So you know how I feel about cleaning...

...But it actually just got a little better.  

And if you don't know how I feel about cleaning:  Although I love a clean house, I STRONGLY dislike the act of cleaning itself.  A lot.  I mean, like buying the better-looking cleaning supplies they now offer and I'm okay with a little here & there, but when it comes to vacuuming and mopping & all of that... ugghhhh.  There's something about doing the same thing over and over that feels futile to me.  No thinking required in cleaning really, just doing.  The same thing you did yesterday.  (Or let's be honest... with me, a couple of weeks ago ;) ;)

A few months ago, I was contacted by someone from Black & Decker about doing a post on a product of theirs with an emphasis on showing how I "embrace the luxury in cleaning" with their product.  (With the way I feel about cleaning, I thought this was laughable...  Cleaning has never been luxurious for me and usually involves sweatpants and a ponytail.) I often say no to product pitches, but when I saw what is was, I said, "send it to me!!!"...   I was definitely seeing how this product could make cleaning more luxurious for me...

It's a dust buster.  But seriously the best dust buster ever.  It's from their Platinum Lithium Series.  

What I liked about it when I saw the photo was that it's small and light...

There were no cords to worry about...

 (Do you see where I'm going yet??)

It arrived and we charged her up.

It can be used effortlessly.  

"Hey boys! Look at this machine we got in the mail!!"

"What is it mommy?!!"

"It's your very OWN vacuum!!"

{Merry Christmas Christian!!!}

"And it's for you too Justin!!"

"But you have to promise me you boys are going to share it."

I have really embraced the luxury in cleaning with the Platinum Vacuum because I can literally be sitting as my house gets cleaned!!

The boys use it to clean up their messes almost every day (why does it seem like we could feed a small army with what falls on the floor under their chairs??) and we keep it right in the kitchen.  It's so light & powerful that they literally just have to walk around with it in the right general area and it sucks up all the crumbs.

But in all honesty, I use it a lot too.  I love it because I can just grab it from the kitchen drawer to clean a quick mess...  which usually leads to an entire floor vacuuming (It's addictive!!) but what I like about it is that when I take it out to vacuum something, I'm not committed the way I am when I take out the big vacuum.   This way, I can stop whenever I feel like it.  And I don't have to deal with the plug.  I've used other dust busters over the years and haven't really been impressed before.  But I've had it for a couple of months, it's still going strong, and I love this thing.  (And especially how it involves my kids in helping with free labor chores.;)

If you want to check it out, here's the link to it: BLACK AND DECKER PLATINUM LINK
Feel free to embrace the luxury of cleaning too ;) ;)



If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Visiting Sadie + Stella

I'm over at my blog friend's Lindsay's today to be a part of her "Favorite Room" Series...  Lindsay writes Sadie + Stella and she's fun and sassy (yes I said sassy...  do people still use that word?? ;) and talented...

I shared more details on a favorite project of mine- the DC Row House that was recently featured in Small Rooms Decorating Magazine:

I'm thrilled & honored to be sharing over at Sadie + Stella today- thanks Lindsay!!  Click here to visit!

On another note, I've got some really exciting things in the works with the fabric line & I will share with you as SOON as I can!!!




If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Our Kitchen Island Continued... And a note on Honed Marble

Hope you had a great weekend!!  We got the teensiest bit of snow (not enough!!) and hung around home for the most part.  The guys worked on our island and I'm loving how it's coming out:

The reclaimed wood from Lorimer was applied horizontally across the drawer fronts.  It's almost totally flat when you look at it and the guys did an amazing job of keeping the wood flush on the sides of the drawers.

Here, Spiderman is investigating the newly applied tape "pulls" on the drawers:

(This means he can now get into the drawers himself which makes my life easier.   The kids can grab cups and get water from the spout on the outside of the fridge..  They can ask for a snack and I can say go ahead & get it.  Ahhh drawer pulls- who knew?!!)

Anyway, they still have three more sides to go, so we're only part way there, but I am so excited with the results so far!!  To read more abou the process, check out my last post here.  And finally, we have white honed marble on top of the island and I LOVE it.  It's super-easy to take care of  and looks and feels so good.  I really wish it didn't have such a bad rap.  (And I have two boys and a baby, we entertain a lot and we are faaaar from careful.)   In general I find that people (who've never been exposed to it & are listening to the stone companies)  are so afraid of using it & I feel like they're really missing out on something special.  Yes, some things can stain it (red wine is the only thing I've noticed when it's sat out for hours on there) but the stains turn into pretty gray marks... I don't even notice them with the movement in the marble.  I'm actually dying to dirty this thing up a bit.  I've left so much stuff on it in the hopes of seeing what it would do and not much has happened though it's definitely gotten prettier as it's seen more use of the past couple of months.   Like what I love about most natural things, life changes it and makes an impression on it.   I don't get why unchanging and perfection should equal beauty.  I feel the opposite.  (Except about my face haha!! j/k)

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

Our kitchen island

In our kitchen, I went back and forth (over and over!!) on what I wanted in our kitchen, and I finally decided we needed some worn wood in it somewhere to add warmth and carry over the rustic feeling from the rest of our house into the kitchen.  I originally planned to do wood perimeter cabinets but then fell in love with a slab of black soapstone, so I liked the idea of the lighter-painted perimeter cabinets with the dark soapstone top and then a darker wood island with a white marble top.  Here you can see our mid-stage kitchen:

Our island is around 8 feet long & can sit four of us...  (Even though you only see 3 chairs above)

Our builders got the kitchen island fucntional and we've been doing this for a while:

This island is a WORKHORSE!! Oh my gosh, it's a beast.  I love it.  It holds our trash, recycling, junk drawer, pasta/rice/randoms, a little bar drawer, kids' snacks, my vases & mason jars, and then paper goods like paper towels/ plates/cups.  We've had parties where we've loaded it up with food/ drinks.  (And even beer pong I must admit ;)  For Christmas, it seemed like our entire extended family fit around it easily.  It's one of the most practical pieces I've ever had and I've never had anything like this in a kitchen of my own before.  It might be my favorite thing in my house...  And it's not even pretty yet.

{Reality: My dog is "vacuuming" up our crumbs.  Get it giiiirl.}

BUT... our reclaimed oak arrived this week!!!  It was an amazingly generous gift from David Ellison at the Lorimer Workshop who we often team up with for cour clients' projects.  David & his team are true craftspeople and everything that arrives from them is so much more beautiful than any photos could show.  Our clients are always over the moon with their Lorimer pieces and we were no less blown away when our reclaimed wood arrived:

(Don't mind the helicoptor ;)

The color was exactly what I'd asked David for...  It's stained sort of a warm (but still somehow grayish and not too orangey) medium walnut.  I love how it looks with our light white oak floors.

Here's a close-up where you can really see the saw marks: 

Eeeeek!

We are having the wood planks applied horizontally over the entire existing island & drawers similar to this:

 They're all random length, width & depths though, so it will be a bit rougher-looking.

I wanted something special for hardware on the island and on an ebay search Dave, my husband, found prettiest antique apothecary bin pulls:

{My computer is being evil and won't let me flip this photo around}

Thy're labeled with what the bins used to hold...

Here's a close-up:

They had the exact number of bin pulls we needed (7) so I'm convinced it was meant to be ;) ;)

Anyway, I'll keep you posted on our island's progress and can't wait to share 'afters' of it!!

Have the best weekend!! 

 

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

The Beautiful Mess

Every decorator has his or her own way of doing things but when I'm working on a project (that doesn't require any architectural work) I usually start with a fabric palette.  I typically have a general idea of the floor plan & of what types of pieces I'll need but it's the fabrics & materials themselves that drive the design for me.





As a fabric freak, I guess this makes sense, and I really like to start creating a mood and a feeling right from the fabrics.  I start out by putting everything that's going in the right direction on my big work table (or the floor) and making a huge mess.  At this point, I try not to think about what's going where, I'm more just working for a feeling.  

Once the mess is finished, I start organizing it & making general decisions of what goes where.
It's one of my favorite parts of the process and I love it because it's one of the moments in this job where I actually get to just go with it & create and let go.  It feels really good to just go with your gut and keep your brain out of it for a change.  
The fabrics in the plan below have been narrowed down & everything's got a place to go.  My client lives in a really unique rustic-modern home and has a beautiful collection of rugs in reds and oranges.  

We're looking to bring a more natural feeling into the home.  We're planning to use (below) my Fern Star on a pair of large pillows on the sofa along with a third pillow in the blue velvet, and then we'll do a window seat in the cream linen with pillows in the orange-red, my Pierced Porcelain in Olive with the Greek Key banding, and one of my favorites- Jasper's Indian Flower in Orange.

Hope you enjoyed a peek into the way we do it over here!! Have a great day STAY WARM!!! (Oh my gosh I'm literally in a furry blanket & hat right now!!  We still have some vent work to be done!! eeek)
I'll be sharing 5 of my favorite things in my home this afternoon on (super-talented!!) Haskell Harris's blog later today!  Check it out here!

My textiles are available at Pure Style Home.co  and the Jasper fabric is available through John Rosselli.
If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

7 Easy Steps To Make Your Bathroom More Energy Efficient

There are a number of design features and fittings that can improve bathroom energy efficiency and reduce energy bills and greenhouse pollution. Remodelling your bathroom to make it more energy efficient will improve your home because doing it right will reap the benefits of health, safety, comfort and will save you money and energy.

1. Energy Efficient Hot Water System
Select an energy efficient hot water system and place it as close to the bathroom and laundry as possible to reduce pipe length and reduce heat loss.

2. Energy Efficient Ventilation Fans
Bathroom moisture is often controlled by the use of an exhaust fan. The fan sucks out the moisture-laden air, which is then replaced by drier outside air.
Install properly sized energy efficient ventilation fans to control moisture in the air while you shower or bathe. By removing moist air and drying out your bathroom, a ventilation fan will help prevent mold and mildew. Fans help remove moisture, which can increase the level of humidity in your house. High humidity can damage building materials. Worse, high humidity can cause mold growth and mold may affect your family's health. Install self closing exhaust fans to avoid heat loss or gain when not in use

3. Energy Efficient Lighting
Another easy way to make your bathroom more energy efficient is to install energy efficient labelled lighting (e.g., Light Fixtures: suspended lights, ceiling-mounted lights, cabinet lights, recessed lights, or compact fluorescent bulbs). Attractive, energy-efficient lighting adds value to your home and reduces home energy bills.

4. Insulation - Insulate Walls and Ceilings
The walls behind tubs or showers are often poorly insulated and air-sealed. Opening these walls as part of the remodelling project provides an opportunity to ensure comfort by sealing air leaks with caulk or expanding foam and installing insulation. Also make sure to air seal around plumbing and electrical penetrations.

5. Energy Efficient Windows and Doors
If you are replacing windows, doors, and skylights, consider those with the energy efficient label. New technologies in the glass and frame systems help make your home more comfortable, and lower heating and cooling costs too.

6. Energy Efficient Shower heads
The shower is the largest user of household hot water. Install an AAA shower head to reduce the amount of hot water consumed. AAA shower heads are available at many bathroom supply stores and hardware stores. A flow rate of approximately 7L per minute is considered as AAA for shower heads.

7. Water Pipes and Water Saving Devices
Insulate hot water pipes to reduce heat loss and save energy. Install water saving devices like water saving aerators and flow regulators in your taps. Select water saving taps that have a similar water saving rating.

These are a few great and easy starting ideas for anyone to improve overall bathroom efficiency.

Aging Brass

Since I really started getting into design & figuring out my own style, I've really developed a love for brass.  When we moved into our old house (almost 4 years ago) my husband found an old brass bed on the side of the road and dragged it home where it became one of my favorite pieces.

  {our bed}

I love the warmth that brass brings to a home.  (And I'm not talking about the shiny "builder's brass" here... You know, the coated & lacquered shiny brass that feels almost plastic-y??  That still needs to go if possible.  )

{"builder's brass"... I know how common it is so bide your time patiently if you've got it.  I've had lots of it too.}

In our very first town home when we first got married, (7 years ago) our house was full of shiny builder brass door hardware.  Not knowing anything or doing any research, I bought a can of spray paint and "aged" my brass door hardware. hahahah  NOT a good idea.  My hands came away sparkly every time I opened my closet door.

In the next house, I never really got there.  We had projects upon projects and on my "eventually" list I planned to swap out the doors and door hardware but we ended up moving before we got there.

In our new house, I finally got the chance to get what I want as we had to buy new doors anyway because we changed the floor plan so much it didn't make sense to pay our contractors to put the old hollow core doors back in. SO...  I am finally getting a chance at that brass I've wanted.  (!!! yee haw!!)

I decided on black 3 panel Shaker-style doors & we had them painted in black.  (semi-gloss)

We've been collecting antique & vintage wooden warm orangey-brown door knobs for the doors:

And we took a leap on unlacquered brass escutcheons, deciding we'd attempt to age them ourselves.

We started slowly, with salt water to oxidize the brass...

My collection of beakers actually DOES come in handy for science experiments ;) 

Maybe I was supposed to completely submerge them in the salt water??  But apparently the brass- saltwater thing is for patient people.  (I'm not one of those.)  There was a bit of change to the brass but nothing big enough to warrant an "after" photo.

Next up, we tried BAKING the brass in the oven.  (** REALLY IMPORTANT WARNING!!***  We used unlacquered brass to do this so it's okay but don't do this if you have lacquered brass because the lacquer is flammable.  )  After we baked the brass, it became a bit more orangey but it still looked a bit too pristine and shiny for me.

We had heard about trying white vinegar and also that ammonia vapor is maybe the best way to age brass but not having either of those around, we were lazy.  Then, when posting some brass progress pics on Instagram, a couple of my friends mentioned Over Off Oven Cleaner.

It came in a spray can and my husband did it without me watching so I'm not quote sure how he applied it.  (The door plates have become kind of a joke as they've been hanging around for a couple of months and we do random things to them all the time.)  We let them sit overnight and here's how they looked after that:

You can see that they each do different things.

Here's a close-up of one:

{The shine is all but gone!!}

I'm completely new at this but I think my next step is to sort of buff them a little so it looks more natural??  I also might try applying it completely over the piece instead of spraying it (which gave it the speckled appearance.)


We went after our kitchen faucet too and I'm loving how it's looking:

There are some green spots on the pieces too, which I love.

The faucet is almost good to go but I'm going to need to work more on the door plates...  They are a little too spotty for what I'm looking for so maybe if I can get them fully submerged somehow?  I've also heard of gels??

ps- I came across this blog post which looks super-helpful
Yours Truli Blog on Aging Brass


Anyway, I'll keep you posted!!  I can't WAIT to show you how the pieces look when they're in!!



If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

A little something special for house...

As you can imagine, it sometimes so happens that while looking for pretty somethings for clients, we come across pretty somethings we want for ourselves.  ( = Why this job is dangerous!! ;)

That's what happened when my design assistant, Meghan, was doing a little shopping on 1st Dibs a few weeks ago...  I know when I get her emails saying she loves something that I might be in trouble.  She sent me a link to this:

   It's a 1950s capiz shell & brass lantern from David Bell Antiques (who happens to be local!!) and I fell in loooooove with it.  I'd been waiting for just the right piece to come along for my dining room and had decided I'd be fine with the hole in my ceiling for a year or more, if needed.  I'd been making so many decisions on my house so quickly and really wanted something really special for my dining room, which I think is really the toughest room in my house because it's also a pass-through to other rooms... 

{My dining room "before..."  Even though the carpet and pictured chandelier are gone, it's still a sort of awkward space...  We've made it even more awkward by shifting the back wall two more feet into our dining room to make our kitchen larger and so the wall now hits the window directly.  waa waa waa.}But I had decided I wasn't going to settle for any sort of instant gratification.  I wanted something vintage with a great patina yet still modern-feeling... so I was willing to wait however long.  .......But I didn't have to!! (only a few months really)

As soon as I saw the fixture Meghan found, I was done & knew I had the perfect spot for it.  (I.e. excuse for it at my house.)(You know how they talk about wedding dresses and "knowing" that you've found the right one immediately when you try it on?  That's kind of how I am with furnishings/ lighting/ house stuff and so I just "knew" like a bride;) ;)David & Tom from David Bell Antiques cut the fixture to the size I needed & hand-delivered it to us this afternoon.  (They are soooo nice and I've found myself drooling over their things on 1st Dibs since we found them on a couple of occasions... I love their eye.  They've done a sale on One King's Lane too.)Here are a few of my favorite things they have:

 {Ahhh love!!!  B. Koschmider Expressionist Painting on Paper, 1998}

{Vintage 1970's Yves Saint Laurent Gilt Bronze Cuff Bracelet... I've got a thing for cuff bracelets.}

and...

{Intrigued by this photograph & would love it on my wall: A" gorgeous and mysterious silver gelatin print by 20th century master Japanese photographer Eikoh Hosoe (b. 1933), entitled "Bee and Woman".}

And now another close-up of my beauty which I'm sure you're sick of seeing:

 

{I love the mottled brass cage and the fine hinges where it opens)..Anyway, this baby's going up this afternoon & I can't wait!!  I'll keep you posted!!Also, I've gotten lots of emails asking why I haven't been showing many pictures of my house...  I am DYING to share more with you but it's also really important for our business that we get our home published, so I'm not able to post photos.  It's KILLING me, trust me, but the reality is that many design magazines won't publish homes that have been on blogs/online and I can't risk it.  As soon as I can, I'll share, promise!!Hope you have a great weekend!!
To view more of David Bell's pieces, check out 1st Dibs here.  
If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.

More Design Business Stuff...

WARNING: Design Business Post.  Run away family!!

Last week was a great first week back for us in the office!  I'm feeling so ready to rock and am so excited about how things are going...  we're continuing to work on some amazing projects with our existing clients and we have some really exciting new projects too.  As you probably remember (from my super-long post from about a week or so ago)  we're really trying to focus on being the best we can be and making our clients as happy as possible, and to do that, we're starting out by focusing on streamlining our processes.

{The work table in the office at our old house.. photo by Helen Norman}

For those of you that aren't in the design business (and who are still reading...  Mom, I know you checked out at the warning ;) ;) it might help to give you a quick outline of how our design process generally works:

1. Client Inquiry -typically through our website or by phone
2. Client Phone Consultation with me to mutually decide if we want to work together
3. Client Meeting/Project Survey- we go meet our clients and check out their home
4. Create the plan for the home over time
5. Design Presentation- I present the plans to our clients
6. Edits/Tweaks to Design Plan- we make changes and come up with new things where needed
7. Design Approved- Clients give us the go ahead
8. Goods ordered & work is Scheduled... Shopping for accessories & art & one-of-a-kinds
9. Manage goods/ contractors
10. Installation of Goods :)
11. Project is complete

{the office at our old house...  The new office contains pretty much all of the same stuff}

(BTW...  Does anyone notice how little "designing" is actually involved in this entire process??  You hear all the time that it's 80% business/ 20% designing and I've never actually wanted to know the true breakdown but you can definitely get an idea from this.)

{The "fun" part of a design business}

Currently, so much of what we do is done manually.  We use a combination of Quickbooks, Word docs and excel spreadsheets to create design projects and manage them from start to finish.  We spend an incredible amount of time doing this.  (My husband came on full-time recently to do this and his entire job focuses on implementing design plans & managing projects. )  Even with him now (3 of us in total) there still don't seem to be enough hours in the week to get everything done!!

So when I was browsing around on the Molloy Management Blog last week & started reading Julia Molloy's posts (some of them referring to Studiowebware) I finally decided to make the switch over from Quickbooks to Studiowebware.  Studio webware is an online program where you can create, edit and implement a project from start to finish without having to enter all of your information in a million places.   (Right now we must write information for a product down at least 5 times.  (not exaggerating- I write it in my plans, then the budget, then for quote requests, then for purchasing, and then again to track...  with studiowebware, it's in there once and you can do whatever you need to with it- share with clients, get quote requests, place POs, etc.)

{Studiowebware Example}

 ...And to my understanding, that's just the beginning of what the program does.  eeeeeeeek!!  I can't wait to get our projects into Studiowebware and salivating at the thought of having more time in the day.(!!)

So after my post went up, I got a call from Julia Molloy, owner of Molloy Management Group, thanking me for the blog mention.  Julia has worked/works with some of the country's top interior designers like Michael Smith and Jeffrey Allen Marks.  (I was so excited to talk to Julia because after reading her blog, I'm definitely drinking her Kool-Aid!)

Julia was super-sweet and offered me a complimentary one-hour consultation.  I was so excited!!  Before our chat, she had me get to work on a few things and do a little branding soul-searching.

{Photo by Maya Hoffman for Piccola Mag}

This past Friday we had a "Go To Meeting" (where you can see one person's (Julia's) computer screen and also see each other - should have realized I'd be on video and have done something with my hair ;) ;)   and talking to Julia was one of the most worthwhile hours I've ever spent.  I could tell right away that she's such a genuinely kind and caring person, which when you're sharing such personal information, is really important to me.  She's so savvy & with it and is also gorgeous & charismatic.  (Jealous yet? ;) ;).

The hour flew by and my head was swimming with ideas- both from Julia and from what the conversation had spurred.  At the end of our conversation, Julia offered to let me take her Business Blueprint Course -which should whip us into serious shape- and so I'm starting this Thursday!! (To read all about it & what is it, click here.)   I also signed us up for her Studiowebware introduction (I'm not sure there's any way we'd figure out the program without help... I'm not tech-savvy & although Dave & Meghan are, we don't have the time to learn the program on our own.)  and purchased more of her one-on-one time.

I want to be really clear that I've never hired anyone to help me with my business before and I seriously believe the benefits will crush the expense.  (or I wouldn't have made this decision.)  Every time we make a financial move in our company or in our lives my husband and I both weigh the potential benefits against the expense and only make the move if we're fairly certain the expense is worth it and will help us get to where we want to go.

{Like our new house}

In exchange for the Business Blueprint, I'll be posting a bit about my experience with it.  Just to keep it real, Julia wanted me to be sure to post only when I feel like it & am truly excited about something (like today.)  Right there, that shows how "with it" she is because, as most bloggers know, there's nothing worse than feeling like you have to post on something you don't have any interest in and there's nothing worse for readers than to feel like they're being sold to  (BTW- This is why I never do product reviews or book reviews unless I'm so crazy over something that I have to mention it.)  SO, because I know a lot of you are designers/decorators/whatever you want to call us, I'll be sure to share how the process is going.

In the last business post I wrote, there were so many great comments about this topic and there was also a lot of interest (both in comments & emails) on some sort of design business round table...  I have to be completely honest that I'm unfortunately not up for any type of organization that it might require time-wise on my part (I'm up to my eyeballs in commitments I can barely make) but that I love the idea of it.  I would love to be able to bounce ideas off one another & share in our processes.  I've always wanted to go to one of the Business of Design Conferences but timing hasn't ever seemed to work out for me.  I'm sure there are lots of these types of discussions there.  I think Julia has also done and does webinars on various design business topics so that might be something to look into too.

Anyway, I'm off (to a presentation) but will be sure to share my experiences with the Business Blueprint!!

 ps- Thank you so much for the sweet words about the luxe magazine feature!!

If you'd like help creating a home you absolutely love, contact me about our design services.