ABC's Extreme Makeover, Home Edition -- watch this Sunday

l to r, Sara Zigman and Joni Spears, designers who collaborated for the Haven of Grace project. Their children's room is pictured above. Furnishings provided by Zigman, Three Little Ziglets, who also provided furnishings for ABC's Extreme Home Makeover, Home Edition

I have two really good reasons to watch ABC's Extreme Makeover, Home Edition this Sunday.

First, Ashley Furniture Homestore, where I work part-time as a customer specialist,in Kirkwood MO donated the furnishings for most all the rooms in the home.

Second, friend Sara Zigman, whom I first met on the Haven of Grace project, will be one of the featured designers, showcasing her children's room furnishings.

Sara Zigman with her darling handpainted chair.

Learn more about Sara's participation, read her press release:

LOCAL DESIGNER ANSWERS CALL FOR “EXTREME MAKEOVER” FAMILY

ST. LOUIS, MO (September 10, 2008) – St. Louis designer Sara Zigman of Three Little Ziglets answered the call from ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” to help create a dream room for the Martirez family’s 7-year-old daughter. Zigman was contacted late Sunday night by the show’s lead designer, and asked to donate items from Three Little Ziglets’ C’est Chic collection. 30 hours later, Zigman delivered with 15 pieces of custom, hand-painted furniture and a complete set of made-to-order bedding and window treatments.

Once Zigman and five of her artisans worked through the night to complete the request, her work was not done. Zigman was pressed into service on-site at the new Martirez home, painting unique motifs on the walls and helping to stage the adorable room. Three Little Ziglets’ total donation of goods and services total over $10,000.

Named for Zigman’s triplet daughters, Three Little Ziglets’ unique brand of children’s furnishings features hand painted furniture, made to order bedding and movable wall murals. Each collection is designed to grow with children from infancy through the elementary years. Zigman is the winner of recent design awards from Pregnancy Magazine, StyleBakery.com and Metier Magazine. Stylish moms can easily outfit an entire room with one-stop-shopping at the online boutique www.threelittleziglets.com.

Designing Haven of Grace

View of Children's bedroom in Haven of Grace Project. Fabric donated by Three Little Ziglets. Rug donated by Rug Decor. Photo courtesy of Katherine Bish.

I went on vacation for nearly two weeks, hence no blog posts, and I am trying to catch up with clients and the laundry!

While on vacation I appeared on a local television show in Utah called Home Team. You can see the video -- click here. I had a blast doing the show and sharing more about designHop clubs! I will share more about the experience later.

I thought I'd post about our Haven of Grace project highlighted in the July/August issue of AT HOME St. Louis Magazine before August is over and the new issue hits the stands!

I will share, in this and upcoming posts, behind-the-scenes views you didn't see in the magazine.

Gina Adolphson, friend and interior designer who moved to Florida recently (boo hoo, I miss you Gina!) and Laura n of Laura n Studios, a St. Louis favorite, were my main partners on the project. Gina did the lion's share of designing, creating an amazing design board -- view here.


Laura helped create our dreamed-for murals through out the home. She really made our design come alive. Thank you Laura!

In this photo (above) Laura is working on the children's room mural inspired by the Japanese fabric used in the bedding.

Japanese fabric that inspired the mural.
Laura's son, Luke, helps steady the ladder for mom!

I will share more of Laura's amazing murals...stay tuned.

Georgia On My Mind

I couldn't be prouder. My cousin Graig Sibley takes Best in Show in a Southern California collegiate art competition, sponsored by International Art Magazine (ISM). Patrons of the exhibit voted among 50 entries. Craig's painting, titled Georgia On My Mind, won by a landslide.

His winning painting is inspired by artist Georgia O'Keeffe and the title is a play on the Ray Charles song with the same title.

The painting is not only stunning, but has an equally amazing back story.

This is only the third painting Craig has ever done! He took a painting classes and even though he is a talented guy, a bit of a renaissance man, he felt some trepidation in attempting to paint with watercolor.

His advice: just start.

"The biggest encumbrance I've had with these paintings was fear", says Craig. "I was practically crippled by the fear of failure and was very hesitant to start. Just start. You might find you are capable of much more than you thought. I certainly have!"

He tells his story at this link: Georgia On My Mind. You might leave him a comment, I am sure he'd like to hear from you.

What decorating or creative project are you struggling to start because of fear? Can you considering just making some effort to move forward?

Craig's mantra "just start" may be a new take on Nike's "just do it."

In just starting something there is no commitment to finish. If a project seems overwhelming, you might find it easier to think of beginning rather than finishing. There is no failure in just starting.

I like it. Just start!

My Design Board for the 10th Street Lofts

My design board for 10th Street Lofts, 1010 St. Charles St., St. Louis, MO. (Click on images to see larger view.)

It's been a while since I posted. One thing keeping me busy is my project to design the lobby for the 10th Street Lofts, downtown St. Louis -- 33 loft condos.

I created a design board for the 10th Street Lofts' board to review. Though I have been in business for 5 years plus, this is my first design board. I do mostly residential projects that don't require a full-scale design board, only the random rendering and gathered samples.

While my training has been informal -- I shadowed an interior designer in Bangkok, Thailand years ago -- I have benefited from good friends in the business who have mentored me.

Gina Adolphson, my partner for the Haven of Grace project, taught me how to use the prismacolor pens used on velum paper for architectural drawings. She also passed on tips for indicating certain features of the project. At the end of our three hour "training", Gina said: "There, you just got two semesters worth of training in three hours!"

Wow, I owe her.

I know I have much to learn, but I am proud of my first design board. It was tons of work, probably 40 hours total.

Here are the highlights:


My rendering of the corner seating area. The lamp is purposefully drawn over-scale because it is an over-scale lamp, very contemporary, very cool. I rendered this on velum using prismacolor pens that Gina Adolphson lent me. Thanks Gina!

The artwork in the space will be framed in antique (or look-alike) frames painted a high-gloss white. This is a nod to the past with a contemporary twist. The photos or artwork will represent the history of the area buildings when it was the heart of the garment district in St. Louis.

We anticipate partnering with the Missouri History Museum to tell the story using advertisements and photos of the period. We'll colorize these in pop colors for a modern twist. Around the corner will be a display in a more traditional treatment -- museum gallery style -- that will further tell the story.

My rendering of the floor plan was tricky. I wanted to show the amazing floor we are proposing using a new material, a chameleon floor that changes colors with the light and depending where you are standing looks either emerald green or warm steel gray. To my knowledge, this floor has never been introduced in St. Louis. It was proposed to us by Decorative Concrete.

Below photos show the chameleon affect. In the above floor plan I tried to show how the light hitting the floor from the windows brings out the green hue. The overall appearance is a ed look, similar to stained concrete, but more iridescent and changing with the light.

In the upper left-hand corner of the board I presented photos from the early time period, the buildings and people in industry. The Merchandise Mart building is highlighted in orange. The 10th Street Lofts was an annex to the Merchandise Mart, used for various purposes including storage and label making for the garment district.

Most loft buildings in the area have very small lobbies. Ours is nearly 800 square feet, almost two to three times the size of most downtown lobbies. We believe our ample space presents us with a great opportunity to highlight the history of the area. We are grateful for the Missouri History Museum's interest to partner on this project.

Above is an elevation -- one dimensional -- of the mailbox unit wall that will be a focal wall when you enter the lobby. On that wall will be artwork we commission from a graphic designer to highlight items of industry. The table below the artwork will be granite or marble 12 inches deep set on two concrete pillars. We already have the concrete pillars salvaged from the building. The wall will be covered in orange vinyl wall covering. The adjacent elevator surrounds will be a bright, almost lime-green.

The lobby will be industrial in feel. We are leaving the brick and steel walls. Everywhere else we are accenting with lime green and sun-kissed orange. The elevator doors and other doors in the space will be purple, a deep rich plum.

This project has my heart because it is so meaningful and colorful -- telling a story through design gives a space presence beyond its utilitarian purpose. I imagine those who crossed the thresholds of industry long ago to build this great city would be proud that we remember them.

Cross your fingers that our lobby project proceeds as planned!

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.

Save the Date...You're Invited!

Gail Farwell, real estate agent, doesn't just sell homes...

...she sells the city!

The Art of City Living Tour is Gail's brain child. It's art, it's food and it's fun... and you are invited. Launched last month, the inaugural tour attracted over one hundred patrons.

Gail is committed to hosting the FREE event every month, featuring different homes and artists in St. Louis. She invites the public in the greater metro area from county folks to city folks so everyone can learn what city living is all about.


Dana's Design Studio is one of the sponsors for the April 18th and 19th tours. I designed the interior of the Coachlight Town Home where the tour is being held.

I'll be there Friday for the party and art show, and Saturday -- from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. -- I'll share design tips for budget decorating. Bring photos of your design dilemmas on Saturday and recieve free design advice on the spot.


Gail and I want people to know they can live in style on a budget. Homes are a good deal now and furnishing them is made easier by decorating in clever ways, using sources like Ashley Furniture Homestores and other value-driven retailers.

Living in the city is an art.

Check it out by clicking:

The Art of City Living Tour.

See you there!

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

Makeover - in St. Louis Magazine AT HOME

Katherine's Kitchen Before

Katherine's Kitchen After Makeover

My project to remake Katherine's Kitchen is featured this month in St. Louis Magazine AT HOME. Ten designers' projects were highlighted. You can read the stories online, or if you live in St. Louis, pick up a copy of the special "design issue" at your local grocery store or Walgreens.

I have copied the article about my project for your convenience:

Picture This: The Kitchen
Designer: Dana King, Dana’s Design Studio

It began with unpalatable pink ceramic tile and a problem picking out just the right color paint.

Now, Katherine Bish’s rejuvenated kitchen is like an alarm clock on the first day of school, ringing out reasons for her sleepy South County home to wake up from its 30-year nap.

Ms. Bish, a photographer whose work appears in several magazines including St. Louis Magazine and AT HOME, bought her home about a year ago. The kitchen was the first to be tackled.

On a limited budget, a wish and an unusual request for the designer, the project moved forward—ready or not.

“Katherine called me and said the painters were ready to go, but she had been called to Chicago on a shoot. She wanted me to pick out the paint colors for her kitchen,” says Dana King of Dana’s Design. “I had never picked colors when a homeowner wasn’t there, but Katherine said, ‘I trust you, I trust you,’ and I knew paint is always easy to fix.”

What inspired Ms. King was the very feature that troubled Ms. Bish. Decorative tile with a pink floral center covered the countertops and backsplash, and that pink definitely needed toning down.

“There was terra cotta and green in the tile, so I chose a khaki green color for the walls,” Ms. King says. “It almost made that pink in the tile read the same color as the terra cotta.”

Ms. King then brightened the dark wood cabinets and the wainscoting with a fresh coat of white paint—a project that demanded only a good primer and a steady hand. No sanding required.

A coat of leftover khaki paint and a bit of roughing on the edges gave an old dark wooden table a perfectly distressed look. Black chairs given to Ms. Bish were the final touch.

Ms. King framed a montage of Ms. Bish’s photos in $6 white frames and then hung them, as well as adding a funky red lamp that Ms. Bish discovered in an antique store some time ago.

An iridescent copper bowl was placed on the island, and a few more accents were added, bringing the entire project cost to $900.

I will blog more about Katherine's Kitchen. You can also learn more about the makeover in my previous post, click here.

Remake by Rhoda

I am so glad I listed my blog with Delightful Blogs because I have been introduced to a whole new community of friends. Last week I met Rhoda and found her blog: Southern Hospitality.

With all the inspiration on the web, who has time to watch HGTV? I can sift through content rapidly and find inspiration without any commercials!

Rhoda focuses, like I do, on remaking or repurposing furnishings and stretching a budget. I was so impressed by her remake of a lampshade. The lamp is a vintage piece with a beautiful crystal and marble base. It was in good shape except for the tired shade. See more details and step-by-step photos to learn her tips for remaking a lampshade.

Dining on the Door

What do we do with old doors? Why make them into a dining table, of course. Don't knock it (pun intended), this is a great idea brought to us by Julia Crawford via Design*Sponge. What a fantastic custom-look that would make Phoebe proud.

In St. Louis, Missouri, you can find old doors at the Habitat for Humanity Restore, where old and new building supplies can be found for next-to-nothing.

Julia offers her DIY recipe - how-to tips -- click here.

She used legs found at IKEA. I have also seen new and old porch posts or stair posts used for legs.


Please share any DIY repurposed projects with me.

Something Old is New Again!

I get so excited when I see things transformed with paint. Design*Sponge put out a call for people to submit their DIY projects. Look at these great examples of items bought from Craig's list or yard sales.




I would love the challenge of creating a whole home using only items found by dumpster-diving or yard sales. Just imagine how that can stretch a dollar, but even more amazing is how it can personalize a space. This is something for anyone to consider whether or not they find themselves on a tight budget.


Please share with me any examples you have.

Take a Chance on that Sofa!

HGTV has a hilarious addicting game called "Drop and Design" that deals with interior design realities for many of us:

Limited Budget, Unlimited Style.

The game pokes fun at the fact that we can't always control our circumstances when creating the room or home of our dreams.

A woman in one of my classes asked me, "How do you know when you have found the right sofa?" She looked at me with the same deep emotion as if she were asking, "How will I know I have found my true love?"

Buying furniture and accessories, for most people, is a very emotional experience. It is risky because a lot is on the line. Will it look right in our room? Will our family love it? Did we pay too much for something we won't love a year from now?

In creating your "perfect" room you will take some risks.

I know from personal experience.

I bought a sofa eight years ago, that after a year I wish I had bought another color instead. However, in my new home and with new pillows, I am seeing it in a whole new light and loving it again.

I don't know anyone who has not regretted a design purchase or inherited items that are not their style.

We make the most of our circumstances when we look at our things with new eyes. You have opportunities to make it a good marriage. OK, sometimes you just have to divorce that ugly sofa; but in most cases, there are no mistakes, only opportunities.

I really believe that.

Take a chance. Play the game. Now is it the room of your dreams? Maybe not. What would you do to make the most of it with your limited budget and resources?

If you find you are stuck and can't move forward, it may be time to take some chances!

Real People; Real Homes

This photo and the following photos are the home of Phyllis Johansen and Ivan Torres-Ubillus, of Town and Country, Missouri, as seen in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Lifestyle section. Pictured above are masks collected from around the world by Phyllis and Ivan.

Have you ever driven by a home and wondered what it looks like on the inside?

Sometimes I just want to open the door and take a tour.

Lucky Susan Fadem gets to do that each week. She writes the At Home With series where, each Saturday, in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Lifestyle section, she explores how people make their house a home, with decor and lifestyle.

These homeowners are not necessarily the rich and famous, though some are. They are people of different backgrounds who live in homes and apartments of varying sizes and styles. Not all have had the help of a professional designer, but all are appointed with special touches – the history -- that reflect the people in the home.


These are real people, in real homes.





Seeing people enjoy their spaces with their style, in their way, affirms that style is personal, and can be made fit you and your lifestyle.

Our things reflect what we value, how we spend our time and how we view the world.

And while my neighbor’s whatnots and bric-a-brac may not be what I would have in my home, I can celebrate what they love and learn more about what is important to them.

Style communicates something very deep and personal.

Style is a snapshot revealing our hearts and minds.

Often people say to me, “I don’t know my style, I can’t decide what I like.” It seems to be a common concern, the second most expressed concern right after: “What color do I paint those walls!”

You might feel like Phyllis Johansen, featured in last week’s At Home With, who expressed a concern to a friend that she liked too many styles. Her friend advised Phyllis to get over it and to buy what she liked and it would all work out.

Taking her friend’s advice, Phyllis and her husband, Ivan, have created a home that reflects their backgrounds, passions and travels. She calls their style: eclectic-bohemian-global.

People who have found their style focus, as did Phyllis, on their very basic needs and desires and are not driven by the latest trends or what their neighbor likes.



If you feel that you are trying to find your style, ask yourself these questions:

What do you want your home to DO for you?


What story do you want the home to tell about you and your family?

Remember, as Susan Fadem shows us each week, style is personal and it starts with the heart and your stories.

HGTV Dream Home

I just took a home tour and so can you! Take it right now at your computer.

Click and see the HGTV dream home tour.

Starting in January you can enter to win the Dream Home Giveaway !



I especially liked the bold use of color and the artwork in the kitchen.

There are so many details to note. Don’t miss the videos with helpful hints.

My Birthday Party – Found it at the Big Box

Happy Birthday to me, happy Birthday to me…!!!

Today is my birthday, so I am taking the day off.

But first, some items for my shopping list to get this party started.

I am trying to diet.

Target and Wal-Mart offers me the best zero-calorie celebratory cakes.


1) This hat is just about right, found it at Target. The pink glasses, well, I don’t know where you find those.


2) Big blow-up four foot cake found at Wal-Mart, zero-calories, but it is making me want the real thing!

3) Perhaps this candle, found at Target -- smells like the real thing --- will do the trick.


4) Nah, I think I will head to Sam’s club for their triple chocolate bundt cake. Just 6 oz., I can do that!


5) Now I need a serving plate. Found this one at Bed Bath & Beyond. It plays "Happy Birthday". This one takes me back, it is like the one my mother had.


6) Giant Fortune cookies, found at Gifts.com, gives me good luck AND satisfies my dark chocolate cravings. Definitely, order those!


7) Gifts… hmmmmm….maybe this year will be the year I get my skeeball machine (hint, hint, Dan!) Found this retractable one from Hammacher Schlemmer (say that 10 times fast – there, that takes care of the party game, did you win?) that might actually fit in my basement.



8) Balloons, got to have lots of balloons. I will find those just about anywhere.

Which reminds me, I should teach you how to make my “balloon trees”.

But not today….I am taking the day off!