I found this space to be particularly unique and inviting. This Manhattan apartment designed by Timothy Haynes and Kevin Roberts embodies a sophisticated yet eclectic style highlighted with custom made pieces and an 18th century mantel.  The bold, monochromatic purple lacquered walls gives the room a real sense of luxury, while the mirrored-back bookcase creates dimensionality and provokes a very expansive interior. Overall, these designers definitely took a risk, but were successful in creating an unparalleled space.

Maybe a better question is, “What IS a pouf?” They’ve been around forever (especially in South East Asia, Morocco, and India) and have become trendy in the US. I love how they are excellent extra seating, visually fun, and less of a commitment in terms of price. You know they are mainstream if West Elm (http://www.westelm.com/search/results.html?words=poufs&cm_sp=OnsiteSearch-_-GlobalNav-_-Button) is carrying them, but you can find some great ones from Surya (http://surya.com/poufs/) as well as one of my favorite designers, Jonathan Adler (http://www.jonathanadler.com/Moroccan-Pouf/). These little guys are great ways to add color as well as seating to any living area, small or large!

I am a total believer in ghosts, but Fitz is still on the fence. But this orb we snapped at one of the historic apartment properties in Denver where we are designing new apartments put a chink in his doubting armor. I’ll post the project once were done so you can see the after pic too!

On September first Fitz and I woke up early to drive to Steamboat to meet with clients and to interview contractors for a custom home we’ve been designing and re-designing for almost 4 years now (until our client’s home in Aspen sells, there will be no ground breaking on the new house). The day started off to a bang as Fitz backed my Prius (named Poppy) into my new neighbor’s truck. Luckily his truck was unscathed, but Poppy’s bumper was a mess. I refused to make the long three hour trip in Fitz’s death-trap of a car so Poppy it was!

As per norm, I quickly fell asleep as Fitz drove (I think I have car narcolepsy, better known as carpolepsy)  grouchily in silence. We arrived in Steamboat just short of three hours later and went immediately to Marabou (http://www.marabouranch.com/, where Fitz designed the amenity buildings when we were at our previous firm, and where our clients have purchased a lot to place their future home). The interviews were all interesting and entertaining and we parted ways eager to break ground! We saw some commotion outside of the outfitters building so Fitz and I popped out of Poppy to see what everyone was gathering around for. Low and behold there is an adorable kitten being cooed over by a number of women. One of the ranch’s employees found the kitten on the runway at the Steamboat Airport hobbling around on her under-nourished pins of legs. While everyone in the group found her adorable no one could take her home due to allergies, owning other animals, etc. I heard Fitz moan as he read my mind…she would be ours! We fed her some soft kitten food in the car on the way home and were shocked at how mellow she was. How exciting for her too to be crossing over the Continental Divide for the first time in her kitty life.

For several days we hummed and hawed over what the kitten’s name should be; Airport, Runway, Marabou, Mimi, Bou, the list went on. Fitz and I finally settled on Marabou and were very quickly in love with our office cat! About a week into having Bou Fitz saw her having a seizure. He wasn’t certain of what he saw because she was no longer the mellow under nourished kitten we found, but a frisky crazy kitten, so we just kept an eye on her. But over the period of a month we both witnessed seizures and they quickly escalated, becoming more violent where she started to foam at the mouth and lose control of her bladder. Our awesome neighbor vet came to the rescue. He did a full blood work up, physical, and observed her for a few days and started prescribing meds. We could not longer leave Bou at the office over night alone so she became our travelling cat coming home with one of us each night. Fitz and I were so sad for our little girl…and we couldn’t help but feel a little bit like that trip to Marabou was all sort of bad luck (the car, the epileptic kitten, the money vacuum the vet was becoming, etc.).

We finally have Bou on an anti-psychotic medication that has prevented her from having seizures for almost a whole month! We had her spayed and so she is a bit less rascally now too.  Our office is more of a joy than it has been in years and we can’t help but think that it’s our little ray of sunshine that has helped turn this office around. It’s been a tough year, no, I take that back, it’s been a tough four and a half years for Naka. Sparse work that has kept us from doing what we love…designing spaces for clients and being creative. But now in the past couple of weeks we have witnessed a full 180…over 4 new projects signed and started and a couple of other proposals out there that we’re feeling confident about too. And of course, our Bou is healthy. People who know me and Fitz know we love cats, so when we went to Japan is was no surprise that we returned with a number of Maneki Nekos (lucky cats, or beckoning cats) to place in our office in hopes of bringing in new projects…those ceramic cats didn’t seem to do the charm, but our Marabou has. I think she’s our lucky cat, but regardless of the luck she may bring us, it’s her spirit we love…as well as her undying affection for us. Her people.

So if you are ever passing by our office in Wash Park, pop in to meet the girl! She will put a smile on your face! And she is also a decent assistant!

I love this picture! It is such a fun twist on traditional interiors. The upscale and luxurious feel of the traditional French architecuture intertwined with the whimsical and colorful furniture and finishes creates a playful and inviting space. The palette of reds, oranges, and yellows evokes a sense of energy within the space encouraging the viewer to explore.  The rug plays an important roll in grounding the colors to the room, while at the same time brings a modern flare to the living space. Overall, it is as though the room is a blank canvas board and the vibrant furniture pieces becomes the paint.