shawn michael ohara

In these renderings, I changed the counter tops to a light brown granite, and then switched the back splash to tile, light brick, and red brick respectively. I personally love the light brick back splash with the granite counter tops.

Hi Folks :) I have moved my design related postings over to www.Shawnmichaeldesign.com come on over and check it out. Designsmo will remain active until I can archive and move the postings over to Shawn Michael Design.

Thanks for your continued support!

~Shawn

From Green Source Magazine comes this story of a beautiful Straw-bale house in California. I have always been attracted to alternative building methods. After graduating from college in 1991, still establishing myself in the world, and not really having a lot of money, I started investigating inexpensive building methods in-which I could build myself a home. Living in rural upstate NY, land was plentiful and affordable, so building was much more attractive then buying a preexisting house. Plus I wanted something unusual and modern, not an easy thing to find in Central New York. I researched cob building, cord wood houses and straw-bale building. At that time it was virtually an unheard of as a building method in town, and not knowing what code barriers I was going to encounter, I changed direction and purchased a 100-year-old school-house, which I’ll blog about in a future post.

So now almost 20 years later, I am in awe of the beauty, quality and common place straw-bale houses have become. I guess I still have a soft spot in my heart for them :)

GreenSource

While I search for design work living here in Binghamton, NY I have taken on some pro bono design work to stay active and keep my design skills sharp. I am helping out with designs for a circulation desk for a new public library that will open next year . I’m not going to say who it’s for, but I wanted to share what I have been working on. The designs are still a work in progress, and have a way to go. But it sure feels good designing again!

As I slowly pull together our new apartment, I have discovered some great art along the way. Here are some inspirational artists and their work that I’ve found recently. Peg Nocciolino is a local Ilustrator that I’ve come to know while working at Starbucks. I have always been one to purchase art direct from the artist, rather than cheap canvas printed knock offs that have become popular.

www.pegnocciolino.com

www.kareemrizk.com

Over the last month there has been a large increase in the traffic to the site, in particular my portfolio. I just want to say thank you! If your looking for an Interior Designer, please feel free to give me a call, or drop me an email.

-Shawn

I am in love with new new website from Overstock called Eziba. As they describe it’s “a member’s only website for exclusive sales on home décor, furniture, accessories, and more – at member’s only prices. New sales on the brands and products you want start at 11am ET and are only available for a limited time. Eziba members also enjoy world-class customer service and $2.95 shipping on every order.”

I haven’t purchased anything from the site yet, but there have been a few things that I been tempted. You do have to be quick, some of the sales go fast, but you can check the up coming sales so you know whats coming up.

Check them out at www.eziba.com

I think that I searched just about every inch of every furniture store here in Binghamton looking for a bedroom set that I truly loved, and could afford. But no luck. So I took a chance and ordered my furniture online, even our new mattress! I found a review over at Unplggd.com for a new mattress company (Create-A-Mattress) that allows you to create and order your mattress online. I was impressed by their findings, and thought that I might as well give it a try, especially when I saw the price of the mattress I created! The mattress that I created online came in a couple hundred dollars less than a comparable ones I had been looking at around town. Plus Create-A-Mattress offers free white glove delivery to our apartment! Can’t beat that! And you get to create a custom label for you new mattress ;) The process of creating the mattress and delivery usually takes about 14 days from order to door. But since Binghamton is considered a remote location (their words not mine) we should expect a 24 day turn around. But for the price, I’ll wait.

For the furniture I went with CB2. I love their products, and we had said that when we made it to Seattle, we sere going to furnish our apartment partially with their stuff. The bed I selected is the Alpine Gunmetal bed, particularly for the full metal headboard. With 2 cats I was concerned with them scratching a wood bed. I also liked the slight angle of the headboard. With Anthony spending all of his time in bed, I wanted something that allowed him to sit up, and still be comfortable.

As for the night stands and dresser, they were a bit more difficult to choose. ultimately I went with the Century Low Dresser, and Century Night Stand. I love the mid-century look and feel and that their legs mimic the angle of the beds headboard. I wasn’t sure if the wood was going to go well with the metal of the bed frame, but they were recommended as a good pairing. So why not trust an other designers suggestion? Now the fun part of waiting for the delivery trucks, and assembling my goodies :) I’ll let you all know how it turns out!

I have been inspired by Apartment Therapy’s Scavenger Roundup for sometime and thought I would like to do something similar for the Binghamton area. Below is my first attempt, and given more time, I’m sure I’ll add many more awesome finds from other places around the Binghamton.

1. Round Table

2. Cow Hide Rug

3. Antique Sofa

4. Wool Rugs

I have no idea who might be selling these items, and I can not account for their condition. I thought they looked cool, and could be some great pieces for someones design project :)

Happy Designing!

-Shawn

Next week Anthony and I will be moving into our new apartment here in Binghamton, New York. I will be the first to tell you that six months ago if someone asked me where I would be in August, Binghamton, New York is not what I would have said. We had made well-intentioned plans to move to Seattle after I graduated this past May. But as life does, it happens. We had sold our first home, and most of our belongings and had started creating our itinerary for the cross-country drive. We debated how long we should drive, and what states we wanted to stay in, and how long we thought the whole trip would take. But the trip never happened. Instead we moved to Binghamton to be close to family while we figured out what was happening with Anthony’s eye, and allow time for him to recover.

Well it’s been about two months since we came to Binghamton. Anthony is stable now, and the pain from what we now know is Trigeminal Neuralgia, is mainly under control. But he is still can not use his eyes, and spends his days in bed resting, while we wait for an appointment with a Neurological specialist to discuss our options about his condition.

But as we start our second month in Binghamton we are excited to be moving into an apartment of our own. And I am very excited to take the blank slate of the space and create a new home for us. Since we sold most of our things, we are starting over mainly from scratch. New living room furniture, dining table and maybe for the first time a real bedroom set. I’m not sure how long Anthony’s recovery will take, but I have come to believe that we will staying in Binghamton for sometime. And as he does get better, I want a comfortable and inviting place for that to happen. So stay tuned as I post my adventures in designing our new space.