MBDG: Insights

This just in! Pantone 14-0848 TCX Mimosa has been indentified as the color for 2009. The Associated Press called it Sunny Yellow, but it is Yellow Orange to anyone familiar with Crayolas!

This is great news for all you Autumns out there.

Professor Baum at the University of Michigan taught me that yellow can represent gold and wealth, but can also mean cowardly. Yellow is low on America’s list of favorite colors. It is a warm color, and can make you more excited and anxious.

I had sheer yellow curtains in my bedroom growing up. When the sunlight hit them, my whole room glowed and made me feel cozy and contented, not more anxious afterall.

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The drop in the market yesterday has me really down – weren’t we all hoping for a bounce the minute the stimulus package was signed?

So rather than write about wood joinery today as I had planned I think we could use a good laugh.

Lorri Honeycutt was experimenting with her new camera out on her deck one day. She was focusing on one of her son’s little toy figures when a bird swooped down and perched next to it. The result was a surprising play of scale and the exploration of other tiny figures juxtaposed with everyday objects to create hilarious and intriguing photographs.

You can see her work at www.bigworldphoto.com.

Go ahead….laugh!

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Indulge without splurging! Legna has just released their list of “closeout” items. Legna is a line of very luxurious bedding and towels. Woven in Italy of yarns created from wood pulp of managed forests grown for harvest in accordance with Europe’s strict environment guidelines, the Legna bed linens are soft and silky, with very easy care instructions.

Pajama’s and loungewear and blankets are also available. The sheets and towels will go fast - contact us today! Visit our shop to see and feel some samples. One warning: You will be pushing your snooze alarm more than once!

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The last piece of my dining room redo was installed last week - an ingenious hidden cord Roman shade. All of you with cats will understand. What do kitties like more than anything? Playing with dandling cords! I see a lot of mangled 2″ wood blinds around the neighborhood, too, with Felix happily perched on the sill taking in the scenery.

In the past I settled for drapery panels that could be drawn by hand, but, I was ready for something else. Judy, a brilliant seamstress mentioned that she had read of a way to make a Roman shade with the cords between the lining and the shade. Not only will kitty not be able to chew on them, but, it is a much neater look from the street.

A few things to note: The stack of the shade, when raised, is a bit deeper due to the fact that the lining is gathering up separately from the face fabric. I happen to have a very deep casement, so it is ideal for my window. Also, you do have to have a loop chain or cord to raise and lower the shade. I made mine sort of short, so that it doesn’t hang down into cat territory.

I love the look of it and the flexibility of the different heights I can raise it to control light and privacy. I used a linen fabric for a more relaxed look since I have a lot of shiny, hard surfaces in my dining room.

Here is a picture of the renovation - done, complete, fini!

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What a delightful surprise to receive some lamps that we ordered at last fall’s market in High Point. We actually asked the manufacturer to delay the shipment since we had a ton of lamps in the shop at the time. I had completely forgotten we ordered them and am falling in love with them all over again. Great textures, materials and well done shades!