"Beach Cottages" book is beachy-keen
Every season I seem to find a design book that I can't put down. This summer, it's "Mary Emmerling's Beach Cottages: At Home by the Sea" (Clarkson Potter, $32.50). I'm a big fan of Emmerling, a decorator whose easy-going style is my cup of tea. This book will inspire you, even if your home is land-locked in a Motor City subdivision. Hey, everyone can dream. From big budget to small, the cottages are in California, the Hamptons, Massachusetts, Texas and Florida. It includes Emmerling's cottage, which she shares with new hubby Reg, in California.
I love HGTV's concept for its new summer series, "Summer Showdown." The network's elite designers and carpenters race against the clock in head-to-head design competitions. I hope Lisa LaPorta, seen here, is one of the designers, because she's a top-notch designer, frugal and fun to watch.
Keenen Ivory Wayans has been tapped to be a judge, along with other celebrity judges, including actress Emily Procter, actress/comedienne Beth Littleford, designers Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams, actress Kim Fields and "Sparkle" Josh Johnson from "HGTV Design Star" Season 2. They will critique and evaluate the work that will display each team's skills and expertise. In the end, the judges will determine which design team will reign supreme and take home the title.
The special four-episode series premieres Sunday, August 3, at 10 p.m., with future episodes airing on Sundays at 9 p.m. through August 24.
Top 10 Collectibles
The July/August issue of Country Home magazine offers its 14th annual hot list of Top 10 Collectibles. It's always a fun and informative list. This year's items include (1) Hens on nests made of Staffordshire pottery (who knew?), (2) signature quilts, (3)boxed games, (4) Bakelite kitchen utensils, (5) brass candlesticks (ha! I knew my brass candlesticks would be back in style some day!), political buttons, (7) vintage home magazines (again, who knew?), (8) notions as in vintage sewing supplies, such as buttons, beads, trim, lace and ribbon, (9) antique footstools and (10) copper jewelry.
HGTV's Vern Yip talks tough
I watched last night's (June 29, 2008) HGTV "Design Star," and the competition is definitely getting tough. Our local contender, Trish Beaudet of Shelby Twp., is hanging in, showing the judges that she can do more than traditional decor. Last night the contenders each had 12 hours to create a room with a foreign flair. Trish did her version of a luxurious, getaway retreat room in a Mexican resort hotel. It was clear blue and crisp green, very contemporary, with pillar candles in clear glass vases and a river rock arrangement under a table. Vern Yip, one of three judges, was heard saying something to the effect, "We knew she was traditional, almost traditional grandma, and this shows that she can do contemporary, but this is kind of cliche." Ouch. But she was allowed to stay. The judges decided her work was "satisfactory," which means a C in my book. Michael, who was booted off the show, did a Spanish room that really didn't have any Spanish vibe to it. Yip, an Asian American, said, "I look more Spanish than that room." Ouch, again. Michael, who cried when he was ousted and wanted his mother back in Texas, joins two other males already booted from the show, Scottie and D Paul. I think Vern's cutting remarks made me wince because on his HGTV show "Deserving Design" he always helps those in need or folks who have helped others. Will the real Vern Yip please stand up?
Birmingham Showhouse Sept. 18-21 and 25-28
Save the date for this special showhouse.
WHAT: The Birmingham Showhouse. The ultimate design installation. This extraordinary design event showcases the exceptional talents of 20 of Metro Detroit's top design firms and luxury resources.
WHEN: Sept. 18-21 and Sept. 25-28, 2008. Thursdays and Fridays, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
WHERE: 386 Westchester Birmingham, Mich. (1/2 mile east of Cranbrook, one block south of Maple)
TICKETS: $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Available through the Michigan Design Center (248-649-4772), Wellington Chase Homes (248-594-9696). Tickets available Aug. 1, 2008. The net proceeds from the sale of this $1.45 million home will benenfit the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute with the development of a patient-family support suite.
INFO: www.BirminghamShowhouse.com
Restoration Hardware's Baby & Child Collection
Good things come in small packages. Think babies, puppies, engagement rings. And now Restoration Hardware, which has a store at the Somerset Collection in Troy, offers Baby & Child. The retailer has taken same classics you love and reinvented them for little people. From cribs, dressers and furniture to paint, lamps and clothing, it's obvious that kids rule at Restoration Hardware. Grandparents who love to spoil their grandkids will love the collection, too. To see the collection go to Baby& Child
Milford Garden Walk June 20
This year's Milford Garden Walk features six beautiful landscapes filled with perennials, annuals and touches of garden whimsy. The event is 10 a.m.-8:30 p.m. June 20. Local artists will be in each garden creating new works of art. The completed works will be on view at the Heiner Hertling Studio on Milford's Main Street in the late afternoon. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased the day of the walk in Milford's Central Park, in the heart of downtown Milford on the banks of the Huron River. Also in Central Park will be the Garden Market, where 17 vendors will be selling bird houses, garden ornaments, flowers, metal lawn furniture, vintage linens and handmade flower pots. For more info, go to MILFORD
Enter Therma-Tru's Ugly Door Contest
The Ugly Door Contest is on again, and Therma-Tru is looking to dress-up someone's doorway for this national, self-nominating contest.
Previous winners have been found in Montgomery, Tex., Des Moines, Iowa, and Clymer, N.Y. Maybe a Metro Detroit home could benefit this time around.
Here are the details:
WHAT: The winner of Therma-Tru's national "Ugliest Door in America" contest will receive a new front door or patio doors - valued at up to $5,000.
WHEN: Contest entries will be accepted through July 1. Winners will be announced this fall by Tom Kraeutler of "The Money Pit" radio program. Then Therma-Tru will install the winners' new fiberglass door systems.
(Fiberglass doors won't rot, swell or peel, like wood and are energy-efficient -- they offer five times the insulation of a wood door.) Here's a BEFORE and AFTER picture of the door that was deemed America's Ugliest in 2007.For more information on the contest, please visit UGLY DOOR
This Old House publishes 100 percent reader-created issue
This Old House magazine took do-it-yourself to an entirely new level with its June issue. For the first time ever, the magazine has turned itself completely over to readers, online users and TV show viewers. From front to back, ideas, stories and photos came from outside submissions to a specially created, community-based Web site. The magazine introduced a new logo -- Your Old House -- specifically for the issue. Stories include a Connecticut couples who remodeled their kitchen on a tight budget with appliances found on Craigslist and warehouse stores, online users who reveal their best penny-pinching moves, three readers who act as an expert panel and oofer advice to other readers about how to handle remodeling disasters and readers who share the weird items found during their renovation projects. All of the submissions not featured in the magazine are available at Your Old House
HGTV's 'Design Star' season three opener
I watched HGTV's "Design Star" season three opener Sunday night because I wanted to root for our local talent, Trish Beaudet of Shelby Township. I wanted her to look, sound and act like a strong contender, and I was not disappointed. In fact, I thought she was the most professional out of the bunch, and not just because she's from Michigan. The show's cliffhanger? The "Design Star" wannabees standing together in some remote Nashville spot with a pile of lumber. Their task? They have to build a house! This should be interesting. Hope Trish doesn't break a French manicured finger nail.
