Elle Decor in Kansas City

What can we say?  We are fabulous, aren’t we?

I do love Kansas City and think this is a most flattering article published by Elle Decor.  I enjoyed our local Patricia Shackelford’s incredible ability to capture our cities graces and she did so by highlighting the best and brightest, yet not the most obvious.  Well done Patricia (she also has a great blog you just MUST see), well done!

I just had to add this to the blog one more time, but this time with regards from Margaret Russell, Elle’s Editor in Chief. Enjoy…again!

Designing Behind Closed Doors

It is well known that a good interior designer makes a space look good, but if it doesn’t function well it can never be fully enjoyed.

And my question to you:  Why, oh why, can’t a closet function well and look great, too?

Working on a pair of closets in Boca Raton, Florida this past week, I thought I would share with you a few pics of them as they are a fun transformation (mind you they are just quick snaps with my little camera) and some of the great “extras” included.

There is just nothing like an organized closet…but one that looks like a boutique, that is easy and fun to use is best!

“BEFORE”  Her closet

"BEFORE" Her closet

"DURING"

"DURING" Installing the cabinet hardware and lock systems

"AFTER" Her closet has been designed, installed and all of her handbags, clothes, shoes and jewelry have organized, new homes.

"BEFORE" His master bedroom closet

"DURING" His new shelves, drawers and details have been installed

"AFTER" Dress shirts, suits, golf shirts, sportswear, shoes and accessories all have the perfect spot for easy and enjoyable dressing.

Some great features in this closet are the special locks.  They are Rev-A-Shelf’s brand called Rev-A-Lock.  The best thing about them (as you can see below) is there is no lock showing on the decorative front.  The locking mechanism is magnetized and internal.  You simply place the lock on the front of the cabinet in the correct spot and turn.

Can you see the lock on this cabinet? (By the way, are those not gorgeous pulls?)

The same cabinet with the magnetic key attached. Lock up your items, beautifully!

Another great detail in this closet? The beaded hangers that are amazing.  Made for all types of garments, they hold straps in place to keep them from sliding off, are less likely to leave those annoying pucker marks on shoulders and are beautiful.  The only downside in my opinion, is they cannot hold pants, skirts or a set.  Worth it!

I just LOVE these beaded hangers!

They are also available in clear.

Just like with any room in the house…it is in the details!

Judge Jill. The 2010 Home Of The Year Awards

This past Saturday was a perfect 74 degrees, sunny and full of beautiful homes.  It was again time to judge the Kansas City Home and Garden magazine’s 2010 Home of the Year awards.

It is such an honor to be selected to judge the work of some of Kansas City’s greatest architects, builders, designers.  I know from my gold in 2008 the work that goes into each submission. The homeowner’s get just as excited.  It is a day to see who was able to do the most with what they had to work with, and how far the bar will be raised, again. See 2009’s winners.

Each year, we are sent in teams to a variety of homes all over the city in different categories.  The entries are submitted by the homeowners, architects, builders and designers and must be brand-spanking new.

About to go out and judge: Brooke Pearl, Asst. Editor, myself and Andrea Darr, Editor-In-Chief

I take the job very seriously and even dream at night about the homes when deciding. This year, the 7 properties I judged ranged from a smaller home to almost 4 times that home’s asking price…you can see the difficulty!  It is like comparing apples to bananas to oranges.  How do I choose?  Very carefully and thoughtfully…

I am a stickler!  My criteria?

• I look for unusual and unexpected design solutions that work beautifully
• Note smooth layouts
• Search for special details (especially those that work for the land or homeowner specifically)
• Examine quality of materials and craftsmanship
• Reward green design
• Want thinking outside of the box (instead of a “me too” design) that ultimately adds value to the property and/or the lives of those that will live there
• Notice location
• Judge the overall feel and look of the space. Not only must the home’s design work, it must be outstanding.

I ask myself:

• Did the architect waste space or leave any small funny areas the homeowners won’t know what to do with?
• Were the niches, built-ins and/or lighting to be centered but didn’t quite make it?
• Is the interior cabinet hardware going to last or did the builder cut a corner where no one would look?
• What about window placement?  Vent placement?
• Does the entry have a “Wow” feel?
• Does the exterior complement the land and interior?
• How would someone live in the space and make it their own?
• Were the designers innovative while respecting the style of the structure?
• Were their solutions unique, without going into Oddville.
• Is the selling price appropriate?

The categories are perfectly arranged (I don’t know how Andrea Darr and Brooke Pearl organize this every year) so the judges can make sharp choices as we drive to each structure, critiquing and taking detailed notes as we go.

What does the competition do for you?  It encourage the designers and builders in KC to constantly question their work, push themselves, explore and stay current with trends, materials and procedures.  It matters.

Watch for the KCH&G issue in the spring so you can judge for yourself.  By then, it may just be a perfect 74 degrees again…can’t wait!

9 Rules For Your Home Decor, Or A Billion

There are a few things I have learned over the years with all of the thousands of questions I receive. In a quick nutshell, here are some of the basics.   I hope they urge you to study your home a little more closely…and to study yourself.

I just love going into people’s private spaces and learning about them so quickly by just looking around.  If a picture is a thousand words, each home is a billion.

A photo from my studio.

Walking into my clients’ homes for the very first time, I see the “old them.”  I hear how their lives are growing and changing, their wishes.  It is from that point that I begin to interpret their goals and dreams into their living spaces. It is a wonderful and inspiring conversation. I am honored to get to help create the “new them.”  Beauty is in all of us, all the time, you just have to know the right questions to ask!

1.  Your home and it’s contents are a complete reflection of you. Edit what yours screams.

2.  “We shape our environments; thereafter they shape us.” -Winston Churchill.   Create an environment that supports what you want and where you are going.

3.  Think outside the box and take educated chances or accept an unimaginative level of interior.

4.  If buying low-end/run-of-the-mill pieces, you will replace them sooner than expected, waste your budget and add to our landfills.  Buy better.

5.  It is extremely satisfying when friends and family feel comfortable in and enjoy your home as much as you do.  Create a welcoming environment.

6.  Don’t let your home look like most everyone else’s!  Express YOUrself.

7.  Children should learn to live amongst beautiful and elegant things.  Don’t limit yourself.

8.  Patiently cherry-pick the perfect piece of furniture, accessory, art, etc.. It will bring you joy to relive the feeling of success every time you see it.

9.  Choose how you and your family want to feel each and every day and create that…starting now!

Textures, Leopards and Stripes, Oh My!

I received some wonderful new fabrics in my studio today and had fun putting them in groups.  Can’t decide my favorites…

Highlights From International Furniture Market, Artwork and Lighting

I cannot believe another High Point Furniture and Accessory Market has come and gone.

This enormous, biannual international market is brimming with the latest and greatest from designers and companies around the world.  It is what a runway show is for fashion, only it is for home fashion…and we do all the walking.

The latest furnishings, casegoods, fabrics, accessories, lighting, artwork, rugs, details and ideas, etc. are there on display to sell to the trade.  It is eye candy like you have never seen and takes up building after building from their ground to top floors, for blocks and blocks.

I just adore going.

Here are a few things I thought you might enjoy seeing.  While this is a tiny, tiny amount, it is fun to see what will slowly trickle down to the shelter magazines such as Traditional Home, Elle Decor and Architectural Digest, in the next year or so.  I just snap quick shots with my little camera each time so you can imagine how amazing they are in person…

Enjoy!

More Highlights From International Furniture Market, Casegoods

Fantastic cabinet...details of birds below.

So fun!

Lovely craftsmen ship detail.

Love the playfulness.

Dynamite headboard! Wish this photo was better...amazing! Think of the color options...

Even More Highlights From International Furniture Market, Textiles, Rugs, Upholstery

There are some fantastic pieces here from the High Point Furniture and Accessory Market in High Point, North Carolina.  Can’t wait to use them in a design!

Lovely detail!

These could be so great in other fabrics, too...

Fun pillows...

To die for drapery panels...

Additional panels...

Rugs...

Contemporary rug...

Chair detail...

Such a fun sofa...beach house, kids room, sunroom...

A Few More Pics…

Another quick mention and photo from the evening…such an honor!

 

The magazine cover. I collect costume jewelery so I am a little partial to this cover.

That is me in the upper right-hand corner.

Naturally Unexpected

It is wonderful to share design tips with readers…the possibilities seem endless.  KC Home and Garden magazine asked me for a few to accompany their shot of my living room (see their page below) along with other designer tips.  It was so fun having the editor-in-chief, Andrea Darr and the photographer, Matt Kocourek over to shoot it.  She and I had a lovely lunch before hand at the Blue Koi and chatted about organic gardening and her saving a very special kitten.  She is such a doll!

"AFTER" A Comfortable Forest - The stone fireplace was a work of art hidden behind a wall, ordinary shelves and a dull palette. The unusual solution? Bring the outdoors in. Birch, oak and walnut trees now complement the natural beauty and colors and veins of the rock. The tree’s hand-made leaves colored in coppers, golds and silvers echo the metallic embroidered silk drapes and luxurious custom love seats. Now let it rain or snow outside all it wants.

"BEFORE" How the room (on the magazine page above) looked the day it was bought.

I believe bringing the outdoors inside is important not only for the sake of an interior design but for the health of my clients.  Whether it be stone, trees, marble, cotton, silk, shaped woods, metals, etc., they promote a hearty closeness with nature and an opposition to the slick materials man has created.  Even Fung Shui commends using these elements for a balanced life.  I encourage it for beauty as well.

To create your own oasis plan a natural stone wall or floor for rich texture for the eyes and feet.  For placement, let the rock ‘speak’ to the stonemason.  In the room above, I used soft cottons and lush silks to contrast the roughness of the stones.  For depth and a directional change, real trees, grasses and twigs add a fascinating interest and color.  If you choose to do the same, just be sure your pieces are free of any critters.  Though Fung Shui encourages live plants, I think dried naturals can be beautiful in addition to, if used as a sculpture.

Bring in a bowl of beautiful rocks, shells, small sticks or pine cones you have collected.   Let your children add to the bowl so they can contribute and increase their observation skills while playing in the sun.

Even just looking at a space with new eyes is difficult, but important.  I remember thinking, “Who said these bookshelves had to be used for books?”

Push the envelope in your home for a truly memorable look.  I am a rule-breaker by nature so I bring Nature in.  Won’t you join me?”

Thank you KCH&G!