It’s been a few weeks, and I don’t think better photos are just going to miraculously appear so I am going to just have to post what I’ve got.
You probably already know that I have found myself with two jobs. If I can even call my second a job, for don’t you have to actually earn some money for what you do to be called a job? Otherwise, isn’t it actually called volunteering? I teamed up with my friends Kye-Won Kopko and Doug Burney to give Northern Virginia an alternative children’s theater company. We successfully completed our first community-wide musical a few weeks ago. And by successful, I mean our ledger ended in black.
When I work on a show, I can’t just produce. I have to get my nose into the Design of the show. I obsess over the LOOK. I insist that the PR material, the sets and the costumes complement the tone of the script. You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown was an easy show to clarify stylistically. I drew the sets based on a rather obsessive study of Charles Schulz and his style.
Thanks to one amazing woman, Carol Hostetter, and her husband, Joe, I am very proud of the way the sets turned out:
If I get more photos, I will add them. Next time I will be sure to take some of the stage lit but without actors.
Cinde’s backsplash and counters are now installed. The new rug we ordered has arrived and the Garland Casual Dining Set is on sale and will be purchased this week. She gave me some options for barstools that she is considering. My choices are in order from best to worse: 1 2 3 4 5 6
I first met Michele and Stan in the winter of 2007. They understood that the once swift real estate market was changing and they hired me to help them prepare their residence for sale. In a series of consultations over the course of many months, we worked diligently to update and improve their well-loved home.
Finally, here in the spring of 2010, the house is listed. I think it shows very well on the virtual tour. I have had success staging homes in this area of Lake Ridge, Virginia. Let’s hope the luck holds for these two wonderful people. (The third pair, coincidentally, to retire to the Carolinas!)
Here are some befores and afters:
The Living Room before decluttering, new floors and fresh paint.
The Living Room after:
The Family Room before: (This is after we painted the paneling white. The photos of the paneling in its natural state were too dark for posting.)
The Family Room after:
The Kitchen before:
The Kitchen after new counters, appliances and wallpaper removal:
The Dining Room before:
The Dining Room after:
Bedroom before:
Bedroom after:
It’s funny how some decisions can be made in seconds and others take forever. Finding the absolutely most perfect wallpaper for one particular area—the more formal Dining Area—was a snap. The sample was sandwiched in a huge folder sent to me by a local commercial wallpaper representative. Whitney from National Wallcovering just pulled swatches based on a few mentioned to her in a phone conversation, and one in particular harmonized exactly with the fabric I used on the booths. I held my breath and ordered a few more colorways. It could not have been better if I had designed it myself. The two grand it is going to take to create the specific stripes I want is fine with the clients, as it was instantly obvious how great it is going to look.
If all decisions were so easy…
I spent the next three hours with my restaurant clients mulling over the logo. We had selected the design and the Pantone colors months ago. I met with them and the future manager back before one nail was purchased, and we had considered options from a rather large batch. I have been devoted those first choices, but now that it is time to finalize the awnings and channel signage, I have concerns. I definitely need to sleep on it. … And run on it, and Photoshop on it, and whatever else I do when I am stuck.
Do you remember Suzy’s Dilemma? She wrote to me describing the trouble she was having getting her brand new Kitchen to coordinate with the existing elements in her home. The wallpaper in the Dining Room was giving her fits, so I suggested a color palette to coordinate with some of the colors, while maintaining the more current tones in the new remodel.
She is pleased with the result, as she should be. Her new Kitchen is gorgeous.
We must interrupt the regularly scheduled broadcast to bring you breaking news and, of course, my obligatory comment.
I’m a little behind on my blog reading *coughkindlecough* so this isn’t exactly hot off the press fresh. But today I learned that one of my all time favorite bloggers is calling it quits. Decorno is one of the very few honest decorating blogs among the thousands. The writer can illicit hundreds of comments with a title-less single photo. She (I don’t even know her name) is snarky and crass, and intelligent and insightful. And as inspiring as the posts are the comments.
I’m going to call this straight. The decorating blogsphere is dominated by fragile egos. Go out there, and try commenting honestly. Tell the blogger you are a little tired of their increasingly dishonest product endorsements, or tell them what they are currently swooning over is f-ing ugly. Or that perhaps the paint color they chose should be a tad warmer. They FREAK. I have seen bloggers cry over the tiniest hint of disagreement, only to have loyal sycophants jump all over the commenter for making their idol upset. “Oh, people are so MEAN! My delicate composition cannot handle this! Why is the world so rude?” Just recently, three bloggers did a podcast on “dealing with negativity”. Because you know, anyone who doesn’t agree with you is simply using negativity to get attention …
Not at Decorno. Oh no. Vulgarity and disagreement abound. The discussion is (was) honest. Decorno “got” that decorating is the most subjective discipline in the world. Decorno loved to call out stupid. Decorno wasn’t about ego. Decorno is going to be horribly missed.
Since most of you, my readers, know me personally, you won’t be surprised to hear that I received a valentine on Sunday that praised me for being blatantly honest. Integrity is my most valued character trait, and individuals with true integrity can state their opinion, and Receive Others’ Opinions without collapsing into a heap of thin skin. I find this to be a character trait that many decorator/writers lack.
I know it’s been awhile. Since I’ve been gone :
- The exterior I designed for the Arlington Rooftop Bar and Grill is half completed.
- Suzy has sent me photos of her finished Kitchen.
- My production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown closed Sunday. My sets were a big hit.
- And I finally got my Kindle!! My appreciation of such a wonderful gift is so deep, and I am hoping my team at TheaterWorksVA, who gifted it to me, are focused on the success of our company, as I may lose my real job if I don’t stop reading!
Pictures of all of the above starting tomorrow….
Yesterday was the first time I have been to the construction site when it was deserted. Even when we had two feet of snow, there still have been lots of activity. The restaurant beneath had a customer or two, and the Subway was closed. All of the construction workers, to the surprise of my client, took Easter off.
I enlisted the help of my husband and two daughters. I filled a composition notebook with drawings and measurements, and barked orders. “Hold the tape higher. You’re not measuring all the way to the corner. Stand on your toes. STOP TEXTING AND GET OVER HERE…” Yea, I have teens.
It was a perfect day of 75 degrees and fresh spring sunshine. We stood on the rooftop for a while, ate a wonderful Indian buffet, and drove the few more miles into DC. The girls wanted to see the MTV Real World House, then we sat bumper to bumper along the National Mall looking at the cherry blossoms about three days past peak.
