Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Houzz 2012 Best of Remodeling Award

Yipppeee!!! Yahooo!!!! I won. It came as a big suprise. ( I did not even know I was entered) My first design award since I made the Best of D Home and Texas Monthly with my stores years ago. Officially, I won in the Design Category and it made my Monday pretty special. Now I need to network and publicize it. This blog and my Facebook page are my poor attempts to do it, so any better ideas would be appreciated.Thank you to all who voted for me.

Check out the Houzz website if you never have before.


The official press release.
Melinda Faranetta of Allen, TX Receives

Houzz’s 2012 ‘Best Of Remodeling’ Award



First-Ever Survey & Analysis of More than 1.2 Million Members Reveals Top-Rated Professionals and Current Design Trends from Across the Country



Dallas, TX --  March 21, 2012 –Melinda Faranetta of Allen, TX has been awarded  “Best Of Remodeling” 2012 by Houzz, the leading online platform for residential remodeling and design.  The 2 year old interior design firm was chosen by the more than 1.2 million registered members of the Houzz community.



The Houzz “Best Of Remodeling” award for 2012 is given in two categories: Customer Satisfaction and Design. Customer Satisfaction award winners are based on homeowner members who rated their experience working with remodeling professionals in 12 categories ranging from architects, and interior designers to contractors and other residential remodeling professionals.  Design award winners’ work was the most popular among the 1.2 million members, also known as “Houzzers,” who saved more than 16.5 million professional images to their personal ideabooks via the Houzz site and iPad/iPhone app.



“I am so honored that the Houzz community was inspired by my designs. Over the past twenty years I have transitioned from dressing the body to dressing the home. During this time, I realized how important our home environment is to who we are. The concept behind my company Simply Beautiful Living is to merge a client’s life with design and find their personal sweet spot. A beautiful home is like good food for the soul, it nurtures us.”



“With 3.5 million monthly unique users and 80 million monthly page views, Houzz has rapidly become the largest community of active remodelers, providing homeowners and design enthusiasts with first-hand advice from Houzzers who have been through the renovating and decorating process,” said Liza Hausman, vice president of marketing for Houzz. “This is a real stamp of approval for Melinda Faranetta from the Houzz community and we’re thrilled to welcome them to this elite group of ‘Best Of’ winners.”



With Houzz, homeowners can identify not only the top-rated professionals like Melinda Faranetta but also those whose work visually aligns with their own design goals. Homeowners can also evaluate professionals by contacting them directly on the Houzz platform, asking questions about their work and evaluating their responses to questions from others in the Houzz community.



About Melinda Faranetta

A graduate of Philadelphia University, Melinda began her career as a clothing designer. Marriage to a great guy brought her to Texas, far away from the heart of the fashion industry, so she put her talents to use making beautiful curtains and upholstered pieces. After years of working with textiles, she turned her energies to more solid objects.”Who knew, that all those years of pattern making and drawing to scale would lead me to love designing cabinetry and tearing down walls. It is so exciting to transform a space 3 dimensionally and see the joy in a clients face when their home matches their dreams.” Melinda may be reached at Simply Beautiful Living 214-208-2273 or faranetta1@tx.rr.com.



About Houzz

Houzz (www.houzz.com) is the leading online platform for home remodeling, providing inspiration, information, advice and support for homeowners and home improvement professionals through its website and mobile applications. Houzz features the largest residential design database in the world, articles written by design experts, product recommendations, a vibrant community powered by social tools, and information on more than 1.2 million remodeling and design professionals worldwide who can help turn ideas into reality. @houzz_inc


Tuesday, March 20, 2012

It has been way too long...


Ok, I am guilty as charged. I have been neglectful, my poor blog has sat here all alone.  
I have been crazy busy and thought I would share a couple images with you.




Room transformed from never used game room to cool teen bedroom.
Take a step down into this relaxed hip space. Dark hardwood floors ground the room,
while new wood casement windows open up to the outside of this Darling built suburban home.


 Simple dip dyed bedding in navy and white "Modern Indigo" by Ralph Lauren dresses the two XL Twin beds. 


Fifteen feet of double drawers that are 40" deep offer tons of divided storage, twenty two pairs of men's size ten sneakers are hidden inside.  And, if the next owner does not like them, all they have to do is remove eight screws. The hardwood floor extends underneath as do the baseboards.

 The custom 300 pound barn door took four people to get up the stairs, but you would never know by how easy it glides on the track. I did not know that three layers of solid wood could weigh so much. The size 10 feet x 4 feet might have a little to do with it.

The bubble chair is centered to the TV for optional use of the hidden PS3. All the other components are hidden in the 12" deep cabinet/shelf with doors that are hinged on the bottom.Under it, the desk made of reclaimed barn wood has a glass top so you can write on it and a base from an antique library table. Nearby, is a comfy vintage leather club chair for reading.

The big trick with this room was making it look like it just happened without thought. The owner wanted a cool space that did not look like it was designed. Do you think it worked?


Love, 
Melinda