Things Change

The title of my yearbook my senior year in high school was, "Things Change". I didn't really get it. I mean, isn't that sort of obvious? Of course things change. Well, as it turns out, change is sort of my frenemy*. I crave change in the form of progress and following my dreams and ambitions, but the thought of moving to a new city to try and accomplish these things sort of terrifies me. The opportunity to move up to LA recently presented itself and I've decided to jump on it. More info to come, but turns out shopping for an apartment (especially when you are as picky as I am) in between client projects and installations, and packing up my old apartment, there hasn't been much time to keep up on my blog! Apologies to all of my faithful readers, you know who you are ;)

*Someone who is both friend and enemy, a relationship that is both mutually beneficial or dependent while being competitive, fraught with risk and mistrust.

Cool Sneaks

I came across these cool Nike sneaks today and now I'm pretty sure I need the girl version. Available at J. Crew, where they really have down that whole classy / casual vibe that I love so much.

Let's Build a Room / 01

2012 is (hopefully) going to be full of getting back to basics. There's something about putting a room together that puts a huge smile on my face. And as it is my profession, as well as my passion, I'm going to stay more focused on developing myself as a designer and sharing this growth with you throughout the year.

Soon I will be sharing with you some of my favorite projects that I completed in 2011, but I'm also going to start putting virtual rooms together specifically for my design journal. Here is the first installment: a room inspired by the artwork of Greek artist Konstantin Kakanias found here.

Lately I've been interested in single rooms that serve mutliple purposes, such as: a family room with a craft corner or game table, and office with a space for client meetings, or in this case a living room with a small work area. Learning how to find pieces that work together to create these multi-functional spaces is especially important for those of us living in smaller spaces, such as studio apartments, or a home with only one living space.

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9

Ink & Paper

January consists of getting the visual displays ready for the California Gift Show and splitting my time between Orange County and downtown Los Angeles. (Not to mention that my favorite TV shows are coming back from the winter break.) That doesn't leave a whole lot of time for me to find great blog content, so I get really excited when someone (in this case my little brother, thanks Jeff!) emails me something that they know I will love and that I can in turn post about. 

I almost started tearing up when Gary says, "couldn't pay the bill". I love that he loves paper enough to continue running a business that obviously doesn't have a very big pay off. I place a lot of value on unique paper and letterpress printing; this video makes me want to run out and support these 2 unique businesses. Come to think of it, I actually am due for new business cards and stationery...

McManus & Morgan Inc.

Aardvark Letterpress

My Definition of Classic

There are certain things that were never in style, contrary to popular belief (Lay-Z-Boy recliners, carpeted living rooms, those miniature backpacks circa 1995).  Then there are other things that are super cool one minute, and then so out of date the next (gray stained wood flooring, glass back splash tile, perms, anything from Z Gallerie). And lastly, there are things that were fabulous 50 plus years ago that are still just as fabulous today (marble, Mid-Century design, exposed cabinet hinges, chesterfield sofas, painted and non-painted brick) . As an interior designer, I feel like it is my responsibility to know the difference when specifying furnishings for my clients. While it's okay to add a little bit of trendy here and there, I like to keep it to things that can easily and inexpensively be swapped out if that fad fades in the next year or so (e.g. pillows, table top accessories, accent tables and chairs). I try to specify classic elements for the main pieces in a space to keep the look sophisticated and just a little bit timeless.

Every time I see a photo of Hans Wegner's wishbone chair (designed in 1944) I always think about how classic it looks. Definitely a chair that will never go out of style; it fits perfectly into any modern setting, or throw it in to a traditional space to mix things up.

top / middle / bottom

Art Is Always Inspiration

I came across a lot of interesting artists while cruising through the MOMA in NYC, many of which were new to me. Every time I visit a new exhibit in a museum or gallery, visit a new webpage, or pick up a new art book...it seems like there is another noteworthy artist that I want to catalog away in my mind. Each of the artists that catch my eye are talented and unique in his/her own way and I try so hard to remember their distinct style and technique, along with their name and country of origin. There are so many to keep track of that it is near impossible for me to remember every single artist that I admire. Thankfully I have a camera phone and internet bookmarks to help keep them all straight.

1 Ben Vautier / 2 Lazlo Moholy-Nagy / 3 Niele Toroni / 4 Cy Twombly

A Christmas Note

I'm so sad to see Christmas go. I love having life focus around the birth of Jesus Christ in all of the different forms that we choose to celebrate this time of year. From Christmas carols, to crafts and decorations, to service projects and everyone having goodwill toward men.

Christmas day for me has consisted of spending all day with my family going to church, changing back into our PJs, then opening presents, eating our traditional Christmas breakfast, taking our Christmas naps, and waking up to devour an amazing homemade apple pie. Now we're all watching Home Alone (my personal favorite) while I do a little net surfing, which is when I came across this very cool artwork by Christopher Broyles. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did and merry Christmas to you all!

Christmas in a Duffy Boat

This year for Christmas, my brothers, my parents, and my aunt joined my sisters and I in Orange County, instead of us all making the trek up to Northern California. I appointed myself chair of Christmas activities so that would wouldn't just end up sitting around night after night watching Hallmark movies together. Although that is good family bonding, we laugh a lot harder at ourselves and at each other when we are doing some type of adventurous activity.

I'm not sure if a Duffy boat in the canals of Long Beach count as adventurous, but it sure beat Hallmark movies when it came to making Christmas memories. My brother captained our vessel as 10 of us cruised around Naples island and looked at all of the Christmas pretty while sipping our hot cocoa. This satisfied my mother's need to see a ton of Christmas lights and we seriously had the best time. A "must do" holiday activity for anyone within a 50 mile radius.

image of long beach harbor during Christmas found here 

Homemade Gifts

I've seen terrariums around quite a bit recently and it got me thinking about what a fun homemade gift it would make for Christmas. It seems every year that there are many people, in addition to best friends and family, for whom I want to show my love and appreciation. I decided early on that I wanted to give something a little more interesting and lasting than a plate of cookies for these special individuals. Enter the Christmas terrarium; cost effective, easy and fun to create, low maintenance, and adds a little bit of life to the receiver's home. 

First, round up your containers. Any glass container will work, I purchased all of mine from local thrift stores. Then add a layer of coarse sand or small pebbles. This provides a drainage area to prevent overwatering. Next, sprinkle a thin coverage of active charcoal (fish tank aisle of pet store) to prevent the water from stagnating, which will cause your plants to rot (bad news). After the charcoal, add a layer of moss. The moss keeps the soil from crumbling into the pebbles. 

I purchased a variety of inexpensive succulents from Home Depot. I love the way they look and they are also really hard to kill. Finally, every good terrarium needs a kitchy figurine. These nutcrackers were perfect to give my terrariums a Christmas twist. I added tags with a personalized note and finished them off with a simple red ribbon. 

Holiday Style / No. 3

Why is everything old so much cooler than anything brand new? All of these ingredients for a perfectly retro Christmas were found on Etsy.

shepherd / tags / mugs / ornaments / santa mug / wood letters / santa tags