AbbeyK — On Interior Design

Playing Around with Layout

Decided the blog was starting to get visually cluttered...time for a little editing and revising. New additions? Links to the videos of TV appearances on the right, a better way to get to my web site on the left. (The web link and photo part took oodles of time to do. HTML expert I am not so I am a little proud of myself, truthfully that I eventually figured it out.)

I am working on some updates to my web site too. Some new copy. A section on green. That will come soon... the work of a business owner never ends.

Back from Vaca and hitting the ground running

When you work for yourself, the details are endless and there's so much to do when you get back from vacation. It kind of piles up. How can the mound of paper work grow so high? Last night, I was up until 2 am doing paperwork, checking confirmations on orders, paying bills, etc.

Today the list feels endless, with a fair amount of running around to do.

Here's my to do list:

1) Check with my window treatment workroom on a quote.

2) Send a silk cutting sample to a client. The  first round of dye lots did not match the sample from the showroom. It's for a gold silk drape. The avail. die lot was more goldy than wheat and way off the memo sample, so we are trying another batch from the manufacturer. I have a feeling it's not right either, so the next step is the designer's dreaded "replacement fabric." That's when we run around basically every showroom and try to find something else. It takes a lot of time. PS silks are natural fibers so they take up dye differently and this dye lot issue is not uncommon.

3) Send hardware samples back to the Hardware supply place. Guess it's a stop at the post office today.

4) Arrange for the pick up of some chairs and a cushion for re-upholstery.

5) Call re-finisher with a new paint color for a kid's dresser, drop off a drawer, and have it sprayed. Then bring it to the client's for approval. Hopefully. This one has been challenging to get right. Luckily the client lives in my town, just around the corner. It's our 4th attempt at color and if she lived far, it would be a lot of time back and forth to her house. Cuz she lives in the hood, I'll just swing it by on the way home.

6) Check on lead time for some tassels. Maybe tomorrow?

7) Find trim for some pillows. That might wait until tomorrow, too...

8) Write up notes from yesterday's client meeting. OK, now I am getting ambitious.

7) Client meeting in the afternoon.

8) Dinner with some designer pals. So looking forward to that!

Oh, it's a long but good day. :)

Be Away for a Few Days....

Just a little vacaciones. Makes a stay-cation with family sound a bit more exotic, now doesn't it?

Be back soon!!!

Decorati: How many people can....

sit at a dining room table from Decorati.

A rather in-depth look....

Here are Buzz Kaplan's general rules of thumb.

So here are some general seating rules:

• If rectangular and the table length is 5 feet, sits 4-6 comfortably; if it’s 5 feet round, up to 8 people comfortably;
• If rectangular and the table length is 6 feet, sits 6-8 comfortably; if it’s 6 feet round, up to 10 people comfortably (if you use banquet chairs, you can squeeze 12 people);
• If rectangular and the table length is 7 feet, sits 8 very comfortably; if it’s 7 feet round, 9-11 people comfortably;
• If rectangular and the table length is 8 feet, sits 8 very comfortably; if it’s 8 feet round, up to 12 people comfortably;
• If rectangular and the table length is 9 feet, sits 10 comfortably; if it’s 9 feet round, up to 14 people comfortably;• If rectangular and the table length is 10 feet, sits 10 comfortably; if it’s 10 feet round, up to 15 people comfortably;
• If rectangular and the table length is 11 feet, sits 10 very comfortably and 12 comfortably; if you have a round table this big, you’re in the UN General Assembly Room and good luck;
• If rectangular and the table length is 12 feet, sits up to 12 very comfortably and up to 14 with narrower chairs;
• If rectangular and the table length is 13 feet, sits 12-14 comfortably;
• If rectangular and the table length is 14-15 feet, sits 14 very comfortably and 16 if need be;
• If rectangular and the table length is 16 feet, sits 16 very comfortably and 18 if need be.

See, I told you you cannot fit 14 people comfortably in your 1950s colonial in Newton cuz it's rather hard to get a 12 or 14 foot table in there.

 

Antique Saris Quilts from Sundance

These quilts from Sundance are just beautiful. 

 

They remind me of a project I recently worked on. A client of mine is a world traveler. She has brought back some really great stuff and has a collection of incredible textiles from Egypt (I think). Like many travelers, she likes to surround her self with items purchased from her many trips. We re-arranged photos, made groupings of her wonderful African objects. We determined a consistent eye level. That helped a lot. We edited a bit too. She has great instincts so it was really fun to work with her.

Up in the master, she had lively apple-green walls with a sleigh bed and brown bedding. From a trunk at the end of the bed, she pulled out these amazing textiles and wondered how she could use them. So we came up with some really fun ideas: swapping out the dark bedding for cream or ivory and then making pillows and a cafe curtain for the master bathroom out of the beautiful multi-colored scarves. Like the quilts, each scarf was a bit different, but all were bright and happy. Then we decided it could be interesting to put a throw at the end of the bed that was geometric ivory and black. Somehow the bright scarves and the black and white geometry were nice compliments.

Maybe you don't have a trunk full of scarves to re-configure.... But don't you think these quilts would look so beautiful folded at the end of a bed? Like the jelly rolls we used at camp.

Greening your Windows: the Shade Store, Hunter Douglas and more

Shouldn't be hard to find info on who does what in a green fashion, but alas, it is.

Here is what a few companies had to say. By the way: please watch out for the vinyl in your blinds. Some is safe, and some is not. Research, research, research. That's all I have to say.

Here's the Shade Store's product offering. This is the kind of thing I want to hear.

We believe being Green matters. We proudly manufacture all of our products in the USA and only work with textile partners who are committed to environmentally-friendly practices. All of our Solar Shades are GreenGuard certified and our Eco-Solar Shade material is 100% recyclable, lead-free, PVC-free. Our Roller Shades are approved by the International Oeko-Tex Association which tests textile products for harmful substances and human ecological safety. Our eco-friendly Woven Woods include sustainable natural grasses, reeds and bamboo. And many of our Roman Shade / Drapery fabrics are made from natural materials using only Azo-Free Dye Stuff, including our newest textile partner, Maharam.

Hunter Douglas discusses their 3 goals: energy efficiency of their products, corporate manufacturing (increasing efficiency and decreasing waste) and philanthropic efforts. All of these are important, especially energy use reduction. Did you know that a lot of energy is lost through your windows? Yes! So make sure the products you choose help decrease energy loss. But I am disappointed that they don't mention indoor air quality in their corporate statement. Many of their products ARE Greenguard certified, but you have to go to each product to find out and since it's not part of Hunter's goals, it must not be something the marketing people are trying to push. (Perhaps because they sell a lot of vinyl products and they don't want consumers to be turned off?...Just guessing here) Some products are certified, some not. Avoid the ones that aren't no matter how energy efficient they are! Also, there is no green link from the home page so you have to search around to find information. Boo for Hunter.

 

What Makes a Good Day for an Interior Designer

Just some random musings on a good day. Other designers out there: what makes it a good day for you?

So here are some good things that happened today:

1) We've been challenged for some time on a Dining Room shade decision in Belmont. The client previously had an operable sheer Roman shade. She liked that for many reasons -- the light it filtered, the dressy-ness, the view it kept. But we could-nt keep the one she had, (It had water damage.) and after many many tries we couldn't find a fabric that worked. Mostly it was a color issue. But also a technical issue of getting a sheer to behave properly in a roman. That can be challenging on many fabrics. So after trying to fit a round peg in a square hole, I decided to suggest using woven blinds from Conrad. Today we went to look at them installed in a showroom. We wanted to see them lined, as well. Success! The client loved them. Loved. I did a happy dance. (The photos are not the ones we chose, but similar.)

 

2) A paint color was decided for the kitchen in Belmont. Client loves color and wants it just so. The painters custom mixed a color just for her. It's not a color available on any palette. I stopped by. It looks great. Yippee.

3) Two measures at a client's house in Wellesley and both guys showed up on time.

4) The pillow cases that shipped in the wrong color can be returned.

5) Custom lamp shades approved.

6) Replacement chairs for a master bedroom arrived pristine and deliciously comfortable and perfect. I have been writing about these chairs. They ended up being a defective product. There were 2 attempts to repair the previous chairs. (Seriously, why should a chair have so many problems?!!!) After I completely LOST a gasket about this in the Spring after the chairs came back from repair in NC damaged -- seriously WHY SHOULD A CHAIR HAVE SO MANY PROBLEMS...I had them built from scratch and upholstered locally. I felt the situation was just wrong and I wanted to make my client happy. That was a long process but in the end I think my client is happy! She said the chairs were perfect. I called the upholsterer and the delivery folks to thank them for their help.

7) I got back to the office just before the skies opened and dropped serious rain.

And then a little ice cream. It's a good day when you eat ice cream in the summer.

So we got decisions made, some processes moved forward, and a repair put to bed. I love crossing things off my list. Oh the unbearable lightness of decorating.

You: what makes a good day for you?

Go Bold or Go Home: why not use a lot of color?

I have a client right now w/ a deep green dining room. Like green as in the color of a green crayon. She likes her green, straight up.

Here's another guy, the playwright John Patrick Shanley, who also appears to have a great sense of color and fun in his house. View the slide show from the New York Times here. Or, read the article The Color of Comfort from the NYC here.