One of the highlights at the Kitchen and Bath show was attending a special party hosted by Brizo launching Jason’Wu’s new line of faucetry for Brizo. Whoa.

Quite the shin dig. The Brizo people are nice folks and honestly we really like their products and specify them regardless of party invites. And, to make my own heart sing, the people who answer the phone for tech questions are AWESOME. And I am fairly particular about this level of service.

I really admire the way Brizo has marketed the brand. It is after all, a Masco line. But the marketing is so superb you often forget this bit of info or that it is Delta’s more glam cousin. Which is good for me as I deal with a higher end clientele who is going to use Delta only sporadically. it is wonderful to have the Delta reliability with the Brizo designs.

Brizo, teamed up with fashion designer, Jason Wu in 2006 with the intent of “bridging the gap” between home and fashion.    Brizo and Wu are both brands that share the same vision, “timeless style that is innovative and fresh.”

At 16 years of age, Wu began his fashion career designing doll clothes for Integrity Toys. At 17 he was named creative director of the toy company. He made the decision to become a fashion designer his senior year of high school. Wu then studied at the Parsons, The New School for Design at The New School and later interned with Narciso Rodriguez

 With the introduction of the Jason Wu collection, the two have successfully merged sophistication and technology, creating a line of faucets and bathroom accessories that exude a relaxed yet classic vibe. One standout piece is the designer’s “Odin” faucet.

The faucet has a built-in LED display that uses shades of light from blue to magenta to red to indicate water temperature.The collection includes decorative hardware such as drawer knobs and pulls, towel bars, paper dispenser, a free-standing soap dispenser, soap dish and even a waste container. The complete collection will be available in showrooms in spring 2012. I love the simple elegance of this faucet. I doubt I would use the matching accessories but think is good idea to have it available.  

 Brizo has been Wu’s primary fashion show sponsor since his 2006 introduction to his “ready-to-wear” line of clothes.  He won the Fashion Group International’s Rising Star award in 2008 and was nominated for the Vogue Fashion Fundaward, 2008

Ok so he is a whiz kid. Talented whiz kid. And, a pretty nice guy too. He has chosen the right manufacturer to partner with on his endeavors towards creating a household name. Brizo is a well designed brand that blends fashion and function to achieve a pretty damn awesome product. Congrats to both Jason Wu and Brizo on the successful launch!

I hope she is reading this and realizes my next birthday is approaching and plans better this year. In advance.

Situation: Cheryl’s Birthday. Cheryl ( that would be moi) had declared she is trying to be Zen Barbie…meaning cool as a cuke, unflappable, serene, and never raising voice. ( this was LAST year mind you) So Casey wants to give her a Barbie for her bday. A zen barbie. Which I am pretty sure does not exist anyway but as you know we make up our own rules. 

Casey: I went %$#$%@ Barbie shopping and came home empty-handed. We need a plan B.

Stephanie: Haha shoot! I bet Toys R Us sells them. Nothing at Target or Walmart?

Casey: No, you misunderstand. LoL. Target had lots of Barbies. A few side notes:

1)White barbies do not, in any fashion, have curly hair-with the exception of one blonde Sandra D a la Grease look-a-like vintage Barbie for $36 some odd dollars.

1a)Cheryl is not blonde.

1b)There is nothing remotely “zen” about a $%##$@ $40 dollar DOLL(that we are going to intentionally mutilate anyway)

 2.There is nothing “zen” about Barbie’s inherent racism.,

2a) Only ethnic Barbies have curly hair ( and even the ones that do are few and very far between

2b) Only ethnic Barbies are on clearance. Is that even legal?

3)All Babies look stoned and while I feel reasonably certain that pot has a strong influence in the concept of “zen”, I feel that it should not reflect in our children’s toys. Or Cheryl’s as it happens.

4)No Barbies are vision impaired.

4a)They, do however, have an apparent sensitivity to light as the do have sunglasses.

4b)I f eel that drawing glasses on a $40 #$@$%$ DOLL would cheapen the zen experience.

This ould go on and on…but you btter have read the essay I just typed  because it was

1)incredibly witty

2)A pain in the ass to type on my phone,

3) a rather informative commentary on the systemic damage we inflict on today’s youth with such images. 

Stephanie: Haha well we could use a stuffed animal….What could we do?

Casey: Damnit Stehpanie. Cheryl will %$%# if we show up tomorrow with nothing but the smiles on our faces, strained at that, and a cheap pack of gas station pens!

I did get the Barbie. It was not mutilated. It was blonde. It did not have glasses but had a vapid sort of expression that I have since mastered. It did not make me “zen” in any way. Oh, and my only comment was “if you had planned properly and purchased my birthday gift well in advance, this would not have occurred.” They, of course, nodded solemnly in agreement. 

Many innovative design trends for homebuilding and remodeling in 2012 can be found in the lighting and technology arena. This means working closely with your builder and electrician to implement new ideas and plan effectively ( i.e. get it right on the plans)  for your home to boast the latest in inspired design!

LED Lighting

There is no escaping the fact LED lighting is the buzzword for 2012. LED ( light emitting diodes) technology has been around for some time but has found it’s way into the mainstream of home building.  People are more savvy about the energy savings LED lighting can provide ( up to 50% over florescent and 85% over incandescent) and manufacturers are launching new decorative fixtures designed to utilize the compact size of the bulbs in artful designs previously limited by the larger traditional bulbs. LED lighting can be found almost anywhere but is often utilized in under cabinet lighting in kitchens, unique decorative fixtures, outdoor lighting, and even recessed can lights. (Phillips lighting)

Built in USB ports 

Enjoy the convenience of USB outlets right where you need them, built right into the wall. Designed to replace a traditional receptacle, this 110v outlet means no more AC adaptors or charging  devices on your computer. They certainly cost more than a typical receptacle so get out those plans and add them where you think you could really use them and keep the rest standard.(www.fastmac.com)

Pop up receptacles 

Key for kitchen island installations where standard outlets are not feasible or unattractive, GFCI rated pop up receptacles are great problem solvers and can  eliminate the potential safety hazard of dangling cords and the angst over cutting into the decorative panels on your beautiful new cabinetry. Look for one that is UL rated and meets current codes.

In this large island, a pop up outlet worked great. The sleek style of the cabinetry and doors on all sides did not leave a good place to mount on the sides. Designed by In Detail Interiors

Smart thermostats

The “Nest” thermostat seems to be the hip new guy on the street. This sleek and stylish, internet ready device actually learns your temperature preferences, programs itself and keeps up with any detected changes. Designed by the same man who headed up the team that created the ipod, the intuitive interface makes it easy for a DIY installation.  But the real kicker is that it really does “learn”  how your family lives and adjusts the temperature accordingly even if you leave on vacation.  Detecting no movement it will enter into an “away” mode until you return.  Compatible with most heating and cooling systems. (www.nest.com)

Next post will be on looking at electrical plans…and how to be ready for your electrician!

The dark wood of the island that separates the kitchen from the dining in this open floor plan helps anchor the room.

The hood from Handcrafted Metal is the perfect foil against the textural brick walls.

A pot filler and a small coffee center makes the mornings easy!

oooh la la! Lights from Luna Bella add the twist to the space!

Distressed black walnut tops from Craft Art are stunning!

The wood ceiling is yet another detail that works so well with the overall design and "feel" of the room!

The cabinets are painted "elk horn cactus". A color from ML Campbell

What do you think? Do you like painted cabinetry or prefer wood tones? Do you like the mix of varied materials or prefer more streamlined look and same materials on all surfaces? Weigh in and let us know!

I would guess that most of my fomer teachers in school would say one of two things about me.  Some might  say I am a compulsive over achiever. And, some might just say I am compulsive. ( or neurotic, but I dropped his class anyway).

Then there would be that one really cool teacher…forgot his name of course,but he was a young guy at the University of Arizona (Bear Down Arizona!) and he was my instructor for some sort of public speaking class.  When it was my turn to do a speech ( and we did them 3x per week) I would get so excited about my topic,whatever it was, that I would start talking really fast, and  I talk really fast on a slow day already, and sometimes wave my arms about to illustrate a point and generally get a bit loud . People would critique you  as part of the class and that was always my downfall. “You talk to fast”, “You get overly excited”, “You need to calm down “. WHAT?

CALM DOWN? ME?  I hate those words.

So, getting to my point here…Mr. Young whatshisname, pulled me aside one day after class and rather sternly told me to ignore anyone who tells me to calm down. He said and I quote ” Passion is found in few people these days. If you are passionate about something, anything, you are real. And, real people are what makes life interesting.” (And he also said that I did not talk fast but that others “listened slow” (ly).) I do not recall much else from the class but in that ghastly and awkward phase of my life, he gave me permission to be the real deal, flapping arms, fast talking , excitable, argumentative, neurotic that I am.   It was my tipping point.

Now, years later, I am still passionate about things like politics and religion; independent opinions and critical thinking skills and how they are soooo not taught in schools today.  But most of  my passion is “spent” during my work day. Sure it is trite. But yes  I really love my job. There are days that I want to fire all of my employees and then myself. Or, fire myself and then laugh when they are still there having to deal with the fallout. There are days that just running the business of a business takes a toll that requires a month of  “friend therapy”.  And there are days when I wonder how  I can  glue my mouth shut long enough  to not piss off someone.

Yet every morning (and sometimes in the middle of the night) I wake up ready to go at it all over again. I really am excited to be heading off to my own version of the American dream, built with lots of hard work and a really,really good team. Even the most challenging of clients  can get my passion going for a great idea, a new design, innovative products, beautiful materials. And  while I cannot say that every one of my  clients embrace my (let’s call it) “enthusiasm” initially…every single one of them know they are  getting their money’s worth with me and our team.  We do not go halfway. We do not settle for mediocre design or materials. We do not compromise for expediency’s sake. We think we are pretty good at what we do.  It’s the passion. It’s real and we got it.

And,  I may even wave my arms around to make sure you get it too.

Just don’t tell me to calm down.