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It has always been my mentor’s  (Richard Herb) dream to have this collective group of up and coming interior designers under one umbrella.  He also pictured these designers working under one roof as individual contractors but as one cohesive group. The benefits to all of these newer designers are they get the resources and mentoring from the other designers and most importantly from Richard. He is giving all of us his 30 years of resources and experience because mentoring the interior designers of the future is his PASSION!

Richard gave me the opportunity to help him make this idea come to fruition and I took it. At first it was a slow process of screening and gathering candidates. But last week we had the first official meeting and it went more than successful.  We invited 18 designers and 18 designers are all on board!

Now the momentum is picking up. The best part is until the other designers start bring in their own projects we have a charitable project to do together as a group. We will be helping a charity called the Door of Hope redesigning the facilities there.
It’s all so exciting! Let the games begin!

Super Excited!

Eleni

As most of you readers know I am 100% Greek and dang proud of it

Who cares that financially the country is falling part. It is still one of the most beautiful and historical destinations on the planet! And in the words of my amazing meatball father “What did everyone think was going to happen when for years 70% of country hasn’t worked?” So truth be told it’s EURO’s fault for trusting us in the first place

Ok, all joking aside, Greece still is one of the most magical places one could EVER visit.  I happen to run into this promo video today and it once again made me quite proud of my heritage and so I wanted to share it with all of you. If you have been to Greece then you understand, if you have not yet been, then what the HECK are you waiting for?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Can’t wait to get there in July,

Eleni

I am super excited to finally do some good work.  The feeling became A LOT stronger after I gave birth to my son. It really became so clear to me that all a child wants and needs is love from their parents. REALLY, that is all they truly need (ok maybe some food and water too) and it KILLS me that children come into this world and many times do not get that love and treatment they deserve. I honestly CAN’T understand how someone doesn’t love their child instantly, unconditionally and FOREVER but it happens. I want to help some of those children and the charity just came to me through the Chamber of Commerce I belong to. Not only am I helping the cause I sought out but I am also directly helping my local community and I am SUPER stoked about it.

The Dubnoff Center is a Day School and Group Home here in North Hollywood. It does such amazing things for kids with learning disabilities and homeless children.  The staff at the Dubnoff helps keep the boys out of trouble by give them tutoring, all kinds of activities and a roof over their head. The group home is a transition home that helps these teens they are housing to graduate and get full time employment so they can make it on their own once it is time to leave. It is just amazing.

There are 2 areas I am going to help out in.  I am so excited because they are the very 2 things I am most passionate about: interior design and healthy cooking/eating.  On the interior design front, I am going to get some of my interior designer friends and we are going to go in and give a much needed facelift to the 2 homes the kids live in. With all of our contacts and discounts we are going to make these homes real homes for the residents and I just can’t wait to jump into that project. On the cooking side, I am going to go into the homes and give a cooking lesson every other week.  These cooking classes will help them not only on how to cook but how to cook HEALTHY and inexpensively. By the end they will have their own recipe books to take with them into their real lives. I think it’s going to be so awesome. I know it’s not going to be easy but I am not doing this for it to be easy. I truly want to help and influence these kids for the better so if I can just get through to one I will be absolutely over the moon.

The Dubnoff Center is looking for dedicated and passionate people who would like to volunteer. They have SO many areas where they could use the help so if you’re interested contact Jana Harmon. Here is a link to their website.

Stay tuned for some updates.

Looking forward to the growing experience,

Eleni

One of my past times is that I LOVE to read. Trying to find time in my life to do that can be challenging but I make it a point to read whatever I can right before bed… even if it’s just a little bit.  Memoirs are probably my most favorite genre of books.  I am intrigued with human interest stories and learning about what makes certain people tick. Truth be told, I can actually become somewhat obsessed with it all.  So my new obsession is with the famous and infamous Steve Jobs.  I am only half way through his memoir but I am completely enthralled to say the least. I was not expecting was to really learn the explicit details of the true inception of Apple but I am and it gives you such insight to who he really was from the start. His design aesthetic was so strong from the beginning and it is the thread that plays through to the Apple of today.  I feel I am a very strong and talented designer and I worked very hard to get to practice my passion for a living. But as I am reading this memoir, his passion is something of an entirely different level. He’s pretty much an insane human being but a genius at the same time.  Steve’s passion is so contagious yet over powering that of course it had it’s faults in many areas. But ultimately, Apple is in a league of it’s own so whether you like the man or not, you have to admit anything the man designs is just so dang beautiful.

Steve Jobs truly was a MASTER of Design and Technology.

Bottom Line, it’s a must read.

Loving Pretty Computers,

Eleni

As many of you know I am 100% Greek and darn PROUD of that!

I just booked our tickets for this summer and started to picture being there.  As an interior designer, alot of my inspiration comes from my greek heritage. Here is a video that should give you a little taste if what I get to enjoy many of the summers of my life.  This is the island of Santorini, the island for lovers and definitely one of my most favorite destinations in the world.  Enjoy!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Y’asou!

Eleni

Fantastic Year! I hope that is what everyone is focusing on! I am super pumped for 2012! As there are new styles, trends, colors and designs for interior designers there will be new successes, challenges and magic moments for all of us in our day to day.   PLEASE don’t tell me you have a “New Year’s Resolution!”  You know the chances of that truly happening is less than 5%, right? Resolutions are just broken little promises that no one really takes seriously. You need to be establishing real concrete GOALS. At the beginning of each year my husband and I “get clean” and complete the Master Cleanse for 10 days. Once that is done we sit down and revisit/upgrade our new year’s goals and visions. And YES, we are THOSE PEOPLE with the DREAM BOARDS!  Hey, don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it! It’s really awesome and puts you in a real state of truly envisioning what you will achieve in the next year. It’s your future, take it seriously.  You need to celebrate and recognize the successes you achieved int he years prior and do even better the next year. Be a better you!

Happy New You everyone. And as always, I love and am grateful for each and everyone of you.

Super Excited & Grateful,

Eleni

I would just like to take this opportunity to wish all my dearest friends and readers a very HAPPY and HEALTHY Holidays.  This is my absolute FAVORITE time of year so I am completely reveling in it. Cherish it and be grateful for it all.

Love you all.

Eleni

Just recently my husband turned me onto this pretty AWESOME website called the Robb Report . It’s a website that is ALL things LUXURIOUS! And let me tell you it’s definitely a way to spend a good part of your day daydreaming about what it would be like….

Each day I am supposed to look at it at least for 10-15 minutes so I can envision the possibilities of what’s out there.  Don’t get me wrong,  I am very grateful for my life but I could also get too comfortable which could result in not striving for more. When I see what other extremely successful people get to have I realize that I should be able to have that too. As an interior designer I OBVIOUSLY go straight to the home and interior design section. It’s always a mind blowing type of home. So I thought I would share this month’s feature with you all because I love how insane it is. Of course it’s here in Los Angeles where dreams do come true

So please enjoy this home. I also want you to peruse around the rest of the site. Start building your dreams and realizing that there is more out there for all of us to have…we just have to work hard and get there. It is NOT out of the realm of possibility for anyone. It’s just the story that you tell yourself.

Click here to see this amazing home.

Can’t Wait to sit in the Lap of Luxury,

Eleni

Today I was shopping for tile with a client.  The client wanted ceramic tile not knowing the options and the competitive pricing of natural stone. Years ago real stone was always much higher in price and ceramic tile was what alot of clients used to put int their homes. Now with all of the competition and options out there you can get REAL natural stone for almost the same price and sometimes less expensive than ceramic tile.  So the next time you are out shopping for tile, you can explore the ceramic options as they have come a very long way BUT don’t rule out the marbles, travertines and marbles.

Real stone – Travertine       Arizona Tile

Real Stone- Travertine       Arizona Tile

Ceramic Tile   Arizona Tile

Ceramic Tile    Arizona Tile

Happy Shopping,

Eleni

And you are worried about the whole publishing issue don’t be.  My mentor Richard W. Herb has written a book titled Renovate, Sustain and Survive.  Of course writing it was no easy task but it is all about his passion of interior design and the design process so that of course helps.  But after Richard had completed writing and editing the manuscript there was a standstill.  Does he self publish? Does he pitch it around town to get it published? Get an agent? and so on…. Richard asked me what should we do and so I researched a few options. Obviously it’s EVERYONE’S dream to have someone publish your book and you lay out no money or risk whatsoever. But this could take forever making the book a waste of time. So I went on to research the self publishing route….. 

I researched 3 online companies: Lulu.com, Xlibris.com and Createspace.com.  Each of these publishers had their advantages but we went with Createspace.  Not only are they owned by Amazon which lends itself to many advantages on the sales side of things but they also have a VERY user friendly process. I have never done anything like this before and I completely understand the process. It’s just awesome! And the best part is it REALLY does not break your bank. We are currently waiting for our first draft and waiting with baited breath. It turns out this process is quite invigorating and it’s not even MY BOOK!

I am just excited for Richard’s knowledge and experience to finally get out into the world.  And the best part was we were able to do it on our own and not wait on anyone else.  Of course, all of the marketing and book signings may have to be set up and arranged in house as well but we are up for the challenge. And after all…. we have the internet and social media on our side

I very much look forward to publishing my book……

Just call me a book publisher,

Eleni