Interior Design Today Mary Knackstedt

Welcome to the Interior Design Today radio show with Mary Knackstedt. In our 34th episode, Mary talks about the renaissance of Harrisburg. I live in Harrisburg and also in New York. There is quite a bit of difference between the two. Both have very interesting qualities. John O'Hara once said that Harrisburg is the perfect place to do research because nothing ever happens to break your train of thought. In some ways it is a quiet city, but it is also a city that has a lot of opportunities. It is now ready for a major change. My studio is located on the river, with a beautiful view. A wonderful location. Except, when the river starts to come up. Then you really go a bit crazy. There is nothing that you can imagine that is like a flood coming into your living room. Unfortunately, our first floor has had 8 and a half feet of water. That is a lot of water, and obviously it can do a lot of destruction. When you live along a river, this is what you can expect. Fortunately, I have been working with a number of architects and designers who said, wouldn't it bel lovely to live along the river and not have this kind of fear. Not to worry about flooding. We started looking at his location, and the buildings, and because of so many floods, they deteriorate. It is a problem because every time you flood something, it does break down the infrastructure. What do we do so that we can live in this beautiful environment and not think about flooding? Obviously there are ways of doing this. We've worked out a plan to create an environment where people can live in perfectly healthy homes. Buildings that require no energy resources. Don't buy any electric, gas, or oil. You're living with all healthy materials so there are no contaminants in any of the building materials or environment. It is also a building that is so well constructed because much of it is built in a factory. The rooms are really correct in size. In fact, in many cases, this type of construction is off less than 1/32 of an inch. I know, as every other designer or builder will tell you, that there are very few buildings which are that exact. When you are building in a controlled environment, you can do things like this. Harrisburg is in a position where it is ready for a renaissance. It is ready for a big change. It's excellent in its location. Very close to Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, New York City. I travel back and forth to the city 170 miles, and there is not a red light until I hit the Lincoln Tunnel. That's not bad considering many commutes a lot of other people have which are far worse and more congested. Here we have a great beautiful city. Probably one of the most beautiful rivers in the East. It is really very attractive because it has not been commercialized. It is rock bottom. In fact, there are only 8 like it in the world. This river was formed geologically before the mountains, so it will always stay very much as it is. We have a beautiful river, a lot of conveniences, wonderful health clubs, very nice restaurants and other very good service industries. We have access to a lot of the other things on the East Coast. We live in a reasonably moderate costing environment. Why shouldn't Harrisburg be one of the greenest leading cities int he country? I would like to see this happen. As much as we have heard so much discussion about the financial aspect of Harrisburg, unfortunately the financial people are getting ahold of this. They think they have a system of really bringing Harrisburg out of this. Now, the designers need to take their position and create a city which is livable and safe, and a wonderful environment that we can all enjoy. Any of you who have heard me speak, I often say that when we look at our environment and our problems, don't blame the President, the governor, or the mayor. Blame the designers, the architects, and the engineers. They're the ones that create the environments that are really safe for us to live in, that are healthy for us to li

Welcome to the Interior Design Today radio show with Mary Knackstedt. In our 33rd episode, Mary talks about technology in design. Technology has really changed the way we design and build. We love all the features, but sometimes they really aren't very beautiful. In other cases, they eliminate a lot of storage. I think of all the audio and recordings that we've had, and now we have just a very simple iPad which can hold all of that information. Things are now so minimal, and the quality is excellent. It really has changed the way we design things. I've been amazed at some of the features we have in televisions. I'm working on one now which is above a fireplace (not my favorite place to put one), but considering the room, the client wants it there. It is definitely the best location. On the other hand, they tell me they never watch television, but they must have a 60" screen. Isn't it sad that our very best wall is taken up by this big, black screen, which is not used. I decided that we've got to do something different with this, so in this case, we're doing a very simple application. We're not hiding it behind doors and lifting screens, these systems were several thousand dollars. Now, all I've done is a beautiful tapestry panel on a track, which simply slides with a baton, so that they can move it aside when they're watching television. Meanwhile, you wouldn't know the TV is there. It is hidden by a beautiful piece of art. It's just, why should we waste the best part of our room with something that we're using occasionally, which isn't very pretty. Here, we can have a beautiful piece of art. A painting, a tapestry, or something else. I have noticed that people are doing televisions which look like a plain white wall, but it's actually a screen. All we do is turn it on, and our wall becomes a great video screen. Not only featuring television, but communications systems. All of the information that comes from their various family members, photos, and almost anything else one can imagine. It can be hidden in this very discrete way, so that it is there when we want it and gone when we don't. I would love to see some of the things that you are doing with your television and other types of tech. Together we can create even more exciting ways, having the advantages of technology, but without losing the artistry of our homes. We want the art, but we also want the convenience of tech, so let's put them together in a creative way. They can compliment each other, but the tech does not have to overtake the beautiful parts of our spaces. Please subscribe to the video or audio version of the radio show via iTunes or listen to it at http://interiordesigntodaypodcast.blogger.com via the following MP3 Link.

Welcome to the Interior Design Today radio show with Mary Knackstedt. In our 32nd episode, Mary talks about concrete. Concrete has become a major material in our interior spaces. Kitchen counters, desks, wall finishes, floors, so many different ways of using concrete as a functional and an art form. It has been fascinating to see the extensive range of finishes used on concrete, making them polished and finished, not just industrial looking. At one point, we looked at concrete as a material when we wanted informal use. Something casual and functional, but now we're seeing it used in a more refined and finished way. It is wonderful to see the extensiveness of the opportunities for this material and the fact that it can be brought into almost any style of space. Next time you are considering a finished and practical top, look at concrete. It is often a very practical and artistic material. Please subscribe to the video or audio version of the radio show via iTunes or listen to it at http://interiordesigntodaypodcast.blogger.com via the following MP3 Link.

Welcome to the Interior Design Today radio show with Mary Knackstedt. In our 31st episode, Mary talks about fans. Fans come in many sizes, shapes, and designs. They do some incredible things. In a typical kitchen situation, we either have the ceiling fan or the fan above our stove, or we had the fan that came from under the burners (through the lower part of our room). Suppose we have a room or a building that is on a slab, and we have a cathedral ceiling. We don't really want to see that venting go through our beautiful opening into the cathedral space. We have fans that can be brought in from the sidewall and handled in many different ways. Today, a fan doesn't need to look like a fan, or have a large space taken up in your kitchen. It can be done in so many creative ways. If you're interested in more information, just get in touch with me for resources and details. Just remember, fans can be creative, and a special part of the design. They're practical. They work. They're very attractive, and they can be installed in so many different ways. A fan is not a fan. A fan is a beautiful art object that really fills our needs in so many different ways. Please subscribe to the video or audio version of the radio show via iTunes or listen to it at http://interiordesigntodaypodcast.blogger.com via the following MP3 Link.

Welcome to the Interior Design Today radio show with Mary Knackstedt. In our 30th episode, Mary talks about urinals. We've seen incredible styled sinks. It has just been amazing, the marble, the crystal, the beautiful ceramics. Here is one example of a floral design. Now notice the urinals. I've heard so many clients say, "I'd really like to have one as part of my master bath so that my husband has the convenience of this. Also, I would like something attractive." Well, now we have it. Isn't it amazing, the artistry that is used for such functional things? When you're planning your next powder room or your master bathroom, or any particular bathroom where you think it might be convenient to have a urinal, just consider that there are all types of designs. It's been fascinating to visit the many hotels and see the beautiful waterfalls that are also urinals, or the abstract designs that have been featured, or the troughs, on and on. Now, we're looking at floral designs. What next? But how much fun? This is design, and we have so many opportunities to be expressive in so many places and so many ways. Enjoy. Please subscribe to the video or audio version of the radio show via iTunes or listen to it at http://interiordesigntodaypodcast.blogger.com via the following MP3 Link.

Welcome to the Interior Design Today radio show with Mary Knackstedt. In our 29th episode, Mary talks about the 2013 Architectural Digest Show and DIFFA. It was a great show this year, featuring a lot of different artisans and companies from different parts of the world. There was quite an upgrade of quality in many of the things, especially many of the kitchen features. There were many new and "techy" contributions, which are really part of convenience and which also provide space saving and other elements. There are marvelous conveniences and things that we can do with technology that we could never dream of before. In addition to that, they also feature the DIFFA dining by design. This is where different companies and designers working with them feature their design for dining. Some of them were very different than before. There was one by Benjamin Moore which you could definitely tell was a painting company because they showed how you could use color and paint in many ways. It was very rich and very fun, but also, there was no question that their product was paint. The one that the Pratt students did was very interesting in that it featured a map of the world. They did it in a very "techy" way, using an interesting lighting treatment, which I hope you can see from my photographs. It was very interesting and quite well done. We were all amazed at their thought patterns and how they developed it with design. Ralph Lauren, last year, had an outdoor porch; very country. This year, its was much more modern. You will see a number of fun designs throughout the photographs I have taken as best I could with my simple camera. This is a wonderful contribution to the arts that all these designers and companies are making, both in monetary contributions, as well as their artistic display. Please subscribe to the video or audio version of the radio show via iTunes or listen to it at http://interiordesigntodaypodcast.blogger.com via the following MP3 Link.