Recently I had the honor of being nominated by the dynamic and incredible visionary of Boomersmarts, Mitzi Beach. We finally met earlier this year as members of the Modenus Blog Tour Vegas. I greatly admire her sense of style and design not to mention how lovely she is as a person.
Now on to my answers to the ten challenge questions she submitted to her nominees. At the end I will post a list of my own questions and nominees. Here goes!1). How long have you been blogging and why did you start?I started blogging in 2009. I was seeing a lot of exciting activity in my business on line and had this idea that I would create my own brand, which was Kitchens for Living, at the time. I built myself a home on Blogger and just kept going. Now I am Artful Kitchens with my own website. Through my blog, I have not only met many inspiring bloggers, designers and media professionals, but also have grown immensely as a result of all the destinations and trade shows it has allowed me to visit over the years. I'm so grateful for this and the opportunity to interact with both peers and potential clients through my blog and social media. It's a type of legacy, I suppose.2). What is the perfect paint color?Lately I have been dreaming of white. This comes from the visual artist part of me. I'm thinking art gallery walls which are a blank canvas. I'm planning my next home to be a melange of various whites. After all, there are so many! One that I especially love lately is Down White (not to be confused with the popular Dove White) by Benjamin Moore. I even have a White Walls pinterest board here.
3). If you could pick any designer, living or dead, to decorate your house, who would it be?Wow, it is hard to pick just one! Let me pay homage to one of the first woman interior designers of the modern era, Elsie de Wolfe. I think her quote says it all, "The cardinal virtue of all beauty is restraint." - (Editing is the most important step in the creative process.) I'm a big fan of the clean lines and letting the beauty of the material shine through.
Also, to continue with my current love of white decor, I will tell you I have always been in love with the forward thinking work of Charles Rennie MacIntosh and his cohorts, the "fabulous four". He was a product of the Victorian era but he took the Art Nouveau movement to new heights in terms of architecture and interior design. He was an architect, artist, furniture designer and interior designer. What more can I say? I also love anything having to do with the Bauhaus Movement. They were so innovative. Today I would want to work with Kathryn Ireland because I think she'd be a helluva lot of fun!
4). What location is on your travel bucket list?Visiting Bali would be a dream come true for me. It's the quintessential destination for a FLA salt girl like me.
5). What is your favorite restaurant?Funny you should ask, I recently had the best dish ever at Seven Fish in Key West, FLA. The trick is to A) have reservations because there are only like 4 tables (I exaggerate), B) order one of their creative specials, C) forgo the appetizer and salad because you're going to want to eat every bite of the generous main course.
6). Which wallpaper is your favorite? I confess I'm not a huge wall paper lover but I do love Rollout. I discovered them at IDS2011 trade show in Toronto. You can design your own too! I wrote a blog post about them here.7). When starting a design project, your first step is… (lighting, colors, furniture, etc.)My first step is to find a connection with my client. Once that is established and I can share her/his vision, everything else pretty much flows after that. I specialize in kitchens so typically a client will have at least one thing that they know they love such as a particular appliance, color, door style or stone. I take that and build on it.8). What is your favorite holiday and why?Ok, I'm cheating here but my favorite holiday is VACATION time!!!! I also like holidays such as Christmas (although I loathe the season leading up to it) that allow me to spend time with friends and family I love.
9). What is your favorite type of lighting source to use?As a kitchen designer I'm a fan of the Loox collection by Häfele. We now nearly always use their LED ribbon fixtures for under cabinet lighting. I like it because it spreads a nice even glow and it's easy to install.
10). What is your favorite design project you’ve ever done?All projects that result in happy clients are my favorites! One project I've done that I would love to own myself is this bamboo kitchen on the beach. The client is a pottery artist so we designed a spot for her work. I also loved the daring red dressing area connecting the bedroom to the bathroom and closets.
Now here are my ten questions:1) What is the most inspiring book you've ever read and why?2) If you could bring just one make up item with you on a trip what would it be?3) What dish are you known for?4) What is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you and have you paid it forward yet?5) What is your trade mark design feature?6) What is the biggest misconception about you?7) What is one food that you detest and would not eat for love or money?8) What celebrity living or dead in the last hundred years would you like to chat with? Why?9) Do you believe in ghosts?10) What aspect of the design process is your favorite?Here are my nominees. You can answer the questions but if not, I totally understand and just want you to know that I am a fan and consider you a sister in the World of Bloggers:Linda Merrill: Linda Merrill Decorative SurroundingsRose Dostal: RMD DesignsBarbara Hirsch: Elza B DesignPatricia Brown Davis: Patricia Brown Davis DesignSarah Greenman: La Maison BohemeAnn Porter: Kitchen Studio of NaplesRaina Cox: If the Lampshade FitsJamie Gold: Gold NotesJenny Andrews: MFAMB Kelly Morrisseau: Kitchen Sync BlogThanks again Mitzi. It was fun and nice to share about who we are "behind the scenes".
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