Want to see all the stages of building our new BTS HQ in the Hudson Valley? Find the whole series here BTS Studio Build

The post building BTS studio – finishing the interior from utilities to paint appeared first on Between The Sheets Blog.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.

-Edgar Allan Poe

Where does one go when looking for darkest plants for their goth garden… well I asked that question and had trouble finding the answer. If you identify as goth, dark, witchy, punk you might appreciate this post since these are not your granny’s cottage garden plants. Even if you don’t identify with those things and are just looking to add contrast in food or plantings and floral arrangements this list might help you find what you are looking for.

As someone who has consciously searched out dark plants from edibles to florals and foliage- there is very little true black in the plant world. The best you can expect is typically going to be a very deep saturated purple so searching the term “black garden plants” will not necessarily yield the correct results. This list is not complete since it really only includes things I am able to grow in zone 5/6 NY and not the many plants that thrive in warmer climates.

Edibles

Plums, pears, black raspberries, blackberries, dark opal basil and tatsoi, dark purple bush and pole beans, and tomatoes tinged with black these are a few of my favorite unconventional things to grow in my veggie garden and orchard.

Varieties to look for

• Elephant heart plum
• Red Seckel pear
• Black raspberry
• Red noodle bean
• Dark opal purple basil
• Thai purple basil
• Persian basil (some are black speckled and some come out darker than others)
• Alice’s dream tomato
• Queen of the night tomato
• Royal burgundy bush beans
• Sugar magnolia snap pea
• Blackberries & mulberries
• Purple bok choi, red scarlet tatsoi

Tomatoes I wanted to like:

• Wooly Kate & Queen of the night (both had such bad pollination)
• Brad’s atomic Grape, Bosque Blue, and Black strawberry (bc they got spots so easily and spoiled quickly)
• Black cherry (they split so easily and aren’t that dark/black)

Tomatoes I want to try – indigo sun, black beauty, indigo kumquat, indigo blue chocolate

Flowers

Tulips

• Black hero (double)
• black parrot (ruffled/serrated)
• Queen of the night (single)

Dahlias

• Hollyhill Black beauty (solid)
• creme de cassis (the back is a deep inky purple)
• hollyhill bewitched (streaks of dark purple)

Honorable mention: I’ve been trying to grow these and either had tuber fails, wrong color, or been unable to order: Hulin’s carnival, lights out

Perennials

• Lilies (nightrider shown below, landini, blackstone, mapira)
• Bearded Irises (so many to choose from schreiners iris has several)
• Columbine (black Barlow, pleated blackberry)

Annuals

• Sunflowers (Queen of the night, black beauty)
• sweet peas (almost black or beaujolais)
• scabiosa (dark night)

Honorable mention: black magic or chocolate cosmos and nigra/black hollyhock

Foliage

• Hibiscus dark foliage (summerific evening rose & choco latte)
• Redbud (forest pansy), amaranth (opi red)
• Huechera (black pearl, obsidian, cracked ice)

If you’re goth gardening in a different zone or have some other black/almost black plants you love, feel free to leave them in the comments so others can add a little darkness to their gardens!

Follow our journey in growing and share in our experience and lessons learned from nature with more posts from In the Garden

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