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/about-stop-the-damage/ http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/about-stop-the-damage/#comments Mon, 25 Jul 2011 18:11:16 +0000 interiordesigner http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/?p=3590 From the amazing site Marc and Angel Hack Life There is one key factor that can either damage your relationships or deepen them.  That factor is your attitude.  If you’re hoping to grow and maintain positive relationships in your life, read on.  Below you will find a 20 step attitude adjustment guaranteed to help you do just that.

1. Stop holding grudges. – Grudges are a waste of perfect happiness.
2. Stop complaining. – Instead, use your time and energy to do something about it.
3. Stop meaning what you don’t say. – People can’t read minds.  Communicate regularly and effectively.
4. Stop making it all about you. – The world revolves around the sun,...]]> http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/about-stop-the-damage/feed/ 1 http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/design-pro-tips/ http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/design-pro-tips/#comments Sat, 25 Jun 2011 00:38:21 +0000 interiordesigner http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/?p=3583 Here are my favorite tips for getting maximum value from your design professional: When working with an architect, interior designer, contractor, landscape designer, or craftsperson: •              Be clear and communicative about expectations and desires. •              Do your homework.  Know what you like and what you don’t like.  Be clear on your needs—from wine storage to shelves for your collection of first editions; from dog beds to closet space; from bathroom lighting to a home office. •              Pay attention, take notes, and listen.  Be willing to perhaps expand your original plan to make it better, bigger, and more satisfying. •              You’ll be working directly with the designer, who will in turn work directly with a team of specialists, from design assistants to general contractors or architects,...]]> http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/design-pro-tips/feed/ 0 http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/simple-pleasures/ http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/simple-pleasures/#comments Thu, 21 Apr 2011 23:40:27 +0000 interiordesigner http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/?p=3577 From our friends at Marc and Angel Hack Life: Here are 30 of the most satisfying simple pleasures life has to offer:
   1. Sleeping In on a Rainy Day – As the rain beats lightly against the window, you nestle your head deeper into your pillow.  The sound is soothing and your bed feels like a sanctuary.  There is no place you would rather be.
   2. Finding Money You Didn’t Know You Had – You reach into your pocket and find a $20 bill from the last time you wore these jeans.  You aren’t rich, but you are richer than you were a second earlier.
   3. Making Brief...]]> http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/simple-pleasures/feed/ 2 http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/getting-things-done/ http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/getting-things-done/#comments Mon, 28 Mar 2011 13:57:23 +0000 interiordesigner http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/?p=3571 From the amazing site Marc and Angel Hack Life: "When you stop chasing the wrong things, you give the right things a chance to catch you. So starting today…
      1. Give up trying to be perfect. – The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done.  Read Getting Things Done.
      2. Give up comparing yourself to others. – The only person you are competing against is yourself.
      3. Give up dwelling on the past or worrying too much about the future. – Right now is the only moment guaranteed to you.  Right now is life.  Don’t miss it.
      4. Give up complaining. –...]]> http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/getting-things-done/feed/ 2 http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/new-website-launch/ http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/new-website-launch/#comments Wed, 23 Mar 2011 22:43:24 +0000 interiordesigner http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/?p=3563 Launching 01 APRIL, 2011 We launch the new website www.101ThingsIHateAboutYourHouse.com featuring everything you want to know about my new book, book tours, media events, TV and Radio appearances and my Personal Favorites Resource Center. We'll have contests, daily blog postings, special guests and so much more.]]> http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/new-website-launch/feed/ 0 http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/cautionary-tassel/ http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/cautionary-tassel/#comments Mon, 21 Mar 2011 13:57:12 +0000 interiordesigner http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/?p=3559 “Never go to excess, but let moderation be your guide.” Marcus Tullius Cicero Flights of fancy may be fun but at the end of the day the wisdom wrapped in the simple cloak of moderation wins it for me.  There is an elegance found in simplicity, in the clean well edited version of things which never fails to capture my attention. Maybe it’s a reaction to the complexity of our times but on the broader stage of life I’ve come to believe that it’s my own designing North Star guiding me safely home. [caption id="attachment_3560" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="Wrong on so many levels"][/caption] While my heart will always skip a beat...]]> http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/cautionary-tassel/feed/ 2 http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/365-life-questions/ http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/365-life-questions/#comments Sun, 20 Mar 2011 15:06:47 +0000 interiordesigner http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/?p=3553 Over the past year our friends at Marc and Angel Hack Life have received countless requests to compile all the life questions shared on their site and place them on a single page that can be easily printed and reviewed.  So here it is.  A whole year’s worth of thought provoking questions to get your mind moving. Do yourself a favor and settle in for a thought provoking read. You won't regret this investment of time. 365 Thought Provoking Life Questions ]]> http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/365-life-questions/feed/ 4 http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/valances/ http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/valances/#comments Thu, 17 Mar 2011 13:04:36 +0000 interiordesigner http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/?p=3549 “Only great minds can afford a simple style.” Stendhal When a decorative opportunity exists primarily for its own expression there is trouble in River City.  Details that present themselves as extensions of a classical order tend to, when kept simple, find a home in the expansive range of the appropriate. Most anything, when kept simple, can prove harmonious with it’s surroundings and thus tip the scale of “yes” rather than landing squarely in the “no” column. There are areas in the home which, to the lesser trained individual, offers a carnival sized smorgasbord of mostly bad choices. The tendency toward “silly” seems in direct proportion to the decorating...]]> http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/valances/feed/ 2 http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/beautifully-lined-curtains/ http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/beautifully-lined-curtains/#comments Tue, 15 Mar 2011 21:50:23 +0000 interiordesigner http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/?p=3543 "Friends are like bras; close to your heart and there for support."  Unknown Often the greatest upfront successes are the direct result of a network of “invisible” support. It turns out that the “overnight” career explosion witnessed and celebrated by the world is the direct result of years of diligent, consistent and relentless effort.  Few manifestations of any worth spring to life fully formed without a labyrinth of intricate systems far in the background. Like haute couture that looks deceptively simple but belies its complicated internal structure so too is the slight of hand involved in beautiful curtains.  Richly appointed panels are not solely the result of an exceptional fabric...]]> http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/beautifully-lined-curtains/feed/ 1 http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/to-line-or-not-to-line/ http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/to-line-or-not-to-line/#comments Tue, 15 Mar 2011 21:39:45 +0000 interiordesigner http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/?p=3539 “Life is filigree work. What is written clearly is not worth much, it's the transparency that counts.” Louis-Ferdinand Celine In matters of relationship, both public and private, transparency is prized as a virtue. It is a treasure to be sought, mined and cherished as one would a valuable jewel.  Transparency in matters of decoration can be a bit more problematic. Shear curtains by their very name offer a thinly veiled view of the outside world and when used in conjunction with layers of curtains, shades or shutters offer the maker of homes options galore. Transparency becomes problematic when the time tested approach to window covering layers is...]]> http://www.jamesswanco.com/interior-designer-Beverly-Hills/to-line-or-not-to-line/feed/ 0