Living Well by Design with Team LW

All things green!

2010-12-14T18:20:00.000-05:00

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a tree hugger and eco-nut. I love all things nature and natural. That can be hard when it comes to Christmas trees. It is such a pleasure to have the wonderful smell and beauty of a real tree, but goodness, throwing it out, even mulching it, after it has been transported for hundreds or thousands of miles, just doesn't feel right. So what are the options?

I've been seeing some really clever and artistic alternatives, but the one that got me to blog was this one from San Francisco's Gleeson Library. The books have been strategically arranged to create shelves for the ornaments. Best of all, the books go back on the shelves when the holiday is over!

How do YOU see color?

2010-07-24T11:44:00.006-04:00

Color is such an important aspect of designing space. It guides your eye by drawing attention to an area or item. By placing color in different areas, accent wall color, in furniture and accessories or even the color seen through our windows, our eyes are guided and a flow is created. Color creates mood as well. Warm colors are stimulating, cool colors tend to be soothing. Lots of varied color creates a more intersting or busy environment, while monochromatic use of color can be subtle or boring depending on how well they are done.

We all have favorite colors and some colors we don't care for. It always makes for a challenge when a couple have VERY different feelings about color. One of the reasons is that some people are COLOR BLIND. There are several types of color vision deficiency, but it is almost always occurs in a man, since the rate for colorblindness in men is 8 in 100 of the population while only 4 in 1,000 for women, or 5 times the frequency.

I've always found it a little challenging to understand what the colorblind client is seeing. I want to design so that it looks good to them, but also that look good to everyone else. I just found a cool link on line to a site that shows what color palettes look like to the different types of color blindness. There are also tests on line to define which particular deficiency one has.

I feel like I have a whole new insight in to color!

Repower America

2009-12-18T23:35:00.007-05:00

Time to begin blogging again! I'll try real hard to see if I can keep something going. Hopefully you'll hear from both Christy and I.

This Sunday Repower America is having a meeting at Selby Library on Sunday. Energy, environment, sustainable, green. Who hasn't wondered what these words are really going to mean to us. How is the world changing? How will our lives change? What can we do to help change?

Our Design Star, Jason

2009-07-20T16:51:00.008-04:00

Did you watch HGTV's season premier of Design Star last night? We did! yes, and with one of the stars, our local peep, Jason Champion! Jason is a super furniture designer and if you don't know him, then you just gotta watch the show. It just premiered last night and there are a ton more episodes to follow until the best designer is still standing. Vote for him and help him to win his very own online show at http://tinyurl.com/nrkngc

We as designers are so energized from all of the natural surroundings Sarasota has to offer, you can see why we have so many talented peeps in our great little town. Loads of great boutiques to shop through too! We have so much color surrounding us every day, you might say we live inside a rainbow, and ours didn't throw up! LOL! Beauty abounds us! Color, inspiration and design!

Jason did a great job last night, though he had us on the edge of our seats. Design is a tough gig, as you saw last night if you tuned in. Only the strong survive! Kudos to you Jason! Can't wait to tune in next Sunday @ 10 pm on HGTV!

As always, hope to see you in the store!

Christy

Can you picture how much.....

2009-07-12T17:40:00.005-04:00

copy paper is used in the US in 5 minutes?

My dear friend who teaches middle school math features a poster to help kids visualize one million. It is a word so often used, and so hard to truly appreciate.

The Chris Jordan's art project was designed to give a quantitative idea of the impact of American Society. The photographs have an effect that a number alone can't have. Some of the photographs are an ironic study in contrasts; the 83,000 Abu Graib prisoners detained spelling out "We the People"in 5 8' x 25' panels; or Barbie dolls illustrating the number of breast augmentations performed.

Check out his powerful statement:

http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php

The answer is 15,000,000 sheets or three hundred thousand reams.

Design for the Future

2009-06-22T16:00:00.003-04:00

Design for the future! As designers, that is what we do. We have to work with the past, the present and most importantly, the future. Kind of crazy to have to always think about the future, since we are always told to forget the past, don't worry about the future, just enjoy the present. But, in design, we do have to worry about the future. We have to think of how our designs will affect the future. We plan in advance, yeah I know, those of you who know me are probably "LOL" right about now. I don't plan much when it concerns me and my personal life, so I guess that is why I am such a great designer, right?! We have to balance life and all that goes with it, so my personal and professional lives are very well balanced against each other. Good to know, right?! I sure think so!

So, okay, back to Design For the Future. Design takes on all new elements this day and age. We are more conscious of our earth with design, the whole green movement added new rules and regulations we abide by. We are thinking of how our design will affect the land we build on and how the materials we select will affect the environment. We have more selections of materials to work with. With all of these new elements, we have more design ideas to sort out. Right, more to choose from you say? A nightmare for most folks, but for designers, we welcome more. It is just part of our job, to sort through the choices and find the best one for the application. Do you select this with that? or do you select that for this? Which one will impact the future more than the other? Which one will outlast and be kinder to the environment? So, when it comes to design, think about it now and plan for it. Design for YOUR FUTURE!

But, remember to always live in the moment the rest of the time! I definitely do!

As always, I look forward to seeing you in the store!

Christy

On the Wall For Great Ideas !

2009-06-02T14:36:00.003-04:00

I love white walls, and I love exploring creativity. I just found out about a great product called IdeaPaint that will let me combine the both! Here is a paint that turns your wall into a nexus of creativity or organization. In one roll on application you can transform a wall into a high-performance dry erase surface. What a great product for an office, play room or studio!

http://tinyurl.com/6hv85vGreat

Color me easy with ben

2009-06-01T16:36:00.003-04:00

I just read about a very cool iPhone app that is releasing June 1. As if iPhone isn't cool enough design, now Benjamin Moore Paints have an app that will help you select and match colors with the click of a camera and the glide of a finger!

Read about it here:
http://tinyurl.com/nberly

"HOT" Tote Bags

2009-05-18T16:23:00.003-04:00

Spring has sprung and summer is heating up! Get ready for your days on the beach with one of Chilewich's fun new tote bags! Tangerine,Lime,Ocean and Charcoal are the colors to choose from. Circles versus stripes, now thats a hard one to decide on. I love both! Made of their famous Plynyl, you will have no problem keeping this bag free of sand. Just a good rinse of some H2O. AND, if you like the totes, then you will LOVE the mats. Yes, they have the same designs in placemats too! I know, already planning your trip to the store?! Hurry and get them while they're HOT, HOT, HOT!!!

As always, I look forward to seeing you in the store!

Christy

Featured Today in SRQ Daily

2009-05-15T12:10:00.001-04:00

[Daily Shop] The Green Light for Sustainable SpacesSarah Walch, sarahw@srqmediagroup.com
Sustainable times call for sustainable measures. Living Walls takes home accessories and adds that ever-popular green twist. Office-sized waste bins made of biodegradable plastic offer up ‘70s patterns or metallic finishes. “Confetti coasters” from Vietnam sculpt intricately folded magazine pages to form a recycled rest for your drink. If newspaper is more your thing, Recycled Rover—an ideal front door companion—is made from thread-like strands spun from the old pages. But for the mother of all found object décor, scour the shop for pieces by Anita Wexler—Sarasota High School teacher and artist extraordinaire. Her totems on hand feature recovered satellite dishes with odd trinkets, like feathers, buttons and clay masks, all buried beneath a façade of purple paint. After adding one to your collection, fellow sustainableistas will be green with envy.
Living Walls Furniture & Design, 1311 Main St., Sarasota, 941-957-4411

Rockin' the Upholstery World

2009-05-12T17:03:00.004-04:00

"Rock the Casbah"! yeah! "Rock the Casbah"! right...not musically inclined, at least that is what my good friend of 33 years will tell me. I like to make up my own words...not so good at that, is what she always told me. But, I do know what I am good at.....spotting a really hot furniture design! Yes, especially upholstery, my love is fabrics and frames. The "Casbah", a new intro from our friends at Dellarobbia, they are so hip! So stylish this frame! Did you see the top view profile of the arm and back? very lean and curvy, exactly what you are looking for in an arm, right? And notice the legs, upholstery to the floor in the front and chrome in the back for a little kick! just like a great pair of shoes! See why upholstery is so fabulous?! Please come in and let us introduce you to the newest and hippest designs in upholstery!

I look forward to seeing you in the store!

Christy

The Future of Postmodern Music

2009-05-08T22:38:00.002-04:00

For the music gourmets out there, I ran across this in a newsletter from one of our vendors, Bludot. We haven't had much of their work in recent years. It's a very clean mid century look, postmodern you might say. They now have a retail store in Soho. A stop I'd make next time in NYC!

"This is sort of inconceivable to us, but this dude takes random You Tube clips of people playing musical instruments and mashes them into completely new compositions. Check it out and you’ll see what we're talking about. "

Check it out!

Leather Upholstery Styled with Pantone

2009-05-07T14:58:00.000-04:00

I had the opportunity to meet a new furniture designer in town that had some really great ideas for upholstery. His company can print basically anything on leather, yeah, anything! My first intro to it was Marilyn Monroe posing in her ever so fitted bathing suit, long legs and all. I wasn't quite sure she could make an upholstery piece inviting, but none the less, take a look at what they came up with, COLOR!!! Yes, you know we LOVE color! I think it is quite a statement! Reminds me of the the designs you see in Interior Design Magazine of chairs and benches made of formica chips. Very unique! and definitely one of a kind! So, for those of you who want to be way different than the Jones', I know you will have them beat with this one!

Look forward to seeing you in the store!

Christy

Burns Court Chalk Festival

2009-05-04T07:34:00.001-04:00

This weekends beautiful weather was a boon to those who went to see the Burn's Court Chalk Festival known as Avenida de Colores. The sidewalks and streets of Pineapple were turned into canvases as artists from around the state worked in the pounding sunshine to produce colorful designs ranging from the complex and classical to colorful and ethnic. A few artists used a perspective technique called ANAMORPHIC which compensates for the distortion of perspective when viewing the drawing from the foot.

This is an annual event, so make a note not to miss it next year!

Welcome to the new livingwalls.com

2009-04-29T16:48:00.001-04:00

Welcome to our new website! I have lots more loading of pictures and verbage to add. I hope you'll keep coming back to see the site develop.

We're sad that so many of you are coming in to say a last goodbye before heading up north for the summer. It has been a tumultuous year, and we wouldn't have weathered it without your support. Thank you for your loyalty. We'll be busy with some of your projects this summer and can't wait to share the results.

I've begun "tweeting". By now most of you have heard of Twitter. I'm gr8modfurniture. I'm not sure how it will work out, but feel free to follow me. Let's keep in touch!

2009-04-20T12:22:00.000-04:00

I just saw this in one of my trades. It is a Life Lite. The vase lights up when there is a live flower in it. If you take out the flower or it dies, the light goes out. I'll be finding out more about this!

Welcome spring to your home!

2009-03-29T16:54:00.001-04:00

The number one reason we all love Sarasota is undoubtably the weather. Sunny days and blue skies end most evenings with a spectacular sunset. Whether from the beach your home or other beautiful Sarasota location we have much to be thankful for. These weeks of March are some of my favorite. The days are WARM and the evenings cooler. The lengthening days remind us that the HOTTER summer is ahead. The last few days have been very windy. Since we've had such a prolonged drought, it can bring some unexpected hazards. A friend lost her garage on Saturday when a 50 year old Laurel Oak blew down in the high winds. This isn't that unusual, unfortunately. During the extended dry conditions the trees roots have receded. Oak especially can put up a lot of wind resistance if they haven't been pruned in a while by a professional. That can lead to a tree blowing over. It happened at our house a few years ago. Fortunately only a section of fence was damaged. A few of the nearby trees also suffered some ill effects when our neighbors'oak blew over. Strange to see with such a big tree. We had an arborist out to thin the other trees after learning that lucky lesson.

Spring is a great time to spruce up inside your home as well as outside. The magazines have perhaps piled up on the cocktail table. The favorite chair isn't looking so inviting anymore. Come in and see us and we'll show you a cocktail table that has storage drawers to keep the magazines neatly put away. We have some great seats that will be very relaxing after the work you do around the house. The Jessye recliner in leather is very streamlined and has adjustments to suit almost every body!

What a week!

2009-01-30T23:12:00.000-05:00

The store has undergone a complete transformation. Christy managed to find a place for all the new merchandise. New sofas, new lighting, new art. We said goodbye to a few really hot looking vignettes, but Christy loves coming up with new settings.

Christy's husband, Chris, is operating a BBQ stand on the corner of Desoto Rd and Lockwoodridge Rd. It's called Carolina Q. I can tell you it is amazing and delicious. Racks of ribs, sandwiches and chicken. Yummy! Check him out!

The End is a New Beginning

2006-09-16T21:13:00.000-04:00

I love talking to you, as you must know if you've ever been to Living Walls. My customers are like my windows on the world. I love the input I get from you. I am always looking for those pieces of furniture, just the right size or color or material that will end your searching, temporarily.

I'm hoping to share some of my thoughts, answer your questions and spend a little more time with you through my blog.

We're wrapping up the end of summer, and as the New Year arrives, I wish all of you, my Jewish and non-Jewish friends, business associates and customers,

Shana Tova!

A Sweet, Happy and Healthy New Year!