It’s That Time Again

Every two years, the folks at Sub-Zero Wolf host a design contest for kitchens utilizing their wonderful products. As in past years, I have a few entries into the contest. While I can’t disclose which ones were the work of Project Partners Design, I can point you toward our local distributor’s Facebook page to see those submitted from this region. It is a great place to see a variety of designs that are in the running. If you like, you can vote for the designs that you like best. You will need to have a Facebook account to go to Rigg’s Distributing, Inc. From there, go to the Photos and then the Albums and you will see a variety of KDC Contest entries that you can explore. Happy viewing!

Project Partners Design Awarded ‘Best of Houzz’ for Customer Service

Thank you, all you Houzzers out there! Today I received notice that my company was awarded a ‘Best of Houzz’ award for customer service. I am honored and flattered to be recognized for just doing my job as I believe it should be done.

For those of you who haven’t heard of Houzz.com yet, it is a pretty handy tool for looking for design ideas, communicating ideas of what you are or aren’t looking for and researching professionals in your area. You can review a professional’s portfolio and find the person who’s work is in keeping with your own personal style.

“Houzz provides homeowners with an in-depth, 360-degree view of building, remodeling and design professionals through images of their work, reviews and an opportunity to interact with them directly in the Houzz community,” said Liza Hausman, vice president of community. “We’re delighted to recognize Project Partners Design among our “Best Of” professionals for exceptional customer service as judged by our community of homeowners and design enthusiasts who are actively remodeling and decorating their homes.”

Nice Treatment for Honed Stone

A few months back, I did a few posts about “Maintaining the Dream” that focused on how to handle high-end materials such as stone and hardware in your home. Recently I was reading a back issue of “This Old House” magazine and came across a recommended product that is an all-natural beeswax formula that works well on honed stones. It is called Clapham’s Salad Bowl Finish.

Clapham’s Salad Bowl Finish

It is intended as a food-safe finish for unfinished woods such as salad bowls and, in fact, this is how the Clapham company markets the product. However, it works great on honed stones. I purchased some and applied it to my seagrass limestone countertop in my bathroom and to my stone backsplash in my kitchen. Any old water spots instantly disappeared and the stone took on a beautiful, buttery luster! Being an all-natural product, there is no toxic odor or dry time. I used it months ago and the stone still looks like I just applied it yesterday. It’s a great product!

I get nothing from promoting it but I highly recommend it if you have honed stones in your home!

Creativity with Toilet Tank Lids

This past weekend, Keystone and I took a road trip to see the groves of coastal redwoods in Northern California. Along the way, we stopped at the Solar Living Center in Hopland, CA and found a very interesting choice of tile in the restrooms. I don’t think this design will be making an appearance in any of the high-end homes I typically design, but I give it an A+ for creativity, reuse and cost avoidance. Just imagine if the installation had been done with all the same size, shape and color of toilet tank lid. It could be arranged as a subway tile pattern on steroids and look absolutely awesome in the right application. Way to think outside the box!

Toilet Tank Lid Pattern on Wall

Stall in Ladies Room

A Cardboard Bicycle?!

After years and years of reading design magazines and attending design trade shows, I have seen a lot of innovative ideas and I have seen even more things that are called innovative but are really just knock offs or a redux of an earlier innovation. These days, it takes a lot for me to see something and say ‘that’s incredible!’ Today, as I was flipping through a construction magazine, I had one of those moments. I came across this bicycle, made by a gentleman in Isreal – Izhar Gafni – who fabricated it from $9 worth of cardboard and some recycled parts for the brakes, pedals and tire rubber. It is waterproof, fireproof and holds a rider up to 485 pounds. It has the potential to turn the commodity bicycle business on its ear. To that I say “that’s incredible!” Thanks Izhar!

 

Cardboard Bicycle by Izhar Gafni

Happy New Year!

Being in the field of kitchen design, there is always a big push to get projects completed in time to make the Thanksgiving turkey and then not start anything new until the last glass of New Year’s bubbly has worn off. Once all the holiday decorations have been taken down and stored away for another year, then we can focus anew on the next remodeling project. With that said, you would think my holidays would be a quiet respite from an otherwise frenetic year yet it never ceases to amaze me how quickly the holidays fly by. Somehow there always seems to be something that gobbles up the time. Obviously something kept me from posting anything on this blog for the past three weeks!

Anyhow, Happy New Year! I promise it won’t be three weeks before you hear from me again.

 

Sometimes My Clients Just Make My Day

Thinking back to my upbringing, I credit my mother for teaching me to treat others as I would want to be treated. She is the one who trained me that ‘what goes around, comes around’, ‘good begets good’ and ‘do unto others as you would have done unto you’. Since starting my business almost 15 years ago, this also reflects how I strive to treat my clients.  Most days I don’t reflect on it much but this week I was the recipient of a wonderful gesture by one of my clients that I just had to share.

A few months back, we ordered a mirror frame for this client and, unfortunately, we did a math error upon ordering and ordered it 6″ too small. Once it was discovered that an error was made, I immediately ordered a replacement and got it on its way, but the customer and the installer were delayed by two weeks while we waited for it to be made and shipped.

Being a custom piece, there wasn’t much use for the first frame unless we found another bathroom that needed the same size piece so I had directed the client to use it for materials if the installer needed it. Otherwise, it was, unfortunately, waste. Unbeknownst to me, my client went through the effort of photographing the incorrect mirror frame, listing it on Craig’s List and selling it. She could have easily just pocketed the profit and it would have been a small recompense for the inconvenience I had caused. Instead, here is the note that I received when the check arrived in my mailbox.

“Hi Theresa,

I finally got around to listing the incorrectly sized mirror frame on Craig’s list and it has just been sold.  Enclosed is a check for the amount it was sold for.  I know that the purchase of the new mirror frame came out of your pocket and although I’m sure the sale amount doesn’t come close to covering your cost, I want to help.  

I hope all is well and that you are busy but still have enough time to relax and enjoy life!”

I am so lucky and grateful to work with and for such wonderful people!