All art is subjective. I may not love velvet Elvis tapestries that much – but there are thousands that do. The same impulse that drives someone to purchase a print of the Eiffel tower from Target is the same impulse that drives me to buy a vintage print of the Virgin Mary.
No Room Left Behind!
Long ago I read Karen Kingston’s enlightening book, “Creating Sacred Space With Feng Shui,” and much of what I read has become a building block for how I work with my clients to define their current and future space. When it comes to clutter, Kingston’s belief is that we are tied to everything in our home by invisible strings of energy.
From F**ked to Fabulous
I heart previously loved furniture and objects that had a life previous to Apartment 46. I am attracted to things with a soul. The idea of returning something to its “original” condition bothers me.
Sexy Spaces
There are certain spaces that are so compelling to me that they conjure up fantasies of wine-filled nights or whispers of things I hardly ever share. In my opinion there are a lot of elements that need to come together to make a room truly “sexy”. I love layers of sensual textures, neutral but warm toned walls, dark woods, shiny chrome, sparkly glass, and softness underfoot. Cozy rooms seem more intimate to me. Rooms that have just enough luxe beauty to make them interesting and a bit forbidden. Think Marie Antoinette if she were to move into the W Hotel and make it her own. Supersexy!
What Exactly is Eclectic?
If I had to define my style as an interior designer, I’d say I’m eclectic. But what does that really mean? In my mind, eclectic design is a colorful mix of periods and styles with the unifying themes being comfort and interest. To me, an all white home cannot be eclectic, but others would disagree. I also don’t think bohemian and eclectic are interchangeable words or styles because a bohemian style feels very ethnic or very period – say, 1960’s or 70’s. However, an eclectic space will have touches of bohemian in it. It will also have industrial, traditional, modern, contemporary, and ethnic in the mix but it will rarely be minimalist, although I’m sure it’s possible to do an eclectic-minimalist home.
Heavenly Hardware
Among the easiest and most cost effective things to do to freshen up a room is to change out the hardware. Light plates, outlet covers, door knobs and drawer pulls are easy to remove and replace and can take a space from outdated to awesome, usually without putting a huge dent in your budget. However, if you too dream of the day you can custom-design everything in your world (down to the toilet tissue), then you will love the land of SA Baxter and their bespoke house hardware.
Things to Love
With Valentine’s Day upon us, it seemed appropriately cliche to talk about love. Specifically a few of the things I love. When it comes to tokens of affection, I love the idea of giving someone something really unexpected and thoughtful, like a tiny box. I am mad about boxes!
How to Fix Horrible Holiday Decor
Although I love this time of year, from an interior design perspective, it also happens to be the most terrifying for me. People are just downright out-of-control. I’ll forgive the lawn full of disparate lighted animals (llamas, and penguins?!). I’ll overlook the retina-burning-blue-Hanukkah-lights. I’ll even give you a pass for the inflatable anything folks have decided is festive. I know that people get excited about the holidays. I get that. What harms me is the Every-single-red-Santa-sparkle-deer-snowman-tree-fugliness approach to holiday decorating. Stop it.
Roommate Style – Design Tips for Co-habitating
The reality of being young and living in the San Francisco Bay Area is that you already have or probably will have, roommates. Paychecks are now smaller and harder to come by and spending on single-living-situations is a luxury not many can afford. Although rental prices have come down, they are still so much higher than they should be for far less space than we all need. Such is the conundrum of living in such an incredible and vibrant area. Pooling financial resources is the number one way singles are making a go of it.
What is “Industrial” Really?
Flipping through the latest issue of Elle Decor I came across the new Restoration Hardware ad campaign. They’ve taken a new direction and that’s good, however, I think someone drank too much of the Kool-Aid with respect to the “industrial” bent of the room styling.