The Catalyst

 

I am a sucker for a well designed room.  Its absolutely true.  I immediately begin mentally moving myself in, getting a buzz from the color, light and flow of the space.  All of the pretty stuff aside, good design also comes with a disorienting, wonderful rush of change.  I am a big fan of letting go of old stuff and ideas just to shake things up from time to time.  I'm a bigger fan of investing (some consideration as well as the cash) in a space to make it the best it can be.  I'd like to think that I design from exactly this place.  Let's shake things up.  Let's get inspired by something new.  Plus, its Spring, the season of cleaning and organizing and rebirth. This time of the year always gets me primed for change.  I love it even more when I can be the catalyst for someone else.

I've been crazy busy, and although I spend a good chunk of my time in my studio sending emails, taking meetings, or making endless phone calls,  I’m also out in the world meeting people who make stuff and witnessing the transformation at all of the homes I'm designing.  Three projects are happening -- all at different stages of the design process.  Each home is as different as the cities they're in and the people who inhabit them.  All of them, houses and people, are ready for change.

The living room in Los Angeles is in the final stages, with only paint and art left to happen there. 

This grey suede sectional tucks right into an odd corner of the living room  Its also super-comfy and great for the family that lives on it because it is easy to clean.  My client has a great eye and found a beautiful vintage coffee table (not pictured) on Ebay.  A few more pillows in some cool fabrics are on their way, too.

HUDSON BAY

The paint on both walls will be Benjamin Moore’s Hudson Bay.  It’s a deep lagoony blue that will cool down this really sunny corner.

@ Stansbury Collection in Venice

  

When I'm designing a house near the beach (this one has a view), I like to include some art work about the ocean.  I'm in love with these beautiful large scale surf photos that I found here in Venice.  2 or 3 of these in a couple of different sizes will look great on the big blue walls.  

The home I'm working on in Las Vegas has just begun its transformation.  Paint is on the walls, rooms have been defined and new furniture, lighting and art are on the way.  We've begun to fill the house with the client's personal things, re frame his family photos and hang some of his art.

The Library as it looked before.

The Library as it looks with velvety chocolate brown paint and some of the client's exiting furniture and art.  Soon it will have draperies, lighting and floating shelving on both sides of the fire place to turn it into a proper library. 

A couple of the client's beautiful pieces of art in a red niche opposite the formal dining room.  We've had one of the walls in the dining room painted this same yummy color.

In 2010, I designed a guest apartment just outside Philadelphia.  It has a slick and efficient little kitchen that is filled with beautiful surfaces.

Pretty and functional apartment kitchen.

Quartz counter tops and recycled glass tile back splash.

 

Wide bamboo floors and glossy smoke-colored cabinets with brushed metal hardware.

I'm happy to say I've just begun doing a little work on the big house attached to the cute little apartment.  First task is choosing the same sort of surfaces for some other spots in the house.  I love the beginning of this process almost as much as the final result.  So looking forward to seeing how it all turns out.  

Embrace the change.  Happy Spring!


Melissa