Wood is the New Black

Living in the desert you have to incorporate organic materials in your decor in unusual ways. I have a black thumb that compounded with the uncooperative atmosphere here in Las Vegas has killed quite a few living plants. As a result, over the many years of my career I have used many a dried, preserved, and - dare I say - artificial plant. Gasp!!

My absolute favorite is the dead Manzanita tree. This fine example above has seen 10 long years of abuse in my family room and desperately needs to be replaced. His branches have gone bald and he's too fragile to clean so the remaining leaves are coated with dust and other yuck! Alas, I have a sentimental attachment to old Woody and I hate to see him go. But just as I was considering replacing him with something less combustible I see that dead wood is everywhere; drift wood, preserved wood, sandblasted wood, even faux wood!

dried wood candelabra via Wisteria


Stick chandelier via Terramia

Fabulous branches canopy bed


Branches spray painted to look like coral in a window display at Tiffany & Co
via style court


Dead tree as decor


Fab sandblasted branches lamp via pottery barn



Trunk lamp via neiman marcus


Spooky iron branches candelabra via eco home furniture


Another dead tree as decor via brown design





Woody bottles via crate & barrel

So, in closing, if you live by the beach, a lake, or a forest get out there and collect some interesting wood. You'll save a mint on new home accessories.

P.S. If anyone has a line on some great looking, dried, leafy manzanita let me know. We seem to be fresh out here in Vegas and it's now illegal to cut your own in Utah.

Office Project - Making Slow Progress

I've been making very slow progress on my office remodel over the past two months. Finishing my bedding book and getting my daughter ready for college have take every waking minute of my time and this "quick" face lift, which I thought would take a few weeks, has turned into a never ending project. The progress that I have made has been well worth it. The space is bright and cheerful now and much more user friendly. I cut down the size of my huge desk and changed it's direction which helped with the flow. Here are some before and after photos to show you my slow progress towards a finished room.


So far I've managed to get the cabinets and new woodwork on the fireplace painted. This proved to be a much more complicated process than I could have imagined as my supposedly "legal" painter was arrested and deported mid-way through the job and I was left to do most of the work myself. It's amazing what a crisp new coat of white paint can do for cabinets. The "before" paint was a neutral light tan color that was perfect for my showroom but did not do anything for the cabinets when they were installed in my house.


The ugly china hutch was also painted white and now blends in well with the other cabinetry. I like the way it adds a unique outline to the otherwise plain cabinets. I hate to have everything look the same especially when dealing with lots of built-ins in one room. Nothing is as boring as walls and walls of identical cabinets and shelves. Mix it up a bit!


New can down lights have added a substantial amount of light to the room which was one of my main complaints that needed to be addressed. Two new hanging fixtures will eventually be hung over the desk. I hung one and ran into an electrical problem with the new wiring so I am now waiting for that to be resolved.

After the painting was finally finished the wallpaper was hung. Thankfully, my paper hanger is 100% American and did not have to flee the country mid- job. I love the paper - it is so bright and lively!!


The floor now consists of the chipboard paneling sub-floor until I can afford to put in the wood that I have installed in the rest of the house. My miniature dachshund Marty likes to use it as a scratching post! At least I got rid of the awful tan carpeting! Even ugly plywood is better than that was.

Hopefully I will be able to finish it soon. Window treatments still need to be designed and fabrics chosen. The hanging fixture problem needs to be resolved and the floors need to be completed. I also need to find the perfect upholstered desk chair which seems to be alluding me.

After over 20 years in this business I am still amazed how no project for my own home ever goes smoothly! Ce la Vie.!

Home Office: Slowly Making Progress

My office project is coming along slowly. The basic carpentry for the fireplace build outs is done. Next week the walls get skim coated to provide a smooth texture for the wallpaper. The electrical will also go in for a new cable outlet and several recessed lights in the ceiling.

Before



After - Ready for paint



My wallpaper - Thibaut, pattern: Owen



I think I'm liking it!

My Home Office - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

After closing my design showroom last year I moved my office into a spare room next to my Master Bedroom in my home. I love the room - it's mostly windows so it's sunny and cheerful but that's about all it's got going. (Yes, my windows are filthy! I'm going to go wash them right now!) I was going to change out the window treatments but quite honestly I just don't have the energy for that right now. Maybe later - for now I'll work around them.



It's a bit cramped for all of my stuff. I had my carpenter try to squeeze in the cabinets from my office in my showroom - it's a tight fit. We used as many units as we could but it left unfinished end pieces and panels now on the outside that were never meant to be exposed. My plan next week is to have it finished off so it looks as if it were actually meant to be installed in this space.


I had used this room previously as my sewing room and I had an old thrift store hutch that held my paints and other supplies. I decided to keep the top of the hutch and placed it on top of a unit of of file drawers. I think it will look okay when it's all painted and I like the glass doors. I'm debating whether or not to paint it a contrasting color?? I think it might be too much in such a small space.


My gigantic partners desk was meant to be used by two people - myself on one side and my assistant on the other. It is far to large for this new space and just one person so I am having it cut down a foot in depth. This will allow me to turn it to face the windows and give me more maneuvering room around it. (Note the hole so carefully cut in the side for wires. This side used to be up against a wall in my old office. This thing definitely needs some new end panels.


office side

bedroom side

This is my extremely ugly double sided fireplace that separates this room from the master bedroom. I have lived in this house for 10 years and have never done anything with these two units. I just could not make a decision since I hate them so much. The one on the Master bedroom side has a gross niche for the TV which is really the only place for it. (Notice my lovely cable coming through a hole in the wall - my husbands idea of wiring. This is the only way I can get cable in the office right now- it's going to have to go)

office side / bedroom side (with still gross TV niche and a raised hearth)

Here are the renderings for the build outs. Very simple layer molding and panels. All the wood work and cabinets will be painted white. I want to keep the room light and airy. The rest of my house is very rich and dark with wood and tile floors, lots of wood and colors ranging from cream to dark chocolate. I want this room to be a contrast.


This is the very ugly ceiling fan that is in place right now. Fans are a functional necessity here in the desert but I plan to chuck this one - all it does is blow my paperwork around and I need more light.



I think these are the final three candidates for new lighting. I'd like to go with something a bit more exciting but I'm on a budget here! I'm in desperate need of strong task lighting since my eyesight sucks at night which is when I do a lot of my drawing. I will also throw some recessed lights in while I'm at it. I'm thinking of using two number 1's side by side ( I wish I could find one with a red shade but I've given up) or one of the others. Which would you do?


I like this little window in the corner. I had to cover half of it to fit the cabinets in but I don't think it looks to weird. I'm hoping this will all be done in a couple of weeks so check back to see the finished room. I'm sure it will be an improvement!

Life is Chaos & The World's Most Expensive Dogs

I've been neglectful in posting this last couple of weeks as my life has descended into total chaos. I did post a very long and, some who saw it said, amusing post earlier this week about my great husband and his job but he got nervous about it and I had to take it down. I'm sure you would have loved it had you been permitted to see it. You see it 's not just H&G that's censoring us but our own family members!!!!!. We can't get a break.

Anyway, this week I am doing some work on my house. They say the shoemakers children have no shoes - well, the designers house is always a total mess and is never ever finished. I cringe every time I find out someone is coming over. Most of my distressed has been caused by the family pets.

I never thought I would become a dog person. I thought dog people were weird and a bit psycho. I've always had dogs and cats but they we're just pets to me. They laid around, ate, took up space and we're basically a pain in the a$$ to arrange care for when I went out of town. Then two years ago, on a whim, I bought my husband a miniature dachshund. Her name is Peanut and I now refer to her as my husbands clandestine "doggie luuvvvver". Not in a literal sense of course - that would be weird - but the two are inseparable.


After we got Peanut we couldn't bear for her to be lonely so we got her a little friend - another mini-dachshund named Marty. They are both adorable little things only about 8 pounds each. We call them cat-dogs because they have a lot of cat-like qualities. They climb on things and sleep on top of the sofa back or around your neck and of course have to sleep in bed with us. (too much information ??)


So now we are officially "those people" who are crazy about their dogs and talk about them like they are children. No, I don't not dress them up in fancy outfits ( I tried but they won't keep them on ) I don't carry them around in a Louis Vuitton dog purse ( I tried that to but they barked constantly and tried to chew their way out), and I definitely don't take them to work with me ( I work at home now so they are with me 24 -7) .


Now here comes the expensive part. Just like bad little children those dam little dogs refuse to commit to housebreaking. They do not like the inconvenience of going outside to do their business but instead prefer the soft and luxurious carpeted areas of our home. They do not however, seem to enjoy dropping their load on the tile floors. Therefore, in order to rid my house of it's unpleasant dog poop aroma that even the strongest Glade candle could not quench, I am forced to go to great expense to put in wood floors throughout the house. I am hoping against hope that they will finally get the message and resolve to use the dog door. We did the downstairs this week and had to move everything into the entry and kitchen which are tiled. Talk about a disaster - I have way too much stuff. It looks like a furniture store after a bad San Francisco earthquake in here.



OMG look at the dust on top of those bookcases - for shame!!!!


All of this for a couple of over pampered dogs!!!!


In the midst of this flooring project I was getting ready to do a Home Decorating & Remodeling Show here in Vegas. I was hired to do some easy DIY window treatments for display and to give three seminars at the show. My display space was supposed to be 10' x 8' of floor space including three walls. When I got to the show on Wednesday to set up they had given me a 20' x 20' island space which meant I had to cover 3x's the space I had been told. So I have spent the last 3 days killing myself making new samples and setting up this booth. Not my idea of a good time!!! For anyone interested I will post some pictures of my samples in the next couple of days.

So today after working 12 hours at the Home Show I came home to my house which is in complete disarray. There is not an empty surface to be found or a chair in the right place to sit in. The home show ends on Sunday and then I can come home and try to put my place back together.


And by the way, one of the little rat bastards has already left me a nice fresh gift on my new wood floor!!!!!!