Whew! In the nick of time...

So was your Christmas celebration as perfect as you planned?  Better? Great! Mine, celebrated on Christmas eve with dear friends and their extended family, was predictably perfect.  Early dinner, laughter, desserts, singing carols, a visit with Santa while sitting on his lap (everyone is required to do this), presents, midnight supper, then conversation well into the wee hours of the morning, followed by a quiet journey home to Belle Ami.  Blissfully perfect.



Display niche in an open foyer with custom plaster surround.

 The week before was not so smooth.  I started this little niche project a few weeks ago, but finishing it got held up, waiting for the mirror my client ordered for the inside.  "Sure, we can have that for you in five days" apparently meant five to ten business days, which meant we waited two weeks for twelve little rectangles of stock mirror, which finally got cut after the client made a very pointed phone call on business day ten.  They threw in the mastic at no charge.  Discovering that they weren't all square nor identical half way into the installation was just an extra little challenge.  Take it back on the Friday before Christmas?  Uh...No.

With no frame, this slightly contemporary little display niche just sort of floated in the middle of a wall too large for it.  Looking at just this picture, one wouldn't expect it to be in the room pictured in the first photo.

A bit of strategic placement, and some pretty little escutcheons (those are fancy washers, or in this case, jewelery findings from the craft store) layered under the upholstery tacks at the intersections, and nobody will ever know.  Well, except the client (who isn't going to point this out to her guests), and now you all.  Shhhhh.  Perfectly imperfect.

Now, whatever Jean fills the space with, it has presence, sparkle, and a frame that coordinates with her traditional furnishings and curvy light fixtures.

Next time a client says "no rush, let's just get it done before Christmas", I don't care if it is a two day project and it's early August, I'm going to insist we start immediately.  Whisking the ladder out the back door as guests come in the front is not my idea of a relaxing start to the holidays, though in truth, I wasn't cutting it quite that close.  Ah, well, it all came 'round right in the end, and a beautiful holiday was had by all.

When I'm not writing here, did you know I write, edit, co-publish and design a quarterly bookazine?  Check it out!  365being.com.