Design Tips: Lighting and Hanging Fixtures
We are going to start blogging regularly to give you design tips that we use as designers. Today I am going to give you a few design tips about lighting and where to hang fixtures. I am asked these questions a lot. How far above the kitchen island should you hang pendants? How high above the dining table should a pendant or chandelier be? What about sconces?I will start by saying…it depends. Not the answer you were looking for? There are a few...
Front Doorways and Entrances
Last week we talked about Mudrooms, so today the topic is Front Doorways. There is so much we can talk about here, so for today’s blog post, lets talk about how to spruce up an entry. First off, having a clearly demarcated path to the front door is a good start. Ideally if it is 3-4 ft wide then two people can walk down the path at the same time but if it is narrower, that is fine as long as...
Recipe: Teriyaki Steak with Snow Peas and Mushrooms
Teriyaki Steak with Snow Peas and Mushrooms So, rifling through my Pinterest pages, I came across this one. I happened to have MOST of the ingredients so proceeded to pull out the heavy duty pan and knives to get started making this new dish.Hmmm, getting the ingredients organized, I came across one I didn’t know-Mirin. Ever heard of it? Enter Google. Apparently, it is a Japanese ingredient, a sweet rice wine. O…K… didn’t have that… Next, look up substitutes. One half...
Mudrooms
Today’s topic is all about Mudrooms. We all need a place to dump our gear as we walk in the door. If you have kids you know the pain of tripping over an overflowing backpack or a shoe that is stepped over in attempts to get to that overflowing backpack! Gosh, it seems I spent an inordinate amount of time bellowing at the kids to hang up their coats and move their shoes INTO the basket.We had a mudroom but...
Valentine’s Day Wear
So it’s Valentine's Day! Yikes! What to wear??? Lunch If you are just hanging out with friends for the day or going for lunch with your sweetheart how about wearing a romantic top with skinny jeans and boots and a blazer or jacket? I like this look because its not age specific. I think anyone from 20 year olds to 50 year olds could wear a version of this outfit. Pair with simple jewellery and you are good to go!1. American Eagle...
Valentine Gift Idea!
Valentine Gift Idea!Psst…are you still trying to think of a gift idea for Valentine’s Day? How about sending your honey to one of Designers Collective's workshops? We have something for everyone from Design Basics to Container Gardening to Lighting 101 and Organizing 101 (two times available-daytime and evening). Or, if want to do something fun together, we have a Mixology workshop that would be perfect.AND if you really want to spoil your sweetie, how about our Design Tour of LA? Have a look...
Recipe: Green Chickpea and Chicken Curry with Swiss Chard
Today I am going to talk to you about the amazing recipe I made last night, Green Chickpea and Chicken Curry with Swiss Chard. A couple of days ago I was perusing through Pinterest, as I am often doing, and came across this recipe. I pinned it and decided to try it last night. It was YUMMY!!I did one minor change in that I used red curry past instead of green as my local grocery store didn’t carry green and...
Designers Collective Goes to Alt Summit
Alt Summit is a blogger’s social media conference held in Salt Lake City, Utah, each year. Tina thought it would be good for us to attend. I…reluctantly agreed. I say this because I knew I would be meeting a lot of new people and that means putting one’s self “out there”. This is hard for me. I’d much prefer to be in the background, not in the forefront sticking out my hand to shake a new person’s hand and be...