June 4, 2020 In Uncategorized

Your home office needs a kick in the sweatpants!

For the last 2-1/2 months, like it or not, Californians have had to assess our homes & lifestyles.  I’ll venture a guess that some previously undiscovered perks have popped up from this long, dark pause in human history.  There are the obvious ones like working from home in jammers, avoiding pants with zippers entirely, a deepened (hopefully) bond between siblings, spouses, family units, and the unexpected perks like the joys of cooking ambitious meals, and realizing how truly liberating it is to stop jam-packing every minute of our lives by always racing hither and dither.  Whew!!!

It will be interesting to see what permanent changes come from this.  It seems like Working-From-Home may be here to stay.  I assume many employers have realized the value of completely reducing overhead by keeping their employees mostly at home, and have read the studies that show higher employee satisfaction in remote working.

I run my business from my home, and (hard as it is to admit Designer “design fails”) until recently I had it set up ALL WRONG!!!  I had my desk tucked into a corner opposite this beautiful window, and was just not getting enough sunlight or airflow.  I feel so much more productive now!  

There are so many little considerations that are involved in how a room makes you feel.  It is so important to have the proper set up for a home office, or you just won’t feel energized!  While every room calls for pleasing color palettes, art, accessories, a good layout, comfortable furnishings, good acoustics and storage options, nowhere is it more important then the functioning home office.  Proper lighting, privacy and acoustic considerations are particularly imperative.

Does your WFH situation need a kick in the sweatpants?  We can work out a plan to make your office the most effective, inspiring, healthy environment to have you firing on all cylinders….

What lessons have you learned during Covid and what permanent changes do you think you’ll keep up with?  I’m committed to not furiously shuttling my kids in and out of the car and all over creation for activities and events that they aren’t really into (I’m looking at you ballet).

 

xoxo,

Pamela

April 1, 2020 In Designer Words of Wisdom, Uncategorized

Business Unusual

Now that we have all had time to Kondo our closet, organize the family photos, work though that 1500 piece jigsaw puzzle, binge watch Netflix, and drop off the Goodwill donations, perhaps you have started looking around you home and thinking of home improvement projects for the future.  Your home office may need better lighting and a comfier chair.  As does that cozy reading nook the kids have been homeschooling from.  Maybe you’ve been cooking more impressive meals and enjoying them in that previously underused dining room. Is it time for some much needed window treatments and an irresistible new wall covering in there?
While it’s definitely not business as usual over here, much of what interior designers do is researched, planned, sampled and sourced online.  As long as there is an internet I’d be delighted to help you breath some life into your loving and supportive home.  A fully flushed out design plan will leave you hopeful, and all the more excited for our return to normalcy.  Here is an example of a recent Finishing Touches eDesign I did for a client’s master bathroom.
Please let me know how I can help you sort out any future projects!
xo,
Pam
P.S. (really long P.S.)
I sincerely hope you and your family are staying well.  We have been taking lots of Vitamin C, D, and getting lots fresh air (in our woefully small backyard), along with lots of good rest.  While I’m now a part-time homeschooler, I’ve found it has been pretty gratifying watching my little rosebud begin to read!  While taking this very seriously, I’ve also been trying to limit my exposure to the news because fear depresses the immune system and we all need to protect our calm, now more than ever!
I was chatting with my girlfriend the other day and told her this all reminds me of Emily’s goodbye at the end of Thornton Wilder’s, “Our Town.”  (Anyone, anyone?)
“Let’s really look at one another!….It goes so fast.  We don’t have time to look at one another.  I didn’t realize.  Saw all that was going on and we never noticed…Wait!…one more look.  Good-bye world, Mama and Papa, clocks ticking…and Mama’s sunflowers.   And food and coffee.  And new ironed dresses and hot baths…and sleeping and waking up.  Oh Earth, you are too wonderful for anybody to realize you.  Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it–every, every minute?”  
She told me to stop being so dark!
I suppose it is dark, but I’ve always felt it was more about being grateful for life, and it seems ever more relevant now.  The world has changed forever in a matter of a few short weeks.  We have left the comfort of our relatively easy, painless lives. Every one of us has lost something, albeit (hopefully) short term, but for the first time our expectations and our privileges have been revoked, and a great many are already suffering far greater losses- both physically & financially.
But one day this crisis will end, and when it does I can’t imagine we won’t all be truly happier and more grateful people.  Perhaps we will have less sense of entitlement, and realistically manage our high expectations.  Maybe we will focus more on the good and stop manifesting problems when there really are none.  For myself and my children, I can only hope any pain endured during this experience leads to a greater appreciation of life in general.  I like to imagine we will be more like my Grandmother’s generation- she grew up during the Great Depression and birthed and raised four kids between my Grandfather’s WWII and Korean War deployments.  Much like the rest of her generation she was almost almost always happy.  Difficult times make us stronger and we will be happier when life returns to normal.
So we made it to April- we are all here… and there’s one silver lining.  Hope springs eternal!  Come on Spring!!!
March 12, 2020 In Uncategorized

At the Corner of Calm and So Freaked Out

Who isn’t totally freaked out right now?  I thought I was doing a fair job “Keeping Calm and Carrying On,” and then the fear and anxiety really crept up on me.  Not good!  Stressed out people get sick.  I tried furiously popping CBD lozenges, burying my head and listening to anything other than the news, because well...it’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine…. but the curiosity killed the cat about 12-1/2 seconds later.  Who among us can resist?
Now life has come to a complete stand still.  Time for a collective deep breath (in the safety of your home that is).  I thought I’d offer some silver lining.
Cleanliness and hygiene are definitely on the up and up!  I mean, I didn’t think the NYC Subways had ever been cleaned, like never once, and now you can eat off the floor.  People are finally washing their damn hands, they have stopped picking their noses, and being otherwise gross!  The schools are making kids wash hands like their lives depend on it (because truly the little ones are the grossest little petri dishes of all) and that’s a great reinforcement away from home.  Also, people are finally keeping their kids home when they are sick, and staying home from work too, as opposed to exposing the world to their germs because they can’t possibly miss a beat.  Perhaps when this crisis is averted, these obvious and overlooked health measure will stick.
In the collective fear I also feel more connection with friends and loved ones in general.  I don’t believe it’s the end of days, but certainly it sort of feels that way when colleges, jobs, events, vacations, entire countries, are shut down and essential resources like toilet paper are depleted.  Scary times!  And of course the media is no help, because you can’t tell what is real and what is an agenda.  That’s extremely sad.  In the midst of it all, I do feel more concerned for all of my friends and family, even strangers across the globe, I feel less bothered by B.S. and more connected to what matters most.  I hope you do too.
Stay well my friends!
xo