Now, if she'd only been barefoot...
Just got back from meeting Genevieve Gorder (of Trading Spaces fame.) This woman has been on Mr. Curl's list for a *long* time. Alas, she did not offer to whisk him away. ;-) They did, however, share parenting stories (she has a new seven month old.) She was properly impressed with Alexa, and photos were taken (but not by us--he forgot the camera. Oy, vay! Hopefully, the furniture store people will do as they promised and e-mail them.)
She was at the grand opening of a new Klaussner Furniture store, a local manufacturing company that's recently started its own retail operations. They've built their whole brand around her. But one cool thing--besides the meet and greet--was that you could bring in a photo of a room and have her give you ideas. They projected it onto a large flat screen and she had a tablet where she could draw, etc. We were first, and had pictures of our not-quite-as-messy-as normal living room with us. We had found out about this part at 11 am. Submissions were being taken from 11:30 am to Noon. The store is twenty minutes away. Alexa was not yet properly dressed and I hadn't showered. Yet, somehow, we managed to take five shots of the living room, burn them to a CD, get everybody clean and presentable, and get out there in time to be the first people to show up with a submission. Which was pretty incredibly, since the radio station was out there, had been promoting it heavily all week, and Panera was giving away free food!
Anyway, after the informal meet and greet, they corral us into the "design center" which has the screen set up, and about four dinette tables set up when people could sit. There's maybe 6 non-employees there. She comes over and greets me (I hadn't been part of the picture-taking and initial greeting,) compliments me on Alexa, and then chats with us a little about Guadi and Barcelona (where she used to live.) They then hustle her over to the bar-type table with the computer and tablet, set up between the two flat screens that have the picture of our living room on display. She takes one look at the photo that is up on the screen and says, "This is your room? You don't need my help." It was almost under her breath--a throwaway, spontaneous comment. One of the best compliments I've ever received. :-) As she sat down, she followed it up with, "No, seriously. What are you needing advice on? What are you wanting from me?" We told her our struggle with defining the space, committing to color, etc. And she gave us good advice about fabric and pattern, a color palette, committing to window treatments, and adding depth and texture. To, as she says, "make things pop, make it look finished." But, still, it was clear she didn't see anything dramatically "wrong" with the room--well, except maybe the bachelor halogen lamp, circa 1996. (We all had a good laugh about that!)
She looked great, too...esp. for someone who just had a baby seven months ago. And very personable and nice. I was certainly impressed.
Also, how cool is it that both Mr. Curl and I got to meet our favorite celebrities within a few months of each other, and have actual interactions with them? So cool, that's what. :D
(I'll edit this post to include the pictures when we get them. *crosses fingers that they actually come through*)