Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Great Finds for You!!


 I have a client who is just as lovely as can be and we have been having a great time decorating together!  She has a wonderful eye for lovely things and is one of those gals who purges the little things but knows a great thing when she's got it and boy does she have some great finds!  This is where you come in!  Since we are redoing pretty much every room in the house, we must make room for the new and we decided to use my blog as a way for her to clean house and for YOU to get some great things at a GREAT price!  I'm only posting part of her goodies today and will do some more later.  So, here we go...


This Michael Taylor chair has a stunning black lacquer finish.  The loose cushion is a black velvet and the seat is actually black caning.


Pretty isn't it?  It's a classic Klismos style.


Retails for $2,800.00

FOR YOU...$780.00!!


A pair of pillows from Kellogg Collection.  Blue and white cut velvet fabric form Cowtan and Tout.  Over sized lumbar pillows with ivory loop fringe. Down blend fills.

 $125.00 for both!!!



Very pretty set of three reproduction prints from Williamsburg.  Great frame with gold detailing on black. Perfect for so many different rooms: entry, dining, study, guest room, powder room...


All three...$150.00


This one is a fantastic deal!!  Really, check this one out...


  How great is this?  This iron daybed has a trundle underneath it and is sold with the mattress and all the bedding on it too.  The fitted daybed coverlet is from Pottery Barn and it has two bolsters, three big yummy shams and then three gorgeous printed pillows!  This day bed will not disappoint!


The detailing on the iron bed is really super.   (Look at the grand babies in the background!!)


The pillows have down blend fills and a great cotton brush fringe.  Aren't they lovely? I think this is ready to go for a guest room or den.

What is the price, you ask?  The whole deal is

$700.00 for everything!


Please contact me if you are interested in any of these items!


Email me about a post, project or partnership at Victoria@victoriasanchezinteriors.com





Friday, September 23, 2011

The Staging is Done!

I know you remember my staging project I have been working on in Georgetown, well, it's done!  I'm happy with the results and more importantly the listing agent and the client are happy. Here are some of the pictures that I took that I'd like to share.


From the walk



Terrific natural light.  Fantastic ceiling height.  Grand windows.


I really love the pink in this room. 


Another side of the room.   I bought the terrific little chairs from LIVvintage .  Love them! And she was GREAT!


Dining area opens to living area.


 Family room is in the oldest part of the house. 


Little detail shot with a view to the patio.


Love the island in this kitchen.


Breakfast room.


I added a little reading corner in this space.  I can see myself reading magazines or researching recipes here!


Cute little patio off of the kitchen. 


I love this "secret stairway" leading to the garden off of the master bedroom.




Gorgeous!!


Master Bedroom. Love the black nightstands with a touch of chinoisserie.


Reading area.




This is an area in the master sitting room.  Super cool photo of a Georgetown street from The Art Registry Group.  They helped us with art in other rooms too.


Guest bedroom detail.  Sale pillow from Pottery Barn.


Another detail from the guest room.


All the bathrooms and the kitchen are from Waterworks.  Beautiful details.


The middle bedroom is large enough for this sitting area. Check out the old painted floors. 


Fun butterfly image was our inspiration here.


You might wonder where do all the furnishings and accessories come from? It comes from several different sources. Alot of the big pieces of furniture were leased. There are a number pieces that come from my inventory, some of the pillows were purchased for specific spots such as the pillows for the living room. I ordered several new pieces, ran around to Pottery Barn, C2 and Crate and Barrel outlet too. It took alot of organizing and the installation was a "all hands on deck" kind of day!

 This has been an really great project.  I have enjoyed it alot and hope to be able to do more of this type of work.  I have put together a marketing plan to target real estate firms and agents to offer our services and help them sell their listings. If you know of any Realtors that might need some staging done, please send them my way or forward this blog posting to them!


Have a great weekend everyone!


Email me about a post, project or partnership at Victoria@victoriasanchezinteriors.com








Tuesday, September 13, 2011

The Business of Design

The Washington Design Center offers a series of lectures on different topics of interest for designers and we just had our first one today.  They are usually really cool topics like how to catch an editors eye and increase your chances of getting published or branding and licensing your own line.  We also have the privilege of hearing fabulous designers talk about what inspires them and attend their book signing.



 Keith Granet spoke to us today about his new book The Business of Design. There was a full house of designers packed in this morning to hear him speak.  All of anxious to hear what he meant by the "Business of Design".  Would we hear about balancing our checkbook?  How to organize our office?  Or would it be about increasing our business by changing our billing strategies?

Well, we got an amazing earful!  Keith Granet's client list is the who's who in the industry.  Barbara Barry, Charlotte Moss, Fortuny, Drake Design, Victoria Hagan, Waterworks, Mary McDonald and the list goes on!  The New York Times wrote a great article about him in August that was really inspiring to read and I was ready to hear what he had to say.

His firm specializes in four different areas: management consultant, licensing, design leadership summit and his book. He spoke to use about all four of these areas and gave us a great insight into his new book.


He talked about how important it is to have a great business plan. Describing it as a road map I think took out a little bit of the intimidation factor and spins a business plan into something that I really want to work on now.  He emphasized that without it, how would you know where your buiness is going?  Although I have heard this before, with my business heading into new directions, it seems like the perfect time to tackle it now.  Keith did go over his "Top Ten Business Practices".  Some we have heard before but he suggested we take ten percent out of every check we receive and deposit it into a separate savings account.  That's something I'm starting today. 

Over the past few years I have been teaching at the college level.  My favorite course to teach is Business Practices.  I strongly believe that in order for a designer to be successful they have to understand more than a color wheel.  Keith is hoping to incorporate his book into interior design curriculums.  I would love to add that to my list of books for students to read.  I zippped over to the Holly Hunt showroom to buy a signed copy, but I was too late, all gone!  (Of course last night I ordered my copy from Amazon and yes, paid for the next day shipping!)  Can't wait to start reading it!

A marketing plan timeline is in Business of Design and that was of great interest to me too.  It suggests how often you should send out an email blast for example, do your adverstising, etc.  I'd love to paste that on my calendar and know that there is some rhyme or reason to my marketing. 

Will I ever need his help on licensing?  Or be invited to his exclusive Designer Summit?  Maybe not, but I know that there is so much I can learn from him and his book to help keep my business strong and moving forward.  I feel like I am not alone and want to hit the ground running!  Thanks Keith!

Email me about a post, project or partnership at Victoria@victoriasanchezinteriors.com



I

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Can We Talk?


Things have been kinda rough around here for the past two weeks.  I'm not just talking earthquake and hurricane, that seems like forever ago!  Remember I posted pretty pictures and a floor plan of the house we are staging in Georgetown?  Well, nothing seems to be going my way on this one!  A  little chronology follows...


Gorgeous house, gorgeous day, happy times.


Loading the car with yet more stuff, to take to the house.
After the earthquake, but before hurricane.


This is basically what I have seen through my rear view window for the last month.
This one is tame, I can assure you!




AFTER THE HURRICANE!!!!




OK, I'm sure the first thought that pops into your mind is "Oh my gosh, her carpet
was ruined from all the rains!" But no. That was not the case. Here is the sad little story.


  I don't really worry too much about getting ready for storms. I don't buy the extra
batteries, flashlights, generators. I hardly bother with the milk, bread, eggs thing. I'm sure I have enough toilet paper to get us through and absolutely enough frozen everything to feed the neighbors. (Which I did during the big snowstorm a couple of years ago, I have a gas cook top!) But this time, my friends convinced me that Irene could do some damage so I bought into it. Not too much, but a little. Well long story short, since Irene was kind to us in Alexandria, I didn't use the 2 1/2
gallon jug of water that was in my house. So, I took it to work. Smart, right? We helped ourselves
to the water and off I went for a nice three day week of fun at home. (I was so pooped from loading and loading my car for two weeks, I had a vodka cocktail at 1:30 on Saturday. Yes I did!)


Fast forward to Monday... The D__M! jug was a big o"ol cheapy and the dumb little spout leaked!  All over my sea grass rug in my office!!!  Called the carpet cleaners to extract the water, (did I mention 2 1/2 gallons?), spray mildew resist stuff on it and leave me a huge blower for under my desk.  It is looking better, I have to say.  The other side of my office, not so much.


Staging stuff we didn't use.


Need a lamp?


Notice the piece from a tape measure sticking out?  Sorry, Jana, your tape measure didn't make it!

AND THEN... today. 



Just when I thought it was all over, my car got swiped in Georgetown today!!!
But tomorrow, my friends is Friday!




Email me about a post, project or partnership at Victoria@victoriasanchezinteriors.com





Thursday, September 1, 2011

Fabulous Crate and Barrel Sidewalk Sale!

While shopping today at the Crate and Barrel outlet store in Old Town Alexandria, we discovered that they were preparing for a big Labor Day Clearance Sale. 



What fun for us!  We watched them unoad and haul stuff in and boy did they have some good deals!  Check out these finds!
These are actually from CB2 and are only $329 each!! 

This little apartment sofa is $999; great basic piece for ENDLESS design possibilites!

 I love this piece and wish I could place it somewhere- $349!


19.95.  Raffia pillows.



Great Pricing!!!


More great stuff!!


 
19.95!!  Nice look!


This book is a riot.  It has the oddest assortment of things you have ever seen. 
For example...



Or this one which is kinda hard to see, but it says "Spoon without Arm Discomfort"!!!



 Yup- I bought it.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!  YEAH FOR US!!


Email me about a post, project or partnership at Victoria@victoriasanchezinteriors.com