Time2Design Blog

Sandra Espinet | The Well-Traveled Home | Book Review

I recently received a copy of Sandra Espinet's new book The Well-Traveled Home. From the moment I opened it I was drawn in by the beautifully curated collection of Sandra's design talent. Having a personal love of travel I felt an instant connection to Sandra and her love of travel and how it has influenced and shaped her passion for interior design.

It is evident with every turn of the page that Sandra has mastered the skill of expressing her clients love of travel and how it can be represented in their home. It is a wonderful representation of how your travels mold who you are and how this can be incorporated into your home.

Sandra says...

"I suppose I would say that the essence of my interior design work seeks to reflect the evolving interplay of the domestic and the international, while reaming true to my intent to create alluring family living spaces and home environments".

Well said and this book is a beautiful reflection of exactly how Sandra has achieved that through her own travel experiences and those of her clients.

The book is stunning and shows how Sandra has become proficient in melding the travelers treasures in different ways throughout a home and is evident and eloquently illustrated by the images of Sandra's work throughout the book.

I really enjoyed how the book is divided into distinct sections so that you can see the process of how Sandra builds off her travel inspiration ~ Travel and Design, Adventure and Artifact, Domesticating the Exotic, Beautiful and Useful, Imports and Inspiration. Each insight gives a clear understanding of how your travels and adventures can be a part of your home and reflect how travel has and is influencing your home and interior design.


CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR COPY

A Few of My Favorite Things...September 2013

ASID LA | Dwell Labs Designer Tour

As part of Dwell on Design, in Los Angeles, in conjunction with ASID Los Angeles and LA Design Magazine, I was invited to attend a VIP Tour of Dwell Labs LA. I was amongst a very talented group of bloggers and our private tour took us inside two separate prestigious building locations. Our first stop took us to Met Lofts in the heart of downtown LA where we toured four spectacular residences overlooking downtown LA. We then traveled to 1600 Vine to view four more amazing residences in Hollywood's hot new neighborhood in the center of the Hollywood scene.

In each location we were allowed to tour each residence, meet the interior designers and discover how they brought their vision to life. Each interior designer designed their space with a specific client in mind. There was a story to each space and a specific style to accommodate the given parameters of each proposed resident.

Here is a glimpse of each residence, the interior designer who designed the space and the resident style that each was designed for.

MET LOFTS Unit #205 / Interior Designer Lauri Howell, ASID

As soon as you walked into this space you got an imediate sense that this was a very hip, sophistcated space. There were great laser cut panels that gave a separation from the living and sleeping space. Even though this was basically a one room apartment space, there was great care to detail given to make each area feel individual and have multiple functions. It had a sort of industrial chic vibe and the vibrant teal accent color against the warm wood tones of the built in bed/loft gave the space a really nice comfortable feel. I especially loved the Salt and Pepper shaker chess set....very clever! (picture upper left corner)

MET LOFTS Unit #207 / Interior Designer Deborah J. Davis, ASID

The floating wood panel that framed the chandelier over the round glass dining room table was a very refreshing new idea and made a great focal point as your walked into this unit. The warm tones used throughout gave the space a really peaceful and serene feel and was a wonderful contrast to the raw cement walls and ceilings. From the cozy chair in the den where I could imagine sitting down to enjoy a good book to the collection of art work arranged in the living room, this was a space many would be happy to call home.

MET LOFTS Unit #414 / Interior Designer Rachel Winokur, Allied ASID

If I were a fashion student I would love living in this apartment. The simple clean lines of the furnishings, the fabulous reclaimed stylish wood island in the kitchen and a four poster bed tucked away and surrounded by a floor to ceiling transparent curtain so as not to make the space feel smaller but the fabric gives great height and space to this unit. I really liked the combination of a contemporary vibe with a wink of tradition .....I loved the over sized gold floor lamp with black shade.

MET LOFTS Unit #423 / Interior Designer Frank A. Slesinski, Allied ASID

When I saw the four flat screen televisions on the wall, I knew right away this was a sports lovers dream. The multi purpose desk/storage unit in the living room is a brilliant use of the space and when it is not in use everything can be tucked away. This was a very sophisticated masculine space that had an elegance about it.

1600 Vine Unit #1109 / Interior Designer Laura D. Schwartz-Muller, Allied ASID

This two story unit was an unexpected surprise....the living room with the two story ceiling had this very clever asymmetrical bookcase with a sliding library ladder that gave this space great presence. The bold artwork throughout the unit really brought the place to life, I really loved the triptych horse piece over the master bed and the vibrant color in the portrait located in the office was just stunning. I just loved the custom bike rack!

1600 Vine Unit #734 / Interior Designer Suzanne Furst, ASID

Elegant and fashion forward is exactly how I would describe this really fabulous space. The fairly mono-chromatic pallette is a great canvas for the pops of color like the Lucite clear and lime green foyer table. It was a combination of textures, colors and finishes that really unified this space. The textured wallpaper circle pattern was duplicated in frosted glass panels that separated the living and bedroom spaces. The glass and chrome worked really well with the beautiful warm tone of the floors.

1600 Vine Unit #813 / Interior Designer Darra Bishop, Allied ASID

This would be the perfect space for a student to live. The very stylized furniture selections with a sort of mid-century feel was a great combination and a really happy living space. The bed was a bookcase by day and a bed by night (top center picture) it was fantastic and allowed for the living space to feel so much larger. The chain-link woven shower curtain was a buzz of conversation during our tour and it was fabulous!

1600 Vine Unit #856 / Designer's Cynthia Lambakis & Samatha Williams, Allied ASID

From top to bottom front to back this unit had a beautiful surprise around every corner. This large two story unit had a master bedroom suite larger than many homes (center top and bottom). The dual living rooms on the main floor were beautifully appointed and the whole space was brought to life with some truly amazing artwork. The special treat in this home was the custom glass light fixtures in the living room and dining room by Seth Parks...they were stunning.

As a professional ASID member I was honored to have been invited and was so exciting to able preview the work of my peers. To all of the ASID Dwell Lab Designers I would like to extend my congratulations to you all on a job well done! Bravo!

Kitchen Desperate For Change

This Kitchen was stuck and in desperate need of change...

Stuck in a bit of a time warp, with the original hinge exposed faceframe cabinetry, linoleum floors, laminate countertops and a swing door that closed the room off from the rest of the home, this kitchen was screaming out for help. Located on the 9th floor of an older condominium building there were multiple restrictions and limitations that needed to be taken into consideration during the design process. Through careful planning and creative design an amazing new functional kitchen design evolved based on the needs and requirements of the homeowner.

The new design changed the location of the entrance into the kitchen to a more central location to the left of the new refrigerator location. This then gave way for additional new countertop space to the left of the slide in range and microwave exhaust hood location.

The original ceiling, a dropped dome ceiling with florescent lights and plastic light diffusers, was removed to give way to new taller upper cabinets and a crown molding detail to the new ceiling height. In addition to the increased storage space in the upper cabinets another big change to the kitchen is the addition of drawer space. The old kitchen had a total of 3 top drawers and the new kitchen design boasts 16 new drawers.

The relocation of the refrigerator allowed a space to create pantry storage, a built in dining area, glass door display storage, open shelf display storage and 9 of the 16 drawers. The new recessed can, decorative light and under cabinet light fixtures allows for various lighting options in the new kitchen.

The new solid white wood cabinetry with raised panel door and drawer fronts with a creamy white painted finish compliment the new granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, glass tile backsplash and a beautiful new wallpaper .....all of this and more helped bring this kitchen up to date and create a functioning kitchen that will be enjoyed for years to come.

Friday Kitchen Find | Wine on Demand

What wine lover wouldn't love this four bottle wine dispensing and preservation system for their home? No more pouring out unused wine, no more having to choose red or white. This unique and ready to use wine dispenser allows you to select and dispense exactly what and how much wine you want on demand.

photo credit Dacor.com

The restaurant quality WineStation's proprietary argon gas preservation system allows you to open and enjoy a variety of wines and vintages for up to 60 days without the need to discard or consume unused portions. The environmentally-friendly and energy efficient Thermo-Electric Cooling System sets the ideal temperature for either red or white wine without the use or need of hazardous pollutants or refrigerants.

Outdoor Living | My GenX Design Studios Presentation

As one of eight designers selected to participate in the KBIS Design Studios, I was asked to design a Outdoor Living Space for a hypothetical Generation X client and I would like to share that design with you here.

When I began the design process for this project I started out by giving myself some parameters and/or client requirements. In keeping with the current outdoor living trends, outdoor living spaces are becoming outdoor rooms. I feel strongly that outdoor living spaces should be designed to accommodate functions that at one time were only found indoors. I design outdoor living spaces to live in such as Kitchens, living rooms and dining rooms. These spaces are an extension of the home, comfortable living spaces that blend with life in your home, outside of your interior walls.

Here is my GenX Outdoor Living Space designed and presented at KBIS2013 in New Orleans.

Who is Generation X?

born 1965—1979 age today between 34-48

Work To Live are Tech Savy and Value Work/Life Balance

GenX Inventions

introduction of the personal computer

Microwave Ovens , Post-it Note, Rollerblades, Walkman,

the start of the video game era, cable television and the Internet

Historical GenX Events

the AIDS epidemic, the war on drugs, the Iran hostage crisis, the Persian Gulf War, the Dot-Com bubble, the emergence of Alternative Rock, new wave music, electronic music, glam metal, pop punk, grunge, rap music and hip hop. X’rs are often called the MTV Generation. Nixon resigns, Challenger explosion, Reagan, Thatcher, and Gorbachev, Fall of the Berlin Wall, Lennon shot, Kuwait invaded, Oklahoma City bombing, Death of Princess Diana, Clinton scandals, Women's Rights, Y2K

GenX Client

- Family of Four

- The Mr. & Mrs. are both working professionals

- Teenage children both on High School Swim Team

- They are an active family and want to create a new outdoor space that will to be an extension

of their existing living space. They enjoy being outdoors, cooking and entertaining.

Must Have’s

- Outdoor Kitchen—to include grill, pizza oven, refrigeration, ice maker, large enough to

accommodate seating for four.

- Dining Area—outdoor table and chairs seating for min. six.

- Living Room —oversized comfy outdoor furniture

- Other— fireplace, lap pool, sun deck, privacy.

Outdoor Kitchen ~ 1. Grill with Exhaust Vent, 2. Sink, 3. Icemaker, 4. Refrigerator, 5. Pizza oven, 6. Counter seating. Outdoor Living Room ~ 7. Fireplace (wood burning), 8. Seating area, 9. Outdoor drapery. Outdoor Dining Area & Patio ~ 10. open beamed ceiling grid, 11. Dining table for six, 12. Lap Pool, 13. Sun Deck, 14. Raised Planter / Privacy Wall