Monthly Archives: February 2010
Wind
Filed under Arlington Rooftop, Current Projects
Spent the day at the construction site. The wind whipping the big sheets of plastic was deafening. And COLD.
This is the form for the rooftop bar. It will be covered in stacked slate and have a wood arbor. I decided today that rattan chairs will be better than metal.
I am putting a fireplace here made out of the same stacked slate. This is the mezzanine level which will be perfect for private parties.
Looking down from the elevator. There will be a glass barricade.
The wall is 14 feet and BLANK. It's going to need a huge piece of art
Looking up the elevator shaft from the ground.
How To: Mosiac Tile
Filed under How to, Individualized Advice
I promised my reader, Cyndy, I would give a brief instruction on mosaic tiling. I must apologize that I can’t pictorially document the process since I don’t have a project before me. The process is extremely simple, so I don’t think it is necessary. The difficulty has nothing to do with the execution, and everything to do with the design.
The trick to making a finished piece look good is in the placement of the tiles. All the grout lines should be the same width, so choosing pieces that fit is the challenging part. It’s just like working a puzzle. It is necessary to select each piece in relation to the one next to it and place every piece the same distance apart. Purchasing tile nippers makes this a little easier, because you can cut a small, precisely-sized piece if you need.
Choosing the tile is the most important part of the process. Making sure all the tiles you select are the same thickness makes the grouting job easier and the end result is much better. If you use a variety of color and pattern, consider the proportions carefully. Stepping back and viewing the design every few feet is essential to maintaining even distribution of color, pattern and size.
Now for the process: Place a thick towel or blanket on a hard surfaced floor. (Outside on pavement is safest.) Wrap a few tiles in the cloth. Give the package a whap with a hammer. Continue until you have a nice selection of differently sized shards. (Just hitting the tiles is dangerous. Plus it causes the finish of the tile to chip.)
Using a notched trowel, place an even, thin coat of mastic on the surface to be tiled. I like to do a few feet at a time, so I can stop when I need. Applying the mastic over the entire surface is a bad idea because you run the risk of having it dry before you can finish placing your tile.
Lay each piece carefully by wiggling them gently into the mastic. If mastic oozes between each piece you have used too much. Scrape it out neatly, otherwise you will see some messy residue after you have grouted. Once mastic has dried it is much harder, if not impossible, to remove, so neatness is vital.
After at least 24 hours, the tile can be grouted. Follow the mixing instructions on the grout package. If the grout is too dry or too wet, it will be difficult to work into the spaces. Use a float to push the grout and be sure every line is completely filled. WARNING: The tiles edges are ridiculously sharp. Expect to cut yourself, even when wearing gloves and being cautious.
Once every space is filled with grout, you can wash away the excess. Step back and admire your work.
*The edges on mosaics can be sharp. I helped a friend mosaic her Kitchen table and after we had to have a piece of glass cut to put on top so her little girls wouldn’t cut themselves.
Way Back
Filed under Bathrooms, Kitchens, Rooms, Uncategorized
I don’t know why I have an urge to post these photos. They are so old that all of them but one were taken with a camera with film. They were scanned so long ago the quality is horrible. They are so ancient they predate ubiquitous stainless steel and granite, in fact.
I created all these mosaics. I remember at the time thinking the red tiles were so cutting edge. I used to spend hours milling around showrooms. So much so some of the employees began giving me broken tiles that were brightly colored or patterned.
I remember the first time I saw glass tile. I was blown away. I still am. Just wait till you see what I’m putting in the Rooftop bar….
You can't see it from the poor quality, but some of these tiles had navy flowers on them. The rest were solid in ice blue, pale butter yellow and emerald green.
This mosaic features at least 20 different tiles in earth tones. There are even a few with a mettalic finish, which was really funky at the time.
Not a backsplash. This fireplace was in my old townhouse. It had been horrible builder grade brick. Most of the tiles had been recycled from another project.
Above a bathroom sink. Some of the tiles were periwinkle with a slight squiggly design.
This was my first. My friend saw how to do it on tv and called me to watch it. A few hours later I was done. I remember her freaking out that I would do something so quickly.
This one was done with the same colors in the same proportion to a huge piece of art in the sitting area opposite. I think the painting was of poppies, but I honestly don't remember.
The Gray Area
Filed under Color, Design Principles
Linda pointed to her ceiling. “What color is that?” she asked. Not realizing this was a trick question, I immediately replied, “Slate blue.” Of course I shouldn’t hesitate. We had just met only minutes ago. What kind of decorator hesitates to answer such a simple question?
Turns out, a GOOD one. Linda’s ceiling is, in fact, green. She proved it to me by taking me into another room and showing me the same paint on her dining room wall.
Her home already had green wall to wall plush carpeting and a sage ceiling when she moved in six years ago. She began to decorate it with her own touches, so she painted the walls of the Family Room a deep gold to try to bring her palette into the space. But something happened. Before her very eyes the ceiling morphed to blue.
I know this phenomenon exists. Even though I self-identify as an artist, I am infatuated with science. I know the “science” of color. This is the first time, however, I had seen such a dramatic example. The ceiling is partially shadowed, and is viewed from below. Our brains, not our eyes, transform the color. From Discover:
“Neuroscientists have long believed that evolution hardwired the brain to amplify slight differences in shading, making it easier to perceive subtle details like a green snake in a green tree. Thus objects on dark backgrounds appear lighter than they are, and those on bright backgrounds appear darker. But science advances by replacing approximate truths with more precise ones, and new research suggests that this scientific “truth” is, at best, incomplete. The two experiments that follow help show why the thinking on this subject is changing…
…What are the colors of the squares indicated by the arrows in the two figures at right? For most observers, the one on the top looks blue and the one on the bottom looks yellow. But the two squares are actually an identical shade of gray. One possible explanation for this illusion is simultaneous contrast, a process by which your brain makes foreground objects take on the opposite hue of their backgrounds in order to improve your discrimination of subtle color differences. According to this theory, the top square appears blue because the figure is on a mostly yellowish background, while the bottom square looks yellow because it’s set against a predominately bluish background.”
More here.
Babs
Filed under Friday Collage
Concrete
Filed under Arlington Rooftop, Current Projects
The workers are waiting for the concrete to begin pouring out of the big tube. This is the Mezzanine level. At this point the roof was finished.
From what will be the Mezzanine Lobby, I could look down three stories to the concrete truck below. A huge arm held a tube that pumped concrete onto the roof. (No barrricade again!! I'm thinking I really must not have an issue with heights.)
The arm and tube pumping concrete to the roof.
This is the roof! Wet concrete now, but very soon we will be standing here having a cocktail!
Way Beyond Beige
Filed under Bathrooms, Color, Design Principles, Rooms, Trend Spotting
There must be a lot of pink bathrooms still hanging around. A 10 second Flickr search hit almost 3,000 and that was specifically typing only “pink toilet”.
Pink, blue and green porcelain was enormously popular in the 50s and 60s. It’s pretty shocking how many still remain and are in mint (lol) condition.
Brightly coloring the place you poop seems like the oddest trend. I wonder how it gained such popularity. It is so amazing that America bought this trend with such exuberance. Especially in light of today, where homeowners are paralyzed with fear even considering any home addition that isn’t beige. This is not hyperbole, folks. My clients LITERALLY clutch their hearts when I suggest carpet that is not tan, or tile that isn’t vanilla.
Pink toilets are frightening. I understand that. But so are plain, boring houses devoid of personality. There are millions of other options out there. Try one. No need to fear, because unlike the durable and well constructed toilet of the 50s, today’s products need to be replaced in 10 years anyway.
Well whatayaknow. In researching this post I found a whole website dedicated to pink bathrooms!
Parched
Filed under Arlington Rooftop, Current Projects
If you manage a showroom, I have advice. Stock drinks.
We called it quits after three hours in a tile showroom today. I know my clients would have gone longer with a bottle of water. To be fair, our very hardworking salesman, Martin, went to the employee lounge and dug up three Styrofoam cups and some leftover soda. But large showrooms are dry and dusty, especially in the winter. And looking at selection after selection is grueling work. We had more to choose, but instead chose to do it another day.
My favorite retailer, Linda at Mr. Hydes in Canton, Ohio, always offers you a drink when you begin serious shopping. She has some of the most loyal customers in the world, and she’s worked to get there. When you are in her shop, the hours pass like minutes because you’re having so much fun and you are so…comfortable. But then again, buying a few beads is certainly easier than thousands of square feet of tile.
(Wo)man vs Chair
Filed under Creating a Sense of Place, Current Projects, Other Dilemmas
Yesterday was Valentine’s Day. A lot of the bloggers I read recognized it by posting pictures of their honeys. Food or Flowers shaped up into hearts were also popular this year– not sure why.
Never one to succumb, I spent time thinking about an HGTV show I watched many years ago called Designing for the Sexes. At that time, I would have never guessed that in a few short years I would be LIVING that show.
Just an hour ago, I was on the phone with a client who is reluctantly going to purchase a double recliner. Her husband really wants it. It is, after all, a souped up Man Chair. And I have had a few cases where the husband said some version of, “Dear, I don’t care what you do to the house, just give me my comfortable chair.” My client feels she owes it to him, and who am I to judge?
When I’m conducting an initial phone interview with a new client, I ask about the living arrangements. If a significant other lives in the home, I request he/she be present for my first visit. I have learned long ago not to make the assumption that the wife makes the decorating decisions. It’s just not true. Nearly half the time, a male makes the call because he is the one that has more established opinions. And not just about the chair he will crash in front of the TV in.
Some couples have similar taste. I am lucky in that regard. You would think being married to a professional would be enough for my husband. But no, he always has to argue with me about our decorating decisions, even if our preferences are the same. Thankfully, I always win. But more times than not, we have a Plate Incident on our hands. In these situations, Michael, from the aforementioned show, makes it look so hazardous. But really, my job becomes maintaining the balance on the score card.