What’s the design word on the street?

 SECTIONAL!

They’re back!

Throughout the last 100 years sectionals have been in and out of favor with the masses.

Growing up there was an enormous sectional in our front room. It was cotton chintz in some sort of chocolate brown floral fabric with a ruffled skirt, if you can visualize (or remember) that! 

 This was in the early 1960’s and the style was called “Early American”.  Really.  Can you picture this fabric as an entire sectional?

My mother loved that monster.

Today the sectional is enjoying yet another comeback.

Today I’ll show three different looks on the upswing!

Here is one of the strong, modern looks as seen at High Point Market 2009. It is sleek, unencumbered and all business.

This  curvaceous sectional invites closeness and conversation.  And it’s  looking very much like a variation of the one on Oprah’s set, don’t you think?

This beauty in the photo below lives right here in Cedar Rapids and was custom designed for a client. -   From our Norwalk line!

Even though the cool grey tones suggest a cutting, contemporary edge, this piece is perfectly at home in a cozy, traditional setting. Family and friends feel welcome here.

It seems impossible to kill the adaptabilty, the function, or the ambiance of the sectional! With so many schematics available,  large rooms or tight spaces will benefit by adding a sectional. 

Having trouble figuring out what will fit?

Just ask!

Dianne Ross

Interior designer/Phelan’s Interiors

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Why is this woman in a straight jacket? What pushed her over the edge?

                                                       Trick or Treat photo by A. Von Ahsen

 She didn’t come to Phelan’s first for all her home furnishings and design needs!  Don’t let crazy happen to you!

***HAPPY HALLOWEEN***

Dianne Ross

Interior Designer

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Twice a year, in the furniture world, all the buzz is focused on High Point, North Carolina. Each October and again in April, manufacturers lure shop owners into their showrooms to behold their latest and greatest offerings! These new pieces are called “market introductions”.

This event is highly anticipated, a visual extravaganza, and well – just spectacular. I might even say that ”market” is the New Year’s Eve party for the home fashion industry! 

Even though I didn’t get to go to market this year, it doesn’t diminish my excitement about all the new trends, new colors, new pieces of artwork, and fresh collections of furniture!

Market Introductions!

YAY!

In the weeks to follow I will highlight market introductions, but today here is a sneak peak from everybody’s favorite, Candice Olson. And I will give you one market word to remember:

Sectional! 

 Designed by Candice Olson

Manufactured by Norwalk Furniture

But, best of all:  Available in our store!

If you need help ( or an opinion!) with your interior design planning, please drop me a note or send a photo. 

Dianne Ross

Interior Designer/Phelan’s Interiors

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Hey Everybody!

Metallic plaster technique – this is one way to add some very sophisticated BLING to a home!

 and layers of  stunning metallic paint!

Today I have the honor of introducing an outstanding plaster and paint artist. Lew Brewer is his name and he is right here ( Kalona, Iowa) among us.

Below you will find some very interesting facts about Lew’s training, techniques and unique skills. The photos are really a poor representation, so you’ll have to forgive me for that.

 That’s right – it’s a painted wood floor!

Name: Lew Brewer

 Venetian Plaster

 I hope you can appreciate Lew’s fantastic abilities from the photos but if not – no problem!  He will make “story boards” for you to approve before he begins any project, which virtually eliminates all guesswork. Lew customizes each project for the client. We are very fortunate to have an artist of this caliber so close to home.

Opinions? Questions?

Leave a comment or feel free to call me for more details about this fascinating work.

Dianne Ross

Interior Designer/Phelan’s Interiors

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 Several pairs of my shoes have been flooded out. So far this year, over 40 inches of precipitation have graced the fair community of Cedar Rapids. That’s right – and we still have three of our “tradtionally wet months” ahead of us!

Normally, I wouldn’t go off on a rant for this blog, but sometimes the Iowa weather makes me cranky. It makes everybody I know cranky. I find myself wishing I owned stock in a flip-flop company!

 Frankly, we midwesterners are extremely weather-sensitive. The very first decision we make each and every day depends on the weather: what to wear. And this year (actually last year must be included as we remember THE flood) we  must decide what shoes we can or cannot wear based on how many inches of rain have been predicted. 

I mean,  don’t misunderstand – I am fully aware of heartland beauty. I appreciate each season with its unique spectrum of colors, and spicey or earthy scents, and comforting ambience.

But then it rains.

Every season.

    So yeah, I’d wear these to work! 

Dianne Ross

Interior Designer/Phelan’s Interiors

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Stunning and practical all in one home!

That’s right! This is a DON’T MISS house when touring the Iowa Parade of Homes this year!

The custom home is built by Casey Johannes is located in Swisher, Iowa.

 Nothing else quite says welcome like an 8 foot mahogany front door and this one is an absolute work of art.

 There are some unique architectural features and details here that you won’t find in other houses, such as a wine refrigerator just out of the camera’s view.  Look at the combination wood and tile floor in the kitchen and dinette.

Hand scraped, five inch, walnut planks are used in the Entry and Hallway.

 In the Kitchen an artistic treatment was then implemented by using the wood planks as a picture frame to surround the 20 x20  tiles. Casey Johannes estimated that it took him 60 hours to do the installation. What a labor of love!

Note the backsplash as it repeats the pattern on diagonal of the tile and wood.

 The Great Room acts as a hub for entertainment as it opens up to the Dinette and Kitchen spaces.

Stacie Reid, Phelan’s interior designer, partnered with the Johannes team on floor plans, furnishings, and accessorizing the house.

Here are 2 shots of the unusally spacious, work – at – Home Office which is located on the second floor. There is also a Bonus Room upstairs, which is one of Stacie’s favorite spaces!

I don’t want to spoil all the surprises that are found throughout this home – but I am compelled to talk about one more well designed feature. It’s in the Master . . . No, on second thought, I want you to visit this house and see it for yourself!

The space planning, the added artistic elements, and the consideration of family day-to-day living, are brought together under one roof in this well executed home.

2785 NE Sunset Ct

Swisher, Ia

***** ONLY TWO DAYS LEFT *****   

Saturday September 27:  noon – 5 PM

Sunday September 28: noon – 5 PM

Remember, it is number 8 in the Parade of Homes magazine.

And stop to see the Allan Custom Home,

in Cedar Rapids, number 11

Dianne Ross

Interior Designer/Phelan’s Interiors

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This is it! The magnificent home presented by Allan Custom Homes!

 Front entry early in the week.

Welcome !

Great Room

                                                             Notice the fantastic ceiling!

Kitchen is almost done!??

                                                               Amazing! Built in buffet.

 Shall we go downstairs?

Lower level Family Room, Bar, entrance to Wine Tasting Room and Wine Cellar

 Here is the Family room. . .

 and Bar- exposing stone arch into the entrance into the Wine Tasting Room

 Let’s taste some wine!

Please come and join Stacie Reid, lead designer, and me this weekend (TODAY!) at this fabulous home.It’s number 11 in the Parade of Homes book.  We would love to show you around!

6804 Cottage Ridge Crt NE, Cedar Rapids

As long as you are out and about, don’t miss the other ( number 8 ) gorgeous home that Stacie did for Casey Johannes Homes, 2785 NE Sunset Ct in Swisher!

Saturday Sept 19 and 26:  Noon to 5 PM

Sunday Sept 20 and 27:  Noon to 5 PM

Tuesday Sept 22:  5 to 8 PM

Thursday Sept 24:  5 to 8 PM

Dianne Ross

Interior Designer/Phelan’s Interiors

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 Like most people in the interior design world I am not a numbers person. Obviously. I think in pictures and dream in color, so my blogs are filled with the greatest visuals I can find for you.  But given today’s anniversary, I found these numbers thought provoking enough to share with you. 

I found the article on an internet 9-11 remembrance page and Preston Kere’s emotional photo was published in Life.

September 11th by the Numbers

The initial numbers are indelible: 8:46 a.m. and 9:02 a.m. Time the burning towers stood: 56 minutes and 102 minutes. Time they took to fall: 12 seconds. From there, they ripple out.

• Total number killed in attacks (official figure as of 9/5/02): 2,819

• Number of firefighters and paramedics killed: 343

• Number of NYPD officers: 23

• Number of Port Authority police officers: 37

• Number of WTC companies that lost people: 60

• Number of employees who died in Tower One: 1,402

• Number of employees who died in Tower Two: 614

• Number of employees lost at Cantor Fitzgerald: 658

• Number of U.S. troops killed in Operation Enduring Freedom: 22

• Number of nations whose citizens were killed in attacks: 115

• Ratio of men to women who died: 3:1

• Age of the greatest number who died: between 35 and 39

• Bodies found “intact”: 289

• Body parts found: 19,858

• Number of families who got no remains: 1,717

• Estimated units of blood donated to the New York Blood Center: 36,000

• Total units of donated blood actually used: 258

• Number of people who lost a spouse or partner in the attacks: 1,609

• Estimated number of children who lost a parent: 3,051

• Percentage of Americans who knew someone hurt or killed in the attacks: 20

• FDNY retirements, January–July 2001: 274

• FDNY retirements, January–July 2002: 661

• Number of firefighters on leave for respiratory problems by January 2002: 300

• Number of funerals attended by Rudy Giuliani in 2001: 200

• Number of FDNY vehicles destroyed: 98

• Tons of debris removed from site: 1,506,124

• Days fires continued to burn after the attack: 99

• Jobs lost in New York owing to the attacks: 146,100

• Days the New York Stock Exchange was closed: 6

• Point drop in the Dow Jones industrial average when the NYSE reopened: 684.81

• Days after 9/11 that the U.S. began bombing Afghanistan: 26

• Total number of hate crimes reported to the Council on American-Islamic Relations nationwide since 9/11: 1,714

• Economic loss to New York in month following the attacks: $105 billion

• Estimated cost of cleanup: $600 million

• Total FEMA money spent on the emergency: $970 million

• Estimated amount donated to 9/11 charities: $1.4 billion

• Estimated amount of insurance paid worldwide related to 9/11: $40.2 billion

• Estimated amount of money needed to overhaul lower-Manhattan subways: $7.5 billion

• Amount of money recently granted by U.S. government to overhaul lower-Manhattan subways: $4.55 billion

• Estimated amount of money raised for funds dedicated to NYPD and FDNY families: $500 million

• Percentage of total charity money raised going to FDNY and NYPD families: 25

• Average benefit already received by each FDNY and NYPD widow: $1 million

• Percentage increase in law-school applications from 2001 to 2002: 17.9

• Percentage increase in Peace Corps applications from 2001 to 2002: 40

• Percentage increase in CIA applications from 2001 to 2002: 50

• Number of songs Clear Channel Radio considered “inappropriate” to play after 9/11: 150

• Number of mentions of 9/11 at the Oscars: 26

• Apartments in lower Manhattan eligible for asbestos cleanup: 30,000

• Number of apartments whose residents have requested cleanup and testing: 4,110

• Number of Americans who changed their 2001 holiday-travel plans from plane to train or car: 1.4 million

• Estimated number of New Yorkers suffering from post-traumatic-stress disorder as a result of 9/11: 422,000

 Our President this morning, 9/11/2009

Today I am remembering all those . . .

Dianne Ross

Interior Designer/Phelan’s Interiors

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Hello to all my fellow Candice Olson fans out there in bloggersville!

Have you been following Design Star this season? From my perspective it has been quite underwhelming. To quote  the judges themselves, “where is the wow factor?” The exception would be the comments coming from the judges – not boring!  Candice Olson always utters words of wisdom. Listen to her advice. Watch Divine Design and see what she does.

She knows whereof she speaks!

During the month of September we are inviting everybody into our showroom to feast your eyes on some of her remarkable upholstery products.

Candice Olson has partnered with Norwalk , which produces her chairs, benches, ottomans and, her signature sofas. Along with past offerings she has recently introduced a scrumptious array of new Kravet fabrics – silks and linens and yes, even some additional, practical chenilles!

 Candice Olson has a renowned reputation for her design - eye.

Eye Candy! 

I know. It’s a lame play on words – but the silly thing is this: It’s true! 

Her devoted fans know she offers much more than just eye-candy.  She is uncompromising in her demand for quality products. Her designs are always fresh and consistantly fabulous.  

If you were unaware that Candice ’s products are here on our floor, consider the veil lifted!

Dianne Ross

Interior Designer /Phelan’s Interiors

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We have a guest contributor today! He was a tiny bit reluctant to write a guest column, but he shot some fantastic photos from inside the store. And, all of you know the adage, “A picture is worth a . . . “

For your consideration:

 PHOTOS by Alex Von Ahsen

Thank you for contributing to the blog, Alex! 

Nicely done –  according to me, anyway!

Your photos are always welcome here! 

Readers? Do you have an opinion? Let’s rally around him and let him know. Send a comment in the box below!

Dianne Ross and Alex Von Ahsen

Interior Designers / Phelans Interiors

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