A day off

I haven't missed a day since November and that has to be some kind of a record. For me anyway. So to celebrate I'm taking the day off. I'll be back tomorrow, I'm not going anywhere. Not yet at any rate.

Design online

OK gang, here's the deal. I've been thinking about this for a while and have done a couple of casual dry runs so here it is: I'm officially announcing my online services. 

I'll get a separate website up and running for this venture eventually, but for now I'm going to work it out of here. There will be an ad for Online Services over in the right column that will jump back to this posting, so should the need arise you'll always know how this works.

My services will include:

• 3-D color renderings from a variety of perspectives
  
• A materials list and presentation board (electronic)
  
• A shopping list
  
• Step-by-step instructions
• Phone and e-mail support
  
• My tireless enthusiasm
  

What I'll need from you are photos and dimensions of every wall in the room you want me to work on. We'll also need to discuss the direction you'd like to go and the budget you have in mind. So if you're ready, pop me an e-mail and we'll get started.

Now about that fee... I put together a fee schedule. I reserve the right to alter this as needed and in exchange, I authorize you to make me an offer. I will invoice you for the fee via PayPal once we reach an agreement to proceed. Here goes:

• Foyer $325
  
• Bathroom  $325
  
• Living Room $450
  
• Bedroom  $450
  
• Kitchen $500
  
• Dining Room  $400
  
• Home Office   $450
  

I believe in this, and frankly I think I'm on to something. Get in while the getting's good is all I have to say. 

And in the meantime, I remain more than happy to answer questions and weigh in with my opinion. Correspondence with my readers is one of my favorite perks to having a blog. Now and forever, it is never an imposition.

What's your creative type?

I found this quiz when I was reading the blog This Young House last night. It's interesting if only because it pegged me pretty squarely as a Realist. 

You love getting creative but you don't like the chaos that sometimes comes with arty pursuits. You're a deep thinker --with a strong conceptual grounding to whatever it is that you do --and so you feel most comfortable if you can express yourself within an ordered structure. You are probably quite a realist at heart and your creativity seems to be rooted in this pragmatic view of the world.

You like to get fully involved in projects, from the initial thinking to the finished product. You're there for the whole story.

I'm curious to know if this thing pegs anybody else as well as it did me. It takes about two minutes to run through this quiz and what better day than a Monday to waste some time on mindless quizzes, right? Anyhow, if you take the quiz leave a comment here with your result and how closely you think this quiz came to summarizing your creative style.

So take the quiz here. It starts with the question, "Red is..." and has you pick a photo that embodies red to you. The rest of the exercise flows form there. 

SketchUp video

The great and powerful Laurie Burke from Kitchen Design Notes mentioned this video in a comment she left on Sunday afternoon and I think it warrants its own post.



This video comes from Michelle Kaufmann Designs, an Oakland-based architecture and design firm. Great video for sure and what's doubly amazing is that this model was constructed with software that's available to anyone for free. Go get it!

I will never draw by hand again

This is a studio apartment by Surya Murali.

This is a willow tree by Beibel.

This is the Trevi Fountain by Antonino G.

Here's an office with an Eames Lounger and a Noguchi table by SmartFurniture.com

All of the images above were created in Google's SketchUp and uploaded to Google's 3-D Warehouse for use by anyone anywhere. I've mentioned my appreciation for Google's SketchUp a number of times, but recent events have awoken a missionary's zeal in me.

If you're a homeowner and you're interested in playing around with the floor plan of your house, download SketchUp and once you master some very basic concepts, you'll be modeling in three dimensions before you know it.

If you're a professional who needs to plan spaces and create construction or production documents, then SketchUp's for you too. Download the free version, master the skills and then upgrade to the Pro version so you can crank out measured plans and eye-popping presentations.

SketchUp is a rendering and modeling program and by itself it's a wonder. However, the software that sits on your hard drive is only half of the equation. SketchUp has a companion online library called the 3-D Warehouse that contains hundreds of thousands of models and components that you can select and download directly into the model you're working on. So if you want to see what a Design Within Reach sofa would look like in your living room, create the walls of your living room and then download a model of the sofa you're interested in. Bam! Instant preview.

SketchUp's training videos are easy to follow and are a perfect way to learn how to use this amazing software. So what are you waiting for? Go download it now!

And this is my friend Eric's self-portrait.