Other Side of the Story

I'm a little late on this, but this is kind of, sort of a milestone for me, so I thought I'd post it. The showhouse my firm was involved in earlier this month got a writeup in The Commercial Appeal, and even though it wasn't me who was interviewed, my name was in the story as one of the designers who did the room.

Just kind of weird to be mentioned in a story instead of in the byline.

So here is the story, and in it are a couple pics of the room we did that ran with the article. I'll paste one of them with the post. Doing the showhouse was fun, by the way. Lots of work, but a great experience. Here's a link to the article:

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/apr/09/restored-to-glory/

Split Focus

Wow, is that ever the truth. These days, I don't really know what my job title is - I have so many. Four days a week, I'm a designer. That fifth day, thanks to the awesome flexibility granted me by my day-job employer, I'm a journalist. Then every day, I'm a mommy. And a wife. And a terribly un-domestic goddess. On the side, I'm a writer. Yes, that's different from a journalist.

And I'm a terribly intermittent blogger.

Is anybody out there actually reading this? If so, I'm very sorry about that terribly intermittent part. Anyway, there is a point to this. I've decided that since I am, in fact, a writer as well as a designer, I'm going to split the focus of my blog. I'll write a new tagline soon, but from now on, DesignInsider is going to be as much about writing - particularly writing about design - as it is about design itself. I'll post links to all my stories and ramble on here about the writing I'm doing. I'll still post cool new products and stuff whenever inspiration hits. I'll even, once in a while, post pics that I actually took or acquired legitimately.

Starting now. Here's a pic taken by a source I met a few months back during an interview about the house it was taken in. Me with a reporter's notebook in hand. Kind of sums it up perfectly, right?

Gearing Up for a Showhouse

Our firm recently signed on as one of several designers/design teams transforming rooms in Carrier Hall in the Central Gardens Neighborhood for the 2010 Decorators' Show House benefitting the Brooks Museum League.

The house is, well, WOW. It's basically an English Tudor mansion, built in the 1920s. It's one of many, many structures in Memphis on the National Register of Historic Places. The period details are incredible, as are the tastefully accomplished updates that make the house functional for the 21st century.

And therein lies our challenge. Because what room did we choose to tackle in this monstrous, gorgeous house? The ballroom. Yes, ballroom. It's enormous. Cavernous. Beautiful. Scary.

Scary because modern-day houses don't have ballrooms. Modern-day families don't host balls. We host gatherings, sure. We host parties. In fact, we love to entertain. So our task in approaching this roughly 30' x 40' space was to bring this antiquated space into the current millennium. We wanted the room to reflect the diverse entertainment needs of a family in 2010. That means making the most of its wide open spaces by creating distinct areas designed for different activities.

The ornate, original fireplace topped by elaborately carved wood panels will be the backdrop for a cozy conversation grouping. A pretty little nook surrounded by spectacular leaded glass windows will house another seating area and also serve as a conservatory of sorts, urns filled with greenery topping the benches that surround it.

Another nook provides a great spot for a beautiful antique table and four contrastingly modern upholstered chairs. This area could just as easily be used for game-playing or puzzle constructing as for a casual dinner. Yet another nook, this one containing a built-in platform we instantly saw as a "stage" is the ideal setting for a mahogany grand piano generously loaned to us for the project by Amro Music. A small seating area offers a perch for impromptu concerts. There's even a spot for homework or household paperwork - an antique desk provided by Palladio, our partner on the project, that backs up to one of three sofas.

The room, when we're finished with it, will be a "family room" on a grand scale. A space that will accommodate a party of 50 as easily and comfortably as an intimate conversation between two people or a casual night at home for the family. The key word here, and our goal, is to make it "livable."

And, seriously - whoever gets to live here is soooooo lucky.

Kitchens on a Budget???

OK, so I was tasked recently with a story for The Commercial Appeal on kitchen design, and in these days of economic hardship, people don't want to read about jillion-dollar fancy cabinets, higher than high-end natural stone countertops, etc., etc. So the story subject was "5 Things You Can Do to Update Your Kitchen Without Breaking the Bank."

Not an easy topic, for sure. Even INexpensive kitchen renovations are expensive, and the best way to update your kitchen on a budget is to PLAN properly. If you have an outdated kitchen (like mine), the worst thing you can do is take a piecemeal approach. The article digs into this by way of my fantastic, expert sources (thanks Karen Kassen, Mike Donovan, Leah Fors) who pointed out things the rest of us aren't likely to think of. A few bits of their insight:

• Cabinet refacing seems like a great idea on the surface because it's cheaper than replacing. BUT it's still expensive, and if you aren't 100% happy with the configuration and storage space of your current cabinets, you will spend a lot of money to STILL not be 100% happy.


• Newer appliances don't necessarily fit into spaces left by older cabinetry, and retrofitting can be expensive and a real pain.


• Seemingly small, innocent projects like replacing flooring can be troublesome later on if you "tile in" your old appliances or cabinetry - you'll just have to rip that new floor right out to make way for the other new stuff. Same goes with replacing countertops. If you later decide to replace cabinetry, sink or appliances, you'll be ripping those new counterops back out. Basically, starting a kitchen renovation is like opening Pandora's Box. Better to go into it with a plan and save up to do everything at once.


• Working with a professional can save you money, not necessarily cost you more. When you hire a pro, check her credentials. Look for certifications (i.e., NKBA) and ask to see references or a portfolio. And remember: It's easy to screw up a kitchen renovation on your own. Seriously.

And on the topic of refinishing. I didn't delve into this in the story because opinions are so widely diverse. Some people say you should never refinish or paint an existing set of cabinets. Others say as long as you take the right approach (which generally means hiring a pro), you can get a good look. Personally, I think it depends on your house and your needs whether refinishing will work for you. Again, refinishing isn't a good option if you're not happy with the layout or storage space of your cabinetry. And DIY refinishing isn't a good option unless you're willing to put in the research, time and effort to do it right. It's a LONG, COMPLICATED process to do it right, meaning to get a professional-quality finish that looks good and wears well. If you don't know what you're doing - trust me - it will show. Don't mean to be rude, but it's true.

OK, 'nuff said. Here's a link to the full story: http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/nov/13/kitchen-do-over/

In-House Artist

Note to self: Never post a blog entry promising you're going to blog more often. For some reason, it seems to put an opposing force in motion....

At any rate, I'm here now. And I'm so proud of my co-worker Kim Hamric, who's spending her spare time (when she's not at the gym or playing in the Memphis Kickball League) slaving over canvases in her kitchen. Her abstract works are experiments in color and texture, and she's producing them at an impressive rate. I love the palette she's working with: bright lime greens, robin's egg blues and orangey-reds.

It's hard to convey the texture and dimension of the paintings in a photo, but I asked her to send me a pic so I could share. This is a series she did on three 8" X 10" box canvases. Anybody? Anybody? Let me know what you think.

Back in Blogging Mode

Man, it has been too long since I've done a blog post. I need a feature like the "nudge" button on twitter to light a fire under my behind to get me to blog, apparently. Truth is, I've just been really, really busy in all facets of my life - work, freelance writing, home, church, travel (the pic at left offers an example of what I've been up to - it's at Serendipity 3 in NYC). So I haven't had time for anything extra.

However, this morning has been inspiring. One of my co-workers brought in a pamphlet for the 2009 ASID Design Conference in Nashville, and the CEU session topics spawned interesting discussions about how to better market our business in this economic climate. Taking advantage of the Internet is a crucial in today's world - hence the importance of blogging. I will definitely do better with maintaining this site on a weekly, if not daily, basis. I also started a twitter account for my firm - follow us at http://twitter.com/vrippee, username vrippee!

I'll be taking similar advantage of facebook soon. I use these sites personally - our firm should be using them, as well. It makes good business sense to take advantage of these great (and free!) resources to get our brand out there in these days of strained pocketbooks and intense online competition.

To Market

It has been a crazy, busy couple of weeks. Over the weekend, I went with a small crew of co-workers to Atlanta for the AmericasMart home, rug and gift market that's going on right now. More than 7 million square feet of showroom space, and man, did we have a blast! We found some new sources and spent time touring some of the sources we already use to see new products and to generally touch, sit on, handle and otherwise ogle the products we specify for clients. There is nothing like a high-rise building filled with showroom after showroom of gorgeous, high-style furniture and accessories!

While there, we stayed at the W Midtown hotel, and all I can say is W-O-W! So chic that I recommend that if you're going to check into one, dress up before you arrive. The lobby is like stepping into a party with an exclusive guest list - music pumping, lights flashing, guests stepping out of niiice cars and drinks flowing at the bar. The rooms are as chic as the lobby, and the whole place has this high-tech, very NOW kind of feel. It was phenomenal. Good times!