Make Yourself at Home

Why Didn't You Think of That?

Putting It Together

Design for Living

OUT AND ABOUT

We found an interesting place that's occupied only temporarily in Herald Square. It's a bathroom that's designed to clean up after itself and it only costs 50 cents per 15 minutes. We learned that there are 2 of them in New York (one in Herald Square and one in Greely Square, just down the street) But there are several more proposed and it's a program that has been very successful in other cities. Here's an interesting one in Sweden. View Photo. We decorated it to suit our sensibilities and calculated the cost of moving in permanently - about $1400 a month - not bad for a studio apartment in New York.

ANYWHO

I was in Las Vegas playing on a hot table all night until I got a call from my friend Rip Taylor who needed a little help with his "dressing room" at the UNLV where he was doing his one man show "It's Not All Confetti, Baby". I dropped by and showed him how to make his dressing room (actually the box office for the theater) a gracious space to prepare for the show. We brought in:

-Curtains
-A throw
-Art work
-Pillows
-Towels
-A small mirror
-Candles
-A suitcase to carry it all in

It's easy to put together a charming temporary space that can be carted around when necessary. Just think small!

HELP ME BRINI!

What do you do with a roommate whose friends and family take advantage of your "hospitality"? Communication and Ground rules are the key. People don't know how you feel unless you tell them, and once they're aware of it it's a small step to solving the problem. Sharing a space is never easy, but when this sort of situation is approached with understanding on both sides you're bound to come up with a solution. Perhaps limiting the number of sleepover guests per week, and establishing some rules about where sleeping is appropriate is a good place to start.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

This was one of my favorite episodes. Most of the scenes were shot on the last day of shooting and everyone involved was loose and relaxed - including me! The bed cover in the blank slate room was one I made for a share I had on Fire Island in 1996. The wall hanging (an old curtain panel I found in a thrift shop) was also in that room at the beach. It just proves that if you keep something long enough you'll find a use for it again.

We always seem to be shooting in the cold. The segment in Herald Square was shot in the fall and we were lucky enough to be in tolerable weather, however we didn't get the introduction shot before the light faded, so we had to come back and do it in winter. There I was in Greely Square wearing that little sleeveless summer dress in 36 degree weather! It wasn't fun. We were also cursed by chilly weather in Las Vegas. It was in the 50's when we shot the segment with Rip. Not fun in that backless dress.