interior design

Bringing International Women’s Day to My Office

March 8, 2018

Today is International Women’s Day and it’s a perfect time to show off my new office décor. It’s a print of the Hillside Club by David Lance Goines and, while I love all his work, I’m particularly fond of this piece because of what it represents. On top of that, when I ordered the print, I also received Hillside Club notecards—lagniappe at its best!

The Hillside Club was formed in 1898 by three tea-sipping ladies from Berkely, California, who wanted to protect the area hillside from unscrupulous developers. Decades later in the 1960s, a new generation of Hillside Club ladies rallied to save the San Francisco Bay from developers who were filling it in for urban expansion. Today this region’s beauty reflects The Hillside Club’s success and the great things that happen when women get together.

These days we’re hearing a lot about the force of womanhood and how long-awaited issues are finally being addressed. We’re inspired by the many famous ladies who put themselves out there for the betterment of the others. But today, on International Women’s Day, let’s not forget the lesser known but equally important gatherings of women whose “getting things done” are motivation for the rest of us.

Like the Hillside Club.

Branding That Stands the Test of Time

May 3, 2013

My husband and I are remodeling one of the bathrooms in our 96-year-old American Foursquare house. Actually he’s doing the work and I stand by offering creative direction (which is pretty much how we do all our home renovation). Anyway, while tearing up some of the floorboards we came across this label. It’s the name of the man who built our house.

John Bhend.

This is a name we know pretty well because it’s branded all over our house. Usually, it’s handwritten, like you see here. It’s on the underneath of stairboards. On 2x4s in the walls. On trusses up in the attic. According to those in the know, when a builder received his order of lumber, it came with his name written on many of the pieces. Are any of you in the trade? Is this still true today?

Anyway, our house is one solid specimen of honest architecture. It sits square on a hill and even on the windiest days (of which we have plenty), I’m cozy inside without so much as a creak or a groan. To me, the name John Bhend represents quality, strength and security.

Isn’t it interesting how nearly a hundred years later this name still holds such weight? I wonder what people will think of our work a century from now? Whether we’re building a house or branding a product, will it accommodate such long-standing distinction?

gray bathroom floor tiles

When it comes to quality, renovating with my husband is like having my very own John Bhend. His craftsmanship parallels that of the rest of our house and I know it will stand the test of time. Check out the new floor in our bathroom. Each of these pretty little accent tiles came independent of the larger tile. This means as my husband laid them out one by one, he ran down to his wet tile saw in the basement and custom cut each corner. (Honestly, I don’t purposely come up with the most labor-intensive ideas.)

In any event, didn’t he do an awesome job?

copper sink with concrete countertop

Here’s the concrete countertop. It’s the fifth one he’s built for our house, so by now he’s pretty well got the groove for these things. I just love the contrast of materials against each other—wood, concrete and metal.

So here’s our bathroom renovation thus far. We still have a ways to go, but I know it will be good—we’ve got a brand to carry on!

Office Inspirations

January 4, 2013

Over the holidays I did a long-awaited overhaul of my office—cleaning, sorting, filing and painting. Unfortunately, I only got as far as painting the ceiling because I can’t decide on a color for the walls.

Indecision, of course, prompts perusing. And perusing, of course, furthers my indecision. My current obsession is Houzz.com. There are a gazillion professional quality photos with provided code for embedding them into your own blog. How’s that for sharing?

Here are some that caught my eye for various reasons (be sure to roll over the credits and check out these amazing designers and architects):

Eclectic Home Office design by Philadelphia Architect Krieger + Associates Architects Inc

My husband is the handiest guy and builds whatever my heart desires (no, I never take advantage of this). He built floor-to-ceiling cabinets and bookcases very similar to these for my office. I’m thinking a rolling ladder sure would be sweet.

“Oh, honey…”

Traditional Home Office design by Dallas Kitchen And Bath Brooke B. Sammons

The woodwork in my office is in it’s 96-year-old original shellacked finish—meaning it’s a rather orange-brown color. Yes, it limits my options for wall color, but I’d never dream of painting it.

Isn’t this office beautiful inspiration? (Believe me, mine doesn’t look anything it.)