How To: Add Color without Commitment

This week I was helping a couple select lighting for their rental home; we had it narrowed down to an arc lamp when the husband and wife began running in circles over shade options (this line had about 50 different shade options).

When working with couples, I often take moments like this to step away and let them hash it out on their own, before stepping in with my two cents. So I did just that, and when I stepped back minutes later the wife approached me:

"We decided on this" she said, holding up a fire-engine-red lampshade.

Knowing that the only other color she had in the room was a Teal lounge chair, I asked her how they had come to this conclusion.

Newsflash: Teal and Fire-Engine Red, rarely go together

"We want more color, and we think this is pretty." she said

I totally get it. They like teal, they like red, they want color, why not!

Hmm...

Here's why not: Design is like cooking, and here is the food equivalent of what she said "I like corn, I like chocolate, I'm hungry, why not!"

Long story short, I explained that if they already have teal in the room then we need to get something related to teal, or something that at least shares the same undertones, and not start a whole new color palette. The couple agreed and, knowing they would have this lamp for a long time, ultimately selected a neutral shade so they could have more flexibility in the space.

While we all felt good about the purchase, I could tell that they were still wanting more color in the space.
So I gave them one of my favorite bits of color advise:

First:

If you aren't ready to commit to a color palette, or simply don't know what colors will look good, then it's best to bring color in through lower commitment items, like pillows and throws.

Second:

Take your sweet little bum down to TJ Maxx or Marshalls, grab cart, and LOAD UP.

If you think pillow or throw could work, grab it. Get two carts if you have to! and stuff-those-carts.

If you find yourself standing for too long on one item, wondering will it work? won't it? Just throw it in!

Because, here's the secret: you've already planned in a trip to return the things that won't work. And places like TJ Maxx and Marshalls do returns all-the-time. They know you'll be back, so just own it, there ain't no shame in this game.

When you get home, pull out your inner Joanna Gaines and start tossing things around.
How does this look? That? More texture? This color? That color? This color with that color?

HAVE FUN WITH IT

In the end, you'll know what you don't want, and you'll be smiling all the way to the returns aisle.

Bonus: You shopped a bargain, so you haven't invested heavily in your project. Should you decide next year that purple is like, totally out. You can do this shopping trip all over again.

Most importantly, have fun. After all, that's what design is for.

Xxo, L

Anthropologie: Still all it's Cracked Up to be

This week I was doing some sourcing for a client when I, sort of rediscovered Anthropologie. Not that I've actively ignored the shop, but more that I tucked it away in the "Really Cool Stuff" file and haven't updated it since.

Also, Anthropologie is one of those places that got so hot, that it went from "OH MY GOD THIS PLACE - HAVE YOU BEEN??" to people saying "Yeah it's really nice, but not that nice." But guess what?

It's really nice and it really is that nice.

I'm totally blown away by their choice of color and shapes; and everything somehow feels, reachable. Most people wouldn't do their whole home in Anthropologie (although, you could and it would be f***ing rad, and if you want to do that, please call me). But it's reachable in the way that you could throw in a piece or two into your current style, whatever that may be, and it would work.

Below are a few pieces I've been oggling all afternoon; so grab your drool bib, and Enjoy.

 

A peach tinted coffee table with shelves: Get Serious, where else are you finding this stuff?
It's like they designed a table for Mid-Century Modern Barbie.  

 

A BIRD TABLE?? ITS A BIRD TABLE, PEOPLE. I just, I just can't right now. 

Please God tell me someone will let me put this in their home.  

 

It's like Santa is answering all my childhood dreams with a chair.
AKA
The birth of a love affair between Rainbow Bright and the fancy ponies from Fantasia.

 

This one just made me laugh. 

But you really should check out their rugs, they have an incredible selection with decent pricing.

 

And then there's the lighting. Oh Lord, I'ma need someone to hold my drink... 

I can't pick just one. Please, just go, go look.

To my clients who don't have jungle-color-anthro-fever, please do not worry. I understand that this is a niche style, and is one specific to only the right client. I haven't gone off the deep end. But, like I said, if you're someone who is ready to go off the deep end, let's do it.

Final note: I'm sorry to say that I do not recommend their sofas or any of their larger soft goods. I've heard nothing but bad things about the construction from multiple sources.

Xxo, L

Designers are Human: The time I got dumped on Valentine's Day

In honor of Valentine's Day I wanted to take a break from design advice, and share the story of when I was dumped on Valentines Day. While I wish for you to spend the holiday floating on oddly-shaped balloons and swimming in heart shaped candies; if that isn't the case, I hope that you at least get a laugh over my Valentine's Day from Love-Hell...Enjoy:

I met "Johnny" on New Years Eve while out with one of my dearest, and most cynical friends. She knew Johnny and took it upon herself to make sure that we connected that night. Despite her deep rooted belief that love was dead (and may never have been alive to begin with) a part of her really thought that he and I may just be the exception to that rule. This encouragement, paired with a great first impression, had me very interested. So the next day, when he asked me out to my favorite Sushi restaurant, I gladly accepted.

The six weeks that followed were a drunken barrage of “I like you!” - “this is fun!" - with calls, frequent texts, and dates night after night; I soon found myself 40 days in, needing to know:

Was he my boyfriend?

Four days before Valentine's Day, and a couple hours into date number twenty (??) Johnny made a comment which clearly expressed that he had zero plans to spend Valentine's day with me.

...In fact, it was unclear if he even knew the holiday was coming up.

I realize that Valentine's Day is a faux-holiday at best, but when you're six weeks into a new relationship, it's the holy grail of DTR. And if he "doesn't know" that Valentines day is coming up; then that means, that he doesn't give a shit about you (and that's an actual fact).

So there I was, six weeks into this, trying to calculate his lack of comprehension around said holiday and desperately seeking a way to convince myself that he still cared.

However, despite my efforts I couldn't fight the feeling that he, possibly, did not give a single shit about me.

So I did the only thing I could think to do; I brought up the talk:

“Ugh, argh, oh I hate doing this.” I said

“Huh?”said Johnny

“I just, uh, I just... I wasn't going to do this...”

“Lauren, what are you talking about?”

“I need to know what's going on here.” I said

“Oh that's fair” He said “Well, I mean, I like you Lauren. What do you need? To be official on Facebook or something?”

“Facebook?.....No. I don't even have Facebook” I said.

(I really didn't have Facebook at the time)

“Well, what then? I mean, I like you as much as I could like anyone.”**

.

**I-like-you-as-much-as-I-could-like-anyone: Antisocial personality disorder is characterized by a lack of regard for the moral or legal standards in the local culture. There is a marked inability to get along with others or abide by societal rules. Individuals with this disorder are sometimes called psychopaths or sociopaths.

.

Suffice it to say, we spent the next hour with him going back to “What do you need? To be official on Facebook?” and me saying things like “I don't have Facebook, I just want you to be crazy about me.” We clearly were not speaking the same language, so I grabbed my things and left.

Driving home that night, bummed on what had transpired, I wondered if we could go anywhere from here; and as I pulled into my driveway a sweet text from Johnny came through. He said that he hoped this wouldn't be the last time we see each other, that he was happy with us, and then dribbled in a few other sweet words that I have since forgotten. At the time it meant something, and I was happy to rest easy that night; knowing Johnny, I was sure some flowers would come my way the next day.

BUT THEN.

Three days went by.

No text, no call, no email, no facebook, definitely no flowers, nothing.

Looking back now, I think “F*** him, that's over.” but, I liked him.

Yes it was apparent now that he lacked empathy and sympathy, but he had come so highly recommended by such a cynical friend, and (until that night) had regularly expressed more than mutual feelings toward me.

So the three days go by and it's Friday evening:

Text Message: Johnny: “Drinks tonight?”


I should have replied with "Go F*** yourself" or "You're a mouth breather." 
But damnit, I liked him, and wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. So I said yes, and 4 hours later around 9pm, I found myself all dressed up with nowhere to go.

Frustrated, I called to see what was up and he told me that he didn't feel like talking, that he just wanted to have fun with his friends, and wondered if we could do lunch the next day instead.

*Slaps forehead and screams while simultaneously vomiting*

I was at my wits end, but agreed. If nothing else, I wanted closure. So I washed off my makeup, slipped into my sweats, and went to bed.

The next day we were slated for lunch at noon, and this day... was Valentine's Day.

So I woke up, put my makeup BACK ON, got dressed, and waited.

11am: 0 text messages

“shit.” I thought.

So I texted “Where do you want to Grab lunch?”

11:15am: 0 text messages

11:30am: 0 text messages

11:45am: 0 text messages

“Are you f***ing kidding me?” I thought

12:00pm: 1 text message: “Hey, I'm really tired from last night, I'm going to take a nap.”

“ARE YOU F***ING KIDDING ME?!”

So I called him.That very second.

Pacing in my kitchen, livid, feeling like a wadded up piece of trash, I paced. Knowing he was at his phone, and hearing his voicemail pick up my call, I managed the self-respect to hang up before leaving a voicemail riddled with profanities in a pitch you'd only hear from your mother after having crashed her car.

And that was it. End of story. He never returned my call, and I never called him again.

Years later I ran into Johnny on the street, he was eating (by himself) and I recognized him from the back of his head. How I did that, I'll never know. Call it instincts. But as I approached him, I sort of just... stopped, leaned my upper body to the side, and stared him in the eye. It seems a bit odd, my doing this, but considering the situation, a good stare down felt completely normal.

 His eyes sort of jumped when he saw me; unsure of whether he was in for a beating or not. But, he wasn't. I was kind, and then I walked away. The fantasy of pulverizing our exes is much stronger in our minds. In reality, who we truly are shines through... 

and Thank God I was wearing my good jeans as I walked away.

Xxo, L

How to: Make Design Decisions without Losing your Mind.

I'm not sure when it happened, but somewhere between the Dancing Baby Video and Kylie Jenner's Birth Video we became completely overloaded by the internet.

If we want to see something, we just type it into google and in 0.00005248 seconds, we see like a million things related to it (like, literally a million).

The birth of Pinterest and Houzz has only sped up the process to make us feel all the more lost in a sea of beautiful things. We scroll through things we already have, but mostly we get caught in the beautiful things we don't have. These websites (bless them, because honey you know I love them too!) have basically made a monster out of the Jones's.
Suddenly, everyone with an ounce of taste and internet access, is our next door neighbor stopping by all, "can I have a cup of sugar? (PS your chairs are ugly)."

So how do we stay calm in a sea full of "BUY ME!" and "YOU NEED THIS." or "THIS IS THE LOOK NOW!" and "ALL THE COOL NEIGHBORS ARE DOING IT."

Here's the secret: Take a break.

If you find yourself spinning over an idea, or that one perfect product, catch yourself.
Are your shoulders hunched up? Are you starving? Do you have a mysterious headache? That's your sign to stop.

Take that break.

It could be for an hour, or it could be for a week. Your body will let you know when she's ready to go back to battle (BTW, it's your job to listen to her).

And when you take your break, be sure you do things unrelated to the design issue at hand. Go for a walk, cook a meal, read a funny book, whatever it is you enjoy that is not related to interior design.

Once you've taken your breather, consider getting back into design-land by actually visiting a shop in person. Look up a design boutique that you've never been to, and pay them a visit. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in images that we forget how different it can be to go look, feel, touch, and smell pieces in person (I can't believe I just wrote that. Ray Bradbury may just drop from the sky and beat me with a copy of Fahrenheit 451).

Now put down your electronics and get some fresh air. Forcing yourself to struggle for another hour isn't going to get you anywhere, I promise.

Xxo, L