"April Food Day . . . "

I've only been a part of the blogging community for just over 6 months and am still amazed at the the fantastic people that I've met. Usually, I'm just here to share pictures of interiors that delight and inspire me. And vent about the struggles of the design business, lol. Today's gonna be a bit different. Today, let's put our blogging network . . . to work.

Today, I would like to join with Elegant & Easy Life and Pigtown*Design to do what I can to wipe out the crisis with food banks here in the US. As we all know, these are tough times for a great many people in our nation.

"People who never had a worry in the world now have to think about where their next meal is coming from. People who never would have dreamt that they would need help are now showing up at local food banks. But when they get there, the shelves are bare. There is not enough food being donated to meet the sudden rise in demand. There is not enough money to buy food for the food banks. There is not a general understanding that food banks need help to help fill their shelves."

Please help me in supporting the "April Food Day-Bloggers Fighting Hunger" program by contributing to "Feed America" at the link provided.

"A gift of $25 provides 75 meals. We can make a huge difference in our communities."

I've been spending several nights over the course of the Lenten season donating my time working for a local food bank here in the bay area sorting and organizing the food which has been donated. And I can report that donations are decreasing.

What can you do? Contribute, if you are able. Even $1 can begin to make a difference.  or make "April Food Day" your blog post for today or tomorrow. or simply provide a link to "April Food Day" on your own blog.  Together we can make a huge impact.  

To contribute, click here.

For more information, click here.

Breaking the Dry Spell

There are 12 days left until Easter and the end of my self-imposed sabbatical from shopping. Much to the delight of Dave, I've managed to stick to it and, for the most part, going without has been pretty easy. Sure, it's only been a month, but there are still things (i.e., shoes) that I've been pining for. To celebrate my consumer cleanse, a little sinning may be in order come April 13. While I always reserve the right to change my mind, I'm thinking these A.P.C. navy sandals may be exactly what the devil ordered.

Dot Net

Interior Design (dot) net is the website for Interior Design Magazine - and it is an AMAZING source for interesting design goodies. They always have the most interesting finds...

A fantastic rug - inspired by the eye exam we all have to take...

By Bev Hisey - would love this in my home.


LOVE this wall sconce
By William Haines - originally designed for the May home in 1953, these were recently reissued (everything old is new again!) It's made of acrylic (which we all know I love so much it gets its own subcategory on this blog)


I've seen these tables before when looking for furniture for a nightclub in at my old job - so I was excited to see that the people at Interior Design love them too!


Bronzeforms 4 by Silas Seandel.


This floor lamp base is gorgeous - reminds me of something I saw last night on the Discovery channel (no joke, glow worms in caves make webs that look JUST like this - stunning).


Better get it soon - it's only limited edition item of 300 pieces. Called the 5 1/2 it's from zumtobel.com.


This decadent chandelier is my kind of girlie/funk/glam...

By evamenz.com.


And probably my favorite - this coffee table is dipped in pure silver - the silver is stunning, but even better you can still see all the grain and flaws of the wood.

From Council Design. If I start putting my pennies in a jar I wonder how many decades I'd have to save up for this one...

Gallery of Functional Art

I love the name of this LA based shop, Gallery of Functional Art... My stepmom, a Goods reader, sends me emails from them from time to time... Always such cool stuff..
Singgih Kartono, Magno Medium Radio (top), wood, 7.5"H x 7.5" W x 4.25"D,
Magno Small Radio (bottom),wood, 5"H x 7.5"W x 3.75"D.




William Leslie, La Zilla,wood and coated paper, 48"H x 52" Dia.

Reader Contest over at Elements of Style

Erin at Elements of Style (one of the first decor blogs I got hooked on) is having a great reader contest going on all week. Readers are invited to submit mood boards for rooms inspired by one of Erin's favorite domino spaces. One lucky winner will receive a copy of domino: The Book of Decorating. Erin is accepting entries through Friday so if you're feeling creative -- or just want to kill some time web-shopping -- hop on over to HERE and get styling.

I took the day off from work on Friday and, in an effort to kill time while Dave watched basketball, decided to try my hand at styling a room based on this living room:

I submitted the following mood board inspired by the living room pictured above:

So what do y'all think? One of Erin's specific requirements was that items must be budget-friendly (a rather loose concept since she didn't specify whose budget we're talking about) and available for direct purchase (i.e., no "to the trade only pieces"). As an amateur myself, I am never able to score trade-only pieces, though perhaps that will change should I ever befriend an interior decorator/designer. As for budget, I tried to generally adhere to my own: i.e., smaller items need to be relatively inexpensive while larger furniture pieces are what I would term "mid-level" (i.e., I generally go for Ballard Designs, Pottery Barn or Crate&Barrel in lieu of Target or IKEA for items that I want to last, but avoid Williams-Sonoma Home or Restoration Hardware absent a good sale). I recognize for some folks these items are not wallet-friendly, but compared to most budgets for professional interior design projects, I was being positively cheap.

If you end up submitting to Erin's contest, don't forget to share! I'd love to see what other blog readers come up with.

Breakfast, then blog

Hmmm... maybe I should eat breakfast BEFORE I blog. My impulse this morning was to post this two fantastic images - both places you would eat (a breakfast nook and a dining room).

This WILD wallpaper manages to look somewhat tame in this gorgeous breakfast nook.

By designer Mary MacDonald from Domino, Feb 09.


And this great eating nook is also from Domino (March 09)

Love the dog.

Notice BOTH spaces also have bold zig zag elements (wallpaper in the first, the rug in the second image). Using classic neutral elements + wild zig zag pieces = FANTASTIC eating space...

Off to make my own breakfast!

Dreaming Down the Aisle

http://dreamingdowntheaisle.blogspot.com/

Find ideas, tips, and quirky stories about all things wedding related and more!

tiles

bathroom floor tiles, glass tile art by Christine Downs
Glass tiles are durable and easily cleaned with typical household products. Yes, you can walk on glass tiles. They wear well and will not break.

Tiles

Belgian Art Nouveau floor tiles - early 20th century (CE42)
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SOLD SOLD SOLD

A beautiful and complete Belgian antique ceramic floor with original triple border tiles dated early 20th century removed from a period house in the suburbs of Liege, Belgium. The surface area of the floor totals more than 15.5m2 / 165 sq ft and the tiles bear the inscription ‘CNW’, an abbreviation for ‘Societe Anonyme Le Ceramique National, Welkenraedt’, a company established at Forges-lez-Chimay in 1892 which later opened a subsidiary in Walkenraedt in 1900. The Welkenraedt factory continued to trade until the mid 1920’s. The delicate white flower design, thought to be a Trillium, is present on both the principal field tiles and the large border tiles. The smaller half size border tile borrows from the same colour palette in delicate, fluid swirls typical of an early Art Nouveau period influenced by vegetal themes. The tiles are 14cm sq (5 ½ inches), with the exception of the half size border tiles which frame the larger border tiles. The floor is in very good condition – a very small number of tiles display occasional chips expected of a floor of this age, but the photographs are an accurate representation of the floor and more high resolution ones are available on request. The tiles have all been professionally cleaned of their old lime based mortar and have had old wax and dirt removed with a high pressure steam clean. They are therefore ready for re-laying. Being ceramic they are suitable for internal or external use and can be use with an under-floor heating system.

SOLD SOLD SOLD
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"Busy, busy, busy . . . "

Good morning,

I hope everyone has a great weekend planned. I have a to-do-list that might rival the size of the federal tax code. But, I digress . . . .

Whenever I'm feeling overwhelmed by a project, I try to take refuge in some good design. And, heaven bless Miles Redd for being there for me this morning. The delightful Mr. Redd's projects always exhibit such exuberance and unabashed joy.

"In the parchment-colored living room - - where Redd installed a button-tufted corner banquette to augment the armchairs ad deep sofa - - the interior is spirited, from a white painted console with a impressive eagle base to a neoclassical fauteuil to a bronze table whose pedestal is in the shape of a gnarled branch."

oh, and yeah, this was my place last night at midnight. The new carpet for my bedroom came in yesterday. So most all of my furniture is piled in my study while I get the new floor covering down in my bedroom. lol.

for more information.

Front Entry
42-inch-craftsman-style-front-entry-door.jpg36-inch-craftsman-style-front-door.jpgOur first choice (left) is this 42" front entry door from Rogue Valley Doors.

Our second choice (right) is this 36" door from Central Woodwork.

Both are similar to the Craftsman style.

Dial M for...Magnificent!

Heather and I do our best to check out all of the latest and greatest projects in town. While our list for field trips is actually quite long right now, we were able to make it out to the new M Resort while meeting with a new client who lives in the area.

One of the greatest things about this casino/hotel is that it is transparent in so many ways. When you drive past the building at night, you can see through it. When you're walking through the casino, you can see through everything, into all of the restaurants, down to the pool and even out to views of the strip. It feels so open, light and airy. We are in love with the new trend in casino design. Gone are the low popcorn ceilings, smoky poker rooms and artificial lighting everywhere.

The craps tables. Love the giant light fixture.

And speaking of the pool....

There's a great spot at the north end of the pool - it's a huge stage for outdoor concerts. I can't wait to see who is going to be there this summer!

It's such a sexy little hotel



There are some pretty cool restaurants and we have only heard great things about every single one of them.

This is the Hostile Grape. Since we were visiting in the middle of the day and most of the restaurants don't open until 5:00, we weren't able to go inside. This is probably a good thing since it is a wine cellar/bar/tasting room. There are about 160 wines that can be sampled by using pre-paid tasting cards. It's just unfortunate that this place is 43 miles from our office. We're hoping to go back once we find a driver. Volunteers, anyone?

This is the restaurant at the top of the hotel, Veloce Cibo. The word on this place is that the food is DELICIOUS and super reasonable. Check out the menu here.

A view of the rooms

Another cool light fixture in one of the bars in the casino

Heather and I visited on a Tuesday at about 1:30 and the three restaurants that were open all had about a 30 minute wait time and there were a ton of people inside the casino. Economy schmenonomy - this place has already had to hire more people since its opening. They've definitely figured out the formula for success. Here are some other interesting facts about the resort:

• It has its own car wash and gas station. You can redeem your players points to pay for services
• There is an on-site pharmacy that also accepts players points as payment
• There is a demonstration kitchen that hosts TV and radio shows
• The buffet price includes beer and/or wine

So that's the end of our free promo for the M Resort. It's just exciting to see something innovative and architecturally beautiful, especially right now when Chicken Little is ranting and raving about the sky falling all around us.

Ashley Whittaker

Florida native Ashley Whittaker was featured as one of domino's "Top 10 Designers to Watch" back in 2007. The room featured in domino's article on her was the entryway shown above and -- to be honest -- I was pretty unimpressed. The royal blue zebra wallpaper is just too overwhelming for my taste, too "I'm trying to make a statement".

The last few weeks, however, I've been slowly making my way through domino's website, saving all of the pictures and features that I loved before they shut the site down for good. In the process, I've been Googling some of the interior designers and decorators that domino featured over the years. Unlike some of the designers and decorators I found, Ashley Whittaker's website is very professional and a pleasure to click through. I'm so glad I gave her a second chance (as it were) since a lot of the work featured on her site is really lovely. It leans towards the traditional, but in a very modern and fresh way. Her use of color and pattern is also excellent -- never overwhelming, but enough to keep my interest.

There are definitely some recurring motifs and decorator tricks in Ashley's designs, the most obvious of which is her penchant for pairs. Note the the two Chinese garden stools in the blue sitting room and the two ottomans upholstered in pale blue zebra fabric tucked under the console table. After all, if one of something is good, two of something is even better. Two smaller stools or ottomans is also a much more flexible alternative to one larger bench or coffee table. Smaller pieces can easily be rotated around a room to provide extra seating or an extra place to rest your drink while entertaining. When not in use, placing them under the console table keeps them out of the way.

It took me a few minutes of staring at this photo to pick up on the subtle safari vibe in this room and I really like it. I'm particularly fond of the exotic paisley fabric on the ottoman, which works well with the larger-scale paisley on the roman blind and the safari-inspired artwork over the desk. The subtle safari-theme is carried throughout the space with the zebra-print throw pillows, grass cloth wallpaper and white ceramic elephant sitting in the built-in. Painting the backs of the built-ins such a dark olive brown is really a masterful touch and really makes the contents pop. Finally, the bold hexagonal rug pictured in this study (similar to the one used in the blue sitting room above) and is reminiscent of David Hicks and a really unexpected touch -- the modern pattern really livens up otherwise very traditional decor.

Such a nice, relaxed-yet-refined, beachy vibe to this space. All of the spindly, dark chair legs are a really formal touch to an otherwise laid back room.

This might be one of those "so pretty it hurts" rooms for me. Everything is just so lovely and calm. The tone-on-tone patterns on all the fabrics are varied, but speak softly. The Greek key border on the green slipper chairs is a brilliant stroke and I think could be easily emulated -- just attach a little trim to any standard-issue chair and -- voilà! -- you've got something special. One thing I'm also noticing in Ashley's work is how she manages to make curtains seem clean and unfussy. I tend to avoid a lot of window treatment (other than blinds or roman shades), but she's definitely having me rethink my bias against curtains.

I never get tired of a red room. I love how the black and white photography hung salon-style really pops on the red wall. While muted furnishings allow the red wall to take center stage, the varied patterns really help balance such a strong statement. It takes a lot of confidence to blend ikat, greek key, cheetah and florals, but I think Ashley really pulls off the mix here. What do you think? Note again Ashley's use of a pair of ottomans -- they add extra seating, but their lower profile keeps the smallish room less visually cluttered.

While I love a lot of color, there is just something so relaxing about an all-white bathroom. I love how the tub looks built-in here and the lantern and sconces are just stunning. The combination of open and closed storage here is also really well done. It really helps make the bathroom look spacious -- despite the small footprint.

If you like Ashley's style, here are a key few pieces you'll need to get a bit of her look at home:

1. Savannah Armchair & Ottoman ($399-$799) from Pottery Barn
2. Ceramic elephant ($29) from West Elm
3. Safari Crewel Pillow Cover ($24.99) from Pottery Barn
4. X-bench in Ashanti (as shown, $251) from Ballard Designs
5. Madura Pillow Collection ($85-$150) from John Robshaw
6. Chinese Garden Stools ($129) from Wisteria
7. Jute Diamond Rug ($299 for 9' x 12') from West Elm
8. Weston Round Pendant (from $579) from Restoration Hardware
9. Tala and Scramble fabrics by Annie Selke in Blue Marine ($26.09 per yard) from Calico Corners
10. Capri Teardrop Lamp ($275) from Jonathan Adler

Wood Furniture

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A beautiful selection of high quality products of furniture for you to buy, to bring a taste of the subcontinent to your home are available in our on-line showroom. Choosing a piece is simple, and delivery of every model is fast and reliable.

"Need to vent . . . "

Oh Lord,

Those of you in the design business (or anyone who has ever ordered anything that was not readily available from a showroom floor) know that certain things are never actually true.

"We mailed your samples yesterday."  most likely means that the aforementioned 'we' is on the way to the post office right then.

"Back-order should take about 10 - 12 weeks."  more likely 14 - 18 weeks.

"It'll be there by Friday."  yeah, right.

So here's the back-story:  The custom ottoman that I ordered for a new, and wonderful, client about 7 weeks ago, was going to be ready for delivery in 4 weeks.  (this already looks bad, doesn't it?), it was picked up by the delivery service only to discover that they had made the wrong ottoman and needed to start over.   Custom carving, custom stain, custom, custom, custom . . . and would be ready in two weeks.

The new (second) ottoman was completed last Thursday and ready for pick-up with delivery this week.  It was picked-up on Tuesday from LA and on its happy way up the west coast for delivery in SF today.

When I called this morning to confirm delivery time, I was informed that it was actually being picked-up in LA right then, whilst I was on the phone, and they couldn't confirm delivery time until next week. 

I just wish someone (anyone!) had told me what was actually going on.  I would have happily, really, flown to LA yesterday, rented a small truck, zipped over to Disneyland for a few hours (Matterhorn, Pirates, Indiana Jones), swung by and picked-up the ottoman, drove to SF, and delivered it last night . . . but no.  I'm spending my day trying to accomplish what seems like the easiest of tasks - having a delivery service - deliver something. 

Whew.  just needed to scream for a moment.  lol.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled Thursday.

Agnes & Hoss

The Goods reader Andrea has been following my blog from the beginning and understands my obsession with textiles - so I was thrilled when she sent me a link to Agnes & Hoss, the company behind these GENIUS fabrics.

They sell their gorgeous fabrics as handbags and scarves, but of course I'm obsessed with their pillows...

Here are some of my favorites:

WOOL GRASS



I tend to go for orange, but the other colors are lovely too...


PIPE ORGAN CORALLuscious chocolate brown...



LOTUS
And in such a great Kelly green at that!



JELLYFISH

LOVES IT!