In the process, I made this mock up of the booths I designed.  The overlapped layers are obvious here, but not so much when I printed it out. It has some other problems: the stripes will be tucked in the actual booth,  and the pattern will appear much smaller.  In 50 days we will compare.

The building on which the restaurant is being constructed is long and narrow.  I am very conscious of this as I plan the design and the look of the furnishings.  I am trying to add motion wherever possible, and incorporating circles on patterns and in details.  There will be penny round tiles upon entering, a huge round table in front of a curved window looking out into Arlington, and the barstools have a line of circles drilled in the back.

When I was in New York, I designed three circular booths for the center of the Main Dining Room.  They will each be upholstered in a high quality vinyl with a metallic curlicue design.  The colors and the pattern harmonize very well with the glass tiles that will be placed on the enormous columns between the equally large windows. 

It was love at first sight when I saw the vinyl.  The pattern reminds me of my mother’s very 1962 Boomerang laminate countertops. I am using five colors to create wide stripes on the seatback of the ten regular booths.

Shopping in the New York City Bowery Restaurant Furniture District was a foreign experience.  Not just because the shops are run directly by representatives from the Chinese factories, many of whom I did not hear speak one word of English. 

My clients are first generation Indian, and out of habit — and because they are so at ease with me they forget I can’t understand Hindi– tend to slip into their native tongue. 

Top that off by the STYLE of shopping.  Going to New York to buy, rather than sightsee, well, that is unusual enough.  But here in the Bowery, nothing is as it seems.  Marked Prices mean nothing.  I am used to and comfortable in dealing with the typical American shopping experience where the marked price is the reference.  Sometimes that is what you pay.  Often you pay a very figure-able percentage less, in the form of clear discounts or sales.  I rarely pay “retail”, but “retail” is the standard—the place where you begin.

In the Bowery, the marked prices are useless, if they exist at all.  The entire deal rests on the bargaining process.  I watched in awe as my client worked Linda, the salesperson.  And she was a tough cookie.  She worked him equally as hard.

Imagine the scene: I sit between my clients exhausted from making so many selections.  They discuss the finances in Hindi over my head.  They hardball with Linda in English.  She, in turn, discusses the propositions with the owner in Cantonese.  He gets angry and yells.  His son, just a toddler, races around the store screaming.  Strange food smells overtake the shop in regular intervals.  Outside there is the endless honking of traffic.  Little scraps of paper are everywhere.  The shop is overrun by clutter, toys, samples, and empty food containers.  We spend tens of thousands of dollars and the young woman at the desk does not willingly give us a needed paperclip.  Do they offer us parking?  Laughable.  They only grudgingly allow us to use their restroom after hours—no DAYS– in the shop.  A drink?  There is a vendor a few blocks down…

I’d go back and do it all again in a heartbeat.

It’s time to order the furniture.

Light 1  Mirror 1  Vanity 1  Light 2 Mirror 2  Vanity 2  Light 3  Mirror 3  Vanity 3

Just a few changes will make a big difference.

Counter Choices  Rug  Rug  Mirror  Fabric for Roman Shade  Bench  Wallpaper

Yesterday in my post I was particularly whiny about how much I had to do.  I thought I should take a minute to disclose what I’m doing, in case you thought I was suddenly the most in-demand decorator in DC. 

You may recall last year, if you have been with me that long, that I produced a musical at my daughter’s high school.  (Remember all the head shots I drew?  That was MURDER.)  Well, I am back at it again.  I have teamed up with my very talented friend, Kye-Won Kopko, and with the help of Doug Burney, we are bringing You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown to the metro region.  Last weekend we auditioned a bunch of talented 10-18 year olds, and now we have a brand new cast of 26. 

Here’s the crazy part:  The show goes up five weeks!!

Tonight is our parent meeting, and as the producer, it’s my responsibility.  I spent a big part of the day creating hand outs and making phone calls.  Producing a show is A LOT like decorating. It IS—stop snickering!  Putting together a full scale musical, just like a design plan, necessitates vision, organization, planning and executing lots of little parts to create one comprehensive impact.  With theater, this requires managing the set construction, acquiring props, dressing the cast and proper promotional positioning.  With design, the requirements are similar: space construction, acquiring furnishings and accessories, dressing the windows and floors, and proper positioning of everything. 

Hey…I talked about decorating after all!

Today was pretty productive already, and it is only 1 pm.  My weekend was no different.  My weekend was insane.  I facebooked this morning that I needed a weekend from my weekend, and it was no exaggeration.  Between this bar project, four other clients in the midst of projects, and producing another musical, I only sat still for about 10 minutes and slept little more.

I met with my restaurant clients to go over the drawings for the table arrangements.  We made some decisions, and I tightened up some measurements. 

We went to see Bud, who is crafting the bar, to finalize wood stains.  True to form, this decision created a domino effect.   I felt that the first selections of stains were too orange since the bar is being fabricated out of maple, which naturally has a reddish undertone.  We decided instead on Old World stain, which is a wonderful rich brown, and not too deep to hide the grain.  But as a result, this selection required that the floor stain now be changed to a slightly deeper tone, because the contrast between the floor and the bar stain was just too great. 

Though it is never simple, I am really happy with the choices.  This maple stain brings out the metallic highlights in the glass tile that will cover four enormous columns.  And the new floor stain complements the wood-look tile planks perfectly. 

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