Notes

Feb 9

Welcome to my weekly edit, or notes, of what I am loving, what peaked my curiosity this week, latest happenings and what’s next! This week was another week heavy in phone calls and sourcing. As a designer with several projects, there is always a phone call to make, questions to answer, follow ups to do, selections to update and organization to be done. It can definitely be challenging to get it all done and find personal balance. One thing I will touch on today is what I have been trying out lately to bring in some balance. My own project is about to kick off and there is a lot to do for it. Keep reading to find out where I am with it!

Loving

I love when interiors meet fashion with a great collaboration! One collaboration that is worth mentioning is the Kravet X Altuzarra collaboration that launched in fall of 2024. This collaboration brings together the distinguished fabric house and the high-fashion empire. The textile and wallcovering collection is based on Altuzarra’s highly recognized patterns and designs reimagined for the home in various jewel tones and neutrals. A literal way to bring fashion home with these chic prints. See more here!

Kravet by Altuzarra collaboration — *image courtesy of Altuzarra*

“Home design has always been a passion of mine and I’m incredibly excited to introduce Altuzarra’s signature style to the world of interiors. My work is deeply rooted in color, print and texture, making this collaboration a natural extension of my design language.” – Joseph Altuzarra

Kravet by Altuzarra collaboration pillows — *images courtesy of Kravet & Altuzarra*

Kravet by Altuzarra collaboration dining room — *images courtesy of Kravet & Altuzarra*

These are some of my favorites of the collaboration that we will hopefully be able to use in a project!

Speaking of fashion, the Cult Gaia storefront in Miami is a dream. It was designed by South African artist Michael Chandler. We first wrote about the artist and his shop in our Cape Town travel tour. Michael is a self-taught artist whose work has been featured and seen in projects all over the world. What I love about his work is his playfulness and unique designs. The blue and white facade of the Cult Gaia store in Miami is made out of hundreds of hand-painted tiles. And wow did it turn out gorgeous!

cult gaia Miami storefront facade design by Michael Chandler — *image courtesy of chandler house*

Doing

Something I have newly added to my routine is yoga nidra. It is a deep relaxation practice that involves no movement. Yoga is not my go-to form of exercise or practice. Due to my lack of time, I will always choose to do a workout that involves cardio and toning, which is usually barre. Recently, I have been exploring different types of yoga classes that I can layer in when time permits. I went to a restore and sound healing yoga class that involved light posing with mediation but I felt like I needed more guidance.

Yoga Nidra, or yogic sleep, is the class that I was looking for. It is an ancient yoga technique that is a fully guided meditation practice that slows down the body and mind in a state between waking and sleeping. Since it’s guided, the practice is much easier to keep my mind focused on the practice. There are numerous health benefits associated with this practice and I am excited to keep exploring this type of yoga and see how it works for me.

Buying

Bathrooms are currently on my mind. I get very board seeing the same design over and over again. That is why designing a generic spec house can be very unsatisfying sometimes. To me, the point of being a designer is to do creative work that is original or filtering a concept or material through my lens or my teams’ lens. I am a fan of natural materials and have landed on the perfect option for my own bathroom: lilac marble. It is unique and dramatic but our bathroom is small so material drenching is going to be the way to go here to make a statement.

lilac marble tile — *image courtesy of Ann Sacks*

lilac marble tile in shower — *image courtesy of Ann Sacks*

Currently

What I’m buying leads into some current design work. While I am busy with client work, I am also busy with our own home refresh. I have to be honest, my own project is last on my list and gets the least amount of attention. Now that the timeline is coming up to finalize and procure materials (eek!), I have to make final decisions on materials, layouts, colors, etc. My project will definitely happen in stages, slowly adding layer by layer. I also do not want to rush through design and I want to make intentional decisions and experiment. I will do an entire post on each stage of the process. Stay tuned!

THE BEFORE: