#emotionsarepartoftheprocess

I am not sure about you, but I have found the weight of this stay at home order to really be impacting me and my family this week. I think the reality that we have, at minimum, another full month really started to sink in. My kids are grumpy, and they aren’t being kind, and I am yelling. I could post the photos of us playing Spike Ball or having family afternoon picnics in the sun, and they wouldn’t be lies, but they wouldn’t tell the whole story.

Last night my senior in high school had a meltdown. As she realized the reality of graduation not happening and now the rumblings that schools may not start up in the Fall at all, she freaked out. She took her fears about the unknown and literally told us that her next 5 years were ruined. She went from 2020, and decided anything she thought about college life was forever gone, and she was sad. Really, really sad. As parents, I think we want to try to add perspective and insight and highlight the silver linings. However, what I realized last night was my daughter needed to just wallow in the feelings. Feelings, even the bad ones, are Ok. To a teenager, mom and dad offering perspective feels like we are not relating.

This perspective reminded me how I try to be as a designer. It is easy for me to sit with you when something on your project isn’t going as planned. I KNOW that things will go wrong. No one wants to hear that, but it is part of being in this business. One of the reasons I think I am a good partner to so many of you is that I can handle when people get upset or angry or frustrated. We all have a vision of what we want when we hire a designer, and when the PROCESS of getting to the end isn’t perfect, it is normal to show emotions. I always try to remind people that no matter how bad a situation feels, I have never once had someone tell me at the end of the project, that it wasn’t worth it. There can be delays, cost overruns, bad sub-contractors, wrong orders, etc. and each and every scenario can leave people feeling like the whole project may collapse or be a waste of time or money. I have learned that these emotions and reactions are just part of the process, and if I focus on the end game, I always seem to find success.

Shot from a time we lived through a complete remodel. This was our makeshift nursery for two kids.

So, this week, my design mind helped me remember that right now, my daughter can’t see the end game, and all she can focus on is what isn’t going right. Just like when a tub arrives with the wrong color drain and the correct one is 6 weeks away or a tile order arrives broken and incomplete, we can lose sight of the end game. As a designer, I can understand the emotions, and I know that I can work through any problem.

Perhaps the reason emotions are hard right now is that we don’t really know the end game. I believe we will come out the other side, and we will have many silver linings. Just like when we are building houses or designing spaces, we don’t sit in our NEW space thinking about the issues it took us to get there. The problems are forgotten while the outcome is what is appreciated.

I hope that when this pandemic is over, we will remember the silver linings that came about while forgetting about the challenges along the way. I believe my kids will talk about the Spike Ball and the picnic lunches with fondness, and in time, will forget the sadness and disappointment that is lingering around the edges.

This was our first meal in our new kitchen. It was worth the wait, and we never looked back!

So, for this coming week, I plan to focus on the small moments, allow the big emotions to be honored, and know that one day the small moments, will in fact be the big moments.

Stay safe. Stay home. Stay healthy.

Love,

Rebecca

My Favorite Quarantine Staples

No, I am not talking about toilet paper! We are home to 7 people, and we didn’t hoard TP in the early days, but we have managed to keep our supply up this last month. We struggled for a week to find napkins, but overall, our paper goods and pantry supplies are keeping up with our needs.

In addition to the paper goods and huge amounts of food that we seem to need every 10 days, I have found a few other ‘extras’ this past month that I wanted to share.

In the early days of quarantine, I signed up for every free online exercise class, but the class that has brought me the most joy, and the best results is a live zoom yoga class. I didn’t know Jennifer Moore before this stint at home, but I have been live-streaming her into my home on a very regular basis. I find the accountability of knowing she is watching keeps me consistent and also makes me stay the whole 60 minutes. She teaches 6 days a week, and it is often my favorite hour of the day. If you want to get on her class list email her at breathemoorejen@gmail.com

I am trying to keep up with exercise as we sure are doing a lot of eating! I have always loved to cook, and I have been very grateful that the need to cook 3 meals a day, 7 days a week hasn’t thrown me into a tailspin as I know it has for others. Here is a recipe that has become a quarantine staple, and is easy to master, and I bet you have a lot of the ingredients on hand. https://whitneybond.com/healthy-turkey-lettuce-wraps/

I skip the Chinese 5 spice and ginger, and if you don’t have water chestnuts that is ok too. Romaine has been hard to find some weeks, but we have found serving it over Thai Rice Noodles is equally yummy!

Another favorite this month is the cookbook Nothing Fancy (https://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Fancy-Unfussy-Having-People/dp/0451497015) by NYT columnist Alison Roman. The rest of the title is “unfissy food for having people over.” I am not advocating having people over, but I am encouraging you to remember you likely have a full house so practice some new, easy recipes now. Once we can safely gather again, you will have your dinner party menu set and ready to go!

Finally, if you are local, remember to shop local. GROW ( http://growdelivers.com/) is our local grocery, and they are working overtime to pack and deliver to HUNDREDS of families each week. Please support them with an order, and in case you didn’t know it, they deliver WINE too!

http://growdelivers.com/

Team Mia - Beyond Type 1

Find out more about Beyond Type 1

Choosing the Right Exterior Paint Colors for Your Home

Exterior Paint Color serves many purposes including a first impression and a personal creative statement. Paint choice can enhance curb appeal and resale value but most importantly, it sets the tone for the interior of the home. Choosing the right color scheme takes time and consideration. Getting the decision right saves time and money.

There are key areas to focus on when planning a color scheme. The field color - or the predominate and most noticeable color, the accent color for doors and shutters, and the trim color that includes windows, railings, roof edges, patio ceilings and accent trims. We also considered the home elements that would not be changing - the landscape, hardscape and the roof. We found a palette that was compatible with the existing roof tiles and one that matched the Mediterranean style of the home as well.

Paint stores offer color palette brochures and paint chip samples to help put the color combinations together, but we recommend buying a sample can to confirm the real color. Because paint chips can vary from shade to shade, we did test patches on the exterior of the home. We considered the light at all phases of the day as well as the way the color contrasted against the landscape. 

The new color combination on the 11th Street project gives the home a fresh new look and brightens the presence on the street.

Wilmette Hardware

We have searched high and low for the absolute best and most authentic hardware for our modern farmhouse kitchen project. We have planned for a wall of integrated appliances that will look like an old fashioned ice box. Turns out the only resource worth considering for the ice box hardware is Wilmette Hardware from Wilmette, Illinois. They offer highly detailed ice box hardware including ice box hinges and latches for appliance panels (sub zero, thermador, viking, etc) as well as pantry and cabinet doors. This hardware is fabricated using an ultra-precise CNC machining process and all components are hand fit and finished. Their attention to detail is impeccable, their craftsmanship is incomparable, and we can't wait to get these unique latches & hinges installed. To find out more about the company, visit Wilmette Hardware or Ice Box Hardware.

Photography supplied by Wilmette Hardware.

11th Street Manhattan Beach - Tiles & Stonework

Interior and exterior paint have been selected. The entryway is well underway to becoming a better version of what it was and this week we are featuring some of the tile work and tile choices for several locations throughout the house. We really like this innovative tile that gives the appearance of wood. It's the perfect combination of texture and functionality. One of the bathrooms will have pebble work throughout the entire floor. The shower will be updated and these small changes will make a downstairs bath look even bigger and brighter.

Project Spotlight - 11th Street, Manhattan Beach

Our newest project is one I am thrilled to be working on. One of our own Manhattan Beach families was targeted and firebombed earlier this year. The damage to their home was unimaginable. The fire destroyed the entire front portion of the home but damage from a house fire effects everything else in the home. Black soot, dust and smoke damage can be found in every room. The team and I have a wonderful opportunity to help create a new story for this wonderful family. This project entails a complete renovation and update to every room. We hope you'll follow us on this journey as we will be posting these exciting steps in the process. We want to help this family get back to creating new memories in their home as fast as possible. We have already sourced some of the best vendors and the transformations are happening every day. Subscribe to our feed and check back often.

Custom Furniture - Quatrine

Sometimes creating the perfect space requires a little thinking and planning outside the box. I like to focus on keeping a space unique to each person and that sometimes requires custom furniture. I also focus on maximizing the potential of the space by analyzing how it will be used. Does a small space need more seating potential? Is there a common area that would benefit from more storage? All of these questions, outside just the look and feel of the space or room, need to be asked answered.

When a custom piece of furniture is required, I like to source the unique designs and equally unique customization of Quatrine. The Manhattan Beach showroom is filled with over 300 fabric samples and over 40 furniture samples...and the staff is helpful. And to stay as local as possible, all of the products are manufactured out of their Long Beach facility. Adding them to the process ensures my clients get a beautifully handcrafted and unique piece of furniture.

 

42nd ANNUAL SOPHISTICATED SNOOP HOME TOUR

The American Martyrs Parent Association 42nd Annual Sophisticated Snoop will be May 15-17, 2015, 10am - 4pm. There are six very diverse and unique homes on the tour this year. Here is the complete listing of the homes on the tour:

609 31st Street, Manhattan Beach – Tree Section beauty transformed into a Beach Chic Traditional
668 31st Street, Manhattan Beach – Exceptional Plantation style home with every attention to detail
525 2nd Street, Manhattan Beach – Amazing renovation of existing home into Charming Coastal home
112 The Strand, Manhattan Beach – Inspired by 19th Century architecture, Old World meets New World
2666 The Strand, Hermosa Beach – Contemporary Masterpiece has wall of glass overlooking 60-foot infinity pool
526 25th Street, Hermosa Beach – Reminiscent of the weathered, shingled Eastern Seaboard homes

Tickets are one sale now! Proceeds fund American Martyrs School.

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