Style Points: Forget Design Perfection, go for Design Reality!

So I'm talking with a friend the other day, who tells me that she wants to live in a home that looks like it came from the pages of "Pick any upscale Design" magazine. Which immediately sparks the question in my mind... "Do you really?" Because, though the homes in those magazines are really beautiful, most aren't a realistic depiction of how people live. There are no cookie crumbs, or dust bunnies, or sneakers left at the door. Homes in magazines are styled professionally - often to the point of sterility. So why bother to live up to that standard unless you want to hire your very own professional stylist?

Anyway - I say save the styling for special events and parties. But allow your design and lifestyle to be centered around a few artistic lifestyling design basics..

• Good bones - When selecting furniture, choose neutral colors, classic lines, then accessorize by season.
• Add color.
• Make it interesting - Some of the most beautiful and comfortable environments have interesting people living there. So don't hide your personality - live with what you love! Hang and display art, artifacts, photos, plates, mosaics, quilts and other eye catching details that make you smile, and other people inquire.
• Make clean up easy - When friends call to say they're in the area, do you have a place to put the every day clutter away? Quickly?? If not, storage bins, mail trays, and other totes are lifesavers. If you want clutter to really disappear, opt for storage with covers that do double duty (think ottomans, side tables and trunks).

Good home design is not about perfection, it's about reality. There is really no reason to go overboard trying to create a picture perfect, idyllic environment. Maybe this is the goal of all magazine stylists and editors. Similar to the way fashion magazines feature beautiful, airbrushed photos. They want you to see yourself in the picture - but maybe they want to keep their advertisers happy too...

Be creative,


Lise
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Creativity @ home – outdoors™

Are there design workshops for the outdoors too? You bet. You can enjoy the warmer months of the year in a space infused with meaningful, artful style.

This summer, I'm conducting live workshops and teleclasses where we'll discuss your outside living areas, trees and other plantings, private outdoor spaces, hardscapes, meditation areas, trees and what they mean to you, art in the garden, nourishment from your land, soul gardening, kitchen gardens, as well as child and child-like uses for the garden.

Together we'll use drawing, collage, and visualization techniques to produce a lifestyle workbook for the outdoors & creative space portfolio.

Email me for updated teleclass schedules or to book a workshop for your group.

All my workshops are featured here.

Design Themes & How to break away from them..

I've noticed this theme across all interior design publications. But this theme is not blatantly communicated. In any given month I can pick up 5 magazines that are all touting the next new product; the next design trend you should follow. And there are similar topics to be sure...

• color
• comfort
• earth friendliness
• accessibility
• openness
• country vs. Urban
• chicness
• elegance
• modernity
• nostalgia
• freshness

You name it really, there is a trend out there that will fit your viewpoint. And so we effectively skirt around the issue of individualism in design. We rely not on our own history to tell us how to live more comfortably and how to design our spaces, but on the latest design trend or sales circular.

So here's my plea to the journalists out there... We need more information on individualistic lifestyle designs. More examples of how to find courage and break away from the norm to live the way we truly desire, according to our values and our intuitive insights. We want more ideas on how to move away from trendiness towards feelings...

We want to decide how to move in our spaces

and dance

and interact

and feel comfortable

and entertain

and rest

...because really - we should think about how we want to live and exercise our options. Experiment, be inspired, choose and change.

I trust that we have our own answers in the design process. Although professional designers facilitate the birth of your ideas - you are still the artist.

Be inspired!

Lise

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Happy Mother's Day!

I hope you are enjoying your Mother's Day!

We are taking the day to be creative. Download the picture and be sure to color outside the lines!

Lise
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Telling Our Own Stories, Creatively!

My mom was the sort of person that really had fun with life. Among many other things, I learned to paint and draw from her, and I have always marveled at her gift for playing the piano - something I've never come close to mastering. I miss her creative spark. She never had a chance to meet my youngest two children and she missed out on a lot of special (and not so special) times in our lives. But I don't doubt that she would have thoroughly enjoyed most of the time over the last 9 years with her family. And I sometimes wonder what creative talent she would have encouraged my children to pursue. Although I work from my memories now, one way to keep her spirit going is through our family traditions - an oral history. I truly value these traditions passed on to me from my mother's and grandmother's generations.

So I shouldn't be amazed when everything comes full circle right? While I was busy working on my new suite of workshops, I really touched on this idea of a creative living history journal. In addition to inspiring people to live creatively, the workshop will help people capture those thoughts and feelings that aren't conveyed by scrapbooks and photo albums. This is an opportunity to make the time and pass on your ethics, values, your take on the meaning of life to your family - and do it creatively. If you don't write your story, who will?

Here's an excerpt about my new workshop from my website:

Creative Birthrights(tm) is designed to encourage families to slow down and participate in authentic dialogue and powerful creativity about your family history. It is attended by mothers and daughters; fathers and sons; sisters and brothers - any combination will do. In fact, it really doesn't matter if people are connected by lineage or lifelong friendships. I find that whatever the bond, you simply need to have a strong desire to share your life history through creative story-telling and artful activity. This is a transformative workshop. You will not leave unchanged. This fantastic workshop will lead you though several creative exercises where you will produce an heirloom-quality pictorial of your personal & family history which you will want to share with the people you love. You will leave the workshop with a journal full of funny, and poignant illustrations and witty text. But more importantly you will also be inspired to reconnect with the people you love and share ideas for an even richer family legacy.

So today, I encourage you to live creatively and share your knowledge so that when an old person dies, a library won't have to burn down completely.

Be Inspired & Be Well,

Lise

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Are you a workshop leader or creative professional that would benefit from licensing a creative workshop? Want to add another service to your business portfolio but don't have any time or desire to develop something new? My workshops are ideal for those in lifestyle professions. If you are seen as the expert in your field (or want to be seen as one), and you want to infuse fun and activity in into your business all while generating multiple streams of income at a low start up cost, send me an email to get started today!

Style Points: Living Artistically Outdoors

I didn't realize how much I was longing for this beautiful Spring weather. I have spent nearly every weekend outside thinking about ways to encourage artful living in the garden.

When it's raining and I'm kept inside, I pour through magazines and online resources for products. During my shopping trips I've noticed that big-box retailers have started to offer more products designed for outdoor living. Whether it's kitchens, (complete with dishwashers and ice makers) or huge stainless steel grills - there are a lot of products to choose from. However, when I'm outside, I just want to relax and get away. Beyond a grill, I don't want to move my kitchen outdoors. I'm really just particularly fond of the natural settings, with a few special artistic touches to draw the eye further into the garden.

I have seen a couple of ideas for creating paintings using exterior latex paints that will withstand the elements, but I'm really talking about the kind of art that is displayed between the green leaves of my garden. This weekend, if the kids are planning mother's day gifts... What I'd really like are painted rocks for the garden! (Hopefully something with a scary face to keep the deer from eating my Hostas!!)

If I don't get what I'm hoping for Mother's day, I'll be shopping online next weekend. I discovered a nice selection of garden art. Here's a link for you to visit Garden Art & Accessories online. They have uniquely hand sculpted wall hangings, lanterns & garden lighting, stepping stones, masks/faces, bird feeders/baths & houses, whirlygigs, planters & hanging baskets, garden stakes, compasses, garden sculptures and many other accessories for home/ garden/ patio.

Enjoy being creative outdoors!

Lise