Kit Davey, Interior Designer
17 Years in business - Over 2,500 homes transformed!
Newsletter: July 2006
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Contents:
1) Quote
2) Fun Websites to Visit
3) Recipe
4) TV Audition
5) Art Sale
6) Open House Invitation
7) Tips
8) Realtor?
9) Classes
10) Invitation to Subscribe
1) Quote of the Quarter:
I live by Flaubert’s example of a well-ordered and disciplined life:
I believe that an externally conventional existence allows for artistic adventure and that a life that looks artsy (i.e. unruly, dissipated) doesn’t support genuine creativity.
... Kathryn Morrison
2) Fun Websites to visit:
- Before I go on a trip I print out my packing list from my computer. To create your own packing light, visit www.ricksteves.com. Type in Rick’s Packing List, or Women’s Packing Tips or Women’s Packing List in the search box. Or, send me an email and I’ll send you my list (kitdavey@aol.com).
- For an inspirational slideshow, visit www.LightMovie.com.
- Are you curious about your home’s current resale value. Visit www.Zillow.com and type in your address. You’ll get an instant price with no strings attached! You’ll also see a satellite photo of your property and get recent comparable sales prices.
3) Recipe
Kit’s Low-Fat, High Protein Crustless Mexy Quiche
Ingredients:
1-cup egg substitute or egg whites
1-13 to 16 oz. brick of low fat tofu
1 cup low fat mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
½ to 1 cup diced, canned jalapeno peppers
1 cup frozen corn
1 tsp garlic powder
Optional garnishes: chunky, spicy salsa non fat sour cream chopped cilantro
Directions: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a blender, mix the eggs, tofu, mozzarella, and garlic powder until smooth. Pour in the corn and jalapenos and fold in with a spoon. Grease a pie pan and pour in the mixture. Bake at 375 for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the center no longer jiggles. Remove from oven and let cool 20 minutes. Add garnishes and serve.
4) TV or not TV!
I got a call from a television production company eager to interview me about participating in a new show called “Design Therapy” for Home and Garden Television (HGTV). They felt that my approach to design and decorating would be perfect for the show.
After several phone interviews I was asked to do a video audition session during which I was asked some key questions. I thought I’d share them here:
Interviewer: What do you call yourself?
Kit: I am sort of a designer, but more like a “house whisperer” or maybe a “house doctor”! When I walk into a home, I know what needs to be done to create a space that will look better and which will also make my client feel better. Interestingly, when they start to feel good at home, they feel better in other areas of their lives.
Interviewer: “Why don’t people create that for themselves?
Kit: Lots of reasons: procrastination, being overwhelmed, fear of making mistakes, not knowing how to start, not creating the time to do it, fear of spending too much money, not feeling worthy, adaptation to discomfort. But mainly, not realizing how incredibly affected we are by our environment. We spend at least a third of our lives in our homes! Our homes can be a refuge, a place of beauty and comfort! If people understood that, they would attend to their homes just the way they do to their bodies. An energized home can energize your life!
Interviewer: What makes a vibrant home? What kind of “therapy” do you suggest?
Kit: A vibrant home functions well, is orderly, is beautiful and has things in it which make you feel good to look at. I usually like to know what the client does in the space and how they want to feel when they are in it. We improve the furniture arrangement and create organizational systems so they support what they do in the room, while also creating more cohesion and balance. I also like to create balanced lighting, and to display accessories that have positive associations. I often suggest different paint colors and ways to add more color through creative placement of their treasures. We declutter and simplify if necessary.
A few days later, after spending time thinking about the interview questions, I came up with a formula for this:
Beauty + order + function + positive feeling towards your stuff = vibrant home
P.S. The producer emailed me to let me know that they loved my audition, but had selected an LA designer with lots of TV experience for the show. They are taping it this summer. In any case, my experience helped solidify my life mission: I help my clients create beauty order and harmony in their homes (and their lives)!
5) You're Invited! Art Sale: Saturday, Sept 23, 11 am to 4 pm
I am a member of an artist’s group called “Artists Unleashed”. Come to our Fall sale on Sat., Sept. 23rd from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm, at the home of Diane Kochenberg, 1742 El Dorado Ave., San Jose, CA 95126. Shop for greeting cards, sculpture, paintings, collage, assemblage, baked goods, and more! Bring a friend! (This is NOT the same as my yearly Open House/Art Sale!).
6) You are invited to the Crafty Open House!
Please come to my annual Arts and Crafts Sale and Open House on Sat., November 11th from 12 to 5 pm. You are welcome to tour my home and also to shop for jewelry, paintings, sculpture pieces, greeting cards and other works created by 10 artisans who set up tables throughout my home. Bring your friends! Location: 1539 Granger Way, Redwood City.
7) Tips: Odds and Ends
- If you don’t like being interrupted and want less stress in your life, don’t pick up the phone when it rings! Let your answering machine or voicemail collect your messages. Then you can listen to them when you want to and return your calls all in one sitting. I listen to messages and return calls from 8:30 to 9:00 am and 5:30 to 6:00 pm and find I that batching my work this way makes me much more productive and relaxed.
- Any time you grab a file, take a minute or two to go through it, organize it and toss out old information before returning it to the file cabinet.
- Read your goals once a week, or at a minimum, once a month. I keep a copy stapled inside my Daytimer, and in my journal so that I can look at them easily.
- Please don’t throw old batteries in the trash. Recycle them! Radio Shack will take them and so will the Menlo Park Library.
Amanda Kovattana, fellow organizer and environmentalist suggests other ideas:
- Reduce: Try using less of everything such as shampoo, toothpaste and detergent. Our naturally soft water in California means you need less soap to lather up.
- Reuse: If you like liquid soap you can refill the bottle. Buy a bar of glycerin soap and cut it into pieces to fit into the bottle opening. Put some pebbles or beach glass in the bottom of the bottle to act as a filter, add the soap and fill with water. Saves on packaging and the bar of soap lasts much longer.
- Recycle: Remove the caps from plastic bottles when you throw them in the recycle bin. When the bottles go through the crusher at the recycle center, the caps can pop off with great force and hurt someone. To prevent injuries, the workers may send capped bottles to the dump since they can't always remove the cap as the conveyer belt goes by.
- For more green ideas for your home, here’s how to contact
Amanda: Amanda Kovattana Don't Agonize, Organize!
(650) 367-6313 handymanda.blogspot.com
8) Need a Realtor?
If you are thinking of selling your home and don’t have a Realtor, give me a call. As a stager, I work with the most qualified and experienced agents on the Peninsula. I am happy to refer you: 650-367-7370.
9) Special Class: "Stage Your Home For Sale: How to Maximize Your Profits"
Wednesday, Oct. 4, 7:00-9:00 pm.
Thinking of selling your home in the next few months or years? Find out how to invest your time, money and energy so your home sells quickly at the highest possible price. You'll learn what potential buyers are looking for in a new home, which improvements and updates give you the most bang for the buck, how to give your home "curb appeal" and how to stage each room of your house.
To be held at Foothill College, 12345 Moody Road. Los Altos Hills.
Cost: $40, plus $5 materials fee payable in class.
To register on line: www.shortcourses.fhda.edu,
or by phone: 408- 864-8817 (Please call to verify location).
OR
Wednesday, Sept. 20, 7:00 to 9:00 pm.
Palo Alto High School, 50 Embarcadero Rd., Palo Alto,
Cost: $30, plus $5 materials fee payable in class.
Call 650-329-3752 to register and for the class location.
Decorating Class: "Room ReDesign: Take Your Home from Blah to Beautiful in 8 Hours or Less!”
Wednesday, Oct. 11, 7:00-9:00 pm.
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 accessorizing techniques for bookcases, artwork and displaying collections will also be shared.
To be held at Foothill College, 12345 Moody Rd., Los Altos Hills.
Fee: $40, plus $7 materials fee, payable in class.
To register by phone, call (408) 864-8817.
To register on line, go to: www.shortcourses.fhda.edu.