Monthly Archives: January 2013

No place like home.

30 Wednesday Jan 2013

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For today’s post I am thrilled to introduce a guest blog from Kari Foster, owner and principal designer of Associates III. As a long-time leader in the design world, Kari tirelessly creates healthy and beautiful designs for clients across the globe. We are pleased to present this glimpse into how she views design. Enjoy!

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What so energizes me these days is the opportunity to provide clients, friends, family and those I’ve yet to meet with interiors for homes that are not only nurturing but screamingly healthy.

Thank goodness, in America, it’s become mainstream to accept the fact that it’s everything we surround ourselves with that keeps us healthy; the food we eat, the folks we keep company with, the products that we apply to our bodies, and the finishes and the furnishings that we select to place in our dwellings.

It simply feels good to recommend for the building structure itself… wall finishes of natural clays with natural pigments, paints and product finishes that are free of VOCs, carpets of wool, silk, jute and coir, and then to add furnishings that promote health as well… beds of cotton and natural latex, linens that are organic and chemical fee, casepieces that have natural finishes, upholstery that is toxin free.

And then, on the other hand, what so energizes me these days is the added opportunity to provide clients, friends and family with interiors for homes that are not only healthy but nurturing!

One of my favorite tasks is the initial getting to know the client, to hear what they are really yearning for, beyond the structure itself… a place to gather family together to renew, to revitalize, to replenish, to rest, to read, to contemplate what is important, to work out, to find a place of retreat and refuge, to nourish the body and the soul, to create order, to simply be.

Some come with pages torn from magazines, some with textures from nature, some with jagged lines of words on a gridded notepad, all is useful… it is the listening beyond the words to the feelings they are attempting to impart. To each family, and to each member of the family, the yearning varies and what a delight to discover, what an honor it is to assist in providing sanctuaries called home. When joy is present, the spirit is invited to soar.

To create, not simply “house”, not “interiors”, but home. When we live in these spaces that are created just right for us around health and wholeness, which we foster, we are able to live better, eat better, feel better, be more productive, more joyful, energized and at peace. The old adage is so true – there truly is no place like home.

And then yet another favorite of mine is to be present when everything is in place, the client arrives, the door opens… and everything is them.

—Kari Foster

Looking for a different kind of New Year’s Resolution?

21 Monday Jan 2013

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A recent movie viewing prompted my thinking along some new paths.

Our family saw “Lincoln” with Daniel Day Lewis giving an Oscar-worthy performance portraying the 16th US President.  Lincoln’s personal desire was to have all men be free; abolishing slavery and creating equal rights was a lifelong battle while trying to unite the country.  I can’t imagine how Lincoln must have felt when Congress passed an act banning slavery on federal territory in June of 1862.  I am guessing beyond any emotion I could describe.

So when this headline caught my attention in the Atlantic a few days later, my mind had already shifted into a place to receive the message: 150 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, buying and selling people into forced labor is bigger than ever.  http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/12/slaverys-global-comeback/266354/

There are now twice as many people enslaved in the world as there were in the 350 years of the transatlantic slave trade.

Slavery may be illegal but it is still with us, and has many names and guises.  The term human trafficking is one such label, and the US State Dept. has listed some of the ways this occurs while answering the question – What is Modern Slavery?  http://www.state.gov/j/tip/what/index.htm . Essentially, human trafficking is when someone is forced into (any kind of) service against their will.

I grasped how easy it is to think of slavery as something in the past and that lives in our history books.  And because I’ve held it that way, JJ Gould, author of this Atlantic article reminded me that this also means we have a harder time recognizing slavery today, in all its subtle and not so subtle forms.

This article prompted me to think about so much more than this sole topic, so expect a “part 2” to follow.  But in the meantime, this New Year I am challenging myself to have a greater awareness, and take stronger action to stop such crimes against a fellow human being; to develop a greater compassion for others; and to cultivate thankfulness for all the good things in my life – loved ones and friends are at the top of the list.

“The United States government considers trafficking in persons to include all of the criminal conduct involved in forced labor and sex trafficking, essentially the conduct involved in reducing or holding someone in compelled service. Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act as amended (TVPA) and consistent with the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (Palermo Protocol), individuals may be trafficking victims regardless of whether they once consented, participated in a crime as a direct result of being trafficked, were transported into the exploitative situation, or were simply born into a state of servitude. Despite a term that seems to connote movement, at the heart of the phenomenon of trafficking in persons are the many forms of enslavement, not the activities involved in international transportation.”

from What is Modern Slavery? http://www.state.gov/j/tip/what/index.htm

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To follow shortly: the relationship between a country’s tacit willingness to abide slavery and that country’s risk of being left behind by the currents of global civilization.

—Debbie Hindman

I see green. What do you see?

06 Sunday Jan 2013

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Color psychology has always fascinated me. Mostly because I love color, but also because as an interior designer, I feel color can also impact someone’s quality of life for the better or worse, depending on how it’s used.

Oftentimes, people associate certain colors with a past experience or even something tied to their culture. But other times, certain colors evoke common emotions in people.

Green has always been a favorite color of mine. It’s a color that excites me and makes me happy! Green is also seen as a healthy color. It’s refreshing. And it’s known to encourage communication.

When I saw the use of green at the True Food Kitchen restaurant in Cherry Creek, I couldn’t help but think of color psychology and how the design of the interiors of this restaurant, can impact everyone that steps foot in this fresh and exciting place to eat! They used the color green on a decent portion of their seating. I snapped a picture of a green chair and booth while I was there, mostly because my eye is drawn to the color green! Take a look at the picture below.

I encourage you to look into color psychology if you have never before!  There are plenty of books and websites that talk about the many aspects of this topic.  I like to look at color from a design standpoint, but it’s also fun to see what your favorite color may say about you.

Web Green Chair

-Michaela