A Gem in the Pearl

Countdown: 87 days to opening night Win of the day:

A productive furniture selection meeting with Brad & Stefan at Bravado Home & Design.

Loss of the day: Technology overload with WordPress and feeds.

I spent the morning working on other design projects and loose ends.

One of those loose ends was Laura trouble shooting the issues I have been having with auto posting from my blog, to Twitter, to Facebook. It was working okay, but had some bugs. With the risk of getting ridiculous with my explanation, let’s just say I am a perfectionist and so is Laura so we decided to tackle the web of commands we have somewhere set up in Internet land. My blogs were posting to only my Facebook personal page, not the Angela Todd Designs or Cascade Splendor fan pages. She tried to fix potential bugs in Facebook, in WordPress using widgets, and through blog and Twitter feeding services, but it got worse. I set up something long before she started working with me and I couldn’t tell you where I went, what I logged into, what the password is, or how it works. The Internet is a tricky place, right? So after what seemed like hours of troubleshooting,she asked if it was okay to call Steve. Steve Johnson at Sawtooth Media is our wordpress and Internet guy. He is a God. What she meant was, “Can I call Steve. He will bill you, but this nonsense will stop and be fixed.” I agreed, and so Steve fixed in less than an hour what we have been trying to figure out for days. By the way, if you need a WordPress techie with personality and amazing abilities save the link to Steve.

The only Street of Dreams time officially allocated today was an appointment at 3:00pm with Bravado Home & Design at 14th and Hoyt in the Pearl District. Bravado Home & Design oozes style thanks to Brad and Stefan, the purveyors and interior designers in the shop. Brad is as nice as he is picture perfect. He has a great smile and a kind demeanor. Stefan has a rich accent – I believe from somewhere in Eastern Europe. He speaks his mind, but I like that because he is frequently correct. I secretly adore both of them. Okay, it is not a secret. Brad and Stefan have a knack for styling their showroom and interiors. Their signature style for me is rich neutrals and browns, enveloped in interesting textures. They have a great look, impeccable style, and an outstanding ability to source quality pieces. We are honored to be working with them on this year’s Street of Dreams.

Laura – the organized, efficient rockstar type, prepared our meeting with photos of pieces we are considering for the home. We have this heavy duty stainless steel container of tiles, quartz and granite samples, paint colors, hardwood, carpet and upholstry fabric samples. We top off these surfaces with a 6 inch linen binder of floor plans, schedules, photos and notes. This container is getting crazy heavy. Laura and I take turns carrying it and complaining. For the record, I carried it into Bravado, but she packed the car at the studio.

I started by conceptually reviewing our project, and began to share drawings, colors, surfaces, floor plans and dimensions. We talked about pieces we collectively thought were the best options and what pieces we still needed to fill in the design. The Bravado showroom features only a small portion of their inventory. Like many design and furniture showrooms, they warehouse some pieces off-sight. In the warehouse pieces are individually carefully wrapped and protected – so instead of taking on the task of unpacking pieces at warehouse and reviewing each one of them – we started by relying on Brad and Stefan to tell us about potential pieces that fit our vision for the home. The concept began turning into reality as we all considered pieces we had available as a team from all of our sources.

Like all furnishing projects, we filled in the largest pieces first: sofas and sectionals, upholstered beds, chairs, desks, dining and kitchen tables. Then we moved to bar stool, coffee tables, side tables, and so on. I am thrilled to say after many hours of preparation, and an hour and half of a “roll up your sleeves” meeting, we have we have finalized all major pieces throughout the home. We collected fabric samples from key pieces at Bravado and we were on our way.

Moving along, it is time to finalize Area Rugs.

Angela Todd Designs, working in conjunction with Steel Creek Homes, is currently building and furnishing Cascade Splendor a 5000 square foot home for the NW Natural 2011 Street of Dreams. The show will be held August 6th through August 26th, 2011. Follow our progress by subscribing to our blog, following us on Facebook, and/or following us onTwitter.

Angela Todd Studios For Custom Furnishings

Angela Todd

Owner & Principal Designer

Angela is the principal designer at her boutique interior design firm in Portland, Oregon. She is known for creating memorable backdrops that tell the story of fascinating and intricate lives.

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