Meet the designer shoot

Our first "shoot" is on Thursday, August 2nd starting at 11:00. It's where we meet Yvette (our designer) for the first time. Well, we've actually already met her. She's the bomb!

She is also going to bring our design that day so we'll get to see that for the first time. I can't wait.

Free pavers...let me think about that!

The producer e-mailed me this today:
Check out this website, they are interested in donating if you like it for your new walkway. http://www.boralbricks.com/

Yikes! How fun is that!!

2nd Meeting with our Designer

Chan didn't come to this one. He would have wanted to hang himself. My BF Nicole came though! We met at Piaggio's Loft - Yvette's Design Studio in Old Town Alexandria. It's totally cute and very successful. There were fabric samples everywhere.

BF Nicole

Nicole has excellent taste, so I was glad that she could come to the Loft with me to look at photos of houses.

It became clear that we were headed towards a "cottage" theme. I let it be known that I don't even like the WORD "cottage".

I did also make it clear that I would probably love whatever Yvette comes up with. This is her 10th episode of Curb Appeal, and from what I have seen on TV, she has an excellent sense of style!

Meet Yvette Piaggio

Yvette Piaggio

Designer and television personality Yvette Piaggio opened the doors of Piaggio's Loft in September 2001 in Alexandria, Virginia, after years of experience designing for manufacturers supplying exclusive retailers such as Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale's and Horchow. Yvette has appeared on several episodes of HGTV's show "Curb Appeal” and is continuing to film more episodes which will air over the upcoming months. In May, Yvette will be starring in a one hour special, set to air on HGTV. Additionally, she has filmed a pilot for National television and can be seen giving viewers of Washington, D.C.’s CBS television affiliate WUSA her "how to" tips on a regular basis. Opening Piaggio's Loft has been a dream of Yvette's since the age of 13, when she began taking classes at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology in addition to maintaining a regular high school curriculum. In the past 16 years, her talents and drive have taken her to virtually every end of the design world. Piaggio holds a degree in Accessory Design from The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and a degree in Visual Arts from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She currently resides with her husband and much-loved dog Mozart, in Northern Virginia.

First meeting with our Designer

Yvette came by at 10:30 today. We spent 2 hours talking about what we want to do. She had some great ideas. We're talking about a huge front porch, maybe even a double-decker! She had the idea of turning the front windows above the front door into doors that open on to the roof of the porch that we are adding.

This is a photo of a porch that I LOVE! I'm hoping for something like it!

We're going to do a follow-up meeting on Tuesday because we are not settled on a "style" yet.

I have some homework to research a few different styles. We think beach, but I'm leaning towards Mediterranean and she is leaning more towards Nantucket Cottage.

Gracie

Nicole got a new puppy! Gracie has nothing to do with Curb Appeal, but she is so darn cute, that I just had to add her pic!

Our Priorities - pre-meeting notes to designer

A few words to describe our style and what we want would be:
Sleek, Chic, Unique, Hip, Romantic, Sophisticated
We would love a space for living/entertaining outside.
Our priorities are as follows:
porch/pergola/columns (screened area - to far right)
walkway/retaining walls/stairs
driveway
demo - tear out current bushes and walkway - azaleas in back?
landscaping/sod/new soil
lighting (yard, porch, lamppost - love gas w/flickering flame)
sprinkler system
decorative potted plants
house numbers (maybe stamped in driveway)
new outdoor furniture, candles, lights, fan, bar,fabric panels, etc.
trash can and recycling bin hiding place - cabana or1/2 garage w/door
tree and stump removal (nice to save the big one but may not be possible)
paint
brick wall to the left of the driveway
dentil moulding accents accents under the windows (mini-pergolas)
new double-door
gas fire pit and/or water feature
roofing plantation shutters for top front windows (to match bottom)

That's a lot, I realize, so we will need your help deciding what makes the most sense. I have many pictures to help you get an idea of what we like. We are really excited about working with you. Loved your episode on Friday night. That house in McLean really turned out beautiful. Have a fun time in NY. See you on Saturday at 10.
Regards,
Paula

Our Designer - Yvette Piaggio

Here's the introduction from Mara (our producer): Hi Paula and Chan....meet designer extraordinaire Yvette Piaggio. You may have seen her on past episodes, and I am thrilled that she is available to work on your house. The next step is for y-all to get together off-camera. Be sure to tell Yvette about all of your ideas, dislikes, etc. With-in a week to 10 days, she will have a design, and we can talk about what the next steps would be. Ideally this should all happen by the end of the month at the latest.....in other words, you should all meet, and have a design no late than like the 31st. Cool? Also...we can schedule a time to film the “1st meeting” even though you will have all gotten together ahead of time. Are you all available on Thursday or Friday Aug 2nd or 3rd for this? Say at 11 or so. It should take about 1.5-2 hours. This is gonna be fun...oh did I tell you I was going to be your producer? M Curb Appeal Producer Yvette: Piaggio's Loft 309-A Cameron Street Alexandria, VA 22314 Tel: (703) 299-9366 Fax: (703) 299-9367 http://www.piaggiosloft.com/ <http://www.piaggiosloft.com/> Paula and Chan Warren: 703-299-2060