Jennifer Squires' new winter series

Jennifer Squires, the great photographer I've written about before here, here, here, and here; is back with a new winter series.

Contemplative is a good word to desribe her new work. I live in a warm climate, and for the most part winter is something I see on TV. That's not a complaint. However, I grew up in a cold climate and I remember winter all too well. I always hated being cold and frankly, that's what led me to a life in Florida. The part of winter that I never thought about when it was my reality was the quiet, contemplative nature of it.

Life here in the land of endless summer never slows down. Since it's unwaveringly sunny and warm, there's no compelling reason to pull back the reins and curl up on the sofa. In a true winter, life eases up and turns inward. Part of me misses that. Jennifer's winter series brings me back to that introspective time. There's a beauty in this severity, the orchard photographs particularly.

Jennifer's photography does what all art does; it forces me to look at an object or a scene and see what the artist sees. In so doing I get a look into the mind of the artist and at the same time see a part of myself that I didn't see before. Bravo!

Jennifer's photography can be found on her website, Jennifer Squires Productions,  and on her Etsy shop.

Not So Big Remodeling hits the shelves this week!

Sarah Susanka's new book, Not So Big Remodeling arrives in bookstores on Tuesday. Not So Big Remodeling is the eighth book in Susanka's Not So Big series, and it's a logical extension of her quest to bring character and quality back to residential architecture and design. 

The Not So Big House made its debut in 1998 and I stumbled upon it shortly after that. In 1998 I was a man adrift and unsure of the new career path I'd set for myself. The Not So Big House was instrumental in me finding my voice and affirmed my decision to jump career paths when I did. I've been looking forward to the release of this book since I found out about it last fall, and am looking forward to it taking its rightful place with the rest of my Not So Big books.

Not So Big Remodeling, co-authored with Marc Vasallo, promises to take the Architecture and Design worlds by storm on Tuesday and the timing couldn't be better. If ever there were a time to get people to stop and take a closer look at what they already have, this is it. I'll be reviewing Not So Big Remodeling over a series of posts in the coming week or so. Stay tuned and pick up a copy for yourself so you can follow along.

No more woe

I was just looking over what's come out of me this week on this blog and it seems that all this economic weal and woe is getting the best of me. Well, I'm done wringing my hands for the time being. Here's a bathroom I came across a couple of months ago and put in my clip file.

I have no idea where I found it, but there's something about this room that really speaks to me. Part of it is that it reminds me of some of the places I lived when I was young and hungry. On the whole, they were some pretty good times. Part of it too is that it's pretty obviously a bathroom in a Manhattan apartment, and I love New York with a passion that borders on the unhealthy. But probably more than anything, this bathroom tells a story of the person who lives here and at the same time it tells the story of the building it's in. I love peering into an unoccupied space and figuring out a bit about who lives in it. And at this point, I'll take whatever distraction I can find. So in keeping with this idea of distracting myself from woe's many forms, I hereby declare this week to be No Bad News week. Let's start a movement.

Ikea Tampa announced an opening date

At 9am on the 6th of May Ikea will swing open its doors to an adoring Tampa public. The Tampa store will be Ikea's largest in Florida at 353,000 square feet. That is not a typo. It will also be the first Ikea location in the US with an expanded Swedish food section.

The location Tampa has been under construction for two years and those two years have been rather eventful so far as the economy in the community surrounding Ikea's new location goes.

When Ikea announced its plans to move into Florida, things were clipping along here. Construction was still booming although the cracks were starting to show. Lenders were still writing mortgages to just about anybody with a pulse and all of us in the construction and renovation industries had more work than we could handle.

But while that store was under construction, the local economy hit the wall. Greater Tampa is home to one of the highest mortgage default rates in the country and an article in the St. Pete Times this week reported that 31 percent of the mortgaged properties here are under water. That means the owners owe more than their mortgaged properties are worth. Consider that the median house price here has dropped by 50 percent in the last three years and it's not hard to see why.

Times is hard as I like to say and it's an interesting time to open a retail establishment. I wish them well, I really do. There's nothing else to compete with them here really. And maybe the answer in trying economic times is to sell cheap stuff that looks good, quality be damned. If nothing else, Ikea has health insurance benefits for even their part-timers.

But still, I'm holding out hope that from the ashes of our burning economy comes a better appreciation for value. Cheap stuff's not cheap when you have to buy it twice.

And the keynote speaker at KBIS 2009 is...

Every year, my industry holds an enormous trade show we call KBIS. KBIS stands for the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show. Every year, KBIS takes place in a different city. Though due to it million-ish square feet of floor space requirements, those cities are pretty much restricted to Orlando, Chicago, Las Vegas and Atlanta.

KBIS isn't just a trade show, it's also an opportunity to attend seminars and network with fellow travellers. HGTV broadcasts from the show floor and the rest of the regular press is in attendance too. The new products that debut at KBIS end up on sales floors within weeks, and that show is often the only opportunity design pros have to kick the tires on stuff they'll be specifying in the year ahead.

KBIS starts with a keynote address given by someone everyone admires and whose opinion counts for something. This year, with the industry on its knees and designer-types looking for something, anything to tell them that things will get better; the need for a rallying speaker couldn't be more pronounced. Instead, the committee picked Mike Huckabee. Yes, THAT Mike Huckabee. The failed presidential candidate and creationist extraordinaire.

Now Mike Huckabee has what to do with the Kitchen and Bath Biz exactly? I won't wait for an answer. But geez, can we please get someone with an understanding of the industry next time?