Category Archives: Look What I Found!

Interesting people, places and things.

My Retort

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Posted by Denise Smith on December 2, 2008 – 5:05 pm
Filed under Look What I Found!

This room was made by me in a hurry, everything was purchased new on a Trading Spaces budget. Not meant to last too long, but has been going strong for two years.

Annie, at Bossy Color Blog, (also local) wrote today “My Issue With Target”.   She complains about not finding a ceramic butter dish, the layout of the store and the quality.

Well, I hate to make blog waves, but I just have to use my bit of cyberspace for rebuttal.  I LOVE TARGET.  Annie, Have you been to Walmart lately?  Coincidentally,  I was in both stores just today.  (Forgive me, my mother-in-law is in town.)  Target is like heaven compared to Walmart.  My Woodbridge Walmart is no less than disgusting.  Dirty, full of cheap crap and crammed full of customers.  At Target I can walk the aisles without fear, and I can actually use the bathrooms. 

I love the fact that Target is on top of the trends.  Because if I am going to succumb to the latest-must-have craze, then I want it cheap, since tomorrow I will probably be finished with it.  I don’t have an issue with quality.  To the contrary.  The picture at the top of this post is almost ALL Target, and has been for a few years now.  (The wonderful, sturdy, two toned bookshelves are from the Thomas O’Brien collection.  The chairs were less than $100 and have been sat on every day for two years. The pillows are down-filled.)

The big fluffy white Thomas O’Brien bath towels run for $9 on sale and they beat $20 Ralph Lauren towels hands down.  Holiday decorations are always fresh.   Ikea’s idea of Christmas this year was developed by a team of Rastafarians. 

Ok, I can’t argue with the whole urban spread thing.  But that issue is way bigger than Target.  In a free market system, it is up to the zoning authorities to protect the endangered environments.  Don’t blame Target if the land use was approved.

I think I know what may be a bit of the Target sting.  I had a friend who once owned a traditional design service with a store front studio.  She confessed to me that Target and Marshall’s put her out of business.  She said even she wouldn’t buy her overpriced wares when the same thing was available for less than half of what she could sell it for.  And I have to be truthful.  When I created my business model, the conversation rang loudly in my head…

I have written about Target here and here.  Their stuff makes my Friday Collage regularly.

Workhouse Revisited

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Posted by Denise Smith on November 12, 2008 – 4:20 pm
Filed under Look What I Found!

Kathy Strauss sells a photography to an interior designer.

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. 

Shoppers in gallery 6.

The textile artists.

The entrance to Gallery 6 has a sampling of the artists' works.

The Hall. It is fun to look for evidence that this was a federal prison.

Seize the Days

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Posted by Denise Smith on November 6, 2008 – 5:25 pm
Filed under Look What I Found!

Sale Flyer from Ikea. Mailed to my home yesterday.

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!

The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center

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Posted by Denise Smith on November 3, 2008 – 5:53 pm
Filed under Look What I Found!, They Made Their Mark

The Hotel Roanoke

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.

The Hotel Roanoke historic emblem graces the hall carpets.

The first lobby.

The emblem graces the wonderful beds.

The room was well appointed and very comfortable.

A hand painted cabinet and granite in the bath was a perfect setting for a spa like shower.

All photos from website.

 

Petite Slipper Chairs

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Posted by Denise Smith on October 23, 2008 – 10:55 am
Filed under Living Rooms, Look What I Found!, Rooms, Trend Spotting

Upholstered, armless, low to the ground chairs are called Slipper Chairs. Once common in the bedroom, I imagine the name came from its function–that being a place to sit and put on your slippers in the morning. 

Today they are used everywhere, and are available just about everywhere.  The current sleeker aesthetic has made them a popular choice and Pier 1 has done a bang up job putting their twist on them.  New to the stores are a cash and carry collection, upholstered beautifully and coordinately.  A few have arms, but all are nearly the same size.

Her excitement made JoDee’s text to me jump out of my phone when she found these yesterday.  We had already considered using a collection of different chairs, placed in a circle, in her Living Room.  These chairs will be perfect and MUCH CHEAPER.  They can used to encircle a chandelier, which can now  be added due to the significant savings in our budget.

Here are the ones we chose.  There are more!

Carmen available at Pier 1 (Their photo)

Giovana available at Pier 1 (Their photo)

Popi available from Pier 1 (photo theirs)

Daisy available at Pier 1 (image theirs)

Vivian available from Pier 1 (Image theirs)

Clean is Better than Beautiful

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Posted by Denise Smith on October 7, 2008 – 3:46 pm
Filed under Book Review, Look What I Found!

I was reading Easy Cottage Style by Liz Bauwens and Alexandra Campbell as I waited for my daughter today.  Listen to this:

If you buy or inherit a grand country house, live with the rooms for a while before deciding which ones you really want or need to re-decorate.  Because of their size, large country houses have been re-decorated relatively rarely, and it’s common to have paints and wallpapers that are up to a hundred years old.

New fabrics can make old paintwork look dirty and shabby, so collect and reuse fabrics-anything from old tablecloths to bedspreads and curtains-to cover chairs and sofas. 

 ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  I love history, and all, but this is disgusting advice.  Our family had a little hiccup 6 years ago.  We moved back home to Ohio for 8 months.  We bought a 60 year old house that TRUST ME had never been re-decorated.  Or cleaned for that matter.  I got this much dust off ONE wall with a broom.

ONE WALL, I tell you!

If you want to use old sheets to recover your furniture, that is fine with me as long as you wash them first.  But do me a favor.  Leave the 100 year old paint for a museum. 

Book Review: Mary Emmerling’s Beach Cottages

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Posted by Denise Smith on September 23, 2008 – 1:05 pm
Filed under Book Review, Look What I Found!

Mary Emmerling's Beach Cottages

I should have known better than to purchase this book on the first day of fall. Not surprising, this book is filled with fantasies. Homes on beaches across the country, one more fabulous than the next.

None of the seventeen beach houses presented are too kitschy, and only one has a heavy nautical motif. Fun sidebars include non-decorating themes such as beach reads or favorite beach tunes. Interestingly, two of the homes showcased are in Galveston. I can’t help wonder how they stood up to Hurricane Ike.

The winter will be long. Escape into this book and remember the smell of the salt water.

Time for the Fall Occoquan Arts & Crafts Show

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Posted by Denise Smith on September 22, 2008 – 1:27 pm
Filed under Look What I Found!

From the Lorton Valley Star

This weekend is the biannual Occoquan Event that has been a part of Eastern Prince William County for 25 years.  The Occoquan Arts & Craft Show closes the streets of this historic town so that hundreds of white tents can overrun the streets.  Inside these shelters are some of the region’s best artisans.  Glass, jewelry, pottery, art as well as fabric crafts can be purchased Saturday from 10-6 and Sunday from 10-5. 

Visit the website to find the most convenient parking at one of four commuter lots.  Take a shuttle for $4 and enter worry free.  I will be there all weekend in front of Mom’s Apple Pie, where the shuttle buses arrive.  No, I haven’t entered the craft market.  And no, I am not selling wallpaper or some such thing.  I am chaperoning high school students…Oh dear!

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.)