Friday, April 29, 2011

Baltimore Symphony Showhouse is now Open at the Ritz Carlton!

Here is a sneak peek of one half of the Living Room. It is a very open floor plan and this is our grouping for that after dinner brandy when you get up from the table. We have hung a 5ft. Oil Painting
with a narrow drink ledge running down one wall. The loveseats that we used are slipcovered for ease of care.

Please come and attend the Show House because it is for a very good cause. The Symphony appreciates your support.


Open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 to 5 p.m., Thursday from 10 to 8 p.m., Monday, May 30th from 10 to 5 p.m.
Ritz Carlton Inner Harbor
801 Key Highway, Baltimore, MD 21230

Well, it has been a long week. We got the draperies installed yesterday just before the Residents Party Last Night. No, I did not see Tom Clancy! I got the DVD running at the last minute with our portfolio playing. Then I finished up with the little baby white stickers on the furnishings in the room. All of the contents of all the rooms in the showhouse are for sale. If you are going through the house and you see something that you like there will be a Master List where you can look up the price of that item. If you would like to purchase that item you can pay for it and then pick it up at the end of the show.

This has been the best group of designers and symphony volunteers that I have worked with to date. Things went pretty smoothly except for the redesign of my window treatments at the last minute and the glass shelves not fitting.

Yesterday Dennis Hockman  from the Baltimore Sun was due at the house at 9:30 AM. As I was laying in bed and thinking that if I really hurried I could get there when he arrived. Then I had an idea! It would be easier to email him from bed and then I would not have to get up!
There are two units that comprise the show house. While walking through the condo next door, I was taken with the contrast between Victor's Living Room being sooo...contemporary and my space being more traditional. I emailed Dennis that I thought that it would make a great story for the Baltimore Sun Paper, same unit - two different ways. He emailed me back that he thought that was a great idea and he may just use it. Later in the afternoon he emailed me again and said that he loved our Livnig room and
 he was indeed going to write the story! How exciting is that?
Thanks, Dennis! Sometimes it just pays to stay in bed!


Saturday, April 23, 2011

Baltimore Symphony Show House- Move in Day!

It's move in day at last! We had a truck rented and a helper to move all of the furniture from our retail store Details of Design in Annapolis, Md. and then the whole plan fell apart! The helper could not make it and we had to cancel the truck and pay for a delivery company to pick up and deliver the furniture to the show house in Baltimore. Luckily, it all got done.

                    I took a load of accessoreis in my car and went in through the front door of the Ritz Carlton Condominiums. They have these bellhop rolling carts that I was able to use. However, you do feel obliged to tip rather heavily since the bellhops are so very nice. The bellhop and I started rolling down the endless hallway to the next building. The hallways in the Ritz are very well designed. The flooring is a patterned carpet with marble rectangular panels inserted every so often to break up the long hallway. It is very attractive. As we started down the hallway though the cart would roll, roll, roll, then bump as it hit the edge of the marble insert in the floor. After about ten of these bumps  a lamp literally jumped off the cart and smashed on the floor! I was in shock! I did not have another lamp to replace it! When I got back to the store Jennifer helped me glue it all back together like a jigsaw puzzle. It really doesn't look too bad. I bet no one will notice (famous last words!).

                We have hung up the artwork. We have a couple of original oil paintings that have been stopping people in their tracks as they take their preview walks of the designers rooms. The art has been complimented a lot. The rugs are down in the space. I understand that one of the Ritz Carlton managers has walked through and said that he had been most of the units in the buildings there and he had not seen any other tennants in the building use the Living Room space as we had with the secondary grouping off to the side. He really liked the spaceplanning.

                  I picked up the glass for the shelves in the recesses by the fireplace and went to slide them in. They of course did not fit! I had asked my assistant to order the shelves and to look up my notes on a yellow pad to order them and I was in such a hurry, I neglected to tell her that we needed to take a clearance allowance off of my dimensions. I got 4 of the 6 shelves in, but I have to go back to the glass company to get the two cut down. nothing is ever easy. The drywall of the recess is crooked on one side. Just my luck!

                    We are down to the last few days! I also received a call from Ron at the drapery workroom yesterday. The first words out of his mouth were, "We can't use this fabric on the crown molding of your treatment. It won't work!" I told him that I would be right down and he and I would figure it out. You really have to remain calm through all of the trials and tribulations. There is no sense in getting an ulcer.You definitely have to be a good problem solver to be a good designer. Well, during my last minute visit to the workroom in DC we worked out the application of the glue so it would not penetrate the fabric. The workroom has 75 top treatments in work in front of my job for a nursing home project. So, as long as they get done, I will get my draperies somehow at the last minute and just in time. Let us pray!

                      Sometimes I forget why I love being an Interior Designer! I am sure when the room is all pulled together my amnesia will have disapated and I will really enjoy meeting the public and discussing the space in person. The first unveiling is a private party next Thursday evening for the residents of the Ritz Carlton. Maybe someone will love the room so much that they will just say, "Can you please just move this whole room up to my condo, I love it just the way it is!" Let us pray!

                     The grand opening is on May 7th to the public and runs until May 30th. If you are there and one of our designers is working the room, please let us know that you have been following our blog!

                     We will see you there!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Coverage of the Baltimore Symphony Showhouse

Paint Coverage,  that is! It's been an exciting week at the Baltimore Symphony Showhouse!
 Fitzsimmons Design is the only design firm representing Annapolis, Md. in the Baltimore Showhouse. We are honored to participate and have been assigned the Living Room.
We are slowly but surely making progress. We have gotten the room painted in Benjamin Moore, Historic Color, Mystic Gold, Thanks to my trusty painter Wayne and his crew. "It's like wrapping yourself in caramel!" said Corey Hamby when she saw the photo.    
  The floors have  been done also, but, as you can see in the photo, they are under wraps. I took a peek and the Ritz Carlton finished the hardwood floors in a Brazilian Cherry. Thank goodness that we did not have to pay to do the floors! In a showhouse situation the designer is responsible for paying for all of the designwork to the room.

Our Living Room Area adjoins the Dining Area. Jim from Elegant Decor has wallpapered the walls in a bamboo pattern. Jim and I were showhouse neighbors at Arden House. We had a phone conversation about the bump out columns between the two rooms. We agreed that instead of just wallpapering the columns that he could use the same trim molding on the columns and insert the paper inside the panel and I would have my painter paint the color of my walls around the panels to help the flow between the two areas. When I arrived to check my paint job, I was very surprised  that the columns had not been painted in the Mystic Gold . I called  later that day to find out that they had indeed been painted . It's a mystery, they are white now. I have a load of last minute details to attend to and just do not have time to worry myself about this. If you ask ten different Designers how they would treat it, you would probably get ten different solutions!
In the hub bub of everything else that is going on I went to Market in North Carolina last week. We were there 5 days and really enjoyed ourselves. The state of North Carolina has the best people! After you have been there for 5 days you definitely come home with a little twang in your accent. This market the manufacturer's had all sorts of new product. Six months ago they were relying on their existing inventory and showing previously introduced merchandise because of the economy. I found all sorts of goodies this time that I purchased for our retail store in Annapolis, Details of Design. I also took my clients fabric swatches with me so I would have good accessories in stock in the store when it comes time to put the finishing touches on the load of installs that I have coming up in the next month. Take a look at my new best friend at market below! He is a Big Boy. I know one of my clients will want to adopt him! He doesn't eat much and you don't have to walk him!