CasaSugar

Eco Chic: Solar Power Executive Table

CasaSugar — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:00:42 -0700

If you read my reclaimed wood bench Before and After, you'll remember that the Oakland-based design-building studio, Because We Can, was hired by SunPower to create furniture for their new office in an old Ford manufacturing building. The reclaimed wood benches that they designed are beautiful, but their job didn't stop there. SunPower, a solar power company, also asked Because We Can to design them special table for their executive office, with a different feel than their other furnishings. Because We Can harnessed their own energies to design a particularly special executive table: a table that holds one of SunPower’s solar panels. The panel, which has a smooth plastic surface, was dropped into the steel table frame, and looks sleek and most definitely "special." What's more: it actually functions, trapping the suns rays as it sits there during important business meetings about . . . solar power!
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Love It or Hate It? An Upside-Down Lampshade

CasaSugar — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:00:01 -0700

I spotted this room on Swedish real estate site Alvhem and was swept away by the table lamp flipped on its head. Here, I love it - granted, in part because the shade and base are gorgeous. I think it could definitely be executed effectively in another instance, but I can also see it failing miserably. Do you like this trick?
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Casa Interview: Destination Wedding Planner Alison Hotchkiss (Part 2)

CasaSugar — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:00:47 -0700

Alison Hotchkiss, the creative director of Alison Events and the author of Destination Wedding Planner, has plenty of smart advice on planning destination weddings. If you, or a couple you know, are planning a destination wedding, I highly recommend Alison's new book to lend a guiding hand in your planning process. You can read the first half of the interview here. Alison has more great advice in the second half of this interview.

CasaSugar: When you plan a destination wedding, do you try to use local artisans, caterers, and other services?

Alison Hotchkiss: I definitely try to use as much local support as possible. It’s cost-effective, puts money back into the community, and is a positive way to support the area. I will sometimes hire a local planner to serve as my eyes and ears locally, and then I have someone to help us when we’re there. Especially in smaller beach communities, a lot of negotiations and contracts are over a handshake, not a formal agreement, so it’s important to respect the way that the local community does business.

To see Alison's advice on everything from wedding favors to organizing activities, read more.

CasaSugar: What’s your take on wedding favors? Have there been any that have stood out? Have there been any alternatives that were creative or impressive?

Alison Hotchkiss: One of my favorite favors was from my Costa Rica wedding. All of the guests were given Holga cameras preloaded with film, so everyone was able to take photos throughout the ceremony. There was a big beautiful glass bin where everyone could drop their film and they could reload throughout the evening. At the end of the evening the bride took all of the film, processed it, and put it on the Pictage website, so everyone could see all of the photos that were taken.

Another trend I’ve been seeing is people paying it forward by offsetting people’s carbon footprint for travel. This is often seen on the bottom of the menu or program. Other couples have donated to schools or children’s community shelters. I’ve seen a lot more of that than people purchasing favors. I think it’s a waste of money to do a favor these days when there are so many other things you can put your money towards.

CasaSugar: How do you deal with gifts at a destination wedding?

Alison Hotchkiss: I rarely see gifts at a destination wedding. Most people know to not bring gifts and to ship them in advance. If somebody were to get gifts they’d have to pack them and bring them back. You’d have to arrange for shipping, and oftentimes if you’re staying at a hotel that’s something they can execute for you.

One other great story is that some of my clients, in lieu of wedding gifts, the client included a notecard in the invitation asking everyone in lieu of gifts to “pay it forward” and do something for someone else, be it a family or an organization in their name, and then to write it on the notecard. Then, when people got to the wedding, the guests had the same card that had their name and their table numbers on it, so they replaced the name cards with the pay it forward card, and we had this really awesome display of what people had done to pay it forward. They ranged from deep, meaningful stories to really silly stories, such as “Oh, I paid for the person’s toll behind you,” and someone else said, “I rescued a bird off the side of the road.” That was a really cute idea and a great way to say, Let’s not focus so much on material gifts, and focus more on giving back to the world.

CasaSugar: Once guests get to the destination, have you found a fun way to organize activities? Do you let guests know a schedule beforehand, or spring it on them as a fun surprise? How would you say is the best way to organize this?

Alison Hotchkiss: I’d say the majority of people these days are creating their own wedding websites, which is the best way to communicate all of the information that can happen. It can have directions, wedding activities, local things to do and see, all of that. Or, rather than asking people to sign up beforehand on the web-site you can have people, during the rehearsal dinner, sign up for the following day’s tours. We have used a chalkboard so it was more fun than writing it on a 8.5x11 piece of paper. Different activities we have done are a snorkeling adventure, massage, or horseback riding. It’s nice to not have to determine things so far in advance.

CasaSugar: Given the economic climate right now, if you were going to recommend one area where guests can squeeze their budget, what can be downsized?

Alison Hotchkiss: I’d say music. We always tell people to go with a DJ vs. band, it’s thousands and thousands of dollars for a band. A band can run from $2,000 to $10,000. That’s one area. Another is limiting favors. You can also choose beer and wine instead of an open bar, or limiting the time of the open bar. Pick your battles and consider what’s most important.

Another area is the flowers. Instead of doing flowers, consider using a combination of herbs, flowers, succulents, and fruits. We did a wedding recently in the tropics and cut bougainvillea petals from the local branches and made a carpeted aisle for the ceremony. It was so vibrant and so colorful, and it was free. Use what you have locally.

CasaSugar: What would you have at your destination wedding?

Alison Hotchkiss: All I know is I want it to be somewhere tropical (with good surf), laid back, and I would be totally happy with fish tacos, a DJ, and local beer, Oh and I think I am going to wear a short dress and lose the shoes!

CasaSugar: That sounds excellent.

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Do You Have Mismatched Dining Chairs?

CasaSugar — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:00:29 -0700

I love the mismatched chairs around this Saarinen table in the home of Virginia Johnson. It's quirky, but it works because there's not much going on otherwise in the way of color and pattern in the room. But, I've seen this look executed in busier, brighter rooms, and it doesn't always work. Do you have mismatched dining chairs?Source

Before and After: Living Room Makeover

CasaSugar — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 07:45:08 -0800

Do It Yourself recently checked in with Linda Thornburgh, whose living room was awash with neutral tones and outdated furnishings, and lacked warmth and personality. She wanted a space that could be formal as well as comfortable, and decided to execute a full overhaul of the space.

To see how she transformed this room, read more.

Linda had a cozy window seat with storage installed in front of the large picture window. She mixed traditional accent pieces, such as turned leg tables and an arched bookcase, with more contemporary seating pieces, bringing the whole space up to date. Family photos and personal collections personalized the room. The living room really underwent a drastic makeover that is a far cry from the original space, where color and personal style were nowhere to be found. To call it impressive would be a vast understatement.

You can see more photos and read more about this makeover at Do It Yourself.
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Nice and New: VivaTerra Suzani Bench

CasaSugar — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:15:11 -0700

The suzani trend has been going on for probably a year now, and somehow I've yet to tire of it. VivaTerra has just introduced a Suzani Bench ($395-895) that is truly stunning and also eco-friendly. Made from 100 percent organic cotton and sustainable sheesham wood, and colored with eco-friendly dyes, it's one addition to your home that won't incite remorse. Available in two sizes, the elegant embroidered benches can serve as seating or a coffee table, used with a tray. At this point, I've seen the suzani trend played out in all sorts of products, often mimicking the textile's pattern rather than the embroidery itself, so it's refreshing to see such well-executed needlework.

DIY: Paint-Swatch Weaving

CasaSugar — Thu, 08 May 2008 04:27:51 -0700

In part inspired, part stingy, and part needing fresh air, I decided to take a walk to the hardware store this past weekend and pick up some (free) paint swatches to use for an art project. Aside from being gratuit, a benefit of using paint swatches for an art project is that you can choose the exact colors you're looking for to bring your room together or just to add a touch of color. How you use the swatches is up to you, but I figured I'd let you in on how I executed this little masterpiece (ha).

Supplies:

Paint swatches
Scissors
Rubber cement
Frame

To learn the steps, and see this DIY hung on the wall, read more.
Here's how:

Choose your colors. I wanted to use pink, light green, and gray to pick up the colors in the room. So, I chose an array of swatches in each color, and brought them home. I wound up using three swatches of each color, and each swatch was just one notch away from the next, numerically (i.e. Green 12345, 12346, 12347). This gave it a subtle ombré look beyond the gradient of four or five colors on each individual swatch.
Cut your swatches. Cut each swatch into strips, a couple centimeters each. They don't have to be exact; I think it adds interest if they're slightly different widths and not completely straight (that's up to you). Make sure to cut off any of the numbers or text on the swatch before you cut your strips. Keep the strips from each swatch separated so when you line them up you won't lose the gradient effect.
Line them up. For the base of my weaving, I decided to have greens running across, and grays and pinks running up and down. I arranged the gray and pink strips side by side but opposite in saturation, so the lightest grays and pinks met, creating (sort of) the appearance of a gradient that runs from gray to pink. Arrange your strips visually so you'll know how it will work, but begin your weaving with only 2 sets of strips at a time (1 horizontal swatch, 1 vertical swatch).
Weave your base. Weave one horizontal strip across all of your vertical strips at a time. Continue until you've woven all of your horizontal strips across. It helps to tape the woven pieces to your table because they tend to want to unwind themselves. Make the weave as tight as possible; it's bound to loosen a bit. Be patient, it can be frustrating at times.
Create a focal point. I decided to weave a few strips in brighter pink and green, and darker gray together to lay on top of the base, creating a focal point. You could also thread some colorful twine through, or hook some sort of paper shape onto the weaving to achieve this, or leave the weaving as is.
Glue. Brush some rubber cement onto the back of your weaving and adhere it to some spare paper the size of your frame.
Trim and frame. Trim the edges so it fits the frame opening. Frame and hang!

Here's a peek at my little project in its place: