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Vern Yip
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Your Favorite Male Interior Designer of 2008
As part of our Best of 2008 polls, you named Vern Yip your favorite male interior designer this year. Thom Filicia came in as a close second in the polls, but Yip takes the cake in my mind for his work renovating two very worthy community organizations for low-income families in San Francisco. I'm impressed with his attention to detail and covet the sense of warmth he brings to his clean-lined interiors.
Vern Yip's Transformation in the Tenderloin
Vern Yip and Bank of America recently teamed up to transform a worn community center at an affordable housing complex into something much more vibrant. You can see the before shot here. To see how the space was transformed, check out the slideshow.
Before and After: Tenderloin Family Apartments, Transformed
Remember when I told you about how Vern Yip was teaming up with Bank of America to transform two Bay Area nonprofits? Well, this morning, I was fortunate enough to attend the unveiling for the Tenderloin Family Apartments. Managed by the Chinatown Community Development Center, it's a safe, high-quality affordable housing property in the heart of the Tenderloin district, one of San Francisco’s lower income neighborhoods challenged by issues such as homelessness, safety, and drug use.
Casa Interview: Vern Yip
Designer Vern Yip is a household name for many Casa readers, thanks to his judging on Design Star as well as his hosting and creativity on his tear-inducing show Deserving Design. Vern is currently contributing his design expertise to two very worthy community organizations, the Tenderloin Family Apartments, which are home to 4,000 low-income San Francisco families, and the West Oakland Boys and Girls Club, which has been serving youth in this neighborhood for over sixty years. I was thrilled to talk to Vern about his design renovations for these two community spaces.
Cool Idea: Deserving Designs For Families in Need
Remember when I told you about the Boys and Girls Club in West Oakland that Vern Yip, host and designer of HGTV's Deserving Design is renovating? I've been so curious as to what Vern might do to improve the space.
In one episode, Vern makes over a garage into a game room for a military family's children.
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Casa Capsule: The Week That Was
- A cool crib in California is a vision in white.
- Vern Yip is your fave interior designer this year.
- I tested an Amy Butler Birdie the Cat pillow pattern.
- I showed you how to DIY your own teacup candles.
- I created two living room looks with one zebra rug.
- Here's five cozy reading chair and table pairs.
- I found Michelle Branch's rug.
- My industrial red TV stand got a makeover.
Before and After: Real Simple Meets P.S. 346
The folks over at Real Simple (70 of them, to be exact) recently took part in New York Cares Day, and volunteered at the P.S. 346 elementary school in Brooklyn. In just five hours, they assembled 37 pieces of new Ikea furniture and applied their design expertise to an uninspired multi-purpose room.
Nice and New: Bubble Lamp Shade
In 1947, George Nelson decided to create his own collection of lamps, when the silk-covered Swedish hanging lamp he coveted was out of reach financially. The resulting collection, known as the "bubble lamps," became an iconic one, still used prolifically by interior designers today (in fact, Vern Yip is using them in his reno of a community center). The lamps, made by coating a steel-wire skeleton with a plastic coating, were first produced by the Howard Miller Company in 1950.
"Design Star": And the Winner Is...
Who caught the finale of "Design Star" last night? All 11 designers were brought back for the final episode of the show for a look back at memorable scenes from the season (somewhat like the Reunion episode from "Project Runway.") Still, it was sweet to see all of the designers again and to hear how hard it had been for judges Martha McCully, Cynthia Rowley, and Vern Yip to eliminate one designer every episode.
So who won?
"Design Star" Finale: This Sunday!
Have any of you Casa readers been keeping up with the HGTV series "Design Star"? I've been pretty riveted, even though the designers' drama has sometimes overpowered their designs. You just never know how a project is going to turn out and how judges Martha McCully, Cynthia Rowley, and Vern Yip are going to weigh in on the challenges.
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