Today's AT:SF House Call was a real treat to put together. It's the home of Maggie Mason. Yes, THE Maggie Mason, aka Mighty Girl. This painting has got to be one of my favorite things in her place:
Maggie and her husband, Bryan, commissioned the awesome painting by Diane Feissel.
A couple of months ago, Lisa (of Good on Paper) graciously allowed me to visit the condo she shares with her husband, Nick, for an article. It's running in today's SF Chronicle, and the photo of the couple beneath two framed prints is too cute:
It's too bad there aren't more room shots to accompany the story. But the condo was in the process of being sold when it was photographed, so it was more staged than when I visited.
Today's H&G section of the SF Chronicle includes my article on the owners of Heath Ceramics, Catherine Bailey and Robin Petravic. Their home is just as fantastic as their pottery and tiles, and they have one of the coolest kitchens I've ever stepped foot in:
I pulled together a new house tour for AT:SF today, and it's really really good. So please go have a look. I promise, you'll be glad you did. Jennifer did an amazing job with her small apartment. (I think she should've entered AT's Small Cool contest.)
This past weekend, I was lucky enough to get a tour of the Heath Ceramics factory with owners Catherine Bailey and Robin Petravic. Check out the post about my visit on AT:SF.
There are times when I'm working on an article and it definitely feels like work. And then there are times when I'm working on an article and I can't believe I'm: 1) getting paid to hang out with such cool homeowners, and 2) getting paid to write up their story. Plus, I usually end up with some great design ideas.
Here's a peek at one of the homes I recently visited as part of a freelance assignment for the SF Chronicle:
I've actually got three deadlines this week, so posting may be lighter than usual.
I could go on and on about why I find today's House Tour on Apartment Therapy so inspiring. But I'll try to keep my editorial short and simple here: I love that Holly and Sean have taken affordable pieces from the likes of Target and World Market (so are we not calling it Cost Plus anymore?) and IKEA, and completely made you forget that they came from these big-box stores. Rather, the focus is shifted to their many travel finds — which are beautiful and steeped in personal significance. Their decor isn't about trends or showroom pieces. It's such a reflection of the two of them, and their history together.
P.S. Holly has a wonderful blog (Nothing But Bonfires) that has become one of my must-reads.
I am a big fan of Small Stump. And Rose and Radish is one of my favorite local shops. So I was not the least bit surprised that Jill Pilotte — the founder of SS and the creative head at R&R — has an amazing home. You can check it out right now in my latest "House Call" post for Apartment Therapy.
A couple of details that I especially like: the design painted on the magazine holders, and the wall of plates with the scalloped painted background.
Pssst ... Erin over at Design for Mankind kindly invited me to participate in her "The Dailies" series. You can read all about my Saturday — and check out some never-seen-before photos of my house — right here.
Over at Apartment Therapy, I posted today about Christiana's San Francisco apartment. Here are just a few of the photos:
Christiana is the U.S. rep for Ferm Living; she incorporates their wonderful wallpapers throughout her apartment. I love love love her place.
The first AT Giveaway of the year! And it's a really good one. One I wish I could enter to win: The wall sticker of your choice from Ferm Living.
I love the application of the "pine" design above, but in our house, I think the "hydrangea" would be perfect in a corner of the living room.
I've got a 2,500-word story that I need to cut in half. By tonight. Before I go to bed. Wish me luck, please.
*sigh* I wish I could win this prize package — which includes a Rex Ray book, journal and notecards. Head over to AT:SF if you want to enter!
I am home sick today. Which is a shame because I was looking forward to hitting up the newsstands so I could pick up multiple copies of today's SF Chronicle. I've got a story in the H&G section about houseware stores that double as art galleries. This was such a fun article to work on because I got to interview the lovely people behind some of my favorite local shops (including The Curiosity Shoppe, Rare Device, Rose and Radish, Doe).
I've been writing for Apartment Therapy for about six months now and my favorite types of posts usually fall into these categories: House Calls and Giveaways. The former because I get to peek at other people's homes (who doesn't enjoy that?). Plus, for this new-ish feature on AT, I usually get to work with artists and designers whose work I admire. And Giveaways — what's not to love about giving readers free stuff? And they offer a great excuse to contact shops and businesses that I adore.
Starting next week, I'm cutting back on my writing with AT — basically, only posting either a House Call or a Giveaway every Thursday. Today, I've got a nice little feature on Diana Fayt's apartment and studio.
Please take a look — because I think you'll like what you see. I am off to prepare for an upcoming trip that I have not given enough thought to yet ...
I liked this weekend. On a scale of 1-10, it was an 8.5. (Points were subtracted because I spent most of Sunday in the office.) Cal beat Oregon. I made a bunch of jewelry. My niece turned 12. And I got to catch up with Jill at her art opening.
Speaking of Jill! I'm pleased to announce that I will finally be crafting more blissen products this holiday season. I can't wait! Unfortunately, with my renewed interest in jewelry-making and blissen-goods-making, something has to give around here. So after this month, I'll no longer be an editor at AT:SF. I'll still be writing plenty though — continuing as a contributor over there, blogging here, freelancing for the SF Chronicle, and who knows where else you'll find me in the blogosphere.
One of my favorite tasks over at AT:SF is putting together giveaways for our readers. And this week's involves the Strössel Design window film below:
The very kind ladies over at Rare Device are responsible for this giveaway. And I so wish I could enter to win! I can't. But you can. So you totally should.
Today's SF Chronicle includes my article on therapist Rachelle Goodfriend, who works with couples to help resolve their design dilemmas.
I'm currently working on another freelance piece that I'm super excited about, as it's giving me an excuse to reach out to some great people in the design community.
Hey! Look what I got in the mail today: a copy of Hungry? San Francisco — which includes some restaurant reviews by yours truly. Since they had plenty of writers willing and able to write about places in the city, most of my contributions are Peninsula-based. The book also covers the East and South Bays.
(I am so pleased that they managed to spell my name right. Years ago, I did some fact-checking and research for a book. The authors ended up misspelling my name in the credits!)
Hmmm ... Maybe I should pick up a few copies to give away as stocking stuffers this holiday season ... I know! I'm already thinking about the holidays. Crazy.
The AT:SF Fall Cure officially gets underway next Monday. And I am really, really looking forward to it! This will be my first time participating — plus, I'll be posting about the Cure for AT:SF.
Jon and I have been in our house for about 2.5 years now. When we moved in, we made a lot of changes throughout. Now that we've given ourselves some time to settle into the space, I feel like it's time to launch the Nesting 2.0 campaign. There's still a lot we want to do in the house — isn't that always the case? — so I'm going to use the Cure as a big motivater over the next eight weeks. I'm hoping to declutter a bit, as well as finish up some areas that have been works in progress for far too long.
So that's my goal! You can catch it all over at AT:SF, and of course, you should join in the fun!
Psst ... Over at design*sponge, she's running Part 2 (of 2) of her Bloggers' Guide to Online Shopping. And I'm so flattered that she asked me to participate! So click over and check out some of my favorite online shops. It was hard narrowing it down to just a handful!
And Part 1 of the guide is right here.
Hmmm ... I just realized that I'm the only blogger in the guides whose domain is actually her name. It's not narcissism, I swear! I initially started this site as just a personal place to write about whatever I fancied, and my name happened to be available as a domain. Although these days I'm writing mostly about home and design, over the years I've been a bit random in the topics I cover!
Over at Apartment Therapy, we're launching a new (hopefully) recurring feature called "House Call." We ask the same questions (more or less) to various designers, artists, shop/gallery owners, etc. We present the answers, along with house photos (because aren't we all house voyeurs?).
First up is Suzanne Shade, who curates The Beholder — a fantastic online art gallery that you should bookmark if you haven't already.
A big thank-you to Suzanne for allowing us to highlight her home. And also to the Chicago Tribune's "Snoop Patrol" and Design*Sponge's "Sneak Peeks" — which were the inspiration for House Call.
If you live in the Bay Area, you should really head over to AT and check out our photography giveaway. One lucky reader will win a $500 gift certificate towards a photo session and prints/products with Nancy of Bug and Bean. I wish I could enter!
Today's H&G section of The Chronicle features my profile of decorative painter John Baden's 450-square-foot studio. Of all the pieces I've written for the paper, this is one of my favorites. It was so easy because John's apartment is full of so much good stuff.
In today's SF Chronicle: My profile on restaurateur Anne Le and her home.
(BTW, her Palo Alto restaurant, Tamarine, is one of my favorites in the Peninsula.)
Admit it: You love peeking into other people's homes. So do I. Especially when they're as cute as AB Chao's. She's the latest AT:SF House Tour. Check out her awesome home right here.
(The House Tour is one of the reasons I haven't blogged in a few days. Technical difficulties led to many hours of frustration that could only be combated by consuming a double-helping of Dutch Goose spicy deviled eggs.)
I just got back from NYC ... More on that later — when I'm a bit more rested ... While I was gone, the SF Chronicle ran a story I wrote about renters who spend their own time and money fixing up their places.
(I must say: One of the downsides of being a freelancer is not knowing when an article is scheduled to run!)
Just in time for Lotta's SF visit this weekend (she'll be at Lavish on Friday and the Maker Fair on Saturday), the SF Chronicle is running my write-up on her book, Simple Sewing.
Oooh! Also: Over at her online shop, she recently added these adorable checkbook holders:
On Saturday, the SF Chronicle ran my story on renovation blogs. The homeowners I interviewed for the article were all so generous with their time and information. So this was probably one of the easiest pieces that I've done. And because their projects are so interesting, I now find myself checking in regularly on several of the housebloggers I interviewed.
Elsewhere: Starting today, you can also find my writing over at Apartment Therapy: San Francisco! Excited is an understatement here. I'm really looking forward to being a more active part of the community that Leslie and Lisa have done a fabulous job of cultivating over there.
I just published my first guest post over at Victoria's SF Girl by Bay blog. If you're a fan of Orla Kiely's work, you should definitely check it out.
I've got a short piece on Kiln Enamel in today's Chronicle, part of the weekly "Hot Stuff" column. I've long been a fan of their work, so was excited to be able to write about the Brooklyn company.
I'm on deadline, so can't write much here ... But I highly recommend that you check out today's Chronicle story on Victoria Smith (aka "sfgirlbybay" to you design blog fans out there). Not just because I wrote it! But because Victoria's place is really cool. See for yourself!
I read this article in the NY Times this morning, and two sentences in particular stuck with me:
There are homes that make a statement the moment you walk through the door. Mr. Chambers’s place says hip, successful, and photo-ready — except for the kitchen, which hasn’t been renovated because he needs a break from the contractors, or the den and guest room in the basement, which is still being furnished. Still, it packs an unequivocal style and color punch. Chocolate, you’d have to say, if somebody asked for a fast impression, and we’re not talking Milky Way. Strictly Valrhona.
Isn't that so much better than saying, "The walls are dark brown"?
Now that I'm doing more freelance writing, I'm struggling with how to stay organized while juggling half a dozen stories at the same time. So I decided to treat myself to the Audrey tote:
I've got nothin' today ... But if you need to read something, I did have an article in Saturday's Home & Garden section: Finding Your Way Back Home — Grown children return to the family nest and update it for the next generation.
In celebration of the upcoming Lunar New Year (which happens this weekend), I wrote a story for the SF Chronicle about symbolism in Chinese decor.
The article actually ran in yesterday's paper, but I was reminded of it when I got a pair of lì xì (red envelopes) today from my parents.
(Oh Joy! posted about these beautiful envelopes a while back.)
Today's SF Daily Candy missive? It was written by yours truly — with some (much-needed) heavy editing. Nailing that DC tone is a lot harder than I thought!
In other related events: I spent all of last night completely re-writing a 1,500-word article. FUN.
While I was away last week, the SF Chronicle ran my article on a lovely little double-wide trailer in Woodside, CA. It was my first house/homeowner profile, so I was nervous about it. But — thanks in large part to Nick's editing help — I'm really pleased with it.
The SF Chronicle is running its Home&Garden Holiday issue today, and I was delighted to contribute three stories:
If you're a fan of the design*sponge blog, don't miss Grace's tips in the small space story. And Maxwell of Apartment Therapy fame is included in the holiday guests article. And Allison from Shelterrific offers up great advice in the table settings piece. (All three of these sites are part of my daily blog-reading.)It was the first time that I've juggled multiple articles with (sort of) the same theme (holidays) and with the same deadline. I admit: I got confused at times about who I was interviewing for which piece!
So about a month or two ago, I made a comment on this very blog about how "ridiculously awesome" it is to get paid to write about shopping. And it is. But you know what ranks right up there? Getting paid to write about crafts. Oh, and in the process, getting paid to actually make the crafts.
Today's SF Chronicle includes my article about Craft magazine. I tested out three of the projects featured in the publication: the re-upholstered light switch plate; the wood and Plexiglas frame; and the custom paint-by-numbers kits. Two of the finished projects are featured in the photos accompanying the article. (The bit that I wrote on the switch plate was actually edited out almost entirely.)
The Jen Corace print is from Tiny Showcase (I love that site)
That's Jon's parents' dog, Dulce
Today's H&G section of the Chronicle includes a profile I wrote on Danny Seo, who is often referred to as the Martha Stewart of eco-friendly living. (You may have seen his chalkboard fridge featured on Apartment Therapy/San Francisco a few weeks ago.)
Also in the paper, check out Mary Jo Bowling's piece on interior designer Katherine North's condo. Very cool.
With Movable Type working out quite nicely for me now, I have no excuse not to participate in National Blog Posting Month. I failed miserably at NaNoWriMo last year, but this! This I think I can do!