patty's epiphanies

BILL AND KENNETH

“Bill and Kenneth, who are they?”, you ask!

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had two mentors. One was Bill Shaver and the other is Kenneth Brown

Bill entered my life in March of 1999, while we were in the process of replacing our furniture. At the Virginia Beach location of one of the largest furniture stores in Virginia I had the good fortune to work with their Designer. He was a transplanted artist from Texas and hadn’t quite “made” it yet in his new location. Like many up and coming designers he got a “paying” job at a furniture store. Bill was a successful artist, in Modern Art, worked in floral design and was also sought out for his talent in faux painting. He took me under his wing and we worked fabulously together achieving great things in our home over a period of 5 years. As I have said, design evolves, and between the two of us our little condo EVOLVED. In 2003 his health started to fail. We had long talks sharing thoughts and many feelings. He became a close member of our family. He gave me the confidence I needed to continue with my passion. At this same time a new, young designer was up and coming on the National design scene. Kenneth Brown was emerging as a well known Designer with many celebrity clients and had a national television show on HGTV called “reDesign.” Bill appreciated Kenneth and saw that his talents and work were way above the rest. He felt I could grow and learn from him. Bill died March 25, 2004. He was 44 years old. His words and advice have never left me.

Enter KENNETH BROWN

Kenneth is a jewel, a fabulous person and one of the most talented designers I have ever encountered. He is down to earth and openly shares his knowledge with anyone who asks. He has NO “airs” and gives of himself in a most generous and gracious manner.

Today, my inspirations come from Kenneth. PLEASE click onto his website
www.kennethbrowndesign.com. You will see why his style has become my favorite.

First read his “About” page and then click onto his “Rooms” page. This will give you insight into where my style gets it‘s inspiration. Now that you are there go on KBtv and you will see small film clips of his recent work. Here, you will get a glimpse of his personality. What you see is the true Kenneth. About once a week he enters advice and gives updates on the Journal page. The Question/Messages page is where you can ask him personal design questions and about once a month he answers most of them.

Now that I have you hooked on Kenneth; may I suggest you contact Linda Wiley at kennethbrownfanclub@gmail.com.
Yes, he has a “Fan Club”!
Linda is the President and does a wonderful job. I have to admit that at the age of 67 I finally found my Rock Star! Through the “club” I have gotten to know Linda and Carol, another die hard fan. Thanks to the internet, I now have a Rock Star and two new friends.


DESIGN ALERT

I can’t leave you today without a little hint as to what’s ahead in design and one of the latest Trends. WALLPAPER ! !

It figures, now that we have steamed, peeled and cried over removing all the paper in our homes, and painted all our walls with every color and technique, wallpaper is back! Not wimpy floral wallpaper either. We are going to seeing flocked, (yes flocked), foils and grass cloths to name a few!
Doesn’t this make you happy? Go, no RUN, to the nearest wallpaper store and bring home those books!

THE TEASE
Next week I am planning on devoting the topic to CHANGE. My version. With Emil’s,
(my computer geek) help, I am hoping to actually post PICTURES.

See you next Wednesday----

Patty