Design Gifting

How many of you know someone that is hard to shop for? I had just about given up on one particular person in my office. That was until I remembered he wanted to give his bathroom a fresh look. When you’re a designer, it is hard to design for yourself (believe me - it’s true - I am on sofa number 3 for my living room)

So instead of fighting holiday traffic, I found myself creating a design that suited him to a tee. His current bathroom looks like every other bathroom from the 50’s. Green tile, painted white cabinets, standard towel ring, generic light fixture - you know the look (many of you may have the same bathroom)

Working with a smaller space, it was important to make an impact with texture. That is why I placed bamboo blinds over his window (adding interest to an older window). A warm color on the walls was an easy fix with paint, but by creating a pattern on the ceiling the room seemed larger. A wooden vanity and mirror add a masculine touch and the library wall sconce gives the room a unique personality. For additional storage, I suggest using a glass shelf (similar to what you see at department stores) for an interesting way to display things - making the bathroom feel more like a room. By taking down the older glass shower door, I was able to bring in a nice shower curtain that gives the bathroom a custom vibe while at the same time, making the room feel larger. To achieve the look of new tile, a professional reglazer can come in and reglaze the tile for a tenth of the price of installing new tile.

To top if off, he is going to be surprised when he looks here to find his Christmas gift. You know who you are - I hope you enjoy ! Thanks for being such a huge asset to my design firm - I wish you all the best!

Happy Holidays! After…....................Before

What’s been up….

So many of you loved the episode last weekend and wanted to know where to get the table that was featured. The table came from a showroom in Los Angeles called Thomas Lavin. Here is an after picture of the room. If you scroll down, you can see the before picture

Also thought you ‘d enjoy seeing a recent piece in InTouch magazine. It is on newstands now - not sure when a new copy comes out so if you miss it - here is a sneak peak of the spread

Be sure to check out this weekend’s show - it is a home Theater - it took over a year to complete - an amazing before and after -

This Saturday’s episode

Many of you ask when new episodes of my show will air. Typically the network airs new episodes on Saturday nights. In California, it comes on at 8pm but I’ve heard that it comes on earlier in different time zones. Last week, HGTV aired a special in place of reDesign. The good news is that a new episode is slated to air tomorrow - unless, programming changes the schedule last minute (which they’ve done before).

Anyway - tomorrow’s episode was a lot of fun to shoot. It took 4 months to complete. There is a part during the show where I’m testing different color stain samples on the wood floors. A little inside secret - during the taping of that segment the stain samples were all the same color (someone accidently ordered 4 of the same color). We had to cut tape so that my assistant could run out and get a darker color - what looks like something that took 5 minutes on camera actually took 3 hours.

Hope you enjoy the episode - would love to hear what you think about the coffee table (Michael called it a palm frond) and the faux alligator vinyl on the dining chairs.

Below is a little glimpse of the “before”. I’ll post an “after” photo next week (don’t want to spoil the surprise)

What’s New?

I’ll be speaking at an event on Jan 4th in Salt Lake City- I’ll post more details as they are finalized. I will also be doing the local NBC, ABC and CBS morning shows while there -hopefully I’ll have time to enjoy some winter weather - it was 78 degrees in LA today - far from holiday weather.

I am also looking to expand into larger offices - it is not easy finding the right space. I’m spending most of tomorrow looking at potential places.

The book is coming along, especially now that I have a new mini recorder. As I drive around town (or sit around the office) I record parts of chapters (it beats typing at my computer). I’m lucky to have someone who is going to transcribe everything, hopefully they won’t laugh at the parts where I find myself singing along to the radio while the recorder is on. I don’t think that part will make it in the book -

Benson is checking out what I’ve been talking into over the last few weeks - if it’s not food or his ball, he’s not interested.

Thanks Linda W. for the suggestion for this blog entry.

I have been busy working on my new website and would like to hear from you. If there is anything that you would like to see on my new website, please let me know. I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas. Click on “Send an Email” under questions or comments.

Decking the Halls while the Turkey is locked away

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. Mine was one to remember. Since I had Thanksgiving with my family in Baton Rouge last weekend, I spent Thanksgiving day in Los Angeles. I enjoy having Thanksgiving at my place for my friends who were unable to be with their families. I usually hire a caterer to cook (I can design, but can not cook), however my friends thought it would be fun to do a potluck.

So here is where the drama begins. Picture this, 10 of us in the kitchen warming up side dishes, fixing drinks, and getting ready for the Thanksgiving sit down. At the last minute we decided to put the turkey back in the oven to warm it up. Just as we are all about to begin our salad, my oven made an alarm that I’ve never heard. Then, it made a vacuum noise and the door seemed to seal tight. The next thing I see is the self cleaning light go on near the controls. Before you know it, the door is in the locked self-cleaning mode with the Turkey stuck inside! After a few calls to the 800 number, reading the owner’s manual, shutting off the circuit breaker and unsrewing all visible screws, it became evident that this was going to be a turkey-less Thanksgiving.

A few things I was especially thankful for this Thanksgiving is that I have friends who love to laugh, that side dishes never tasted so good, and not having turkey made a lot of room for dessert.

So while the turkey was locked in the oven all weekend, I’d thought I’d move right onto the next holiday by getting a tree and decking the halls. I found a great 11 foot Noble Fir. Once the tree was in place, it took half a day to install 5000 lights. The trick to lighting a tree is to wrap each branch individually with the strand of lights. I start near the trunk and work my way out each limb and then back again until each limb is covered in lights. By doing this, your eye goes beyond the surface branches, adds depth and allows you to put ornaments inside the tree that refelct the light. I typically do white lights with colorful ornaments. But since Thanksgiving was so unique this year, I thought, why not be unique with Christmas too? So, I decided to go with blue lights and silver ornaments. Sometimes experimenting can yield beautiful results.

I installed lights from 10 till 2 and finished ornaments at 11pm Saturday

The turkey is still locked in the oven

I’ll keep you posted on the malfunctioning oven - the appliance repairman is scheduled to come tomorrow between 1-5.

Standing on the Otherside of the Podium

I took a quick trip down to Baton Rouge (my home town) this past weekend. With all of the new residents from New Orleans, the city is taking on a new urban vibe. I stayed at the newly restored Capital House in a revitalized downtown. My room had amazing views of the Mississippi River. With only 2 full days, my schedule was packed.

View of the Mississippi River and Bridge from my room

I spent Friday at LSU’s college of Design speaking with the students majoring in Interior Design. Returning to my college immersed in an academic environment is something I hope to do more often. Back when I was a student, I vividly remember listening to guest speakers talk about their design work. It’s hard to believe that was just 10 years ago. Time flies by so fast.

It was nice to be on the other side of the podium sharing my story and career experience since graduating. I hope I was able to inspire the students to chase after their dreams. With hard work and passion, they do come true.

After having lunch with the professors, I toured the design studios. As I met with each student, I enjoyed listening to them present their current project.

Later in the day I toured LaHouse (LSU Department of Agriculture’s current project). LaHouse is being built to demonstrate new construction methods which can withstand Hurricanes while also being environmentally conscious. It was a huge learning experience for me to see products that have been invented to ensure the safety of those during a hurricane such as Katrina. To learn more, Copy and Paste their website below to your web browser (especially if you plan to build or remodel in the near future)

http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/family_home/home/la_house/

Part of the tour also included the discussion of furniture that will be placed in LaHouse. The focus on the furniture pieces will demonstrate how furniture can also be environmentally conscious and universally designed. I was so impressed with the project that I plan to donate furniture that I will design just for the house. I am very excited to be a part of this educational project.

The LaHouse under construction

With only a day left, I spent quality time with my family and also caught up with some old college friends.

The time flew by and before I knew it, Sunday was here. Most of Sunday was spent in airports and cars making my way back home.

What I realized once I got home is that time flies in various intervals of life. Whether it’s been 10 years since graduation or a quick 2 day trip, you can guage time by the amount of things you learn.

New Year’s Resolution….getting a head start

In the midst of doing multiple design projects (last year I completed 28), it’s easy to focus on the end result, forgetting all the fun stuff that happens beforehand. There seems to be a “looming” deadline hovering over my desk all the time. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do. I eat, breathe and sleep design (some of my best design ideas hit me while I’m in the shower).

Today I started a project that reminded me how much fun it is at the beginning of a project. The fabulous Julie Pinson (Days of Our Lives) and her leading man Billy Warlock (Baywatch and Days of Our Lives) recently got married. They hired me to design a new kitchen and a new living room in their beautiful spanish style home. The excitement was contagious this morning as we talked about the details of new countertops, custom finishes, colors, furniture, floors, cabinets….all the fun decisions we get to make together.

So, I started thinking, maybe my New Year’s resolution this year will be to enjoy every step of the journey and remember it’s not just the end result that counts. What do you think? Maybe I’ll start today.

Billy Warlock & Julie Pinson

Photo by: Zach Lipp / Admedia

Thanks for all your comments and questions!

I really enjoy hearing from you. When I started this journal, I did not expect to get the overwhelming response I’ve received. It’s nice to know you keep checking in to see what’s new. As you can imagine, there is a lot going on (the TV show, my book, and the holidays are around the corner). As you can imagine it is not possible to answer back to everyone.

The good news is that we are working on a new and improved website that will launch in the first quarter ‘07. We hope our new and improved website will give you more access to the stuff you want to know. Until then, keep your questions and comments coming.

Hope y’all have a great weekend.

Photoshoot at my little place by the beach

I spent a good part of the day at my place by the beach for a photoshoot. The spread will focus on my little get-away in Santa Monica (another place to escape the stress of work) Believe it or not, I don’t even have a TV or phone there. The design is also a different look for me. Since my main home has a lot of dark earthy colors, I decided to play with a brighter palette with punches of bright color. Photoshoots are always a good way for me to critique my own work. Something happens when a room is captured on film that allows me to see things from a different point of view. It was a refreshing process.

The spread is slated to run in the February/March issue of Western Interiors & Design.

Nancy Smith, Art Director for Western Interiors and Design Magazine with me looking at polaroids before finalizing a shot.

A sneak peek of one of the photos that may appear in the spread. This is the view looking from the terrace toward the front door - how ‘bout that punch of color?