http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills Smart-Design-Daily Mon, 25 Jul 2011 18:11:16 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/home-interior-designs-and-spa-bathroom-interior-design-modernism-mod/ http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/home-interior-designs-and-spa-bathroom-interior-design-modernism-mod/#comments Tue, 26 May 2009 16:51:08 +0000 interiordesigner http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/?p=1669 Webster’s Dictionary defines joy as “the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying.” The kind folk at Webster’s are, however, no help to us as we ponder the size or scale of a thing which might be considered “good or satisfying” and thus could stir in us the emotion of joy. So left to our own devices we must decide. What’s the tipping point in a things scale or size that allows us to celebrate the defined emotion? On this day after the Memorial Holiday I suggest that even the smallest of stirrings should illicit, from honest folks, the rumblings of joy. If...]]> http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/home-interior-designs-and-spa-bathroom-interior-design-modernism-mod/feed/ 0 http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/interior-design-consultants-on-long-island-consultant-of-interior-designing/ http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/interior-design-consultants-on-long-island-consultant-of-interior-designing/#comments Tue, 17 Mar 2009 16:41:17 +0000 interiordesigner http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/?p=552 If you follow political and economic headlines there is a reoccurring theme that cannot be ignored. It appears that vast quantities of resources are, by the nature of the crisis, being focused on cleaning up the past before we can hope for success in re-calibrating our vision of the future. And this makes sense. Sweeping inconvenient little messes under the carpet will eventually leave you with a lumpy carpet that is being eaten from within by the dirt and grime. And we all know how that ends, only too well. So let’s learn a lesson from our national headlines as we focus on...]]> http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/interior-design-consultants-on-long-island-consultant-of-interior-designing/feed/ 2 http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/interior-decorating-for-living-and-dining-room-space-window-shutters-interior-design/ http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/interior-decorating-for-living-and-dining-room-space-window-shutters-interior-design/#comments Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:24:12 +0000 interiordesigner http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/?p=476 Lately, when contemplating the decoration of homes, I have found myself feeling a bit hollow. People everywhere, in every walk of life, are impacted daily by these troubling times. Jobs have been lost; homes have been foreclosed upon and lifetimes of savings have evaporated before panicked eyes. And I sit at my desk contemplating the esoteric merits of revivalist decorative styles. Hmmm…what part of this doesn’t feel right? Is it the violin playing while Rome smolders or maybe it’s that great big piece of cake being served to the masses, far beyond the palace walls, which makes me uncomfortable? Maybe it’s both and maybe I need to recalibrate my thinking. Mankind’s impulse to...]]> http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/interior-decorating-for-living-and-dining-room-space-window-shutters-interior-design/feed/ 0 http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/los-angeles-interior-designer-is-the-grass-always-greener/ http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/los-angeles-interior-designer-is-the-grass-always-greener/#comments Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:40:59 +0000 interiordesigner http://interiordesigner.fatcow.com/blogfixed/?p=137

Los Angeles Interior Designer: Is the Grass Always Greener?

Early this week as I walked to my car under the warmth of a February ’08 day in Los Angeles I heard a young voice singing Cher’s classic “If I Could Turn Back Time.” This energetic 8–year-old, with head tossed back, was belting this number like a lounge act in a velvet-lined back room far off the Vegas strip. With all the mimicked emotion possible, the lyrics and inflections poured. How could you not smile? I caught his mother’s eye as I passed and as she bobbed to the surface after loading the trunk with the bounty of the day. She smiled, shrugged and gave me a...]]> http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/los-angeles-interior-designer-is-the-grass-always-greener/feed/ 0 http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/interior-designer-and-orange-county-random-thoughts/ http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/interior-designer-and-orange-county-random-thoughts/#comments Sat, 26 Jan 2008 19:44:17 +0000 interiordesigner http://interiordesigner.fatcow.com/blogfixed/?p=122

Top Interior Designer: Random Thoughts

Some moments take your breath away. Coming off the chair-lift, turning slightly and seeing valleys of white laid out as far as the eye can see takes my breath away. Cresting a sand dune and catching a first glimpse of whitecaps crashing on the shore takes my breath away. Picking up a squirming, wiggling little ball of a puppy; holding them to your face and feeling the sweet warmth of puppy-breath takes my breath way. Watching one I love move across a crowded room takes my breath away. Hearing someone speak the truth in a difficult moment takes my breath away. The soprano’s high note at the end of...]]> http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/interior-designer-and-orange-county-random-thoughts/feed/ 0 http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/facing-your-fears-an-interior-designer-and-orange-county/ http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/facing-your-fears-an-interior-designer-and-orange-county/#comments Fri, 11 Jan 2008 20:27:59 +0000 interiordesigner http://interiordesigner.fatcow.com/blogfixed/?p=113

Best Los Angeles Interior Designer on Facing Fears

“What are you afraid of?” was the question lobbed to me by a fellow guest at a recent dinner party. Initially my mind was blank. I had spent the day with lacquered boards strapped to by feet, hurling myself down the shear face of a mountain and for a split second I actually considered the possibility that, with 46 years of experience safely tucked behind me, I was fearless. My delusion did not last long. Slowly the list began to trickle through my brain. Never a torrent, but definitely not a drop or two; I would say comfortably a trickle. And not the big earth moving, live...]]> http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/facing-your-fears-an-interior-designer-and-orange-county/feed/ 0 http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/top-los-angeles-designers-thoughts-on-the-holidays/ http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/top-los-angeles-designers-thoughts-on-the-holidays/#comments Fri, 21 Dec 2007 18:02:06 +0000 interiordesigner http://interiordesigner.fatcow.com/blogfixed/?p=108

A Top Los Angeles Designer's Thoughts on the Holidays

Early morning and I am seated at my desk. The clock is running slow this morning, not in a mechanically challenged sense, but in the way that water boils when it’s watched; my Christmas holiday it poised to begin later today. The list of things to accomplish before that magical moment swells and shrinks, and then swells again as I add and edit the tedious tasks still ahead. The dogs have been walked, luggage is packed, breakfast is over and I’m leafing through a small reference book that I keep on my desk. On a page filled with philosophical quotations, Benedict Spinoza’s words find a landing spot in...]]> http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/top-los-angeles-designers-thoughts-on-the-holidays/feed/ 0 http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/random-thoughts-from-a-top-los-angeles-interior-designer/ http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/random-thoughts-from-a-top-los-angeles-interior-designer/#comments Fri, 16 Nov 2007 19:23:53 +0000 interiordesigner http://interiordesigner.fatcow.com/blogfixed/?p=92

Random Thoughts from a Top Los Angeles Interior Designer

Three things on my mind today: Thanksgiving; Silk Flowers and Authentic People. It is now six days until we set aside one entire day to be thankful. It seems wonky (I heard this word earlier today and couldn’t wait to use it) to me as there are so many things in my life to be thankful for, that limiting them or channeling them into one 24 hour culinary orgy seems a bit diminishing. When my memory cells cooperate, as I recall my way to the bath in the morning, I try, try, try to begin being thankful for another day on this ball of twine spinning precisely through...]]> http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/random-thoughts-from-a-top-los-angeles-interior-designer/feed/ 0 http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/divine-thoughts-from-a-top-los-angeles-interior-designer/ http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/divine-thoughts-from-a-top-los-angeles-interior-designer/#comments Fri, 09 Nov 2007 19:14:47 +0000 interiordesigner http://interiordesigner.fatcow.com/blogfixed/?p=88 “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Words to live by? No doubt. Words to decorate by well….. yes as a matter of fact, they are. The last thing I want to see on someone’s face when they walk in my home is a grimace of pain not unlike the one when you pluck that errant eyebrow or (god forbid) nose hair. No matter how you try to mask it, the wrinkle of pain that darts across your face is unmistakable; like a gouge in a newly installed hardwood floor. The response I’m looking for is more akin to the great “ahh” moment when you ease your tired...]]> http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/divine-thoughts-from-a-top-los-angeles-interior-designer/feed/ 0 http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/a-beautiful-home/ http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/a-beautiful-home/#comments Fri, 19 Oct 2007 18:20:55 +0000 interiordesigner http://interiordesigner.fatcow.com/blogfixed/?p=72 Thinking big intrigues me. It always has. I’ve always been fascinated with a wide stretch of ocean, a sweeping expanse of mountain range, and the sharp edges of a coral reef. So when presented with the idea of establishing a consistent voice that would explore the world of design, and sharing opinions, ideas, resources, and particulars that make a beautiful home, all I saw was the vast enterprise. And it overwhelmed me. Much like the time tested question “How do you eat an elephant?” and its thought provoking response, “One bite at a time,” initially I saw just the giant task. It wasn’t until I broke down the challenge into more manageable...]]> http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/a-beautiful-home/feed/ 0