Envisions: interior design

New York City: the city that never sleeps!  The city synonymous with fashion, lights and nightlife may not immediately harken the image of a buddha, but NYC is arguably the best city in the Western Hemisphere to search for this traditional Eastern statue.  

In the process of designing the home yoga studio for Margaret Vap, founder of cowgirl yoga and Big Sky Yoga Retreats, we have already selected materials, paint and window treatment. We are now at the point where we must consider wall decorations.  In a yoga studio, we want to keep the environment as simple as possible as not to create distractions for yoga practice.  However, a few items at the room's axis, the front and the back, serve as welcome focal points.  

This last week, I travelled to LA to complete a full Interior Design Bootcamp for friend and client, Maureen McLaren.  Mo lives in a bright bungalow in Santa Monica.  She recently re-located from New York City and brought just one couch with her.  Because this return to her native SoCal marked a homecoming and also a transition in her life, our goal was to give her an enviroment to which she could retreat and celebrate her California roots.  We wanted to create "sanctuary: a happy place".

I heard myself say it out loud.  So I must have meant it.  But after years of struggling with the dismantling and reconstruction of my jaw, 17 surgeries in total, it was hard to believe that I may have finally reached the end of this painful journey. 

Envi design is packing up shop and heading south!  If you are in the Los Angeles area and interested in a 3 day interior design bootcamp, please contact me via email: susie@envidesign.com

This morning’s cover of the Wall Street Journal boasted a story about tinsel: the silvery strands strewn on Christmas Trees during the holiday season.  I was surprised to read that tinsel, along with a number of popular holiday decorations, was invented by a Jewish man who didn’t even celebrate the holiday!  According to the WSJ, tinsel is more popular than ever, in part because of its economic value: a box of 1000 strands costs $2.  In a time of recession, why not save a little cash while adding sparkle

Today, we did a photo shoot at Hugh Wilson's 'home' near Paradise Valley, Montana.  Hugh's 'home' is not your typical home, but then Hugh isn't your typical kind of guy.  Hugh is an internationally recognized artist who primarily paints portraits.  We created some custom designed pieces for him as well as offered some interior design and styling services.  Preview pics are coming soon.  Until then, check out some of Hugh's art.

Have you ever driven past a home with an inflatable snow dome?  The kind that spits up confetti over a plastic Santa, in his sleigh, flying over a plastic house with styro-foam snow on the roof?  Such devices never cease to amaze me: the epitome of a plasticized culture mesmerized, clearly, by the advancement in decorating “technology”.

Today, we styled an event.  A holiday event.  We worked on this house before, offering design services, and the clients came back to us asking us to help them create a perfect mood for their holiday party.  The event was a success and we were pretty excited about how everything turned out.  We look forward to offering event styling as yet another component of our design services.  Be it holiday party, birthday, anniversary, surprise, theme...the possibilites are endless.  Let us know what kind of party or special event you have in mind and we'll take it from th