Tao Approach to Interior Design

Serenity Scheme

2004-12-14T02:55:00.000-08:00

To make your room serene,
stick with neutrals like taupe or green
place furniture sparingly
and use candles and lighting to complete the scene

Work doesn't sleep. Sleep doesn't work.

2004-12-08T02:17:00.000-08:00

If a sleeping and working area must share one space
be sure your desk and bed have their own special place
to put your desk near your bed is to invite laziness and trouble
so use a room separator to build some harmony on the double!

Windows

2004-12-06T15:24:00.000-08:00

When addressing windows
always keep in mind:
opt for a soft swag or curtain
and not a horizontal blind

Modular Zen

2004-11-24T13:07:00.000-08:00

Hara Design is the source for asian modular furniture. Their designs are not only stable, but they can be combined to form more functional options. I can't read japanese, but the designs transcend the language barrier, making them universally understood.

Take their ZA Stool for instance. By itself, it functions as a sturdy stool, ottoman or low seating for a low dinner table, but pair it with two or more of it's kind and you get an equally functional spot to lay down and rest.

Take a gander at some of their other products. Great tables and shelves for both the East and the West of the planet!

Great gifts for the house under $10

2004-11-23T13:05:00.000-08:00

Staple-free stapler $6.95

One of the best office gadgets by far! It helps to decrease the clutter in the environment, making recycling papers so much easier when you don't have to remove those darn rusty staples.

Stainless Steel Bag Holder $9.99

My boyfriend's mom has been looking for this accessory to complete her brushed-stell kitchen. It's not available in Hawaii anywhere, but thank God for the Container Store.

Mini Powered Screwdriver $6.95

A funky-looking mini tool that uses AAA batteries. A very chic accessory to have for just in case.

Canvas Utility Totes $7.99 - $9.99

Great storage items to have handy. Just be careful not to get them wet :-p

Magnetic 4-Hook Rack $4.99

One of those items that sounds like might never get used, but then you realize how handy it comes.

Eastern Energy

2004-11-23T11:33:00.000-08:00

Yoshi Aoki (it's fun to say it three times fast!) and his talented crew create amazing sculptural accessories that light up your life. LIterally.

The lamps use simplistic materials, but their final form is leaves me awestruck. Organic, yet contemporary, their pieces take on a an Eastern energy which is both brilliant and humbling.

Check out the official website at Bluetree. Try one of their Japanese recipes also.

Contemporary $100 couch (Honolulu)

2004-10-18T14:39:00.000-07:00

The simple stripe design on this couch would make it the perfect companion to anyone's current coffee/end table.

Very chich -- at a very chic price!
see ad on craigslist

Waste-not Lamps

2004-10-15T18:15:00.000-07:00

Asian accent lamps made from recycled book jackets? It's true and very available!

Using a secret method, a former librarian has separated the plastic from paper in retired book jackets and created these glow lamps. Accented with Chinese and Japanese characters, these lamps would make the perfect addition to the soothing retreat you call home.

For those who can't afford the lamps or the shipping, HGTV Canada has a project that recreates the same effect -- except this time, you're recycling jars instead of books. Make a glow jar today!

Honolulu Housefinds: Stylin' chair needs some TLC

2004-10-11T11:54:00.000-07:00

This chair is up for grabs on craigslist for only $100. It's got a great retro stripe pattern on it. There's no doubt it would look fabulous in your Brini Maxwell inspired scheme. Now why didn't you think of that?

This dresser would be fabulous with some new drawer knobs and a nice dusting. A bit of organized clutter couldn't hurt either!

WOW! this dresser blows that one out of the water -- and at $100 it's a steal!

Hawaiian Housefinds

2004-10-06T13:10:00.000-07:00

Going for that indian/middle-eastern theme in your home? Well then wrap your sandy mitts around this Hookah set for $35. And hey, if you send me a picture of you blowing vowels with your smoke, I'll send you 5 bucks!

other items (via craigslist):

Dressers fit for any dorm room - 3 for $100

A home on wheels for your DVD player and TV! - $60

8 drawer wood desk - $80

Cardboard for your ass

2004-10-05T14:48:00.000-07:00

Not everyone can be a great woodwooker, but that shouldn't stop you from having an awesome chair.

That amazing artisan at Andrew Senior.com has transcribed instructions and patterns for you to create your own cardboard chair. The chair uses no glue, nails or tape; It relies on the science of weight distribution. It also encourages recycling!

Instructions and pictures here

Diagram of cutouts here.

Turning Windows Japanese

2004-10-04T22:53:00.000-07:00

Last night, I saw a horrible attempt at re-creating Japanese Shoji screens. The student on HGTV's Designer Finals spray-painted strips of wood silver (for some reason, she was merging a metropolitan look with asian influences) and did a faux rice paper treatment on closet doors. A botched attempt, you say? That's the understatement of the week.

To prevent anyone else from doing the same, I thought I'd point you in the direction of some instructions to re-create Shoji Screens for your own windows. Instructions are here (courtesy of DIYnetwork).

2004-10-04T17:29:00.000-07:00

RE-USE IT: CD Spindles
Got too many CD spindles, but not enough blank CD-Rs to fill them? Try your hand at turning them into handy (but mostly dandy) desk lamps. Instructions via ReadyMade magazine.Learn how here

And for those not industrious enough on the computer to make their own shades, I've two for you to use. One's interesting, the other might be a bit of an eyesore (yellow design), so use a low-watt bulb.
Travel Shade • Lime Shade

Colorblinded

2004-07-27T17:04:00.000-07:00

I've always wondered what things looked like to a colorblind person. This fascinating website gives in-depth insight into that and also shows you what things might look like to different levels of color blindness.

Give clients the pink slip

2004-07-06T16:15:00.000-07:00

An article by Kevin Airgid on When to fire a client (despite it's spelling errors) speaks the truth! If you've never had a client like this, you really haven't gotten much experience under your belt. Although reading the article will give you a better idea of what it's like to deal with hellish clients once in a while, you really won't know what it's actually like until you get a client from hell yourself.

I remember a particular client I dealt with that wound up flaking out, leaving me aching for payment in my most dire time of unemployment. His name is Arye Sachs ( I repeat his name with glee because changing names to protect people are for spineless designers!) and apparently I'm not the first person he gyp'd!

I was so scorned that I created a warning page and even e-mailed other freelancers I knew. I may not have been the first client he spurned, but I was determined to make sure I was the last!

Shortly after posting the case study to my website, I got e-mails from several other designers who claimed they were also bamboozeled out of money from Arye Sachs. The dirty rat couldn't even pay me the measly $100 bucks he owed.

From then on, I knew I had to always get contracts signed and deposits always needed to be made before any work on the project starts. Tangible tokens like those help to filter out the flippant clients from the serious ones.

Pragmatic Personality

2004-07-02T12:11:00.000-07:00

I'm very inspired by the work and overall personality of 344 Design.

It's impressive that it's a one-man show (Stefan Bucher ladies and gentlemen - a round of applause!) I love his attitude and how he explains things in a sort of deadpan way. Perhaps it's his sense of humor that helps to soften the blow.

I've always been a fan of anecdotes, especially ones about design. Lots of people have commented on my client tales; It helps them get a better idea of what sort of processes my brain goes through. Stefan is one of the rare designers who share their thought process and any feelings attached to that process with viewers. Designers who can do that willingly are very brave and confident.

Stefan's use of color and his unpredictable use of typography are sights to witness. The most impressive thing about his work is it's practicality. It's a lost-art, but he does it so well -- with intuition and grace nonetheless!

Hawaiian Type

2004-06-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

Hawaiian residents are funny in the fact that whenever anything or anyone is mentioned in mainstream news, they get all excited. Except if it's used in a slanderous way, of course.

Now Hawaiians and Hawaiian culture are not only being showcased in books and movies, but also in fonts: Puamana and Kahana are two new fonts created by people in love with Hawaii. They're very interesting. Not entirely sure that they capture the entire essence of Hawaii life, but then again I'm not sure if you can convey that in something so limited as a typeface.