Design Star & New Benches

Last night I watched the latest episode of Design Star. I think the designers are really starting to show their talents.

The design teams had to decorate two hotel rooms based on the home design wishes of country music star, Sara Evans. The look was a sophisticated shabby chic. They used a good bit of reclaimed materials which I love. It's always inspiring to see someone use salvaged materials in a new design - especially at a hotel. The sofas chosen were unlike most of the very hard and unattractive sofas you'll find at most hotels. That alone made you want to visit the hotel to get away from it all.

Well one team of designers ended up using a bench at the end of the bed, which reminded me that I'd failed to share the benches we have with you. So I just listed them this morning.

Since I have a thing for natural materials, I love the fact that these are made with milk paints and tung oil - and that they are so shabby chic.

We've joined an Etsy team...

Just wanted to tell you about a new Etsy team we've just joined...

We've found that there are so many talented artists on Etsy that you can spend many hours just perusing the site and all the wonderful goods. The Design Style Guide helps you target handmade items especially used in your creative home design projects.

Updated daily, the guide features great inspiration and insider information. Sometimes, much more information than what you will see in the actual Etsy listing. The guide also features interviews with the merchants/shop keepers.

Visit the Design Style Guide and poke around a bit. Please let us know what you think.

Enjoy!

Lise

What we're reading...

Your Home As a Sanctuary

by Josephine Collins by Ryland Peters & Small

Read more

Pleasures Of The Porch: Ideas for Gracious Outdoor Living

by Maureen Lamarca by Rizzoli International Publications

Read more

To Inspire Relaxation...

On your backyard terrace or patio... Add oversized pillows, a hand-painted umbrella for shade, glass hurricane lamps with fresh candles, a good book, and a place to rest your glasses.

In your kitchen... Purge all unnecessary items from your countertops. Collect all of your loose recipes and store them in beautiful binders. Plant herbs near the window. Use fresh but fragrant hand soap at the sink instead of regular dish washing liquid.

In your office... Organize your activities before you leave the night before. Keep all your inspiration in one place. Use a desk and accessories that inspire.
Buy new #2 pencils, sharpen them and display them on your desk in an unexpected but beautiful container. Don't take the stress of work with you when you leave.

In your bedroom... Use ambient lighting, include fragrant candles, buy the softest sheets you can afford, get rid of the TV or vow not to turn it on before you go to sleep.

Breathe.

House to Home - 11 Ways to Add Your Own Style

1. Paint the walls, trim and ceilings
2. Plant something new in your garden
3. Reorder the space. Find a new use for an exisiting room, like using a dining room for a study.
4. Create a customized and oh-so organized closet.
5. Swap out existing lighting for something that really speaks to you.
6. Change fixtures, knobs and handles
   
7. Add chair rail, crown molding, baseboard or door trim.
8. Add your last name to the front of the house near the house number.
9. Create a new custom that involves your house.
10. Change the front door completely or just the look of it with paint, stain or hardware.
    
11. Add your own art and creativity to your home.

From the Ground Up - Design-a-Door

Have you seen Debbie Travis' new design competition on Fine Living? I really do love Debbie. I've been following her from the time when she was doing fantastic designer paint treatments on walls. She's come a long way since that time. Her company is designing new homes and needs to hire a lead designer. This show reminds me a lot of Hell's Kitchen. A big difference being that Debbie doesn't swear as much - but she's still just as direct as Chef Ramsey.

The first episode is recapped here. I thought it would be fun to follow along and ask you all what you would do with the challenges she presents...

If you missed it, last night she gave everyone a basic door and told them to design it in a way that will express who they are. Some doors turned out to be very predictable and disappointing, others were more creative.

As the challenge wore on, the ultimate challenge winner, Lisa, actually gave up on her original idea and started carving the wood somewhat out of frustration and fear. Her door was more unusual than the rest and she won the competition and the right to choose another designer for possible elimination.

Currently my personal favorite right now is the graphic designer who created a black door with, you guessed it, a graphic design. I appreciated the unique shape of his design and his non-dramatic execution. (I know it's reality tv, but can we get rid of the diva mentality?)
Anyway, I'll be watching him closely to see what he comes up with.

If given the challenge, I would have taken the door, covered it with a rather fluid hand-embossed metal and then painted and distressed it to make it appear ancient. What would that have said about me? Creative, malleable, open to change, loves vintage goods, loves to paint and greatly appreciates art, artisans and architecture.

So what would you design your door to look like, and what would the door say about you?

Design for a creative lifestyle

Artistic Lifestyling :: On Location

Here is a quick video of a few the candid shots I took at yesterday's photo shoot for our Keeping Collection. We were on location at a beautiful Chatham County (NC) home. The home was described by the owner as a slice of heaven - and I really concur with that description. Each room in this home should be featured in a design magazine. It's just breathtaking.

This particular gift collection we were shooting features the most heavenly Parisian spa and pampering products we've ever encountered. We've even included an assortment of the softest bamboo towels ever. Sustainable, soft and stylish. The definition of eco-fabulous.

Just imagine having this sweet stash right near your soaking tub. (Guys, trust me - you will be forever adored for your gift-giving prowess if this collection happens to find it's way to your dearest love)

Ahhh...

Enjoy!

Lise

Art for Kids

Most parents have an arsenal of drawings from their kids school art projects. From kindergarten through high school I myself have collected more than my fair share of beautiful scribbles and awesome doodles. Yet, if we only collect and save art from our kids, we're missing out on a valuable lesson in creativity, and perhaps your children's first investment pieces in art.

Here are a few links to some artists who create art that would be ideal for your children's art collections:

- Keith Norval
- Kristiana Pärn
- Amber Alexander
- Jelene's Pop Art
- Maggie's World

Once you've started the collections for them, let the kids help pick their new additions. They will appreciate visiting galleries and art shows to speak with the artists and look at art just as much, (if not more than) the adults. You'll know they're completely hooked when they start spending their allowance on new pieces.

Enjoy!

Lise

Happy Mother's Day

This special post was submitted by our interior design partner Yolanda Ellis in anticipation of Mother's Day.

Decoupage is a crafting technique of decorating an object by gluing paper onto an object. This is seen on boxes, frames or other objects that you can think of that can be covered or decorated with paper. The idea to decoupage a vase with memorable mother and child pictures was inspired by my many occasions when my lovely husband blessed me with beautiful flower arrangements for Valentine's Day, birthdays or a just because I love you day.

I am a working mom and love fresh flowers on my desk but I also love having pictures of my loved ones around me. Every time I would get new flowers, I was faced with the dilemma of too many things on my desk. I have to remove some pictures to get my flowers on my desk or put my flowers somewhere else. Well I have learned over the years that one problem for one person adds up to be a problem for many others. Then the light bulb comes on..why not decoupage all the pictures you love on a vase.

Then you can conserve space and you can have your flowers and pictures too. As a mom what great joy it is to come to work and see pictures of your loved ones and topped with a beautiful floral arrangement especially with your favorite flower(s). My favorite is the Anthurium plant. I love tropical plants. By using a plant potted in your special vase this does not last for just one week of joy but all year long. This is a handmade gift that is personalized with love.

Design suggestions:

- Any planter can be used to do this technique

- For Mother's Day - use pictures of vacation, special moments that you both shared, notes of inspirational words, poems.etc. Decoupage this on the planter you selected.

- Herbs can be planted in the vase as an alternative to flowers or plants for the Mom who likes to cook and they place it in the kitchen or window seal.

- This is also a great gift for Moms in nursing homes or assistant living centers for a gift that keeps on giving.

- You can also embellish the containers with a unique ribbon or word magnets from Artistic Lifestyling



How to do this project:

Items needed:

- A vase or planter or container
- Decoupage glue - found at your local hobby store Picture here
- Dry cloth
- Scissors
- Pictures/poems/inspirational words
- Sponge brush
- Ribbon
- Embellishments, optional but highly encourage to apply with a hot glue gun
- Hot glue gun (use to adhere embellishments)
- Potting soil (if using to plant herbs or a plant)
- Plant or herb or fresh flowers

Directions:

1. Choose your container and make sure it's clean and dry

2. Gather your pictures - and photocopy (either all black and white or all in color)

3. Make a collage with the pictures on the table before you start gluing.

4. It's helpful to brainstorm before you start.

5. Use photo copies instead of original pictures.

6. Make sure the ink is dry if you have printed them from an inkjet printer at least 24 hours

7. Then tear the pictures to give irregular edges or cut them to give them a clean edge.

8. Once you decide where you want to place the pictures on the vase then start gluing the pictures onto the vase or container. Cover each picture thoroughly with glue or artist gel medium. After the entire vase has been covered with your pictures then apply 2 layers of decoupage glue. Allow the vase to dry for 1 to 2 hours.

9. Finally plant your Mom's favorite flower, herb or place a fresh bouquet of flowers inside.

Room Design Tools

Interior and Exterior Design is one way to help you fall in love with your own home again. (And yes, you can do it yourself.) Many people live in one house for years, and can't see all the potential in your own space that is offered through change by rearranging, reorganizing and purging your stuff. The crazy housing market of late, makes it that much more important to take another look at your home and consider remaking the space rather than selling up to a larger home with the possibility of more risk.

This is one reason I love the Room Design Tools we feature from Canvas Home Basics. First, they're inexpensive, and when you are ready to spend money on paint, furnishings, and materials, this is one way to ensure that they all will fit in as planned. The other reason is that they are easy to use and bring out your creativity in ways you can't even imagine. Finally, some of the designs I have seen of late are so worthy of framing and hanging on a few walls as art pieces.

We have already sent out a few as gifts to some of our Etsy shoppers - We have a few more to give away as surprises with purchases. I love surprises.

Hope you do too...

Lise

Earth Day - Clean Green

Earth Day falls on April 22, 2008. This year, thanks to a wide variety of inspiration and information, I have made many more personal changes to green things up around the house.

If you have yet to start on making any green changes, here are a few recipes for easy, healthy cleaning products. Making one change per month makes it easier to make ongoing changes. But really, my motivation was set once I started to do the research about the chemicals and their side effects in many of the products we used.

So here's a quick green clean shopping list:

Vinegar
Borax
Salt
Lemon Juice
Essential Oils for fragrance
Vegetable Oil and Castile Soaps
Baking Soda
Spray Bottles (check out the beautiful linen spray bottles here)

From these ingredients you can make:

Countertop/Surface Cleaner
Combine Vinegar and Salt for a great scrub for many surfaces and non-porous surfaces

Window Cleaner
Vinegar & Water is a classic window cleaner. Use newspaper for a bright shine

Room Freshener
Pour vinegar in a cup to remove odors from your room. Or use vinegar to clean and freshen fabrics (test in an inconspicuous place first)

General Cleaner
With a bit of water the castile and vegetable oil based soaps will clean almost any surface.

Borax (about 1/2 cup), Splash of Vinegar and 1 Gallon of Hot Water can be used to clean and disinfect your rooms and make them sparkle.

When you bottle your cleaners, be sure to order some cute and creative labels to let everyone know what ingredients are included, and what you can use them for.

Inspiration & Dream Boards

Inspiration and Dream boards are found in a few rooms in my house. My kitchen, office, and bedroom each have one. I use them to capture ideas and organize goals and project ideas.

The inspiration board featured here was created from an large 60's picture frame. It hangs in my office and contains a few photos, product prototypes and labels. I have used the board as a frequent background for our product photos.

Dream and Inspiration photos deserve to be embellished too. In fact this idea inspired the Align :: Creative Organization Collection. We've created small custom push pins, magnets, and tacks that reflect the design of the rooms they're used in. Beads, buttons, vintage earrings & small brooches, and brass or copper findings dress up the every day push pin and add that special detail to your room. (I've found that they are also useful for casual curtain and simple panel tiebacks too...)

Now my kids are getting into it. A few weeks back my oldest son and I went shopping for one of his very own. My son quickly posted a photo of new sneakers, a dream car, and some other short term goal reminders. He doesn't have his own tacks yet, but we did hang the board with some beautiful decorative hardware in copper. I'm telling you, it's the details that make the design.

My next project board will be made from a vintage picture frame and some sheet metal. I love the contrast of new and shiny and I also want to use these custom and oh so adorable decorative magnets.

How do you hang your inspiration?

Lise

Keep your Stories

It’s 4:34 a.m. Ask anyone who knows me and they will tell you that it’s highly unusual for me to be up at this time writing anything. But I was awakened by a dream about my mom that has urged me out of bed to write this to you.

As you know from the last few posts, I’m working on a new project for my company. It’s called The Keeping Collection. Over the past several weeks I have been knee deep in researching just the right product lines to offer. I’m working alongside three women and one man who are at different stages in their lives. Long before this collection came about, each of these people had already taken time to document the things they love in various ways. So in some ways we are all connected to this project by our love of documenting the life story.

This is so important because we all have a finite number of days here and as I am knee deep in all of this research about all sorts of things, I realized that it’s not the products that are important. It’s why you choose to keep certain things for certain people. That’s what this collection represents. It represents a commitment to taking the time to keep your legacy (ideas, dreams, fleeting thoughts, memories of your past, artwork, etc.) alive, along with all those pretty little gifts.

So what really got me out of bed this morning was this thinking that there are plenty of people (and this is specifically not reserved for moms) but everyone who lets each day slip past without preserving your outlook on life for the people that matter to you.

I definitely appreciate seeing photos but I also want to see the full, in-depth journals; the heart felt letters; mindless doodles; house plans; kitchen storage ideas; anything that gives me a richer picture of the person. In fact, the single most important thing that I would have wanted is a hand-written journal from my mother. Written specifically for me over the years, to Lise the 28 year old daughter she never met, and the 35, and to the future 40, and even the 90 year old. I often wonder what she would want me to know at these stages of life.

So this is what drives me to create this collection, and something for my own children as well. I have plans to turn this blog into a book for my kids. Any personal blog is, in fact, a perfect addition to a keeping collection. And we'll show you how to do that too if you want.

What else will I keep?

What I miss are the recipes for cooking and baking things that my mom and grandmother probably found effortless – yet in some cases, I can’t discern just the right ingredients anymore. So I would keep my every day recipes.

I miss hearing them laugh. So I will record a few conversations.

I wonder what they would have said about various situations I’ve found myself in. I missed out on years of advice. From their perspective, what did I need to know? What was important to them? I would share that advice.

I will tell my family how I see them in this world and how often I tell other people about their accomplishments. I'll throw in my hopes and dreams for each of them and not just once, but often enough for them to get a real picture of how they've changed and grown throughout the years.

What are you going to keep?

Things We Keep

What does the modern woman keep for her future? We think of natural alternatives like bamboo sheets, organic cotton matelasse, and perhaps a little bling tossed on the bed to satisfy our inner girly girl.

These are just a few preview photos from the new lines we are carrying for our Jump Off Design and Keeping Collections.

The Keeping Collection

Over the past few months we have been diligently working on our new project, called The Keeping Collection. The Keeping Collection is simply our answer to the missing modern day hope chest. Based on the traditional hope chests that our grandmothers used to keep, but with a modern edge. This collection will be launched soon on our website, but I couldn't resist sharing some of the information with you.

The Keeping Chest is offered in three sizes and styles - and it is benchmade. Benchmade is a term that means that it is hand crafted by one person, (right here in the USA) with particular emphasis on traditional furniture making methods. Each chest is constructed for the individual - there are none in stock, as they say. Plus our Keeping Chests are made with eco-friendly materials. No harmful fumes for you, just beautiful wood & hardware, milk paint and non-toxic stains. I love that.

Personally, I feel very fortunate to be connected to this product for several reasons. First, because I want to help people who are requesting both sustainability and quality from their products. I really believe in purchasing furniture that can be passed to the next generation and not end up in a landfill somewhere. Heirlooms - a return to classic, time-honored style.

I'm also so excited to connect you with the person that makes the keeping chests. You know from whence these come, because each chest comes with a special introduction and letter from the artisan, not an inspected by sticker. Hand made by one person especially for your loved one. Not shipped on a slow boat. That in itself is a story.

Another big reason I feel fortunate to be a part of this is because I'm also sensing a need that all people want to collect special things for their future. In a way, I want to turn tradition on its proverbial ear. In the past, hope chests were used to save precious items for young ladies who were preparing for marriage. Today however, all people have a desire to collect meaningful items for their future - whether you are a man or a woman, or plan to marry or not.

Plus I've already heard stories of using Keeping Chests as unique gifts for bridal showers and children collecting memories for parents, instead of the other way around. Our business meetings have included talks of collecting vintage jewels and photographs, journals, recipes, and diaries of family traditions and events in hidden compartments within the Keeping Chest. Oh the things we can collect...

I'm excited by The Keeping Collection. Especially the craftsmanship and the enduring appeal of building a legacy. If you are at all interested in keeping a collection of your own, please email me.


Enjoy,

Lise

If you ever feel like quittin - read this...

One day I decided to quit...

I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality... I wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have one last talk with God. "God", I said. "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?" His answer surprised me... "Look around", He said...

Read more here...


Enjoy!

Lise

Experimenting with new a new logo design...

Designer Bling

This weekend I was invited to see my friend Karis' collection of vintage jewelry. The snapshots on this post don't really do this collection any justice. Karis began collecting these pieces at a very young age. So these vintage jewels are gorgeously exquisite. I was in awe of this YUMMY stuff. When people say that they just don't make it like they used to - there is a reason.

Because we love re-use in design, we are lucky that some of these jewels and a few of her vintage buttons will make their way onto our own line of one-of-a-kind handmade pillows and other linens.

We we be sharing these with you in the weeks to come, so stay with us for more vintage glam for your home.

Enjoy!

Lise

Mastermind Design Groups

Traditional mastermind groups are designed to catapult you to success by holding each member accountable for their life's goals and objectives. I like this idea a lot.

I also love the idea of creating a Mastermind Design Group to plan and execute your major remodels, redesigns or new builds; to bounce ideas off of one another; and to maximize your buying power. Mastermind Design Groups can last for a just short while or for a lifetime!

It is best if your group happens to contain an interior designer, architect or builder. Ask them to take you on a shopping trip to the design markets. A designer with great sources can introduce you to a world of products and catalogs from which you can place your order as a group, often at very substantial discounts.

If any of you need to rebuild, your design group can approach local service providers and subcontractors who can give your group some of the best deals around. So find your neighbors and friends who need similar jobs and if you can all agree; offer the work to the same subcontractors.