MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

From the "BEFORE" picture, to "floor planning," to the "FINAL REVEAL," my client discovered how much fun it is to transform a so-so room to a haven.

It all started with a desire to find a new TV cabinet and, then, a question: "What do you do with a jog in a wall?" One thing lead to another. Then, the magic happened.

One of the things I loved about this project was utilizing what my client already owned. For instance, we determined early on that we would work around the tribal rug. Next, out came artwork they had collected from their world travels.  A color scheme was developed that complemented it all, a neutral but not boring woven texture for the small sectional, an ottoman that added a "WOW" element and a coordinating texture for the accent chair. The end result - great Feng Shui! In other words, a room that is inviting, comfy and that turned out to be even more than my client dreamed possible at the beginning of the project.

Here's the "BEFORE" photo:

Here's the floor plan:

And, Voila, here's the "AFTER" photo:

Ode to Thomas Jefferson, designer

Thirteen years ago today, I had an experience that showed me my interior design career was different. I designed many model homes. However, the Windward Model was my first million dollar home. I had a decent budget to decorate the model. I loved working with the builder to evaluate the floor plan, select everything from paint colors, tile, cabinetry, and floor coverings inside and out. As I work on a design project, I get a "feeling" for it. It is more than an artistic sense. It is as if I begin to "see" the prospective owners. Here's how this gift played out for the Windward Model.

Accessories can be the fun part of decorating a model but choosing the accessories for the Windward Model was a little challenging when my design assistant and I butted heads about a few paintings that I chose. One was a print of by Anthony Butero's "Bath," a picture of "a naked fat lady" and the other was a print of the portrait of Thomas Jefferson by Rembrandt Peale. I envisioned the Butero in the guest bath and TJ in the study.

The model sold before it was completed and a meeting was set up with the prospective buyers. I'll never forget that meeting. I met the buyers at the model with the presentation board, which carefully showed the furniture, fabrics and wallpapers as well as the furniture floor plan. I also had a separate folder for all of the accessories chosen for the model, including copies of the "Bath" and "Thomas Jefferson."  The meeting went very well. The buyers loved everything. I wondered if they would like the ones my assistant and I did not see eye-to-eye about.

The Realtor walked in and pulled Mrs. S. away just as I pulled the accessory folder out. I remember saying to Mr. S, "I don't know if you like Thomas Jefferson or not, but I saw this painting going in the study to inspire you." To my surprise, Mr. S. replied, "Not only do I like Thomas Jefferson, but I was born on his birthday." I knew in that moment why the picture "spoke" to me.

It gets better. The Realtor and Mrs. S. rejoined us, and the Realtor said, "Happy Birthday, Mr. S." Simultaneously, Mr. S. and I laughed and replied, "Happy Birthday, T.J.*"

The Windward Model won five awards and was one of my favorite projects. Every now and then, I get the same kind of feeling when I work with a client. It's a special connection that touches my heart and soul.

*Thomas Jefferson, who lived during the time that the British Isles and colonies eventually converted to the Gregorian calendar, instructed that his tombstone bear his date of birth in the Old Style and his date of death in the New Style.^[21] At Jefferson's birth the difference was eleven days between the Julian and Gregorian calendars; thus his birthday of 2 April in the Old Style is 13 April in the New Style. (Wikipedia)

Family Room - Windward Model

Smart Designs by Libby Langdon

Libby Langdon is a designer after my one heart!

Langdon is the sweetheart of no nonsense designs. And she knows how to add details without going over the top.  "My clients don't ask for hot pink velvet chairs," she said. "I give them comfort first and add subtle touches they can live with, like contrasting welt, and pops of color that can easily be changed." Langdon exemplifies the adage I remember from design school, "form follows function."  I love her realistic designs - designs for the way real people live. Smart designs at reasonable prices.

Check it out @  http://libbylangdon.com/index.php 

Thank you, Libby. I can hardly wait 'til the groups we ordered come into Virginia Wayside Furniture. Your collection is one of my favorite things at the BEST Furniture Market ever!

THE GOLDEN RULE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE

Now that the new year is in full swing, many people are looking at the design project that has been on the back burner.

Believe it or not, some folks are afraid to work with an interior designer because they think to do so automatically equates to big bucks. I feel it is important to say that is not necessarily the case.  In fact, my experience has been that working with a designer can actually save you money. Who does not want to do that?

For instance, my client thought they could only use a sofa and chair or their Family Room would be over-crowded. What they really wanted was a sectional. When I created two floor plans* - one with the sofa/chair combo and another with a smaller configuration sectional (the kind with a corner sofa and loveseat)- they were able to "see" how much more open the room would be and how much more seating they would achieve. Mission accomplished.

Yesterday, I had a customer who wanted two recliners but needed help with pulling the right combination of fabrics together to go with other things in the room.  They were so pleased by the process and the final selection. They apologized for having such a small project.  I said, "It does not matter if the project is a small one or a mac-mansion, I have the same philosophy: to take care of my customer by the 'Golden Rule' - the same way I want to be treated."

Imagine what the world would be like if  we all lived our lives by the Golden Rule, if we all treated other people the way we want to be treated.

*If you want a great tool/app for creating a floor plan, I highly recommend "LivingSpaces" by ICOVIA - see image above. It is easy and fun to work with! However, if you are still challenged with figuring out what floor plan works best for you, contact me. I will be glad to help you create the room or home of your dreams.

And the winner is (I hope) Designer Kookies from a Designing Woman

As a lark, I entered my famous - at least at Virginia Wayside - Kookies in the RTD Holiday Cookie Contest and guess what?  It's a finalist.  So, go on-line to register your vote at: http://richmond.upickem.net/engine/YourSubmission.aspx?contestid=112968

Okay, it's a bear submitting the form, but hang in there and help me win!

Here's a repeat of my original blog (November 19, 2012)

The principles of good design can be applied to any aspect of life - even cooking.  The perfect combination of ingredients - whether furniture & fabrics or flour & flavorings - can create a little magic in your life.

Last December, I discovered the Barefoot Contessa's Blue Cheese and Walnut Crackers and filled my kitchen & goody boxes with wondrous smells & flavors.  I also discovered a recipe for Lavender Cookies which was a disaster until I tweeked it.

Just as I like to mix styles of furniture, I found that by mixing these two recipes, I could create an "eclectic" Kookie recipe that even the Contessa would like.

The basic recipe is very simple:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

1 cup Unsalted Butter (I prefer Land of Lakes.) melted
1 cup sugar
1 cup self-rising flour
1 egg

Now, here's where you can creative!  For my Bleu Cheese & Walnut Kookies:

add 4 tablespoons  Bleu Cheese to the batter (more or less - to taste - I use less)

Spoon 1 soup spoon full of batter into a buttered muffin tin (I discovered that a piece of parchment in the bottom of the tin makes it easier to remove the Kookies.  Thanks Jacque and Julie for that tip.) Smooth the batter out in the muffin tin.

Chop walnuts (I prefer a rough cut) & top the batter with the walnuts

Cook for 15-18 minutes until the edges of the Kookies are golden brown.
Let the Kookies cool for about 10 minutes and then take them out of the muffin tin and place them on a cooling rack or, better yet, right into your mouth - don't forget to remove the parchment or you will have a little extra 'fiber' in your diet.  The Kookies will have a crunchy outer edge and a chewy inside and the buttery taste will melt in your mouth.  Enjoy!

The same basic recipe works well with other flavors.  I made Lavender Kookies, Lemon Kookies, Sesame Kookies and can hardly wait to design a new flavor.  And just like designing a home, you can also create the Kookie that's perfect for you!

Not your ordinary designer

I have known for a very long time that I had a "gift" for designing. I will never forget the day I had a vision of being a designer. I was only eleven but I knew that it is what I wanted to be when I grew up. It was not an easy path. Somehow, I jumped over every hurdle and it has been very rewarding.

Another vision beckons me these days:  to be an author. More hurdles to jump - now they are called "learning curves." My goal is different from before. I do not desire awards or glory and fanfare but rather to know that if I can write a story or stories that will touch even one person, I will be happy. To that end, I offer this little short story, which was an assignment for my writing class. I joined the group in October. In the spirit - pun intended - of Halloween, the first assignment was to write a story about a conversation among three ghosts who are buried next to each other. Since the story I am working on is about the conversations I have had with my father's ghost, this assignment was right up my alley.

This story is fiction; however, it is based on my experiences. My father was Chinese and his ghost told me about many of the things in this story - things I did not know when he was alive.  Do not be surprised if you experience goose bumps when you read it!

CHING MING

April 1990

Colma, aka The City of the Dead, south of San Francisco, CA

Sunlight broke through the fog sending rays of light onto the copper lid of the coffin. Jimmy Lei stood there as if frozen. He watched as the family left the cemetery but still he could not move.

"What a waste," he said as he looked at the elaborately carved granite double headstone and, then, at the well manicured grounds.

'Well, will you look at that?  What are the odds?" Ming Li tipped the pointed end of his fedora to the tombstones on each side of Mr. Lei's gravesite. He adjusted the handkerchief in his breast pocket so that his initials were prominent.

"I don't believe it," W. G. Fong replied.

Jimmy said, "Who are you and what . . ." he stopped before he could finish. The man on his right died on April 5; so did the man on his left. "Wait just a minute.  I died on April 5^th, Ching Ming, the day I should honor my ancestors. The last time I saw my parents was in 1931. I was a new father and widower in less than two weeks.  I had to leave my newborn son to return to America." He looked around and saw the remnants of the Ching Ming rituals, evidence that others did indeed honor their ancestors.

"What are the odds that three people buried next to each other would die on the same day? Well, I'll tell you. You have a better chance of winning the lottery," Ming, who loved to gamble, said.

Mr. Fong recognized his family's floral arrangement, the wreath with red ribbons inscribed with details about the deceased. His family, known for its beautiful calligraphy as well as its floral work, merged the Western tradition of placing flowers at a funeral with the Chinese tradition of an announcement scroll. "He must be Buddhist. See there. The words on the banner ask permission to enter into heaven and I heard a woman mumbling a Buddhist prayer as her fingers counted the beads on her mala."

"What are you talking about?" Jimmy said.

Ming said to W.G.  "He still doesn't quite get it."

"Don't be so hard on him.  You were the same, Ming."

"Don't remind me.  It's as if it were yesterday instead of fifty years ago."

"At least, you were used to this country. I wanted to go back home to die or at least to be buried. I had no one here.  In China, I had family who would honor me. I never dreamt that Huang Er, my brother's second son, would come to the States and make good with the money I left him. I was a second son also. I knew he would be neglected in favor of the number one son. I knew Huang Er had talent but I see now that he also had ambition. He turned my little florist shop into a chain of fancy shops. When he dug up my body from the old Chinese cemetery, and had it moved here, I felt like a king. I guess it paid off to leave him my small fortune."

"Old Uncle, you're too old-fashioned." Ming said. He patted the shoulder of W.G.'s mandarin jacket causing W.G.'s wispy white hair to fly up like a spider's web disturbed by an intruder.

"Yes, but it is still an honorable thing to pay respects to your ancestors, whether you are a Buddhist like him; a rice bowl Christian, like me; or an Atheist, like you. Shou Shen, brother, Shou Shen."

"Shou Shen - Filial Piety. You're talking to an orphan, W.G., but I lived my life right. I did not need a parent or customs or a church to tell me right from wrong."

"How can you be so sure you were abandoned? China was in chaos between the Japanese invasion and the fighting between Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists and Mao's Communists. Can't you find it in your heart to forgive them, Ming?"

"So, you did learn a thing or two from the Christian priests."

"Yes, but, then, why am I still here? It's now seventy years. Why didn't I go to the pearly gates?"

"W.G., I think it's something more than a coincidence - this April 5^th thing. Hey, Jimmy, what's your story? Why are you here and not in the Buddhist heaven?" Ming said pulling at his eyebrow hair that persisted on sticking out.

Jimmy looked forlorn. He tugged at the well-worn buttonhole of his favorite cardigan. "I made the preparations:  the roasted pig, the whole fish and chicken, the paper money and petitions to the guards of heaven to burn in the altar, the family blankets, and a band to ward off evil spirits. I did it all. You tell me. Why am I still here?" He knew these last minute compliances to rituals could not make up for years of neglect. He knew that he had not sent money back to China, squandering it instead on gambling, drinking and women. He shut out those words - Shou Shen - because he knew he had not paid the proper respects to his ancestors. He knew now that the ticket into heaven was not words on a piece of paper, nor dutiful submission to a long list of rituals. He knew that he would have to pay dearly for his deeds in his next life.

"I was wrong," he admitted to his new neighbors, "but I have another chance to get it right." His broad nostrils flared, making them look even broader and his eyes even smaller. He tugged at the buttonhole like a child caressing his "blankie."

"What are you talking about?" Ming asked.

"We are all still here - because we are stuck until we realize our karma. W. G., you would call it "sins." I thought I got away with my deeds. I have to accept what I did wrong and make it right. I know that now. You think it's too late but I do not think I'd be here talking with you now if it were too late."

"If there's a way to leave this place, I want to hear about it. Maybe, it's time for me to look at my life. I thought I did the right things but now I'm not so sure. It was the ultimate gamble," Ming confessed.

W.G. held his head down as he tried to hide the tears that ran down his sunken cheeks. "I went to the mission so I could eat. We were so poor.  I'd do almost anything to get some food for my family. I ate the rice in the rice bowl and I hid pieces of vegetables and meat in my clothes to take home to my family. I worked in the kitchen just so I could steal the scraps of food left on plates.

   

"I listened and pretended to pray. I tried to learn the English language. Of course, they taught it to us by reading the Bible. I wanted to learn the language so I could be a "Gold Mountain" man. After I came to America to find my gold, I discovered the truth. Gold was not everywhere as the traders told us. I worked hard and sent money home to China. I guess I learned enough about sinning to feel bad because I just could not believe in their Jesus. I was not a good Christian man but I did love my family."

Something in them changed as they shared their stories. They developed an inexplicable bond with one another.

April 5, 1991

Colma, CA

"Look, our families are coming," W.G. said. My nephew is an old man now but he looks young. He has a good family and a good heart.

"As many years as we've been here, our families never came at the same time," he said to W.G.

*********

Jimmy Lei's family passed the first tombstone. Jenny said, "Hey, guys, he died the same day as Goompa."  Lily set the basket on the ground and, then, sorted out the incense, papers, and Jimmy's favorite foods while the neighbors swept the grave sites and added fresh flowers.

"Hey, this guy over here, Mr. Wai Gauy Fong, died on April 5 also - but in 1920 - and Mr. Ming Li over there died in 1940. I bet they would have great stories to tell if we could talk with them. This is weird.  I have a feeling this is not a coincidence."

*********

"Let them figure it out, either in this life time or the next. If we can, they will also," Jimmy said to his new friends. "Are you ready to go now?"

"Where are we going?" W.G. and Ming said in unison.

"I'm not sure but I think we need to cross that arched bridge. It wasn't there before but I feel we need to go over it. Remember, the Buddha said the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

As if on queue, they took that step together.

828 dots

W

hew! I finally did it. I removed 828 dots (spaces).  It's a good thing the document was a relatively short one.  Thank goodness, I discovered this rule - it sounds like a four letter word - before I wrote many more sentences.

When did they change the rules? The one about one space between sentences instead of two. What other surprises will I discover as I learn to write a manuscript? Oh well, it doesn't really matter because whatever it takes, I'm up for the game! After all, it is not so different from learning how to become an interior designer.

I've got a story to tell and nothing is going to stop me now - not even 828 dots. Game on!