The official start of Summer is only a week away. Make sure to take time to kick back and catch up on some much needed relaxation. There is no better way to relax than hanging with your feet up in a hammock.
What is your favorite way to kick back in the summer?
The leaves keep changing and the preparations for moving back indoors continue. Next step – organizing!
Last time I talked to you it was all about getting cleaned up for the fall. Well, now that you’ve gotten your home clean, it’s time to get it organized!
First things first – organize your outdoor area and put away your summer accessories you won’t be using, especially if you live where the cold is REALLY cold. If you haven’t already, you may want to consider purchasing some outdoor storage, especially if you don’t have room anywhere else. Put away your outdoor pillows, umbrellas, and toys and cover your furniture and grill.
Once you’re done outside, remove all of your indoor summer decor and store it properly. I usually use plastic containers I can keep in my garage, in closets, or under my bed and swap out accessories and decorations seasonally. At the very least, you should consider swapping accessories and small items out twice a year in the fall and spring.
If you have a lot of “non-seasonal” pieces, consider simplifying your home by putting some of these items away as well. The less clutter you have, the more your fall decor will stand out as you prepare to celebrate the holidays with family and friends.
If you have a lot, perhaps you should consider purchasing some indoor storage pieces at this time. There are several options for attractive furniture that doubles as storage, allowing you to keep track of the other seasons as you prepare for the holidays.
Having a garage or yard sale is a great way to clean up and get ready to organize for fall, will help create space for redecorating and entertaining guests during the holidays, and will help you increase your budget as you shop for new furniture and accessories! This year, I am selling some of my older items and donating half of what I make to charity.
However you choose to organize, the key to all of this is timing. If you start the project now, while the weather is still manageable and the house is clean, you can really simplify things as you prepare for company.
I will be enjoying what’s left of this summer in different parts of the country. I was just in New York with the executive team from Hayneedle for the 2010 Hayneedle Home Showcase, where we took over the Midtown Loft and Terrace on 5th Avenue. We created several vignettes to showcase a selection of products available at Hayneedle.com, including this modern sitting lounge set by Alphaville designs. Notice the white pot on the table is the same one I used in my first “Hayneedle Your Home with Eduardo Xol” webisode, except the one I used was brown.
That’s a great tip – always look and see if something you love might come in another color to better match your decor. If everything about the item is perfect, except the color, it may still be possible to get an ideal match. If you’re willing to invest the small amount of time it takes to paint or refinish an accessory piece, not only will you get the complement you want, but you’ll also enjoy the satisfaction of customizing your own space.
One of the items that received a lot of attention at the Hayneedle Home Showcase was this artificial tree. Designed for the holidays, this “Cherry” tree has low voltage LED lights, and I could see a place for it year-round, indoors or outdoors. Another great tip to keep in mind – don’t limit yourself when it comes to “seasonal” decor- with a little imagination, it could look wonderful and intriguing in your home any time of year!
The Home Showcase was created as a way to celebrate the anniversary of Hayneedle.com’s launch a year ago and to introduce their huge variety of products to the media. Here I am talking to Kate Hallett of People magazine about design for young people dealing with college and new careers.
When speaking with Kate, I placed an emphasis on modular furniture. These versatile furniture options are ideal for students, young professionals, or anyone who might move frequently, because these pieces can easily be fitted into virtually any environment. I also talk about using modular furniture outdoors in my upcoming webisode, “Creating an Outdoor Lounge.”
Kathie Lee Gifford was also on hand as a Hayneedle partner in support of one of her favorite non-profits, Childhelp. We also had guest appearances by Bethenny Frankel of “The Real Housewives of New York City” and Kelly Rutherford of “Gossip Girl.” Here I am with Kathie Lee and Bethenny on the terrace.
As the end of summer draws closer, I’m also preparing for two projects in the fall. The most important is the beginning of the school year for my nonprofit organization, The Alumi Media Group (www.AlumiMediaGroup.com), which launches its first-ever after school program in Los Angeles. We will be creating a series of lifestyle curriculum for students age k-8. We’re really excited about it!
I’ve also been asked to design an outdoor lounge in Los Angeles for an event called Opportunity Green (www.OpportunityGreen.com), which is bringing together some of the brightest innovators leading the new green economy. Always remember you can go green in nearly every room of your home. It just takes a moment to see how your items were made, and to consider that in your decision-making. Here’s one of the spaces where I was asked to create a lounge for a party.
For now, I’m off to a family wedding, and I’m using it as an excuse to take some time off. I hope that you all continue to enjoy a beautiful summer, and continue to think of yourselves as designers. You can do it, with a little help from your friends at Hayneedle.com.
This summer has turned out to be extraordinarily busy for me! Isn’t this when we’re all supposed to go on vacation? Well, until I am able to really get away, I’ll practice what I preach and find the opportunities to relax any moment I can. As I say time and time again, in the words of my father, Eduardo Sr., “it’s all about balance!”
For me that balance includes taking care of my career, my family, my friends and myself, and deciding when to give each area the priority! For others, especially those having to deal with any kind of health issue, finding balance can be daunting.
Ten years ago, my sister Monica was diagnosed with lupus. It’s a strange condition that still remains a mystery to those who have to live with it as well as to the medical community at large. Lucky for my sister, she has been dealing with what seems to be a somewhat “manageable” form of lupus. Similar to others afflicted with the disease, my sister’s lupus seems to be triggered by stress. People with lupus have what are called “flare ups” when the immune system seems to go on overdrive and starts to fight itself. Sounds complicated, right? Well, my sister was in the midst of a flare up prior to getting married. I wanted to assist her in her planning to ease the stress, so I helped with much of the coordination. I also composed some original music for her ceremony.
Over the last decade I have become an advocate of lupus awareness and have been doing what I can to support The Lupus Foundation of America. They have been a great resource of information for my family. This fall, I will be honored to serve as host for their annual Butterfly Gala in New York City.
Recently, I chose my sister’s backyard as the site for the webisode entitled, “Creating a Garden Oasis”. But before we shot the webisode, I needed to do a bit of a makeover for her! This is what the garden looked like before the makeover…
…and this is what it looked like after the makeover!
The changes were subtle and fairly inexpensive, but the difference was obvious! It became the perfect garden oasis for our webisode and a place where my sister could relax!
My niece, Monet, makes a guest appearance in this webisode as my co-host! Here we are walking Hazel in the park.
The whole experience made such a valuable impression on Monet, she decided to document it in a piece of art she made for me. This is her artistic interpretation of being with me in front of the camera!
As I mentioned earlier, I composed music for my sister’s wedding. One of the musical pieces is called “Velas”, which means candle in Spanish. The piece of music is the background music for this webisode. I hope you enjoy it!
I think any time of year is fun to do a DIY project with the kids – but summer offers more flexibility for outdoor type crafts. To that end – the kids and I decided to make some planters to sit on our front stoop that would showcase a special plant for each of them and a mélange of little green ones for me.
List of supplies:
Tools needed:
To start out with – I popped over to our neighborhood home improvement store and picked up a few metal containers from the paint section. You can repurpose containers you already have or check out the Goodwill store or other stores.
This time I picked a long metal bin, a metal paint can, and a small metal bucket just like another I had at home and would use for this project. I also dropped by the local nursery to pick up some unique plants – one is called “Dracula” – that I thought the kids would like.
I picked out some stickers from my sticker stash that we could use on the planters. A variety of them is good – including alphabets, characters, animals, etc. Then I sat the kids down to start designing.
I laid out some rules for where the stickers could go – some folks might not need any rules for this and that is completely fine. Unfortunately my OCD will not allow the random placement of stickers – even on a project for the kids. We compromised and I asked for symmetry on the fronts of the buckets and told them they could do whatever they wanted on the backs. And yes – I have started a “counseling” fund for each of them.
Once the stickers were situated and resituated so that my eye wouldn’t twitch, my husband kindly pounded water drainage holes in the bottoms of the buckets using a wooden block inside and a hammer and screwdriver on the outside. He would prefer I didn’t mention that he couldn’t find his cordless drill battery. So let’s pretend I didn’t mention it.
After the holes were poked in the bottoms of the containers – I followed the directions on the can of spray sealant (you can find at your local craft store) to seal the outsides of the containers and the stickers. Sometimes these will need to set over a 24 hour period before you finish them by adding your plants.
After the recommended waiting period – it was time to lay down some filler on the bottom of each one. I used river rock because the wind can get pretty strong at our place (no sassy remarks here, please) and I get very annoyed when my containers tip over. You can also use crushed aluminum cans (depending on your container size) or the non-dissolving packing peanuts. This gives a layer at the bottom of your planter for water to drain through and out the holes without taking all of your soil with it. It also takes up some space so you aren’t using an entire bag of potting soil on one planter.
Next, you’ll want to check the depth of the plants you’ve selected in their designated planters. Is there enough space? You want to have the top of the root ball covered by your potting soil. Ideally you will also have some room between the top of the soil and the top edge of the container.
Break up the root balls of each plant with your fingertips. Place the plant within the container and add filler potting soil around it until it reaches the top of the plant root ball. Press soil down gently but firmly to make sure the plant is supported in its new home!
Water your plants – keeping an eye on whether or not the water drops the soil level in your container. If it drops it significantly, you’ll want to add more soil. Water the plant until water begins to drain out of the holes you made in the bottom.
You’re all done!
Alternatives to this activity:
Decoupage: You can use paper cut out shapes, preferably from a thinner paper – not cardstock – and decoupage (I use Mod Podge) them onto the containers. I used multi-colored 2.5” polka dots I had punched out of scrapbook paper and decoupaged them around the top half of an oblong metal bucket. After the decoupage dried I followed the directions above starting with the spray sealant. This was my favorite planter until my husband ran over it with his car. And yes – I will bring this up until we are old and gray.
Painting: You can use acrylic craft paints to paint a design on the containers – stripes, dots, or whatever the kids would like (unless you have issues like me – then perhaps a stencil is in order.) Once again – you want to do that, let it dry, then begin at the “apply sealant” stage above and continue through the rest of the directions. When I did my painted container I placed it up close to the house – where it remains in its original shape today – unmolested by heavy vehicles.
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