Rain is dangerous.

Today it's raining. As in the clouds are being wrung out dry by some giant fairy with gargantuan hands... and I LOVE it. I love it because, for the first time in along time, I don't have a back-to-back list of appointments lined up. Sure, there's a new kitchen to design, a property to pull comps on, and a litany of deadlines to follow up on... but hey... no appointments. I can do all of that... from home... from my couch! While I listen to the rain (and my husband chatting on the phone), and I snuggle up in this minky blanket. Goodness gracious... the things blankets are made of these days! Am I right? I've never wanted to be a baby again so much as when I feel the blankets they're pumping out at TJ Maxx, Macy's and even Walmart.

I could liken today's work to that of reading a good book in a snowstorm. The rain makes it that cozy and quaint... and, I guess I should be honest... I think I like a good design project as much as a good book anyhow.

I'm working on layouts today. It's time to remove another wall. Walls just get in the way, don't they? I mean, I love having definition of spaces (like columns, or pony walls, or track doors, or whatnot). I'm not really drawn to the complete open-concept idea of everything being in one giant, rectangular room, but walls just tend to get me in a tiff. They aren't conducive to entertaining, or cooking, or anything... except walling things off. Be gone with them!

So, the walls are coming out. In my own kitchen, they are coming out. Too bad I can't find the sledge hammer... today.

Where be the pics?

I’ve been inviting into countless homes to offer design ideas and inspiration, but I’ll be honest. My documentation skills have not been up to par. Let’s face it… I get busy with the next job, the potty-training 2-year-old, and my obsession with updating my own castle that I just move on.  My “after” pictures never seem to do the room justice, and then I just feel as if the project looks anti-climactic, when it’s really not. I’m vowing to improve in this area. Documentation, here I come! You’re my new charter in life! Fortunately, I’ve been referred to some amazing photographers and videographers to help capture the magic. Absolute magic…. Transforming a room. At least that is how I see it in my mind… the room breaks down to nothing but empty walls and a shell of a room… and then it miraculously starts to rebuild… a functional tidbit here… a touch of love and character there. And the most magical part of it all is when I stand in a finished space, open my eyes, and see a room that is even better than I imagined it to be in the first place. Magic.