Articles by Kelli

Remember way back in the day, the joy of discovering the very first interior design reality TV show? Long before entire networks were founded on the design concept, and every 20 minutes you could watch a re-run of a spin-off of the initial genius that drew us in?

November marks the premiere of a new kind of design show. And, before you roll your eyes at the screen and stop reading, let me tell you this important little factoid: It’s in Denver, and that means Denver designers and Denver resources, faces and places that we in the design community know and love. PLUS, all proceeds from the project will go to the Colorado-based Kempe Foundation for the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect.

The Designer Within, which will air in three hour-long episodes in the early new year, follows 30 applicants as they are narrowed to three designers competing to design three apartments in Denver’s SPIRE residential high-rise. Each will be judged on an initial design board they create, then the ultimate test–the execution and application of that design. The judges, featuring previous winner Cara Hines, will also take into account how well the finished design keeps to SPIRE’s LEED certification.

In an effort to level the playing field among designers, this year’s TDW was open to all designers over the age of 18 regardless of training or experience. To further this notion, each designer was given a set of vouchers to some of Denver’s leading retailers including Guiry’s, Blind Corners & Curves and Egg & Dart, plus a $3000 slush fund. The idea being to create a competition that focuses almost exclusively upon talent.

The show is currently being released in a series of 10-12 minute podcasts (two a week for the next nine weeks) before airing on PBS in January 2011.

Now, if all of that wasn’t enough to raise your interest, we’ve got a secret that we’re allowed to share…EXCLUSIVE offers and coupons to some of Denver’s most renowned design stores…Who what where when how??? You’ll just have to watch the podcasts to find out!

Visit cheeseandcrackers.tv for more information, or click here to enter the 2011 competition.

The name speaks for itself really, and I assure you, no one will be responding to the unposed question with a “no thanks.” Yespleasemore is a shop designed by, decorated by, run by, and featuring only products that are made by…people from Colorado. Everything from skis to stationery can be found in this quirky little artisan boutique.

And as if that wasn’t brilliant enough, Brian Corrigan and Samuel Schimek (the founders) have devised something uniquely Colorad-ian: The Pop-up Store. Now before your head is filled with images of paper cutouts and intricate cardboard boxes, let me clarify. You’ve seen those theme stores that only seem to surface around Halloween? And the Christmas boutiques that are only around just long enough for you to trim your tree? They are, in essence, pop-up stores–temporarily renting out a vacant retail space during the time that suits them best. Yespleasemore, is doing something of the opposite–they take over whatever space there is when no one else wants it for a couple weeks, or maybe a month at a time…think of it as a homeless boutique always seeking shelter.

This week marks the opening of their second location, and naturally, they’re ready to celebrate. Join them this Friday October 8th from 6-10pm at their new location: Denver Pavilions, 500 16th street, Denver.

For the general gist, visit their website at yespleasemore.com, and for current locations, pictures and party updates, click here to visit their Facebook page.

We all have our happy place, and for many of us here at CH&L, that happy place just got happier:

The Denver Design District is opening its doors on Saturdays. That’s right, you read correctly. From September 11 through December 18, they’ll be open from 10-3, timing it absolutely perfectly to coincide with the holiday season. (And all of my “one for you, two for me”-style shopping.) Now, at last we’ll have time to peruse at our leisure, and won’t have to cram the 47 glorious showrooms into those measly 60 minutes alloted for lunch.

The DDD is still open to the public Monday through Friday from 8-5, and just as always, on-site designers are there to help you with all of your plaguing style questions and queries (Now, are you absolutely POSITIVE I don’t need all eight pillows? How about just these seven…).

So, just to recap:

Denver Design District can now be your happy place every Monday through Friday from 8-5, AS WELL AS every Saturday from 10-3. Visit our friends at the DDD at 595 S. Broadway (just north of I-25; just keep your eyes open for the bright yellow, 85-foot articulated sculpture to guide you). For more information, visit denverdesign.com.

In an attempt to escape this past weekend’s scorching heat, I found myself on an impulsive drive into the mountains–that all-American side of me screaming to hit the open road and just head West. An hour later, I found myself perched on a bar stool in the lively little town of Nederland, watching as a friendly bartender filled up a growler (a one-gallon jug) of my newest favorite beer, Mountain Cherry Wheat, brewed by Wild Mountain Smokehouse & Brewery.

As I headed back down the mountain, my growler safely buckled into the passenger seat of my car, I got to thinking about my summer beverage of choice. “Sophisticated” people have long been banging on about the heath benefits of a glass of wine, but in the heat of a Colorado summer, you won’t find me reaching for a glass of red wine… I’d like an ice-cold glass of beer, please. Without getting too much into the health side of things, one glass of beer has the same glorious effect on our cardiovascular system as a glass of wine, but that’s not all. The grains that are combined with water and yeast to make a common ale are loaded with a variety of vitamins that actually survive the fermentation and filtering process (unlike those found in the grapes of wine).

Is it any wonder then, that here in our health-conscious state, we have more breweries per capita than any other state in this great ale-drinking nation? The Colorado Brewers Guild counts 100 craft brewers statewide, and that’s not even including the local yokel microbreweries dotted around. Most breweries host tastings and serve flights (a row of sample sizes of their beers) and are more than happy to steer you toward some sort of food pairing that will bring a whole new dimension to your choice beverage–things like cheese and chocolate aren’t only for squashed grapes!

Here, I give you my short (but ever-expanding) list of local microbreweries. Keep your eyes peeled for these names, which are sure to satisfy, and visit coloradobeer.org for a full listing of breweries in (and out) of your area.

Avery Brewing Company (Boulder)
Great Divide Brewing Company (Denver)
Odell Brewing Company (Fort Collins)
Trinity Brewing Company (Colorado Springs)
Wild Mountain Brewery (Nederland)
Wynkoop Brewery (Denver)

I’ve always had a small problem with personification. My imagination (always a little errant) runs wild when it sees things like a tub of peeled garlic cloves (so vulnerable!) or  a lonely little cloud in an otherwise clear sky. But the real tragedy has always been bare walls…poor things, they must be so cold! Which is why I was delighted to stumble across a charming little company called Farrow & Ball. Founded way back  in the 1940s in the English countryside, the company prides itself on using original formulations and raw materials. (Never switching, as others have, to acrylic, or adding plastic ‘fillers.’) What’s truly unique about their papers, though, is that unlike other companies that invariably use printer inks, Farrow & Ball creates their papers using their own paints. What does that translate into for those poor shivering walls? Texture. Layers of vivacious color that you can literally feel.

Farrow & Ball tends to specialize in traditional colors and prints, and while those can be all fine and dandy if you’re restoring a traditional home, I’ve also discovered that some marvelously modern things tend to happen when you take a traditional print, exaggerate the scale of the pattern, and invert the time-honored colors (so the lighter hue goes to the background and the bolder hue takes center stage). Take a look at a gloriously large pattern like Silvergate (below, right), and liven it up with some eye-popping pink, or add a little whimsy with the more modern Vermicelli in sage and silver. Even something as seemingly yawn-worthy as a stripe can look smashing when that stripe measures over 5″ wide, and becomes a gorgeous study in contrast of simple gray and white. They’re generous with their samples, but if you just can’t wait, Brunschwig and Fils in the Denver Design District is an official showroom. Best bet? Go online, find a pattern you love, pair it with the most unlikely color you can think of, and start wallpapering some warmth onto those poor walls!

I grew up listening nonstop to oldies: Beatles, Stones, anything Motown–you name it. But when George Benson sang about the neon lights of Broadway, I’ll admit, I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. I was raised in Denver by a mother who loved antiquing. So to me, the bright shiny lights of Broadway meant one thing, and one thing only: trolling for treasures up and down Antiques Row. Christened by the abundance of antique merchants and specialty shops (more than thirty) crammed between Jewell and Arizona on Broadway in Denver, “So-Bo” has it all–from overflowing junk shops to sophisticated boutiques filled with funky modern gems artfully placed next to ancient masterpieces.