Yes, We Have Christmas Here

A couple of years ago, I was visiting family in Pennsylvania and the subject of the weather here in  Los Angeles came up.  My five year-old nephew was shocked to find out that it doesn't snow here.
His first question was: "Do you have Christmas?"
"Of course we do", I said, "It just looks a little different."

Despite the lack of snow, there are no shortage of giant, inflatable lawn Santas, icicle lights, blinky stars and mechanical reindeer all over my neighborhood. Its also absolutely true that the norm around here is a little more offbeat.  Here are the 2011 highlights:

This year, as with many years past, my favorite Christmas tree is at the entrance to the parking lot at the Edgemar Center for the Arts in Santa Monica.  The tree is made entirely from shopping carts and is super fab, especially at night when it is all lit up. Every time I drive, ride or walk by this tree it makes me happy.  Turns out that it is the scaled-down version of an installation created by artist Anthony Schmitt a few years ago.  You can see some photos of the big tree here http://shoppingcarttree.com/. 

Runner up goes to the giant orange wreath that hangs on the Venice Canals home of architect Whitney Sander and designer Catherine Holiss.   From a distance (say, across the canal) it is a great size and lovely modern color and it looks really soft.  Not until I was close did I notice that the wreath is made entirely of plastic construction site fencing.  It is perfect on the glass and steel house and such an unexpected material.  I love it when people manage to surprise me!

There is nothing groundbreaking about the little tree in the row boat, but I absolutely had to include it.  To me, it embodies the spirit of living in Venice as well as the sense of humor that most of us have to have to live here.  I hope it makes you smile, too.

Happy Christmas. 

Honey, I'm Home

It has to start somewhere.  A life, a journey, this blog.  For far too long I have been tiptoeing around the idea of writing what I see and live everyday.  No longer.

            My work as an interior designer allows me a pretty thorough exploration of Los Angeles.  People who don’t live here ask me about the good weather and movie stars – and we certainly have those things.  But what’s really exciting are the ocean and the mountains, the intense metropolis with one of largest creative communities on the planet, all of the art and music and architecture and design that a nerd like me could want, millions people from everywhere on the planet (and their languages, food and cultures).  It is easy to be inspired almost daily as I hunt for good design and beautiful things, seeking out the pioneers who are doing it differently, better.   I’m hoping to use this space to examine what I see on a regular day, to show you what’s being created and to talk about the good work and good life all around us.  I hope you’ll find it interesting, Los Angelino or not.

When my husband was 9 years old, he made this drawing of his family home in Seattle.  He drew it all from memory, from the keyhole windows to the VW bus in the driveway.   I’ve had it hanging in my studio for years, and each time I look at it I am reminded of the power of home.  I am lucky that my job is to help people to create the places where they live and work.  It is incredibly fun, but I take it seriously.  These are the spaces where we spend the most time, the spaces where we gather with our tribes, the spaces that serve as refuge and retreat.  Each time I design, my mission is to transform what I see into a home that can be drawn from memory.