the cabinologist

Before & After: Dry Bar

Audra Pratt — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 19:06:10 +0000

Here’s another part of our dining room redesign (that I shared a couple months ago). This time, I thought I’d show you how much a pint of paint and some new hardware can do to completely transform a piece of furniture (and even help you designate a new use for it).

The dresser below was a piece of midcentury furniture I bought at a garage sale in college for $40. I haven’t liked it for a long time, but our apartment has so little closet space/built in storage (and I have too much stuff) to have been able to do without it.

So, for a $10 custom pint of paint and $12 for Anthropologie hardware on super-clearance: antler handles $1.98/ea. and knobs $.98/ea. we have a modern rustic dry bar with great storage for linens and bar supplies.

Come on over for a drink!

The Driftless

Audra Pratt — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 16:45:27 +0000

We spent the last days of 2012 at a cabin in the Driftless, the region of south-western Wisconsin, eastern Minnesota, and north-eastern Iowa that borders the Mississippi River and was circumvented by the wondrous glaciers that carved the rest of the Great Plains.

We were so glad to find Hills approaching mountains in Wisconsin and happy to try out our new snowshoes! Below are some images from our time at the Red Clover Cabin on a farmstead in Soldier’s Grove, WI owned by Annie Coleman.

Happy New Year!

God Jul!

Audra Pratt — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 00:06:42 +0000

I am obsessed with Scandinavian Christmas decorations, and with Scandinavian minimalist cozy style in general.

Here are a few of my favorite Pinterest images on the topic:

Merry Christmas!

God Jul!

Happy Week Before Christmas!

Audra Pratt — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 14:53:36 +0000

Things have been crazy at work the past few weeks, please please pardon me for my silence! I hate being away from the Cabinologist, and have some serious holiday catching-up to do!

Just saw this Wisconsin cabin at freecabinporn.com, and had to share:

They’re calling for snow in Chicago tomorrow night, hope you all are someplace cozy!

Wandawega Craft Camp

Audra Pratt — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 23:30:25 +0000

I had to rush out the door from work yesterday without a chance to post about my weekend plans. Im currently relaxing by the fire and Christmas tree with a group of talented, creative women. I am looking forward to sharing the fruits of our creativity with you soon

Christmas Wishlist

Audra Pratt — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 05:20:41 +0000

With shopping and the holidays well underway, I’ve seen some really great items that I’m pretty sure I just can’t make it to spring without:

1. Estwing Camping Hatchet, $43, 2. Stanley Flask, $15, 3. Riedell 117 Red Ribbon Ice Skates, $102, 4. Mackinaw Cap, $50, 5. Bulleit Frontier Bourbon, $32, 6. Anonymous Ism Deer Socks, $28, 7. Staghorn Steak Knives, $198.

Living in TOAST

Audra Pratt — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 13:32:58 +0000

TOAST is a British-based company that purveys clothing and goods for the home that have a distinctively rustic-bohemian spirit. Their lookbooks are filled with landscapes, details, buildings, and textures that engulf the senses and evoke a strong desire to adopt the environment and lifestyle of its pages. It makes you actually yearn for cabin fever.

Here are a few of my favorite images from their Autumn and Winter catalogues. Sadly, they do not ship to the US, but you can download the lookbooks and check out their Christmas book here. All I can say is baggy sweaters and pajamas never looked so good!

Now, if they’d only ship to the US…

Quilts

Audra Pratt — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 14:01:37 +0000

Recently, I’ve had a fetish for quilts; though I can’t say I like very many of the patterns, and must add that there are more garish color palettes out there than otherwise! Quilts, when done right, can bring an instant extra cozy to a room, but when not carefully selected can look too country–to walk this fine line, I think you need to keep the pattern simple and the color palette sophisticated.

My two favorite quilt patterns happen to be the two that I own. Both are traditional North American patterns, and both are vintage examples bought on Etsy.

The first is Log Cabin:

I love the rich, earthy color palette of this quilt and its fabulous use of scraps from clothing. This quilt is in need of some TLC, but I’m looking forward to making the repairs it needs this winter.

My second quilt is in the Flying Geese pattern:

some other beautiful quilts, these ones from the Semiologie Collection, can be found here at Felt & Honey.

Before & After: Dining Room

Audra Pratt — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 12:35:08 +0000

I’ve finally gotten around to tidying up and taking some pictures of our cabin-redecorating. This was a project that came to me after getting married and coming home to our apartment–nothing felt different and everything looked the same. We finally had all this fine china and no place worthy of eating on it. While fine china is not generally a part of my vision of cabin life, my husband and I do dream of owning a cabin as our first piece of real estate. This is at least several years down the road yet, but the inspiration was a great jumping off point for decorating our Chicago apartment with the cabin in mind.

Our dining room is the first transformation I’ll be sharing with you:

Before

Before, the dining room was actually our office!

After

The dining room. This change was relatively inexpensive. We traded up on our former formica 1960s table for this Milo Baughman Parsons at a loss of $100. The chairs are outdoor bistro chairs from IKEA, $15/each. The credenza was a midcentury piece bought on craigslist for $125 and holds all of our china. The painting above it was $18 at a thrift store, I repainted the frame and added the letters on a whim. The lamps are also IKEA, $6/each, plus grey linen lampshades from Restoration Hardware, $5/each (on super sale). The framed maps are from the National Geological Survey and were about $8/each; the frames are IKEA, $20/each. The mounted antlers are a purchase from an auction, and were $15/each. We painted the room grey (a color I’m currently obsessed with), Olympic Thin Ice–I don’t like the name, but it is a true shade of grey, no blue or purple or brown in it to my eye.

It feels so much more grown up!

The Red Clover Cabin

Audra Pratt — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 02:36:53 +0000

All I want for Christmas this year is a tiny little cabin in the woods. Its ALL I want pretty much every year, and this time I’m getting one (at least for a few days). If you’re looking for a Wisconsin cabin getaway, I think Anne’s Red Clover Cabin is going to melt your heart! I can’t wait to see that meadow filled with snow and cozy up inside for a quiet holiday celebration. Did I mention you can bring your dog?

Anne’s cabin is available to rent via airbnb.com.