Tuscan Design Proves Ageless

"To see the sun sink down, drowned in his pink and purple and golden floods, and overwhelm Florence with tides of color that make all the sharp lines dim and faint and turn the solid city into a city of dreams, is a sight to stir the coldest nature and make a sympathetic one drunk with ecstasy."

The quote could have been written by any number of Americans -- including my clients -- who have fallen in love with Tuscan ambience over the last several years, and have made numerous trips to this beautiful part of Italy to absorb its beauty and culture and return with design ideas for their American environments. 

Surprisingly, though, this was written over a hundred years ago, and the author was none other than Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain.  It's a small piece from his huge recently-released autobiography and it goes to show that Tuscany has left its mark on many a soul over the course of history.

I was amazed as I read the chapters on his life in an Italian villa, that such an iconic American writer would have spent so much time there.  Only after the reader gets pages into the story do we find out that his wife was quite ill and the Tuscan sun was deemed beneficial to her health.  With  humor and style he writes ("because every one of its crazy details interests me")  about the interior design of his rented villa, and we hear about the floor plans of all three floors, the size of the windows, the quality of the light, the floors, draperies, furniture and lighting, the water and heating issues, his opinions of the land-lady and staff, and the frustrations in trying to get telephone service.

This all interests me because we've been doing  "Tuscan" design for quite a while now, ever since the book "Under the Tuscan Sun" was published.  In this very Traditional region,  Tuscan style is widely accepted not only in interiors but architecture of buildings as well.

A design project in this particular style is the next large undertaking for us.  Our focus will be on the old-world Tuscan look, but with updates that will bring everything into the 21st century.  I'll be looking for current colors, materials, furnishings and fixtures that are in keeping with the authentic style.  Stay tuned for the Tuscan design adventures

Everything old is new again, and I'll probably be referring to Mark Twain again before we're all done.  

Olivia's Here!

A few weeks ago I wrote about the birth of my newest little client.  Today I want to show you Olivia's nursery. 

The design inspiration for this room came from the bedding -- a wonderful pattern called "Sparrow" with a modern look and fresh colors of pink, light violet and espresso.

 We are lucky in that we have a local artist who will custom paint for us.  You can see that, using the bedding colors as a guide, she coordinated the letters to the colors and patterns in the room.  Although Mom and Dad are mid-century modern types, the pretty, decorated letters created a real focal point.

In keeping with a modern theme, the furniture is clean-lined and the crib is convertible to a big-girl bed when Olivia is ready.  The custom drapes have a geometric design, yet are soft, feminine and carry the colors of the bedding. 

Olivia is almost a month old now, and thriving.  We hope she has many happy, healthy years in her room which will surely grow with her.

Furniture from http://www.rominakidsfurniture.com/
Bedding from http://www.dwellstudio.com/
Lavender paint color:  Benjamin Moore Snugglepuss #1405

It's OK to Say Goodbye

Life evolves.  We change.  We grow.

Unfortunately, our possessions don't.  They stay the same, always there, only occasionally breaking or wearing out.  The only thing that often changes is that we accumulate more things as time goes by.  We really do believe that more is more, to the extent that we sometimes let possessions rule and overwhelm us.  We become swamped with stuff, can't jam another thing into our closets and cabinets, and can't find a single item we're looking for. 

Then, as often happens at the beginning of each year, we cry "Enough!" and realize that perhaps Mies van der Rohe was right about less being more.  And that's when  the task of cleaning out goes on our to-do list for the new year.  Overwhelmed, yet?

If so, well, the weekend is here, and I've posted some simple steps designed to help you reclaim your closets and your life.  Here goes:

First, decide what stays and what goes.  A good criteria to use for this is:  if you haven't used/worn it in a year, it needs to go.  If it isn't functional and/or you don't love it, get rid of it.  Really, it's OK to say goodbye. Unused things only clutter up your life. Let them have a better life elsewhere.

Have two boxes at the ready,  marked "throw away" and "give away" .  If you need to move things to elsewhere in the house, you should have a box for that as well. 

Some things have truly outlived their usefulness, to you or anyone else:  the shoes with the holes in the soles, the tennis racquet with broken strings, the shirt with permanent stains, the cracked and chipped dishes, you get the idea. These all are candidates for the "throw away" box. 

Into the "give away" box go items like the blue jeans that will never fit you again, the coffee mug you got as a gift and will never use, the set of sheets that aren't able to accommodate your new pillow-top mattress, etc.-- items that are still usable, just not for you.

Then, group your clothes into short or long.  In any closet if you have a lot of short items like shirts and jackets, you can add additional storage below -- like a small chest of drawers, shelving unit or shoe rack, to store additional items.  Shelf boxes can help organize closet shelves to their best advantage, for sweaters, bags, and shoes.

I found great web sites to help you get organized:  http://www.organize.com/  --  where you'll find a plethora of wonderful things for storage areas at great prices.  Or shop www.containerstore.com and particularly look at their Elfa Organizing System, which several of my clients have used and highly recommend.

With focus and intent you can do it in a weekend.  If you haven't figured it out yet, it's on my agenda this weekend too.  It's a new year of new ideas and new styles.  I will be saying goodbye to a lot of stuff, some of which I've really loved.  But even after all these years, I, too am still evolving, and that means that my possessions have to evolve with me. 

Here's to you being able to say goodbye, having a Happy New Year, and Happy Dzyning!

When Will We See You Again, Clive Pearse?

Designer and host Clive Pearse announced on his Facebook page today that he is no longer under contract to HGTV, and is looking for new opportunities.

Unless you haven't been watching HGTV you know Clive as the host of "Designed to Sell", the show that tells us all how to stage a property for sale.  In addition he has been the host of "Next Design Star" as well.  His excellent design sense, beautiful red hair and warm British accent always added style and class to whatever show he was presenting, as his wit and sense of humor charmed viewers nationwide.

As a designer I watch a fairly steady diet of HGTV so that I might know what information the public and my clients are getting.  I've been disappointed in their programming of late -- that they are moving too much to do-it-yourself projects and away from the good designing that they are capable of showing.  Parting ways with Clive Pearse is just another indication of lowering design standards.

I wish him well and hope we will see him again soon in another endeavor.

It's a Girl!

A new client was born on January 4, just before midnight!  She weighed 6 lbs. 9 oz and is happy and healthy.  Now I can't wait to finish her nursery!  We've based the design on Asian-modern furniture and a wonderful contemporary pattern from a nationally-known manufacturer, and I'm so looking forward to showing it to you.  But, we have to wait for the drapery installation next week.  We'll be pulling it all together, and putting the frosting on the cake!

The Circle of Life Part 1

We've been working with some favorite clients of ours for over a year now.  Living room, dining room, family room architectural changes, master bedroom, bathroom re-dos, etc.  Window treatments, furniture, art, everything.  Then ...... we were so excited to be asked to convert the extra bedroom into a nursery!  All is in readiness for the big event.  The painting has been done, the furniture is finally here, and the window treatments are scheduled for installation early next week...

And, guess what -- well you know.  The new baby is in the process of being born tonight!   Several weeks early, and we're not quite done, but who ever was able to convince a mother and child about timing!

We hope to show you the nursery design when it's complete, but in the meanwhile we are hanging with our new mother, and hoping for a happy and healthy birth -- maybe tomorrow, which also happens to be my birthday.

Stay tuned............

While I was going to write about color this week, I wasn't planning to start like this, but ...

I must admit that I am a huge football fan.  Watching Sunday evening's game between the Seattle Seahawks and the St. Louis Rams, as the designer that I am, I was again impressed by, would you believe, the Seahawks' colors.  By far and away, they have the best designed team colors in the NFL  What, am I crazy?

Have you ever crossed open waters in a ship on a foggy day?  In my experience there is very little that is more threatening.  Part of you knows there's nothing out there, except maybe another ship, or is there?  There's nothing to see except the flat gray of the fog, and the murky depths of the water, and what else?  There's no way to know what dangers lie just beyond your sight.  The quiet splashing of the water against the hull of the ship, and the intermittent foghorn are the only sounds. Spooky.

Kudos to the team's designers who captured the threatening gloom of the foggy day, coupled with the Native American seahawk symbol and the lightening bolt of lime green accents of the rain forest ground cover.  Intimidation by color, I love it!

Check out  these paint colors:  Sherwin Williams 6235 Foggy Day or Benjamin Moore 1650 Stillwater.  Not only good for the Seahawks, but also bed and bath.