lowelldown

Hi Everyone,

Wow, thank you all for so many encouraging comments! It means so much. I will no doubt need your support and voices as I explore doing a new series. There is power in numbers and it will take all of you to convince a network that there is an audience for what I do.

Don’t be surprised if I start asking you all some very specific questions as I go through the development phases. If I return, I want to make sure whatever I produce connects with you today. So be honest with your comments as you have always been.

I won’t skirt the issue…getting a show in this category mounted is going to be a tough sell to the networks so your comments here will be very meaningful. But I will assure you the same equation of inspiration, motivation, achievable ideas and fun will continue to be part of the mix.

Stay tuned!

Again thank you all!

CL

Hi Everyone:

I’m about to leave for Chicago to be the keynote speaker for the Awards for Volunteer Excellence. I’m greatly looking forward to being with people who understand the power of volunteerism—in short, kindness! Having read the entire nominees’ stories it’s truly heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time. They are all beyond winners. When I return I will post my speech.

Now don’t get too excited yet but in answer to more of your questions about when and if I’m to return to TV, I want you to know that I am exploring the possibility once again. Gulp! I’ve even signed with a new talent agency in L.A. to explore some options I’ve been toying with. It was not an easy decision and came with a great deal of soul searching. And I’m not promising anything yet…but I am taking meetings again…

But why?

Because I feel the state of how-to programming is the worst it’s ever been and I know many of you agree—I’m continually eavesdropping on many of your sites and blogs.

Ironically, it comes at a time when Americans need real experts more then ever, especially with the amount of lifestyle changes, downsizing, re-prioritizing and reinvention this country is going through.

Unfortunately there just are so very few ‘experts’ to turn to today. Not sure I’m secure in buying home goods for Kim Kardashion, or Justin Timberlake…..really?

Many could have been experts but often it’s not their fault. These ‘reality show’ mandates and how they are produced simply do not work in the lifestyle format. I knew that five years ago when they tried to infect my own show with conflicts, competitions and mind numbing homeowner ‘chitchat.’

The HGTV’s of the world have shot themselves in their own proverbial feet and have turned off a lot of their core viewers who are saying enough already.  It’s just not working…at least for those of you who want REAL hardcore information and inspiration you can really use.

Often these ‘hosts’ are relegated to being Emcees; traffic cops and umpires versus actually teaching. Many aren’t even experts at all but spokespeople…sadly many so-called hosts have come and gone not realizing that you have to be FAR more then an interior designer to host a really good lifestyle show.

You have to understand performance, how to properly educate for TV, how to produce in a way that viewers can actually understand and more importantly, duplicate. You have to be very good in business and forecasting trends so you know that what you’re telling your audience will be relevant a year after the shows are done and ready to air.   And you have to know enough about show business to actually get the right stuff in the can and on TV in the first place. It’s not for the fainthearted for sure.

But you know when I first came to TV the situation was the same and the category had to be reinvented. I guess what I’m saying is that if I could do it once, perhaps, now that the category has come full circle, maybe I should try reinventing it once again.

More later…

CL

I had debated with myself about whether or not to even comment on the recent article where I was once again lumped into a stereotype that often comes with the decorating profession. But I’m happy I did because it seemed to strike a chord with many of you. So firstly, right off the bat, thank you for those great responses to that blog post. It reminds us all that we’re smart, compassionate and rather well read folks here.

Secondly, I want to assure many of you that my point of even ‘going there’ was not to vent or defend myself. I’m a big boy and have, frankly, read worse which I generally ignore. My real point was to use the moment to start a dialogue about the very nature and effect of stereotyping.   Those of us who have grown up in the arts get this all the time.

Designers, dancers, figure skaters…you name it, have been easy targets for decades. Odd since to do any of those professions well takes an extraordinary amount to self-possessed vision, brutal discipline and rigorous stamina which fly in the very face of the stereotype itself.

Stereotyping may begin with envy-based gossip but then leads to bulling—a deadly epidemic in your schools today–and escalates to everything from discrimination to war itself.

I have had the great privilege to be in the company of some of the nations great thinkers who all, without exception, agree that we could almost dispense with the constitution and nine of the ten commandments if we all truly understood the most important one…“Love they neighbor as thyself.”

So thanks again for all your comments.

Later,

CL

Hello Everyone,

I was reflecting on the comment I saw yet again in a recent article. It’s an interview with Tom Filicia from Queer Eye. (see link below)

http://www.washingtonblade.com/2012/03/29/queer-eye-on-d-c/

In this article I was mentioned with the following comment:

“…Filicia chuckles when Christopher Lowell’s (“Interior Motives,” “It’s Christopher Lowell!”) name is mentioned. “I hate to stereotype, but yeah, I think he’s gayer than a handbag,” Filicia says. “He’s kind of like the Corky St. Claire character in ‘Waiting for Guffman,’ always talking about his wife. I think Christopher Lowell is a really genius business man and a genius at marketing but what he does is so very different, it’s not something I’ve really connected with aesthetically, but I’m certainly a big fan of him as a businessman and designer. It’s the same reason there are millions of restaurants. Everybody wants something different so he fills a niche that’s greatly needed and it’s wonderful that he’s doing great things with the people who connect with what he does.”

Thanks for the very off-handed “genius” comments, Tom…you are in fact correct I am known in many circles — as Richard Lowell Madden — my real name. I am, as you say, a very astute businessman with a long visionary history in creating both successful marketing and entertainment vehicles…but that also included bringing my alter ego Christopher Lowell to television as well.

While my fans know this well, you might not.

As a poor artist, not being able to afford representation, I created Christopher when I was 17 as the creative entity, or should I say, THE artist — much like an actor changes his name. I then used myself, Richard Lowell Madden, as the business and front guy/agent. By doing so it took me out of my introverted shyness and helped divide the creative sensitive guy from the more all-business guy. As a result I have had an extraordinary global career in the arts and have showed both my art and my musical skills on my TV show. This dual personality, as it were, proved very handy as I executive produced my own TV shows for years. It allowed me to be completely objective about all the content the viewer would see while also protecting the other part of me — the entertainer and the teacher, Christopher Lowell.

More importantly it assured that I never indulged Christopher Lowell at the expense of the message, my guests or my viewers. In fact there were designers who appeared on my show whom, despite the pre-interviews, when their patter became stereotypical, mean spirited, judgmental or caddy, we stopped tape—or simply never aired the segments.

And again you are right, Tom, Christopher Lowell and I, over the years, were indeed very much influenced by many things including the character Corky St. Claire too…how astute of you. Even Jamie Lee Curtis during a long conversation finally asked me if I had adopted some of the aspects which her husband Christopher Guest created. Busted!

Others styles I also admired and adopted were those of Leo Biscaglia, a brilliant motivator of his time along with a bit of Graham Kerr (the Galloping Gourmet) thrown in. Graham knew how to make chopping onions hysterical and it was why I watched. What they all had in common was their inherent authenticity and sweetness and they were all in their own way wonderful teachers.

So, having said all that, let’s take me out of the picture entirely and get to the real reason I write this in the first place.

What really worries me most is this idea of stereotyping in general. I guess what I’m saying is that in a volatile world like ours where a black kid gets killed just because he’s wearing a hoodie, where profiling and discrimination are still very real issues that seem to be escalating, isn’t the less said about stereotypes at all…better? No matter who it’s said about or how inaccurate, I cringe when ANYONE begins a sentence with… “I hate to stereotype but…” And then does so.

I mean isn’t that re-enforcing stereotyping even more?

And is it just me? Am I the only one who finds comments like these (“I hate to stereotype but…”) on the subject of “gay” oddly hypercritical, presumptuous and even more dangerous coming from a cast member who permitted his very sexual orientation to become the lead calling card in the actual title of the show that probably set the Gay Decorator stereotype back decades?

Believe me, I’m not offended personally. My audience and I worked hard to grow past our individual fears together for almost a decade and are proud of it.

I hope the next time you’re goaded into perpetuating a stereotype, Tom, that you don’t “take the bait’ and instead have the grace to make it a teachable moment.

I would really love to hear from all of you on the blog and on Facebook about your impressions on this issue.

Later,

CL

In my opinion, politics today has become a quagmire of falsehoods, slander and the media’s spinning manipulation of imagery and fact. In short, it’s impossible for we American’s to actually invest the proper time to even know what or whom we’re really voting for these days. I, however, have been lucky to have George Ahearn at my disposal for almost two decades. I met he and his wife, Mary, when I was in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. They were one of my first interior design clients there whose home (after a major renovation) appeared in my debut series, “Interior Motives.”

After the ‘professional aspects’ of our relationship was complete, we moved on to close friendship. Quickly they became like surrogate parents to me. In fact George was the first person I shared my ten-year marketing plan for creating a TV series on lifestyle…and the rest, as they say, is history.

While his wife and I shared a passionate love affair with cooking, George began to educate me on affairs of the world. His insights amazed me. His contacts within the world of politics and big business put me in a privileged front row seat to the inside workings of this country. Over the years he has been my go-to source, always pumping me with the real facts of what’s going on, while I have given him (I hope) an ongoing snapshot of the ‘mood’ of the American public—articulating to him what we everyday Americans all are actually thinking.

His wisdom came in handy (saved my conversational life actually) when I was twice invited to the White House. There, speaking with dignitaries and Mrs. Clinton, I could actually hold my own thanks to him.

Mary and I always encouraged him to write a blog and get his knowledge on paper. He did. In recent years I continued to tell him that he really should write a book based on those blogs–to tell the American people what he had (and has) shared with me—and in the way he shares it.

See, George has always given me the facts with which to make my own now informed decisions. Whether we actually agree on everything (candidates, procedure or specific humanitarian issues) has always been beside the point. And I must admit that I’m the ultimate pushover still trying to rescue the world in my own way. Without his insight and study, I’d be far less aware or balanced in my judgments of how this government works and I’d be even more a victim of my often heart-on-my-sleeve thinking.

We’ve talked for hours on the phone as this election year moves closer in these ridiculously convoluted and complex times. I always hang up the phone feeling like I’m starting to get it and wishing that the rest of America had his ear like I do.

Well now you do!

George, passionate about the outcome of this election, cleared his busy desk and with the help of his wife at the computer just finished:

America’s Reluctant Transformation

Amazon.com: America’s Reluctant Transformation eBook: George Ahearn: Kindle Store

It debuted today and I can’t wait to read it. Maybe you’d like to read it too.

Congratulations George.

Hi All,

You know when we change the clocks, that’s the first real sign for me that a new season is upon us. It’s a reboot, a do-over, a chance to reinvent how we live in this new spring and new summer. What can we reconsider that we didn’t before? How can we be open to new ideas and less on automatic pilot?   Could we suspend the ideas that we always default to, in favor of, stopping for a moment and asking ourselves…hmmm, how do I feel about that now?  Have I maybe evolved past the things that seemed to always make me happy? Do I have the confidence to take that second or two to consider or re-consider ideas that I ruled out before (the ones that I was emphatic to everyone about–my do’s and don’ts)?

As we age our needs change. Therefore, our concepts of the world and our place in it should evolve with it. Old boundaries might have to be lifted and new boundaries might have to be set in their place.   As these things evolve, so do (and should) our homes—to reflect those changes. What we cared about and lived with for many years may no longer be appropriate to what we need today. Those things that once told our stories may be way off base to the new stories we might now want to tell.

Where once a vibrant color-saturated (vibrating) environment was inspiring to us, maybe a more tranquil, spa inspired monochromatic (but still dramatic) cooler tonal palette is really better suited to us now.

Perhaps when we first did our homes, it was the sum total of what we knew then. Do we know more now? Has our curiosity and exposure over the years changed our idea of what we aspire to now? With more information and confidence, would we make the same decisions on our homes that we’re still living with?

And don’t tell me there’s no budget for a few gallons of paint or a box of heavy trash bags to do some important editing.

Remember the physical interior always matches the mental one. And if you change one, the other changes too. Trust me, I’ve seen it happen over and over again. Our homes provide that intimate incubator to explore, re-define, step forward and experiment in some of the most meaningful and compelling ways available to us.

Perhaps if we stop waiting for the world beyond our doors to make the change we desire, and realize that changes under one own roof can happen right now, we then use our homes to regain our personal power and creativity back.

And you thought it was just about decorating? No, just try re-arranging the furniture one weekend. Change the furniture room to room and watch the context change too. It’s not about interior design as much as it is about changing the dynamic of the house you live in. In short, instigating change rather then waiting for permission to make those changes…change everything.

You can do it!

Later,

CL

Well, I have witnesses well before the fact that I….nailed all the top awards except Meryl Streep. How did you do?

It was good to see the Academy at least make an attempt to restore the dignity of the Oscars. They did, however, miss the boat again in not really showing the interesting history of the movie industry. Instead we got people’s commentary or circus acts. The brand has over-experimented with the format and lost some credibility as a result of trying to be all things to all people.

As a real ‘old Hollywood’ history buff, I can tell you that the story of film is an extraordinary one that the Academy should start re-telling to a new generation. I also think they need to take a page from the Tony Awards too. Give us a jammed packed 2 hours versus four hours of tech award speeches.

No one knows better then me that these people are extremely valuable to us in the business, but are of little interest to those outside of it—meaning the TV viewers. Every time I was nominated for an Emmy (6), our categories were never televised either — only the Daytime soaps. We didn’t mind and had just as glamorous an evening as a result. Re-branding is a strategic process that requires real know-how.

Until next time,

CL

“We have to be kinder to celebrities.”

An interesting comment made by Tyler Perry at Whitney’s funeral.

I wish it were that easy. While I totally understand what Perry meant, I only agree with it to a certain extent. I believe we should allow some slack for people who pour their hearts out to us using their God given talent (I mean real actual talent BTW). Give them time to age while they pay the price for being out there wearing their hearts on their sleeves, giving us their all…we should be kinder.

We should understand that growing older gracefully in front of a public (who wants you to remain somehow immortal) is so not easy. The unrealistic judgments splayed across the tabloids do in fact simply spur on the insecurities and hardship of being labeled a ‘has-been’ and being okay with it while keeping one’s dignity intact.

Returning to the real world where entitlements and approval are no longer the norm, takes real work and guts. It takes soul searching, forward thinking and far more generosity and far less self-absorption to weather the often-stormy transition.

Sadly only about 25% of performers (that we know about) do this with any kind of grace. And when they do, we never hear those stories because they simply bow out quietly. It’s only the crash and burn gossip which we hear about from the rest of the performers who become desperate to maintain their clout, privileged lives and worship.  They are the ones who buckle under the expectations that we hear about the most, because that’s what sells. It satisfies our talent envy and offers us an inner voice that says “See that’s what happens…..”

Most people haven’t a clue about the hours of hard work it takes to produce what they make look easy. That too takes guts, talent, sweat and often nerves of steal. Often their privacy is completely invaded as a result.  Trust becomes a hard thing to find. Soon they are forced into their own world of handlers, wanna-be’s and enablers. Is it any wonder they buckle and lose their way?

Often we sit in judgment from the comforts of our theater or living room seats, type-casting and pigeon holing those who flicker across our various screens. We do it because some how it makes us feel on equal terms and somehow in charge of these people’s careers with the applause meter and the clicker as our weapons.

Today, however, being in show business is no longer a mystery. There’s enough information and transparency to know what one is getting into — although I must say, no one is ever really ready for fame. It’s an unnatural state of being.

Now the question is, should we extend this same empathy to those who deliberately manipulate the media then wonder why, when they crash and burn, that there is no one on their side?  Should we extend this same latitude to reality stars that spend their careers behaving badly and showing us the worst of ourselves?

I say NO!

We need to begin to set a standard for what a ‘classy’ career should look like. We should be smart enough to be able to identify real authenticity and real talent. We should be able to detect when a celebrity is trying to do the right thing and setting realistic boundaries.

We should admire those who survive the Show Business Machine and have a dignified exit strategy that isn’t based on greed or desperation. Knowing when to leave takes smarts, courage and impeccable timing which cannot be derailed because someone throws more money at them to tarnish what, up until then, has been a ‘classy’ career.

I’m just sayin’…..

Later,

CL

Food:

In-home entertaining is on the rise as we turn our homes not into elegant formal eateries of the past (with formal dining room sit-down affairs) but with what I call the “bistro-effect.”   Plain white dishes and serving pieces from the local restaurant supply become the mainstay in American homes. The pricey dinner sets of the past are now being hung on walls as decoration since they never get much use anymore—that’s a good thing.   Remember a casual affair lowers guest anxiety and ramps up the fun quotient.

While the in-home entertaining idea and the Food Network have spawned a host of new home chefs in the kitchen — including men big time — there are still many who choose not to cook. So, local farmers markets and grocery stores are ramping up their pre-prepared food departments while food suppliers are helping by offering already-prepped foods that make entertaining far easier.   A few oversized plates heaping with rustic food placed on a kitchen island or the old dining room table as a buffet is the new entertaining style for the future.

Music:

Because of the ease of downloading and compact equipment, music takes a greater roll in tone of the get-together. With a new generation also discovering our old classic jazz, rock and pop icons, the digital play list becomes as vital as the menu.

Master Suites:

Those who said the bedroom should only be for sleeping didn’t have kids! In truth, the master bedroom will now mimic the boutique hotel suite.  Where once the low chest of drawers had a photo of grandma, now it sports the equivalent of a mini bar. An in-suite coffee maker, bottled-water, snacks and even wine allow parents the ability to have their own private “time-out.” That first morning cup of coffee can now be had before ever having to face the often chaotic mad-dash out the door morning.

Perpendicular Placement:

Taking the cues from great retail boutiques where thick, chunky cubby-style shelving, open on both sides, no longer goes up against the wall but perpendicular to it—thus creating instant alcoves and rooms within rooms. This not only amps up storage (with bins) and a display area but creates interest and even privacy spots in today’s open free-flow spaces.

Tabletop Mood Control:

With now-affordable decorative table lamps becoming the new accessory, table top dimmers have been redesigned to better help control the mood of the room as it transitions from tasking by day to lounging at night. Because of the many public spaces that make mood lighting their ‘thing’, this generation understands it’s seductive power.  So today’s tabletop lamp dimmers are smaller and far more discrete and cheaper then ever before.

Utilitarian Style:

The new look called “utility” has gone beyond stainless steel and wheels. It’s now a hybrid between the new ‘Steampunk’ style present in modern turn of the century movies like Hugo and a host of other Sci-Fi movies. A patchwork style use of various riveted metals on everything from coffee tables to chairs has been recently seen in some of the magazines ads of mainstream “Restoration Hardware.”

Rusted tin, distressed mirrors, pealing silver leaf, aged gold guild over modern streamlined objects are this generation’s nod to the past and a quasi-flea market look without the hassle.  Caution: It’s cool, but a little bit goes a LONG way. So choose your objects and their placement wisely or your home might look like Jules Vern’s 20,000 leagues under the sea.

Clocks:

Because of this Steampunk gear-heavy style, the oversized wall clock makes a comeback too…but in a very classic way. Simple carved chunky frames and aged Roman numeral faces in painted tin replace the pseudo French crackle finish over wood clocks of the recent past. Like the resurgence of classic framed mirrors in the home, it’s a non-gender specific wall adornment with function and architecture that both sexes are okay with.

If you’re diggin’ these forecasts let me know on Facebook and I’ll do a trend part 3!

Later,

CL

Design Forecast Part 1

It’s been a long haul. Many folks have now downsized. Those who owned homes now are renting for the first time, those still in their homes are beginning to rethink them in a whole new way.  Now, with greater focus and deliberate and conscious thought, many people feel that they have a lot more information to begin reshaping their lives and homes to fit these new priorities.

Lots of purging, repurposing and re-arranging is happening under many American roofs. This process has (also as predicted) actually brought out the innate creativity in many people who may simply have take how they once lived for granted.

The emerging trends we’re seeing are:

People are painting up a storm again. Rich earth-nature-spa-resort inspired colors are covering those white walls once again. Yellow-gold, warm grey, slate green, pale blue, eggplant, deep taupe, shale, warm deep tans and khaki, are taking the lead.

Small accent walls in vibrant colors are also making a comeback. Warm (yellow based) orange, deep plumb, periwinkle, chartreuse, chocolate brown and flannel grey are non-gender specific colors that both he and she are liking and painting small accent walls with blocks of color.

The chunky, oversized, architecturally framed mirrors (in black, silver, gold leaf, ash and mahogany) are replacing dated wall art as a way to visually open up space and reflect the room while adding timeless, movable architecture to spaces.

Media centers are moving back into living rooms…which are no longer reserved only for company. Big flat screens and compact components now allow media centers to set on credenzas or table surfaces like large picture frames versus enclosed in big media cabinets of the past. The wall mount is also trending huge. The swing arm has been better perfected so that the TV can be viewed now from various angles. But the price you save on less TV’s should be put towards a professional install.

The large backless modern settee is going strong. Now sofa sized, these upholstered pieces allow them to float between two furniture groupings where people can sit on both sides and when empty they don’t block views.

Lamps are the new tabletop accessories. With tabletop clutter now less desirable and designer lighting now very affordable, the lamp is often the only thing on the table.

Stacked crystal glass ball lamps with simple, modern geometric shades (in white or black) are trending well. In fact taller, more geometric inspired lamps of all kinds, are replacing the traditional urn or vase shaped ones of the past.

Area rugs are ruling over wall-to-wall carpet now: Wood or veneer floors (even in bedrooms) are doing the heavy lifting while area rugs now define conversation areas. Here we see a more textural-driven attitude in design versus the more vibrant approach of the past. Random leaf and nature patterns are hot and even the old oriental carpets have been toned way down and even ‘tea-stained’ to not dominate the space but simply provide more subtle pattern under foot.

I’ll have more for you in my next installment…

Bye for now!

CL