Online Designer: What Does 2008 Bring? Helping Hands.

Online Designer: What Does 2008 Bring? Helping Hands.

What Does 2008 Bring? Helping Hands.

As we are rushing around with our Christmas lists and shopping tasks, we feel the end of the year approaching and are beginning to look toward 2008. Perhaps you have a baby on the way, or a grandbaby. Perhaps you are moving or building a home. Perhaps you are simply going to anticipate the Democratic slaughter of the Republican party during the Presidential election.

One thing is for certain - 2008 is approaching and will be here before you can blink.

I'm taking a break this posting from design and want to help out some of my colleagues this year with their businesses. I am a member of three leads groups. If you don't know what a "leads group" is, learn it quickly. A leads group is a group of professionals from different industries who come together and get to know one another on a personal and professional level. It is the best form of "warm lead" generation you will ever know. We each discuss what we need and who we need to meet to help our businesses grow and then help one another to make those connections. The group provides a bank of professionals that we refer our own clients to helping them to secure competent professional services for any need they may have.

These members have helped numerous people with their financial planning and website development issues. I've used them personally and they are great!

David Henry, HBA Financial, http://www.hbafinancial.com
Chase Powell, SEO Web Concepts, http://www.seowebconcepts.com

During 2008, we are launching a few new things ourselves.

We will be launching a new site for www.MyOnlineDesigner.com which will have lots of new designer items for the home, as well as an online consultation section for those in need of a single project consultation. Our current site just never really had a helpful interface which meant we just didn't spend the time we needed to developing it very well this year. Resolution accomplished!

Create a Unique Ice Centerpiece

It's about that time of year again, when everyone begins to plan all of those parties and events around the holidays. Soon pumpkins will abound with scary faces, building up to the Thanksgiving season, followed by Christmas, and finally ending with the New Year's Eve celebration. That is a lot of decor changes for 3 months.

Here are a few great party decor ideas to help you get through it, while being a little unique in your presentation. Nothing gets more attention at a party than an ice sculpture. An ice sculpture can be as easy as suspending flowers in an ice mold, purchasing a predesigned mold, or buying a work of art sculpture. Like the one shown here, which is from a blogger who we want to credit: www.feelbetteraboutthings.com/wall/coach.jpg

Don't you wish we could all go to the party in this??

To capture the colors of the season, try putting various size seasonal flowers from your local grocer or florist into molds and freeze them in large various size blocks. Hallmark provides a simple recipe to do this. Don't get too small though. Remember, you are trying to make a big statement!! How great would poinsetta flowers look in a suspended frozen arrangement as a centerpiece? Make various sized blocks to add interest. Place a serving boat in the center and remove it prior to service. Use the depression left to display an appetizer. Anything you can freeze can create a ice sculpture shape. Suspend cut fruit slices or small whole fruit, small gords, mums, poinsettas, confetti and streamers, get creative! Check out the porfolio of the IceChef; this guy is a master...

For those who want to make a bigger splash, no pun intended, here are six ways to use true ice sculptures, by BillBywater.com. Here is a great example of an awesome shrimp server from Creative Ice Carvings. And some beautiful do-it-yourself molds from Sculptures In Ice.

And for those who just revel in someone talking about their party for years to come, how about an ice bar (featured are creations from Creative Ice Carvings)... before you pick up the phone, Creative Ice Carvings serves the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex area, where I am not, but I loved their capabilities.

Martini Bar

Sea Food Bar

So, move over frozen turkeys, hams and leftovers! Tis the season to use our freezers for something more fun!

Suite Dreams...

It's a new concept based on the twist on an old idea. Remember seeing the old movies where everyone had separate beds? Well, we are now seeing requests for dual master suites, but not for the same reasons.

According to a published article in the New York Times, March 11, 2007, "Not since the Victorian age of starched sheets and starchy manners, builders and architects say, have there been so many orders for separate bedrooms. Or separate sleeping nooks. Or his-and-her wings."

Reasons include sleeping with a nocturnally restless partner, snoring, or any multitude of activities and habits that keep one or the other person up at night, resulting in less than adequate rest.

"In a survey in February by the National Association of Home Builders, builders and architects predicted that more than 60 percent of custom houses would have dual master bedrooms by 2015..."

In the hectic world and lives that we live, a good night's rest is becoming increasingly important and almost a luxury. Many are turning spare bedrooms into retreats. People are working longer hours and flexible schedules may mean 2:00 a.m.

“Couples today are writing their own script, rewriting how to have a marriage,” said Pamela J. Smock, a University of Michigan sociologist. “The growing need for separate bedrooms also represents the speed-up of family life — women’s roles have changed — and the need for extra space eases the strain on the relationship. If one of them snores, the other one won’t be able to perform the next day. It’s nothing to do with social class, and it’s not necessarily indicative of marital discord.”

Read the entire article here.

The design possibilities open up the ability to cater sleeping spaces, dual master suites, whatever you want to call them, to the occupant resulting in individual comforts for each person.

Designer Selected Furnishings & Accessories for You

ALG Studio has opened an online store. During the next month, exclusive and unique high end furniture, accessories, accents, lighting and one of a kind pieces will be added.

We go to the Furnishings & Accessories market at the World Trade Center in Dallas twice each year and get to see just awe-inspiring home and office furnishings and accessories that are never seen locally. As much as we'd like to take all of our clients with us, it simply isn't possible. So, we've decided to bring these unique pieces to you through www.MyOnlineDesigner.com. We will be adding lots of products in March so please check back...

New Year, New Projects

Hello there!

We've just completed a very large mail-out and would like to welcome everyone viewing our weblog for the first time. The last part of 2006 has been extremely busy for us, and I have been somewhat remiss in updating the site regularly, but am looking forward to doing so more often in 2007 and hope you will join us frequently. What you will find on our blog are unique resources, ideas and design features I hope will be of value to our readership.

We have lots coming up to offer our clients and potential clients at the first of the year:

First of which, is our biannual furniture market trip. We have attended market for more than 10 years now, and for anyone building a new home, or wanting to replace key pieces of furniture with unique pieces, for distinct tastes, this is the trip you want to be on. Please click on the following link to read about these market services: "It's Market Time". We arrange market buying trips all year long, but the biannual trips have thousands more vendors and a wholesale Cash 'N Carry mall for a little fun afterwards. Market begins January 16th and ends on January 23rd. Call us soon if you are interested in a buying trip as slots fill up quickly.


Next on the list is going to be a new website launch in January retailing high-end custom furniture, reception counters, dining tables, bars and islands, with a specially dedicated section to artists we will represent. We are looking forward to representing these new offerings, most of which are designed by our studio to provide a unique resource for distinctly crafted pieces. We often work with clients to design pieces representative of their home's flavor and distinct personality, whether modern, contemporary, traditional, transitional or classical. As soon as the site is up and functioning, we will announce it on this blogging site. In the meantime, we have a few artists pieces on display in the studio which are contemporary. Stop by! We'd love to meet you.


Additionally, we are expanding our faux finishing services and will have a selection area in the showroom for you to come by and gaze at various available finishes. Our work is a little different than what you see typically. We like to blend color, texture and effects to create exotic, richer and softer feels. Much of what we see happening in the faux finishing world locally tends to be old world venetian, and heavy colorwashes, which is beautiful for many interiors. This is simply something different for varied tastes. We have a few of the finishes in the studio if you want to come by and see them, and we will keep you posted on the progress of our newer ones, featuring our showcase when complete. You can read about faux finishing in a previous article here: Faux Finishing.

And finally, we'd like to make you aware of our studio as design/build interiors. In the past, we have primarily been an interior design studio, fighting the same battles you do on a construction project with the typical contractor arrangement. After struggling with this for many years, we have graduated to a design/build firm so that we can maintain control of quality for our clients. This means that all you have to do is call us in and we will carry the project from design inception to construction completion, with additional finish-out services for furniture and accessories offered, if needed. We will work with Owner's contractors, but our design/build gives us greater control of your design installation and helps us to better control a project's budget.

We enjoy building our projects as it helps to ensure the intended design is what actually ends up in the finished project. We work with key artisans and craftsmen who deliver the level of quality we demand for our clients. Our clients really love being able to deal with one company for the entire project and having a designer leading the project helps to avoid planning mistakes. We offer everything from simple painting to interior reconstruction and remodel to full custom home planning and design. A few of the comments we have received include:

• "We have been really happy to find someone who does exactly what they say, and stays within our budget."
  
  
• "Thank you for taking care of me and for all of the extra that you do to make sure the project is perfect."

We look forward to a great year. Keep us in mind for your projects this year, and check back frequently. Send your e-mail address to us, and we will add you to the update list to notify you when this site is updated. Just send an e-mail to ALGStudio@aol.com with "Blog Reminder" in the title. Thanks for stopping by!

ALG Studio
3416 Joliet Avenue
Lubbock, Texas 79413
806.797.1776

www.ALGStudio.com

Remodels & Custom Kitchens

As we see the housing market take a downturn for sellers, the prediction stands that remodeling will be on the upswing for the next seven to ten years. As part of that trend, kitchens, baths and entertainment rooms are the current focus. Below you will find some very useful information on budgeting a kitchen, depending on the level of craftsmanship you desire.

As a side note, First Bank and Trust of Lubbock is offering home improvement loans in lieu of home equity loans for those who would rather finance independently of their deeds. Please call our office for contact information and weekly loan rates.

Custom Kitchen Design is a growing business, but what we see are many cabinetmakers calling themselves custom kitchen designers and builders. There are different levels of kitchen quality. As an interior designer specializing in "furniture kitchens," I can assure you there is a substantial difference. Furniture kitchens are not for everyone, and typically begin in the $900-$2,000 per linear foot range depending on the intricacies, but the design speaks for itself.

A furniture kitchen does not employ the use of stuck-on features and attached stock mouldings to enhance its architecture. A furniture kitchen features custom bowed islands, radiused ends and doors, hand carved features inherent to each piece, carved structures, one of a kind mouldings and longevity beyond a lifetime. We are speaking of true craftsmanship, and the ability to make any piece, any way you want it. The internal organization employs only the finest of hardware, with the smoothest hand for drawer guides, door closures, and specialty storage. Think of intricate detailing, curves and pieces that seem to flow from one to the other effortlessly. Many employ the use of exotic woods (not just mahogany, cherry or oak).

These types of kitchens are for entertaining as well as daily functional use. For many years, we have seen the kitchen become a central gathering place in the home; not just the meal prep room. Furniture kitchens make an architectural statement yet are carefully planned to be livable and functional, while exuding the craftsmanshp of a truly exceptional architectural space.

Essentially, you can categorize your kitchen design budget accordingly:

Low budget: $200-$400 per linear foot
Stock cabinetry purchased from a kitchen showroom such as a Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. or built by your local carpenter, low end hardware, builder grade drawer guides, painted finish or thin stained finish, melamine or MDF board construction, biscuit joined, finish nailed plywood drawers. Usually made of maple.

Mid-range budget: $400-$800 per linear foot
Nicer kitchens with straight lines, some stock pieces, builder standard mouldings, corbels purchased and attached, stained finishes, builder standard hardware, raised panel construction, plywood drawers, but will still typically see nail holes that have been filled, thin stained or lacquered finishes. Typically limited to local woods.

High-end budget: $800 & up per linear foot
Custom planned for every detail, bowed islands, radiused doors, hand carved features, dovetailed joined solid wood drawers, one of a kind mouldings, the finest of hardware, door closures, and specialty storage, intricate detailing with respect to the architecture of the home and owner preferences, any exotic wood or veneer, thick finishes with options for glazing, distressing, antiquing, layered lacquer (contemporary), waxing, or any other finish desired by the client.

We also see a blending of stock or better quality cabinetry with a high end custom made island. This helps to spread the budget out, but still provide a focal point in the kitchen.

About Our Team
The design/build team ALG Studio has blended the talent of an exceptional designer with the expert craftsmanship of two extremely gifted furniture makers to create a product that can be customized to be all your own. We start from scratch on each kitchen project meaning no two kitchens are alike and we cater to the most discriminating of clients. We can plan simply an island, or an entire kitchen.

Contact Alisha L. Gregg, at 806.797.1776 to discuss a possible partnership on your next dream kitchen or visit our website at www.ALGStudio.com.