Another Very Good Year
January 2, 2009I’ve always thought that the first day of the year should reflect what I’d like the rest of the year to be like. Here is how I spent New Year’s Day this year:
9:15 am: Woke up in a cozy bed at our good friends’ house.
10:30 am: A leisurely brunch and a lot of laughing.
1:30 pm: Back to Venice for a long walk and a cup of tea.
3:45 pm: Figured out how to play “Sweet Child of Mine,” by Guns and Roses, on my piano.
4:00 pm: Fantastic two hour nap!
6:00 pm: Indulgent shopping at Whole Foods.
7:00 pm: Listened to jazz and sampled goat cheeses while cooking a special New Year’s day supper.
9:30 pm: Thoroughly enjoyed the gorgeous supper.
10:30 pm: Reviewed my personal budget from December to see how I did on my spending (not bad.)
11:15 pm: Amended the short and long term goals that I have made for myself and my company to reflect my newest musings and desires.
11:45 pm: Began preliminary research online for one of my new business goals.
(Yes, I am very productive at night.)
Sometime well after 1:00 am: Fell asleep in my own cozy bed with the sweet child of mine in my belly and Mike by my side.
I expect that this will be another very good year.
A Little Mystery
December 27, 2008The Moroccan Room in the Hollywood Athletic Club
John Varvatos’ store in San Francisco
Le Foundouk in Marrakech
Angelus in London
All of this fantastic design is swirling around in my brain, melting into concepts for a new project that I am obsessing over. I’m waiting for the okay from my client to give you any details so, for the moment, these photos will be your only clues about what I am up to.
Sustaina-nesting (Part Quarte)
December 19, 2008This is our new guest room/ library– finished just in time for a visit from my brother and his family.
My favorite finds for the room were the vintage glass chandelier and the set of crisp white bookshelves that we bought for $60 off a craigslist posting. With all of the details in place, it looks like pure glamor.
When we first painted the walls, however, it was simply terrifying! With the wood floor covered in carpet glue, the moldings covered in layers of gloppy old paint and a single CFL as the only source of light, I actually had to remind myself of my own vision so that I wouldn’t change my mind about the Elphaba Green walls.
All Is VANITIES… Nothing Is Fair
December 19, 2008
It’s no secret. One of my dreams is to do well enough in my career to be featured in the pages of Vanity Fair. (A couple of months ago, my book and I were featured in an VF online article and I was so excited that you may have mistaken me for a college freshman being asked to pledge the best sorority on campus.)
I am a fan, pure and simple. My staff knows that they will be shot if they take the magazine home before I get to read it. “Vanity Fair’s Hollywood” sits atop the stack of books on my coffee table and think that Graydon Carter hung the moon. So, of course, I was extremely excited to attend a special walk-through of “Vanity Fair Portraits” at LACMA on Tuesday night with my pal/publicist Kim Marshall and her hilariously witty hiking buddies.
Our docent for the evening was none other LACMA president Melody Kanschat. Melody’s scope of knowledge went far beyond the usual information one would get on an art tour and I found myself so enthralled in the exhibit that I had trouble moving on when it was time to go see the collection of William Randolf Hearst.
After the tour we all went to Pastis on Beverly for steaming hot Boulebaisse and an equally heated debate about punishing vs. rewarding the gentleman who threw his shoes at President Bush.
It was my kind of night.
Kelly LaPlante Organic Interior Design and Detective Agency
December 11, 2008In a fit of Recessionista logic last week I decided to ask my landlord to consider decreasing the amount that I pay monthly to lease my Atelier. After all, I reasoned in my head, I’m paying retail rates in an area that really has no other shops and, therefore, has no foot traffic. Plus there’s the graffiti on the windows, the loud buses that drive by every 5 minutes, the tourists in the summer who just want to come in and use our bathroom and the fact that the space is always so hot that, even in December, we have to run the air-conditioning.
As I added more and more complaints to my mental list it hit me…
I am simply over it!
So I called Bernard and, rather than asking for a rent reduction, told him I’d like to move.
Three hours later I was looking at my new office. I knew immediately– it was love at first sight. Twice the charm, twice the studio space, half the rent, half a block from where we are currently. It has brick walls, hardwood floors, double-hung windows and one of those doors that makes it look like it should be a detective’s office.
It is on the second-level (where the taggers can’t get to the windows!) so the retail part of the business will be more specialized and by appointment only– in a sort of Parisian “ring-up-to-come-up” style. Très chic!
A few people have asked me if I am sad to let the old space go and I can honestly say that I am not. I’m a big believer in big change and I love new adventures. My staff is excited, too.
So, with that, I invite you to come over to the old space (1501 Main Street, Venice 90291) where we’re decreasing our inventory to get ready for the move with a half-off-everything sale. We’ll be open from 10 to 6 every day until December 23rd or until we have nothing left to sell– whichever comes first.
After the 1st of January, you can visit us at the new Kelly LaPlante Organic Interior Design Atelier: 1608 Pacific Avenue, Suite 204, Venice CA 90291.
Let the moving begin! All those who are six-and-a-half months pregnant are exempt from carrying things.
Happy Golden Days of Yore
December 9, 2008When I was a kid, my family and I would pile into our VW Vanagon and head for the hills where we would visit one of the tree farms and go about vetting possible candidates to place our gifts beneath. (Though I don’t think it was part of my parents’ intentions when they started the tradition, it happens to be quite a bit more sustainable than buying one from a lot, where many pre-cut trees get wasted–plus it is a great way to support local farmers.) After much debate, and sometimes a few tears from whichever sibling wasn’t getting their way, we’d make a selection, cut it down, and head back down the hill for Togo’s sandwiches. An evening of decorating, to the sound of Barbara Streisand singing jingle bells at top speed, always followed the day’s adventure.
It was a great tradition–one that I always wanted for my own family– and for some reason, I was absolutely aching for it this year! A mere two days after Thanksgiving, I dragged Mike out to a farm where we re-enacted the time-honored ritual, minus the tears and the Togo’s.
That evening, I pulled out the ornaments that my mom has collected for me since I was born and a set of vintage glass balls. We decorated to the sounds of “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”
Looking at my tree, I couldn’t help but wonder what was making me such a sucker for tradition this year (although my parents will tell you how much of a sucker I was for it as a kid, too.) I talked to my good friend Andrea, a frequent contributor to Marketplace, and it turned out that she was working on a related story. It was about how we gravitate toward nostalgia during tough financial times like these– and how smart marketers are using it as a tool to get us to part with our money!
Diagnosis fresh in my mind, I immediately began working on building up some immunity to this horrible nostalgia disease. That is, until I found myself skating on the frozen outdoor rink in Santa Monica last Friday. The tickets were inexpensive and included skate rental, free Starbucks and a heaping dose of nostalgia– a triple whammy for the recessionista jonesing for some warm and fuzzy memory-making moments.
I may be in danger of an overdose.
Bobby’s Socks
December 5, 2008On Monday night I was in New York for a Lexus Hybrid Living event for the Waterkeeper Alliance. We relaxed in the living room of a beautiful home as chairman Robert Kennedy Jr. spoke and then James Blunt sang for us.
It should be noted that Blunt, who could probably fetch a pretty penny for singing in someone’s living room, played for free to offer his support.
Being the fiend I am for brilliant minds, I later weaseled my way into the den so that I could hear more from the mouth of Bobby, as he spoke to a few members of the press. He did not disappoint. The man has no reservations about saying exactly how he feels.
One of the many interesting points he brought up was about how, in many parts of Europe, manufacturers have to be responsible for the waste that is created from their products. Packaging is extremely minimal because, whether the company cares about the environment or not, this responsibility cuts right into their bottom line. I couldn’t help but think what a simple solution that would be. If we made American manufacturers adhere to the same standards as their European counterparts, I bet we’d quickly see a change in the amount of bubble wrap, cellophane and cardboard that comes with everything we purchase.
People who understand politics better than I do tell me that, despite media hype, RFK Jr. will not likely be offered the job of heading the Environmental Protection Agency. That’s too bad because, as far as I’m concerned, his is exactly the kind of thinking that we need in our government.
Plus, he wears red ski socks with his suits.
Sustaina-nesting (Part Trios)
December 4, 2008Running thorough my head is an old Beatles song:
“You have to admit it’s getting better
A little better all the time
(It can’t get no worse.)”
Everyday we find more and more to do on the house and Landlord Raul is here constantly fixing things. Backed up plumbing, broken refrigerator, doors that won’t shut, doors that won’t open. But slowly, things are actually beginning to take shape.
Take the front of the house, for instance. Is it perfect?
Hell no!
But you’ve got to admit, its getting better.
(December 4)
(October 24)
Another Whirlwind Week (and a half)
November 25, 2008Since my last post things have been extremely busy. We moved into the Sustaina-nest (more on that soon) and have spend every waking moment of free time unpacking, hanging art, and asking each other “do you know what box the _____ is in?
Last week, in between client meetings and getting horrible colds, Taylor and I also squeezed in a 36-hour-turn-around to Georgia and back. I did a lecture/lunch/book signing at Verde Home– my favorite eco-home shopping spot in Atlanta– and made an appearance on Good Day Atlanta with local designer and total sweetheart Wendy Blount. Click here to see me looking awkward during the interview (guess what, there is no cute way to sit in an interview chair while pregnant, standing is much better.)
Speaking of standing while pregnant, check out the proof that Woody sent me! He said he didn’t have the heart to shoot at a pregnant target so the piece will be sans-bullet-holes. I love it!
Click Click Bang Bang
November 12, 2008Today my loft was photographed by Sunset Magazine, for a story they are running in March. Tom took some sweet shots of Mike and I and some truly gorgeous shots of the place, which makes me happy since I put so much work into and we’ll be leaving soon.
Yesterday I was photographed, belly and all, by the artist Ellwood T. Risk, who will turn one of the photos into a silhouette and turn the silhouette into a target. Then he will take the target to a range, shoot holes in it and then turn that into a kick-ass piece of art!
Aside from the fact that there was a camera and that I wore the same pair of stilettos, I think it is safe to say that there was absolutely nothing similar about these two experiences. Especially because there were no hand guns at the Sunset shoot.