Ideas for Your Place, while Sheltering in Place

Photo courtesy of @southcongresscottage

Hi everyone! To help us all avoid “Sheltering in Place” depression, I decided to offer something productive. Here is a blog post to hopefully inspire you with home ideas while you’re stuck there. Enjoy!

1.     Give your space a springtime facelift. Look at your throw blankets, pillows, bedding - freshen up the colors & textures for warmer weather. Put some greenery from the yard in a vase! I’ve taken this time at home to spruce up my deck and put seed in the bird feeders.

2.     Speaking of feeling fresh for spring: now is a good time to wash slipcovers, pillow covers, and rugs. I for one have items that get dingy where our dog likes to lounge.

3.     Organize. I’ve had several clients & friends tell me they’re taking advantage of this extra time to organize their closets, home office, pantry - you name it! First on MY list is our Guest Bedroom. It is currently over-run by gift bags.

4.     Rearrange your furniture. I used to do this to my bedroom all the time as a child. It’s a chance to get rid of dust-bunnies & it will give you a fresh perspective.

5.     If you have kids at home, create child art. Kids are absolutely the best artists! Give them paint & let them go to town. If there’s an area where you need color - point them in the right direction, then frame it!

6.     Re-arrange a vignette area (coffee table, book shelf, sofa table, etc.). Swap out what’s there for new books, a framed picture or two, maybe a candle. These areas can get tired and stale if you don’t revisit them every now and then.

7.     Speaking of candles, light your favorite one. Just for you. Yep, no one else. Just you.

And lastly, stay connected with loved ones and friends. This experience can feel isolating. I tend to enjoy my alone time, but even I’m getting pangs of cabin fever. We’ll get through it if we all stick together (yes, 6’ apart, but TOGETHER)!

Discerning Product Quality

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

Today more than ever, consumers have easy access to trendy design. Every time I open my email or social media, companies are promoting popular products at cheaper prices. Often clients become tempted by these offers, but lately I react with skepticism. I wasn’t always that way, but after seeing clients get burned a few times, I’ve learned that these purchases frequently result in disappointment.

So how are we to discern quality? Here are a few tips:

1) Quality craftsmanship takes time and care.  I recently launched a hardware line (check us out at www.finerystudio.com), and vetting manufacturers was an educational experience. The first prototypes from my local machinist cost me $500 each (yes, that’s right, for a cabinet pull!) because he spent hours working through each design by hand to achieve the most elegant craftsmanship and durable fabrication strategies. From there I needed a source for volume production and streamlined pricing, so I sampled factories both in the U.S. and overseas. What I discovered was fascinating. The cheaper, overseas samples at first glance looked promising. Upon inspection, however, they had subtle quality compromises. Design details were less defined, components did not fit together as snugly, and screw holes were not tapped cleanly or straight (not something you would discover until installation). The short-cuts taken were likely to optimize manufacturing efficiency and lower costs, but it was an overall lesson in ‘you get what you pay for’.

2. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. You’ve heard me say this before. Pay close attention to every dimension and detail (including the weight). I once had a client send me a link to a toilet online that was half the price of what we found at the local plumbing supply house. It had the same product name, but a different model number. At first the swap and savings seemed like a ‘no-brainer’, but what we discovered before ordering was that it was really short. As in: a toilet for little people. What a disappointing mistake that would have been!

3. Get your eyes on it, or make sure someone you trust has seen it. It is the best way to avoid surprises that weren’t visible in the picture. I have had clients drive to Dallas or Houston to get their eyes on a light fixture, tub, or sofa if none of us have first hand experience with it.

4. Better yet, touch it. Quality materials feel different. Have you ever run your hand across a silk fabric or marble counter and said ‘Oooh’. That’s what I’m talking about. Every time I hand a piece of our solid brass constructed Finery hardware to someone they say ‘Wow. That’s heavy.’ Quality materials are solid and durable.

5. Research the quality indicators for specific items. In our industry, there are known methods that indicate quality. For example, with sofas you’ll hear construction terms such as “solid wood frame” and “eight way hand-tied” springs. For plumbing fixtures, pay attention that the mechanical guts of the fixture are metal rather than plastic (hint – they will weigh more). It is common for well-known plumbing brands to have an “A” grade and a “B” grade product offering: the “A” grade is for plumbing supply houses, and the “B” grade is for big box stores. For rugs, “hand-knotted” means that hours and hours went into creating that piece by hand on a loom, and it is essentially a piece of art that will last forever. You get the idea.

The bottom line is: if a purchase is important to you, ask questions, do your research, and proceed with caution before being tempted by a great deal!

The Functional Home

These custom shelves are an example of elegant yet functional solutions we are providing through Finery (Shelf designed in conjunction with artisan Kyle Nutter, photo by Annie Bacon).

When working with clients I ask a lot of questions. Questions not only about what colors and textures make them feel good, but also about their lifestyle and the needs of their family. While there are basic requirements that are common to most modern day families, each is unique and has a more specific layer of needs. For example, do you frequently entertain? Do your kids play sports or musical instruments? Do they manage their own laundry and therefore need a “kids’ laundry room”? (you can only hope, right?). All of these considerations come into play. Tapping into your list of functional desires is a passion of mine. To learn more about my new Finery product line and how it evolved from this passion, check out the update at the bottom.

Whether you are remodeling or building a new home, think about special areas of functional importance. I have had clients fully deck out their mudrooms, making sure to have chargers for kids’ phones, cabinets for tennis racquets, and vented drawers for stinky shoes. Recently I designed a laundry room where the client planned a special area for an LG Styler – a built-in steam cabinet where you hang your clothes inside and they come out perfect (wow – who knew?). For me, I have a list of things I’d like for my next house. It includes: 

1. An actual laundry ROOM rather than a laundry CLOSET. I love the idea of having a sink, an area to fold, and some cute canvas rolling hampers. Yes, I have specific ones in mind from a company called Steele (http://www.steelecanvas.com).

2. A mud area. It doesn’t have to be a specific room per se, but at least a counter or designated area where I can drop things. A place that isn’t my kitchen counter.

3. A kitchen that flows. I remodeled ours a few years ago to remove what was once a dead-end corner, and it made all the difference in the world for comfortable entertaining.

4. An organized closet. One that is well planned and has ‘a place for everything and everything in its place’. I often work with a local company called More Space Place (https://www.morespaceplaceaustin.com/). They offer all kinds of great accessories such as tie caddies, jewelry inserts, hampers – you name it! Plus they’ll work hand-in-hand with you to custom design your closet.

Lastly, I am hoping for a lap pool, but this doesn’t really count in my list of functional needs.

So my suggestion is, before you remodel or build, make a list of the things that are important to you and research what’s available to help you optimize function. There are new offerings on the market daily!

Regarding our Finery product line – We launched in October, and I hope you’ll check it out! The website is www.finerystudio.com and our tagline is “Beautiful Tools for a Finer Life”. We are currently in production with some luxury cabinet hardware (I designed it to solve some common hardware challenges, and most of it is made in the USA of 94% recycled materials), and I am also in development with some beautiful shelving units and hook wall systems for mudrooms, entryways, or anywhere else you desire lovely function. All products were designed by me, developed in conjunction with local artisans, and many are on display at the local Alexander Marchant showroom (1617 W. Koenig Lane). Come along on our journey toward beautiful functionality. If you’re on Instagram, follow us at finerystudio.