Happy Holidays!

Christmas snuck up on me in the most major way. Do you feel the same? The girls took on most of the holiday decorating themselves this year (hence the sparse tree with the crooked star), but looking around, I love it all more than anything I could have done if I had had the time. These kids are so, so excited for Evie's birthday tomorrow and then of course for Christmas. It's seriously just magical to watch them scurry around the house making preparations. :)

We are doing some last minute shopping this afternoon (wish me luck), a little service project this evening and then tonight I have a whole lot of gingerbread house pieces to make for a little family party we're having over here tomorrow for Evelyn. We've been hosting a lot of visitors the past couple days and truly, there's nothing like house guests to push me to get projects done. Am I right? I started hanging art in our house this week (some of these are thrift store pieces I just bought for the frame!) and while there's still a long way to go with decorating projects, suddenly it feels like our house. Perfect timing!

I hope you and yours have a really lovely week. See you in a few days. Merry Christmas!!

Meet Helene

This post was brought to you by American Express. Helene is just one Member of the American Express PassionProject. See all of the inspiring stories here.

I love that San Diego is a quick and easy road trip from Phoenix. A couple weeks ago, we hopped in the car and spent the weekend museum hopping at Balboa Park, filling up on fish tacos and shrimp ceviche, and checking out the amazing tidal pools at Cabrillo National Park. One of the highlights of the weekend was getting to meet Helene Cornell, who lives in a beautiful bungalow in a historic neighborhood near the park.

Helene is pure sunshine and we became fast friends (she just sent me her adorable holiday card). You can't help but smile while you're talking to her, especially when she's telling you about her passion: restoring airstream and canned ham trailers. After she's finished with the restoration part, Helene rents her trailers out as guest rooms to travelers and friends. You can find her listings HERE. Helene turned her passion into her business and she's learned a lot about entrepreneurship, design and people along the way. 

Deann B Photography

Here's a little about Helene and lots of photos of her beautiful home and one of her canned ham trailers!

JK: Tell me about how you first got interested in refurbishing vintage airstream and canned ham trailers.

HC: I purchased my first trailer about six years ago on Craigslist to make an impromptu guest bedroom to accommodate the overflow of family and friends in our small house, which was already kind of like a hostel. I realized we could rent the trailer out for profit shortly after, as our friends seemed to love having their own cubby. My husband decided to go back to school, and buying our home at the top of the market was putting a lot of stress on the finances. I didn't realize the vacation rental business was the solution to our problems. Over the years, hundreds of people have stayed, and subsequently we've expanded the fleet of trailers to make room for more visitors and enthusiasts from all over the world. I grew up camping and moving around a lot, so it only made sense to offer a more experience-driven approach to lodging.

Where do you find your style inspiration?

HC: I'm inspired by different cultures, from the materials, colors, textures and energy of tradition and travel. I believe design should be a relationship that you build based on your personal experiences, so when you look at a rug you bought from a flea market in Mexico, or a framed piece of art that you inherited from your grandmother, you are telling a story that conveys a comfortable and emotional connection. Narrative is the most important inspiration, which can only be defined by you, so like any medium, it is subjective. 

Another HUGE factor for me is humor and engaging your inner child. Design should be fun, and should not be taken too seriously. If there is any way to add an interactive element, a humorous touch, or a illogical addition, why not? Imperfections make us more human.

Where are you favorite places to shop for decor and fashion?

HC: I am a huge believer in the re-purposing of used items. My go-to is craigslist and thrift stores, as giving new life to something is affordable, friendly to the environment, and a great way to give back to your community. Forming connections with like-minded designers makes this job fun and rewarding, as my friends send me photos of things I might like when they are out digging through garage sales and auctions, and I do the same. I try to avoid box stores at all costs. Your time and money is worth so much more to your neighbors and community.

Also, I highly recommend going to auctions. If you come visit me, I will take you to an amazing one, but if I told you more now, I would have to kill you. (hint: it involves a taco cart, a six pack of beer, and the best deals are at midnight!)

What do you love best about your job?

HC: I love how much I learn from other people. Over the last six years, I have hosted people from all over the world. I have a guest book of some of my most memorable visitors, and on days that I am feeling down, I read through it and know that even if for two days of their lives, I have made a fond memory page for both of us. I am constantly surprised by people, including myself. I am finding myself more open to learning a new skill and making a better experience for my guests. Even the super mean and annoying guests help me learn how to be a better person. It's important to remember that no job is easy or perfect (and if someone claims that, they're lying). We are all a work in progress.

Do you do a lot of DIY projects at home and in your trailers? What's been the most successful one?

HC: I do about one DIY project a week. I find the process very meditative and rewarding. My brain actually turns off while I am building things, so there is nothing I would rather be doing. There is something about solving a problem and completing a project from start to finish that gives you self esteem. It is so fun to look at a photo, draw out something similar that will help better your environment, and then just start building. 

The great thing about most of my projects is that they are small in duration and scale, so I don't get in over my head or burned out. Most of them only take a couple days. One example is that I built an outdoor shed for my washing machine to make room for converting my garage into a guest house. And now I hang up our clothes to dry, so that saves some energy. The next weekend I built an outdoor shower out of two pieces of corrugated metal and a couple of 4x4 treated posts. It cost around $150 in materials, and another $150 for plumbing as I hired someone to tie into the outdoor washer/dryer plumbing. It was super easy and took only about 6 hours to build.

The coolest thing is I actually completely turned off our sprinklers as I was showering outside with organic shampoo every day, and the grey water was watering our yard. Showering outside is a great feeling and more people should look into how to use grey water around their house. I save a lot of money on our water and electric bill this way- I wish I would have done it years ago!

I bet you've had some interesting guests! Tell me about some of the people who have stayed with you in your home and in your trailers.

HC: A lot of creative transitory types have reinforced that having a good sense of adventure will improve your quality of life. Whether you are an electronic harpist, a break dancer, a sex therapist, a spoon bender, going on your first solo trip with your kids across the US on bike, saving money for dialysis, a bipolar saleswoman or a famous rapper... I think people are put here to teach us something. (and those are a sampling of personalities from only one year!)

What is your advice for other people interested in turning their passion into their job?

HC: Fear is the main thing that holds people back from taking risks. So facing fear is huge. I have had started around eight different companies in various creative industries. Some of them supported me for a couple years, some were very expensive start-ups that left me in debt. You just have to accept that there are going to be some failures, some setbacks, and a lot of learning along the way, and that you should never judge yourself based on your peers. This has not been an overnight process, and it took a lot of work to cultivate a good life for myself. Although a good life actually has nothing to do with finances, and that is one thing that I have learned to let go of. The most important thing is to live your life with love for yourself and those around you, without fear and judgement. I also laugh at myself, a lot. Having a sense of humor can save you when you need it the most. 

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Isn't Helene and her home (and trailer!) beautiful? She has such a great outlook on life and on work. And I love her approach to decorating - everything looked and felt perfectly-imperfect and soulful in her spaces. And I totally agree that decorating should be all about personal narrative.

Next time you're in San Diego, email Helene and check our her spaces for yourself. She likes to give her guests an insider's tour of the city and I have a feeling you'll want to see her secret shopping haunts for yourself! :)

PS Here's a video of the lovely Helene. She's seriously so great. Love her. :)

How to Spray Paint Hardware

I was just working on the whiteboard tutorial and I when I got to the photos about the primer I used, I realized I haven't yet shared my new favorite product! I used it to DIY the pulls I used for the wardrobes in my first Domino piece. (PS my next project article will go live soon!)

This spray primer is life-changing for those of us with itchy spray-trigger fingers! Especially if you've ever wanted to (successfully) spray paint knobs and pulls. In the past (like when I sprayed my laundry room hardware gold) I've been a little iffy about whether or not spraying hardware for kitchens or other high-use areas is actually good idea. I was always worried about chipping/adhesion issues.

Seriously though, this Rustoleum spray primer, which is specially formulated for metal applications, works like a dream. It coats thickly, but evenly, and it really sticks to the metal and provides a great new base for your paint to hold on to.

When I found these industrial pulls below, I knew I wanted to spray them to look brass and that I would need a really good primer to pull that off. And you know what they say - necessity is the mother of spontaneous purchases. And this one totally worked out for me!

I found the pulls in the hardcore hardware aisle (not the same aisle as the regular knobs and pulls). This aisle has window sash pulls, latches, hinges and garage door pulls. It's usually the aisle that also has rope and and chain at Home Depot and Lowes. I love how chunky and squared off these were, but I picked up a few garage doors handles too, just for comparison. I think my gut was right about the square pulls, but I also think these others could be cool in the right application. Filing away for later!

So, some people might want to use a deglosser or a TSP spray as a first step before spray painting hardware, but I sort of feel like the primer makes that effort unnecessary. Depending on the existing finish you're working with, deglosser can make for a slightly uneven finish - it can sort of gunk things up sometimes and you never really know when.  So I think it's best to only use it if you have to. 

I did lightly sand the top of the hardware first, just to make sure there were no bumps or residue anywhere. Then I flipped them over and sprayed the underside first.

The key, always and every time you're painting anything, is to do multiple light coats with drying time in between. Even and maybe especially with your primer. After two good coats on the back side, I flipped the hardware over and sprayed the tops.

If you notice any bumps, drips or dust specs, leave them to dry and then lightly sand them off after the primer has cured. Often dust specs will just wipe away with a cloth after the paint has dried. Don't mess with wet paint!

I repeated the same process with my beloved Design Master Gold Metal spray paint. Man, this gold is perfect! The paint is a great quality, but the color is spot-on for what we're all looking for in brass-like hardware, especially after it fully dries.

I did one final step and used a spray lacquer on the tops, just to give it an extra layer of protection. It did change the look of the finish a bit (it's a bit more shiny now and the extra layer changes the way the light refracts, so the gold is a touch less bright). The jury's out on whether or not I would repeat this step next time. It is nice to have that safety precaution though. Maybe I'd just try a matte sealer and do a really light coat?

To install the pulls I bought a box of #10 brass 1" screws. It's a good idea to drill pilot holes first just to ensure you're installing them in the exact right spot. One of my pulls is slightly off and it's driving me nuts (must fix!!).

The sprayed pulls are holding up perfectly and I love them more the more I see them. My mind has been racing, thinking of other projects to do with that amazing metal primer. (that white board tutorial is coming up though! Stay tuned!)

New Piano!

We bought a piano as an early Christmas present! It got delivered a few days ago and I'm loving how it looks in our music room (which is still not painted - I need like a week of nothing to do but house projects).

I wanted something small since we have other big pieces of furniture going in there (the chesterfield and probably the tiger chest?), but I didn't want the smallest spinet size piano either.

This one is just a hair bigger than a spinet - it's like a small console piano. The back top opens up so the sound can be louder if you want it to be (the kids will not be taught that little trick though).

It's a touch more feminine than I had in mind originally, but I like that it's still very simple. And I really love the bow-like music stand.

The finish is a little roughed up, but it's not horrible in person. I think it will be easy to touch it up with one of those furniture markers and maybe some ebony Restor-a-finish.

The brass casters could use a good cleaning and some Brasso.

When we first saw the piano, the bench wasn't upholstered and when we came back into the piano shop to buy it they had sent out the bench. :/ 

The checkered chenille is not my favorite but I haven't had a minute to pull off the fabric. I hope the top of the bench wasn't too damaged. I can always cover it back up with a new fabric if it is though.

It was a really great price since technically it's a starter piano (we only paid a couple hundred dollars and they delivered it, which was huge for me!). It has a really beautiful sound though - not at all tinny like some smaller pianos can sound. It's been so fun to sit down a play and to help the girls with their practicing. Lessons start for them after the holidays!

Oh! Also, did you see my new rug? 

It's a silky Ralph Lauren beauty I scored on clearance at Homegoods! I love the way the light hits it and it is seriously so soft! Linus practically lives on it - I think he likes it more than his dog bed. (such a snobby poodle.)