Know Anyone Who is Looking for a Great House in Seattle?

Our old house is 'officially' on the market as of yesterday - This house is in the heart of the Ravenna neighborhood - walk to Third Place Books, go around the corner to grab a slice of pizza at Zeeks or a bagel at the Bagel Oasis. Take the kids to the community center, just down the alley. Total neighborhood lifestyle. The greatest neighbors, too! We miss them a lot!Updated kitchen. Gas range, convection oven. TONS of storage. Quality cabinetry, custom sized.

Cute!
This is probably the BEST basement update I have ever seen (really.) The ceilings are full height, we repoured the concrete pad - so it's a solid 4 inches thick, it's earthquake retrofitted, stained concrete floor in the utility room and bath. Sniff, sniff - it was had to give up this space!

Here's the MLS number, if you want to see more: 28117333

Check out the listing on www.windermere.com

Feedback Frenzy

I just LOVE feedback from our great customers!!!!:

"Just wanted to thank your company for always being so responsive in sending me paint supplies when I ordered over the internet. Your website is very well laid out. Also, the people at Daly's have been very courteous and helpful when I have called. Today, I just wanted to get a little advice on color choices for C2 paint, and Nedra was very kind and very helpful in helping me. Actually, I guess that I wanted some assurance from an expert that I was not too off base in the choices that I have already made. I feel much better after talking with Nedra.

Normally, I do not like to take people's valuable time, but I do feel better for calling.
It is amazing how the desire to find the right paint colors can become almost an obsession. However, it is so important, because the choices will impact the quality of my home environment. In any event, your company made the adventure a little smoother.

Good luck in the continued success of your business."

I have to agree - finding the right color EASILY can move one into the obsessive category. But that's totally okay, it just shows us how important our home and surroundings are. I have always said that color is a universal language that we ALL speak (granted, some people have different accents) so it makes sense that finding the right color becomes important to the home improvement project.

Speaking of home improvement projects, one of the new terms I have seem bandied about lately is "Stay-cation". In other words, you stay near home for vacation instead of traveling. I wonder if anyone sees painting projects as a desirable stay-cation activity? Hmmmm...

I few days ago, I was poetically (if you can call it that) praising Krud Kutter for it's performance. Apparently the folks at Krud Kutter found the blog post, and they liked it too. While I'm pretty sure I'll keep my day job and leave the world of poetry to those who actually posses some degree of wordsmithing skill, it was great fun to receive a letter from them (and the handy cup koozies/t-shirts!). Thanks Peter and Allison at Supreme Chemicals of Georgia!

More Fabu Customer Feedback!

Regarding Richard (again!):
"Just a quick note of thanks to tell you how delighted we were with Richard Cunnington's service. Your in-home consultation is one of the best kept secrets in Seattle. As someone who spent a month buying paint samples all over town, only to score a series of 'near misses' for our exterior job, I was thrilled with how quickly Richard was able to get to the right answers, and to develop solutions we had not previously considered."

An Ode to Krud Kutter

A single squirt is all it takes
To make me look like I worked all day
Painting woodwork, walls and doors
When what I really did was sponging chores
Smeared with fingerprints, dust and grime
Getting the house on the market, who has the time?

Step in Krud Kutter, tho spelled so wrong
It makes we want to bust into song!
Non-toxic - and biodegradable to boot
It makes my house look good and it’s good for me, too
A favorite tool to rely upon
My secret weapon to help me along

My only wish, if truth be told
Is that it be packaged in a style less bold
Perhaps add a scent to make me happy
While I slog through the grime that looks so crappy
But branding aside, I’ve one final thought
I really love Krud Kutter a lot!

Great Daly's Customer Feedback!

Nothing makes me happier than hearing from our fabulous customers about their positive experiences with our staff. Here are a couple quotes from two letters that arrived yesterday (Two in one day! How cool is that?!?!?!)

This one is about Richard Cunnington, one of our Seattle designers:
"He listens so well, gives advice thoughtfully, is practical, unpretentious and, most importantly, enthusiastic, fun and positively brimming with good ideas.
Actually, we miss seeing him! We'll have to find another project!"

I think we shall have to start calling him 'Saint Richard'!

Here's another excerpt from a letter praising Bill Davis, our Seattle Contractor Sales manager:
"I recently experienced incredible follow through and service at your store."..."I wish to thank Bill for his attentiveness and assistance. Bill's approach and expertise exemplifies what I expected when I went to Daly's. I always prefer to do business with a local store like Daly's and felt comfortable going there based on a recommendation from my contractor"

That's high praise, indeed.

Almost All WHITE Walls!

Lately, I've been distracted with a new adventure - we are buying a new house (well, new to us) and the walls are almost all painted white! Okay, one taupe wall in the main living area - but it's not what you would call 'risky' in its taupyness.

I have made a decision about this... I am going to embrace the white. Currently, the only thing white in our old house is the trim, so this is a complete shift in thinking.

Not only that, but the architecture is contemporary, the house is filled with great angles and ceiling lines. Interestingly, the home was designed, built and inhabited by the single-owner architect couple, so the space feels very pure - maybe white won't be so bad after all.

I wonder if anyone is taking bets on how long it will be before the white is gone...

Sophie the Stylish Daly's Dog!

Sophie the Dog comes in to work a couple days a week with her human Courtney. So when it was time to order spring shirts for everyone, of course she was included!
Sophie has three different Daly's outfits, so she can mix it up a bit depending upon her mood.

C2 LoVo Fun

I wast to share a couple cool C2 LoVo pix of my friend Mark Robinson's new Smartcar for Robinson's Paint & Wallpaper in Collington, Ontario.

LoVo Your Walls!

Just a few weeks ago, C2 Paint introduced LoVo - luxurious Low VOC paint.

It has all the features and benefits of the premium C2 paint; it's available in all 496 colors, it's infinitely customizable (custom colors are even available in 16 oz. Sampler pots), it has the unique color system that nobody else uses in North America, 18x24" Ultimate Paint Chips made from real paint, etc, etc, etc. - and now these colors are available in Low-VOC. How cool is that?

I am so excited to report that LoVo now constitutes 24% of our interior paint sales. And in only 10 days of sales. Who doesn't want to feel good about doing good? And look good at the same time?

I See Orange Everywhere

Orange. It must be the new 'hot' color - bright, knock-your-socks-off orange.

I stopped at the University Village this morning (I am ADDICTED to Jamba Juice smoothies, and I seem to need one for breakfast at least twice a week) (They are so good!) (I like them for lunch, too), and the display designers over at Crate and Barrel were busy painting some window walls orange.

"Hmmm...", I thought. "Who knew?"

I remember when orange was the color of change at Nordstrom a few years ago, and it kinda flopped. It's Clinique's Happy perfume, too.

Then I noticed that the outdoor umbrellas (the U-Village is a high-end outdoor shopping mall) on tables scattered about were also, guess what, orange. And, the awnings on another storefront. Thank goodness the Apple store had a display that featured a pink flower - must be a hangover from Mother's Day.

I do think orange is a color of excitement and newness. It says 'let's mix it up and be different'. No more staid, boring burgundy! Or safe navy. Or bankerly green. Nope, orange.

I like that we can communicate through color - as I've said before, it's a language we all speak. Personally, I wouldn't invest in large orange objects or even clothing that I plan to keep for long periods of time. I would use the color in changeable items, like placemats, scarves or accent pieces. Unless of course you are Jamba Juice, and you want to keep it fresh!

Earth Day Birthday: LoVo Paint!

It's official now - LoVo is on the shelves!

Quality Paint Equals Better Coverage

Today at a staff meeting we somehow got on the topic of paint coverage (if you think THAT's thrilling, you should see us get excited over dry time variances!). Anyhow - here we were discussing paint coverage - and it occured to me that I have never really shared with you a little fact: Quality paint actually goes further.

If you are using an lower grade finish, you can expect to get about 300 square feet of coverage from a gallon of paint. Better paints will give you about 400 square feet. So even if it costs a bit more - you get further.

Nice!

First Day of Spring Increase

I have heard there is power to using the correct keywords in the headline of your blog... and now I have seen it firsthand. Last year I had a post titled the First Day of Spring. Well this year I had 100 times the amount of hits I usually do - but just on that day.
Wild!

What a Nightmare!

Someone sent me this image in an email... this DID NOT happen to us! However, I couldn't help sharing!

Neither Rain, Nor Snow...

I just heard a great story about a lodge restoration going on somewhere in Idaho. Apparently Daly's BenMatte is one of the only approved wood finishing products that can be used on the structure - and because this lodge is in the middle of almost nowhere, guess how they product has to be delivered to the lodge by the retailer?
By snowmobile.
6 gallons of product strapped onto the snowmobile for a 35 mile trip, to be exact!
I think this is cool - it's a great visual, and it reminds me that not every place has been homogenized to pieces.

New Product Coming!

A few weeks ago, I was back East (remember how thrilled I was to tour a paint making facility?). I saw a line of area rugs at a friends paint store - and they really caught my eye: Company C.

Interestingly, the colors in these hand-tufted rugs coordinate beautifully with the C2 Paint palette. Not only are these all natural fiber rugs, they are hand-tufted and hand finished on the edges - plus cotton-backed. But the coolest thing is that they are primarily made in factories in India where no child labor is allowed, and the factory provides schooling for the employees kids.

So not only do the rugs feel good to your toes, you feel good knowing you are buying a product that doesn't give you a 'bargain' to the detriment of someone else.

The pricing of these rugs is very comparable to pricing I've seen in catalogs and in stores - plus the designs are not cookie-cutter, they have a very unique design perspective with their products.

As a bonus, they also make decorative pillows and bedding. Nice!!!

I'll let you know when we are up-and-running with these. The rep was showing us the samples yesterday, and we had customers ripping them out of our hands, wanting to get going. That's a good sign.

We Just Can't Post It

One of the fun things the staff has been doing lately is come up with creative headlines for the reader-board on the Seattle Daly's sign. Being a creative staff, the sayings aren't always... shall we say, 'tasteful'. The challenge is to use a C2 Paint or Daly's Products reference in the headline.

So in that spirit, here is my favorite saying that you WON'T be seeing on the Daly's sign:

We Don't Take "Shiitake" From Nobody

See what I mean?

Getting Ready for LoVo

This past weekend I had the opportunity to tour the paint factory where C2 Paint's LoVo will be made. LoVo is C2's Low-VOC offering - set to launch around Earth Day in April.

From my perspective, one indicator that I'm probably in the right business is that I was actually looking forward to watching paint being made! Yes, that's right up there with watching paint dry in some people's book, but this was cool.

This factory, located in Massachusets, was even designed with input from MIT. As I understand it, it is considered a no-waste facility - meaning they utilize, recycle and incorporate every ingredient that enters the plant into the products they produce. Truely state of the art facilities, and really- if we are going to the effort to make quality, environmentally sound product, it just stands to reason that the facility should operate under the same guiding principles.

They even have a dust collecting system, so that any particulates that aren't blended into an architectural coating are recollected and used in industrial products. They use the dust in air!

Made me feel good to know that LoVo is in good hands. And, no, you can't make any snarky comments on the 'stylish' safety glasses!

Design Drama, Act 2

Blogs are amazing. They really do work sometimes. Find a topic that means something to someone, and you get feedback.

I posted my feelings about this bill last night before going home, and already I have received feedback. I want to share this comment with you, because I think it helps further the conversation along.

If the information shared below is true, then I certainly can't find any logical objection. My objection all along has been about the work we do with our customers and the threat of not being able to provide our services wherever the need is.

Creativity and design takes on so many guises and roles. As I said earlier, I think there should be room enough for all of us.

Hi Robin,
As a board member with IDCW, and a designer focusing mostly in commercial design this type of bill would impact the type of work I do on a daily basis. We definitely understand the diverse nature of the interior design industry and realize that not everyone wants to reach the highest level of certification in our field or offer public/commercial design services. We've had quite a challenge to make sure the bill language does not intentionally put designers in our state out of business. Unfortunately to most, the bill language is confusing so let me attempt to show you that the design services your staff participates in would still be allowed under the practice act. You would not be limited to offering services within your business or office; rather you would still be able to meet customers in their homes.

Direct from the current bill language: [Sec. 10 (2)]This chapter does not apply to an employee of a retail establishment providing consultation regarding interior decoration or furnishings on the premises of the retail establishment or in the furtherance of a retail sale or prospective retail sale, providing such persons do not refer to themselves as a registered interior designer.This chapter does not apply to a person who provides decorative services or assistance in selection of surface materials, window treatments, wall coverings, paint, floor coverings, surface-mounted fixtures, and loose furnishings not subject to regulation under applicable provisions of jurisdictional codes, regulations, or the jurisdictional fire codes, providing such persons do not refer to themselves as a registered interior designer.

To sum that up, as long as the design services you offer do not need to be submitted/reviewed by the building department, you do not need to be a Registered Interior Designer or have a Registered Interior Designer on staff to perform those services.

If you have additional questions or comments, feel free to contact me directly. khanna (at) gglo (dot) com
Thanks,
Kristi Hanna
IDCW VP of Allied Organizations

Design Drama

Lately there has been a kerflap over legislation proposed here in Washington State regarding the professional licensing of Interior Designers.

To catch you up:
Designer have often battled a reputation as 'Dolly Decorators' when, in fact, the truth is quite different. The outdated image of a rich housewife who has a 'knack' for decorating is long gone.

Designers are involved in many different facets of work that affects both residential and commercial situations - which often requires years of training and experience.

Here's what's happening:
The ASID (American Society of Interior Designers) is proposing legislation to licence the profession of interior design.

They feel that other professions, like architecture, accounting, doctors, etc. all require this and that design should have professional practices and standards also that require testing and peer acceptance and continuing education.

Who can argue with that?

Unfortunately, I am. Why? Because I feel they are going much too far in their restrictions, and it affects the kind of service we offer our customers here at Daly's. There is no room for compromise the way the bill is written, and that's the problem.

For example, Daly's would no longer be able to offer in-home services. We would be able to help customers choose paint colors, window treatments, etc. only within the confines of our doors, but we wouldn't be able to meet our customers in their homes, under their own lighting conditions, to help them make appropriate choices.

And that is a problem for our customers and having the ability to give them the best service we can.

There has got to be room for us all.

I also think that there are many consumers of home and design products that do not feel comfortable hiring a 'credentialed' designer - or even need their services. Overkill, if you will. Why is the act of choosing a paint color or making some window treatment decisions requiring an accredited professional? This would most certainly cost the consumer more money and effort to hire them, as well.

I find this very upsetting, because I don't disagree with many of their viewpoints, just the sledgehammer approach - I do think professional standards are important, especially in commercial situations. And I do think that those designers who want to reach the highest level of recognition in their field should have those professional options available to them. But the argument of safety just doesn't fly with that type of design my staff participates in! That's the rub.

Well, the designer fur is sure to fly!

Interesting reading:
http://www.wa-ppdf.org/
www.idcwashington.org/