The Bachelor Pad: C’est Fini
by habituallychic
10 . 26 . 08
Now I remember why I only host one party a year. It’s exhausting and it’s never quite as much fun as being just a guest. I spent all day Friday running around and preparing and most of Saturday too. And then little things kept going wrong like my Blackberry stopped receiving emails and my computer decided to not recognize anything I plugged into the USB port. Weird timing. Luckily, I had made a party playlist on my iPod earlier in the week but I was unable to save the changes I made on Saturday. Of course, all the sudden it’s working now. Even weirder.
It also happened to rain Saturday night. A few people cancelled but all in all it turned out to be a fun party. I thought we were going to have too much food but some girls who showed up ended up chowing down. I did order too much wine but that will definitely not go to waste.
A big thanks to my friend Tara who came over early with me to set everything up and wrapped more figs in prosciutto than she would have liked. More thanks to those who braved the rain including Eddie and Jaithan, Ron Marvin and Alejandro, Hollister and Porter Hovey, Michelle Adams and my colleague Kristen. My friend Kelly, who works with Carleton Varney, was too sweet and brought me a copy of Decorating is Fun! which I actually don’t own and am excited to read! (I joked that I am going to write my own version entitled, Decorating is Exhausting!) I also made a new friend at the party, artist Lesny JN Felix who invited me on a tour of his studio. We also discussed a few other joint projects so check back later. 
The candles in this photo look like they are coming out of the wine bottles but I assure you that they are not! I had a good laugh when Eddie knew that the ceramic beverage container was from Tar-jay! He has a few himself! We also found out that our birthdays are two days apart! Can you say joint birthday party?!
This is how the dining area looked the next day after I cleaned. (Did I mention that I went over and cleaned while the bachelor was out golfing?!) His step mother hates the table but he already had it and we didn’t exactly have a huge budget. Sometimes I think it’s fun to work with what a person already has than going out and buying everything new. 
Someone mentioned last week that the television area didn’t look finished and that’s because it wasn’t. There is also a lot going on next to it with the seating area so I think it’s fine that it’s not too over accessorized. Plus, it would distract you while you were trying to watch TV. I would have liked to have bought an area rug for under the dining table but as I mentioned previously, the bachelor works on Wall Street and so some finishing touches were put on hold. (The caterer and wait staff I also dreamed about for the party were also put on hold!) I also just painted out the existing dining area light fixture shades and took off the finials to save money. It would have been too expensive to have an electrician to come in and move the electrical box and install a new fixture. It’s also a rental so it just made more sense to leave it since the bachelor probably wouldn’t have had someone take the new one down before he moved anyway. Someone at the party actually said they liked it too which made me laugh. If they only new what it looked like before!
The new chairs add much needed additional seating and are also much better than what he originally had there (see the before photos here). One of his friends thanked me for the improvement since he has a nicer place to hang out too!
As you might remember the sofa is a C&B Italia from 1973 (before the changed the name to B&B Italia) and the Italian glass and chrome coffee table is also from the 1970’s and was designed by Giancarlo Frattini for Cassina. Both were from his step mother and are selling for crazy prices on 1stdibs. The bachelor bought the rug himself last year and it actually worked with the color scheme of browns and oranges.
I can’t find the other photo of the bed but you do get a look at the Ralph Lauren dresser that we splurged on. Everyone who saw it fell in love with it. You can’t tell here but the wood looks like it’s part of an expensive yacht and the pulls are leather and silver. There is supposed to be a small flat screen tv sitting on it but someone hasn’t gotten around to buying it which is why the art is hung the way that it is on the wall. By the way, can you tell which painting was bought on ebay for $60 and which one was bought at Flair for $1500???
All in all, it was a 6 month process from start to almost finish. There are still a few details left that need attending to but they might have to wait until things are little more under control financially. I will be forever grateful to my friend for giving me the opportunity to undertake a project all by myself. It was tough and he and I didn’t always get along during it. Some people know and others guessed that he and I had at one time dated. It didn’t work out but we remained friends. I will admit that I had hoped that the project might bring us closer and result in a happy ending but alas it did not. I may have created the grown up apartment he wanted but someone isn’t quite ready to grow up himself. But I do have a great project to add to my portfolio and a lot more time on my hands! C’est fini!
45 Comments
Lovely. You have much to be proud of!
-EM
Bachelor pad looks fantastic. You did a great job.
heather, you did an amazing job! i can’t believe that it’s the same apartment.
kudos on reuse of that dining table. i agree with his mom- it’s dreadful, but you managed to put lipstick on that pig, and now it looks great! you’d never know it wasn’t selected to be part of the new decor, and that is the mark of true talent.
really, an incredible transformation, especially on a limited budget- which as we both know is far more challenging to pull off than people realize.
as for the bachelor the person, it’s much easier to transform a space than it is to transform a person- that kind of project can be a battle that never ends, so you are far, far better off without it!
What a fantastic blog… I’m really glad I stumbled across it! The place looks lovely… well done.
I sympathize with redecorating and financial concerns- my husband and I are slowly doing up our Santa Monica town home and have had to take a break due to that pesky little thing called “budget” 🙂
What a fabulous space! it really looks like a welcoming, relaxing and super tres chic pad! Clearly you are a natural!
i have loved watching you transform the bachelor pad! it looks great-you have excellent style!
Congrats! It’s looking great. I hope a chic publication wants to run with it when it is finished. I’m sure this is just the beginning for you my dear!
magnificent work!
Well done. You can be very proud. No worries (as we say in Australia) about the bachelor – you will find someone even better!
Looks great. I think the nighttime pictures from the party show it off best.
Can’t believe that you did all the work to decorate this AND you ended up having to do all the cleaning after the party while the Bachelor went off to play golf.
Cherie
C’est tres beaux!!!. I love too, that you shared the little insight into your personal life and the story behind the project we have all followed with inteerest- hey it did not work out but at least you are leaving someone with a more beautiful environment because of you… can you say pay it forward?!?!?!
excellent, excellent job.
Have you thought of priming the table and painting it black?
fun stuff. nice job. keep going!
my guess is that the abstract from flair is on the left side because of the framing. otherwise, could be same! could get the other one framed same one and voila, nobody’d know the difference. or i might be wrong…
what a terrific transformation. And that dining table — frankly most of us have to (or want to) work with a number of things we already have. It’s those limitations that bring out the creative genius. Very nice job!
We have a very similar couch that my husband has had since his 80’s bachelor days. His is Danish with a teak wood frame and we recently had it reupholstered in a rich brown leather again. I was considering chairs similar to yours but just didn’t know. Now that I’ve seen it I know what to do – thanks!
What a fantastic job! Looks great! I especially love the living room. All the furniture works so well together and the history of all that furniture!
I like the idea of painting the dining table black…I know your are fini..but maybe just one last thing!
As for the paintings… I really can’t tell which one is $1500..I am going to guess the smaller one.. they look great together!
Absolutely lovely all around. And that mirror is gorgeous.
Tarjay is an amazing trove of goodies for parties – don’t let the secret out. hehee
why do designers always use books as props and support for vases and other nonsense? that cy twombly book ain’t that bad and for 55 bucks you could get a decent thing to support the lamp. the richard prince book outside you could use, though. save the turner book and keep it on the ikea bookshelf.
Well done, bravo!
Simply Stunning and it looks even better in person!
The pad looks great, you had the ‘A’ list of guests and it looks great. I love, love the new chairs along with the vintage sofa and cocktail table…now I’m intrigued with the RL dresser, need to see it in person. Great job!
It looks so great and what a special ex-gf you are to have done it for him. I wondered if that’s what was going on.
Have you ever seen Pillow Talk? That’s probably what I would have done. 🙂
Ha Ha.
Wonderful job.
Heather, you did an amazing job- I love that you worked with what was there and updated the rest! The Bachelor is one lucky guy.
Nicely done, I’m actually redesigning my own bachelor friend’s apt as well. Our situation was kind of the reverse, friends first, then more than friends during the project, back to friends 🙂 I’m actually happy it turned out that way, I realized he needed to grow up too! Now on the design, where’d you get the table lamp in the bedroom?
Thanks everyone for the lovely comments! I appreciate all of your continues support and encouragement!
To answer some of the questions, the step mother suggested painting the table black but I really don’t feel like undertaking that project. I have to admit that it actually doesn’t even bother me that much. I’m more concerned that it needs a rug under it!
The painting from Flair is the smaller one on the right and the larger one on the left was from ebay. People at the party thought they were by the same artist!
To the person who suggested the books were props, I’ve addressed this before. My friends and I read a lot so we all have books everywhere. The bachelor has a huge bookcase full of books and I took some of them and displayed them. I think art books are beautiful and should be out to be seen and flipped through.
I totally thought of Pillow Talk when I started this project! I think I may to buy a copy of the movie now!
The lamp in the bedroom is actually from Crate and Barrel. Check back later for another photo of the bedroom.
I am glad the soiree was a success. That bachelor is a lucky man to have such an amazing apartment. I love seeing the pictures and getting all of the details. It really does look perfect.
You did an incredible job!!!
Real nice output, congrats!
Instead of the paintings in the bedroom I would have preferred black and white photos for a man and the sweet little red flowers are too girlish for my taste. But all in all its fab!!!
Gina from Germany
eddie + i had such a good time with you and the girls. the place looked fantastic and you’re too hard on yourself as a host…everything was perfect!
Lovely work and such a nice sense of warmth in what was a rather cold feeling space. And I love that you were able to work with a number of items that the Bachelor had, including the blinds! That always makes me happy. Congrats!!
Great picture frames in the second photo. Where are they from?
Hi Heather,
Wow, this is simply impressive! What a delightful transformation you’ve done to the pad, from the living room to the bedroom down to the individual furnishings such as the dresser and the wall decor, I love it all!
Very nicely done, HC!
Very nice, in regard to the table, I would paint it a high gloss black and top it with a thick slab of glass or stone…
Wow this apartment looks great–especially since I can see how to translate some of the clean modern design into my own NYC apartment. Congrats on being listed in DOMINO magazine! I was happy to see your blog getting national attention!
Wow, amazing work!!
Yes, it was such a lovely night. Thank you! The apartment just looked beautiful. You really did an amazing job!!
Fabulous – the living room chairs and rug are superb!
You were smart not to paint the table legs black. With those black chairs, you’d just end up with a big snarl of black legs.
As for a new top, the country-style turned-wood base would not look right with a sleek urban-style glass or stone top.
Best idea: Just wait and get a new table altogether when money is available.
I love this. Especially the arrangement of frames/art on the wall.
Just wanted to send congratulations!
My favorite bit is the layout of the dresser in the bedroom. The splash of color by the paintings combinged with the tranquility of the blue is fantastic…tell the bachelor not to buy a tv. Instead, buy him a bigger bouquet of red flowers for that space!
My favorite, favorite bit is the console with the two chairs…simply incredible! It’s amazing how the simple act of breaking apart the set of four prints into two sets of two prints and placing them just as you did give that space such a sense of balance, harmony and add to the elegance. What a wonderful thing to look at from the living room couch!
Well done! Just wonderful. He must be thrilled.
A technical question: does he own a DVD player and all that jazz? And, if so, how do you hide it as well as you’ve done? I’m tired of these huge armoires.
Thanks again for all the support!
Just to clarify, the flowers were orange and they were from the party. I also tried to get some black and white photography from his famous photographer step-mother but that didn’t work out.
I also defintitely wanted draperies in the bedroom but they were cut from the budget. Maybe he can get them and a new dining table later.
He also does have a stereo and DVD player and cable box which are hidden in the low console under the television. It has sliding doors which don’t jut out out into the room when you need to open them to use the remotes.
And top Sally, the picture frames on the end tables are the brown mother of pearl ones from Restoration Hardware. They have some fabulous stuff there!
What a beautiful job you did! And the writing was so Carrie-esque, especially the end. Your knight in shining armour will come, don’t you worry. I love your blog!
I love the end result.. Next time you should invite me to your parties, cause I prepare everything in less than an hour and ppl think I am in the kitchen for a week ;-))
Great job!!