Design Project - a log home!

MN Design Project

What do the numbers 1, 2, 4, 40 and 460 have to do with each other?  These numbers describe our latest design project - 1 log home, 2 people with very different ideas, 4 out buildings, 40 acres and 460 miles from our present home to the new one. 

We are at work on a retirement home in the MN woods - it is especially exciting as it is the first home we've purchased together since we got married.  We both love log homes so are very excited to be putting our own touches on it.  Family members will be helping with the work and as our grand daughter says "it is a team project".  The cabin has good bones but needs some tender loving care to bring it back to its initial beauty.
We will keep you posted on the progress we make as we go through the process of making it into our "new home".



 

Fun with Lighting

Tess's Lamp

Years ago I fabricated my first light fixture - it was purely experimental and I did not know if it would work.  It was 6 sided and each side was composed of clear Contac paper onto which I stuck yellow, orange, red, and brown torn pieces of tissue paper.  My Dad helped my build the frame and figure out how to light it.  Our first lighting of it was with two 40W bulbs hanging down the center of the lamp - it glowed!  Later, when small decorative lights came out on the market I used strings of them to light it.  My Sister, Tess, used my idea and built a smaller version of my lamp - she lent it to me so I use different fabrics on it as I go through the seasons.  Right now it is all oranges, browns and greens.

My bathroom chandelier is an idea I found on HGTV - it is constructed of 2 metal wreath rings that hang one inside the other connected by metal key rings.  From these two rings hang beads in a variety of colors.  For my summer chandelier I have orange disks, green leaf beads, and magenta string beads - the colors make me think of sunny summer days. 

Bathroom Chandelier

Found Objects

Throughout my design life I have found objects that others would throw away, reclaimed them, and found new uses for them in my interiors.


French window

2 French windows were the first items - I painted them cream puff (a soft white), and eventually added mirrors in each of the 24 spaces - they now hang in my living room.  A china cabinet door given to me by my brother, Tim,  has had a mirror added to it and I painted it va va voom, (a cross between magenta and raspberry) - it, too, has found a spot in my living room.  12 clear Ball canning lids have been fabricated into a stain glass piece.
What enjoyment I have found in working with old items and giving them new life!

China cabinet door

Stained Glass w/Ball lids

How I Develop Ideas

When I began developing my Interior Design business, Design Consulting, one of my goals was to provide good, comprehensive, and up-to-date information and ideas for each client's particular design challenges.
To do that I rely on my interior design training and my desire to keep learning and growing in my field.  The more I know the more I have to offer clients - and with each client I am looking at their situation with "fresh eyes".
One client I worked with does extensive quilting and embroidering.  She needed a way to keep embroidery books and materials accessible.  I suggested a cabinet with a canted top for her sample book and shelves under that for the thread boxes.  Her grandson built the cabinet for a Bowman County Fair project and he won a blue ribbon for it.

Here's the blue ribbon winner!