It’s time to order the furniture.
Guest Bath Three Ways
Filed under Bathrooms, Current Projects, Rooms
Updating the Master
Filed under Bathrooms, Bedrooms, Current Projects, Rooms
Bette asked me to help her update her Master Bedroom and Bath. She wants to keep her custom bedding, drapes and furniture. I suggested continuing the deep brown, wide plank hardwood we put in the public spaces of her home two years ago into the bedrooms, and she agreed it was a good idea.
Just a few changes will make a big difference.
Counter Choices Rug Rug Mirror Fabric for Roman Shade Bench Wallpaper
Similarities
Filed under The Undecorated Life
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.
Warning: This post only remotely has to do with decorating. You can click away if you want, I won’t be mad. As a matter of fact, I won’t even know!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!
Playing Dominos on a Monday
Filed under Arlington Rooftop, Color, Current Projects, Design Principles, Flooring
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.
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
