Kit Davey, Interior Designer
18 Years in business - Over 2,600 homes transformed!
Newsletter: March 2003
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Contents:
1) Recipe
2) Ideas for Clutter Reduction
3) Art Sessions
4) Classes
5) New: Backyard Decorating Class
6) Simplifying or Downsizing?
7) Catastrophe Update
1)Crockpot/ Slow Cooker Recipe
I love my new crock pot! I hate to cook, so fast and easy meals give me a thrill. The great thing about slow cookers is that you just chop up a few ingredients and throw them in the pot, and when you come home at the end of the day you have a delicious meal.
Tom's Old Fashioned Pot Roast
2 or 3 potatoes, sliced
2 or 3 carrots, sliced
1 or 2 onions, sliced
Salt and pepper
2 pound beef roast
1/2 cup beef broth
Put vegetables in bottom of stoneware, Salt and pepper meat to taste, put in pot. Add broth. Cover and cook on LOW for 10 to 12 hours (or HIGH for 5 to 6 hours). Serves 4.
2) Quick ideas for reducing clutter
- After you pick up your mail, proceed to your recycling bin. Toss junk mail in without opening it. Use a letter opener to remove bills, etc. from their envelopes, and toss them in, too.
- Use a phone log or spiral notebook by your phone for messages, instead of writing them on little slips of paper.
- If you buy an article of clothing, donate one to charity. Keep a bag in your closet or in the garage so you can deliver it when it gets full.
- Use cloth bags for your groceries. Albertson's will give you $0.05 per bag when you use your own cloth bags. I made $15.60 last year this way!
- Don't buy videos or DVD's. Check them out for free at the library. Or, use NETFLIX's fabulous rental service. It only costs about $20 per month for unlimited rentals, which are mailed right to your door. You can keep them for as long as you want, and return them in free postage paid envelopes. This saves trips to the video store, late fees and is ultra convenient! Try it out: visit www.netflix.com and enter the code Friends33 to get two weeks free rental service.
3)"Do Art" Sessions
If you are a budding artist, or have a craft project in progress, you're invited to come join me for some creative fun. Bring your scrapbook, sewing project, card-makings, or whatever else you'd like to work on. We'll gather around my dining room table, share ideas, support each other's creative ventures and DO ART. I only have space for 5 artists, so please call to let me know you are coming: 650-367-7370. Sessions are held from 12:30 to 3:30 pm, March 28, May 2, May 30. Location: 2460 Park Rd., Redwood City.
4) March Classes
March 22: Home Decorating Class
In this three and a half-hour course you'll learn the step-by-step basics of how to create a beautiful and comfortable home, including:
How to define your personal style
How to create a comfortable, functional floor plan
Selecting a color scheme
How to select area rugs, artwork and accessories
Lighting techniques
How to pick wallpaper and paint color
Whether you are filling a room with new furniture, redecorating an already furnished space, or just want some ideas to enhance your home, you'll get cost -effective, easy-to-follow tips and useful handouts. Bring a snack to class---there won't be a lunch break!
Saturday March 22, 9:00 am to 12:30 pm
To register and for classroom location: Call Foothill De Anza Community Education Short Courses Office: (408) 864-8817. Cost: $45
March 26: Class: Transform Your Home in A Day!
Learn how to redecorate your house by creatively rearranging the furniture and artwork you already own. You'll discover how to define your personal style, how to create new furniture arrangements, and how to balance a room with color. Quick, easy acces- sorizing techniques for bookcases, artwork and collections will also be shared. Wednesday, March 26, 2003, 7:00 9:00 pm. Cost: $35 De Anza College, Cupertino Call (408) 864-8817 for room location and to register.
5) June 4: Brand New Class
Backyard Decorating: How to Create an Enchanting Garden
Do you love to putter in your garden? Are you looking for ways to improve and tweak it? Would you like your garden to look and feel more creative? Come learn how to add humor, mystery and spirit to your garden.
You'll learn:
How to use unusual objects to decorate your garden
How to give your home even more curb appeal
How to create and enhance zones for outdoor living,
Sources for outdoor accessories and gardening ideas
How to create vignettes or scenes viewable from inside your home
How to make mosaic/pique assiette orbs and stepping stones.
You'll be inspired to create a garden that truly expresses who you are!
Wednesday, June 4, 2003, 7:00 9:00 pm. Cost: $35, plus $5 materials fee.
De Anza College, Cupertino Call (408) 864-8817 for room location and to register.
6) Thinking About Downsizing?
It's never too early to begin the process. If plan to move to a smaller home, or an assisted living situation, the process can be time-consuming and overwhelming. I have helped dozens of seniors winnow down their possessions, disperse unwanted furnishings, prepare the house for sale (staging) and figure out how to fit their furniture into the new space. I even arrange your knick-knacks and hang your art after you move in! I have a team of professionals to help with every aspect of this stressful transition: estate organizers to help get your papers in order, real estate agents who know your neighborhood, movers, painters, gardeners, computer hooker-uppers---anyone you need to help with downsizing. It takes longer than you think to transition into a smaller home, so call now to see how my team and I can be of service: 650-367-7370.
7) Catastrophe Update
My home was destroyed by our 350 old tree during the windstorm of December 16th. We have moved to a beautiful rental, about 8 minutes away from our (crushed) home. We have been waiting for the insurance company to approve a "scope of work" so that we can send it out for bidding and start the rebuilding process. I have learned patience, but it hasn't been graceful! My husband, Tom, and I have decided to rebuild the house in a new way, adding and changing things to create an even more comfortable home. I have been interviewing architects, designing the new spaces (as I fall asleep and when I wake up in the morning), researching materials and relishing in this opportunity to create anew. I go back and forth between wanting to take big creative risks (multi-colored broken tile backsplash, kitchen cabs all painted different primary colors...) and wanting to play it safe (white tile, maple cabinets, etc...). Oh, to have an easy, direct path to what is good and true for me!! I hope to be able to invite everyone for my yearly open house in November to see the results!