New Client meetings- what to expect

I love new client meeting day! It is an opportunity to help someone realize their dream space while creating a space that is healthy mentally and physically- that's what good design theory in practice can provide.

I like to start by hearing what the client needs and a tour of the space while observing how the space currently works or could work. I think about the future needs of the space (growing children or grandchildren, new babies, aging in place, etc) and the health of the space, including current air quality and gassing off of materials added to the space, noise mitigation, views, etc. Making a lot of notes, I start asking questions about use, ranking of wants and needs, timelines, and potential options for the space. I also find out the budget.

Then, I work through a "test" of the new clients tolerances for colors, patterns, and style, by having them pick though fabric samples to see what they like and dislike. This is especially important for new clients that I do not know well, or have never met. Without a grasp of the person's ideas of good and bad, I could present a space to them on the follow-up meeting that is completely wrong and then have to do it all again. I hate to spend the clients budget on my hours and not on making a great space.

Lastly, I go back to the wants and needs and give the client a loose idea of what I am thinking for the space, the general time line and any budgetary concerns. Then, we set a follow-up meeting time and I am off to pull fabrics, furniture ideas, and make space plans. I love the potential of new client meeting day!

If you are interested in setting up a new client meeting with me and starting on the path of your best space, please contact me! I am happy to do remote meeting and online meeting and projects as well as local!

Estate Sales- The craziest house yet!

I go to a lot of older houses by going to estate sales. Some are incredible, some marginal, some just plain crazy. Yesterday's house was crazy. I was not the only person keeping down a chuckle at the total oddity of the place. Obviously, the owners were wild about an Asian influence in the 1960's, when the house as built. The property has a pagoda gazebo, and a matching red bridge over a water folly. One of the five bathrooms, besides the foil wallpaper with bamboo, had outlines of Chinese buildings on the back wall. There is even a goldfish lever on the toilet. The really outstanding part of the house is the indoor pool and water features with the very incongruous child's coloring book like stain glass of animals from Africa. The front door has the same coloring book look at the stain glass image of geisha girls.

These are some of the detail in the house

You may ask if I bought anything after taking so many pictures. I did, two brass figures and a luggage stand. In all the ostentation of a 1960's "new money" look, there was actually very little there. This house hasn't been touched, design-wise, since it was built in 1963. I wanted to find some fantastic Mid Century jewels or really good Asian pieces there, but either the family took it all, or they never had it. Left was strange things like a standing popcorn popper that still had a lot of popped corn in it. It was like the people just walked out.  A little disconcerting, actually.

The rug is in! Beautiful Heriz is perfect under the piano

As I mentioned last week, I was at Scott's shopping for a rug for a client. This weekend, I was able to snap a few images of the rug in place. It looks fabulous! The colors suite the palette in the room and echos the lighter wood tone of the piano and floor as well as the depth of color in the black Eames lounge chair and ottoman across the room. It also picks up on the colors of the rooms upstairs.

Mostly, the 1930's Heriz rug in William Morris type colors look appropriate for this 1915 house with Arts and Crafts details like this lovely staircase.

Pick's this weekend- early weekend shopping

I hit an early tag sale today and found some winners! I am in the process of researching and deciding where I will sell the items- Online or locally. Here are some of my early finds.

Vintage Gustavsberg Argenta vases available HERE.

Adorable brass rabbit!

I love this "Hostess Set" of fruit forks that display in a pineapple base.

I cannot pass up an inlay box!

Fantastic handpainted T & V France large trinket lidded box. From Limoges around 1880's to 1907, I cannot find a comp on this box. I'm holding it until I can. Dutch schooner scene on a "powder box" seems to be quite rare.

Smart design- Haverty's sectional

I was out furniture shopping at the big brand stores today and ran across this smartly designed sectional at Haverty's.

It allows you to change- at any time- the side of the sectional that is the chaise. I love the versatility and the ability of move your room around. It would be great for apartment dwellers who move a lot.

I suspect you could even add the long cushion to the sofa and move one of the small cushions to the movable piece and have a sofa and ottoman... but I decided not to make the salesman indulge that curiosity!

In this image the piece that makes the chaise is pulled out to illustrate how it works.

Antique rug shopping- Heriz rugs are where it's at!

Today I was at Scott's Antique Market in Atlanta doing vintage and antique rug shopping. I found a ton of beauties and learn a great deal from the sellers. I have to remember that the folks selling antiques are not just trying to "sell" me the piece, but they are helping me to make an educated purchase. I should get this since I sell vintage and antiques, too. And, I want my customers to be excited about the item and the cool things that I know about it. But, it feels different on the receiving end. (another educational moment) However, I learned a great deal from the rug merchants I worked with and I look forward to doing business with them again.

 Heriz rugs were mainly what I was looking for for my client. They are typically a busy pattern with a center medallion and generous borders.

Heriz is actually a place in Iran... maybe we should go back a little further in your history lesson. These types of rugs are called Persian rugs and Persia is an older name for Iran. You will remember the regional name from your ancient Greek and Roman history lessons. It is north of the Persian Gulf. Heriz is an area in the Northwestern corner of Iran near the Caspian Sea.

So, back to the current time. Persian rugs are typically named for the city, or regions, that they were made in, since the resident rug weavers in each city developed the city style. Heriz, Tabriz, Kashan, Isfahan, Qum, etc. are all cities in Iran and names of Persian rugs. Each with distinct looks... well, they look distinct once you really start looking. At first, they are all red rugs with lots of pattern.

Heriz rugs are know for being durable and long lasting... like lasting-generations long lasting! Their durability is from the high quality of the wool from the sheep in the area. The naturally high levels of copper in the water produce very good and durable wool.

They are typically brick red to light red with blues a little greens, and ivory.

On the back of the rug, you can see the weft and it should look irregular. To me, it looks like the slubs in silk dupioni.

According to one of the rug merchants that I spoke with, Persian rugs have a further style breakdown that are classified, basically, by the colors that are popular in the regions that they are expected to be sold in. Persian rugs can be further classified as Persian Persian rugs and these have a more monochromatic color palette, they are the least expensive. Persian European rugs typically have light blues, creams and gold added to the monochromatic palette. Persian American rugs have many colors in them and are the most expensive.

This is the one I brought back to Birmingham. A beauty from the 1930's, I love the William Morris type colors in the rug! 

A different rug merchant reminded me about embargo's on Persian rugs. His vintage rugs were purchased pre-embargo. The current rug embargo started in the Fall of 2010 and allows no rugs to be brought into the US from Iran, though you are free to buy and sell the ones currently in the US. The previous embargo (1986-1999) was a bit looser. So, vintage Persian rugs, made in Iran, are a bit rarer than Persian rugs that are made to look the same but are made in and coming out of Asia. And I dare say, they are higher quality and will last longer.

Other things to note about vintage rugs in the variation in colors. These rugs are typically vegetable dyed. You will need to inform your professional rug cleaner that they are vegetable dyed. They will probably recognize this, but better safe than sorry.

Vegetable dying produces a beautiful variation in tones of the same color. You can see it in the dark banding on this rug. It goes from dark navy to black to a black brown. This variation gives the rug a desirable softness that is often mimicked in newer rugs, but never can attain the look of the real McCoy.

Lastly, you will need these few tips for maintaining your rug. Get a good carpet pad. I mean a good one, not from the hardware store, from a rug store. It will make the rug last longer. If the rug is in a sunny spot, turn it every couple of years. And, get it professionally cleaned by your local "Oriental" rug dealer, not a professional carpet shampoo-er. The folks at the rug store clean them by hand with brushes and a special soap. Steaming and chemicals can damage the wool and shorten the life of your rug.

Most importantly, enjoy the amazing, dedicated handwork that went into producing your vintage rugs. The original sale of your rug might have feed a family for a year! It is important work and deserves respect.

Painted Chandelier- sprayed to coordinate DIY

The latest issue of Country Living features a home with the very hot trend of blue and white. In the bedroom, designer Emily Henderson sprayed a floral chandelier to a solid blue which completely updated the look of the piece. I would not recommend doing this to a chandelier of any value, or one who's fortune could change. But, a chipping, dented, chandelier that might have a bit of rust, perfect!  And, I have a collection of chandeliers for you to choose from, all are available from Hanna Antiques at a reasonable price!

Note the "bright idea" from Country Living May 2014

Now, DIY it! Good spray paint, something to hang it from outside, and some paper covering the candles and sockets and you are ready to go!

Here are some lamps for you to head over to Hanna's and pick up for your project.

I think all of these are under $200 many closer to $100! Head down to Hanna's and in the words of Jack Horkhiemer "keep looking up!"

On Etsy front page- porch and parlor on etsy.com

I am super excited to be on the front page of Etsy as I type this!!!  It is a rare occurance and the hope of all Etsy sellers!

Screen shot!

Pick's this weekend- Mother's Day Special

I found some winner's this weekend and two are perfect for Mother's Day. Why bring fresh flowers when she can have these floral coasters or fused glass platter and enjoy them year round. They are available in my Etsy shop (click here for the shop) and if purchased this weekend, you should have them by Thursday!

Needlepoint coasters perfect for mom. They say, "see I can keep a table clean and free of water marks!"

Lovely vintage fused glass 11 and 1/2 inch platter. Perfect for cupcakes, sandwiches, or as a fruit bowl.

Sneak Peek- New Kitchen in Atlanta

I have been working with my sister on her kitchen remodel and we are starting to see some results! We began with keeping the original layout of the cabinets and island because the problem was not the layout but the actual cabinets. So, new cabinets, counter tops, lighting, colors, and back splash. Left to do is paint, electrical, window drapery and a bit of jzuzsh-ing.

Here's a shot of the progress!

Note that you can see the other side of the kitchen in the windows, and there is an island in between. Creamy white cabinets, white Moroccan arabesque tiles, black counter top with a hint of copper sparkle.

Make your our Summer School- MIT's open course ware

Light levels on MIT's Compton Laboratories. (Image courtesy of
 Ruchi Jain, Gordana Jakimovska, and Ed Rice.)

It's no secret that I like to learn things. So, I was super excited that lecture course materials are offered for free through the MIT Open Course ware system! I am specifically interested in the classes offered in Architecture for obvious reasons. Just like a traditional class, the syllabus, reading material, and lecture notes are available. MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) provides downloadable course material, as well! This is perfect for the self-disciplined student, the professional that wants to "bone-up" on a topic, or the high scool student deciding on the college career! I will be working through the Daylighting graduate course in the coming month since I feel like lighting was not covered enough in my undergraduate and graduate programs.

If MIT doesn't have what you want to learn about, try finding other schools in the Open Education Consortium where you will find school all over the world participating. These classes do not offer school credit, degrees, or even grades. They do offer the opportunity to learn and grow in your knowledge base.

Gene therapy using an adenovirus vector. Image courtesy of the
 U.S. National Library of Medicine. From Principles of Human Disease 
at MIT Open Courseware 

From Principles of Human Disease in the Health and Medicine to....

Image of a slum area in Mumbai, India. (Photo by Dimrill on Flickr.) 

 Legal Aspects of Property and Land Use in the Business program to...

Costume design uses the texture, color, style, and other properties of clothing to express aspects of the character's personality and lifestyle. (Courtesy Leslie Held. Used with permission.)

Beginning Costume Design from Music and Theater programs, you can learn a skill, improve your knowledge, grow your brain, or just decide what you want to be when you grow up!

Let's make up our own Summer School!

All images are from the MIT open course ware website and are in no way my own.