Leta Austin Foster: Time to Rebuild and Help Our Neighbors

Irwin Weiner ASID - With the one-two weather punches of Hurricanes Irene and Lee, the eastern seaboard of the United States was hit hard with property and home damage. We know many people who have mud in their dining rooms, trees down in their yards, and dehumidifiers going round the clock in their basements (we're one of those). We received this lovely note from interior designer Leta Austin Foster, telling us of her experience, and throwing out an enterprising idea:

HI IRWIN: WE, TOO, WERE LUCKY TO GET THROUGH IRENE WITH MINIMAL DAMAGE - WE HAD A HUGE TREE GO DOWN OVER THE DRIVEWAY HERE IN MAINE WHICH HAD TO BE CUT UP AND CARTED OFF IN ORDER TO GO IN OR OUT - WE HAVE 40 ACRES HERE, AND ON THE SIDE OF A MOUNTAIN, TOO, SO THIS WAS AN ABSOLUTE NECESSITY, AND WE LOST POWER, BUT ONLY FOR A DAY. IN FLORIDA, A LOT OF RAIN WAS DUMPED ON OUR GARDEN WHICH WAS SORELY NEEDED, DUE TO OUR EXTENDED DROUGHT.  
 
 

MY HEART GOES OUT TO THE FARMERS ALONG THE HUDSON WHO HAD ALREADY BEEN SUFFERING FINANCIALLY FOR OVER A QUARTER OF A CENTURY, AND VERMONT - WHAT A DISASTER.  
 
 

I THINK WE NEED TO GET BACK THE CCC (CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS) OF THE DEPRESSION YEARS - IT WOULD HELP CREATE JOBS, AND IT WOULD PUT SOME SORELY NEEDED REBUILDINGS WHERE THEY ARE GREATLY NEEDED. LET'S GET A "REBUILD VERMONT'S BRIDGES AND ROADS" PLAN GOING. AND LET'S ALL HELP.  XOXOXOXO LETA

Leta, hugs and kisses to you, too - and thanks a million for writing in and sharing your thoughts. Are there others who are reading this post - homeowners and professionals and vendors in the Interior Design Community - who would join with Leta and me in supporting an industry-wide effort to help rebuild? Anyone out there with some great ideas for how we can make this happen?

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Update on September 14, 2011 by Design2Share

Super King Size Leather Beds: We just found a great collection of sleek leather bed designs. They add sophistication, whether your bedroom decor is traditional or modern. 

FEATURED PROJECT: DIY PAINTED HEADBOARD

Now is the perfect time to think about freshening up your interior space. With a splash of color here and a new piece of furniture there, it's easy to redecorate. Here's a quick, budget-conscious DIY design idea to help get you started.

Paint Your Own Headboard

Chances are if you if you purchased your bed frame as part of a bedroom set, the headboard is already included. If you don't want to put forth the extra cash, especially after paying for a pricey mattress, no problem! Painted headboards are a great way to add a pop of color to your bedroom.

Step 1: Measure the width of the head of your bed and mark it with blue painter's tape from floor to ceiling. Now, choose your color based on your desired color scheme. You obviously don't want it to be the same shade as your walls, but it should complement that color.

Step 2: Once you have your color, paint the wall, staying within the blue painters tape. Once the paint dries, if you choose to do so, you can detail with paint or with some removable wall decals from a company like Blik. For as little as $40, Blik makes easily removable wall decals in fun shapes like bookshelves, chandeliers, birds, etc. If this sounds like too much work, don't worry and leave your wall a solid color.

Step 3: Simply position your bed up against the painted wall, prop up some decorative Euro pillows in coordinating colors and patterns, and you have yourself a headboard. You might want to take this opportunity to invest in a new comforter or duvet in fun, light, spring colors. You'd be surprised at what a little bit of paint and some new bedding can do for your space!

Contemporary vanities and more at Decor Planet for your bathroom needs.

The Whats and Hows of Suspended Lighting

Janet Ramin - You walk into a room, any room, and one of the things you take for granted is that there’s going to be light. When there’s light, everything not only looks brighter - it also looks bigger. Plus, with the right well-positioned light bulbs, a room can be transformed into an inviting place. With this much interior design riding on lighting, you really can’t take it for granted.

One of the easiest ways to throw ambient light around the whole room is to suspend a light fixture in the center of the space. Recessed lighting or track lighting also works, but this requires more ceiling height, expert labor, and time to install; in short, more money. Hence the popularity of hanging light fixtures, which have become a great do-it-yourself project for homeowners (see the video below for how to install a suspended light). Besides its relative value, suspended lighting has the ability to become a focus, a point of interest - definitely another decorating advantage.

For centuries, the only source of artificial light was flames from oil or candles. To this day, we still have light fixtures that look like candles even if electricity is being used to power them. To hold these candles, chandeliers or candelabrums as they were originally called, were created during the medieval period. They were simply made with outstretched wooden arms and at the end of each arm a small dish with a candle was placed. As time went by, chandeliers became more elaborate with multiple arms, added crystals, and carved decorations. An example of this is the traditional Chateau Chandelier (above) from Murray Feiss available on CSN Lighting. 

If an elaborate chandelier is just too much for your space, but you need a light fixture for a traditionally-styled formal interior, the Savannah Chandelier from the Bethany collection is a pared-down version, more minimal but still an elegant piece (below, left). The arms and the intertwining vines have an Etruscan gold finish highlighted with hand-cut crystals. If you have a traditional interior with a rustic mood, you might try the Light Revolution Chandelier, a suspended light fixture from Forecast. The chandelier body is reminiscent of carriage wheels and evokes a country lodge atmosphere (below, right). 

For more contemporary interiors, sleeker chandeliers have been designed using geometric-shaped arms rather than the traditional curved lines. The Margo chandelier from AF Lighting (below, left) has pyramid-shaped arms with cut crystal hanging off its points. The Odyssey chandelier has rectilinear arms and cylinder candle holders wrapped in leather (below, right).

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Right Time to Consider a Small or Micro House

Irwin Weiner ASID - Victorian homes and McMansions - why are these two large-scale family homes relics of the past? First, they waste space. Many supersized homes are beyond human scale. They dwarf the inhabitants and oppress the spirit. I've seen it happen so many times. While it's good to have a enough space to avoid getting on one another's nerves, large homes have a tendency to promote isolation and weaken the fabric of the family unit ... you stay in your rooms and isolate yourself, you don't come together for meals. Microhomes and small homes are an antidote. They use far fewer building materials so are cheaper to build, they take up a smaller land footprint so you can incorporate more yard and outdoor rooms into your lot's building scheme, and they're infinitely more energy efficient and cost less to maintain. I have two featured videos for you today. One is a new microhouse, built quickly and efficiently on a concrete pier anchor (no basement).

And this video shows a Maine couple's bungaloo addition, giving us new perspectives on small homes - start small, get to know your home, center your family, and plan the ideal dream addition (in other words, add only what will add value to your home and to your lives once you get to know the space you're in).

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The New World Trade Center

Irwin Weiner ASID - The new World Trade Center complex of a memorial plaza and museum and multiple soaring office towers and a transportation hub is a construction project that many feared would never take place. But the new Trade Center is modern, bold, and fills a gap in Manhattan's skyline caused by the tragic loss of the original Twin Towers. At this time we remember what was, pray for peace, and look to the future with hope. The Memorial Plaza officially opens on September 11, 2011, with construction progressing on the other buildings and features.

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