The Lorton Workhouse is open for business. And I don’t think I will ever suggest mass market art again.
I went back today to spend some quality time in Gallery 6, home to my photographer friend Kathy Strauss. She shares a gallery with a dozen or so others, and all of their works are wonderful. I viewed something for nearly every type of client, from landscapes to nudes, abstract and graphic to soft and poetic. All are comparably priced; a large matted and framed, signed and numbered print runs affordably at about $250.
This building, besides housing the photography gallery, has a working photography studio and a wet darkroom. A silversmith and a collection of textile workers have studios in this space as well. The galleries here are constantly staffed, so items may be purchased immediately.
I have said it before. This is the best thing to happen to my neck of the woods.
A good mother deserves a room of her own and sometimes it takes a mother to give it.
Mary and I first worked together about 3 years ago. She was a patient of a dentist whose office I designed. She first hired me to sort through and utilize some inherited pieces. Soon after, she and her husband decided to retire to North Caroline, so we staged her home for the real estate market. We have stayed in touch through her daughter who also became my client.
Well, Mary is a very wonderful mother. And her other daughter, now a mother herself, is equally devoted to her three young children. Three young ones who, as small children tend to do, have taken over the house. And Mary, having been though this, understands how important a little grownup space can be. So while the whole family is at Disney, Mary and her husband have snuck back to Virginia and into her daughter’s house. They are spending the week creating a little haven in the master bedroom as a surprise. A space without toys. It is going to be just like television.
A master bedroom should be a haven, but in reality it rarely is. Confessionally, my own also serves as an office. Hardly Relaxing. The pictures at the beginning of this post are from the Inn at Little Washington. I am not saying that your room need be so outrageous, but you can get the idea.
Saturday I had an appointment in a foreclosure property my client is buying. I am very excited for Stephanie to begin this new stage of her life. There is a lot of work ahead, but hard work is REWARDING.
The incredible price on the home way out weighs the needed improvements. New flooring, lots of bleach and many gallons of paint will wash over all the filth.
Still…
I can’t enter this place without considering the larger picture. Much has been written about the reasons for the housing market collapse. And if we have even hit bottom. From Friday’s Washington Business Journal:
Prince William County had more sales in September than any other September on record, but even with an uptick in sales, the inventory of bank-owned property is not shrinking rapidly. At the end of September, Dale City’s bank-owned properties stood at 716, down just 32 — 4 percent — from August.
This home illustrates the foreclosure dichotomy for me. The left-behind furniture and the surrounding grime are blinding testaments to crashed dreams. At the same time, the energy of ideas (and a new color palette) points to a new and happier future now made affordable. Were the former dreams unrealistic? Are Americans with our ideals and dreams especially susceptible to the greed of others?
What ever you’re planning for Tuesday needs to be rearranged.
Ikea is having a huge sale. If you read my blog at all you know that I am always preaching about white housewares. An 18 piece set of plain white dishes will be $9.99 on Tuesday only. Get four sets and never use paper plates at a party again. (It says ‘one per customer’ so bring a few friends.)
All weekend the BJURSTA Dining Table is $199. I like this one, and have recommended it in the past. The simple lines work well in many settings, and this is an unbeatable price. Similar tables at Crate and Barrel and West Elm are over $500.
Free breakfast, too!
You can’t be too rich, or too thin, but you can have too much stuff.
People have a hard time parting with their possessions. I imagine it is part of our DNA, this urge to horde away. We lost the ability to live lean when we gave up our nomadic ways and began to plant.
Here we are, hundreds of generations later. Today, unlike our ancestors, too much stuff indicates lack of security, lack of control. Most people recognize that we are sickening ourselves and complicating our lives with too much stuff. That all this consuming is not adding to our quality of life.
Breaking the urge to collect is hard, but none the less is freeing. I advise my clients to really analyze what they use, and what they NEED. Unhealthy attachments can be corrected. Giving things away items FEELS GOOD.
I had a client a few years ago that owned 3 antique Secretaries. All heirlooms, yes, but they did make walking into the Dining Room difficult. Once we decided which one to keep, it made the next decision easier. We kept items that belonged to the owners of the other two. My client didn’t feel any less connected to her heritage. And she could finally breathe without blowing over a stack of stuff.
You already know what everyone is talking about today: the election.
I was going to post on Americana Décor, but the fact is I am not much of a fan of such kitsch. Trust me, working in a heavily military area I see A LOT of patriotic decorating.
So instead I decided to write about patriotic things to do. It annoys me that some people in our country like to strut around declaring themselves more American than others. HEY, I LIVE IN REAL VIRGINIA, too! But enough about that.
Design Strategies that Serve
1) Vote. No kidding, right?
2) Reuse. Try Freecycle.
3) Buy used. Try Craigslist.
4) Buy American.
5) Buy local.
6) Buy Green.
7) Volunteer.
8 Educate yourself. I have a strong belief in reading the local newspaper. There is no excuse for not knowing what is happening at the most local level.
9) Contact your local representatives. Trust me, they WILL call you back. They represent YOU, even if they are of the opposing party, so tell them how you feel.
10) Create a Sense of Place. Happiness begins at home.
Ok, I am off my soap box now. Thanks for indulging me. I love blogging!
Being a straight and narrow beach lover, I usually am not too impressed with the mountains. But this weekend Mother Nature did her best to impress me.
My family enjoyed a stay at the historic Hotel Roanoke, nestled perfectly in the on-fire-with-fall-color Blue Ridge Mountains. The drive to Roanoke from Northern Virginia was shockingly amazing. And the hotel was just as impressive.
The Hotel Roanoke is 125 years old. She was built in the height of the railroad area. Entering the grand lobby, with its soaring paneled walls, is a trip in a time machine. I was instantly reminded of another historic hotel from the same era, the Athenaeum in the Chautauqua Institution, where worked for three blissful summers in my college days.
After being closed for years, a major renovation created the current state of the art Conference Center. The guest rooms have been more recently upgraded. Designed by Jillian Van Dresser, originally from Blacksburg, the new décor perfectly blends a traditional atmosphere with the contemporary aesthetic expected in what is now a Hilton Hotel.
Spa services, excellent dining and impeccable service, The Hotel Roanoke is an affordable luxury and within a few gorgeous hours from DC.
All photos from website.
Good News today. I am now listed on DCBlogs.com.
Staccato Soup Tureen from Crate and Barrel, Green Horizon Soup Tureen from Blue Rose Polish Pottery, Pheasant Soup Tureen from Target, Provence Tureen from Williams Sonoma, Great White Soup Tureen from Pottery Barn, Blue Colonel Tureen and Cover from Spode, Gracious Goods Soup Tureen from Neiman Marcus, Tuscan Individual Soup Tureen from Bloomingdales, Tracy Porter Dinnerware from Horchow