For details, go to VF.com/CreditsTRAVEL & ENTERTAINMENT

Listening to: Liz Goldwyns The Sex Ed.Desert island books: John Steinbecks East of Eden and James Salters Light Years (2).Vacation spot: My family home in Piemonte, Italy (9). We donated half of it to the Italian National Trust and live in the other half.Plane must-haves: Cashmere blanket and eye set, Tata Harpers Resurfacing Mask, and Shiva Roses Glow Face Balm.

Architectural styles: I know this is a contradiction, but I am drawn to both beaux arts and 1930s. And I cannot imagine a world without modern architects such as Le Corbusier, Philip Johnson, Mies van der Rohe, and Oscar Niemeyer (13).Furniture: Cristina Celestinos furniture, tiles, carpet, wallpaper, lightingshes a renaissance woman.Career idol: Madeleine Castaing (6).Recent addition: Maison C fabrics, adapted from the wallpaper line I cofounded with the artist Costanza Theodoli-Braschi (5).In bed: I love Olatz pajamas (3) and D. Porthault bedding (1).Flora: Bodega flowers arranged in vessels from antique stores upstate (7).Candle: Diptyque Feu de Bois (11).Dish set: Wes Gordons Carolina Herrera tabletop line with Cabana (12).Four-legged friend: My 17-year-old Chihuahua, Klaus. He is a grumpy old man but my first baby and love of my life.

Perpetually worn accessory: My nonnas wedding band (10) and FoundRae charms.Go-to shoe: Sneakers from my baby daddy (currently Off-White Nikes), Gucci loafers, or Le Monde Beryl slippers (4).Supplements: Wooden Spoon Super Green Protein and anything Dr. Gabrielle Francis at the Herban Alchemist tells me to take!Workout: Walking through Central Park and Ballet Beautiful with Mary Helen Bowers.

Morning beverage: Bulletproof espresso before I take my daughter to school.Indulgence: Daily croissant (8).Restaurant: Sushi of Gari on the Upper East or Upper West Side.

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The Wing Designer on Diptyque Candles and Nikes - Vanity Fair

In terms of residential design, there is where we are, and where were headed. Contemporary conformity is fast becoming a thing of the past. The name of the game is bespoke, as custom pieces predominate, commissioned art is emergent, textures are mixed in brand-new ways and exteriors move toward individualized modes of modernism. As savvy and exacting clients become increasingly game for the type of statement homes not typically seen in the region, these five design studios are pushing boundaries and conjuring the unexpected.

Instead of working with clients who view the artwork as the last step in a project, Chad Jensenartist, furniture maker, designer and founding director of Method &Concept, a Thomas Riley Companyfollows the atelier model. We love working with clients who are either starting to build collections, or who already have collections, he explains. A recent project illustrates the process. When clients wanted to reimagine their master suite, furnishings followed art. We started this whole room palette based on a custom-commissioned piece of artwork that we proposed. Once we figured out what that art was going to be, we built the room to support it. And because the clients had a preference for the traditional, Jensen tapped classically trained painter Carmelo Blandino. Commissioned art is a leap of faith, Jensen says, both for the atelier, which counts on the artist to deliver, and for the clients, who put their trust in Jensen. In the end, Jensens clients find their faith well-placed. Drew Limsky

I look for inspiration on the Internet on a daily basis, but then when I start the design, I dont look at anything, says Carrie Brigham, a bright new light in the local designcommunity. Born and raised in Naples, she earned her BA in interior design at Florida State, and founded her firm in 2017. If Brigham has an ethos, she says its all about using material and finishes in an unexpected way, in a way thats unique to the project. For example, in the kitchen featured on her websites landing page, rustic meets polished as a wooden hood is surrounded by waterjet mosaic tiles. What accounts for such a bold contrast? Im obsessed with every building material known to man, she says. But her favorite material is marble: We live in a world where everyone wants everything to be durable, understandably, from manmade quartz to porcelain tile, but the natural beauty of marble is unparalleled, surpassing any material created to emulate it. For a designer relatively new to the industry, Brigham exudes certainty. DL

Rene Gaddiss design arsenal often borrows from runways, glossy mags and maybe even a chic clients closet. The Naples-based interior designer, and owner of Rene Gaddis Interiors, draws from her degree in apparel merchandising, design and production from Iowa State University when she tackles any project. In one room, she framed a vintage Herms scarf with buttery golden hues that amplified the warm wood floors and metallic light fixtures in the space. Gaddis compares home design to picking out an outfit, with accents and lighting acting as jewelry or a blazer. You start with the staple pieces and add complementary details that can easily be changed with the fads or seasons. Her affinity for trends and bold pieces fits particularly well with her roster of seasonal clients who are more open to experimentation when designing their second or third homes. When a client comes to me with a unique design concept, Gaddis says, it really gets my creative juices flowing. Jaynie Tice

Husband-and-wife team Brandt Henning and Michaela Reiterer Henning met cuteat an AIA lecture. Michaela had founded her Naples-based architectural and interior design company in 2010, while Brandt was working with another firm. I was helping to organize the lecture andMichaela was an attendee, Brandt recalls. Indiana and Italy were joined by design. He became a partner in HLevel in 2013 and the firm emerged as a meeting of their modernist minds. We were tired of seeing what was happening in South Florida, cookie-cutter homes, Michaela says. When the two realized that the area hadnt yet picked up on the tropical modernism and sustainable elements that were starting to blossom in Miami, they saw their opportunity. What clients like about our design is that its clean but also warm and livable, Brandt says. Its not a cold, stark, harsh modernismwe celebrate natural materials. Brandt says that one of their projects in progressa 3,000-square-foot house located on a magical, beautiful site on the Estero Riverillustrates their values. Their goal is to have the home LEED-certified. Its somewhat of a camouflage-type of home where the lines between the built environment and the riverside setting will be blurred, Brandt explains. The house will tread very lightly on the land. DL

Juggling clients is not for Leili Fatemi, principal of Leili Design Studio in Fort Myers. I dont know how other designers approach their projects, she says, but what I hear from my clients is they like that I take total responsibility from start to finish. Im a boutique-type businessIm not accepting five or 10 projects at once. Fatemi regards each project as an utterly unique creation informed by a clients needs. I was working on a bachelor pad project and my client said, Give me something that no one else has in Southwest Florida, she remembers. So I came up with a lounge for what I call the Bobcat project: at one end is a TV set within a stone wall, and on the other end I designed a full bar anchored by a stacked column, illuminated in blue. Soon after completion, she met one of her idols, designer Thom Filicia, at a Kravet event. When he heard about the project, the star of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy asked to see some photos, and in no time Bobcat was published. Naturally, that one-of-a-kind column was prominently featured. I enjoy doing custom work, she says. I like to create from scratch. DL

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Designing The Future - Gulfshore Life

When Tracy Steel was a teenager in the mid-1990s and working at her parents' Christian bookstore at West Ridge Mall in Topeka, she likely had no idea that she one day would be the author of a book that would be sold at similar stores across the nation.

But that is exactly what happened with the release of her book"A Redesigned Life: Uncovering Gods Purpose When Life Doesnt Go As Planned," which was released this past August by Revell Books, a subsidiary of Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Baker Publishing Group.

"This book is a great fit for any woman, age 18 and older, who is living a life that hasnt gone as she planned," Steel said, "and who is wondering if God is there and if he cares, or for anyone who wants to go deeper in their faith."

Steel said her parents, Wayne and Roxie Davis, owned the Lemstone Bookstore from 1995 to 1998 at West Ridge Mall. The store was located in the lower level of the mall near the Dillard's store entrance.

Steel recalls those days with fondness, remembering how her parents enjoyed interacting with the people who came into their small store.

"They enjoyed talking with their customers," she said, "and considered it an honor to sell paper-backed messages of hope and inspiration to all who came into their store."

Steel said she came from a family of "book lovers," yet never thought of herself as a writer.

She was born and raised in Topeka, attending Berryton Elementary School and graduating in 1994 from Shawnee Heights High School. She then attended Kansas State University in Manhattan, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in interior design in 1998.

She said she graduated in May 2019 from Phoenix Seminary with a master of arts degree in biblical and theological studies.

After she graduated from K-State, she said, she had "dreams of owning her own interior design firm, moving to New York City and making millions of dollars. But as I mention in the book, none of that happened. Ive never lived in New York City or made anywhere close to $1 million, in ministry or now as a writer. And that is fine by me. As God continues to redesign my life, Ive come to discover that his plans for me have far exceeded what I always thought to be best. I trust him completely and will continue to follow him wherever he leads me next."

Over the past several years, Steel said, she has "had the privilege of traveling and speaking at various conferences. Ive met with women of differing ages and stages of life across the nation and listened to their frustrations and heartaches. All of them, who identify as Christian women, were surprised by their lives because they werent turning out the way they had planned. They wondered where God was in the midst of their shock, surprise or grief.

"I wanted to come up with a fresh, encouraging and creative way to encourage them and help them to see the purposes of God whenever life doesnt go as planned. For my own life, along with the Bible itself, has taught me that God is with us and that he is moving in the middle of the mayhem and mess."

Before going into the ministry, Steel said she worked in the corporate world of interior design for several years. Then, she said, God called her into a different kind of interior design.

"This type of interior design entailed me taking the words of the Bible and redesigning the hearts and minds of women with its truths and hope," she said. "As I remembered the set of 'design principles' that I used as a human interior designer to create functional and beautiful spaces for my clients, I thought about God, who is our master architect or designer. I wondered if he uses similar principles as the ones I used as he is redesigning our lives."

Steel said she found that to be the case, as God "uses the principles of movement, emphasis, pattern, contrast, balance and space to tell us something about himself or what he desires for us whenever life doesnt go as planned. I dive into these more deeply in the book, showing how we can apply them in our own faith walk, while combining them with real-life stories from other women who have been shocked or surprised by life, as well."

In her book, Steel shares the story of her mother, Roxie Davis, who died at age 61 in October 2012. Steel said her mother was a "devoted teacher" at Berryton Elementary School just southeast of Topeka.

"I also write about her death and battle with breast cancer in the book, and know that if she were still here, shed be so proud, but that if she was still here, the book would not have touched as many lives as it already has," Steel said. "Her death was not in vain, and God has used her story in 'A Redesigned Life' to redeem much of what she suffered. I am incredibly grateful to him for doing so."

Steel and her husband, Chad, who is a pilot in the U.S. Air Force, have two children ages 9 and 11. Steel noted she has moved six times during the first 12 years of marriage, "making me a professional mover and Walmart and Starbucks locator."

At present, her husband is stationed in Washington, D.C., "but I still make it back to Topeka to visit my father, Wayne Davis, and his wife, Kathy, my grandparents Dale Davis and Betty Crouch, and my sister Jamie Cooper."

"A Redesigned Life: Uncovering Gods Purpose When Life Doesnt Go As Planned" is available online at Amazon, Christian Book Distributors, Barnes & Noble and Target. Steel said the Barnes & Noble store in Topeka also has copies on its shelves.

To read Steel's blogs, reach her via email, or subscribe to her newsletter, visit http://www.tracymsteel.com. Steel said she enjoys interacting with readers on Facebook @TracyMSteelMinistries or on Instagram @tracymsteel.

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Topeka native pens book on A Redesigned Life - The Topeka Capital-Journal

The 50 States Project is a yearlong series of candid conversations with interior designers we admire, state by state. Today, we catch up with Phoenix, Arizonabased Jaimee Rose of Jaimee Rose Interiors, a longtime journalist who pivoted into design full-time in 2013. In addition to sharing a speculative build project she worked on with a trusted builder, she tells us how the Southwestern climate influences her work, why she believes in next-level customer service and how choosing a word of the year helps her firm achieve its goals.

You were a reporter before becoming a designer. What was your journey to owning your own firm?I started untraditionallyI was a newspaper reporter and TV journalist for almost 15 years. I wrote for the Los Angeles Times and USA Today, and was a Pulitzer finalist [as part of the Arizona Republic team that reported on the shooting and recovery of former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords]. But my mom was a designer and my dad was a Class A contractor, building bridges and roads. Design was always my passionI did it for my family, for myself, and for friends for fun on the side. Then I had one friend, the wife of a big baseball player, who asked me to do her house. I was like, I dont do that. And she was like, Ill give you my credit card. And I was like, Oh, OK. Ill do that.

That was the first one. Then it was the rest of the baseball team, and then it was the rest of her neighborhoodit just took off. I saw that journalism was dying, so I decided to switch and do design full-time. In 2013, I went and worked for a firm that my friend owned for a couple months to get the lay of the land. I learned and absorbed as much as I could, went back to school and took AutoCAD, methods and materials of construction and SketchUp, and then started my own firm.

How big is the firm now?I have a team of 13. Its grown really quickly, and Ive found design was something that was always instinctual for me and creative and joyful. Its been a lot easier than journalism, which is so funnyand I learned every hard lesson [about the business] in the first six months. I had a client who didnt pay me $25,000 and I lost my money. After everything that happened in the first six months, I was like, if I can still keep going, then I think well be good.

What kind of work are you doing, and how big are the projects?The bulk of our work is in Arizona, and we do mostly luxury residential projects. Were currently working on a 15,000-square-foot house. Most of them are at least 5,000 to 6,000 square feet and multimillion-dollar budgets, which is amazing, and Im grateful every day. But we have also done projects across the countryright now we have projects in San Diego and Coronado, California; Washington, D.C.; and Chicago.

This project was a speculative build for a builder we love and have worked with many times, so the trust was there, says Rose. The property is on the main thoroughfare of the most desired neighborhood in Phoenix, with other spec homes going up on either side of itso the pressure to impress was high!Isaac Bailey

Are those clients across the country ones that you worked with in Arizona first and then they have other properties, or is it new clients?Amazingly, they are people who have found me on Instagram, and theyre like, We want to hire you. Come to Washington, D.C. Its a very flattering phone call to get, and exciting, rewarding and fun.

How do you decide what projects to take on, or how do you know when to say yes?It has amazed me how much of the journalism skill has transferred to design and customer service. As a former journalist, you can imagine that I have a lot of questions and answers that we go through. Those reporting skills are helpful in designI get so detailed. Im also watching the clients body language. We get designs finished so quickly [as a result], because weve asked the questions and listen to our clients.

Obviously, if theyre coming to us from one of our builders, then we know were going to take that [job]. But if theyre one of those clients where youre just not sure what their budget is or what their look is, we [have a conversation]. Ill ask them, Whats your budget? They might say, I dont know. You tell me. Ill say, OK, what do you think is an appropriate amount to spend on a sofa? A coffee table? A lamp? A piece of art? Those answers tell me what their budget really is and what their spending expectations are.

How can you sort out whats lack of education and whats lack of budget?This conversation [is typically] on the phone, not in an email. If they say, I think a sofa should be $1,000, Ill say, OK, they certainly exist, but Im going to show you sofas that start at about $3,000. If they say, Oh, no, thats not for me, then I know. Or if they say, OK, why? then I explain. Im looking for a cue, too. Its an interview, and of course, we always want to make sure that were choosing clients that we think we can make happy, because that is the job. So, Im listening for those cues, and if I get any red flags, we dont do it. We also have a project minimum. We do not take projects if they dont have at least X amount to spend.

I know that that can be a personal number, but is there a ballpark of where that is for you?Ours is $60,000 if they only want furnitureand were still not sure if thats enough. Build budgets are typically much higher.

Not enough in what sense?If thats what they have to spend, and its a single room and were never going to hear from them again, then its probably a no. But if its, We want to do the whole house [eventually, but] do these two spaces first, then were probably going to take that project. We want to build lifelong relationships and return clients.

The kitchen, to me, is timeless joy: simple, clean lines, a spare black-and-white palette, gorgeous glazed brick from Waterworks on the wallsand that rolling ladder, which brings major charm and utility, says Rose. Now I want a ladder in every kitchen!Isaac Bailey

How many projects are you working on at a time?Probably 30 to 35which sounds insane, but theyre not all full-service, right-now projects. Some are in the planning phase and for six months were meeting with architects for two hours every other week. Other clients [may have] moved into the house three years ago and now the new babys coming so were doing the nursery.

When building your team, where did you grow first?I hired an assistant to help me with errands, filing, sample wrangling and all those things. I had that position for two years. Then I hired an assistant designer and a bookkeeper. Then we needed another bookkeeper, then many more designers, and then somebody to do purchasing. We found a courier service to run all the errands, which is a tip I learned from my business coaches, and is so much more affordable than hiring an employee. Its $25 [per errand], which is worth every penny.

Where do you shop, or how are you ordering, and how are you finding the things that youre putting into projects?My business model definitely is still aiming to profit from selling things that we buy wholesale at a markup. Most everything that we are specifying comes from trips to market and relationships with wholesalers that we take time to study and develop and research and recommend with utter confidence for clients.

For building materials like tile, countertops, cabinetry and light fixtures, we tell our clients, Look, we do profit on light fixtures. Its in our contract that we are the lighting vendor. Were going to profit on wallpaper if you buy wallpaper. Were going to profit on cabinet hardware and probably designer mirrors. Nothing else is marked up. I believe in full disclosure on financials, that you tell a client exactly where youre being compensated. Now, you dont have to say exactly how much, but you give them an idea so they are never surprisedand you never feel nervous, like, What if they find out?

Wooden beams and a whitewashed arch frame a hallway in the Phoenix spec home.Isaac Bailey

How do you break down what youre billing for?We do a flat fee, so for a build project where were helping clients get to a great set of plans and flexing all the finishes and doing all the drawings and the complete annotated spec book with spreadsheets, thats flat fee based on square footage and level of detail for the house. Thats phase one.

Phase two is furniture. We ask for a flat fee, and its pretty big. But after they hit a certain number, then almost all of that flat fee is credited toward their furniture once theyve placed the order. That was done to protect me recently. A few times weve had clients who had hired us to do furniture, and of course we had deposits, but we designed the whole houseevery single piece down to the coffee table bookand then they buy nothing because its a football player who got transferred or the clients financial circumstances change. It was a really big time suck for us that needed to be remedied. So, we get a very large deposit on phase two now and tell clients that as soon as their orders hit that number, then almost all of that deposit goes back to you.

What markets do you see as most vital for your team?We use our local design center for fabricsKravet, Pindler, all the luxury houses are there. We do most of our furnishings through visits to High Point Market and Atlanta Market, and a little bit Las Vegas Market.

When youre at market, is that mostly about vendor relationships, or what else are you using market for?Historically, its been very focused on just product researchfinding the fabrics, learning about new lines we could carry. Sometimes we even write orders if we know we want [something]. I keep a small inventory of accessories and pillows and lamps that we know we can always use. But more recently, now that I feel that the product research is there, were starting to work on our vendor relationships because someday we may want to change the way we work with our vendors.

It also helps to have those relationships when there are issues, or even things to celebrate. There is so much that we can all learn from each other, and the more time we spend with vendors and engage with them, the more we learn. For instance, we recently opened an account with Hickory Chair and spent a lot of time with them at High Point Market. We sat down with Ray Booth and he told us exactly where his inspiration point came from for this handle on a little table. It was magic, because then that translates to the moment when were telling our client about this piece.

The little telephone table, right? I love that piece.Im obsessed with itand with him. He is just the nicest guy. I met him for eight seconds in a hallway and took a picture with him two markets ago. [When we sat down with him in October], he was like, I remember you, youre Jaimee. Hes extremely inspiring because hes been able to meld his architecture skill with design and translate that into product. He has a coffee table book, which is something else that I would love to dowith the writing background, that would be a fun and natural fit. Hes also a genuinely kind person who I can tell takes time to connect with people. I think hes inspiring lifelong dedication to him and his creation and art and talent.

That is something that I want to pay more attention tothe experience that Im giving to the people who hire me and my team, and make sure that Im creating something like that. Even if its just for one [person], this memory of a truly beautiful experience.

What are the first steps to doing that? What does that look like?Well, the first step, I think, is our word for the year: fancy. We want to give people a fancy, fanciful, luxurious experience. It came from asking for feedback from our clients and realizing we had opportunities to serve with more elegance and care. It came from spending time with Ray and other people at market and realizing that all business is about human relationships.

[So far,] weve been focusing on our projects and spec books and making sure that our portfolio is awesome. Now that all those items are checked off, we need to transition to making sure that the relationshipthe experienceis also there for the consumer. So, the first step is just realizing it. The second step is making sure that the client is always number one. Its easy to be like, The client called with a question, but oh, my gosh, look at this to-do list. Yes, half of this list is stuff that serves them, but they dont know that. Its about making calling them, making sure theyre happy, our top priority. I know its important and I know its the right path.

I love that you said you have a word of the year. What were some of your previous words?Last year was elevate. Wed been doing projects that were goodthey were excitingbut we wanted to compete with top-level [local] designers and projects. So we focused on elevating, and by the end of the year we had hit some major goals. We had the projects that we wanted. We were working with the builders that we wanted. The year before that was systems, because I needed to create systems. Whatever the main thing we need to do for the year is, thats the word.

We wanted the project be edgy and progressive while still appealing to as many buyers as possiblenot to mention while staying on budget, says Rose of the project.Isaac Bailey

A bathroom detail, highlighting tilework in shades of gray.Isaac Bailey

Left: We wanted the project be edgy and progressive while still appealing to as many buyers as possiblenot to mention while staying on budget, says Rose of the project. Isaac Bailey | Right: A bathroom detail, highlighting tilework in shades of gray. Isaac Bailey

How do you keep that top of mind all year? I feel like my resolutions tend to lose steam by the end of January ...I write it on a note and tape it to my monitor, so Im staring at it every day. I used to do that when I was a reporter with sentences that I loved; for a while, I had an Adam Gopnik quote taped to my monitor. It just sinks in.

The team members all know what the word is, too. Last year, wed be like, Well, do we [take this project]? And Id be like, No, we elevate! Or theyd say it to me. We were talking to a client last Fridaya great client with fabulous projectswho has a new baby and was just having the worst day. I was like, OK, we need to send her a couple bottles of wine and some treats. Lets do that tomorrow. And my assistant Jen was like, Yes, fancy! So, we did it. Little things matter to clients. They love it when you remember their birthdaylast year, we started making sure that every client got a gift or flowers, or at the very least a phone call, on their birthday. Those little things create the big thing, which is a lasting memory of a fabulous experience.

We were talking earlier about storytelling, and Ray Booths telephone table. Does having that connection to the piece make it easier to sell to clients?It really has made a difference. Were able to explain and romance the pieceto give them something to dream about and fall in love with. For upholstery, it is so important to me that we sell our clients comfortable furniture. Out here in Arizona, we have these big, huge houses and people are all about laid-back comfort. I promise my clients that I will never sell them anything that I havent sat in or that isnt comfortable. So, I spend lots of time at markets doing that, and we take photos of ourselves in the pieces to show them.

Are you showing them the photo for scale, or is it really about saying, Look, this is me sitting here?Both. We do have a few pieces in our studioa chair from each of our go-to upholstery linesthat they can sit in. But that exact sofa is not going to be in the showroom next door for us to walk them over to. You can show a client a picture of a sofa and theyre like, OK, that looks comfortable. But if you send them a picture of you in the sofayoure sunken in and you happen to look real happy, theyre like, Oh, that is comfortable. If you dont have a showroom to go to, it helps.

What do your design presentations look like? We do it similarly for both phase one and two. We have these big wooden trays, and we create a vibe tray. If its a bathroom, then its a piece of the tile, a wallpaper sample, and we try to get the faucet and a photo of the lighting printed out and matted. Ill go and buy fresh flowers and put them in a vase on the tray, so it looks pretty. We do that again for a living room, but its layering textiles and wood finishes and photos of art. They have that in front of them with each of the materials that we want them to be able to touch and feel. When were presenting that, behind us is a big TV screen with the design boards on it. We make big PowerPoint presentations and go through it so they can see the details of each individual piece.

Are you showing them a rendering, or some sort of representation of the finished room as well?It depends on the service level. We show them AutoCAD drawings. If its a kitchen or a bathroom, we are going to elevate it. Sometimes we will have the room built in 3-D and SketchUp for themwe have someone on our team who can do that. But its time-consuming, so we dont do it for every project. Weve found that we can Photoshop boards together for finished rooms so that they look a lot like the finished room, but its still a lot of PhotoShop time.

Is that what people need to get across the finish line?Ive found so, yes. That helps so much. It was interesting, because the friend that I worked with when I went out on my own, she didnt do that. She didnt give any idea of what the finished space was going to look like. She just showed them individual pieces, and they made choices. I thought that was cool, but that doesnt work for people now, I dont think. They expect to see what its going to look like: How do I know these all go together? We take a lot of time in the beginning to help them, to build trust, make sure they have the utmost of confidence in me and my vision. But it never hurts to say, Yes, I know this is going to look fabulous, and Here, see, isnt that beautiful?

Rose's relationship with the builder meant that she was able to make bold choices throughout the homeincluding spelling out the property's ZIP code in the tile of the laundry room floor.Isaac Bailey

Whats the next big thing you want to figure out?Id like to start doing our own product lines. Whether that means were partnering with a manufacturer or not remains to be seen. When Im looking for pieces to use in my projects, Im not always finding what I want, so Id like to [get to] that level. But that also means I have to spend a lot of time working on my social media profile to make myself and my firm attractive to people who would partner with us.

You manufactured a wallpaper line on your own. How did you decide that was the way to go?I had an idea for wallpaper that we wanted to put in a spec house. We found an artist, she drew it, we researched different printers, they printed it, we did the math on how much money I did not make on it, and figured out that we needed to find a different printing company. But, you know, that means a trip overseasand thats just not what Im doing yet. But it was a fun experiment. I learned a lot. We still set it, and we do get requests for other patterns, though that will probably not be happening for quite some time.

How do you describe your design style? What are clients coming to you and your firm for?Our design style is clean, fresh, a little edgy and based in tradition, but the hallmark of my work is light, white and airy. Most of our rooms are limited in color. Were in Arizona, so we have these big, expansive spaces filled with all that beautiful desert light. We do some color, but I am definitely more interested in layered textures and layered time periodscreating interest with age and history and varied tones rather than with color.

How does the climate influence what your clients are looking for, or your design sensibility?We dont like leather sofas. Theyre hot and you stick to them when its 120 degrees in the summer. We also stay away from heavy chenilles, and even velvets sometimes feel too wintry. We have winter for two weeks, and its really more like autumn.

The outdoor furniture is a really big problem for designers in Arizona because it does not hold upit does not stand up to the sun here, which is so strong, it turns some performance fabrics yellow. You cannot do teak; that is a hard no. And metal is too hot. It's the hardest thing for people here. So, theres a few local people and manufacturers that we can use, but we have to spend so much more of our clients budget on the outdoor furniture to make sure that were not selling them something just for one summer.

What do you look for that does work?We look for fully upholstered items, a slip-covered sofa or chair. (Some fabrics dont hold up, but there are plenty that we know that do.) We recommend those because youre not touching anything hot, and those frames are fine with the fabric protecting them. Concrete is great for coffee tables and dining tables, but it gets hot, too.

We lean on the manufacturers when we havent used them before. I say, If I call you next summer because this [piece] didnt make it [in this environment], what are you going to do? Youre telling me it will stand up to our sunbut if I call you and say, OK, it didnt. Its been one year and its done, are you going to replace it or not? And if theyre not, were not going to buy it.

'The builder was nervous about that crazy French prison door I found and wanted to use in the butler's pantry,' recalls Rose. 'In the end, it was one of his favorite features, and the house sold before it was even finished. I'm particularly besotted with that gorgeous bronze strap hardware, which we had custom-made.'Isaac Bailey

Are there a lot of vendors who will say yes?There are, and those are the ones that we dont have to replace. Or if they say, Oh, well, we guarantee it under cover, we wont do it. Theres a company called Cavan, which was started by a local cabinet company, that makes outdoor furniture with a Belgian lookthat's my go-to for stuff that is going to be fully in the sun all day, every day. [The owner] lives here and hes making furniture for the people who live here.

Youve built an incredible career in less than a decade. As a relative newcomer to the design industry, what has surprised you most?I think that its important to remember that we are all still learningand to not be afraid to ask for help. I ask other designers for help all the time. I also have people asking me for help, and I give it, and then they give it [back] to me. I think that is one of the things that people either dont know yet or forget about the design community: Designers want to be helpful. I called a designer [I didnt know] because my client was obsessed with this light fixture that was all over Pinterest, and it was her work. I could not find it anywhere, so I called her after spending weeks looking. She was like, Its from this weird little place in Paris. She told me the name, we found it and the [client used] it. That kind of stuff bowls me over. I love it. I think one of the greatest things we can all do is help each other. And if you ask and you give, it comes back to you.

To learn more about Jaimee Rose, visit her website or find her on Instagram.

Homepage image: Jaimee Rose | Isaac Bailey

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Why this Arizona designer always chooses a word of the year - Business of Home

The office in Buffalo is getting a whole lot cooler.

No, I don't mean the temperature is going down. I'm talking about the trendiness and "hip factor" of the environments in which people work.

It's not exactly a real hot and sexy topic, but the office is where many of us spend the majority of our working days. And what's coming out now aren't your parents' work spaces.

To attract and retain a younger workforce, and in recognition of changing habits and desires, employers are redesigning their offices to make them brighter, fun and especially more conducive to collaboration. It's not just about the colors or textures, but the configuration, feel and features.

The goal is to support a happier and more comfortable employee, who in turn will be more productive. And it's what the new workforce is seeking, as they evaluate whether their employer or potential employer is keeping up with the trends. That's critically important given the talent competition that Buffalo faces.

"Those are the new decision-makers," said Jill Pawlik, spokeswoman for Uniland Development Co., one of the region's biggest office-space developers.

That's not to say that every workplace has been revolutionized. Many like The Buffalo News' newsroom remain just the same as they've been for years, or even decades. For others, the changes can be slow and gradual especially for more traditional employers that may be hesitant about radical transformations.

But the trend is clear. Out are the walled-in private offices, drab desks, uncomfortable chairs, bland carpeting and high cubicles. Here come more vivid designs, open spaces, "convening" or gathering areas, "resimercial" soft seating, conference "booths," and even recreational, dinette or relaxation zones to encourage employees to take that break and move around, so they can refresh their minds for the next task.

"That is a big piece of what we're seeing here," said Melissa Brinson, director of marketing, communications and business development at Millington Lockwood Business Interiors, which recently rebranded its interior design division, AMP Interior Construction. "It really is about tailoring the work environment to the individual."

That's particularly the case for incubator spaces or new offices for technology firms and startups, which are known for the youth of their workforce. Pingpong or pool tables, foosball, air hockey and other games are common features, allowing workers to blow off some steam and have a little fun in between cranking out code or designing new technology applications. But so are the bright colors, funky art, comfy chairs or couches, and central meeting spaces where coworkers can work out issues together.

"The heavy tech users need not just the physical break for their bodies, but for their eyes as well," Brinson said. "So those spaces have become extremely popular with the employees, and they're becoming more and more the expectation, that a firm would have a place like that where employees can go and unwind."

Take Uniland's new Hansa co-working space on Ellicott Street. That's a bit of a head-scratcher name, but it's Latin for "guild," meaning uniting people for a common purpose in this case, to share space. The facility will offer separate offices or suites as options, but there also will be an open space with tables and desks that can be shared, as well as other alternatives such as quiet phone booths, meeting and multipurpose rooms, and lounge areas.

"Weve designed areas for multiple uses to provide the most flexibility to meet the demands of todays workforce," said Mary Hazlett, Uniland's interior designer. "You choose where to work based on what youre doing."

Located in a former warehouse that Uniland is renovating, Hansa will feature what the developer calls a "chic industrial interior design and the fusion of modern office and residential furniture and decor." The decor will vary from meeting room to meeting room, with different lighting, carpeting and wallpaper. There also will be a meditation room.

"Every work zone has a design focus to create its own look and feel," Hazlett said. "Office design is no longer a one-size-fits-all model."

Or look at what Rich Products Corp. did with its refurbished information services department. The Buffalo food-service company revamped the space, taking out the rows of cubicles with six-foot-high walls and replacing them with a range of options workstations with dual monitors, a comfortable chair, a meeting room or the social area near the kitchen, or the new illuminated "cloud room" where there's no talking or phone calls allowed.

That, in turn, was based on what other companies did, including Sodexo. Great Lakes Orthodontics also redid its break room and cafeteria space as part of an expansion two years ago and now it "looks like something you'd see on a real hip college campus," Pawlik said.

"There are fewer and fewer instances where private offices really make sense," Brinson said. "People are just becoming accustomed to moving. They like that flexibility, where they're not anchored to a desk."

Marketing firms Martin Group and Crowley Webb each completed major renovations of their downtown office space that gave a modern lift and airy feel to older buildings.

Most significantly, M&T Bank Corp. and developer Douglas Jemal are working on the bank's new technology hub at Jemal's Seneca One tower, which will eventually house 1,500 M&T employees on two sprawling pedestal levels and 11 floors of the high-rise. It will be joined by technology business competition 43North and its portfolio companies.

That space hasn't been designed yet, as the parties seek bids for the work. But the expectation is that both M&T and 43North will follow the same trends.

"They really understand that employees coming to work have a completely different set of expectations of what their working environment will look like," Brinson said. "They're responding to their workforce, and all of the companies that are really smart will be doing that."

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Out with the old office and in with new, hip spaces - Buffalo News

While building her new home in the River Chase neighborhood of New Braunfels, Judi Seibold had to make thousands of decisions. But one thing she knew from the beginning was that she wanted a large pantry so she wouldnt have to store food in her kitchen cabinets.

I want to be able to look around the pantry and see what I have instead of opening a million cabinets in the kitchen, she said. I dont want to go the supermarket to buy something and then come home and find I already had it.

Long little more than a linen closet for keeping extra jars of peanut butter and maybe a garbage can, todays pantry has morphed into a luxe room that serves almost as a second, secret kitchen. Its gone from overlooked to object of desire.

Search #pantry on Pinterest or Instagram and youll get an unending scroll of photos of extravagantly designed pantries, with dry goods and pastas displayed like museum art and boxes of food categorized by kind, size and/or color. Youll see wine refrigerators, microwaves and smaller appliances, all banished from the kitchen, standing ready to make coffee, toast bread or mix drinks. There are spaces set aside for a crafting or gift wrapping, second refrigerators, even wet bars.

People see all these pictures on social media and then they want their pantry to look like that, too, said Carla Royder, an interior designer in San Antonio. They like it when it looks like a high-end store.

On ExpressNews.com: Kitchen cabinet trends: paint 'em and keep 'em closed

And the larger the home, the bigger the pantry. Experts say that in a home with a price tag between $350,000 and $600,000, for example, pantries average 5 feet wide and 8 feet deep, while in the $600,000 to $2 million price range, theyll be about 6 feet wide and 12 to 15 feet deep.

Despite the belief that large pantries are high-dollar add-ons, builders often install them to cut costs.

Sheetrock and two-by-fours are cheaper than adding more cabinets, said Melven E. Belt Jr., regional sales manager for Kent Moore Cabinets in Schertz. But for homeowners, the perception is that a walk-in pantry is worth more.

One of the trends in pantry doors is to make them look like cabinet fronts, so they blend in to a cabinet wall and hide. Homeowners enjoy how they elicit gasps of surprise from guests when the doors are opened open to reveal the pantry innards.

Also trendy are barns doors that slide along a top rail, according to Beau Walker, CEO and owner of West Ridge Custom Homes in Bulverde.

Id say that 75 to 80 percent of the pantries we build have barn doors, said Walker, whose company specializes in building home from $600,000 to $2 million. The look may date itself, but thats what were doing.

According to Royder, homeowners often leave these barn doors open to show off their Insta-ready pantries.

People love their stuff and want it to be on display, she said. Of course thats a big commitment in having to keep it neat and tidy.

Other door options include pocket doors, which require less space than swinging doors, or no doors at all.

If youve got a beautiful pantry, why not show it off? asked Belt.

Some pantries are even moving away from the kitchen.

Interior designer Julie Bradshaw of Bradshaw Designs in San Antonio said shes seeing more pantries built either around the corner from the kitchen or down the hallway.

Its often closer to the back door, or the mud room, so the homeowner can dump the groceries there when they get back from the store, she said.

On ExpressNews.com: High-end laundry rooms now double- or triple-duty rooms

One area of disagreement about pantries is whether the shelving should be adjustable or fixed. Karen Meade likes the flexibility of adjustable shelving.

With fixed shelving you have a lot of unused vertical space, said the San Antonio professional organizer. So you end up buying can risers to make the most of that space.

Walker, on the other hand, said he usually installs fixed shelving in the high-end homes he builds.

Once youve got the shelving set, you rarely go in and change it, he said. Were doing adjustable shelves in only one home at the moment.

While pre-made adjustable shelving made of cheaper materials such as wire and particle board is available off the shelf, in custom homes like those Walker builds, adjustable shelving often is more than twice the cost of fixed shelving because its more labor intensive to install, and he uses higher quality materials, such as medium-density fiberboard.

Finally, over the past few years, Walker said hes been building a lot more 6- to 8-inch deep shelving, compared to the 12- to 16-inch deep he often previously built.

With the deeper shelves, things tend to get lost, he explained. The narrower shelves make it easier to find things.

Other popular pantry features include:

Motion sensors that turn on lights when the pantry door is opened. No more fumbling around in the dark for a light switch.

Library ladders that run along rails to reach items on upper shelves more easily. One drawback, however, is that these ladders take up floor space.

Movable shelving units that, like in a murder mystery movie, can be opened to reveal, say, a panic room or a safe for valuables.

Wild designs. Like the powder room, a kitchen pantry is small enough to give you the freedom to wow both yourself and guests you invite in. Make a splash with colorfully designed wallpaper or a bright, vivid paint job. If thats too much, at least paint it the same as, or a complementary color to, the kitchen.

On ExpressNews.com: 5 tips for a beautiful, organized pantry

Richard A. Marini is a features writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | rmarini@express-news.net | Twitter: @RichardMarini

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High-end pantries are now a second kitchen with extra appliances, work stations, gift wrapping areas and more - San Antonio Express-News

(Update: Adding video, comment from Madras resident)

MADRAS, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A 47-year-old truck driver was arrested in Southern California Wednesday on second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and other charges in Tuesday nights fatal vehicle-pedestrian hit-and-run crash on U.S. Highway 97 in Madras, police said.

A Madras police officer's court filing said the driver told his supervisor he swerved to avoid "a dark, shadowy figure" but did not believe he'd hit anything.

Law enforcement had been searching for a Volvo semi-trailer with likely damage, based on evidence at the scene, in the crash that killed a pedestrian identified Wednesday as Anthony Shadley, 59, of Madras, Detective Sgt. Steve Webb said.

With help from several state and local agencies, officers were able to find the semi involved in the city of Azusa in Los Angeles County, where the driver, identified as Jose Manuel Bernal-Mendoza, was making a scheduled delivery, Webb said.

By the time the truck was found, Madras police had filed an affidavit in support of an arrest warrant for Bernal-Mendoza and an arrest warrant was issued for charges of second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, failure to perform the duties of a driver and reckless driving.

Bernal-Mendoza was arrested by Azusa police and the truck allegedly involved in the crash was seized.

The investigation continues, Webb said, and anyone with information about the crash is urged to call Frontier Dispatch at 541-475-2201.

In a probable cause affidavit to support the $250,000 arrest warrant, Madras Police Officer Brent Schulke said video surveillance footage from Wild Winds Station had helped identify the southbound truck.

Schulke said ODOT confirmed that only two Volvo semi-trucks passed through the southbound weigh scales near Juniper Butte around the time of the crash, and only one was hauling a box trailer and passed that location about 10 minutes after the crash.

ODOT was able to provide a photo of the truck, which appeared to match the surveillance video. ODOT also provided the trucks Texas license plate, which belonged to 5D Cargo Express Inc. in Laredo, Texas.

A safety supervisor with the company identified a two-man drivers team that included Bernal-Mendoza and gave them an address in Azusa that was the next scheduled stop between 8 a.m. and noon Wednesday. Officers also were told Bernal-Mendoza would have been driving at the time of the crash.

The drivers supervisor said Bernal-Mendoa told him he swerved to avoid a dark shadowy figure but did not believe he hit anything, according to Schulke's affidavit.

Madras police, assisted by the Bend Police Department's traffic team, worked through the night investigating the crash scene on Highway 97 in northern Madras, near Northeast Cypress Street, Webb said.

Based on parts found at the crash scene, they were able to determine the suspect vehicle is a 2018 Volvo VNL series tractor. Also, based on surveillance video under review, it was towing a traditional "van-type" semi trailer.

Items recovered at the scene confirmed the tractor had damage to the passenger side and front and right side, Webb said. The damage included a missing chrome trim moulding piece from the center bumper on the right side, and damage to the right-side hood vent.

Madras police, Jefferson County sheriffs deputies, Oregon State Police, Jefferson County EMS and Jefferson County Fire responded around 7 p.m. to the reported crash.

The highway was closed in both directions in the area of milepost 92, with a detour in place. It reopened early Wednesday.

It was the second serious vehicle-pedestrian crash on the same stretch of road in just over 24 hours. Around 6 p.m. Monday, a 55-year-old man was struck and critically injured when he tried to cross Highway 97 near Northeast Chestnut Street. He was one of three men heading to the warming shelter, police said.

In that case, the driver stopped and has cooperated in the investigation.

NewsChannel 21 spoke with a longtime Madras resident, Daniel Crowley, on Wednesday, who said he's seen an increasing amount of drivers, especially truck drivers, who go faster than the 55 mph speed limit in that area.

"Even though the new rule is to walk with traffic, I'm not going to do that, I'm going to walk against traffic so I can see whats coming," Crowley said. "Dont wear black slacks and black coats if youre going to walk at night. Its not safe."

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Trucker arrested in S. Calif. in Madras fatal hit-and-run - KTVZ

The Interior Design Show (IDS20), Canadas largest design conference, took place in Toronto from January 16-19at theMetro Toronto Convention Centre. For only the second time inits 22nd year, theB2B trade-only expositionIDS Contract was featured. The theme this yearwas Design Your Future,whichwill explore how designers create experiences at the intersection of technological and social problems, imagining new roads to alternative realities, notesKaren Kang, National Director of IDS Canada.Here are nine highlights at IDS 2020.

1. Biscuit by Ceragres

Montreal-based Ceragres debuted Biscuit, six opaque, geometric, three-dimensional ceramic surfaces (in 2"x8" format) that are brought to life by light and shadow and are available in white, terra, notte, and salvia.

2. Ztistaby Victoriya Yakusha for Faina

Constructed from recycled metal, cellulose, wood chips, and clay, the Ztista line by Ukrainian designer Victoria Yakusha for Faina made its Canadian debut at IDS 2020withan organic chair and coffee table hand-crafted using century-old primitive rolling technique.

3. Junction Light by Hollis+Morris

Toronto-based Hollis+Morris introduced the Junction lightshown here in a floor lamp version but also available in a table stylewhich features "railways of light" to createa glowing canopy. Junction is handmade in North America and available in solid walnut (shown here) or white oak.

4. Kastella's Cove Collection

The Cove Collection by Kastella is a series of functional, understatedsolid wood piecesdining table, chair, andbenchdesigned by the Montreal-based company's founder Jason Burhop and available in American Black Walnut and American White Oak.

5. Monogram x Partisans

Ultra-luxury appliance brand Monogram collaborated with Toronto-based architectural design studio Partisans to create an interactive, all-glass kitchen installation at IDS 2020.

6. Mono Chair by Objects & Ideas

Inspired by a summer air showwith the airplane creating a single twisting and turning outline through the airthe new Mono collection by Toronto-based Objects &Ideasdebuted at IDS 2020 and features a chair (shown here) and table. The collection is available in solid, sustainably sourced woodand is crafted using traditional woodworking techniques.

7. Rituel by Pur Bton

Canadian manufacturer Pur Bton has made a name for itself with its artisanal concrete basins, whose raw, handmade forms come in myriad hues.

8.Fuwa Fuwa Series by WooYoo

A side table-console duos corrugated plastic sides pair neatly with solid oak surfaces, establishing what the Japan-trained studios design director Edward WooHyun dubs a state of calm attentiveness.

9.Ball On Plank light by Lauren Reed

Toronto up-and-comer Lauren Reeds furnishings and objets are decidedly whimsical, and her latest, a wooden plank sporting a frosted-glass lightbulb, is no exception.

Read more: 15 New Product Highlights from IMM 2020

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Product and Installation Highlights at IDS 2020 in Toronto - Interior Design

Hudson, N.Y. | $1.195 MillionA Greek Revival-style house built in 2005, with three bedrooms and three bathrooms, on a 0.17-acre lot

Built on spec on vacant land in Hudsons first gated community (dating to the turn of the 20th century), this home is one of several stately houses in the area. It is the last building on its side of a blocklong street, less than five minutes on foot from Warren Street, the citys boutique- and restaurant-rich commercial stretch. An Amtrak train station is less than half a mile northwest, near the Henry Hudson Riverfront Park. Pennsylvania Station in New York City is two and a quarter hours south.

Size: 2,520 square feet

Price per square foot: $474

Indoors: The sellers, who are the second owners, bought the house in 2009 and made substantial changes. They installed central air-conditioning, opened the second-floor stairwell and landing (which required some structural engineering to remove a load-bearing wall) and updated the kitchen and bathrooms. They also replaced windows, added period-appropriate crown moldings and other millwork and wired several first-floor rooms for sound.

Crossing the colonnaded front porch, you enter a center hall with Brazilian cherry floors that leads past the staircase to the new kitchen. There, youll find Smallbone of Devizes hand-painted cabinetry and new appliances, most from Miele. The stovetop is a Lacanche Volnay four-burner that includes a cast-iron simmer plate with a wok ring.

The connected living and dining rooms have cherry floors, 12-foot ceilings and walls painted in a pale gray shade from Farrow & Ball. Each room has a fireplace (gas-burning in the living room, wood-burning in the dining room) with a black marble surround and mantel. The powder room was renovated with a paneled wainscot topped with Art Nouveau-style wallpaper.

Two second-floor bathrooms were combined to create the en suite master bathroom. Striated marble tile covers the walls, continuing into the walk-in shower. The guest bathroom has a shower-over-tub and a pedestal sink.

Outdoor space: French doors lead from the master bedroom and adjacent guest room to the upper front balcony. A rear entrance is approached by a brick walkway through a fenced garden. There is off-street parking for two cars.

Taxes: $17,878

Contact: Pamela Belfor, Gary DiMauro Real Estate, 917-734-7142; garydimauro.com

Offering treetop views in Woodland Hills, in the San Fernando Valley, this one-story stucco-clad house is close to the Ventura Freeway, which takes you southeast into Los Angeles (downtown is 26 miles away). The neighborhoods central business district is about two miles east, and the city of Calabasas, with a number of shopping and dining options, is just to the west. The 2.1-million-square-foot Westfield Topanga & Village mall, which has luxury stores and restaurants, is about three miles northeast. Hiking and biking trails wind around the almost 3,000 hilly acres of the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve, less than four miles northwest.

Size: 2,029 square feet

Price per square foot: $591

Indoors: Entering a bright-red front door and skirting a walnut partition, you find an open-plan room with terrazzo floors, a vaulted ceiling and a rear wall of glass. The living room includes a gas-burning stone fireplace; the kitchen has walnut cabinets and stainless steel appliances.

The owner converted the original master bedroom into an office, and expanded beyond that to create a 500-square-foot master suite with floor-to-ceiling windows and polished concrete floors. A pair of new master bathrooms includes one with a slipper bathtub and another with a walk-in shower.

There are two additional bedrooms and a guest bathroom with retro aqua tile, double sinks and a separate shower and tub. The furniture is available to buy.

Outdoor space: A large covered patio with a grill area extends off the back of the house. The property is entirely fenced (an automated gate with a pedestrian door gives access) and is planted with Meyer lemon, guava and fig trees. Parking is in the attached two-car garage, with additional room for up to 10 cars in the spacious driveway.

Taxes: $14,988 (estimated)

Contact: Casey Napolitano, Kennedy Wilson Real Estate Sales & Marketing, 818-404-5090; kennedywilsonre.idxbroker.com

Before the singer Julio Iglesias Jr. bought this house eight years ago, it was renovated in a sailboat-cabin style, with efficiently designed wood-paneled rooms incorporating many built-ins. The house is in the Meadows neighborhood, in Old Town, five short blocks northwest of Bayview Park and less than a mile east of the historic seaport. The Ernest Hemingway house is about a mile southwest, and Higgs Beach is the same distance southeast. The Basilica of Saint Mary Star of the Sea, with its Our Lady of Lourdes grotto, is about half a mile southwest. Lore has it that the nun who designed the grotto, which was dedicated 98 years ago, prophesied that Key West would never be devastated by a hurricane as long as the structure stood. So far, so good, but flood and wind insurance are still required for mortgage holders of this property.

Size: 1,424 square feet

Price per square foot: $842

Indoors: A paneled living and dining room with an open kitchen are part of the new addition. Glass double doors open from there to a covered porch overlooking the pool. The kitchen has custom Dade County pine cabinets and wood cladding, even on the refrigerator.

Self-contained guest quarters at the front include a bedroom with a loft sleeping area, an office niche, a bathroom, a kitchenette and a private entrance. There is also a bunk room with two sleeping berths off the kitchen.

A spiral staircase rises to a second small office on the landing, and the master suite. The suite includes a bedroom, a sitting room overlooking the pool and a bathroom with a walk-in shower and porcelain pedestal sink. A television positioned above a fireplace between the two main rooms swivels to face either.

The spiral stair continues to a rooftop observation deck, where Mr. Iglesias installed an outdoor shower, steam room and kitchenette.

Outdoor space: The property is entered through a gate set into a stone wall. There is a rocking-chair porch leading to the louvered front door, and tropical greenery surrounding the backyard swimming pool and hot tub. A structure to the side of the pool offers equipment storage and additional covered seating.

Taxes: $7,502 (based on a $700,174 tax assessment)

Contact: Elaine Coyle, Keller Williams Key West Compass Realty, 305-923-9202; compass.com

For weekly email updates on residential real estate news, sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @nytrealestate.

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$1.2 Million Homes in New York, California and Florida - The New York Times

In the lower level of the Crow Museum of Asian Art, beneath galleries of carved jade and precious lacquerware, Chinese-born, Austin-based artist Beili Liu has brought out the strength in a more delicate material: Thousands of yards of red thread coiled into a network of discs. This composes her site-specific installation Lure, a play on the Chinese legend of The Red Thread, which says that all children are born with an invisible tie to their soulmates.

Sometimes they have encounters, sometimes they have missed encounters, Liu says of the discs, which hang from the ceiling and sway to and fro with the air conditioning.

Lure/Dallas is one of two site-specific installations in Beili Liu: One and Another, the inaugural exhibition of the Crow Museums three-year Texas Asian Women Artists Series. For Lius first major exhibition in Dallas, the artist, UT Austin professor, and mother draws upon her Chinese heritage, and, more broadly, her experience as an immigrant woman.

Part of an ongoing series, Lure/Dallas does what its name implies, drawing the viewer in with a narrative that welcomes interpretation. Liu says the discs represent individuals, but shes heard them compared to poppies and blood cells. Some discs are paired, shaped from a single thread, a few are alone in masses; the connections droop to the floor, tangling, sometimes becoming obscured, sometimes drawing pairs closer.

Youll be thinking about these common threads as you move upstairs to the Mezzanine to see Lius second installation, Each and Every/Dallas, also part of an ongoing series. Here, the artist lays out a more pointed discussion of humanity. The room is filled with flattened pieces of childrens clothing, dipped in colorless cement and arranged in a rectangle hovering above the floor. Cement-coated threads hang from the ceiling like dull needles, stopping inches above the garments.

Its a deeply personal project for Liu, one that started with collecting her young daughters hand-me-downs without a specific purpose in mind. When the Trump administrations zero tolerance immigration policy was introduced, she decided to use those pieces, in addition to clothing donated at her daughters school and by fellow artist-parents, to speak out.

I thought the combination of cement, which is an industrial building material, and these tender, soft, small pieces of clothing that are to shelter our little babies bodies, is such a poignant and powerful combination. We have the harsh and the tender put together to talk about this situation that is really difficult to describethe impossibility of why this even happened, says Liu. I see them as being both preserved and destroyed at the same time, so they can no longer serve the purpose of protecting the bodies of the children. The scale is important, because we are talking about a large number of children who are still away from their families, who dont know where they are in the system. Theres this unknown sense of loss and suffering being visibleIts a project that I really needed to do as a mom, as an immigrant, and also as a woman artist.

The artist has also planned a performance in conjunction with the installation; She will return in March and sit in the back of the gallery, mending worn pieces of childrens clothing in an act of silent protest and meditation (dates and times TBA).

Liu carries this idea into her final piece at the Crow Museum, a flag commissioned by MAP (Make Art with Purpose), which is separate from, but directly related to, her exhibition. The work, titled Outline, is made from a cyanotype image of clothing seams. It hangs in the skyway of the Crow Museum, looking over Flora Street on one side and the Trammell Crow Center on the other, a tribute to the mothers who are still awaiting the return of their children.

Beili Liu: One and Another is on view at the Crow Museum of Asian Art through August 16, 2020. The museum is free and open to the public.

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At the Crow's Celebration of Asian Texas Artists, a Common Thread for the Immigrant Experience - D Magazine