Not the $2000 Mirror

A few days ago, I received about six pounds of Restoration Hardware catalogues in the mail. Over the years, as a designer, I've purchased a number of items there. Not much of late. You remember the economic downturn? It definitely put a crimp in my Restoration Hardware budget.

But, I digress. So, I was leafing through the biggest of the three catalogues when I stopped. Whoa, that mirror looks kindah familiar. Mmmm, where have I seen it? OMG ~ it's my bathroom mirror ~ the one I bought a thousand years ago at Deluxe Junk in Fremont for a coupla hundred dollars.

Holy cow! The Restoration Hardware mirror is $2595. OK, OK, it's on sale for $2119. But, still not even in the same county as free.

 

Let's see ~ the same beautiful shape; the same polka-dotty edge banding; the same deep bevel. Mine is slightly smaller than the Restoration Hardware gem ~ about 10 inches shorter but still a complete showstopper. Oh, and mine did meet with what I would affectionately call an industrial accident when it was taken down to access the plumbing in the wall behind it and got knocked over by wrestling cats, but, other than that ~ bingo. A match. And, as I recall, about $1800 less than the Restoration Hardware beauty.

The lesson really is ~ keep your eyes open. If you do, you are likely to find a gem ~ they are out there.

Oh, and the little pink button tucked into the edge of the mirror? One day during my campaign for Congress (that's a story in itself), my campaign manager came in, walked over and never saying a word, pinned it on my lapel. I've had it every since. It's good to remind yourself every day how special you are in the universe. It's easy to forget.

Day 12 Everyday Grateful ~ spent the day on the lake

working on my video for Kickstarter.  

Happy!

Such a lovely, lovely day.

Just got back from running errands with Ramses.

He likes to hang his head out the window.

Everything is so bright and fresh.

And, I came home to this.

I live in Paradise.

Day 7 Everyday Grateful ~ Seeing my life as a garden ~ blooming.

Brimming with optimism. I am so deeply grateful.

 

Spring in Seattle

What a lovely morning. I'm getting ready to go my friend, Barb's house for Easter brunch, but I just had to take a walk in the garden again this morning.

Last fall, when I bought forty pounds (or, was it eighty? I forget. Anyway, it was a lot!) of King Alfred daffodils, I imagined how wonderful the pots would look in the spring. As I've said before, planting bulbs shows faith in the future.

Now, we are seeing the results of that crazy idea. It's a daffodil riot outside. And, best of all they are just starting to open their heads. I love the way they respond to the sigh of the wind as it moves through the garden. 

Atmospheric. Transcendent. Hopeful. Beautiful.

My friend, Karen's husband Ron came by yesterday. He's the pressure washing king. He got all the Seattle winter moss and slime off the back deck. We are now ready for breakfast and dinner over looking the back yard.












I love this time of year. Each day, we are gathering light. The ground is warming. The energy of returning life is everywhere.

This next week, let's chat about garden art.

Happy Easter

Day 4 Everyday Grateful ~ a long, laugh-filled phone call

from The Bear.

In Praise of Brandy in the Library

It's raining in Seattle today. Fancy that! I just got back from taking Ramses out for a walk so he could "leave his card" around the neighborhood. He likes showing the other dogs who the "Big Dog" is. It makes him chuckle. I think it has to do with how high up the tree trunk or fence post he can reach or something.

Walking back to the house, the rain has let up and the sunset sky is the loveliest honey/wheat colour along the horizon. So beautiful.

The perfect weather and time of day to sit in the library, put my feet up and read a book.

I love reading. My mother was an antiquarian bookseller. I learned all the book rules from her: never bend the pages to mark your place (that's what bookmarks are for), never lay it open face down (it breaks its back), never remove the illustrations (100% barbarian action). In general, treat books as the treasures they are. Having been raised by a book zealot, I've never understood books as decoration. I also don't understand when I go to someone's home and there are no books. I think it's kindah weird.

When I was a young designer, I was chatting with a friend about a meeting I had with an iconic Seattle interior designer at a reception for Jack Lenor Larsen. Everything about the reception was breath-taking. The meeting with the Iconic Seattle Interior Designer? Not so much.

I waxed poetic about how important it is for established designers to be cordial to new designers. I guess my friend could tell my feelings got hurt. To cheer me up, he started telling me stories about her. I laughed at the industry tales about the aforementioned I*S*I*D; how she terrorized clients, vendors and architects, alike. My friend said his favourite was the time the I*S*I*D designed utterly beautiful bookcases that cost the earth for a very affluent client. The I*S*I*D was famous for bowling people over; sort of like "the light switch stays, everything else goes" with a sweep of the hand. Anyway, the very expensive custom cabinet maker had just finished the installation when the aforementioned I*S*I*D swanned into the room.

"How do you like it," she asked (not really caring about the answer.)

"Ehem, well," they stammered. "They really are beautiful, but . . . ah, well, Jean, we, ah, well, we really don't read."

"Stay right there. I'll be right back," she said. Never one to be deterred, the I*S*I*D immediately got into her car and drove directly to Goodwill and bought enough books by the pound to fill a library. In fact, that library . . .  

God, we laughed our hair off!

Every time I go into a person's real library, I'm reminded of the glory of books, the importance of useless knowledge, the usefulness of important knowledge, and, the importance of the written word. Every day we see the truth of the old adage ~ "The pen is mightier than the sword." Even in the age of twitter and linkedin, when we read about what is happening around the world in real time, we see how the strength of ideas binds people together.

I'm going to celebrate. Hot cocoa and brandy in the library tonight. Like shining the silver and ironing the linen napkins, one of the other things that keeps civilization together.

Hie Thee to The Salvage Yard

Going to the salvage yard is not for the faint of heart.

I, of course, find it thrilling and exhilarating. It feels like the cross between a scavenger hunt and a treasure hunt ~ of course, with less alcohol and no scuba gear. Generally though, it's not the place to wear your Manolo Blahniks.

In Seattle, my salvage yards of choice are Second Use and Earthwise. Over the years, in my trips to these salvage yards, I've bought tens of thousands of dollars of items for my clients.

Once, I made the mistake of taking a client to Earthwise and she spent the entire time recoiling from the dusty items as we went through what passed for aisles. Of course, we did find amazing things, but, even now, she shudders when we chat about our "field trip" which she characterized as a day spent rummaging through grimy merchandise covered with germs the size of golf balls! 

The thing about shopping at a salvage yard is to think in terms of "how can I use this differently?" Pay attention to the design elements of the item you are considering.

The people who work in salvage are really interesting. They have a tale to tell about everything they have. I love hearing the stories behind an item. For example, in the "school of thought" that says, "it's an ill wind that doesn't blow somebody good," we had an earthquake in Seattle and the wonderful glazed Terra Cotta tile cornice from West Seattle High School became a hazard and needed to be removed. When I arrived at Second Use, they had several palettes in the yard full of these fantastic tile cornices. The problem was ~ where to use them?

I didn't have anything on the boards when I saw these amazing tiles, but, I bought several of them anyway knowing if I didn't, when I needed them they wouldn't be available. That's the key to salvage ~ when you see it, buy it. It's not like buying at Lowe's or Home Depot where they can order more if you need it. When you are dealing with salvage ~ if you see it, buy it. When it's gone, it's gone.

I decided to use the West Seattle High School cornice pieces on a rather plain vanilla Mid-Century project. A project that could really benefit from a little zing. When it was done, it was the thing that set this plain vanilla house apart from its neighbor. It wasn't so fantastic as to be out of place, but, it was a remarkable answer to what could have been a very serious design problem ~ being boring.

In this project, I embraced a design convention that says ~ for strength and interest, repeat the element. Keeping that repetition in mind, the cornice tiles became the step into the spa, the hearth in the living room and the plinth around the yard lantern.

Using the West Seattle High School Terra Cotta tile cornice pieces provided a handsome solution to what could have been an otherwise ordinary house.

The moral of the story is ~ when you need that one-of-a-kind item to make your project soar, hie thee to the salvage yard.

Baby Bunnies Redux

One of my dearest friends, Zenith McManigal, AIA, is not only a architectural boy genius but also the funniest man alive. So, I sent him the link to the tale of the bunnies in my back yard and got this:

In a message dated 3/14/2012 6:23:48 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, Zen writes:

Cute!! Dear! You have such a Northwest Trek over there! All we have are raccoons & stupid coyotes that make us fear for the safety of our little Toy Fox Terrier Tula (Finley the border collie is big enough to fend for herself, as is Ramses).

Z

From Heidi ~ Sent: Wed, Mar 14, 2012 6:35 pm:

Hi Dear ~

Well, I did have a moments fright when I thought they were baby rats! Not that I would have done anything other than what I did but I did shudder. Northwest Trek, indeed. Last summer, I saw a couple (that's two, mind you) coyotes walking side-by-side bold as brass up the street chatting about life in the suburbs. Not a care in the world.

Did you like all the moss and black slime covering my pots, bench, and limestone in my photos? I like to think it's atmospheric and not a filthy disgusting mess. Which reminds me of the old Dennis the Menace cartoon. Dennis' parents on either side of the restaurant table with Dennis in the middle looking out of the panel. The caption ~ "I don't call it romantic. I call it dark." One person's atmospheric is another's filthy disgusting mess. Go figure.

H

From Zen ~ 3/14/2012 7:04:51 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time:

I prefer to think of it as having a rich yet bohemian-like earthiness........much like the patina on the bronze bells of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, or the rich sediment at the bottom of a bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild.....I'm thinking a '61........

Z

The Grace Note ~ Using Architectural Salvage

In music, a Grace Note is a small embellishment. It adds dissonance to a harmony. In interiors, a Grace Note adds depth of detail and visual interest. It adds spice.

Vintage feature tile tucked
into a small corner. Spice!

Over the last 20 years, the focus of my business has been Historic Restoration. The key to the success of a project is almost always dependent on the sensitive use of architectural salvage. When you purchase pieces from a salvage yard, you are not only keeping construction materials out of landfills but you are also bringing history to life. Many articles would cost the earth if you were able to purchase them today.

A 250 year old Danish door front,
nickel vintage torches,
a canvas awning
make for an inviting entry.

For the client who appreciates the past, working with architectural salvage is the Grace Note that adds spice!

When even the most expensive interiors feel like you've seen it all before, including vintage architectural elements in the mix lifts it into the realm of extraordinary. That "one of a kind" aspect really appeals to me. While less may be more, interiors that reflect the style, ideas and concerns of the client ultimately turn into space of distinction and character.

Small marble angel found
broken now part of an
extraordinary door bell.

Vintage iron window grate
now the face of a
lovely Juliete balcony

Who doesn't need a very cool exit sign?