Posts Tagged ‘Reston’
Posted by Geoff Nelowet / Friday, March 2nd, 2012
Local DreamHome designer uses fun prints and bold colors to create jaw-dropping spaces.
By Lindsey Leake
Washington Design Center 2011 DreamHome Living Room | Photo by Erik Kvalsvik
The Washington Design Center’s 2011 DreamHome exhibit, which was on display March through December of last year, featured eight exceptionally designed rooms created by some of the most talented interior designers in D.C., Maryland and Virginia. Each room featured elements of elegance and sparkle, inspired by jewelry pieces reflecting the showroom’s theme of the year, “Jewel Tones of Design.” Seven rooms offered crisp designs and sophisticated blends of silvery gray, chocolate brown, black and cream. One room featured warm, golden walls, a bright lavender loveseat and an electric blue chandelier. This noteworthy space was a living room designed by Susan Nelson.
“As long as I can remember, I’ve always loved color,” says Nelson, owner of Susan Nelson Interiors in Great Falls.
This passion is evident in her work; powerful colors and audacious prints have become trademarks of Nelson’s designs, and her distinctive approach to home design led to her selection as a feature designer in last year’s DreamHome showcase. The exhibit paired each designer with a local jeweler or jewelry designer. Interior designers then selected one piece of jewelry that would serve as inspiration for creating a one-of-a-kind space. Nelson chose a glitzy tourmaline, peridot, citrine and gold vermeil necklace crafted by Dina Mackney of Dina Mackney Designs in Reston.
Washington Design Center 2011 DreamHome Living Room | Photo by Erik Kvalsvik
“It was a perfect fit,” Nelson says of her pairing with Mackney, noting that Mackney shared her “colorful” personality. “It was a wonderful combination, the two of us together; it was fun.”
The DreamHome designers were limited to using products exclusive to the Washington Design Center (WDC), but that didn’t hinder Nelson’s efforts to create a vibrant, yet functional space.
“I loved having my room at the WDC for all those months,” Nelson says. “It was a great group of designers I worked with and I loved the experience.”
Despite her creative instincts and affinity for vivid hues, Nelson ventured into the realm of interior design late in the game. It wasn’t until her two children were in high school that she fully realized her passion for decorating homes. Having worked on Capitol Hill for the Senate Budget Committee, Nelson switched gears and returned to school to study interior design at Marymount University. She started her own company in 2002.
“Working for another designer, you wind up doing the back office stuff,” Nelson says. “I wanted to do the design work. So, there was never a debate … I knew I wanted to do my own business.”
Though Nelson began her interior design business just ten years ago, it has already afforded her some impressive career opportunities.
“I’ve been very fortunate; I’ve had some great jobs,” says Nelson, who was recently selected to design a room for the 2012 DC Design House.
Nelson says her first and foremost priority when approaching a project is to satisfy her clients by engineering a space to fit their wants and needs. However, she also makes each design venture interesting by adding a dimension she calls “unexpected perspective.”
“It’s totally about wanting them to be happy and comfortable in their space,” Nelson says of her clients, but added that sometimes a little persuasion is necessary to fashion truly spectacular rooms. “I have to sometimes … push them a little bit beyond their comfort zone, and if you can get them to where they trust you, then you can do some really fun things.”
Photo courtesy of Susan Nelson
Nelson recognizes that color isn’t for everyone, and for her clients who lean toward a more conservative palette, she adds pizzazz through patterns, textures and furniture arrangement. But regardless of her clients’ color preferences, Nelson strives to make all of her rooms lively, fun and clean.
After a career in politics, Nelson feels she’s found her niche in interior design.
“I’m doing what I want to do, at the scale I want,” she says.
In the coming years Nelson hopes to keep business booming by providing colorful chic—along with superb customer service—to residential and commercial clients alike.
Nelson adds that the most rewarding thing about her job is “to see something you’ve created and to know you’ve done the whole thing … it’s out of my head, into reality. It’s very exciting.”
(March 2012)
Posted by Lindsey Leake / Friday, February 10th, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
Obama heads to NOVA’s Annandale campus Monday to discuss 2013 budget
Foursquare names Reston seventh-most romantic place in the country
15-year-old girl sexually assaulted in Fair Oaks area
Herndon mother fights teen dating violence after daughter’s murder
Brad Paisley records song written by Springfield man with rare, fatal disease
Mitt Romney speaks at Northern Virginia Technology Council breakfast today
(Compiled by Lindsey Leake)
Posted by Lindsey Leake / Thursday, February 2nd, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Thomas Jefferson High neurobiology students wow President Obama
Sterling woman pleads guilty in murder-for-hire plot
FBI to investigate vandalized Chantilly mosque
‘Tebow Bill’ would allow Virginia home-schooled students to play for public school sports teams
69-year-old pedestrian killed in Reston crash
McLean man sets occupied dwelling on fire
(Compiled by Lindsey Leake)
Posted by Lindsey Leake / Friday, January 27th, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
Mitt Romney to hit Reston Feb. 10
Overnight Metro power outage leaves riders stranded on platforms, stuck in train cars
Ashburn students allegedly caught with pot brownies at Farmwell Station Middle School
Virginia to close training centers for the developmentally disabled
State Senate committee approves bill requiring women to have pre-abortion ultrasounds
Long live the ‘King’s Dominion Law’
(Compiled by Lindsey Leake)
Posted by Lindsey Leake / Friday, December 30th, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
Virginia Tech shooter’s ‘murderabilia’ listed for thousands on eBay
Two seriously injured in Bailey’s Crossroads crash
Reston Tea Party activist files lawsuit to get Gingrich on Virginia primary ballot
No New Year’s Eve fireworks in Alexandria this year
Atty. Gen. Cuccinelli battles with Perry over ballot rules
(Compiled by Lindsey Leake)
NYE Guide: Salute! Cheers! Bottoms Up!
Posted by Lorin Drinkard / Tuesday, December 27th, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
2012, look out! / Photo credit: Shutterstock/Dmitriy Shironosov
As we move past unwrapped presents, family dinners and “Falalala Lifetime” movies, and toward to the end of 2011, we thought it was only appropriate to bring you some excellent ways to usher in Jan. 1st.
For cheapy, less-is-more activities, check out our post here. Today we’ll be highlighting our top choices for a bubbly-and-vin0-filled New Year’s Eve.
Like wineries? You’ll love what Narmada has planned for this NYE. Tons of Indian food to choose from, plus lots of wine to drink, of course at this $79 per person shindig.
Reston’s Vinifera Bistro is also a top contender on our list of places to go this year. Chef Bo has a phenomenal menu planned and Sommeliers will be assisting with wine pairing throughout the night. You can bet your bottom dollar you’ll enjoy every minute of it. The event starts at $85 each and reservations are required.
If you’re thinking more of a costumed night of fun, check out Potomac Point Winery’s Midnight Masquerade. No sweatpants or baggy T-shirts found here. Their NYE gala, which is $109 per person, will ring in 2012 with masks, drinking, eating and an all-around good time vibes.
Check back tomorrow for more events and parties in NoVA with our Countdown to Fun. For our full guide to NYE, go here.
–Lorin Drinkard
Posted by Lindsey Leake / Wednesday, December 21st, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Body found in basement storage area of Reston apartment complex
Virginia unemployment rate falls to 6.2 percent, remains below national average
Loudoun County may opt for express bus system over Metro expansion
New poll says Gingrich has slight lead over Romney in Virginia
Daggers found hidden in passenger’s book at Reagan National
(Compiled by Lindsey Leake)
Soup-Tastic Eats at Mon Ami Gabi
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, December 21st, 2011
Image courtesy of Anjali Pinto
As 2011 comes to an end, the New Year isn’t the only occasion to be excited about: the month of January officially marks National Soup Month! And right now, there’s no better place to commemorate the delectable occasion than at Mon Ami Gabi!
Stop in to celebrate appropriately and order up the restaurant’s warm and tasty Winter Soup Flight for just $5.95. When there is a sumptuous trio of specialty soup favorites, why order just one, when you can have a perfect-portion taste of all three?
Warm yourself from within and taste delicate spoonfuls of the classic Onion Soup Au Gratin with bubbling gruyere cheese, the decadent Four Mushroom Soup with roasted wild mushrooms and herb brioche croutons and the always-changing Cream of Root Vegetable Soup, featuring a new seasonal variety each week.
As temperatures start to plummet and the wintry chill sets in, one thing is for sure – Mon Ami Gabi will be ready and waiting to serve guests a piping hot trio of deliciousness. Raise your spoon and cheers to National Soup Month all of January at the go-to dining destination.
Guests are encouraged to call Mon Ami Gabi Reston at 703-707-0233 for more information and to make their reservation.
Mon Ami Gabi – 11950 Democracy Drive, Reston
– Jennie Whistler
Posted by Lindsey Leake / Tuesday, December 13th, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Fatal shooting in Reston
Prince William County doctor arrested on charges of selling Oxycodone for cash
Virginia’s public pension fund owes employees $20 million
Annandale mother gets Grammy nomination
I-95 electronic signs up and running in Virginia
(Compiled by Lindsey Leake)
Most Valuable Place: Lake Anne Plaza
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, December 1st, 2011
Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011
Somehow, it still escapes attention.
Lake Anne Plaza was the first community in Reston, founded in 1964. But despite its decades-long existence, I only heard of the place a few months ago.
The lake front. Photo courtesy Maurisa Potts.
And once I set foot in its sunny, European-style village center, I was enamored. Walk down an unassuming set of steps, and you’re suddenly in a secluded, lake-side village center. Rows of flower-bedecked benches line a miniature harbor, with paddleboats at bay. At the water’s edge are lookout towers for tranquil meditations.
Lake Anne Plaza is also a shopping center, but not at all what you might expect. Only small, independent businesses occupy the storefronts–no chain retailers or restaurants.
The shops themselves are one-of-a-kind. A used book store teeming with treasured tomes, a children’s consignment store and even a from-scratch chocolate shop are just a few of the businesses unique to Lake Anne.
This Saturday sees “Jingle on Lake Anne,” a charming holiday event. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., enjoy a petting zoo, strolling carolers and plenty of merchant specials. At noon, Santa shows up on a lake barge.
Santa and Bob Simon, founder of Reston. Photo courtesy Maurisa Potts.
–Matt Basheda