Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Nine by Design: Upcycling, Charity and MY LOVES

photo: usatoday.com
The Novogratz Family:Cortney and Robert, Wolfie, twins Bellamy and Talullah, twins Hollander and Five, Breaker and baby Major
In tonight's episode of 9 by Design, Cortney and Bob try to raise money for two charitable events; one for a friend's adorable little girl diagnosed with leukemia to help offset the high cost of her medical bills and the second is organizing a fundraiser for a local boy's basketball team for underprivileged kids in NY.  Cortney takes on a project for their friend/client Dave, to redecorate his office where the major problem starts out with one very large white wall which dwarfs the small desk and dinky office chairs that are in there. 


We first met Dave in a prior episode where Bob and Cortney are tasked with redesigning a wrestling gym, where they did a wonderful job, clearing out ugly fixtures, such as a bar and knocking down walls. They added vintage items and mixed them with sleek and contemporary fixtures and furniture. This is what Sixx design does best...that mix...it makes you love the coolness and hipness of it all, but then takes you a step back to a nostalgic place, a place of comfort, that is so touching and enduring in your heart. I think this is their magic mix, their elixir, the thing that makes them authentic. 



The Novogratz kids are adorable. Bob and Cortney seem to be trying to instill as sense of 'giving back' in the kids. They are on TV, and have semi-famous parents, a unusual boatload of sibs, and yet they seem grounded. In last week's episode, the twin girls, Bellamy and Tallulah had to come up with a list of legitimate reasons why they should have a cell phone. Bellamy took a great deal of time to research the EXACT phone she wanted online, so that when she got to the store there would be no mistakes. She took the time, realized that she was getting a special gift, and truly appreciated it. Maybe that's what you do when you six siblings to compete with. At any rate, she stole my heart...and the oldest boy, Wolfie, is growing into a boy with good values. He donated some of his basketball trophies for the charity and spoke in front of  a group of adults about what the team meant to him. They were able to raise a sufficient amount of money for the progam. 


As for the design aspect of tonight's show, well that is my LOVE. Cortney gets very creative in taking some of Dave's photographs of his family, enlarging them, and making them into wallpaper for the HUGE white wall. She then goes on a mission to find some upcycled chairs, and adds just the right fabric to them to change them into uber cool pieces.  I have always loved the idea of finding crazy old chairs and put a "hip" modern spin on them. The idea is to take something old and weather beaten, and add all kinds of funky modern fabrics, or some cool paint color to make it reusable again.  Cortney is a master of this style...and I LOVE it.  Why do I always feel the need to find something old, something discarded, and upcycle it...and make it LOVED again..there is HISTORY in this kind of design, it is authentic and unique. People crave this kind of style and Cortney pulls it off. The office is an amazing simple pallet of black and white with a splash of yellow in the rug and funky cast off furnishings that are pulled together oh so well. 

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