Design

A nyone out there that is a regular reader, I have a prayer request. Please pray that the weather channel is off its rocker by predicting snow for the next ten days. For my Michigan friends, guess what?? Probably means some of this will be heading your way, and you sensed spring in the air didn't you? My moving company, PODS, will not deliver to my driveway if there is snow or ice on it. I'm tempted to get a very large heat gun and melt any precipitation that sticks :). In the meantime, the workers are busy taking turns installing light fixtures, plugs, and fans this week. The trim molding is gorgeous and adds such a vintage/craftsman feeling to the home. Today was a bit hectic as I had my cell phone, caller ID, school bus, mailman, and a neighbor require my attention all within a four minute period! My mind just cannot multi-task with more than two items in the frying pan at a time ;) The picture of the vintage ironing board cabinet with the rustic and crackled (dinged...

So we've been watching Top Design on Bravo religiously...and we can't help wondering, what the hell is Kelly Wearstler wearing? She is quite stunning, but we really don't get the knee socks. Knee socks and all, Kelly Wearstler is by far our favorite interior designer on earth. She is so incredibly talented and has the best eye for colors. Check out her work at kwid.com . If you like Kelly Wearstler wallpaper and fabrics, which is available via Decorative Walks, this is a good source for it.

We just got back from the Las Vegas Home Furnishing show. There were few notable designs, but we did find a nice lamp line from Shine Everyday that we like. The lamps are colorful, fresh, and very Elle-Decorish. The first lamp shown here is our favorite. It is a Hollywood Regency styled lamp. It is available in black, white and yellow (shown). We like the yellow the best. Delmonico Lamp $550 Here's another one that has a bit of Asian influence to it, but it's not so Asiany... Palomar Lamp $415 A dramatic black and white lamp... Zanzibar Lamp $415 To see more lamps in this collection, check out the modern lamp collection.

G etting things in high gear: This morning I stopped in to see what was going on in the finish production of our home. The painters were patching and sanding and prepping the interior trim molding prior to painting this week. The contractor was making the final decisions (with my help) on the design of the banister rail and newel post placement. Mr. Alarm guy was there finishing up the alarm system (and I thought he was done weeks ago). Mr. Cabinet guy was there inspecting the bead board interior of a kitchen cabinet that was replaced with the correct finish ... and adding the wooden shelves that have cutouts for future inset glass in said cabinet. I was informed that the granite people would be replacing the kitchen sink & counter top since it was a breach in their own policy that caused the wrong sink to be installed in the first place. DH was not pleased with the oversight nor was the contractor. It really was a pathetic sink as one side was not even big enough for more ...

Is Top Design, the new interior design show on Bravo, a yawn? We think it's an absolute yes. Unlike Project Runway, Top Design doesn't have any DRAMA! We want drama, we want talents, we want blood! We want cat fights! The first episode shows the candidates working in team with a budget of $50,000 to design a room. Now, $50,000 seems like a lot but it is not because it is based on RETAIL prices. Like cars, you should never pay MRSP (manufacturer suggested retail prices for furniture), especially at places like Pacific Design Center. Just so you know, the vendors don't expect to sell them at that prices either. The standard is 30-40% off the retail prices. You usually have to go through a decorator to buy at the design centers, but don't pay a mark up on top of the design fee. That is just plain silly. Ok, back to Bravo. We don't see any talents on the show yet. The second episode features the candidates doing a kid's room. This time the budget was limited and req...

M y builder will let me know officially tomorrow, but He thinks our move in date will be March 9 th . He has to get the OK from the county planning office, which will be tomorrow sometime. Not too far off from the end of February; I can live with that. Today the granite counters were installed in the kitchen and two of the bathrooms. They came out bee-U-tee- ful ! I didn't have the heart to tell the builder that the granite people supplied the wrong kitchen sink ... there's nothing that could be done now ... and I'll just learn to love this one. Since it's an under mount and the sink holes are already in, nothing can be done . I'm not the type of person to have it all ripped out over something like that. Besides, the granite was hard to come by in this shade. Such a little woe when you consider much of what's going on the the world, and I AM getting a new house :) Wait til the cream color trim molding is in and the cream travertine back splash with...

P eeking in on the progress today, I found the front door installed. (The dark zig-zag lines are from a shadow). The windows have paper over them still, but I'm very pleased with the color. Down in the basement I found the fireplace ready for it's rock face and the split log mantel installed. It's got a fire going to help heat up the room until our furnace is officially turned on. Now I'll have to stain and varnish the log sometime next week. I'm becoming a regular " handy - wo man ".