Where Does Inspiration Come From?

I've been blogging about my family room's redesign: purple walls and the use of pink as a primary color.  How do you end up with a room like this!?  As it turns out inspiration for a design can come from anywhere: a favorite color, a photo, a memorable vacation, a favorite family heirloom or furniture piece.  Do you remember that Kohler faucet commercial--" design a room around this!"?




Well, that's not far from how a room design can begin! 
Start paying attention to what attacts you, what you collect or to what you tend to gravitate.  

One home office I designed, started with watching Masterpiece Theatre's Sherlock Holmes.  I loved the color of the walls in his study and the mood it gave the room.  Here are some images I found of his study (sorry, they were the best I could find--they don't really do it justice):

zetaminor.com

dailymail.co.uk

Watching (and loving) this show,  I honed in on Pratt & Lambert's "Arizona" #8-22.  

Pratt & Lambert "Arizona" 8-22

A color which, had I seen it on its' own, I would have rejected as too "dark".   Inspired by Sherlock, the color created a warm, inviting study and enhanced the existing oak bookcases.  Using the wall color as our starting point, we added natural woven roman shades and touches of bright color.

Catherine Jordan Design, LLC

Catherine Jordan Design, LLC

So, what was the source of my family room inspiration?    I designed my room around Audubon's "American Flamingo"  painting. 

princetonaudubon.com

Being inspired by something doesn't mean building a "theme" around it.  In other words, my room is not filled with all things flamingo!

                                         

Being inspired for a room design means taking an element---in my case: color; then using that element to develop a design. 

Maybe you love the shiny lacquer of Asian art.   

 You could use that love as inspiration for designing a room with  laquered walls or bookcases to hold your treasures.


 



Look around at the things that you love and think about why you love them---what are the base elements that you love?  Color, texture, subject, memories?  I know you'll find inspiration!

Everyday Design - My New Iron

 I am not a good housekeeper--having to bring out the vacuum (even a great Dyson) is like torture to me.  But as I have gotten older I have been more and more appreciative of a tidy house and have noticed that I have to pick up things I've left haphazardly around the house or the untidiness starts driving me crazy!  It must be a sign of age--or of living with a man who irons his jeans!

Speaking of that, on my list of household duties I hate is Ironing.  I don't even own an ironing board---when I do iron, I put a towel on my granite countertop.

hubpages.com

 After Christmas this year, I decided that before I put away all my holiday linens I would iron them so so they'll be good to go when I pull them out next year.  As we all know the road to hell is paved in good intentions---my tablecloths and napkins sat on my laundry room counter(aka ironing board) for four weeks--unfortunately, I am good at procrastination.

CountryLiving.com

I couldn't stand the thought of using my old Target/Walmart/Kmart iron, so instead I did nothing.  After working around this pile for several weeks, I decided the reason  I hadn't completed this task was that I didn't have the right tools.  So I did what I love to do--Research the Web (another great procrastination tool in my bag of tricks---not actually doing the task but feeling like you are taking some kind of action).   After extensively researching irons, I bought a Rowenta---the Mercedes Benz of irons. I bought a "starter" model for $75:  Rowenta's DZ5080 Focus Stainless-Steel 1700-Watt iron.

 Look at it!  It even looks speedy!  Well, I am here to tell you that it was money well spent!  I read all the directions (another procrastination trick) and made sure I "understood" my iron before attempting to use it. 
 Can I tell you what a pleasure it was?!  To hear and see the loud "whoosh" of steam each and every time I lifted the iron was like pure power--wrinkles didn't stand a chance.  The pointy tip of this iron is long---reminscent of Cruella Deville's high heeled shoes.  

This "high precision tip" gets into every crevice easily and irons out pleats effortlessly.  
 The ball at the base of the cord kept the cord from tangling and the stainless steel non-stick soleplate glided rhythmically over the fabric.  

I found myself getting into almost a meditative state ironing my linens.  
 I am currently reading "Quiet Mind- A Beginner's Guide to Meditation" compiled by Susan Piver.  

Larry Rosenberg's section on Vipassana meditation talks about meditation in daily life:

"The Buddha's teachings are not limited to silent sitting meditation.  We are encouraged to bring the mindfulness we develop while sitting to all the activities that make up our lives.  Bring undivided, full attention to every situation.  If you are washing the dishes, wash the dishes."

And if you are ironing your linens, iron your linens!  Having the right tools makes all the difference in any job!

It also makes me think about a quote I keep in my briefcase and try to keep in mind when working on any client project:

"When a customer buys a low-grade article, they feel pleased when they pay for it, and displeased every time they use it.  But, when they buy a well-made article, they feel extravagant when they pay for it, and pleased every time they use it. - Herbert Casson


Happy Housekeeping!!!!

theredvelvetshoe.typepad.com

Design: This is serious business

 As I venture into the blogosphere, hoping to make my impact on the *virtual* World of Design, my sister brings me back to the Real World with this blog link:

Catalog Living

Pay attention next time…Despite Elaine’s simple instructions (position 2 wooden pedestals on the table so that the smaller is rotated 45 degrees and tucked slightly under the larger one, top both with leaves and put just cheese on one and just figs on the other), Gary still managed to screw it up.--- catalogliving.net

I have to admit it took me a minute to "get it".  I have been so immersed in the details and business of design, that I forgot about the fun and, especially, the creativeness of it!  Because, if nothing else, the author of this blog is very creative and sees the humor in at least, the marketing of design!

I especially had to laugh at the September 18th posting -- I definitely would have used this advertisement in MY September 18th post on "Let the Sun Shine In.."  or  the "meaning of gray and yellow"!!!  Not with the same caption though!  :)

Ever since he was a child, Gary had wanted to play the decorative yellow stringless mini-cello, but he had to admit he did not take to it as naturally as he had hoped.  --- catalogliving.net

 

I hope something or someone has made you laugh today!

Paper or Paperless?

Remember when we first started relying on computers at work,etc?  Ok, I am probably dating myself!  Unfortunately, I do remember!  The big buzzword was the "paperless" office!  Wow! We thought that paper was literally going to go away!  All our storage issues would be solved!  How has that worked out?  I can pretty much guarantee that everyone now keeps a paper AND a  paperless/virtual copy of important documents at work and home.  Do we really "trust" our online documents?

One thing is for sure, paper is not going away any time soon..  

 Last week, two new online magazines launched:   Rue

and Lonny

I spent some time going "through" both magazines.  First of all, I have to admit I am a hoarder:  I have stacks of design magazines that I haven't gone through, but can't bear to throw out yet; I have files of "resource library" materials---i.e. pages ripped out of magazines that I use for design ideas, and I am a big book collector (not antique!)---but not so much a big book reader!   So I may not be part of the target (more young/hip?!) market of these online mags.

 From this perspective, I will summarize what I found to be the pros and cons of these two magazines, in particular, and of online magazines, in general:

Overall, I found Lonny to be an easier online read.  Here size does matter, and somehow the screen sizes and shots were larger and easier to read than Rue's---again I am showing my age! 
I also liked that Lonny's Table of Contents is linked to the article, whereas Rue's Table of Contents is a static snapshot.  I liked Rue's "Extras" section of take-home recipes and crafts (but didn't like that I couldn't preview them before downloading).  Both sites employ hyperlinks on each magazine page to sources; but Rue seemed to have more advertising pages than Lonny's.  Used as an online resource, the biggest advantage of these magazines is the quick browsing and hyperlink features.  These web tools make the online magazine more than what you get in the paper version.  

Having said that,  although I browse magazines websites, I won't be giving up my hard copies any time soon!   I find that I get lost: there is no beginning or end to an online magazine--you can easily jump around the site and "lose" your place.  Before you know it, you are worlds away from the actual magazine.  It leaves me wondering--am I missing something?   In a hard copy, I can always mark my place and come back to it.  There's a reason why it's called "surfing" the web, and as far as I am concerned it all contributes to my ADD.  Keeping articles, clippings and other noteworthy things is harder for me online than saving the actual paper document.  I have so many things that I "bookmark" online and then never look at again!  Out of sight, out of mind!  Plus, one computer blowup and my entire archive library is toast! 
Of course, I am finding that my paper archives are stacking up  and I have many vendor catalogues on my bookshelf that I never open because I go to the vendor website instead. 

So, as a result, I now have paper and paperless versions of my design sources and resources---just in case!  How about you, do you have a preference?  Paper vs. Paperless?

Thoughts of architecture today

The Washington Post had an article today called "Potomac's un-Potomac".  Heading the article was a beautiful photo of a gorgeous home, which is part of a planned community with strict architectural guidelines---

I'd have sworn was an old Adirondacks house. 

Aren't we all surrounded these days by new homes that are a horrendous mix of architectural styles and materials?

Here's a typical McMansion..(the builder loved stone (all the way to the eves!) apparently!)

I loved that this Association's book of Architectural Guidelines contain 8 photos of "Examples of Unsuitable Design"(p.77).  All these homes are in their neighboring communities!  If you really want to understand the architectural components of what makes an esthetically pleasing home, download these guidelines!

As summarized in the Washington Post, regarding good architecture--- "no matter what the style, they use natural materials and proper scale.." 

One thing that I always remember---is that we don't have to recreate the wheel--look around to see what attracts you and then start looking at the parts that make the whole visually appealing.

A beautiful Neoclassical stone house

When planning the community, the Architectural Review Committee  looked around at homes that were considered beautiful and found that:

             "Houses built in older neighborhoods, though grand, had a more 'delicate and smaller scale'".

             "They were constructed from natural materials: slate roofs with brick, wood or stone sidings."

Most notably, and a little disturbing: "The architects who designed the old houses were better trained in scale and proportion than architects who work with large developers."
 The lesson here is if you're lucky enough to be looking to hire an architect don't make any assumptions!  Look at their designs and the homes they've built! 


It was wonderful to read about such a conscious effort to maintain high architectural standards in new construction!