{ LA, Dallas, and Meeting Joni }

Dennis & Leen Showroom LA

Day 1 - LA We arrived to sheer Bliss - sunshine and 72 degree temperature, which was most welcome after leaving Vancouver at 8AM to darkness and the perpetual rain that makes the other 6 months of the year (May thru September) worth living here. Pick-up the rental car and hit the freeway to Santa Monica and spend a few hours at Fred Segal and walking Santa Monica Blvd before checking into our Hotel, Le Montrose, which I was happy to see is a stone's throw away from the Pacific Design Center. After a quick change we are off to see the sights: Beverly Center & Sunset Strip.

Day 2 - After getting copious directions from our Concierge we head off to the LA Mart. Only a scant one hour in traffic....relatively easy by LA standards. Heaven.

I visit the Jamie Young showroom and finally get to see these lamps in person. Heaven.

Jamie Young's most popular lamp right now

Sofa at the Kravet showroom covered in Lee Jofa Sassari Ikat

I saw a real yellow theme happening for the upcoming season. So fresh.

Python side tables on castors

Python X Benches

Then back in the car to head to the Pacific Design Center. It is now 11:00. Everything in LA revolves around the freeway and timing for traffic is crucial. I arrive at the PDC and have a scant 2 hours before I have to be back on the freeway to the Mart to pick-up my daughter. Okay now it is serious concentration and deciding what is absolutely essential to see. My first stop is Hollyhock, Susan Reinstein's store. I breathe, take it all in, am satiated...buy Albert Hadley's book: Drawings and the Design Process and 2 wonderful cast bronze planters and head off to the PDC, but first decide to stop at Nancy Corzine, Formations & Dennis and Leen. Then on to the PDC. There is so much to see that I can't do it all. So priorities: Janus et Cie, Edelman Leather, Ralph Pucci, Neirman Weeks, Donghia....and I am all out of time. That evening supper at a superb Italian restaurant sitting outside on the deck...weather warm...then on to The Grove for some power shopping.

Nancy Corzine

Traditional Moroccan carpet

Chandelier at Donghia

Janus et Cie

Ceramic Coral Lamp at Nierman Weeks

Artwork at Nierman Weeks

Day 3 - We fly to Dallas at 5:00 PM and we need to buy an extra suitcase for all our purchases at The Grove last night. Then there is time to visit the hip Kitson Botique on Robertson Blvd for some funky zebra print scarves, Sak's for a new pair of Tory Burch Randy Flats, Anne Fontaine for wonderful double color white blouses, and we walk the Rodeo Drive strip and have lunch on the sidewalk at The Luxe Hotel on Rodeo Drive before we head off to LAX. A quick lunch and a rearranging of our suitcases to accommodate all the shopping purchases. I am so excited to be going to Dallas because I will finally be meeting Joni of Cote de Texas blogging fame. I feel like I already know her through emails and reading her Blog. She is flying in from Houston and staying at the same Hotel as us. Charmaine and I arrive at our Hotel in Dallas at 10:00 PM, only to find that they have given us a room with a one Double Bed when 2 beds were requested and paid in advance two months ago. We sit in the Lobby and moan and complain while I am finally getting to meet Joni. We are all tired by now and we (my daughter is a little crusty about the mix-up). They put a roll away cot in the room and we fall into bed exhausted. But I have finally met Joni and we plan to meet up for Breakfast in the morning.


Day 4 - Breakfast with Joni and we are off to a good start. We compare what our favorite coffees are: I am a double shot Latte gal and Joni has a coffee drink that totally intrigues me - a coffee with foam on top and a shot of Vanilla. She tries my Latte and we are instant comrades. Then we head off to the Dallas Mart using the GPS Navigation lady to get us there. After a few "re-calculating" maneuvers we arrive to filled parking lots and Joni expertly lands us a parking spot by seeing someone leaving and driving them to their car and getting their spot. I am impressed!! Way to go Joni. We then register (which is another task of mammoth proportion that Joni again breezes us through like a pro) and we then proceed to maneuver our way through the Mart. We focus and develop a game plan because it is so huge and there is so much to see that you can't do it all. We visit my daughter's showroom that carries her line of greeting cards and hit some showrooms. Joni and I find that we have very similar tastes, we get excited about the same things, and it is easy to navigate through the maze of showrooms together. These are some of the things we get excited about.............

This mirror would be great on either side of a fireplace

Crystal Candlestick

Chinoiserie inspired side table

A good looking Classic Brass and marble table

We have lunch, talk, laugh, get to know each other. And I can hardly believe we are finally talking face to face. Heaven. We both agree that this would make a great little chair in a Bedroom

A Ruthie Summers look alike chair

We go back to the Hotel with the GPS Lady navigating...by this time we are having conversations with her like she is the annoying but lovable "back seat driver". We rest up and Joni and I get our second wind and sit on the bed in her room like teenagers talking and surfing the Internet and Blogs on her laptop. Heaven. It is 1:30 AM and we can't stop talking.

Day 5 - Our last day in Dallas. We decide to visit the Highland Village Mall and do some fun browsing. Joni's daughter Elizabeth has just gotten her report card and has done quite well and Mom wants to buy her a gift at Tory Burch and my daughter loves Tory Burch, so we have a consensus.....Tory Burch it is. We tell our GPS Lady where we want to go, but unbeknowst to her there is major construction on the road we need to use, so after "re-calculating" and driving in circles, Joni takes the upper hand and ignores the GPS and gets us there on her own. Joni and I end up falling in love with the same scarf at Tory and we each buy the same one (now we are true girlfriends).

Joni at Troy Burch with her purchases...That is yellow scarf that we both had to have!!!

We have an absolute ball at this store. It is fun, colorful, trendy and the staff are so great. We have just a few minutes left before we need to head to the airport and for the finale we head over to Anne Fontaine and again we each buy the same white shirt and find out that we also have the same tastes in clothes. We are not wanting our time together to end, but alas all good things end and we say our farewells and I get Joni to promise me that she will think about a trip to Paris together.....soon, very soon!!!!!!!!!!!!
To be continued in Paris.

Okay, Joni has also done a post on our meeting....go to her Blog to read it.

LA Pacific Design Center & Dallas Market Center

I'm off to LA & Dallas this week. Three days in LA. I am planning to go to the Pacific Design Center and visit various showrooms in the adjacent area. Then to Dallas for the Market for two days. In Dallas I am going to meet up with Joni of Cote de Texas fame. We have never met in person....

I, of course, will take loads of pictures and notes to share with you when I return.

And for the International readers of my Blog I have added a translator in my Side Bar to make it easier for you to read my Blog in your native language. Let me know how you like it. I was inspired by the Blog Perfect Bound to add this Google Widget. It is easy to do. Click on the link under the box that says Gadgets and Google will walk you through it.

Felicity from All things Bright and Beautiful has just started a great new series of posts for people new to blogging. Where to store photos, how to insert different fonts, code - you name it she wants to share the knowledge. Send tips or questions her way to improve your blog's look and make your blogging life so much easier. You can also check out some great tips for New Bloggers (and it can also benefit those of us who have been blogging for awhile) at a site called Pro Blogger.

I'll be back posting next week.

Happy Weekend

Go ahead and have a little fun this weekend and indulge yourself in a little temptation.....sleep-in, have that favourite dessert and/or glass of really good French wine, get a massage or give a massage, have a bubble bath, how about that new pair of shoes you have been dreaming about (the new Tory Burch 'Randy" flat), have your make-up done, plan your next vacation, make a wonderful pancake breakfast on Sunday morning, indulge in catching up on reading your favourite magazines, call a friend you haven't talked to in awhile, tell your Mom you love her.......have a great indulgent weekend!!!!!

Kitchen Design

Here are two examples of kitchens designed with no overhead cabinets. This concept makes the kitchen a focal point and gives it a clean contemporary feel.The picture above has open shelves for "artful" display of dishes.
Photography Eric Piasecki
This is a kitchen I designed with no overhead cabinets. The pantry is to the left in the picture. The slab of granite behind the cooktop is like a beautiful piece of natural artwork.
Patricia Gray Inc.
Click here to see more pictures of this home.
Click here to see a related post.
Click here to see more posts on my Interior Design.

Artful Display Kitchen Shelves and Pantries

Over the holidays I had some time to catch up on my reading. One book that I was anxious to read (especially because of the beautiful bookcase on the cover) was Briger + Briger. I love their approach to design which is very luxurious but very livable at the same time. I was particularly struck with their kitchen designs and the way that there are no over head cabinets. Instead dishes are displayed artfully. I also find it very user friendly, as you can see at a glance where everything is. Now I have a few caveats to add: #1 you need to have a uniform set of dishes to make this into an "artful" display #2 preferably the dishes should be white to make it look great.

March 6 2008 Post Note: Paul Briger was good enough to comment on this post (click here to see his comment) He disagrees and adds: "the most important key to success in open stacking is the orderliness of the stacking, not the color(s) used. "
I like the uses of the bold, horizontal-stripes on the walls in the Breakfast Room. It adds width and interest to an otherwise narrow space. The dishes are set with an order that makes the utilitarian shelves especially attractive. The orderly placement of objects no matter how grand or insignificant can produce an aesthetically pleasing display.

The picture above and below is a pantry that leads to service stairs. which in turn ascend to the pool level. A plant stand holds a variety of potted fresh herbs for the kitchen.

A view of the kitchen that goes with the above 2 photos showing the door to the Pool level. This kitchen is compact, functional, and pleasing to the eye. It suggests that in this house much attention is paid to the preparation of meals.

The above picture is a walk-in pantry off of the kitchen with a library ladder to reach the upper shelves. Bottles are nicely stored in the baskets on the floor (see close-up below). I also like the way the cookbooks are displayed on shelves that float on the wall allowing the books to be stacked horizontally. Everything is visable and easy to find. No opening and closing several door to find what you are looking for

Green Design - Chimo Fireplace

I love the design and practicality of this new invention for the fireplace. It is the Chimo Fireplace by Floz Design for Blomus, and is a flue-less, chimney-less, instant atmosphere provider that burns nice, green Ethanol. It mounts directly on the wall like a picture frame and effortlessly blends form and function in a simple and unique way that requires little set up and no chimney. This means that any room of your house can now easily accommodate the comfort and pleasure of a beautifully designed and functional fireplace. I have not had the opportunity to use this particular product in any of my Design projects, but I have used a fireplace designed by Eco Smart, a company out of Australia that burns Ethanol.

This rotating, stand alone model will add all the extra sizzle a bedroom or living labyrinth might require.

As seen in the New York Times and on HGTV Blomus' indoor fireplace is a breakthrough in indoor ambiance and Green Design. It installs in minutes by mounting on any wall in your home, with no need for a chimney, gas line or professional installation. Simply mount to the wall, fill the reservoir, light it up and enjoy.The secret is that the flame is generated from Ethanol which is a safe, clean burning fuel that is completely organic and made from renewable resources like corn, potatoes, wheat and other vegetables. Furthermore, Ethanol is Green since it is not a fossil-fuel and burning it does not increase the Greenhouse effect like other fuels. This product is made in Germany.

Emergency Essentials

Warning: This post has no pretty pictures but it could save your life.

This is the new book by Colin Cowie, legendary lifestyle expert. It is an immensely practical handbook and offers step-by-step instructions on everything from how to make a gracious home to fearless entertaining. But the most important thing I gained from Colin's book was his list of Emergency Essentials on Page 66. It is a list of essentials to have on hand in the event of a disaster. If you are like me, who always thinks that it is a good idea to be prepared and then put it on the back burner to do "later".....well there is no time like the present to be prepared. This list is now my top priority, not because I think that we have a disaster looming in the near future, but as a practical and necessary preparatory pre-caution we can take for ourselves, our family and loved ones.

Step 1 - Click on image to enlarge to a readable size.

Step 2 - Print this out and do everything on the list!!!