Inspiration

As a designer, I find inspiration in many different places. This music video from Adele got me thinking.

The trend towards open kitchen shelving is one that clients love to see in a magazine, but often have trouble implementing. The trick to getting right is employing a similiar technique that the set designer of this video uses throughout: "mass for impact". Displaying many smaller similar items tightly together can create visual interest and texture. I envision shelves lined with inexpensive white restaurant supply dishes, plain clear glasses, and tea cups.

Additionally, these items set on a table with a white cloth, white napkins, white candles -- simple, clean and striking. A grouping of plain clear cups with water and floating tea lights would finish the tableau.

Perhaps my favorite inspired idea from this video is the art behind the singer. Crumpled or artfully folded butcher paper either framed or hung rustically on a large blank wall would be a great option for renters, a college dorm, or anyone on a budget in need of filling a wall.

Love Your Mate, Love Their Stuff

“Everybody thinks they have good taste and a sense of humor, but they couldn’t all possibly have good taste and a sense of humor.” -- When Harry Met Sally

Having designed rooms for couples and families for more than a decade, I can tell you my role as designer crosses over into marriage counselor more often than you’d imagine. A client will tug at my sleeve whilst their spouse steps away for a moment, handing me some offensive object, “Whatever you do. Get. Rid. Of. This. And remember, it was YOUR idea.”
The sports trophy, the fish mounted on a plaque, the ceramic figurine, the odd commemorative plate/spoon/challis--I’ve seen it all. Combining two lives into a home and keeping the peace is often one of the reasons my clients hire me. They want good design. They want functional spaces. And they want the beer can collection gone.
When I met my husband and saw his beer stein collection, lovingly arranged on a wood plank suspended by cinder blocks, interspersed with the bottles of beer he had drank using them, I will admit I took pause. Perhaps it was the Budweiser Girls Poster that completed the vignette, but I had the reaction many women do. “Yeah, that’s goin’ in the attic.”
Years pass, and my German mother is packing her things to downsize to a smaller place. I am offered no fewer than 5 authentic German beer steins that were my grandfathers. Maybe it was the family history, maybe it was their non-adjacency to cinder blocks, but they were beautiful; each one more colorful and intricate than the next. I lined them up in our butlers pantry combined with my husbands’ steins and get compliments on them from party guests often.
One technique I have seen many clients use is to corral the offensive objects into one confined area (typically a basement – I believe the current term for this is Man Cave). The barstools, the wagon wheel coffee table, the antler chandelier, the framed sports jersey at its side, wine corks in a vase….maybe a stack of Rush concert tickets nearby.
The problem with this is two fold. First of all, the owner of these prized possessions feels banished in their own home. Second, when you pull equally unattractive items together, it tends to have MORE of a visual impact than if they were dispersed and worked into a room. I have made grown men cry (in a good way) when they have seen their things incorporated into a design in a meaningful, beautiful way.

Just imagine – the antlers dismantled, whitewashed, and artfully stacked in an unused fireplace. The barstools reupholstered and refinished, placed at a stainless steel topped kitchen island. The wagon wheel suspended from cables holding large pillar candles above a vintage farmhouse table.

Love your mate, love their stuff. It’s part of who they are.

{photo credit: IMDb}

YDseries Special Edition: FALL FASHION FORECAST

On this last day of summer we invite YOU on a guided tour of fall; from the basics to the hottest trends for YOU and YOUR HOME. {with lot's of help from our indie friends at Tory Janes}

when: Tuesday October 5th
early edition: 10am - 12pm
evening edition: 7pm - 9pm
where: ColorStoryHome
light refreshments will be served
reservations a must - just call 973.744.8338

LOOK FORWARD!

Back to School

Pencils, paper, lunchboxes, school shoes...for many of us this time of year is a chance to renew and refresh. Perhaps a Three Quarter Year's Resolution, September and Back to School season inspires and gently nudges you back inside to see what you've been missing for the last three months. Maybe the kids are out from under foot for the first time in months, maybe it's your turn to host book club or supper club or Thanksgiving...whatever your reasons, Fall is the time to go inside and took a good, honest look around at your home. Never underestimate the power of a good purge. Edit, edit, edit your collections with a critical eye. Letting go of "so and so gave this to me so I have to have it on my mantle" is cost free way to allow the things you truly love to shine. And don't even get me started on putting away those seashell towels in the powder room.

Once the slate is clean, you can begin to truly assess your home. In construction we use a Punch List to outline the to-do's in a renovation....it's a God's-honest, truth-or-bust list of even the tiniest of details. The punch list for my 100 year old home includes a room by room account of things from "bathroom renovation" to "replace lightbulbs above vanity". Truly, spanning "touch up baseboard trim" and "consider new bedding" is both liberating and daunting. The good, the bad, the expensive.

The thing about the master punch list is that it allows you to quickly and easily choose a project for when time and money allow, and the more that's on the list, the more you get to cross off!

Montclair Independent Retail Week

YOUR DESIGNseries will be participating. Join us for the week long celebration of indie shops!
Just check out www.shoplocalmontclair.com for the latest and greatest...

YDs Special Edition: SAVE THE DATE

The date - OCTOBER 5th, 2010 - SAVE IT! We'll tell you why later - but rest-assured...it'll be worth the wait.

YDs101: Entertain This

Pencils sharp? Check. Fancy notepads ready? Check. YOUR DESIGNseries101 is now in session.

First up - let's entertain on the fly - something you'll be sure to do alot of this summer. Check out SPONTANEOUS ENTERTAINING and Gina's tips on how to throw an impromptu get together like a pro. Look forward!