Paint Brush and Roll

The paint colors are applied and look great at the Indian Restaurant Project. The color palette is blue, red and gray. We choose Benjamin Moore's Brick Red, Buckland Blue, and Nightfall. These vibrant colors set the background for the colorful artwork, modern lighting, and rustic wood table tops, unifying the Monsoon identity. Tomorrow is light installation.

Tape, Texture, Plaster

Tape, texture, plaster......Elpidio and Francisco are hard at work as the construction continues on the restaurant and my design is gradually translated into reality.  We are constructing and preparing the new walls, making a great bar soffit, and niche . Next we will begin applying all the great finishes to the floors and walls.

Thanksgiving Dinnerware

Every Thanksgiving I set my table with one of my favorite China dinnerware collections, Johnson Brothers "Friendly Village." It is an iconic collection of scenes of village and country life, having been in production since 1953. What is so unique about this dinnerware  is that each place setting has a different country scene and new pieces are always being introduced to this very popular pattern, and hundreds of different pieces have been made over the years.

DECONSTRUCTION

Work is underway for the new Indian restaurant that I have been designing for the past few months. It feels so good to finally have all the conceptual details agreed upon and the real work of making the project a reality begin.  But of course, as in any remodel project before we can create it we have to deconstruct it! Some might say this is the fun part and I think my crew wasted little time getting to the business of ripping out the old.  The transformation continues……………….

My sister found an old book, Ladies Home Journal Book of Decorating, last published in 1959. Shethought I would enjoy it and sent it to me. When I first thumbed through thepages a few months ago, I thought it amusing as I looked at the images of whatappeared to be outdated room design. Yet, today, as I carefully read the pages,I realized that classic design never becomes outdated. Indeed, if I compared imagesin the book with any of the current design magazines filling my shelves, Icould easily find similar rooms. 

The advice in the book still holds true as well, start withthe flooring, have fun with textiles, don’t be afraid of bold and exciting color,and the right lighting is essential. But, one bit of advice that I did not find relevant! “…the glass ash tray in your casual room will be quite differentfrom the one in your formal room.” Too funny!!

I submitted my first set of drawings to a buildingdepartment and they were approved on the first round. This seems like a smallthing to those seasoned designers, but I was excited. I guess it is just one ofthose rights of passage that you cross. Just in case you don’t know what a buildingpermit is - a permit is required in most jurisdictions for new construction, or adding on to pre-existingstructures, and for major renovations.  

This made me wonder about the history of building permitsand did a little research. It is believed the first building code was in the Code of Hammurabi  (really old, like 1750 BC). And it was seriousstuff.

·        Ifa builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, andthe house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shallbe put to death.

·        Ifit kills the son of the owner, the son of that builder shall be put to death.

·        Ifit kills a slave of the owner, then he shall pay, slave for slave, to the ownerof the house.

·        Ifit ruins goods, he shall make compensation for all that has been ruined, andinasmuch as he did not construct properly this house which he built and itfell, he shall re-erect the house from his own means.

·        Ifa builder builds a house for someone, even though he has not yet completed it;if then the walls seem toppling, the builder must make the walls solid from hisown means.

Luckily, although the current rules are quite stringent,I won’t be put to death…………

Busts

My Collection

I have to admit I have a thing for busts, no not that kind, a sculpture depicting a person's head. I have a small collection of them on my bookshelf. I generally can't pass one in a thrift shop or flea market without buying it. I think it started with my Mom, she does the same thing. So I was really excited when I saw this new Jonathan Adler table lamp. The Dora Maar bust and blue lampshade are desirous.