Now You See It!

I created this quick sketch for my new friend Susan so she can picture how her favorite room will look when I add window treatments, and a few pieces of furniture. She just moved to Cincinnati and lives in a fairly empty house. My job is to make this house feel like home for her.

Sketches convey what I see in my head when I look at a space. I also drew a floor plan, but Susan is not a bird or a spider so she cannot appreciate the "big picture" by looking down at the room from overhead. I sketch because I can and now she and I are on the same page!

WHY Accept Professional Advice?- Part II

A good designer can use some intuition and the powers of observation about your own style. He or she can help you streamline what enters your front and back door. It's ok to like everything, but it doesn't mean you should purchase it. If you love design, then you most likely love fashion, the arts and music. If you are serious about it, you follow the Style Sections of the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal because unlike some of the HGTV programs, they don't have to appeal to the lowest common denominator. In most cases, the writing is intelligent and thoughtful. Check out these recent fashion photos from the Journal. The idea behind the article is just how the thread of design and style is floating through the current trends of popular culture- apparel, movies and books. I would add one more area- Interiors! Does art follow life? I think so. Does life follow art? Definitely. I've paired wearable fashions with Lifestyle interiors- what do you think? The rooms, just like the outfits can be "tweaked" with small accents to keep it fresh, but the idea is that the interior designer should help you distill your personality or vibe so the overall look in your home or office is consistent IF WHAT YOU WANT is an interior that's consistent and well designed. Art history teaches us the provenance of certain design styles- how they were influenced, what was going on at that point in time which influenced popular culture- who was wearing what and creating design trends. Nothing is really new, just reimagined in new materials and new combinations. If you LOVE design, then you get it.

Designed Clutter

We all have it....stuff. Each individual item is precious to us, but 1+1=2, etc. Before you know it your home is full of multiple things everywhere. The question is how do we keep it organized, easily accesibly and still not over take our living environments. With the ever popular movement of one room blending into another room, it is exeptionally hard to keep all areas clean and tidy at the same time.

Here are a few images that will hopefully inspire you to store and display your cherished pieces in a well designed fashion.

Houseplans and More

Decor Pad

Decor Pad

Why Accept Professional Advice?- Part I

When looking through "design" magazines, I can't help but notice that some interiors look more professional than others. I recently picked up a publication called "Elegant Homes. " I was impressed by the number of projects in this magazine which were created by professional designers. Every one of these homes is WOW! Classic traditional, transitional and contemporary- there's something for everyone in this collection. There's no comparison to projects published in magazines like Better Homes and Gardens. The do-it-yourselfer most likely has a spouse who says "this looks great". A professional looks at your home with an objective eye and gives you an unbiased diagnosis. It's a difficult thing to teach and most of the shows on TV make it look easy because they need to appeal to the lowest common denominator. In my opinion, you're either an artist or you're not. It's not a science, it's an art.

To give you an analogy- I used to try and dress myself and thought I was doing a great job until I met Nanci Glendenning at Ann Taylor in Kenwood. She's a professional like me who gives polite advice with an objective eye because she can and because she's good at it. She has a nice way of saying "that's a great jacket on someone else- now, take it off and hang it up." She doesn't charge for this service- she's paid by Ann Taylor to make sure clients make wise choices because work clothes are an investment. If her clients are happy with the results, they will return for more. The designers at Ethan Allen provide the same service. If my clients receive compliments on their home, which they do, they return for more and sometimes for Phase 2 which involves adjacent rooms. (Yes, I have to keep reminding them to pass my name along because this is how I make a living!) Here's a quick sketch I recently made for clients who wanted to envision their new space as "dressy casual." Sometimes a floor plan only tells part of the story, so I sketch in 3-D to help people see the possibilities. I love what I do and hopefully the work conveys this passion.

Tim Gunn at The Aronoff!

Did you know that Tim Gunn, the host of "Project Runway" is going to speak at The Aronoff Center this Saturday? It's true! Check this out:

The local Ethan Allen Design Team of Heidi Thorn, Brenda Dowling and Angela Costello have designed the set for the January 14th Smart Talk event at The Aronoff Center.

Tim Gunn, host of Project Runway and Chief Creative Officer of Liz Claiborne, Inc. will be the first of several speakers at the Smart Talk “Connected Conversations” Series.

This is the second year the Ethan Allen designers have been chosen to create the sets for this speaker series. The January 14th on-stage vignettes by the Ethan Allen team include several new pieces from the Ethan Allen collections as well as a few "surprises" which personalize the set specifically for Tim Gunn who serves as a style icon for loyal fans of fashion and design both locally and internationally.

The design brainstorm came while the design team was standing in front of the local men’s shop, “Salem’s”. Instead of displaying the usual books, magazines and china in the new Ethan Allen “Oskar” cabinet, we will fill the glass shelves in this piece with colorful mens’ top hats, bowling hats and wingtip shoes. Because this piece is lit internally, the audience at this Aronoff event will be able to appreciate the humor and out of the box quirkiness of this set.

Besides, this new piece- made of elm and oak, is quite heavy as it is when empty. They don’t call it “the widowmaker” for nothing;)! For tickets call 513-621-2787.

January Decor

As I take down my Christmas decorations, its amazing how bear my home feels. From the mantel to the front door. Thats how I got the wild idea to create a 'winter' wreath for my front door. There's nothing like a wreath to say WELCOME. I came across some beautiful ones online, but in the end decided to create my own and share the process with you.

To get started you will need the following supplies:   

-Newspaper

-Foam 12" ring

-Scissors

-Scotch Tape

-Ribbon

-Beads/Crystals

-Hot Glue Gun 

At times I had a clear vision and at others I was just letting my creativity take over. So when making this for your own front door, remember each is unique so let your inner creativity take charge and it will be more beautiful than you could have enivisioned.

Mixing it Up

For the immediate future, high end furniture manufacturers will follow a shift in American culture by moving away from complete room “collections.” Extensive lifestyle research supports the fact that we don’t live within the “matched set” theory any longer. Unlike my parents’ generation which did purchase entire rooms of matching collections (bed/nightstands/chests/lamps/mirrors), we now travel the globe or watch programs which bring the most remote corners of our world right into our “great rooms”. This means we are very aware of our global society and want exotic or different pieces which may include exotic woods, eclectic conversation items and personality pieces.

In this quick sketch I made of a room interior, my clients were interested in an eclectic mix of comfortable. I recommended non-matching end tables, as well as a combination of tapestry, leather, chenille and nailhead trims to reflect their global tastes and lifestyle.