Dear Friends,

Old Man Winter is certainly making himself known down here in Louisiana this year. I know we should be counting our blessings since we’re not shoveling tons of snow like most of the country has been doing, and we are. But I have to tell you, it’s been so cold and rainy, that local schools were closed two days last week. Of course, in typical Louisiana style, we were treated to two gorgeous days of sunshine with highs in the upper sixties right afterwards. Like most of you, we’re anxiously awaiting Spring!

Speaking of Springtime weather, I couldn’t resist sharing these photos from California Designer-Builder Cheryl Carnation of Carnation Construction Company in Jamal, California (phone: 619-985-1888).  Not only are the mountain-top vistas fabulous, but what she did with this little 800 square foot farm house in a citrus orchard is amazing! The owners wanted her to fix it up so they could live in it while they built a larger house. After it was done, they fell so in love with the quaint feeling of the small home, they had her add covered decks and patios to take advantage of the sunny San Diego weather.

Doesn't this make you yearn for Spring?

Cheryl says "I love to mix the old and new into our construction ideas. This gives our final product a warm lived-in feeling, but still has a fresh new essence. It is part of our practice to salvage and reuse as much as we can and keep the landfills free from waste."

In the small 10 x 12 master bedroom, Cheryl found some salvage from the stage set of the Titanic screen play and used it as the headboard. The chandelier is an Italian antique made with metal and hand-painted roses. Walls are painted in our "Adobe" and the ceiling in "Gustavian Grey".

The fireplace mantel used in the living room below was salvaged from a remodeled house in Mission Hills. The french doors were also salvaged from a remodel in La Jolla. Walls were painted in our "Wheat". "Gustavian Grey" ceilings painted throughout the house further help bring the feeling of outdoors in.

I especially love what Cheryl did to the exterior. She said she had trouble with figuring out what to do with the old stucco with its many years and layers of patches, so she sand blasted the stucco and replastered concrete over the old and threw in rocks, Indian arrowheads and shells. (It is thought the Indians would have lived at this property and traded arrow heads for shells.) Cheryl then acid-washed the entire outside with two colors to give it that aged patina.

Our soothing "H2 Ahh!" walls give the room below even more of a tranquil feeling--if that's even possible with these views!

Cheryl is known for her attention to every detail and it really shows in the bathrooms she creates. Despite the modest house size, this one is no exception. In keeping with Cheryl's practice of using salvaged materials, the bathroom below consists of tiles combined from different scrap. Walls and ceilings are Venetian plaster.

Barbara Jacobs' Eco Hues Palette is Ready!

Barbara Jacobs' new color palette, Eco Hues, is finally available in our VOC-free Lifemaster product line! These gorgeous, easy to live with colors were created to go with her line of rugs and new line of tiles. Inspired by the luminosity and depth of artist’s pigments, Barbara, a Boston-area colorist and artist, hand-mixed each color in her studio and then we mixed each color with a completely unique, full-spectrum formula in our Lifemaster product line (flat, eggshell & semi-gloss finishes). Barbara created each color with consideration of the palette as an integrated whole. And as luck (or her fine planning) would have it, her colors also coordinate with our colors!

For more information on Barbara's Eco Hues palette and find out how to get samples, visit her new website: www.ecohues.com where you'll also find links to her fabulous new tiles and fine Tibetan rugs!

Private Label Upholstery Sale

"I recommend made-to-order upholstery to anyone who can afford it because it will last forever." - Alexandra Stoddard, The Decoration of Houses

As an interior designer with over 28 years experience and a big fan of designer Alexandra Stoddard (her book Living A Beautiful Life truly changed my life!), I quickly learned what components of a room's design create the biggest impact. Since walls and ceilings cover more square footage than anything else, color definitely makes the biggest impact. The second most important part of the design includes the upholstered furnishings we spend as much time on as the amount of time we spend in our beds: Sumptuous sofas and our favorite lounge chairs. These are the items that if we invest in wisely, they will last a lifetime and can be handed down for generations.

I have been working with upholstery expert Peggie Rhodes for many years now creating custom sofas and chairs and am thrilled to report that we are working with a wonderful family-owned business to create my private label custom upholstery line offering unmatched tailoring in many timeless styles and a variety of incredible cushioning to choose from. Although our favorite seat cushions consist of 5" thick high density, eco-friendly foam wrapped in quilted feather & down jackets, we have spring down as well as allergy-free synthetic cushion fill options. Solid hardwood frames come from home-grown trees milled, kiln-dried and constructed with double doweled, glued and screwed with corner blocks for added support and strength. All bench-made in the U.S. Committed to sustainable business practices, our manufacturer has a low carbon footprint in that 90% of our products are produced and sourced within a 75 mile radius. Because each piece is custom-made to your specifications, the furniture is shipped directly from the factory (usually within 4-6 weeks), enabling us to discount our prices! Here's one of our most popular styles. However, as I said, we are totally custom, so send us a picture and we can probably make it!

For more styles, visit our newly revamped Furnishings Page.

Business Talk

On a more somber note, Akzo Nobel (formerly ICI Dulux and the manufacturer of our paints) has increased our prices several times over the past several years, however, we haven't increased our prices since the beginning of 2008. Unfortunately, the price increases have added up significantly over the years, so I was finally forced to raise mine. There will be no price increase on our most popular Lifemaster VOC-free flat paint product or samples, but there will be a small price increase on our other products beginning February 15th. If you are in the middle of a project, to help you keep from blowing your budget, we will honor our old prices. New prices can be found on our Pricing and Product Data webpage beginning February 15th. You'll also see at the top of the price page, the new product labels. Please note that although the new "Glidden Professional" logo is at the top of each label, the products themselves have not changed and we do not sell their "Glidden" line that is available at Home Depot and hardware stores. We sell only their premium Lifemaster, Diamond and Fortis products.

We have added new larger 11"x17" hand-painted samples and pint-sized jars of paint to our sample offerings which will appear on our "Order Samples Page" soon. In the meantime, just email or call us for those.

Although I have a receptionist answering my phones most of the time, when an order is placed, I am immediately notified and I personally review each client's previous orders and place the order myself. Offering great customer service is what built my business and I still offer free color consultations with the purchase of each gallon of paint.

Thank you so very much for your continued support! I wish you all the best during what's left of hopefully a short Winter!