Monthly Archives: September 2008

Grand Opening: Workhouse Arts Center

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Posted by Denise Smith on September 18, 2008 – 11:30 am
Filed under Look What I Found!

I received this catalogue in the mail. It is full of exciting classes. The glass art appeals to me...

Tomorrow I am attending the ribbon cutting for the new Lorton Workhouse Arts Center. From the website:

The Workhouse Arts Center, Virginia’s newest and most exciting arts community, is opening its doors to the public on September 19. The ribbon cutting ceremony will kick off a week-long celebration of all that the Workhouse has to offer. Special events will include free art demonstrations, family theatre performances, concerts, fine art on exhibition and for sale, and fireworks on the quad. Visitors will be able to tour artist’s studios, discover the history behind the former prison facility, and learn about the classes and workshops that will be offered at the Workhouse beginning on September 29th.

I am convinced the opening of this complex will change my quality of life.  You see, I live less than 4 miles away.  How wonderful will it be to go visit a gallery, have dinner, then see a show.  And my daughters can get involved with the theater company, which will allow me to drop them off and actually come home instead of schlepping them to Manassas and waiting. 

I can’t wait to visit this historic prison site, and see how the renovations honored its past.  Kathy Strauss, who I blogged about yesterday, told me the prisoners actually made the bricks and constructed the buildings themselves. 

The future of the site looks exciting.  The finished complex should cover 295,000 square feet and include a state-of-the-art theater.  My pessimistic husband told me to just enjoy what is there now. ”It will never happen.”

Well, for now I have a place to find high quality local art for my clients and that is good enough for me. 

Of Portraits and Tortilla Chips

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Posted by Denise Smith on September 17, 2008 – 1:21 pm
Filed under Look What I Found!

Doesn't the drawn image look better? From the FoodShouldTasteGood website

My friend and colleague, Kathy Strauss, is a graphic designer. She and her husband/business partner GC own Imagewerks. Today she showed me a watercolor portrait GC painted from a photograph for a website. I was gob smacked. It was absolutely beautiful, clean, simple and if this makes sense—emotional. My immediate and uncensored reaction was I wanted to meet the woman.

I remember growing up how “rich people” had huge ostentatious oil portraits of their families in their Living Rooms. This was NOTHING like that. GC’s rendering style would be a wonderful addition to a residential design scheme. Either to serve as a reminder of a loved one passed on or of the children as they currently are.

And imagine how much better a simple watercolor portrait would look on a business card instead of those cheesy Real Estate headshots. My favorite snack food, FoodShouldTasteGood Multigrain Tortilla Chips, has a drawing of the chip on the bag, instead of a photo. I know it is really just a chip, cuz for gosh sakes I read the bad news on the back, but the bag makes them seem CLASSY. And good for you.

(Kathy will have her photography showcased at the new Lorton Arts Workhouse opening this weekend. More on that tomorrow.)

Search Engine Request: Decorating a Half Bath

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Posted by Denise Smith on September 16, 2008 – 11:43 am
Filed under Bathrooms, Rooms

I have used this image before. A chandelier in a half bath

I study the stats for Design Strategies.  I find what visitors are googling to get here extremely interesting.  A consistant keyword phase has been “Half Bath Design”, “Ideas for Decorating a Half Bath”, or some variation of that theme. 

I know why this is such a popular decorating dilemma.  Newly constructed homes tend to have high ceilings but very narrow walls. They feel awkward.  Add to this, I looked through dozens of my decorating books for pictures of Half Baths.  There are none.  It is just too hard to photograph such cramped quarters.  Decorating books show off spacious bathrooms. 

So here are some of my tried and true design strategies for Half Baths:

*Wallpaper.  The best option, in my opinion.  This is a safe place to put a pattern you love, but are afraid to use.  Wonderful wallpaper is expensive, but these spaces require less, so go for it.

*Use a bold color.  Most Half Baths have white or bisque porcelain fixtures that call for added drama.

*Wainscoting looks great in a country casual room.  I once put it from floor to ceiling, much to the chagrin of the contractor.  He fought me tooth and nail, but afterward ended up going home and repeating it in his bath.  This is a true story!

*Glass mosaic tiles can be placed in a large rectangle on the wall behind a pedestal sink, extending beyond the perimeter of the mirror.  Stunning.

*Remove the wall mounted light fixture and replace it with a chandelier.

*A frameless mirror is the design death of a half bath.  Choose something beautiful.

*A towel rod is stupid here.  Who is planning on showering?  Use a hook instead.

*Try one big work of art.

*Please…no fuzzy seat covers or rugs.  And remember my mantra–beware of clutter. 

Trend: Gray

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Posted by Denise Smith on September 15, 2008 – 1:58 pm
Filed under Color, Design Principles, Trend Spotting

The Fall Crate and Barrel Catalogue is full of gray.  This is a trend I have been watching gain momentum since last year. 

Last year I had the pleasure of working with Cinde on her basement after she had a flood.  With a lot damaged, she was ready to start over completely and move out of the neutral world into one of fun and drama.  Her basement is a grown up play-space and Cinde was bold enough to choose gray walls paired with purple carpet.  Cream leather, black accents and a pool table complete the party.  I can’t seem to find any photos so you will have to trust that the end result is unconventional and WONDERFUL. 

This is how Crate and Barrel is showing gray:

Image from Crate and Barrel

Image from Crate and Barrel

Image from Crate and Barrel

Image from Crate and Barrel

Image from Crate and Barrel

 

Trailing Vines

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Posted by Denise Smith on September 12, 2008 – 4:26 pm
Filed under Friday Collage
Trailing Vines
Fern Rug from Design Within Reach, Embroidered Leaves Oblong Pillows from Pier 1, Twig Candle Wall Sconce from Pottery Barn, Amber Leaf Table Sconce from Z Gallerie, Mainline Leather Holdall from Orla Kiely, Green Sprig-Modern Flora Fabric from j caroline creative, Ana Ventura Tell Me a Story Letterpress Print from Twig, Flora and Fauna Placemats from Anthropologie

Choosing Red

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Posted by Denise Smith on September 11, 2008 – 5:06 pm
Filed under Color, Design Principles

Red in a Kitchen.

Red can be difficult to choose. Red is strong and can overpower a room. Pick a tone too light and bright and you end up with walls that look pink. Clear, pure reds are very hard to find on a paint swatch. Red can lean toward blue and red can be orange.

I tend to prefer more earthy reds, like clay or brick. Benjamin Moore’s Audubon Russet from the Historic Collection is a complex, spicy tone that I have used successfully in many different spaces.

Today my clients were a couple planning to paint most of their large home. They decided they wanted red in the Kitchen before I arrived. I had to leave them with two swatches so they could place them around the room as the light changed throughout the day. After two and a half hours of color scrutinization, I said something about a color “speaking” to me. My client looked at her husband and said, “I understand now, honey. You aren’t color blind; you are color deaf!”

Orange Again

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Posted by Denise Smith on September 10, 2008 – 4:15 pm
Filed under Color, Design Principles

One of my first big projects, and still a favorite. The owner was a natural redhead, too.

So I am at my business meeting this morning and I am talking with this woman I just met.  She tells me, quite adamantly, how I look just like her daughter…EXCEPT HER DAUGHTER HAS RED HAIR…

I was floored.  Absolutely stunned.  “And what color do you think this is?” 

“Blond.”

Could be worse, I suppose.  She could have been honest and said gray.

Orange is a wonderful decorating color, not just for redheads, but for all hair colors.  Orange bathes a room.  Orange makes a room feel like home.  Even the boldest tones feel comfortable, not harsh like yellow can.  I find that some people are afraid of orange.  But once they add it to the mix, it’s love at first sight.

New bedding, Petra’s Garden, from Anthropologie.

Image from Anthropologie.com

Mixing Dining Chairs

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Posted by Denise Smith on September 9, 2008 – 12:03 pm
Filed under Current Projects, Digging Others' Digs, Dining Rooms, Rooms

I am working with my client, Danielle, to create the perfect apartment.  We had an easy time choosing a Dining Table, but the chairs have taken time.  I had a vision of mixed chairs.  Unfortunately, I found this to be easier imagined than implemented. 

Danielle has done her job.  She has scoured flea markets and sent me many photos. And this is me, “No.” “No.”  “No.”  I am sure I was starting to seem like I forgot about the cost of gas and the value of time.  And it would be a miracle if I wasn’t beginning to annoy her.  But  before she went online to find a new decorator, I figured out the solution. 

We need to establish consistency within the mish mash.  The last set of flea market snap shots clarified it for me.  In order for this to work, we would need to match wood tone and balance ornate with plain. And we will have to buy some new. 

I was surprised that there wasn’t many pictures of mixed Dining Chairs in my library.  Interestingly, they all came from different editions of the Better Homes and Gardens New Decorating Book.  (I have all 9–thank you, Ebay.) 

 From The New Decorating Book from Better Homes and Gardens, 1981 edition, page 302.

From The New Decorating Book from Better Homes and Gardens, 1997 edition, page 319.

From The New Decorating Book from Better Homes and Gardens, 2003 edition, page 109.

 And I only found three online.  As the project progresses, I will add a forth. 

From DominoMag.com

From DominoMag.com

 From Marie Claire Maison.com

Furniture Makeovers. Just Reality TV?

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Posted by Denise Smith on September 8, 2008 – 9:45 am
Filed under Trend Spotting

There is always a lot of talk on the blogs about furniture makeovers.  A week hardly goes by without someone showcasing a Before and After. 

See this from Design*Sponge and this from Ikea Hacker and this from fermLiving.

When I suggest painting furniture to my clients I am met with serious resistance.  In almost every case.  And those few that agree usually never get around to doing it.

So my question is:  Is this just a case of “Isolated Blog Phenomena” and are real people just too busy for this sort of thing? 

More Can Be Less

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Posted by Denise Smith on September 5, 2008 – 9:43 am
Filed under Friday Collage
Many Become One
From Diamond Barretta Design pg 29, by William Diamond and Anthony Baretta, From Collector’s Style, pg 158, a Meredith Books Publication, From Metropolitan Home Decorate pg 106, by Michael Lassell, From the New Decorating with Pictures pg 127,by Stephanie Hoppen, From Let’s Get Comfortable pg 18, by Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams, From My Prescription for Anti-Depressive Living pg 132 and 133,by Jonathan Adler, From Renovate pg 164, by Fred A. Bernstein, From Apartment Therapy pg 135, by Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, From Great Traditional Style pg 135, a Meredith Books Publication, From Pottery Barn Home pg 76, an Oxmoor House Publication