parade float

I've had a lot of requests from family and friends to post pictures of the float we've been working on for the past six months.

Almost every Wednesday since January I have spent the afternoon in a warehouse building replicas of homes from the avenues, painting, glittering, laying sod, cutting fringe... many seemingly insignificant details that we would laugh about as we worked on it because the life span of a float during a parade is about 40 seconds from 40 feet away. 

The amount of detail that went into this thing was mind blowing.

 

Aside from the hours of planning and gathering the required materials needed, a retired architect built the 4 churches spending more than 400 hours on them.  25  homes were constructed and given out to our neighbors to decorate and personalize. 800 + paper flowers were made to go around the edges.  A professional artist donated his time for the murals painted on the base. And that's just naming a few projects I could think of quickly.  Our roughest guess is that well over 1,000 hours were put into this thing.

There was a steady stream of people stopping by to help or just say hello and check the progress.  And the master mind behind the whole project, Susan, made sure that every detail was considered and carried out flawlessly.  She was a joy to work and laugh with each week.  She came in under budget and right on schedule and even had time to plan a preview party and a lunch after the parade to make sure everyone knew how much she appreciated them.  Talk about the perfect leader.

The banner running around the base of the float is made up of images from the Utah Historical Society showing generations of the people from the five faiths represented on our float.  Why just these five?  Because there is a choir in our area made up of people from each congregation that my stake is a part of so it seemed fitting to focus on them.

A little detail shot of one of the houses I worked on.  Yes, that's my Vesper in the window.

I had fun with this project, but this is happily the end to my career in float building.  Two is more than enough for me!

project: room to grow

 I love doing teen rooms, especially girls rooms.  

Items left on the list of things to find: twin beds with storage, a reading lamp, and a rug.
The bedding has been ordered from Eastern Accents and while it looks really Asian in the catalog we are toning it down with walls painted a soft grown up pink, Beloved {by Kwal} and splashes of pink in a few accessories.  Our young clients {sisters} loves dance and cheer. 

+ Note! + Sign up to follow design sparrow to be eligible to win a fun kitchen gadget very soon.

project laundry room: decisions, decisions

We're in the home stretch with some finishing touches in the laundry room I have been working on over the last few months.  The 'let's start with the laundry room' approach soon turned into a much bigger project with the whole main floor being painted, accessorized and organized.  We are just now getting back to finishing what we started.

I picked up the knobs from Anthropologie for the new built in shoe storage drawers below an existing bench.  The four fabrics above are some options for the new cushion to make the bench a bright spot shining out from below beautiful new beadboard flanking the walls above it.

My choice would be the top right for the funky twist, my cute client is leaning towards the top left diamond pattern, care to weigh in while she is off rafting a wild river somewhere?

sure, why not?

When I was asked to design a float for the Davis County Clipper {small local newspaper} I said:

Sure, why not?

{The most dangerous sentence in my vocabulary.}

I pitched what I believed to be a hair brained idea to the owner to "Sail into the Future" with the Davis County Clipper by building a Clipper ship. I call it hair brained because of the tiny budget I was given, the grand scale idea of creating a ship in a little over a month, and my lack in experience of building floats, or ships.

With an enthusiastic "Full steam forward!" from the boss man we started in on extensive planning meetings.  I stressed the importance of talking over any changes from my original plans because I was really concerned about the proportions of the ship.  I knew there would be changes, I just wanted to be on them. With a 14' height restriction I knew making this thing look right was going to be tricky. 

We hit gale force winds when construction began.  I'm all for difficulties, I do love a good challenge, but not when my instructions are taken as suggestions.  That kind of challenge is a waste of energy.

Commence valuable lessons:

1- I'm an easy going leader, always have been, and suppose it always will be because it is my nature. But when it comes to important things I wish I could whip out a scary designer persona to get the point across that I'm in charge for a reason.  Someone has to have a plan and when I'm that person, I expect to be involved with decisions and changes...sigh...

2 - Budgets are fluid when the CFO of the company involves himself in your project. Sure, this involvement created more issues than I cared for, but I'm focusing on the positive here. Not often have I had a budget double in size.  I'll gladly take the flux in funds, but I would have used it on the originally planned fantastic rolling waves and other details lost in the mix that comes with having two chiefs {or Skippers, in this case.}

3 - Optimism is easy to come by when things are going my way. Harder to muster when I'm sitting alone on the dusty pavement in the shade of my car staring at the guts of the monster I created. Optimism can come in the form of shimmering plastic ocean and fantastic friends to the rescue.

4 - I have amazing friends and family. This isn't something I'm just learning. I've known this for a long time and continue to be amazed by the people in my life.  Heartfelt gratitude for them because they brought laughter and perspective when I wanted the beast to go sail away to Nebraska or wherever bad floats go to die.
{special thnx to Tony, Michele, Cade, Ashton, Parker, Christi, Ryan and RC1.}

 Standing back and gazing up at the beast at 2 am this morning after the last festoon was stapled into place, I can't say I feel like a complete failure, the float will float on.

The Centerville Parade with a crew of 3: Casey, Cade and Miss Utah.  The first of five Davis County parades for our dear Clipper.

As for my future in ship building?  I'd rather just sail off on an adventure somewhere on one.  This week last year I was passing through the Panama Canal on my way to Nicaragua and El Salvador.

for kicks and nostalgia sake...

Above: El Sal from the helicopter.

Me and Staff Sergeant Rix {no relation}, watching the dolphins after dinner.
Now that's how I enjoy a ship.

sketch clarity

I met with my client this afternoon to go over the plans for her kitchen remodel. As we made it through the demo plans, concept images and other supporting documents it was fun answering questions and hearing her enthusiasm for the project. The best time for me to work on project is directly after I meet with the client so I can coast on their dreams and wishes for the space. Without them I start to forget why I love my work and I get lost in all the work that has to be done.

I felt like the meeting was coming to an end when I flipped the last page and found a sketch I'd done this morning as I prepared to meet with her. I hadn't intended to use it in the presentation because I had so much to cover and didn't feel like it was in any way useful. I worked on it today because I needed to make sure I'd covered everything and somehow drawing does that for me.

When she saw it she said, 'Oh! Now I see it! Now I see how everything we just talked about works together.'
I know drawings help, I guess I just forget sometimes that just because a project lives in my mind in full color, it doesn't mean it does for everyone else.

Above is the new floor plan with an island, the dish washer moved to the left side of the sink and the fridge to the East wall with floor to ceiling pantry style cabinets.

project: kitchen remodel

Progress report on the kitchen remodel: I've met with contractors, suppliers, et al. The demo drawings are drawn, the details are being hammered out... now for some more progress. The kind with some action in the actual space. I'm antsy for dust and hammering in the near future.

The way this project has started is the usual design consultation plus additional design time to pull together all the details and drawings for the client to approve and either decide to go on with it on her own, or keep me on to make sure the plans go forward as I see them.

The small intimidated voice in me says 'take them and run' but the larger adventurous side says 'keep me around I'll make everything easier!'

Everyone has to have a starting place. I've designed {or decorated before the degree} for 7 years now but have never taken on anything of this size. It's time to see if I have what it takes.

{as usual, photos pulled from everywhere}

week 2 watercolor

the second week into the watercolor class and it is quickly becoming a highlight of my week.

I'm not falling in love with any of the studies we are doing, approaching them recklessly and not anticipating masterpieces at all. Instead, I'm playing with brush strokes and techniques and soaking in the creativity around me. I'm the least experienced by a decade or so, and I like seeing the different style of each artist around me.

We chat a little here and there; the silence is companionable and comfortable. Elanor, the lady sitting next to me, said last night that artists can say more by saying nothing at all just enjoying a moment together. I liked the sound of that. The happy birds singing out the end of the day, bunnies eating the herbs, squirrels and wedding guests wandering through our landscape all add to the ambiance of our evenings in the gardens.

I don't want this class to end.

hello water color, good bye boards

I'm taking a plein air water color class through the U of U and the location couldn't be better, Red Butte Gardens. We set up last week under a blossoming arbor in the herb garden and went to work.

I'm looking forward to the next few weeks to see if water color is going to be fun for me or not. Grandma was kind enough to share her paints and brushes with me so I wouldn't have to commit to it until I knew if I liked it enough. So far, so good. I like the unpredictability of the way the paints blend and move with the water. Or maybe it won't be so unpredictable when I know what I'm doing?

As I packed I decided my boards from school would not be making the move with me. I lined them up on the floor, said goodbye, then walked them out to the trash.

OK, so I saved a few. I would have been crazy to just toss them all. These things signify hundreds, probably thousands, of hours of my life from the last couple of years. But they served their purpose. I've grown from the process. Holding onto a few pretty fabrics and stone samples doesn't mean anything to me now. It was the process and the knowledge I took from it I hope I'll never forget.

Besides, it was just way to fun to stuff them into the trash. Satisfying and liberating.

in the works: country club charm

Imagine driving down a quiet lane with spring green golf course grass stretching out on either side of the street {you can practically hear golfers exhaling joyously right?} This was the blissful approach to a new client's home earlier this week. I felt the familiar tug of the driving range but it was quickly forgotten when my new client showed me her home.

She is midway through a kitchen remodel and needs a few finishing touches to bring it all together. Any designer would like to be involved from the beginning of a project but I'm happy to help with the details. After all, those are what really make a room shine.
The walls are painted a fantastic Sherwin Williams Ryegrass, with dark alder cabinetry and a giant white brick fireplace flanking the south wall with bookshelves and work space for the kids to do homework.

Stretching from the front to back of the home, there is plenty of room for a giant dining table to be custom made by our woodworking geniuses. With room to spare at the west end of the room for a funky red leather sofa and some comfy reading chairs tucked into what used to be the breakfast nook.

The result: Country chic with old charm and eclectic whimsy.

I searched high and low for the right fabric for the window treatments. It couldn't be serious or bland. It needed some black and it definitely needed a lot of color. I love asking a lot of my fabric but I never fall in love with it too soon because I've learned no matter how much I want to invite it over for cupcakes, my client has to love it too. This picture really doesn't do it justice. It is vibrant, cool, unpretentious.
I'll find out on Monday if her heart beats a little faster when she sees this beauty from Stoheim and Romann. It's discontinued with just enough left for us to work magic if it grabs at her heart too.

I like candles in the kitchen. Especially in any kind of glass vase or hurricane. Clean and classic and adds that special touch at meals if you choose that romantic route. {why not?!}

And surprisingly, if having fresh flowers around isn't an option, I'm starting to be swayed by the option to have a preserved arrangement around for color and texture. I'm not saying just any one would do, I'm ultra picky when it comes to that kind of thing. I've never been keen on the fake stuff, but these are quite nice.

A globe in the kitchen nook with the red sofa and reading chairs would be a fun, unexpected item. Just think of the conversations started by thoughts on travel, adventure and the great unknown.

sorting ideas

I knew I was getting ahead of myself when I stopped in quickly to check out some accessory possibilities for the laundry room I mentioned in my last post. Of course I found all the perfect things and had to resist loading my trunk full of treasures and taking them home to wait for their glory day. {self control comes along when I least expect it, best to grab at it when I can}

Wouldn't this be the quirkiest lamp for a laundry room? I love it!


you can't hear me, but I just sighed the biggest sigh ever. The search for the perfect dress has gone on for months. {and months.} High and low for something colorful, not too casual, not too fancy, just pretty. And this was it. Yes, I said was. It arrived, I hung it up lovingly and made plans for the way we would go out together and have wonderful times wherever we went. I won't go into the why of how it got to be that our days were cut short together. It was just not meant to be, but I will hold all future dresses up to this dress. {'why ask why?' as my brilliant big brother would say.}


This one really doesn't fit into my stream of thought at all right now, but I took it a couple weeks ago one lovely night spent on the slopes after a giant snow storm. I was pried away from 'that portfolio of yours' and was so glad for the respite.

spic & span

I spent some time this afternoon with one of my favorite clients talking about ways to make her laundry room {and other areas in her home} more functional.
She is so fun to be around, so of course her laundry room should be too!

If there is any one room I especially love in a house; the laundry room is right up there on the short list for their warmth, spring meadow/mountain rain/lavender freshness and the heaps of organizational opportunities maxing out my need for order.

Some things I think should be included: work surface, storage galore, easily accessible things to make the chore not so chore-ish, and whimsy. Whimsy in unexpected places. {I'm thinking pretty patterned lining in drawers and cupboards and the details usually saved for less industrious spaces.}

I'm curious what works for you in your laundry room in your home? What would you do differently? Do you dream about laundry rooms like I do? I would love to hear your feedback on this.