Green Events in Atwater Village

Every Saturday in January there will be a small "Ask the Experts" event in Atwater Village. On the 9th and 23rd, it will be held at Jill's Paint on Larga Avenue. There will be several of us at Jill's from 1 - 5 pm to offer advice and suggestions on how to use and find the greenest products for your project or remodelling plan. The other two events will be garden-oriented, and held at Everything Gardens on the 16th and 30th. So, if you're looking for advice on xeriscaping, composting or rainwater catchment, hit them up!

(Click the image to view a full, readable size)

Recent Projects

Last year was interesting. I noticed that many of my projects were of the "repair and restoration" variety. This seemed to suit not only people's budgets, but their growing sense that taking care of what you have has as much value as tearing out the old and putting in bigger, better, newer stuff. I like this a lot, because I hate to see things wasted, and with a growing awareness of our collective need to live sustainably, it makes me happy and restores my faith in humanity.

Back in the early 90s when everyone was supersizing their houses, I remember working in a high-rise condo in Florida that had several whole-floor penthouses at the top of the building. The entire floor below where I was working was being demolished, down to the concrete. It had been done for a wealthy client who never even moved in, but was chock-full of marble and columns and custom woodwork and jacuzzi tubs, etc. etc. The new buyer didn't like any of it, so they just ripped it out so they could put in their own stuff. It was appalling, and I wonder about that person's karma to this day.

The photo at top is what I'm working on this week. It's a relatively new floor in a remodelled 60s ranch in the Hollywood Hills. The original footprint and bones of the house were saved, as well as its essence, but the improvements moved the home into the modern age, and the homeowner took great care to create a home that is as efficient as it is handsome.

Alas, in the year and a half since this cork mosaic floor was installed, the blazing southwestern sun faded it in varying degrees across more than half the kitchen (window treatments are now on order!). So, in order to get it back to its original color, I've spent the last few days slowly making my way around the floor, painting each tiny circle with a tinted clearcoat. It's been oddly meditative! I'm almost done, so I thought I'd post these progress shots. I'll update with a finished one next week.

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Another recent project involved staining some older furniture pieces deep brown and giving them a fresh clearcoat. They had great lines and a lot of soul. The side table, before:

And after:

Coffee table before:

and after:

Greenfolio Event in Los Angeles

Wednesday, October 14th at the Livingreen store here in Los Angeles (10000 Culver Blvd., Culver City), the new website Greenfolio is hosting an event to introduce itself to the public and to the eco-conscious design community. I'll be there, along with other designers, artisans, architects and consultants. Check out the Greenfolio site for more info about Los Angeles area green design, or register to come to the event and take a closer look.

I got blogged today in Norway.

And she said lots of nice things (thanks, Google Translate)! :)

Color Consulting Saturday July 25th

I'll be doing a stint at Jill's Paint in Atwater Village this weekend

as the in-store color consultant.

If you're in the neighborhood, stop by and say hi!

Store consults are free of charge, but if you need more help, I can come to your home and give you a more specific and customized consult.  Please message me for details on pricing.

Click on the image above to view full-size.

Mural for Dwell on Design 2009

The Dwell on Design Show was a lot of fun - two days of preparations, and three days of painting as the show took place.

Here, the colors are blocked in and the masked-off circles are in progress.

Circles complete and two of the designs chalked in, ready to get a quick start for Friday morning, when designers and architects will come to the show.

This is where I was with it by Saturday afternoon. It was actually a little difficult to drag this out over three days since we are all used to working quickly. One other thing that I wanted to mention is that all the murals were painted with Benjamin Moore's new Natura paint line, which has a Zero VOC (volatile organic compounds) rating. They've developed a new pigment system, so that now you can get a paint this eco-friendly in any color your heart desires. I was very impressed with the paint, and think it might be even tougher than their old paints - it was harder to wash off my hands, and displayed excellent washability once dry. It has virtually no odor, and very good coverage.

I definitely plan to start using it for many more of my projects.

The mural was relatively complete by Sunday afternoon - I could have continued to play with it, but at a certain point it felt good to say "enough!"

Benjamin Moore was a great sponsor, and ended up buying the panels after the show. Three of the murals will be installed at Jill's Paint in Atwater Village - many thanks to Peggy McCloud's determined efforts, and Julie Herrin's generosity.

A big thank you to everyone who came by!

Dwell on Design Home Show

I just found out today that Dwell has added my sketch for the mural to their website. (That's mine on the right) Pretty cool. Now I wish I'd taken the time to make my boxes square! Haha. I've been prepping the mural yesterday and today so that tomorrow when the show opens there will already be something to see. I'll post more photos as it's completed.

See the page.