lowelldown

Hey Everyone,

Regarding posting comments on the blog, all comments go into a waiting cue for moderation so they may not show up right away. Once they go through the approval process, they are posted under the relevant topic.

Here are some notes about the last show (s):

Billy, our ’single guy looking for love’’ really challenged us to set a tone that he could carry through the rest of his home. Single men still feel a bit embarrassed when pressed to talk about design. It’s really personal to men who are trying to accurately ‘image’ themselves to the world around them—feeling a little vulnerable. But we are seeing an even greater trend in this hire-a-designer direction. As guys begin to realize that not getting their act together in their homes can really work against them in the dating mode, more men are using us professionals.

But unlike married folk, these single men are trying to create environments that span the gamut while appealing to as many possible women on their hunt for Ms. Right. And a lot of really personal stuff comes up. It makes me think that it’s a good idea for single men to hire other male designers to allow for the kind of frank conversation they need to have that will ultimately show up in the home and especially in the bedroom! Tricky stuff. Let me tell you, a designer has to really be ready to have those Sex-in-the-city conversations that were not appropriate to air (on Network) in this venue—too bad. Hey HBO?

The “From Hotel to Home” show was really a labor of love. I really had never stepped into Mike and Andrea’s home before after all the public space design work I’d done for them. Who knew? JB, however, had been to their place several times. She was the person who recommended them for makeover consideration. Still I had no idea that the cobbler’s kids, in essence, had no shoes.
What you didn’t see that ended up on the cutting room floor, was that Mike and I discussed getting rid of the window over the stairs well in advance and in great detail. We did not just cover it up and then say, “Surprise it’s gone.” It was an idea that was weighed heavily before we made the decision to get rid of it in favor of mirrors. Andrea was a little shocked as she was not part of that decision—I guess Mike felt that it was ultimately his call. But they love it now that she’s gotten used to it being gone. They are about to build yet another hotel and have already asked us if we’re interested in collaborating on it. So we’ll see.

With the Olympics over and then right into the political arena, the contrast will be interesting. Americans are growing up in a new century where business as usual just won’t fly anymore. I will be watching as it all unfolds. Not really sold on anyone right now. And not happy that the convention will cost US some sixty-million to watch balloons drop…How about you?

Later,
CL

Hey Everybody,

OK, let me be the first to say, who took summer away this year? Can’t tell you how many people I’ve met recently who think September is still three months away…

So the last episode on Jeffery, the ‘boomerang or eco-boomer,’ struck quite a chord with many parents. I’ve known his parents for a while. They were very involved in the last hotel we designed finished and another one right around the corner which we might have a hand in as well.

Jeffery like so many college kids evidently don’t think having their parents pay their way all their lives and then four years of college on top of that is enough…

I can’t tell you how many times my team left their home scratching our heads.

I was hoping to see at least a little embarrassment that he was not on his own, but Jeffery, like his peers, has that same sense of entitlement that seems to be sweeping the nation. Even on camera— no remorse. Is it just me? Or is anyone else mystified about this?

Hate to sound like my parents, but I had to get a job my freshman year in high school if I wanted new clothes. Ironically, I ended up as “Best Dressed” in my yearbook. It’s when I was forced to learn to sew so I HAD something new to wear. Thank God the Russian look was in at the time—lots of easy to sew tunics with simple Nehru collars got me through those years. Of course a career in costume design study didn’t hurt either.

As we slowly watch our lead as a world-class economy slip through our fingers, it’s no wonder why. When did ‘cash’ and comfort outweigh growth and experience in these kids’ lives. And it’s not ALL the parents’ faults—although…

When was it considered child abuse to put the fear of God into your kids’ hearts that if they wanted to be somebody, they had to work for it?

I’ll tell you, don’t expect this “recession” to go away anytime soon. Hell, we can’t even name it—big mistake. The sooner we own up to it, the better we’ll all be. By all my studies on the subject the real thinkers say that we have turned a huge corner—not in our economy, but in our thinking. For a long time it’s been beneath most kids to get a job at a Burger King, wait on tables or live in a dump of an apartment with four roommates—like you’re supposed to when your that age. Gosh, I look at the opening ceremonies where thousands of volunteers appeared for free in every scene out of national pride to create synchronized magic. That may be the other extreme, but there’s something to be said for finding the balance somewhere in the middle.

Part of wisdom is to develop a taste for ‘the struggle’ and understand that we’re here to learn, step out in faith and courage and chart new courses that effect change. Hard to do when you’re saving money for the next game cube and expect mommy and daddy to go further in debt because of it. I was gonna say “don’t get me started…” but too late I guess.

While Jeffery does represent a slew of ‘eco-boomers,’ what did not make the screen was the fact that this particular family was in fact Croatian. In their culture families live together as long as possible…when we finally found that out, it all made so much more sense. So, we thank Jeffery and his family for helping to tell this story.

More later,
CL

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for your support and taking time to stay tuned to the new show. You’re right—we’ve come a long way together. I suppose just lasting for so many years is something to be grateful for.

The reaction to being back on TV has been surprisingly good in the industry, too—and the timing could not be better as I’m also working on a new documentary style TV series on personal creativity, transformation and reinvention.

As many of you know it’s a powerful subject, which has always been close to my heart. I’ve studied the extraordinary powers of creativity for years, and it was always a key underpinning to everything I’ve done on TV. But having first-hand experience (this being my fifth creative career in this lifetime) I feel it’s time to address and truly demystify this inherent human right—separate from “home design.” While the mental and physical interior is indeed connected, there’s so much more to creativity than that. In truth, we don’t need Gurus and mysticism; we don’t need Psycho-pop ‘Dr. Phil(s)’ or the permission of Oprah’s book of the month club to unleash this pre-designed mechanism that just waits for us to claim it. So I feel the timing is right.

Especially where we as a culture seem to be more transfixed if not obsessed with celebrity, talent, fame and ‘people behaving badly’ as entertainment—which has nothing to do with passion, commitment, faith and curiosity which are the real elements of creativity—the lack of which seems to be plaguing a new generation of kids while bewildering a new generation of unprepared parents. Compounding this is our thirst if not addiction to technology. It continues to feed us an onslaught of external factoids and info we now perpetually chase, keeping us ‘occupied’ while drowning out the deeper, quieter call of personal creativity.

Anyway…you know me—always got something in the ‘hopper.’

The Vertical Spaces show with Julie and Marshall was a trip. When we met them, they were just exploring their new relationship. Because they really had not defined it yet, nor spoken to their kids about it, we really had to straddle a very fine line—plus, we had to honor the memory of Marshall’s first wife. Marshall’s kids were very skeptical of any change in the house whatsoever. In their minds, the front room was full of things their mom had put there and was in essence sacred to them—no pressure! So we were really designing the space trying to accommodate a lot of variables at a sensitive time in this household’s evolution. We did, however, receive a letter from them and Marshall’s mom, saying how they loved the show. Phew!

More later,
CL

Hey Everyone,

Let me answer a few of the questions many of you might have.

First of all, design: After interviewing and choosing up to five homeowners at a time, I then book myself into the design lab (just as you see on TV in the round table) and lay out the concept for all five rooms. We use reference materials, catalogs, magazine photos, paint and fabric swatches already in the studio to tighten and define every element in each space. After the marathon design session, Jocelyn (JB) who heads my design department and Michael (MM) begin working with participating vendors to find items that match as closely to my designs as I’ve outlined.

I then return to writing scripts for those five shows that will match the designs, fit the universal theme and the needs of each homeowner. While I’m out filming field pieces, JB then begins painting each homeowner’s space. This kinda freaks ‘em out as they are in most cases afraid of color. When they see the rooms with nothing in them, they really have to trust that we know what we’re doing.

I then reconvene in studio a few weeks later with the team as I review all the available merchandise, substitutions and additions made for each space. Measurements may be a little off or JB runs into hidden complications not visible when we began designing. We often have to re-design the rooms based on what the vendors agree or disagree to donate to the show—frustrating. We have to be so clear on the concept of each room, that we can remain flexible with individual items. But, thank God, JB and MM and I have similar instincts having worked together for so many years. So she knows the parameters of the “Lowell” design philosophy so well that often her substitutions are right on the money.

Under JB’s complete supervision, we then use our beloved independent shipping company, Stover’s, who have worked with us for many years. They come to the studio, pick up two room’s worth of furnishing at a time made ready for home delivery. They also help us re-allocate stuff in the rooms that we don’t use in the afters—to other rooms of the homeowner’s house.

Beyond wall color, everything else is delivered in a single day 24 hours before we film the finished room. Which is the other reason why we don’t do anything that requires any on-site construction.

JB loads in the room according to my plan and drapes the pieces out of view of the homeowner’s view.

The morning of the shoot, the majority of the room is unwrapped and arranged, lit an hour before I arrive. I then quickly tweak the arrangement and begin the final accessorizing of the space—which you see on camera. Sometime it’s also an editing process, too.

We then begin the massive lighting process that takes about four hours so that it looks on camera exactly how it appears in person.

When we’re ready to shoot, homeowners see the room for the first time on camera.

About my show close and the suit issue: The ending of each show was a take-off on Tracey Ullman’s “Go Home” show ending.

I dress up for the homeowner for the “afters’ because I want to make the event as special as possible for them. I say goodbye to you all in my normal work clothes—that I live in everyday, because I treat you viewers as my family—where I FEEL I’m able to be myself just between us. It’s not that I don’t think you don’t deserve me dressed up, but that we feel comfortable enough together for us to see each other as we are everyday. It was not meant to be smug, but quite the opposite. Sorry you didn’t get that—can’t please everybody.

By the way, what were YOU wearing for me when you watched the show? A suit?…probably not, right?
Nuf said.

For those of you in older homes, sit tight. We did a great show for a young couple living in a very transitional neighborhood in an old 1934 fixer-upper. They want to adopt a child but are afraid the home won’t pass inspection…

We’ve tried to find a balance between the McMansions and the real budget makeovers. It’s about half and half—how they air the shows, we have no control over.

For the rest of you who want an hour show…so do we. Log on to FLN and leave your comments there—it could help.

Later,
CL, (not in a suit, but in my PJ’s…sorry)

Hi Everyone,

Well, the first shows have aired and opening night is over. While one would think we all gathered around the big screen, champagne flowing to toast our accomplishments and my return to TV, it was lots of phone calls and emails instead. Thank you for your nice comments here as well.

For the first show, the editors left out the fact that what the couple wanted a seaside cottage take on the Shade Hotel look. So for those of you who were expecting Adam and Amy’s bedroom to actually look like the Shade Hotel, sorry. It was not our edit call. But since I designed that hotel, too, at least you had a chance to take a peek at that project as well. Adam is like so many men we met this season … really struggling to have a voice in how his home looks. I think it’s a good thing.

You’ll notice that the plasma TV screens featured in the makeovers are loaded with DVDs of everything from home-and-hearth fires to aquariums. These are now available to transform your TV into something besides commercial programming or a blank black screen. Check the site for resources.

The second show featuring Jonathan Butler and wife, Bernice, was done about mid way through our filming process. Much had been resolved by then. JB is a very talented man, and they are both friends. They are as fun-loving as they seem with a steady stream of people passing through their doors from sun-up to sun-down. When the room was finished, I received a huge bouquet of flowers from them. They were delivered just in time for my sister’s visit from Florida. So the elegant arrangement adorned her guest suite. I recently went to a wine and jazz festival where JB performed and was so impressed by his consummate musicianship. His daughters also sing backup for him. So it’s all in the family.

So I hope you enjoyed the debut of the new series, which will always be a work in progress.

Later, CL

Hey Everyone,

We just found out that my new show will actually be airing at 6:00pm this Saturday for those who live in the East, and at 3:00pm for those in the West.

Our old network was what they call ‘single feed’ whereby everyone got the show at the same time. FLN, however, schedules all their programming based on Eastern Times. So we’ll all have to get used to that together. We’ll be sure to make that distinction for all postings here from now on. I also noticed that it’s not on my TV menu scroll as of yet. We’re looking into that as well, so please bear with us for those of you, like me who record everything on demand. Again, my apologies for any confusion.

With the airdate so close, we’re wrapping up production for our entire Work That Room crew—except for Michael Murphy and Jocelyne Borys whom you see on camera with me on the show during what’s called our “Round Table” segments, which are shot in a portion of our actual studio. They, thank GOD, are with me year-around. Over the next few weeks we’ll be slowly getting our heads back to the corporate side with some very exciting new partnerships to announce soon.

We’re also working hard on getting the resources up for the stuff we showed on each episode—all this, with a new start-up, takes a lot of organization but it’s customary with the debut of almost any a new cable show.

We’ve just started getting some of the nicest letters of thanks back from several of the families who graciously let us invade their homes. All anxiously awaiting their TV debuts, too. It’s always great to leave people happy knowing that after all the hoopla, they can finally settle into the spaces we’ve designed and start really living in them as intended.

As I’ve said previously, I’ll be anxious to see how much of what we taped actually made it to the screen, too.

Have a great week.

Later,
CL

Hi Everyone,

Over the past months I’ve been keeping a journal on the production of the new series. So I will be sharing these with you all from time to time.

The big question is, what will I do now? I’ve been so used to getting up in the dark well before the crack of dawn to be on a shoot somewhere. We’ve been silently creeping into sleeping suburbs with our Starbucks—waiting for homeowners to arise so that we can load in their new rooms, light them, interview them and be out by five that night with no overtime. My internal clock is so set that I’m actually contemplating just staying on the early schedule.

I’ve gotten to love the wee morning hours when the world seems calm and silent and somehow safer.
There seems to be a whole new rhythm at night especially when we’re filming in 5-star hotels where we have to minimizes our presence and stay out of the way while getting the shots we need from the public spaces before the patrons rise and the parade of check out, check in and luggage begins.

All in all these hotels have been very gracious to us. Here in LA there are so many production companies that have simply abused these locations that many of the top tier hotels were very reluctant in letting us in to shoot. But my crew has been so good at quietly getting in and staying very portable especially with the quality of lighting we do to really showcase these spaces. Many times when in these hotels we have to get several segments for several shows. So I have to remember each and every show and exactly where each segment fits. It’s one of the reasons why you’ll see me primarily in black in all but the last act of the show—otherwise I’d have to change clothes 11 to 12 times on location in order for all these separate sequences to cut into each show with any kind of visual continuity.

At the beginning because of no pre-production time, so many segments were in my head.  So it was hard for the crew to understand just what went where until the scripts were final. I wrote all of the initial outlines first, then revamped them as locations got booked and homeowners got cast (to customize the content to all the fixed variables). This is where having done a thousand prior shows really paid off.  Because my crew is so experienced together, we were able to accomplish a feat that would have stumped any other first time crews. We were filming 13 shows simultaneously, too, while also designing all the rooms not knowing what merchandise would actually be available two months later for the “after” sequences.  This is where understanding design principles versus just the stuff really pays off.  We tried hard to keep the focus as much on universal information versus simply the homeowner’s specifics.

More later,

CL

Hi Everyone,

Well, we are only two days away from our last taping for the new Work That Room series on Fine Living. This Friday will be our final day ‘in the field’ to capture our final ‘room after’ and “homeowner surprise reaction.” After that it’s all about the editing for the weeks to come. Please log on to the Fine Living Network site from here to get show specifics.

My deepest apologies for not having written during this Herculean production schedule. There just simply was no time with the 24/7 effort required from my entire amazing LA team. It was necessary in order to get this series up, running and mounted properly. First season start-ups come with a lot of extra variables like new crewmembers, approvals and procedures inherent to not only a debut series but carving out a productive relationship with a new network too. On that note, Fine Living has been really great.

We’ve worked very hard trying to put as much on the screen as we could for the budget and time we had. As many of you know historically, our shows were always informative and if nothing else, entertaining, well conceived and beautifully shot—even before the rest of the cable world had caught up to us. It’s why we were nominated year after year for Emmys and why one sits on my shelf and my director’s today.

But times have changed in cable land especially with the plethora of reality shows dominating the airwaves—setting the production bar low. But we’ve tried hard to deliver a solid new series while keeping production values high. For a first season, I think we did really well, but you’ll be the judge.

As we come to the end of this production cycle, I’m already thinking about how we can make the next season even better. As many of you already know, we take nothing for granted and never rest on our laurels.

So I’ve not written as we’ve moved through some very challenging moments. Nor did I want to use this forum to ‘vent’ the frustrations of the day, in the wee hours of the morning while in desperate need of sleep.

The new series is, however, just that—new. So I hope many of you view it with a fresh set of eyes and not compare it to our older shows. Times have changed and we have always tried to be there first to talk about things that are relative and relevant to today. So this new show is also a new approach to ‘how-to’ that focuses more on the “Why—to.” Why isn’t the room working for the people who live there? Why did we redesign it the way we did to suite them better? Why have times changed and why is it affecting our homes? Why are our attitudes about home design changing and what are the implications and impacts of these changes…?

Between all these things, a demo or two, homeowners stories, room ‘befores,’ the design process in my studio, field trips for inspiration and ‘room afters,’ it’s a lot of content to cram into a half-hour show especially when, for years, we were so use to an hour-long format. But even then we kept them packed too. No one’s ever been able to accuse us of a ‘thin’ premise.

Did we succeed? Well, I think a great testament to our problem solving in these real people’s houses, is that we’ve left these interesting and complex homeowners really happy. We also left them with a fully resolved space that combined both their sensibilities. One that they can now use as a roadmap for the rest of the rooms in their home—which is really the point of the series. We also worked hard to not indulge ourselves as designers or as television producers, by making rooms that were strictly in our taste or just pretty for TV. The task was really to create real rooms that truly satisfy the real people who have to live in them. While there’s no question that you die-hard fans (who know my work) will see my signature all over each room, we still managed to offer a very diverse range of designs, dilemmas and solutions that affect all of us. Unlike a lot of how-to shows, we made it a mandate to please the homeowner first and worry about the TV part second. This I believe has always been our point of distinction since we came on television and why you continue to watch.

Well, I’m up at 4:45 am, so more later…

CL

Hey Everyone,

Returning to production again sets my whole team’s clock back to 5:00 am wake-up calls often 6 days a week—which is really 4:45 am, 7 days a week.

I’m enjoying the face time with an all-star local production crew that’s re-assembled out of professional affection to birth this new project. Whether the ‘voice’ we’re actually filming ends up on the tube intact is still a big ‘inhale’—but it’s all part of the start-up process. I do like the challenge, and it’s good to be back on the streets in neighborhoods pontificating to a guy walking backwards shouldering a camera—with the rest of the crew huddled around the monitor.

Being back in real people’s homes is a trip. There are so many variables to consider. The one thing that is certain is that we don’t interrupt a busy hyper-tasking household any more than we have to. Unfortunately many other how-to shows that have preceded us have often not been as thoughtful and considerate as we try to be. So we’re always bending backwards to relieve homeowner’s reservations. We’re also trying hard not to put words in their mouths either. So often to create “conflict” producers make up situations that aren’t there or through editing can change the intent of homeowners talking candidly on camera. With these reality TV craze still in full swing, we try to stay away from that while still presenting an interesting show.

The premise of this project is really to help time-challenged, generally professional couples get the homes they work so hard to pay for finished so they can start enjoying them. The big difference today is that the guys are actually sweating the details more than the women. It’s an undercurrent that you’ll see throughout the first season. As I’d been saying for years, there will come a day when a new generation of men will really care how their home looks…and boy, is that day here. So from a research point of view we’re spot on.

The other big premise of the show is to eliminate construction. Many of these people are in newer homes already built from scratch to their specific needs. So our emphasis is really on the actual interior design of how to get a household united on a single design idea, then what to buy and where to put it. This is a new generation of folks who don’t tinker, plug in hot glue guns and often do not have success with other designers they’ve hired because the role of the designer has changed significantly, too—that’s where I come in.

You’ll also see us at work in my design studio as well, which really acts as design central. It’s our real environment, too—not a set propped out to look like a design studio. It’s where we as a team can talk about the emotional and physical aspects of the design process that changes with each household. More importantly, we are also trying hard to continue to impart information that is not specific only to the homeowners, but is universal now matter where you live. This I think is what will make this show unique. It’s an approach to demos but in a whole different way.

This is a show that is in my opinion and my voice, so we’re in the edit process of the first episode as we speak to hopefully hit the right balance of giving you, the viewer, enough one-on-one face-time with me along with the time spent with the individual couples featured from show to show. We want you to have viable take-away information along with a clearer understanding how life is changing as we move forward.

I’ll keep you posted.

Later,
CL

Hey Everyone — if you’re still there.

So sorry about not being in touch but I was afraid I’d tip my own hand and let the cat out of the bag. Tomorrow we begin the first shoot day of the new TV series. I’ll make a formal announcement when the Network says I can. But we will be back on TV later this year with a brand new show. I’ll give you all the skinny when the Nets let me spill the beans. The great news is that the new weekly, half-hour show will premiere in prime time. You’ll start to see it promoted all over the place soon.

Going back on TV is just as nerve-wracking as it was the very first time and then each season thereafter — when the cameras started to roll yet again–the butterflies are back! I think that’s a good thing - it means I never take it for granted — wanting to be good, relevant and inspirational is something I still take very seriously. After such a long hiatus, getting back into the groove will be interesting.

We’re so used to doing a daily, hour show that telling a complete story in a half hour will take a few stabs in the edit bay till we all agree on every little thing. But I love doing a shorter show once a week because it gives us time to really make each episode truly tight.

I must want some of you that this show will not be a demo heavy show where we make stuff from scratch out of hardware store aisles. We truly feel that while there are still many of you who have the time and creativity to make it from scratch or craft, many households today are faced with many new challenges. Many don’t even know where the ladder is or if they even own one. While budget is of some concern, our research screams that ‘time’ is the great elusive thing that many of us are struggling to harness. Those precious moments of ‘chill’ time that, in this hyper-tasking world, seem to continue to escape us — if not elude us altogether.

This show will put the emphasis more on the ‘why-to’ versus the ‘how-to.’ The inspiration of the show has really emerged in part out of the work we’ve been doing in the boutique hotel and commercial design industry — it’s truly where young households are really getting their inspiration. We’ll teach you how to create these flexible, non-gender specific spaces like we showed you in HomeNext — but from many, compelling newsworthy perspectives — ripped right from the headlines. Shot in real people’s homes with real homeowners, they’ll speak candidly about how the new dynamic of the American home is changing so fast that it’s confusing — enter me and my design team!

We’ll talk with men about their emerging voice in home design. We’ll talk with single professional women who have made choices different from their moms. We’ll show you how to get it done once and for all — with the assurance that your new interior will remain timeless and classic — thus protecting your long-term investment.

Our mandate is:

• That we can’t do major construction or electrical.
• That whatever we put in the home can be taken to the next home.
• That beyond paint, it’s really about “what” to buy, “where” to put and and “why.”

But fear not you die-hard crafters, sewers and creative folks — there’s plenty of inspiration for you, too. For those of you hands-on folks, we’ll still be connecting with you all through a new expanded program that we’ll be doing at Jo-Ann Stores soon.

So here we go again. My goal is that this new series will prepare you for the next ten years in the way our last TV experience prepared you for the last decade.

By the way, I’m also joining the ShopNBC team starting in February. I’ll be introducing top of the bed — all original designs I’ve been working on this last year. I hope you like the chic, classic bed ensembles that take us beyond what we did at Burlington years ago. So check for the calendar of appearances right here. If you’d like, pick up the phone and talk directly to me — we can do that in this venue, too.

So there you have it, folks — a brand new year and the calendar’s full. You’ll also see a whole new set of features right here on our newly emerging site so stay tuned.

Later,
CL

P.S. Thank you for your response to the New Year’s/Christmas letter. I knew you’d ‘get it.’