Designer Mecca

Welcome to NeoCon, the annual event in Chicago at the Merchandise Mart where designers the world over come together! It's an exciting time to view new products, network, attend special events, seminars, and parties that never end! It's nice that ASID has hooked into it now, too! I enjoyed seeing many ASID colleagues from "back in the day".

The crush in the halls and waits for the elevator are all part of the experience. Generally, the stairs are the best bet for not having to wait in endless queues. All in all, the Merchandise Mart staff are always friendly, helpful, polite, and efficient in handling the masses.

I enjoy being inspired by innovative displays at NeoCon. DSG Custom Glass had a great display showing their digital printing directly on glass. Here you can have your cake and eat it too. If you like the clean lines of modern but can never quite give up the seduction of the Louis', here's your solution. The glass was epoxied to a sturdy steel frame.

Wilsonart had these cute red dresses hanging on a rack. The drawers are totally functional. With laminate, all that restricts you is your imagination.

These magnifying glasses, suspended from wire, were individually screwed into the ceiling. I like crazy ideas that make you want to see more, literally!

Here I am taking a break. I observed people in the hall wrapped in these pink straps, and come to find out, they are "chairs"! I was worried that if I sat down, I wouldn't be able to get up; I was so tired by the end of the day. Now THIS is a minimal chair. You can put it in your pocket and it's always ready when you are!

Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil, See No Evil

Here I am with Pipa Bradbury, interior designer and furniture designer, and Sybil van Dijs, ASID, interior designer and ASID national board member.

Winter: Fog Blog

I love the color gray. I have used it often in kitchens, bathrooms, and bedrooms. It is a calm and peaceful color; ever ready to invoke a subtle, sophisticated and steady influence on the cacophony of our lives. I have been asked to do an apartment in Chicago and spent time there this past week. Floor to ceiling windows on the the 10th floor presented a vista of gray, overcast skies. Somehow, intuitively, my client and I decided on a soft gray for the kitchen walls. Being on the far end of the apartment, yet in view of the windows, it seemed the right visual balance for a typical gray Chicago day. The apartment will be alive with plenty of bright colors, so the grey will act as a neutralizing force.

When I returned to St. Louis, a thick blanket of fog had descended. Again, it is the quiet, the muting of color, that I find so magical about fog. The nuances are infinite, as one's vision makes constant adjustments to focus.

Perhaps because I weary of the bombardment of color, I welcome the respite of gray to collect my thoughts. I also like the way that a familiar place can be altered so as to be unrecognizable. It makes the ordinary extraordinary. But be careful: one can easily lose one's way in a thick fog!

St. Louis Country Club

My daughter is now at University College London. She has been there a few weeks and has seen the sun on only two days. Fortunately, she loves the color gray! When I first went to England, I felt I understood why the English enjoy all those riotous colorful floral chintzes.  They need the color to offset the gray!