GIVEAWAY! - Custom Glass Art

I love that so many pieces of art in our home aren't generic pieces - almost everything has a special meaning or history.  This is our newest piece - by William Germain.  William works for Hallmark Cabinets and has helped me out with some incredible custom pieces and finishes for my projects, and on the side he does some amazing painting on glass.  After my ooh-ing and aah-ing over some of his work, he was kind enough to give me a painting of my own.  By painting on back of the glass, the painting has a lot more depth than a standard canvas.  And this particular paint has an amazing metallic shimmer that I just couldn't capture with my camera.


Here's the best part - William has agreed to let me give away one of his pieces!  

My giveaway is for a painting like mine, and the winner gets to choose a blue or yellow metallic background.  Overall size, with frame, is ±25" x 21"

Here's what you need to do to enter:

1. Leave a comment here on this post, to include which color you'd choose if you won - the blue or the yellow metallic background.
2. I was going to require that you "like" enzy design on facebook, but started looking online for giveaway/sweepstakes rules and it appears I can't force you to do anything, so I'll just suggest that you like me, though I promise this will not in any way affect your chances of winning.

Rules:

1. Entry comment must include items indicated above.
2. Winner must be 18 or older.
3. Winner must have shipping address in continental U.S. (which I will contact the winner for later)
4. Winner will be selected using random number generator (such as Random.org).
5. Deadline to enter is Friday, March 9.  Winner will be announced Monday, March 12.
6. Only 1 entry per person per household.

Here are other examples of William's work (taken from his facebook page):

Brizo Fashion Week - A Faucet is More than Just a Faucet

For my 2nd post following my recent Brizo Fashion Week trip (the first post being here), I want to dive into what I thought was one of the most intriguing parts of the whole trip - the design inspiration behind a faucet.  Did you ever stop think about what must go into the design of something as simple as a faucet?  It's mind-blowing! The whole process of design, engineering, marketing, etc. can take a couple years, so it's important for the design team to stay ahead of current interior design trends.  (Isn't it brilliant that they've worked closely with fashion design, since fashion often dictates future decor trends?)  While the process itself - conception, 3d mockups (they can print actual 3d faucet forms!), revisions, engineering, focus groups, etc.- is overwhelming, I was really blown away by how the designs originated.  The Brizo team looks everywhere for inspiration, and once you hear the origin of each faucet concept, you look at it in a completely different way.  I want to highlight a few of my favorites using various images I found online:

Vuelo -  Spanish for "flight", the Vuelo is "Inspired by the elegance of a gliding swan"

(image source)

Virage -  Virage is French for "twist".  “The Virage collection was inspired by the beautiful iron work we found throughout Europe. It was everywhere – gates, balconies and door hardware – and it was stunning,” - Judd Lord, Director of industrial design for Brizo

photo via akhnatonsjournal

image source unknown

RSVP - "Drawing on the influences of Art Nouveau, RSVP features a sensual design that follows the curves of a woman’s silhouette."

images by Rene Gruau, an Art Nouveau style fashion illustrator.  "Gruau’s women are glamour and high-society, femininity and sensuality" - swingfashionista

Belo - Portuguese for "beautiful", inspired by Nambe vases

(image source)

(image source)

Talo (with SmartTouch) - Inspired by a bluebell flower

(image source)

Baliza - "means 'beacon' in Portuguese, and as its name suggests, the clean, simple lines of the collection were inspired by lighthouses and their iconic nautical beacons."

(image source)

And, how cool is this?  The Baliza kitchen faucet has a coordinating towel hook accessory, so you can hang your wet dishcloths / towels over the sink without draping them over the neck of the faucet!

Floriano - I have to throw in the Floriano, even though we didn't discuss this one at Fashion Week, it is the first faucet I ever bought for myself, so it will always hold a special place in my heart.

(image source)

Floriano - a wilted tulip

After learning all of this, you'll never think of a faucet as just a faucet.  It's a work of art.

(All faucet images courtesy of brizo)

Brizo Fashion Week - Location Location Location

As you all know, I recently attended Brizo Fashion Week, courtesy of Brizo Faucets.  Over a week later, myself, as well as the other 18 bloggers that composed the "Blogger19" are still talking about how amazing this trip was.  

I'll be spending some time this week (and next) highlighting various parts of the trip, starting with:

1.  Location

The Eventi Hotel, just a couple blocks from the Empire State Building, was perfect!

My room:

waking up to this view every morning was breathtaking

gotta love Carerra marble!

beautiful door hardware

 

green wallpaper in closet (and wild robes!)

reading light

another great light fixture

Around the hotel:

our meeting room (isn't the ceiling fantastic?)

outdoor area, as seen from Bar Basque (TV screen played random images or whatever big NY sports game might be on)

great details like light fixtures and wallpaper

 

 

See more about the hotel on some fellow Blogger 19 blogs: 

• Material Girls 
• Stagetecture 
• BluLabelBungalow 
• SingleBubblePop

The LeMans - My Secret Ingredient

detail photo from this kitchen remodel

I've been working on a more in-depth post about my recent trip to NYC for Brizo Fashion Week, but in the mean time, I wanted to share one of my favorite kitchen cabinet corner solutions - the LeMans.

I was somewhat surprised to learn that the above photo gets re-pinned on pinterest more than any other photo from my blog.  I guess people are fed up with "blind corners" (the term for these corner cabinets that involve getting on your hands & knees in order to reach way back into that abyss that things like unused wedding gifts eventually end up lost in).  

I've been using the LeMans system in kitchens for several years now, yet every time I start discussing it with a new client, I'm surprised that most of them haven't heard of it yet.  It usually takes a little bit of pushing to convince them that it's worth the price, but in the end, that's one of the things they MUST show me once I come over to see the finished project.  

Case in point:  I stopped by a project in progress yesterday and my client was excited to show me her LeMans.  I can't wait until this project is finished so I can show more photos - it's beautiful!

Usually I refer clients to this video, as seeing the LeMans in action is usually what sells them on it.

There are other corner storage options out there, but for blind corners, this is my favorite.  

What To Do with Honey Oak... When You Can't Just Rip it All Out

(UPDATE:  See After photos of the kitchen project I was working on here - we used cherry cabinets with the oak floors & trim.)

Remember way back when honey oak was all the rage, and people put it EVERYWHERE in their homes?  From flooring to cabinetry to trim... they just couldn't get enough of it.  And now, years later, these homes are being remodeled, and people want everything BUT honey oak.

I've been working with a client on a kitchen remodel that involves removing walls and opening the kitchen up to other parts of the home.  It's going to look so amazing, but since we aren't renovating the other rooms, it's important that we make sure the new kitchen fits well with the existing materials and trim elsewhere.  The existing trim is honey oak, as is the cabinetry and flooring.  The flooring will be refinished, but since the trim won't change, the flooring needs to work well with the honey finish of the trim.  And the new kitchen needs to blend.

Because of the honey oak, it's important that we keep the kitchen warm, and that we pick up on the various tones in the grain of the existing oak.  So I've proposed that we use cherry cabinetry, in a medium finish that coordinates with the darker grain of the oak, and that we use a natural finish on the floors, so they'll work with the honey finish without matching exactly.  The slideshow below is a compilation of images from houzz.com that demonstrate how you can add warmth and red tones in cabinetry, with a similarly toned wood floor, without being too monochromatic.

Click on the small circles at the bottom of the image to scroll through the slideshow:

Houzz- Kitchen Remodel, Bathroom Remodel and More»

7/11/12 Update:  We've finished the project that inspired this post.  See photos of how we addressed the honey oak challenge here.

Browse Home Office Products on Houzz- For Example:

Bulletin Board · Cable Management · Desk Accessories · Desks · Filing Cabinets And Carts · Task Chairs ·

What is Design?

"Questions about whether design is necessary or affordable are quite beside the point:  design is inevitable.  The alternative to good design is bad design, not no design at all.  Everyone makes design decisions all the time without realizing it – like Moliere’s M. Jourdain who discovered he had been speaking prose all his life – and good design is simply the result of making these decisions consciously, at the right state, and in consultation with others as the need arises."   – Douglas Martin

I'm heading to New York City for Fashion Week in a couple days, courtesy of Brizo Faucet.  Many of this year's "Blogger 19", as well as those fortunate to have been invited to this event in the past, have been addressing the relationship of faucets and fashion, since inevitably we all get that question "What do faucets have to do with fashion?" when we announce we're going to this event.  And typically the bloggers have elaborated on the relationship of fashion designer Jason Wu with Brizo to answer this, and how Jason has been able to apply his talents in both arenas.  But I'd like to go beyond fashion and faucets to discuss design in general.  

(image via brandacadabra)

design: (from Merriam Webster)

• to conceive and plan out in the mind <he designed the perfect crime>

• to have as a purpose : intend <she designed to excel in her studies>

• to devise for a specific function or end <a book designed primarily as a college textbook>

• to create, fashion, execute, or construct according to plan

What is design?  Design is EVERYWHERE!  From nature to homes to automobiles to words to graphics to clothing to common everyday items... as the quote above says, there is no such thing as "no design" - it exists in all areas, and we all do it, regardless of whether we call it a career or not.  WE ALL DESIGN.  Maybe we do it without thinking about it, or maybe we torment over it for days.  It's still design.  

So if we all do it, why are some people considered professionals in design?  Though some people are more creative than others, there's more to it than that.  Design professionals have a better understanding of the process of design, a process which is a design in itself.  I love this deconstructed sentence from ytiffanie, using a quote from John Heskett's book, "Design: A Very Short Introduction":

Yes, it's confusing, but essentially the point is that design is an idea and a process as much as it is a final product.  The final product won't be anything without the correct process in place to get there.  Good designers understand this and study this and dedicate their lives to it, regardless of what they are designing.

And that, in a nutshell, is what faucets and fashion have in common.  

(For those who think I'm not philosophical enough, there's an intriguing and much more in-depth article on the definition of design at echo enduring blog.)

DIY Sunburst Mirrors

My talented friend Rebecca (whose nursery you've seen before here) has been busy at work on her Living Room redo.  (Hopefully I'll get to post the whole room before & after once the finishing touches are done.)  Part of this redo includes an incredible sunburst mirror that SHE MADE HERSELF using wood shims!   She said she was inspired by a project she had seen online, so after seeing her mirror, I wanted to see what others had done.  It looks amazing, and cost far less than what you would spend if buying a mirror of that size from any retail store.

Here's how Rebecca did it:

Materials:

• 12" cedar shims
• Hot glue gun
• 12" wood wreath frame (from Michael's)
• Larger diameter wood frame (cut by her husband) for extra stability
• Low-gloss tongue oil
• Foam brush
• 14" round mirror (from Michael's)
• Mirror mastic
• heavy-duty hanging bracket

1. Glue the shims together with hot glue, in sections of 6, with the ends staggered.
2. Glue the sections together to form a full circle (again using hot glue).
3. Glue the 12" wood wreath frame to the back of the shim frame, using wood glue (with dabs of hot glue to help hold it in place while the wood glue dries).
4. Do the same with the larger wood frame.
5. Allow to dry (she put a lot of weight on it and let it sit flat for 24 hours).
6. Once dry, apply 2 coats of low-gloss tongue oil with a foam brush (she didn't do any sanding between coats) to bring out the natural wood tones of the cedar.
7. After the tongue oil is dry, attach the mirror to the front side of the shim frame, using mirror mastic.  (Use a lot of mirror mastic, since the shims are not even, and therefore you want to make sure there's enough mastic to fill any gaps so it still touches the surface of the mirror in as many places as possible.)
8. Again, sit flat, add weight, and allow to dry (suggested 24 hours).
9. Mount the hanging bracket on the back, and hang it on the wall.  

There are several other versions of DIY sunburst mirrors online, using wood shims, paint stir sticks, kindling, and even an old wine barrel.  Each photo has a link below to the instructions for each mirror shown.

from Girl in Air

from jandjhome

from hisugarplum

from cottage on rosewood

from ourhumbleabowed

from Addicted 2 Decorating

from perfectlyimperfectblog

from Centsational Girl