A few photos from a recent trip to the flower market while specking options for the MGM hotel restaurant Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas.
February 17th, 2012
Flower Shopping for Mr. Joel Robuchon
February 16th, 2012
Joel Robuchon
Recently I had the pleasure of meeting with Joel Robuchon’s team in Las Vegas at MGM to discuss coming on board as the new designer for the seasonal changes of the self titled restaurant, Joel Robuchon. I have been since awarded the esteemed position of be the designer behind the restaurants spring 2012 and summer 2012 look, debuting March 5th and June 12th at the restaurant. Below is a sneak peak at the 4 concepts I pulled together as a start of our creative design process for the restaurant…
February 10th, 2012
Moxie + Marketing + Mojo
Yesterday’s Rick Campos of Christopher Tracy Interiors and I hosted our boot camp course for emerging design professionals at the Laguna Design Center. The day was truly amazing and we had a phenomenal group to speak to. We covered everything Moxie + Marketing + Mojo and were fortunate to have two top notch guest speakers come join us. Julie Thigpen of Belle Maison and Modern Chic Home spoke on all things blogging, while Allison Olmstead of TO Media Co covered the top 10 tips for PR and courting the media.
Here are a few photos of the day. We hope you can join us for our next course, Blazing Your Path, April 12th, 2012 or for our 10-week Desgin Business Builder Master Class (the e-couse) which opens for registration March 21-23, 2012.
Allison of TO Media Co. 
Interviewing Julie Thigpen of Belle Maison
February 6th, 2012
By SABINA VAVRA / FOR THE REGISTER
For some, wallpaper conjures memories of their grandmothers. For designers, wallpaper continues to be one of the quickest ways to transform a space. Throughout the years, it has fallen in and out of favor, but now it’s the object de jour. Papering walls began around 200 B.C. when the Chinese glued rice paper to their walls for decoration. Throughout China, and later in Europe around the 12th century, wallpaper gained in style and favor.
Subtle colors add texture and interest to an otherwise boring wall.
In 1675, French engraver Jean-Michel Papillion created block designs in continuous patterns and became known as the inventor of modern-day wallpaper. Wallpaper has grown immensely in popularity with its range of styles, prints and materials to choose from. Both 2009 and 2010 saw bold-print wallpaper as the ongoing trend. This year there has been a move toward more subdued prints and tone-on-tone colors.
Metallic wallpapers have become hugely popular, giving a sophisticated sheen to walls and creating visual interest, especially when done in tone-on-tone colors. Everything from warm bronzes to icy silvers grab attention and create a sophisticated space for entertaining and relaxing. Natural textured wallpapers such as sea grass are top choices for office settings and bedrooms. Coming in monochromatic colors as well as multicolored hues, they add dimension and texture.
Stripes have also gained in popularity, and when hung vertically can make a ceiling appear higher. Pairing the right-colored ceiling with a striped wallpaper can create a sophisticated dining room. Now the hard part – determining which walls to paper. Current trends lean toward fewer accent walls and more fully papered spaces. “People are finally moving away from just a feature wall and are once again wallpapering two, three and four walls in a room,” says David Klaus of the wallpaper company Graham & Brown. If you do choose to create an accent wall of paper, pick the wall that grabs your attention when you enter the room. To complete the look try matching the paint on the remaining walls to one of the background colors of the chosen wallpaper. This will provide symmetry and harmony.
If budget is not a concern, wallpapering the entire room will give the most dramatic and impactful statement. Just as the current styles of wallpaper vary, pricing can also range drastically. Sold by the roll, prices can range from $35 to well over $600, with an average around $120 per roll. Typically an average-size master bedroom will need about eight rolls of wallpaper, whereas an accent wall generally may need only two. An easy estimation for wallpapering a bedroom including installation is typically $1000 to $2000 based on an average-price wallpaper.
Costly as it may seem to those of us familiar with paint and its prices, wallpaper is hard to beat when it comes to the impact it brings to any room. Simply stated, wallpaper is the single most dramatic way to re-create a room. Considering the range of materials, colors, styles and walls to possibly adorn in wallpaper, it is almost impossible to not be open to the options available.
Sabina Vavra is an interior designer and creator of Creative Power Course, an educational program for emerging design professionals. She is also the designer behind two episodes of this season’s “Fix This Kitchen,” featured on A&E as well as former co-star of A&E’s “Keyshawn Johnson: Tackling Design.” Based out of Aliso Viejo she can be reached at sabinavavra.com or 949-916-4664
February 6th, 2012
Keynote Goodness
A few months back I was asked to be the Keynote speaker for Student Career Day at the Laguna Design Center in California last Friday. I spoke on “Greatness + Myths + Being Daring” and I have to say it was truly such an honor to be asked to be the speaker for the event, and I can’t thank ASID and the Laguna Design Center for the privilege. The day went off without a hitch and here are a few of the photos from the event.
January 27th, 2012
Gratitude.
January 18th, 2012
Moxie + Marketing + Mojo: February 9th!
January 17th, 2012
Not Your Everyday Scarf
Traveling in Paris I spent an afternoon walking the cobblestone streets and seeing what awaited me at the end of the road. One of the boutiques passed by had an industrial modern feel with a divider wall of beautiful hand rolled up scarves and it stopped me in my tracks.
January 16th, 2012
What a Beautiful Book
While traveling in Zurich, Switzerland I stumbled upon a beautiful jewelry store owned by a husband a wife team. Inquiring about one of the gold rings I saw in the window they checked their “price sheet” by pulling out this beautiful leather bound book. I noticed that all of the jewelry in the shop was hand drawn out with various notes, sizes and prices and I was so impressed I asked to snap a few photos.
Its not often you are able to stumble upon beautiful works of art such as this.
December 16th, 2011
My Monthly Newspaper Column + Holiday Decor
Browse through some gorgeous and brilliant books by true genuises that are sure to inspire.
