BEFORE & AFTER:SOME WHERE OVER THE RAINBOW

BEFORE & AFTER: SOME WHERE OVER THE RAINBOW

I will start with my intro: I am Samantha Knapp. Designer, Creator, Author and creative director of Tiger Lily’s Greenwich. Did I mention I love the camera? With out knowing, my eyes light up and I talk with my hands.

I AM SAMANTHA KNAPP
I LOVE COLOR
I LOVE VALSPAR
I LOVE THE CAMERA
HERE’S THE LINK TO YOUTUBE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okROtibFmdA

HERE’S THE LINK TO YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okROtibFmdA

I was thrilled to be considered for the #Valspar #HouseBeautiful collaborative on color at the Housing Works Design On Dime #DOAD charity fundraiser. I think I know a little about color. I painted the walls of my booth Wave and Luscious Green.

BEFORE:
DAMAGED DESK
SAVED: OFF THE STREETS
RESCUED:PATTI’S PORTICO

BEFORE:

BK found this desk on the street. She’s the most amazing Mom and the best source if you’re seriously looking to get a project done “On A Dime.”   I owe it all to her and she never asks me to pay. The desk was a pick up.

BK & BOB
TIGER LILY’S GREENWICH
BEST PARENTS IN TOWN

The best trick in town when you are looking to make something old new again, is a fresh coat of paint. That’s Patti’s Portico. Located at 140 Highland Street in Port Chester, Charlie is the only game in town if you are looking for a professional, high-gloss lacquer finish.

 

Patti’s Portico Inc
140 Highland St Port Chester, NY 10573
(914) 935-8839

Oscar Wilde said this of color:

“Mere color, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways. ”

Charlie at Patti’s said this of primer:

“Always use Primer. Priming ensures better adhesion of paint to the surface, increases paint durability”

MIDDLE: PRIMER
#1 TIP according to Charlie
“Always use primer. Priming ensures better adhesion of paint to the surface, increases paint durability.”

AFTER:

We went with black. It is a Valspar color. Black is always the new Black. You seldom go wrong with that color.  It shines as brightly as the mirror.

AFTER:
BLACK IS THE NEW BLACK
STILL FREE: PATTI’S PORTICO DONATION

Housing Works sold the desk at a set value. That money will go to housing city homeless who are battle for home and health. Part of the mission of #HousingWorks is heal and care  for clients with HIV-AIDS.

IT’S A WRAP

IT’S A WRAP

It ‘s a wrap, but not before thanking the many generous souls… my team at Tiger Lily’s(www.tigerlilysgreenwich.com) Charlie & Company @ Patti’s Portico.

My life is full of beautiful color and I am forever thankful for that.

Somewhere over the rainbow, with all that brilliant color from Valspar & House Beautiful,  I promise Dorothy is right… DREAMS COME TRUE.

JERRY MCGUIRE MANIFESTO #11: KNOW YOUR VALUE

JERRY MCGUIRE MANIFESTO #11: KNOW YOUR VALUE

JERRY MCGUIRE MANIFESTO
KNOW YOUR VALUE

RULE #1

Pdiddy’s Instagram last night. @LauraBays sent this to me to remind me of my value.  The line between business and personal depends only on how dark you make it. My line is invisible to the naked eye. I am firm believer that what you learn in life applies to the entire picture. I have been asked a lot in Goldman Sachs 10-Thousand Small Businesses for a vision and a mission state.  Two more sepearate ideas that blur in lines. The mission statement of the Jerry McGuire Manifesto is easy so I will start there.  The mission is to feel good and teach lifestyle from personal experience.

#11 is the understanding of value. I got a personal lessonlast night, as I was preparing to host the wonderfully talent and inspiring legendary designer, Christopher Hyland. This is a man who understands who he is and lives his life from that understanding. I attached a link to my introduction.

CHRISTOPHER HYLAND SPEAKS AT NATIONAL ARTS CLUB
YOUTUBE INTRODUCTION:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11dx6mln6xc&sns=em

YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11dx6mln6xc&sns=em

Christopher Hyland is a leader in the industry. He believes in himself. He believes in his creativity and represents a high end luxury brand that is himself. That simple. That brand is tangible. You can buy his textiles. It is also an idea, you can buy his virtually.  The magazine is HYLAND.  Grab it on itunes as an app. His approach to lifestyle is forward thinking with a reflection on tradition. His brand is second to none.

Christopher Hyland personifies the first tip to understanding your value. Believe in yourself and believe that what you want is possible for you. When you are balanced in your mind on who you are and what you stand for you can make the right decisions about the future. That opportunity to say yes or no in business and in relationships is powerful. It is your positive energy and your extreme value.

As the lecture moved forward last night a personal relationship that I appreciated ended for me. I learned someone I really liked was interested in pursuing another relationship. Value also involves confidence. I bravely stated my value in the conversation. I am second to none. Value means knowing what you want and acting from it. Know this.  It is difficult at first but when you understand what you want, that has value. That value can be quanitified. When you set that value for yourself, you can act from that place. The world will take care of you. 

Mind has value: It is the most powerful asset we have. Use it. Understand that the relationship you have with your own value is from one place. Apply your value to every aspect of your life and you will succeed.

“Love is an energy which exists of itself. It is its own value.”
Thornton Wilder

ONE LOVE

BEFORE & AFTER: THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

BEFORE & AFTER: THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

In the Wizard Of Oz, Dorothy says it best “There is no place like home.” This is not Kansas, but the concept is still the same. It is only fitting then that http://www.tigerlilysgreenwich.com when it came to Housing Works: Design On A Dime for charity, we turned to Oz.

BEFORE:
BLANK CANVASS

BEFORE:
Two blank walls with vibrant colors from #Valspar. Luscious Green is on the right, the blue is called Wave. The concept, I thought was simple two colors to represent two characters Dorothy and the Wizard Of Oz with two totally different styles. Dorothy years later is still better in blue. Oz has traveled far.

AFTER:
EMERALD CITY

AFTER:

This is our take. A yellow brick road, plants and picket sign. My take away from this experience is to follow your own yellow brick road. You never know where it will take you.  “If we walk far enough,” says Dorothy, “we shall sometime come to someplace.”  The journey has perhaps just begun.

Thank you to Robert Allen for helping me to support Housing Works and please support Housing Works youself… go out and buy 🙂  For more information on Samantha Knapp or Tiger Lily’s, visit our website http://www.tigerlilysgreenwich.com.

SAIL INTO TIGER LILY’S: COASTAL LIVING SHIP-SHAPE FIND

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SAIL INTO TIGER LILY’S: COASTAL LIVING SHIP SHAPE FIND

Coast Living sings my song, before & after. So I loved getting the magazine and getting inspired. The pillows on Coastal Living’s May cover pop. The fabric is Kelly Wreastler’s Bengal Bazar for Lee Jofa.

In honor of Coastal Living and nautical design, I am sharing these pillows in blue.  Buy them at Tiger Lily’s. The “EYE OF THE TIGER”

BUY ME: $459.00 (PAIR)
http://www.tigerlilysgreenwich.com

This fabric, the name and our name got me thinkin… “EYE OF THE TIGER” Bengal + Ikat.  Here’s a quote from Rocky 3 when Apollo says to Rocky “Now, when we fought, you had that eye of the tiger, man; the edge! And now you gotta get it back, and the way to get it back is to go back to the beginning. You know what I mean?”

BENGAL “IKAT”
EYE OF THE TIGER

Get these pillows get the edge 🙂 For more information on our blog, before & afters, shopping visit our website, http://www.tigerlilysgreenwich.com.

BEFORE & AFTER: YOU’VE GOT A QUESTION? I HAVE AN ANSWER

BEFORE & AFTER: YOU’VE GOT A QUESTION? I HAVE AN ANSWER

Hi Samantha Knapp, You have a new question on this photo. maryrdagostino asked: ” where is the island from?” See Question

We got our first question on Houzz.com. If you have seen the site, it is a great resource for interior designers and home owners looking to be inspired. I love a good before & after so here’s the share.

THE DESTINATION:

I recycle. I am also a self proclaimed picker. That combination made the Greenwich Recycling Center a goldmine one spring afternoon. I should say this: Recyling Center is the Gucci expression for Greenwich Dump.

DESTINATION DUMP
FINDER’S KEEPERS

BEFORE: 

I found these vintage cupboard doors in special section of the dump. You can book a tour with me on another date, but for now you’ll just have to go with that visual. For the record, this dump is very well maintained. It is like visiting the Taj Mahal. If I had to guess, I would have thought they came out of an old house demolition in back country Greenwich.

BEFORE:
KITCHEN CABINET DOORS
NO MONEY DOWN

BEFORE:
ULINE SHELVE
ROUGHLY $100.00 BEFORE SHIPPING

I paired the doors with a base from ULINE. I like positioning of the metal with the wood, the old and new. There is a little bit to the project. I deep cleaned and sanded some of the finish off the doors to create a smooth surface. I then varnished the top coat.  The doors were then mounted onto the existing frame.

AFTER:
COUNTER TOP

It’s been said “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”  At Tiger Lily’s we take that literally. For more information on before & after’s visit our website, http://www.tigerlilysgreenwich.com.

TALK AT TIGER LILY’S: THE FOUR-LEGGED QUESTION

TALK AT TIGER LILY’S: THE FOUR-LEGGED QUESTION

I was with the kids on Thursday. It is all part of my small business growth plan as taught by Goldman Sachs 10-Thousand Small Businesses. Rule on business profit engagement, despite it all MAKE ROOM FOR THE KIDS. Yes they are exactly why we are all doing what it is we do. It is about love and respect for the future. The future is bright so protect it, let it guide you and do it right. That is the Buddha inside me, the other part is Jew.

THE FOUR-LEGGED QUESTION
TRASH OR TREASURE ?

I had #Nicktheintern start this one:

“Here’s the infamous (to us anyway) coffee table we all been talking about! Like any other day (I don’t know the reference here. Footnote, ask Nick. ) there’s always a heated debate at Tiger Lily’s. So many questions so little answers. The real question is JUNK OR SELL? I am the reporter on this case. Sam, the forever journalist, suggested an interview.

BK SOUNDS OFF:

BK SOUNDS-OFF
THIS IS HER FIRST APPEARANCE ON THE BLOG
CLICK AND WATCH…
WELCOME MOM TO THE SHOW!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9x9CtVgHAo&list=UU7l5iAl_RQPHuNeErFUrITQ&index=2

As seen above BK had a few good reasons to like it, one of which was that it is her vintage find. The majority of the team at Tiger Lily’s where on upside of no. The wife a former President said this quite prophetically,  “Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn’t have the power to say yes,” Eleanor Roosevelt.

MADDY AND LAURA BOTH SAY NO
#Thumbsdown #Tablestinks

Now time for the boss lady. Know this my friends, Samantha Knapp is opinionated and has a loud mouth.

#NICKTHEINTERN
ROLL REVERSAL
I AM THRILLED TO BE INTERVIEWED

NICK INTERVIEWS SAM ON YOUTUBE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ipRaIHiy8E&list=UU7l5iAl_RQPHuNeErFUrITQ

I didn’t trust Nick The Intern with the wrap up. Samantha Knapp for Tiger Lily’s. This is where experience comes in. I am the solo trustee to deliver the hard sell. We’re asking folks to sound off on this Talk @ Tigerlily’s. The Four-Legged Question,  Trash or Treasure, Buy or Sell? http://www.tigerlilysgreenwich.com. Speaking of the sell, every good blogs ends with a small one. Thursday is Design On A Dime for Housing Works featuring on partnership with Robert Allen. We are going to be interviewed by House Beautiful.  Promise to share. XXOO

There is also my new campaign on #Rockethub. Brian Meece is a colleague at Goldman Sachs 10-Thousand Small Businesses and new friend.

SAMANTHA KNAPP ON ROCKET HUB
VIEW MY CAMPAIGN
http://www.rockethub.com/launch/details?project_id=22909

I think that was a strong enough tease into a commerical break. Television, reporting and producing… It is like riding a bike, one push and the pedal spins.

#ONELOVE

BEFORE & AFTER: THIS IS HOW I SEE IT

BEFORE & AFTER: THIS IS HOW I SEE IT

This is how I see it. Everything has a before, middle and end. Sometimes that end is a new beginning. I am many things, but a philosopher I am not. So for now we will stick to the simple equation that lives in an area before end meets new again.

Beginning, middle and end depends on the stage when you arrive.  I found these panels in the middle which is right smack in between two different lives. They were pieces of what was once a wood panel room divider. I was searching for a mirror. These were leaning vertically against a wall. Before my haggle-style discount the panels were $50.00 each.

BEFORE:
PART OF A WALL INSTALLATION
MIRROR MIRROR ON THE WALL, COULD YOU BE?

BEFORE: I brought these middle-men panels to my workroom, www.tigerlilysgreenwich.com and had some of the existing and frankly dated golden french finish removed. The underlying color had an organic red hue.  

AFTER: MIRRORS
THE FAIREST OF THEM ALL
BUY ME: http://www.tigerlilysgreenwich.com

AFTER: The after is the beginning of a new incarnation. I became philosophical despite myself. The middle doesn’t in this case lead to an end. We will leave these mirrors in a vaccum where poets, artists and creators exist. They are attached to a wall, hanging on positive energy.

The Edith Wharton once said, “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.“

Maybe we are both.