home office update

Possible art work

Desk before (with formica top)

Desk after

I was inspired by some tear sheets (if I can figure out how to scan them, I'll show you) for the home office project. I'm going for a femine and french look with some electic finishes. We've painted the office a beautiful pale blue grey (Sherwin Williams Austere gray....a bad name...while it does have a gray cast, it is anything but austere...it's actually quite lovely). The furniture will be a combination of pale oak and painted finishes. The oak is on the filing cabinets, and the desk (an old Drexel from a hotel liquidator for $70) is painted black and gold, and the occasional chair is painted in a dark, almost black, tortoiseshell finish with a soft, pinky beige upholstery that matches the lamp shade. It's coming together. Wicker baskets and natural wood magazine holders on the existing shelves echo the color of the oak. Now I need to find a largish piece of art to tie it together. I may have to paint it myself, but I haven't even found inspiration for that yet, but it will come. I'm thinking about a reproduction rosie the riveter poster, but I'm not sure if that is being a little too self-consciously ironic. I'll take photos of the office once it's all together

Home office

I am working on a fun project: creating a home office for a client. It's been fun and challanging for a couple of reasons. Number one, the space is tiny...approximately 9' x 12'; in fact, the area we are turning into an office is actually a large storage closet at the top of the stairs. It does have an existing wall of shelves, and the client didn't need the storage space. (It's rare to have a client who doesn't need storage, but the house is large and the client lost most of her possesions in Katrina, so she really doesnt' have lots of stuff.) Even though the house is large, the closet really was the best location for the office. The next challange was the tight budget--around $1000. It seems like a decent amount, but not when you consider the need for filing cabinets, desk, lamps, storage, etc. In fact, a desk chair is the only existing piece I have to work with. Finally, last challange. Little input from the client. Most people think that this is what designers love: a client who hands them a check and says, "Do what ever you want. I trust you." Actually, I hate that. It means, unless I really know the client and their taste well, I have so many options and ideas that it takes forever to decide on a design. It's much easier when your client says, " I want English country, I want blue, and I want it pet friendly, etc." Parameters help so much.

The best

My best friend Deyond just sent me a set of these cups and saucers, by Cynthia Rowley. It's her dirty dishes line from Fishes Eddy in NYC.

Aren't they the best. I love anything that skates that fine line between fabulous and tacky, just like Deyond!

Which Austen herione are you?

Run, do not walk, to this site to determine which Jane Austen herione you most closely resemble: http://www.strangegirl.com/emma/quiz.php I am Eleanor Dashwood.

Porch...the end is near

Before pics.

I have fine tuning and some final touches to make to the porch, but it is nearing completion. The floor is painted (it's been raining everyday for the past couple of weeks, so there is dried mud all over it. That's why it looks unpainted in the pick, it's dirty...but even more rain is coming so I'll wait until the deluge is done before mopping). I have plans for some folk art inspired objects to hang in the window frames, and I plan to replace the striped pillow cover with something more vibrant.
The front garden just went in. I selected only two kinds of plants....ones described as drought tolerant or incredibly invasive. I figure that way, they have a shot at making it through the summer, because I am not a caring, nuturing gardener.

sd

Accessorizing your sofa

Amatuer decorators try to update their sofas with throws and toss pillows in the latest colors and style. That's so 2007. I do the new, ultra stylish way: the throw cat. Find one in a coordinating color and toss it on the sofa... your couch never looked better.

DIY Art or art by the inch

I couldn't find a nude in the size, price range, and palette I needed for a client, so I painted by own. I textured the canvas with joint compound, used an ad in a magazine for the figure inspiration, and copied the palette and style of a nude painting I purchased for another client. Schnabel, eat your heart out. You may have millions, a huge Italian villa built on a factory in NYC, fame, and movies to your credit, but I got it going on.