shesaid.shesaid.
Hilari's show is cancelled...

The hostess with the mostess isn’t invited to the party. HGTV will not be producing Hilari’s show.

As I watched this week’s Design Star, I thought to myself, “I wonder who is going home? Danielle or Brittany?” It never occurred to me that it would be Hilari. She was engaging, personable, entertaining and created rooms that were equally full of personality. The judges complained about her lack of design content in her camera spots. I’m confused. She said she was adding the decorative wooden elements to add architectural detail to the room – that seems like designer talk to me. I thought she should of won based on her addition to the front door alone.

I am chalking the decision up to editing. There must be more to the story that is sitting on the cutting room floor as to why Hilari is gone.

That being said, Danielle and Brittany are both skilled designers and the finally should be interesting to watch.

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I can’t believe they cancelled Hilari Younger’s show. There are only 2 reasons I can fathom why:

1. She talks a lot, but never says anything.
2. Haters! Clearly, Vern and Genevieve are threatened by her.

The first may be the reason I like her so much. She is fun to watch. Her rooms are beautiful. At times, even a fantasy. In my opinion, that’s exactly what HGTV needs. Let’s not do another show chalked full of practical tips like “make an old piece new again with a fresh coat of paint”.  Let’s freshen up HGTV with a new coat of paint – the paint color being “Haute Hiliari”.

she said.she said. 

This week, open shelves in the kitchen

For several years now open shelving in the kitchen has been widely used in all the shelter magazines, tv shows and blogs. I have to say, I don’t get it. The kitchen is the most difficult room in the house to keep clean.

• food

• household dust

• grease

• condensation from hot water

You combine any two of those items and you have a substance that will survive a nuclear war. 

Be honest, when you have to change the light bulb in the kitchen and you grab the fixture isn’t your first response “UGH! Why is this so sticky?!” What do you think every item on the open shelf is going to feel like? 

If space is tight, edit your belongings. If you want to display a special collection, glass front cabinets are a better option. If you insist on following after an unworthy trend at least put the shelves as far away from the sink and stove as possible. 

I have a difficult time abiding by any decorating choice that just creates more work. The best design is suppose to make your life easier not your chore list longer.

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What did the kitchen cabinet say to the open shelf? "I said tapas, not topless!" 

A bad joke for a bad idea - open shelving in your kitchen. If you wouldn't go topless in your kitchen, neither should your dishes. 

For me, open shelving in a kitchen is like the five second rule for your floor. Okay, so maybe it's 15 seconds, but it still exists. If you think the five (or 15) second rule isn't true, watch recent MythBuster episode. 

Sure they are beautiful, open up the space, and make dishes an arm distance away. The last point is the bone of my contention. If your dishes are just an arm's length away from you, then they are also arms distance from the grease and grime of everyday use. 

However, there are three exceptions to when open shelving is acceptable:

1. You sell them for a living

2. Your spouse sells them for a living

3. Nope, now that I think about it there are only two

Take my advice, if you want an open feeling in your kitchen, use glass front cabinets, keep the a light color, and add under cabinet lighting. Fair warning, if you don't heed my advice, I'll keep telling jokes. 

Sure this is beautiful, but I'm not drinking
out of those glasses.

This is Drew Barrymore's kitchen.
Perhaps she has someone who cleans her
dishes everyday.

 

 

 

she said.she said. 

This week, toilet paper...roll over or under? 

When it was suggested we should express our opinion on whether the toilet paper should roll over or under, I thought ‘What’s to discuss? It obviously should roll over!’ I feel so strongly about this I can’t even argue it because the answer is so common sense. In fact, I cannot think of one logical reason someone would want the t.p. to roll under and I have tried. Here are a few of the benefits of the top roll over:

• Easier to find the end 
• Less likely to keep rolling and then touch the ground
• You can fold it into a fancy triangle like the nicer hotels do
• Under makes you hit your knuckles on the wall 
• Most patterns are printed so they read better if the paper rolls over (see even the manufacturers know the paper should roll over) 
• Lastly, I will repeat reason # 1 because it is a deal breaker for me: easier to find the end.

That’s my opinion – it ought to be yours.

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Over and out!

she said.she said. 
This week, reproduction furniture...go!

Social stratification may be relevant to sociologists but should have no impact on good design and who has access to it.

It does not take money to recognize the beauty of a leather chesterfield or a mid-century designed dining chair. However, it does seem to take money to own one.

For someone with a good eye for highly designed furniture but not the bank to support it reproductions are a good alternative.

Just know that a reproduction will give you the feel but not the quality. An authentic Saarinen table will run thousands of dollars and will basically outlive you. However, for less than two hundred dollars you can get a tulip inspired table from mass marketer Ikea.

For those that think reproductions somehow rob the originals of revenue – chillax. There is a place in the market for both. There will always be people who only buy names. For them, reproduction is like a four letter word.  The allure of the knock off always comes down to price. Most people, when given the choice, would always choose authentic over reproduction as long as they can afford it. In a recession sensitive era it is dangerous to encourage people to live outside of their means. Buy what you like and buy what you can afford.

SIDE NOTE: It does seem ironic that the Eameses designed their molded plastic armchair in 1948 for entry in an International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture yet current production of their furniture seems out of reach of the average wallet. 
I tried to find what one of the Eameses Eiffel plastic chairs would of cost in 1950 and found NO information. I did run across this one blurb, not about an Eames chair but a fellow mid century designer…

ChristopherB is spot on about current prices vs. what they were in the actual mid-century, even adjusted for inflation. My mother and my aunt bought my grandparents a Harry Bertoia Bird chair (with ottoman) in 1968 for $90. If you use the government's own inflation calculator, $90 in 1968 would mean roughly $550 in today's dollars. Certainly not the $3,000 price tag it fetches in stores like Hive.

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Before opining the pluses and pitfalls of reproductions, a little research was in order. I started with “hallway research” with the husband. When asked to render an opinion on reproductions, he replied, “Well, when a man and women truly love each other…”

“Wait! Stop”. First pitfall discovered.

This is a post about reproduction furniture. Everyone clear? Good.

Let’s visit a more predictable research source, the Google box.

In general terms, I think reproduction furniture is fine. After all, most of us will never be able to afford or even find originals. Reproductions put good design in the hands and homes of the masses. It’s a democratization of sorts. 
 

Of course, the term reproduction is broadly applied in the above context.  To be more specific, the second pitfall is determining the line between inspiration and imitation.

How does one solve for the difference between design as homage versus knockoff?  I thought the answer would be elusive. Not so. After a few minutes of focused efforts on the Google box – and a few hours of misguided tangents – it really comes down to authenticity.

It’s authenticity on two fronts – provenance and lifestyle.

On the first front, a piece is either an original or its not. Presenting it as otherwise is a lie and, if you’re selling the piece, is stealing from the original creator.

To the latter, what is authentic to you – your life, your home, your happiness? A finished room is one you’re happy in. For some that means Ikea. For others, Crate and Barrel. And for still some, Knoll and Design Within Reach.

My recommendation, define your brand of authenticity and you’ll be well on your way to a finished room.

she said.she said. 
This week, animal print...go!

Austin Powers said it best, “Grrrrr, baby!“

I’m definitely pro. Animal print is classic, sophisticated, and sassy all at the same time. It’s the original “bring the outdoors in” organic element that when done right is very grown-up.

Note the “done right”. Yes, that means there’s a but coming. To quote an equally great man, Mies van der Rohe, “less is more”.

Now don’t translate doing more with less a demure sentence for animal prints. It can still play a big role in a room. It is great as a star – think leopard carpet lining ebony stained stairs – or just a supporting role – think animal hide pillows against a feminine print – but it shouldn’t be a one-man show.

Good design includes juxtaposition. That could be pattern, texture, color, or all of the above. Without it a design is one-note and even a joke.

Best illustration – the Jungle Room at Graceland.

Elvis Presley had the voice, the hips, and a proper love for his momma, but his talents didn’t extend to grounds of Graceland. Granted, the mansion was decorated and departed in the 70’s which was at best a mixed-bag decade of design success. That exception noted, thematic rooms should be left to those still in single digits. And if the theme is a jungle one, then it should be reported as cruelty to animals...and the rest of us.

My recommendation, if your finished room is floor to ceiling cheetah print, it is time to refinish it. 

Jungle Room at Graceland, home of Elvis Presley

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I feel about animal prints the same way I feel about fudge: I can take it or leave it. I don’t necessarily crave it but I don’t mind it once in front of me. 

Animal prints are also like fudge in that a little goes a long way. 

Fudge has a bold flavor. It would be near impossible to eat an entire 9 x 13 pan of fudge, you would have a belly ache. In the same vein, animal print is visually bold. If every fabric in a room is some type of animal print, it would make you visually sick. A hide rug or an animal print pillow can bring an element of the exotic to an interior without overwhelming the palette.

Lastly, there are good fudge recipes and then there are the shortcut, use a microwave or low fat ingredients fudge recipes. Similarly, there are beautiful animal prints and there are too tacky for words animal prints. I am all in favor of faux furs and it is okay to be synthetic but not okay to look synthetic. If you do not want the real McCoy, look for animal prints that do a good job of replicating the real thing or look for a quality fabric, such as linen, that uses the animal pattern for a graphic punch.

That’s my opinion, it ought to be yours.