Marble Baths

These head to toe marble bathrooms speak for themselves...

{Kelly Wearstler}

{Steven Gambrel}



{I think this is limestone, but still pretty fabulous.}

The Antonio Treatment

I don't know what's gotten into me lately but I've been watching a lot more HGTV. First my new obsession with Sarah's House, and now The Antonio Treatment. I watched Antonio Ballatore win last season of design star, and although I don't really share his funky, slightly punk rock, design aesthetic, I do appreciate his edgy set designer style.

I tuned in to the most recent episode of The Antonio Treatment because he was redoing a retail space in Silver Lake, a clothing store called Pull My Daisy. Retail design is something I've never done, but has always interested me, so I thought maybe I could learn a thing or two...and I did!

I really enjoy watching the construction side of things and seeing how the designer and crew work through problems that arise and get the job done. Here are a few before and after photos from the project. (Please excuse the poor quality of photos, I had to copy still frames from the video online, as no other photos of the project are available.) You can watch the episode here.

The clothes and accessories in the store looked kind of amazing, so I'm thinking a Saturday trip up to Silver Lake is in order.

{Before}



{After}



I'm pretty sure they scored these deco chairs from the Wertz Brothers Antique Mart in Santa Monica.

Sarah's House

Move over Candice Olson, there's a new Canadian designer in town by the name of Sarah Richardson, and she's pretty fabulous. No offence to Candice, in fact, I kind of love her and am convinced that if we ever met we'd become best friends. But alas, that does not stop me from giving rave reviews to the series "Sarah's House", which plays sporadically on HGTV.

"Sarah's House" follows interior designer Sarah Richardson and her side kick Tommy Smythe as they remodel a 4 story 2,200 sqft home near Toronto. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not always the hugest fan of HGTV for their sometimes questionable taste (Design on a Dime) and the unrealistic expectations that the network sometimes gives my clients in terms of budget and time frame. (If you can re-do an entire room for $500 in less than 24 hours it either: a) does not look that great up close, or b) could only be possible with an entire crew of people offering their services for free in your driveway.)

Sarah is a real designer and has realistic budgets for her projects. Sarah and Tommy have a contemporary style and renovate each room from floor to ceiling, explaining where they spend their money, where they save, and why. On the "Sarah's House" HGTV website, she even lists her sources, which is super helpful when wanting to create the same look. Here's a look at Sarah's living room make over:

{Before}

{After}


On the episode I watched today, Sarah took Ikea cabinetry and turned her shabby existing space into a stunning kitchen. That's right, I said Ikea. The photos I found on the Internet don't quite do the kitchen remodel justice, but trust me, it was beautiful, especially considering the tight budget and prefab cabinets. She added her own personal touches to make the kitchen feel and look as custom as possible. These touches included counter to cabinet back splash made of penny round marble mosaic, granite counter tops, and repainting the doors of the upper cabinets a creamy white to contrast with the rest of the taupe cabinet color.

{Before}


{After}

Thom Filicia @ HD Buttercup

Former Queer Eye and renowned interior designer, Thom Filicia will be introducing his new line of furniture, the Thom Filicia Home Collection, tomorrow at HD Buttercup (March 20, 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm). He will also be signing his book Thom Filicia Style and the first 100 people in line will get a free copy!


I dig Thom's style and am excited to check out his new furniture line. I won't be able to make it up to LA tomorrow, but if anyone else does I'd love to hear your feed back.

H.D. Buttercup
3225 Helms Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 558-8900

Saturday, March 20
1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Here's a sampling of some of Thom's beautiful interiors. He has a great eclectic style with a hint of coastal flair.

Design in a Bag

I got a call from a potential client this morning inquiring about help with her kitchen remodel. She said she had a good start already because she had purchased a "Design in a Bag" that she saw in Better Homes and Gardens. Now she just needed a little guidance and direction in terms of construction, functionality, and implementing the design.

The second I heard "Design in a Bag" my ears perked up because it was an idea my mother had suggested to me about 3 years ago. At the time, my design business was just beginning, which gave me enough to worry about, so I didn't do anything with her idea. But perhaps I should have...

Thanks to google I found Design in a Bag within a couple of minutes of hanging up the phone. Certified kitchen and bath designer, Rebekah Zaveloff, offers several designs in a bag sorted by color scheme or style (classic, vintage, or modern) which you can view and purchase straight from her website, Designinabag.com.

{style: Grayling}
Your Design in a Bag will cost your around $75-$100, and will come complete with specifications for paint color, countertop material, cabinetry finish, and backspash tile, along with 3-D architectural drawings, and a purchasing guide.

{style: Le Muy}
I thought that maybe blogging about Design in a Bag would possibly send potential business elsewhere, but I actually think it's a great place to start for clients who are on a tighter budget. Kitchen design tends to be really involved and many clients will still feel they need assistance with their remodel, but the Design in a Bag can definitely save you time and money on the initial design.

{style: Sheffield}
Visit Better Homes and Gardens blog here to enter to win a free Design in a Bag.

Joan Mitchell

After perusing "Artful Approach" from March's issue of Elle Decor, I became obsessed with the artwork of Joan Mitchell (1925-1992). There was something about the painting (shown below) that I fell in love with.



I started to do a little more research on Joan and fell more and more in love her work. 2 weekends ago my friend Paula and I went to the LACMA and viewed the Renoir exhibit, but I was even more excited when I saw in their contemporary art gallery an original Joan Mitchell, "East Ninth Street" (1956) (no photography allowed). Here is a little collection of some of Joan Mitchell's beautiful abstract expressionist paintings.






I've decided that one day I'll own an original Joan Mitchell, but until then I've had a couple of friends suggest just recreating one with my own canvas and paints. I haven't decided if I'm going to attempt it yet, but if I do, that would definitely be a post worth blogging about - whether to laugh at my failure, or applaud my success. (Something tells me that it will probably be the former.)

Shine by S.H.O.

I just got back from a little weekend trip to Puerto Vallarta with some friends. We had the best time, but I'm a little sad that I decided not to pack my good camera. I'll admit that Mexico can be a little tacky at times in their decor and color selections, but this trip to Mexico really had me appreciating their bold use of color. We went to a little surf town just north of Puerto Vallarta for a day and the beautiful colors of the different buildings surrounded by the jungle trees really had me wishing I brought my camera.

Right before I left I came across a home furnishings collection by fellow O.C.er, Susan Hornbeak Ortiz. Her company, Shine by S.H.O. (based in San Juan Capistrano), embodies some really fantastic case goods, upholstery, and lighting. The avocado greens, canary yellows, and turquoise blues that she often uses reminded me of my recent trip, and since I don't have any landscape and architectural photos of my travels, I thought I'd share some of my favorites for the Shine by S.H.O. collection. Visit her website at ShineBySHO.com

Pottery & Vases

Lately I've been collecting photos of monochromatic groupings of pottery and vases. I really love the style and look of each of these. It's such a simple but beautiful concept for accessorizing tables and shelves.

{Steven Gambrel, above & below}


{Tim Clarke}


{Jason Martin}