Over the years I have ribbed Christan about his occasional use of artificial foliage in his design work. Well... I feel I must confess to you that this weekend I bought 2 pre-lit outdoor decorative topiaries for the holidays. Yes my friends, I bought fake trees.
And I feel good about it!
Monday, November 19, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
Sad, Sad News...
This Saturday was our last column for The Seattle PI (sniff, sniff).
The section of the paper we wrote for, "@Home" has been discontinued. The same has happened to The Seattle Times "Digs" section.
Gone.
From what I understand, it had little to do with the content, but the advertising just didn't support it. Funny, because when these sections first debuted, there were LOTS of advertisers. Makes me wonder...
Regardless, it's really too bad. There was a lot of great information we put out for our readers in our section. I am really going to miss it. And I will miss hearing back from our readers - both the positive AND negative feedback!
The section of the paper we wrote for, "@Home" has been discontinued. The same has happened to The Seattle Times "Digs" section.
Gone.
From what I understand, it had little to do with the content, but the advertising just didn't support it. Funny, because when these sections first debuted, there were LOTS of advertisers. Makes me wonder...
Regardless, it's really too bad. There was a lot of great information we put out for our readers in our section. I am really going to miss it. And I will miss hearing back from our readers - both the positive AND negative feedback!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Color Therapy for the Paint Princess
Christian and I were in my office this morning, writing for the PI. And he said' "It's time to change your office around and find a new paint color!"
What????
Well, come to think of it, it HAS been over eight years since my office was painted. How did THAT happen?
Currently the walls are a nice muted purple with a green accent - ohmygosh - as I look around I realize it is PAST time to repaint!!!
Being the Paint Princess has its benefits. Choosing my own colors is not one of them! Christian found a great color for consideration: C2 Paint's "Rickshaw". But I'm thinking "Saddle" might be just the ticket, too...
What????
Well, come to think of it, it HAS been over eight years since my office was painted. How did THAT happen?
Currently the walls are a nice muted purple with a green accent - ohmygosh - as I look around I realize it is PAST time to repaint!!!
Being the Paint Princess has its benefits. Choosing my own colors is not one of them! Christian found a great color for consideration: C2 Paint's "Rickshaw". But I'm thinking "Saddle" might be just the ticket, too...
Monday, October 8, 2007
New Road Trip
Our next Road Trip is due to be published October 20th - just in time for Halloween! So yes, we are focusing on Halloween Design - and we had a frightfully good time researching this topic (har, har).
Rom Rage
If you click on this photo of Christian, you'll see he is sporting what looks like a poorly-placed Bindi dot (with accompanying bump) right on the top of his forehead - a victim of "Rom Rage".
What is "Rom Rage", you ask??? Well lets just day that interior design is not for sissies. He was kindly helping Rom Lee install a piece at the Designer Showcase hosted by Glenn Richards (check out my blog entry here for more details...) when he was attacked, yes attacked by falling hardware and tumbling ladders. Since Rom is so easy-going, we are blaming him for the whole ordeal.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Ruminations On the Past
With hefty fall fashion and design magazines hitting the newsstands this fall, we thought that we’d take a look backwards into the design trends of the past. Not only were the prices vastly different, but the reflecting values and approaches were too.
We scoured our collection of old design books and how-to manuals and found some rather interesting (some might claim useless) tidbits that give us a humorous glimpse into the design arena of days gone bye. As you will see, it’s a far cry from the Crate and Barrel, mail order, and the internet extravaganza we now have. Enjoy…..
The following was a furniture budget offered as a suggestion in “Popular Home Decoration”, a design book published in 1940. It appeared in a chapter titled “A Bride’s Eye View” and meant to assist the young new homemaker with household planning.
Sofa Bed with slipcover $67.48
Two end tables $ 2.99 each
Lamps $ 3.25 each (note: assemble at home)
Side chairs $ 3.00 each
Dining table $ 3.49 each
Unfinished bookcases $ 3.95 each
Percale for draperies $ 8.75 (35 yards @ .25 per yard)
Bath towels .59 each
Double bed sheets $ 1.79 each
Bed pillows $ 3.00 each
The same text offered these 5 categories for families: Prosperous, Comfortable, Backbone of America, Just Getting By and Relief Groups. You were encouraged to determine your category as it made your position clear and was helpful for knowing what types of household furnishing you would be purchasing and how much you could spend.
If you were in the middle of the pack, you could expect to spend a whopping $179.00 to completely outfit your first apartment!
You were also encouraged to determine what your family “type” was. Check this out:
The Social Type: Bridge, parties, gossip, clothes and shopping.
The Intellectual type: Books, current events, theatre and concert attendance
The Community Builder: Church, charity, PTA and active club work
The Home centered type: Mending, washing, ironing and cleaning
The Creative type: Art, cooking, gardening and decorating
And once you figured all of this out, you could select from any of the following design styles to create the home of your imagination or dreams: Rustic, Casual, Informal, Semiformal or Formal. Each of these came with suggestions on proper wood finishes, fabrics and surfaces to compliment the feeling.
Much of the advice in these old books is still of value today. Their value lies in organizing the interior design process into a framework from which to hang your project. Today it might be framed in the language of designing in “layers” or finding your “personal style”. The challenge is to integrate the advice of a half century ago into the progress we have made, the choices we have and opportunities afforded us by technology and innovation. At the very least, they are an entertaining glimpse at a simpler time.
We scoured our collection of old design books and how-to manuals and found some rather interesting (some might claim useless) tidbits that give us a humorous glimpse into the design arena of days gone bye. As you will see, it’s a far cry from the Crate and Barrel, mail order, and the internet extravaganza we now have. Enjoy…..
The following was a furniture budget offered as a suggestion in “Popular Home Decoration”, a design book published in 1940. It appeared in a chapter titled “A Bride’s Eye View” and meant to assist the young new homemaker with household planning.
Sofa Bed with slipcover $67.48
Two end tables $ 2.99 each
Lamps $ 3.25 each (note: assemble at home)
Side chairs $ 3.00 each
Dining table $ 3.49 each
Unfinished bookcases $ 3.95 each
Percale for draperies $ 8.75 (35 yards @ .25 per yard)
Bath towels .59 each
Double bed sheets $ 1.79 each
Bed pillows $ 3.00 each
The same text offered these 5 categories for families: Prosperous, Comfortable, Backbone of America, Just Getting By and Relief Groups. You were encouraged to determine your category as it made your position clear and was helpful for knowing what types of household furnishing you would be purchasing and how much you could spend.
If you were in the middle of the pack, you could expect to spend a whopping $179.00 to completely outfit your first apartment!
You were also encouraged to determine what your family “type” was. Check this out:
The Social Type: Bridge, parties, gossip, clothes and shopping.
The Intellectual type: Books, current events, theatre and concert attendance
The Community Builder: Church, charity, PTA and active club work
The Home centered type: Mending, washing, ironing and cleaning
The Creative type: Art, cooking, gardening and decorating
And once you figured all of this out, you could select from any of the following design styles to create the home of your imagination or dreams: Rustic, Casual, Informal, Semiformal or Formal. Each of these came with suggestions on proper wood finishes, fabrics and surfaces to compliment the feeling.
Much of the advice in these old books is still of value today. Their value lies in organizing the interior design process into a framework from which to hang your project. Today it might be framed in the language of designing in “layers” or finding your “personal style”. The challenge is to integrate the advice of a half century ago into the progress we have made, the choices we have and opportunities afforded us by technology and innovation. At the very least, they are an entertaining glimpse at a simpler time.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Designer Showcase
I was sent an interesting link to a Designer Showcase that is happening in Chicago called Dreamhome. It features a number of very well known interior designers - you most likely would recognize Nate Berkus, of Oprah fame for example (really, it's his "personality" you love so much, isn't it?).
What I found really cool was that I could "virtually" preview each designers room and get the chance to understand their thought process. If you have a few minutes to spare, you might find it fun to see how designers approach their projects.
Do I have a favorite??? Yes, but I'm not going to tell!
What I found really cool was that I could "virtually" preview each designers room and get the chance to understand their thought process. If you have a few minutes to spare, you might find it fun to see how designers approach their projects.
Do I have a favorite??? Yes, but I'm not going to tell!
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