Kristin Drohan Interior Design

Eco Friendly Kitchen and Bath Products

Okay, so long time no post.  What can I tell ya.  I took a little sabbatical.  Not at Cirque Lodge or anything.  I was on vacay and I'm spending time with my kids.  I've found that all work and no play makes me, dull, pissy, and no fun.  I'm working on balancing work and life.  Recently, I started working on  a whole house update for an eco friendly client.  My research for this project has uncovered some cool stuff, so I thought I'd share.  Part of the project includes updating the kitchen and three baths.  That means cabinets, flooring, tile, counters, fixtures etc.  My cabinet company of choice is Wood Mode.  Most of my clients lean more traditional, so bamboo or some of the other eco options just don't work atheistically.  The great thing about Wood Mode is that they are ESP ( Environmental Stewardship Program) certified.  They use sustainably forested wood and a Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer which virtually eliminates VOC's (Volatile Organic Compounds) in the finishing process.  That means when cabinetry is installed, there won't be any off gassing to effect the indoor air quality.  

 
Here is the product design board.  I have blogged about ECO by Consentino before.  This is a countertop material made from 75% post industrial and consumer waste.  It is heat resistant, doesn't need to be sealed, and doesn't scratch or stain.  Some of my favorite color ways are featured above.  Priced similiar to granite, it comes in 10 1/2 ft slabs, which eliminates the need for seams when installed. What more could you want?  I've also included WaterSense faucets for both the kitchen and bath.  This is an EPA designation that reduces water usage by 20% but does not sacrifice performance.  Lastly, I have featured Forecast Lighting's Organic Modern grasscloth pendants and Ben Moore's Aura paint.  Aura is low VOC not zero VOC which is their Natura line.  Even though Aura is a bit pricier, my contractors think it has superior performance.  There you have it...My client's Coastal Inspired Eco Friendly Kitchen and Baths.  I'll keep you posted on our progress. 

Lack of Posts

I first must apologize for the lack of recent and regular posts.  It has been bat crap nutters in my life lately both personally and professionally (I so want to use the "s" word, but my husband claims I must stay professional on this blog...hmmm we won't mention the swear words that immediately come to mind in response to that advice).  Suffice it to say, like many Bostonians, we are fighting back the waters the last two weeks due to the historic monsoon that has positioned itself over the area.  The big news is that The Kristin Drohan Collection of furniture will be debuting at High Point in two weeks.  I will be in the new Salon area Suites at Market Sq showroom G-7034 (right by the Starbucks).   This was an opportunity that came about rather quickly and I'm scrambling like crazy to get everything done.  In addition, I committed to taking an advanced computer class using my Minutes Matter software prior to knowing about market.  Today I'm posting my homework case study for your "entertainment" and to show you what I'm learning.  Lame?  maybe.  I just don't have any creative juices left for the blog these days. 

 

Case Study:  We were given the picture below of our faux client's home.  The assignment was to add window treatments that offer light control as well as insulation. The chairs and lamp can go, but the table and paint color stays. 

Before:

 

After:

 
 
I'll be honest, I don't love the color palette I chose, but this was more about my computer skills than the decor choices.  I didn't have enough time for better decorating, so try to overlook that.  Notice the transparency of the woven roman shades.  I also had to crop out the old chairs and lamp as well as the plant.  I imported a lamp from Arteriors Home and added it to scale in the pic.  The stripe curtain fabric is Robert Allen from their new Dockside Collection.  The ability to show clients how something will look before it is fabricated is pretty cool.  I have to admit, I get addicted "playing" with the program and have started using it to design my furniture pieces.  Feel free to comment on anything or ask questions.

I'm going to join Paula Grace for Timeless Tuesday.  Head over and join us.

 

What's Next After the Style Evaluation?

Sorry for the lack of recent posts.  I've been swamped with a couple new projects.  When I'm in the beginning stages of a project, I have a hard time doing anything else until I have the last detail specified.  I dream about it, obsess over it, and I can't focus on much else.  Thank goodness it only lasts for a few days.  I'd pretty much stink at mothering and wifeing if I was like this all the time. 

What happens after I hone in our a client's style profile?  The next step is to put the room dimensions and architectural elements into a scaled space plan.   I use a 1/4 in equals one Ft. scale in my computer program.  Many have asked what program I use.  I use Minutes Matter instead of Auto Cad because, it is simply prettier.  I can put the exact fabric I'm specifying on the curtains, pillows, and upholstery.  I have found it to be a valuable visual.  With many of my clients in other states, this is a way I can communicate exact specifications to them.   If I'm having something custom built, I use Auto Cad for that.  Most contractors prefer to use Auto Cad drawings when they are constructing something.  We don't need pretty for that.  This is what a space plan would look like.

Much prettier than black and white, yes?  I can even put the exact rug in the plan.  In this case, it is a simple sisal rug.  The white square in the right hand corner is where I put details and pricing.   I can either print it with the grid lines or not.  I usually don't print them but to show you I thought this might be helpful.  BTW, this was for a client who is  Transitional Casual Coastal.  They have a newly constructed home with craftsmen details located in New England.   I can't wait to transform this space.  It is going to be an awesome Before and After.   If you were my client would you prefer a colored space plan?  Grid lines or not? I'll be joining both Met Monday at BNOTP and Blue Monday at Smiling Sals.  Make sure you check them out. 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm headed off to Florida to spend Thanksgiving with my parents and brother.  I'm feeling very thankful these days.  We are through the move and are settling in.  My business has gathered steam.  We are all healthy (knock on wood).  Does anyone else do the knock on wood?  I hate verbalizing anything positive, so I always knock on wood.  I don't really care how crazy that makes me either.  Back to the thankfulness... The kids are transitioning with new friends and sports teams.  As rough as the past few months have been, I'm just so glad we are all through it.   I'm really looking forward to relaxing with my family and enjoying some warm weather.  A side note on the weather.  Apparently, Boston has been trying to impress me with some really amazing fall weather despite the very negative rumors I heard to the contrary.  So for that, I'm also thankful.  Lastly, I'm thankful for blog readers who leave comments. 

Here's some Thanksgiving table eye candy for you.

So, which table would you want to be sitting at for Thanksgiving?

More High Lights

I have so much going on right now and there is so much to write about from Market.  Tonight, I have several dozen clients of a local realty company coming to my house for a cocktail party and design presentation.  Robert Allen, Peyton Home, and Sherwin Williams have all contributed to the swag bag.  So, I thank them all for that.   On Monday, I head to NC to attend Hickory Chair University.  I'm really excited, I've heard it is phenomenal.  We spend two jam packed days going through their manufacturing facility to receive education on how everything is fabricated.

Back to High Point.  Another popular look that was repeated in several showrooms was the use of linen.  Linen linen linen.  It was everywhere.  Check it out. 

Haute House

 

More Haute House

 

Palecek

 

Aidan Gray

 

J. Douglas

 

Van Guard

 

 
Cisco Brothers

I'm really curious to see what you think of this look.  It is in Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware, Ballard Designs, and Wisteria.  Is anyone buying it?

 

Off to High Point

I'm off to market see you next week.

 
 

Sneak Peak - Before and Afters

Today I'm participating in Blue Monday at Smiling Sally since the pics contain one of my colors, Blue and Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch.  I know everyone is waiting for some house pics.  I'm going to post a couple little ones.  The first one I'm posting is a little cranny on the second floor in the front of the house. With storage being an issue in this house, I didn't want any space to go to waste.  It originally contained nothing.  I had a custom bench fabricated and made the space into a window seat.  The bench is a separate piece of furniture and contains storage.  I wanted the bench to be flexible and able to be reused in many different ways.  I'm so happy with it, I'm going to include it in my new eco-upholstery line. (launching really soon)

 

The window seat is the right hand second story window

 

This is the space before.  It isn't a very good pic.  We all know my picture taking skills need some improvement.  I stink.

 

This is the after.  I just couldn't let this little cranny go to waste.  So now we have function, and an inviting vignette at the top of the stairs. 

Okay, one more.

 

This is the before.  I'm going to show you the space where the cardboard boxes are leaning against the wall.

 

Here is the after.  You don't see the stairs in the first pic.  They are to the right.  This is a transition between the nook and family room.  You gotta love the character of older homes.  Hope you like the pics.

Tribute to my 100 yr old Grandma

I'm feeling some big time guilt today. Tomorrow, my Grandma turns 100.  With our move this summer I simply could not get back to Iowa for this occasion.  I feel really kind of sick about it.  Last year my brother, sister in law,  and my family all flew in and we had a party for her 99th birthday at her nursing home.  She is in a state-of-the-art memory unit in Boone, IA.  ( I know, who'd of thunk Boone, IA would have state-of-the-art anything).  She doesn't do too bad physically but really struggles with her memory.  When we visit she doesn't know who we are specifically but knows we are her family.  So in this post I will honor her by showing you pictures of all the special things I have in my home that were once hers.

  

Last year my Mom brought me this box of silver pieces (some of it is plated) that were from my Grandma.  None of it had been polished in a long time and I had no idea what to do with it.  At first, I really didn't want it.  The thought of polishing all that stuff was not appealing.  Really, there are very few household jobs worse than polishing silver.  So I sucked it up one day and started working on it.  It took the entire day and about 100 flipping cloths but I got it done.  Okay, I cheated a bit and paid my cleaning woman to do one tea set.  I'd like to curse, swear, cuss right here to emphasize how much this job stunk.  In the end, it was worth the blood, sweat, and swearing. I put it all in my china cabinet and here was the the end result.  It is my favorite display in my house. 

In addition to all the china my Mother also brought me all my Grandma's linens. She had  napkins in just about every color of the rainbow.  Again, I'm thinking what in the *&&*@* am I going to do with this stuff.  They'd been ironed and starched to a meticulous crispness I didn't think I could ever replicate if used.  My Grandma was one of those who used to iron her underwear.  Well this apple fell an orchard away from that tree.  I've tried to replicate the starched napkins and have failed.  As you can see in the picture the first two rows are hers and the orange mine.  Notice the pathetic difference. 

I also have some great chairs from her that I had reupholstered.  Here they are.

The Chippendale Wing 

The Black Velvet Berg-ere

The Camel Back Fauteuil

 

I just love these chairs.  The wing back is my husband's "official chair".  BYW if you want to know approximately how you say fauteuil, which means chair in French.  My little French instructor at Les Arts Decoratifs tried very hard to get me to pronounce it correctly.  It is like FAH toy.  With a French accent of course.  I truly stink to high heaven at French.  Spanish was my minor in college. I can trill an "r' like nobody's business but French is just a complete anomaly to me.   I digress.  So, even though I won't be there physically to celebrate with my Grandma, I'll be there in spirit.  I always have her things around me as a constant reminder.  Happy 100th Lois Disney!! We love you!

Four Generations August 2008

Great Grandma's 99th Birthday

I'm Back... Moving Sucks!

We have finally arrived in Concord. We moved out of the hotel last Thursday, got our internet working this weekend, and Jack(my hubby) and I haven't killed each other.  These are all huge achievements.  We've had a lot of "adventures" the past two weeks.  They don't surpass the last move from FL to VA,  when we were outrunning a hurricane and our car blew up on the side on the road in AL(where we ended up leaving it) but it has been ... interesting.  Where to start.  Lets start with the positive. This town is too stinking cute for words.  I've run around the hood taking pics to  post. When we were house hunting, I was too stressed to notice the place.  The "downtown" area is called, Historic Concord Center and it is right on Main St about 3/4 of a mile from my house. 

 

 

 

Look at my neighbor's houses...

I'm dying to get in those shops, but I've been busy making my way through 250 boxes and trying to make our house habitable.  So the challenges... Trying to fit a square peg in a round hole comes to mind.  There is nothing like going from new construction to a house built in 1890.  Although the house has been completely renovated and a large addition has been added, it has been a test of my decorating skills to make our stuff work in this house.  The unfinished carriage house over the garage now warehouses a few rooms full of furniture that didn't fit.  All of the stuff on the second floor had to be hoisted through the balcony off the master bedroom. The trundle daybed I designed and had custom made was to go in my son's room. It couldn't  make the turn in the hallway.  So, my child has no place to sleep and the piece of furniture I have the biggest investment in, is being stored.  I didn't even cry.  I was rendered speechless, but no tears.  Only one bookcase from my studio fit into the new space, so off to IKEA we went for a new desk and bookcases. The 42 inch TV didn't fit in the 40 inch family room built in cabinet.  So, off to Best Buy for a new TV.  When I tell you stuff didn't fit by one or two inches, I'm not kidding. We then needed to take a trip to the ER to stop the hemorrhaging money.  Thank goodness the hospital is right across the street.  Think I'll investigate what floor the psych ward is on so I can just walk over and check myself right in. Just in case.  I won't even comment on fire alarms being set off by a burning candle, predatory mosquitoes, and doing laundry in the unfinished basement of a 120 yr old house. So here's how you know you aren't in No Va anymore:

* There are no fast food joints except Dunkin Doughnuts conveniently located anywhere close

* Nobody delivers food to your house.. Seriously, are you flipping kidding me?!!

* They laugh at you when you ask not to have MSG in your Chinese food

* They don't drag you out of your car and beat you senseless when you pull out of your driveway and block traffic

* The local pizza joint doesn't take credit cards

* My hubby shows up for lunch at home and nothing is wrong.  He is only 10 minutes away from work

Its all good and nothing a martini can't make better. I do have lots of stuff to post.  I have the pictures back from the Arlington shoot and I can't wait to post the before and afters.  I still have some cool eco friendly stuff to blog about and I can't wait to show you this house.  Even though it has been a challenge, this might be my best work yet. So my posts might be a little spotty until we're settled but I'll try and do a couple a week. So stay tuned and please post your comments. Gotta get back to the boxes!

 

 

Retail Therapy- Nordstrom Semi Annual Sale

Tomorrow morning is the first day of Nordstrom's Semi Annual Sale.  After the oh so fun week I've had, I'm going to be first in the door.  I've decided to console myself with a little retail therapy... just what the Dr ordered.   If you aren't familiar with this sale, it is the best.  They have Fall merchandise discounted (sometimes deeply) and after the sale, it goes to full price.  It is a great way to get a few updates before the season.   I like to take advantage of the denim jean specials that are sometimes half what the normal ridiculous price is.  I got some skinny Hudsons and some funky True Religions last year and both were almost half off. I'll probably pick up a parka, snow pants,  and muk-luk boots in preparation for these Boston winters I've been warned about.  FYI--I grew up in Iowa, about three and a half hours from Chicago.  I know snow. Haven't driven in it in several years, but I hear it is just like riding a bike, no?  I'm sure by May I'll be sick of it like everyone else though.  Unfortunately, I won't have my "personal shopper" friend, Shana with me this year (she moved to PA last summer).  She used to be a buyer for Nordstorm and is the best person to shop with.  She approaches shopping like an Olympic event. 

If you don't have a Nordstrom in your area, you can shop on-line. 

I put together the fantasy "Kristin" outfit all from Nordstrom.  Habitual Jeans, Jimmy Choo boots ( these will never happen, but a girl can dream), Juicy Couture Sunglasses, L.A.M.B. handbag, and D& G Leather jacket (getting a little delusional now).