Go Green!

Recycle Symbol

Capital Bike Share

Electric Car Charging Station

Environmentally friendly rooftop 

How cool is my city we already have electric car charging stations. This one is on 14th street near U street. We also have Capital Bike Share which is a great program with 1100 bikes and 110 stations throughout DC and now has expanded to Arlington, VA. You can rent a bike for as little as a day or get a membership for as long as a year. Also in DC we have the Green Roof Initiative in which you can get a tax credit for building a green roof on top of your building.

Spring Green

Green Pillows from Beautiful Pillows and Home

Check out these amazing spring green pillows from Beautiful Pillows and Home. A perfect way to freshen up your home this time of the year and they're only $90 each. To purchase them go to Beautiful Pillows and Home

DC Design House Update 3

One of the things about putting together a showhouse is getting all the accessories right. Elizabeth and I have been working on editing and figuring out what sort story we want to tell and decided that the showhouse room is all about texture. So, we have been pulling accessories from my house, the office and calling some of our favorite shops to see what will work. Today I think we have some of the things worked out, here is a sneak peak.

Bone beads on a raffia cord, a piece of American pottery, a vintage Orvis pocket watch in a Chinese bowl. Just some of the things we have found.

Vintage ceramic pot that we had made into a lamp.

Just four of the 38, Olof Rudbeck’s, bird prints that will hang in our room.

6 of the Makins hat collection from my house that we are using.

It's Cherry Blossom Time

One of the most beautiful things about living in Washington DC is to experience the cherry blossoms. "Japan gave 3,020 cherry blossom trees as a gift to the United States in 1912 to celebrate the nations' then-growing friendship, replacing an earlier gift of 2000 trees which had to be destroyed due to disease in 1910. These trees were planted in Sakura Park in Manhattan and famously line the shore of the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C.. The gift was renewed with another 3,800 trees in 1965." From Wikipedia  This year it is even more special because of the current situation in Japan.

Map of Japan

Picture of the Cherry Blossom near the Thomas Jefferson Memorial

Detail of a cherry blossom bloom

Cherry Blossom Trees along the Tidal Basin

Seeing A New Light

Plumen 001 light bulb

How cool is this...

The Plumen 001 light bulb has just won design of the year from the Brit Design Awards for product design. This is a compact florescent bulb that uses 80% less energy and last 8 times longer then any incandescent bulb. And it looks just as great hanging in an interior as any reproduction clear Edison bulb.

The Plumen 001 light bulb hanging in a restaurant

Flying With New Wings

When designer Victoria Hagan introduced her first furniture collection in 2003 she started a modern revolution by introducing her Wainscott Wing Chair. This barrel back chair has become one of the most influential and copied pieces of furniture in the last 8 years. From modernist to traditionalist, from Ballard Design to Edward Ferrell, everyone has been influenced by this chair.

Victoria Hagan

Wing Chairs

I look at wing back chairs as being almost sculptural in a room. They can add a sense of warmth and a sense of drama. I now find that I use wing back chairs in both modern and traditional interiors.

Wainscott Wing Chairs used in a Chevy Chase house, David Mitchell Interior Design, Washington Home and Design Magazine 

David Mitchell Interior Design, Washington Spaces Magazine

David Mitchell Interior Design, Southern Accents Magazine

This Issue Is A Keeper

Cover of Veranda Magazine April 2011

People know that I am a huge critic of what is happening in the world of shelter magazines. Over the last year I have seen so many ugly projects being published. I was beginning to wonder whether editors had lost their mojo, mommy bloggers had taken over or bad taste is now the norm. Then the April edition of Veranda arrived where editor in chief, Dara Caponigro and her editorial staff had put together a pitch perfect edition. From my friend, Frank Babb Randolph’s Georgetown project to David Kleinberg’s interior for a New York apartment which is probably the prettiest and most beautifully executed spread I have seen in three years, this issue is a keeper.

Dara, call me! I have a project for you