AbbeyK — On Interior Design

Inspiration and Interior Design

Architectural Digest asked some of the most influential designers and architects a series of questions in the January '08 issue. I thought I'd answer the same questions for my readers. Each question is its own entry and will appear Mondays through May.

For inspiration, I go to…
Sometimes inspiration comes from a favorite piece of a client's art, a view out a window, a favorite color, or vacation trip. Sometimes it's just a feeling. But I like to create this vocabulary with a client from the start.

What Do You Think?

When you run a business, you have a giant "to do" list. In addition to client work, there's the marketing, PR, advertising, accounting, all kinds of subjects to keep up to date on. But that's also part of the fun. You get to wear a lot of hats.

Right now, I am hard at work on my web site. It will feature an updated look and showcase new work.
My web guy has chosen a new font that he feels is more readable and fresh, so to clean things up here at the blog, I made some changes for consistency.

What do you think? Is it easier to read? Do you like it? Please do tell! I think there's some more I can do with color of the headings and all that but I want to sit on it for a while and see what you, my loyal readers think.

Overall goal? I want to make it readable and easier to see. As well as add consistency with the new web site. Any thoughts or advice is most appreciated!

Here's what the new web site is going to look like, more or less. (You can click on the image for a larger view.) There are kinks to work out and for some reason the nav is on two lines. My web guy is fixing that....Oy it's a lot of work. But fun, too. Change is good....change is good.....

Custom Cherry Cabinet, continued

Doug at Art Applications asked me to stop by to check out the finish on the cabinet. If you look closely you can see the applied some black detail for accent. We decided to paint the whole interior the blue but keep the shelves cherry with the black edge....Shelves are not shown as they are on the drying rack.

I cannot wait to see this all together.

Stay tuned.

On-going -- The Stain

I stopped by at a client's home to look at the stain on her sofa that somehow grew larger and darker after being professionally stain treated. We were not sure what the stain was to begin with, but something happened. The owner of the stain treating company thinks some kind of dye transfer happened.
I have no idea, but one thing I do know is that this 'aint good.

So we will be re-upholstering the sofa. Luckily the existing dye lot from the current fabric bolt seem to work with the fabric that's on the sofa so we'll be able to re-upholster just part of the sofa. (Designers can get cuttings of fabric samples and I always get one with each order but I wanted to check the fabrics in real life as fabrics can fade and this sofa sits in a window.)

Here is a picture of the sofa.

Essentials of Entertaining

Architectural Digest asked some of the most influential designers and architects a series of questions in the January '08 issue. I thought I'd answer the same questions for my readers. Each question is its own entry and will appear Mondays through May.

Three essentials for entertaining are…
Enough food and drink, good people and a welcoming vibe.
There's nothing worse than going home hungry!

Wonderful bookcases from Wisteria

Breezing through Wisteria catalogue this am, I came across these wonderful open bookcases.
What do I love about them? Large bookcases can look heavy when they have a solid back, but open them up and it's a new ballgame. I also like the heaviness of the wheels which contrasts the fly-away lightness of the shelves..... This design also comes in a console.

Tapes, Samuel and Sons

The technical word is passementerie. (C'est French.)

Samuel and sons sell all kinds of trims (in the category of passementerie there are also fringes and chords and tassels and the like, but today I am highlighting what we call "tapes" in the biz.) These tapes are by Samuel and Sons.

I have just one question. Can you ever go wrong with a Greek Key?

Here are more.

Some of My Influences

Architectural Digest asked some of the most influential designers and architects a series of questions in the January '08 issue. I thought I'd answer the same questions for my readers. Each question is its own entry and will appear Mondays through May.

Who or what has influenced my style...
My grandmother has a great sense of style and color. A painter, she believes that all colors can go together. Blue and brown? Of course: the sky goes with the ground. Intuitive and wonderful advice

Great Green Furniture, David Brunicardi

Check out these great case good pieces by David Brunicardi of DB furniture. They are green too. David is a San Fran artist who uses reclaimed wood.

Oh No! A Stain.

Last Thursday I was running around getting ready for a quick trip to Florida.
But it was one of those days.

Problem -- mystery stain.
I often suggest to clients, especially those with kids, to have upholstery stain treated. If the treated item gets stained, the company I use, Tim Timmons will come out to the home and apply treatments to the stain, free of charge. Their application protects at the fiber level.

A few weeks earlier I had a call from a client that her sofa's been stained so we sent out the stain treating folks, but after they left, I got a call from the client -- the stain is worse.

This was not sounding good.
So the stain treating folks send a tech out again to see what can be done.
After the second treatment the stain appeared to be growing and getting darker.
The owner of the company offered the client a discount on further services so I share that with the client. The client and I speak from the airport. We discuss my coming to see the stain when I return.

So I am back Tuesday and my client calls and understandably, she feels her sofa is ruined.

Back on the phone again to the owner of the stain treating company, Tim Timmons.

Solution? To make it right, we are going to have to re-upholster the sofa. The stain is only on one part of the sofa so hopefully, we can re-do just that section. Luckily the fabric is still in stock. I already called and a cutting is on it's way so we can match it to the original lot on the sofa.

I'll find yardage amounts needed from the sofa manufacturer and we'll get a local upholsterer to take care of it.

Let's hope the current fabric is the exact same color……sometimes dye lots can vary. We keep swatches of the fabric from the original order – it's called a cutting – because sometimes there are issues regarding repairs, or a client wants more fabric, and this way we are able to match it.

It'll be a week or so before that fabric arrives in. I'll hold my breath until then that the dye lots match.

I'll keep you posted.