Giving birth to my vlog and beyond

I am thinking -- actually "committed", but that is too scary to put down in words -- of starting a video blog (vlog). It will likely move from this blog to another to chronicle my journey in the making of film including all the spills, chills, thrills,triumphs and defeats. What can I say, I've been watching the Olympics.

I am totally frustrated that photos don't tell the whole story -- my story and others. So this may be a new venture for me. At least my husband and Whitney have dared me to try.

I think Dan -- my husband -- is tired of my wondering when/if HGTV will call. I am not obsessed, though I think he believes I am.

Dan woke me up one morning -- a morning I was trying to sleep in. "I think you need to start a vlog."

Me: "I have a blog"

Dan: "No, a vvvvvvvvvlog, video, post video of what you do."

What? He wants me to have another project? Is he crazy? He knows what a commitment that will be for him, let alone me.

To be honest, I have never given this serious thought. But his waking me up out of a deep sleep prompted my taking this idea very seriously. And opening my mouth to Whitney made me commit.

I am my own worst enemy.

Dan just wants me to move on, keep going...

I do think a lot about what should happen next.

You see, HGTV's Design Star has not called. I sent my application in about a month ago. They might still call, but I am not one to wait around. And if reality TV is not the path to share my voice, then I need to keep forging ahead until I find the right way.

Maybe, hmmmmm....: I start my own production company (The forest); post videos on the web via the various outlets (the trees); produce my own webivision show (lots of trees); create my vlog (planting the trees); gain a working knowledge of film making (pruning the trees); ...or help others to edit their vlogs (multiple trees and forests).

Or maybe it's all that.

Where to begin? The dream, the forest...that is where I always start, the end goal in mind, which is to have a media platform to share my voice and my friends' voices in the creative ways we approach lifestyle subjects (people and topics).

Think "Oprah".

I am dreaming of the Forest, then, but I need to start and grow where I am planted, which for the moment means I need to cut down some trees.

I am money-challenged (husband is unemployed -- four months, but who is counting?) and time-challenged (I am over-employed). I can't do much about limitations I can't control.

I am tired and over-weight. I can control that. Sleep more and eat less.

Sure.

I am highly technologically challenged. I can do something about that. I learned how to blog afterall.

I hate, really hate, learning technology, but I will try to learn and to geekify myself if needs be.

That is how determined I am. And scared.

So I start here, with my iphone -- the only technological device I am in love with -- that is my only video camera, a supportive husband and tons of supportive friends. These are my resources...this is where I start.

Not sure where this is going...but I am sure it is going, which is a relief (read "whew"!!!) to me because I just don't stand still.

Stillness makes me crazy.

And maybe that is why I am drawn to video/film.

It moves. Can move with me.

In truth, I probably move faster.

Upward and onward and beyoooooooond!

Back to earth...What will I share?

Anything and everything related to topics I love: family, home, design, raising children, gardens (only marginally interested in gardens, but I have lots of friends who are and do cool stuff where things grow.), cooking (I am only interested in 30 SECOND meals for my grab-and-go lifestyle)...etc.

It won't star me alone. THAT would be nauseating, watching and editing myself, yuk, cough, gag...yuk. But it will include my friends...and friends of friends...etc.

First friend: Paul Pagano, designer friend also seeking a media platform.

I'll focus on where I live -- wonderful St. Louis, my home of 11 years -- and on what I know, some home and family topics of relevance to the world.

Yep, I can handle that.

My journey will be supported by my family, friends, media-mentor friends, PR professional friends...and anyone interested in this journey. Yes, I saw Julie and Julia .

Please, please come along for the ride!

Tell me what you like, what you don't...help me and others develop our video skills.

Send me your videos, send examples of videos...on the lifestyle topics I/we love.

Whitney told me to give myself a homework assignment each day. So tomorrow I will start, just start. I will post videos and muse about what I learned...and want to learn.

How's that for starters?

Meet my friend Paul

So for months now my friend Paul Pagano has been saying he needs to start a blog.

He did it!

Kudos to Paul. Please encourage him by visiting his site -- click here -- and leave a comment.

Paul is an interior designer of the Ty Pennington variety, very hands-on projects involving creative construction, destruction, re purposing, painting and unique finishes. His faux concrete counter tops are his own unique invention and I am sure you'll see them on his blog soon.

Paul's background is strong in vintage restoration projects, but his heart is a mix of mid-century modern and vintage. His unique, fun style is featured at the Crestwood Plaza (see above photo) where he shares a space with like minded artist and furniture repurposer (my word) Elizabeth Maxson.

Paul and I partner on some jobs. He is currently doing a commissioned painting for my clients and I'll share that soon.

I love featuring design collaborations and I am so proud of my friend Paul.

Matt and Pattye's Bedroom

Photos are courtesy of Katherine Bish.
Click on photos to enlarge.
It has been fun working with Matt and Pattye to design their master bedroom and bathroom. Matt and Pattye are award-winning gardeners who open up their front and back yards each Spring to bus loads of people and the mayor of Creve Coeur. We picked up on their passion and created a garden inspired bedroom.



Art does not have to be on the wall. We have art in the pillows. Look at these beautiful botanical prints in fabric!



We created the color scheme around their existing rug.


My favorite element in the room is the dried pressed ferns under glass. Pattye cut ferns from her garden and pressed them. With a little feedback from me, Pattye found mat boards to coordinate with our color scheme and painted an existing white frame black. Matt arranged the ferns inside the frame. A real team effort!



We hung our window treatments on a large 3 inch rod. Most people might choose a smaller one, but we love how this rod balances with the other strong black furnishings in the room and really stands up to the strong graphic checked print window panels. The dresser in the above photo is a cherished family antique.


Matt Phillips is one of the owners of Ashley Furniture in St. Louis Missouri, so it was only fitting we use Ashley furniture! We used an armoire and chest from the Martini collection. I think the espresso finish against the golden walls looks striking. The lamps on the nightstands were also finds at Ashley Furniture.

Marianne Phillips, Matt's mother, painted the flower paintings hung above the chest.


Views in the bathroom also include a collection of meaningful items including found shells from a family trip and another painting by Marianne.



Please consider rating my space on HGTV's Rate my Space: click here

Out of Africa -- Guest Room Makeover

A credenza with items collected from around Carol's home.

Carol recently inherited her mother-in-laws furniture and accessories and was overwhelmed with how to put it all together with the things she already owned. She wanted to keep the old treasures while also creating an updated look. Carol is clever and has an eye for decorating, she just wanted a second eye and helping hand.

Carol's guest bedroom before.

First project: the guest bedroom.

I brought Elizabeth, my assistant decorator-in-creativity to help. Working with Carol, we started with an inspiration piece, actually several. We hunted around the home and found treasures of animals and ethnic pieces that quite naturally set the theme for our room: "Out of Africa".

Carol's Guest room after.

Only thing missing was a headboard.

Carol liked the idea of an antique door turned horizontally to form the headboard, so we headed off to the ReStore to find an old door. Only trouble was we didn't see any we liked. They were either not the right size or color. I suggested we think of something else. Carol saw the shutters...and our minds started turning. Shutters reminded us of a plantation in Africa...OK, so the shutters work, ditch the door idea!

Carol's guest room headboard made of old shutters and baseboard molding found in salvage yard.



Mr.Murphy, one of the helpful volunteers at the ReStore.

Mr. Murphy, who volunteers at ReStore, was so helpful to gather and hold our pieces together so we could view it from a few steps back. We played with white shutters, but they would not piece together to the size we needed. We eyed some black painted baseboard molding pieces and played around until we created a pattern and size we liked.

I love how the black molding works with the white shutters. The black and white headboard works nicely to bookend with the zebra rug Carol placed at the bottom of the bed.

Our headboard cost under $20 for materials. Each average size shutter at ReStore is under $5! I think it looks like much more!

Close-up shot of Carol's headboard.


Stay tuned for more makeovers in Carol's place!

designHop on Television -- see it in action!

They say a picture is like a thousand words. Video, then, is even better. Sometimes it's difficult to explain the designHop club concept. A lot of people have told me these videos help them understand.

There are two segments. (If the video stops, just drag the cursor forward and back, that should prompt it forward.):





I was lucky enough to strate the designHop club in Salt Lake City, Utah working with kjzz Home Team television host Maria Carr -- thank you! -- and friends of Jordan Paige -- double thank you! Jordan, by the way, is a sister-in-law of Sarah Paige, member of our St. Louis designHop club.

If you would like to start a designHop club or learn more, please leave me a comment.

The designHop

Women of the St. Louis, Missouri based, Design Hop, meeting last month, from left to right: Colleen, Emily, Sarah, Stephanie (in back behind Gina), Gina and Dana. (Missing: Marianne -- taking the photo -- Christie, Marie, and other friends.)

Do you feel overwhelmed with home decorating?

Many people do.

Do you lack confidence to tackle the do-it-yourself home decorating project?

You are not alone.

Or maybe you actually are alone and that is the problem!

Could you use a little help?

In truth, we all could. Even professional interior designers look to others for feedback or help.

Collaboration is key to success in almost any endeavor and the design of our homes is no exception. Yet many homeowners feel alone.

I have had clients tell me they watch HGTV, they are inspired and learn much, but when it comes to internalizing what they have learned they feel overwhelmed or lack confidence to try it in their own home.

One client said, "I wish Vern Yip (HGTV design guru) would pop through my TV screen and show me how to design my own home!"

Learning the principles of design is easier than applying them to our own spaces.

It may be that we lack experience and so we lack confidence. Or our spouses and family members have different opinions that we don't know how to mediate. And perhaps, too, it is because decorating our home is a big investment and we are afraid to blow it.

Whatever the reason for the hesitation or anxiety, decorating is, for most people, a very emotional experience.

At the root of most design anxiety is "fear".

Don't we all wish a "design star" would jump through the TV screen to support us? That won't happen, but I have discovered something even better.

The designHop.

It is a creation of a group of women at my church that has grown to include neighbors and friends.

We "hop" from home to home, a different one each month, and as a group we tackle a design dilemma in the home. Last month we helped Stephanie rearrange her bedroom furniture to become a more functional living space.

Gina and I, the group's design leaders, take some time at each designHop teaching basic principles of design. Then we let the group loose to tackle a particular design dilemma the host of the hop has given us. During the hands-on activity, Gina and I mostly sit back and watch.

The most satisfying result is not the ultimate design of the room -- though that is amazing -- but is the increased confidence the women gain through the process. They become "design stars" in their own right.

We have no rules for the group, but we encourage them to try their ideas.

We tell them there is NO such thing as "bad ideas", only ideas that work better than others. And ultimately the right design solution is what works for the homeowner. With that in mind, the ladies feel free to experiment.

We meet once a month. Tonight we will meet at Emily's home to accessorize her fireplace mantel, and then we'll "hop" on over to her neighbor's home, Bridget, to rearrange the furniture in her dining room.

If you live in the St. Louis area and would like to join us for a Design Hop, or would like help to create your own Design Hop, whether here in St. Louis or another area, then leave me a comment. I am glad to help.

This is so exciting... We create "Design Stars" one hop at a time!

A related link, is Dare to Dream, where women are encouraged to practice "systergy" to support each other in their dreams. I will share more about the collaborative systergy of the Design Hop in future posts...stay tuned.

Haven of Grace

My, time flies when you haven't blogged. There are several excuses and several projects taking my time.

Topping the list: Haven of Grace.

Haven of Grace is a special organization to help young homeless mothers and is championed by Editor, Christy Marshall of St. Louis Magazine AT HOME. She invited eight designers to decorate eight apartments for Haven of Grace.

I am lucky to be one of the designers working on the project. I am especially fortunate to have enlisted designer and friend, Gina Adolphson, to work with me. She has taken the lead in collecting fabrics and brainstorming the design.


This is not your typical project. Our inspiration is limited by what donations come in. So our color palette is not inspired by our favorite fabric on the bolt, but rather by what is given to us by kind retailers.


Gina made the rounds collecting miscellaneous items. We selected a few to create our palette.

We were given a fabric panel of leaves and fruits in an unusual mix of chartreuse, plum, slate blue, turquoise, burnt orange and bright orange and rosy reds. We decided to pull a palette of mostly blues and oranges from this piece for the living and dining rooms.


Gina told me today that she has enjoyed the challenge of creating a design around a fabric that was not of her choosing. "It has made me consider other possibilities with color I never imagined", she says. "I really love this palette."


Gina also loves the idea of a graphic bird mural painted above the dining nook. She picked birds just because she likes the shape of the template she was given. She doesn't know why, but it just appeals to her.

I like it too.


Please tell us how you've found design inspiration by something that was given to you.

See related blog: Take a Chance on that Sofa

Kelee Katillac – a favorite

Are you struggling to find your style? Often we look in magazines or our neighbors’ homes for inspiration. Sometimes the inspiration we seek is not on the outside at all, but on the inside -- in the heart.

Kelee Katillac -- author of House of Belief -- believes that developing our personal style should be driven by our beliefs -- what we know about ourselves and what we want to become.


She says that a home is more than a place to store things; it should be a place where we receive affirmations of our values, goals and dreams.

Kelee works on the premise that creativity is a force that has the power to heal,especially when that creativity can communicate affirming messages. This is evident in her work with children to incorporate positive messages in the designs of their bedrooms.


I am reminded of Aniyah (in photo on the right), the young girl Emily and I helped to decorate her room working with Habitat for Humanity.

From the beginning to the end, Aniyah directed the project with Emily’s help. Aniyah wanted a cheerful room full of flowers. We called it the “flower power” room!
Pictured above is the entry to Aniyah's flower power room. Photo courtesy of Katherine Bish.

Our Habitat for Humanity project was not like the Extreme Makeover shows where you send the family away during the project and surprise them at the end. What surprise is that, to see someone else’s idea of who you are? No thanks.


Like Kelee, I believe homes should be a reflection of you and your family and what a better way to reflect YOU than by incorporating YOUR beliefs.

Can what our homes say about us actually heal us?

How does your home reflect you and your dreams?

Kudos to Kelee for helping us to reach deep inside to find our style!

Julie's Bedroom - a study in color and design

Yesterday I met Brad, Julie’s carpenter, to go over the moldings we will use for Julie’s bedroom that will be a hybrid of "cottage style" or "English Country Style" , including wainscoting and decorative moldings and other fun details that say: "cozy".

We are working with an existing 2 ½ inch crown molding, just fine for the eight foot high ceilings in Julie’s bedroom. But we are now putting in new floors and beefing-up the wainscoting and baseboard, so the small crown molding would look wimpy by comparison.

We could pull out the old molding and replace it with expensive 5 inch crown molding, but I have a creative solution that is less expensive and intrusive and gives a more dramatic look:

We will place a 1 ½ inch base cap molding three inches from the bottom of the crown molding on the wall. Base cap is sometimes called wainscoting cap or wainscoting molding. It looks like the old picture molding, but with a flat, not rounded, edge at the top. If you are unfamiliar with types of moldings, it has a profile similar to most traditional picture frames.

Now here is where I get crazy. We will turn it upside down. Yep, that’s right.

Brad, the carpenter, asked me about three times yesterday, “Are you sure you want to turn it upside down?”

“Yes, why not,” I said.

“Well, then you can’t hang pictures from it!”

Julie and I responded, “But we don’t want to hang pictures from it!”

This is not the first time a carpenter has looked at me in unbelief.

Our goal here is to beef-up the crown molding, to fool the eye into thinking it is one large crown molding. Brad will paint the molding and the wall in between the same color - white, in this case - to make it look like one continuous molding. And by turning the base cap molding upside down, we give the edge a nice definition and finish.

You can see an example in Judy’s home:

Before (above photo), the 2 1/2 inch crown molding.

After (above photo), the beefed-up moldings and painted walls provide definition and character to the room.

See how before (above photo) the crown molding almost disappeared, providing little contrast or interest.

See (above photo) the difference beefed-up molding and paint can make! It really complements the other details in this older home, like the arch entries and niches.

You can also beef-up your baseboards this way. Many older homes have the typical 3 inch colonial baseboards. You can add about 2 to 3 inches up from the baseboard a 1 inch trim molding of your choosing, then paint the wall between the baseboard and molding to match.

Voila! You have instant beefed-up moldings that didn’t cost you an arm and a leg and are simple enough to qualify for a weekend DIY project.

What can you do with decorative molding?

The Design Fairies – now that’s working together!


The Design Team for the Berry-Crawford Family

I believe in collaborative interior design – developing a team approach to achieve the best results in home decoration. I will speak more about this philosophy as time goes on, but let me say this:

I don’t subscribe to the approach used by many of the more sensational television home-makeover shows where they send the homeowners away during the room or home makeover project and bring them back for the surprise reveal.

You may remember one episode that became know as "Crying Pam", when a woman broke down in tears at the surprise reveal of her living room. The designer ignored her request not to touch the fireplace facade, the only thing she did not want to be changed in the room.

To achieve no-tears design, homeowners need to be in charge of their project; after all, they are the ones who will live with the results when the designers have gone home!

For an example of interior design collaboration on a grand scale, check out “The Design Fairies”, in At Home Magazine.