The New Year

As we finish out the first month of 2015 and fully embrace the new year we are presented with untold possibilities for design in our spaces.
As I look at my environment I am amazed at the variety of  textures and colors that abound.  Even in this winter season I see all shades of browns, greys and tans - white in every shade and showing hints of many colors.  Clear blue in the sky and gorgeous red, pink, blue, and yellow sunsets.  What I see in January lets my mind rest a bit from the busy holiday season.  It calms me and invigorates me as I head into the rest of the year.

Thoughts as we leave 2014

Just a note as we close out 2014 and launch into 2015 -  a couple of quotes printed by my brother, Mark Kokott , (calligrapher), come to mind, "The secret of Christmas is not the things you do at Christmas-time - but the Christmas things you do all year through" -  this approach keeps the spirit of giving alive all year.  And speaking of Christmas things all year through, "You can never do a kindness too soon - for you never know how soon it will be too late".
Off to the diverse world of design, color, shape, form and texture - perhaps you'll be adding one or more of these to your design space in 2015.

This Christmas I decided to use a gingerbread theme for Christmas decorating.  The idea came from long ago when my 3 children were small and friends and I decided to have a Christmas craft and bake sale - "gingers" cut from brown paper bags indicated products and prices.  My 3 children are grown now and I fondly remembered the gingerbread idea.

The colors I featured were red, green, white and the spicy brown color of gingerbreads.  The "gingers" could be found in every room and in most places they are holding hands and making merry for Christmas.  You may wonder how the Christmas theme of gingerbreads fits into Design Consulting?  I do a monthly article for our local Pioneer newspaper - www.bowmanextra.com and I do seasonal Home Design Parties to feature my business.  This allows people to see my home and ask lots of design questions.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year - I'll post in the new year.

It's in the Details

The design space that I want to talk about today is the Library of Congress. It is a very majestic, beautiful building showing off what America could do as a fledgling nation.  It was built in 1897 in the Beaux Art (Renaissance) style that was very popular in the late 1800’s.  This style of architecture is very ornate with elaborate carvings gracing the pillars, staircases, and ceilings.  Every carving depicts a type of work or field of study that a civilized country eventually develops.  These include music, art, literature, medicine, history, and law, to name a few. 

Design Consulting

How it all began.  I was raised in a remarkable family - our home was decorated in Polynesian style - very unusual, considering we lived in the middle of the country in a small town.  Our father was in the South Pacific during WWII and loved the islands; this became the inspiration for our Mom's decorating style.  

I've always loved colors and used to go to sleep rearranging rooms in my mind as I drifted off.

This translated into a love of design and a degree in Interior Design. In 2007 my business, Design Consulting, was launched.  I do design consultations for residential and commercial clients.