Lori's List » Green Events

Cherokee Studios Rock N Platinum Showcase

Lori — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:40:56 +0000

Alcie Cooper Lyrics

: Platinum records for the Platinum loft

Thursday night, across the street from Genghis Cohen and behind a secretive, black curtain Rethink Development unveiled the rock n’ roll lofts at the Cherokee Recording Studios LEED Platinum Lofts Showcase benefitting Habitat for Humanity. We (Lori Dennis and Brook Casey of the Dennis Design Group) were in charge of the Alice Cooper pad and took our assignment very seriously, literally dressing the part.

Dennis Design Group gettin' down in bed?

Our shock rock loft never could have been possible without the generous donations of our many vendors and time from our interns, Sara, Rob and Natasha. Plus it’s not really a party if Tony of Francois and Roy from the SoCal Contractor aren’t in tow. In the bedroom Heritage Draperies fabricated and installed our padded, chained window treatment and Mike Ragan of Rags put together this amazing patchwork, padded wall with fabric from Jason Asch of Diamond Foam. The stars were out in LA on Thursday night and two showed up at our event: Jodie Sweetin , who we all know and love as the old Stephanie Tanner from Full House and Calico Cooper, Alice’s daughter and former co-star of his stage show.

Calico Cooper representin' for Papa

Looking at these pictures you would never know that a mere 24 hours before the event we had no stairs and were finishing up our super style in a deadly, construction zone! Sparks from the welding were hitting us, the wall, the furniture and Sara even got smacked on the noggin’ pretty good by a wayward steel beam. It’s a good thing she has a better work ethic than that witch who hit her head on the Apprentice and wasted the team’s time going to a hospital. No, not Sara… she just kept on hot glueing those recycled, reclaimed water bottles that we used as wall art in the guest bath. Through it all Brook and I just kept hammering the boxes and boxes of nails into our wall eating snake. Jason Asch over at Diamond also donated this massive amount of rocker, (faux) snake skin fabric.

Lori and Brook Nailing

Still nailing...

and finally it was done.

I was afraid Brook was going to hang himself. But he stuck it out and we even finished the lyrics on the bathroom wall so Tony from Francois could learn them and sing along.

Don't do it Brook!!

When the doors opened at 7PM we all took a shot of Skull Vodka and welcomed our guests to Alice’s Lair. Francois provided the Gothic mantel in the living room, serving as the perfect backdrop to the snake skin bench from Bausman and Co. and upholstered chairs from Cisco Brothers. All the kitchy 60s, 70s and 80s accessories from Retropia and the original props from Alice Cooper’s show gave our loft an authenticity rarely seen in staged showcase homes. Big Red Sun even landscaped our balcony in a true, desert decor representative of the golf courses in Phoenix that Alice so dearly loves.

Alice's Lair

You'll never guess what these balls are for!

Cooper Gang in the Loft

The most shocking thing about our shock rock loft was the dirty, little secret in our turquoise blue, laundry room. Really, how could you not go there in this loft?! Pleasure Chest hooked us up for the event and I’m not going to reveal we did or didn’t use before hanging it on the walls.

Green bondage-stay in and save gas!

All in all the showcase was an event to help the developers sell property in a really tough market. Habitat got more than a few bucks, we had a blast and I heard someone is making an offer on our loft today!

Share/Bookmark

Living Green at California Mart

Lori — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:45:11 +0000

Yesterday I attended part three, Living Green :Sustaining Business with Sustainable Design Practices, of the California Mart’s Designer’s Forum 2009 Series. The lecture included panelist: David Hertz, Mariel Hemingway, Nathan Turner and was moderated by California Homes’ Susan McFadden. The audience was packed with many of the old guard at ASID, eager to learn more about green design. David Hertz, who I’ve lectured with at my Alma Matter, the UCLA Interior Design Program, gave a riveting power point presentation and ending with a preview of the Wing House he has been working on for the last three years. I’m pretty certain this house will be remembered in history with the same relevance as the Glass House or Falling Water, only sustainable. Then it was Mariel Hemingway’s way turn. Now I understand the draw of star power, and to be fair she has written some books on healthy living, but what that had to do with the business of sustainable design practices eluded me. These old guard designers left the CEU presentation thinking that, “slow down and eat right” was relevant information to their bottom line. Also speaking was Nathan Turner, an elegant retailer and designer with impeccable taste who runs a gorgeous little antique shop in West Hollywood. He did work on Entourage’s Adrien Grenier’s ultra green home. What bothered me about this presentation was that two of the most successful green designers in the business were sitting in the audience, Rachel Winokur of Etta Designs and me. California Homes must not have been paying attention to the design firm they named Best Green Designer, my firm, when they made decisions for the panel. Green design is a serious matter as the planet and people become sicker, resources shrink and energy costs rise. Educating designers and clients with applicable information would be a good start to help form real solutions. Wake up editors!

A gracious thank you to Palecek, one of my favorite green retailers, for the following reception.

Share/Bookmark

Fall Market at the Pacific Design Center

Lori — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:38:02 +0000

Badly needing a break from the book writing, I headed over to the festivities at the PDC for some inspiration. I’m currently on the “Living Rooms” Chapter which focuses on maximizing use of space, especially precious outdoor square footage. Luxe Magazine‘s gorgeous, garden party in the lower level lobby featuring stunning vignettes from all our favorite outdoor vendors couldn’t have come at a better time. The wine was delicious and the steel drum band was a breath of fresh air conditioned air from the 102 degree fall weather outside. Michael Wollaeger, the new Luxe Editor at Large, never disappoints.

Christian Liaigre at Holly Hunt

Richard Frinier at Century

Corbin Bronze at Sutherland

Janus Et Cie

Chinoserie at Robert Allen

Janus Et Cie

Richard Schultz at Summit

In a town where we are literally running out of water, it was great to see Synlawnand Astro Chic make a green statement. I’ve noticed about five of these synthetic lawns on my nightly strolls, along with a lot of gravel and succulents. I’d like to say it’s concern for the environment, but it looks like the water bills finally converted a few folks to the sustainable side.

Synlawn at Fall Market

Astro Chic Pillows, Ottoman and Lawn

The first floor gave us a sneak peak of what was to come on the second floor open house. I especially loved these three sculptures made of everything green including cleaners of the kitchen sink.

Cleaning Up at Fall Market

Worm Hole by Lynn Aldrich

A More Combustible Smoke by Greg MacLaughlin

Broken Sofa by Jeremy Everett

DJs were spinning and one piece was more interesting than the next throughout the second floor galleries.

Green Wall at Pucci

Love this Chandelier

How much is that Horsey in the window?-Twentieth

So sad……. mine is even better.

Art by a USC Graduate?

By this time the world’s most stylish builder, Mr. So Cal Contractor, and Junior Designer Elle started getting a little sleepy……

but woke up for a bit more fun in the best installation of the night. Little Miss Elle obviously shares her Designer Mommy’s love for graffiti art!

Bravo to the PDC for another Fall Market success. Take that recession!

Share/Bookmark

Valcucine's Sexy Glass Kitchen

Lori — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:18:07 +0000

Form Magazine and Valcucine invited the who’s who of interior design to their LA showroom this week to unveil the world’s first 100%recyclable kitchen cabinet system, Invitrum. Of course the Dennis Design Group and Jr. Designer, Baby Elle, were in attendance. As always, we were surrounded by glamour: the cabinets, the people, the food, the fashion displays. I’d have to say it was one of the better events this year. Go showroom manager Reba!

More about the cabinets- not only do they exude the sexy, sleek styling, which could only be Italian, but the contents are totally lacking in emissions. The Invitrum by Valcucine features recycled aluminum, sustainable wood, water based finishes, mechanical joints (so no glue is needed) and practically scratch proof, tempered glass. The cabinet fronts are half the thickness of normal systems which reduces the weight by 50% and extends the life of hinges, joints and the overall kitchen. When the time comes to recycle the components, they are labeled for an easy dismantle.

Share/Bookmark