Patio Makeover for Under $1000

I've received several emails after the airing of our latest Design On A Dime episode, many asking the same three questions. Here are the answers. Hope this helps!

Q: What type of material was used on the pergola to create shade and where can I get it?
A: It's called sun screen and is available at Lowe's.

Q: Where did you purchase the patio furniture?
A: The furniture came from a variety of places. The chairs came from a thrift store, I found the coffee table on Craigslist and the loveseat is from Ikea. I painted all the furniture pieces white to match. I also made new cushion covers to match our gray and yellow color scheme.

Q: Where did you get the chandelier?
A: I purchased the chandelier from a thrift store for about $25 and spray painted it a bright yellow.

Below are some photos of the makeover. The homeowners wanted a patio that was a little bit country and a little bit Hollywood Regency. This is what we came up with. By the way, I do not recommend doing a patio makeover in 100+ degree weather. Yikes. We went through gallons of lemonade and almost as much sunblock.
BEFORE:

AFTER:

944 Architecture and Design Issue

I'm featured in this month's issue of 944 magazine. I'm honored that they thought of me for their article on "rock star designers". How cool is that?! "Kahi Lee, rock star designer"...has a nice ring to it. I could get used to that. ;) Don't let our serious faces fool you, the photo shoot was a blast. It was great meeting the other designers; Nicole Sassaman, Ryan and Joshua Brown, and Jeff Andrews. Thanks again 944!

Barcelona

Hotel Casa Fuster

Blank Canvas at ICFF in NYC

Here are some photos from the Orange 22 booth at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair and silent auction launch event in New York City this past weekend. Dario, Henry and the rest of the Orange 22 team did an amazing job. The booth was gorgeous.
And now...I'm off to Barcelona for a well-earned and much needed vacation. Hasta Luego!




I have a very cool mom: At the Chelsea Art Museum for the Blank Canvas launch event and silent auction with my sister Annie, our mom Cathy, Dario Antonioni of Orange22 and his lovely wife Natasha: With Thorin Schriber from the Louise T. Blouin Foundation and Brian Brewer from the Cancer Research Institute:
Signing my pieces for the silent auction:

Blank Canvas

We are quickly approaching the launch date for the Blank Canvas designer pieces at ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) in New York. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of these eco-friendly designer pieces will benefit several very worthy causes. I am so honored to be one of the 8 designers making a difference through design. The sale of my pieces will benefit the Cancer Research Institute. Cancer has affected far too many people in my life and I am committed to joining the fight against it.
Watch the teaser video clip for the Blank Canvas project below:

Denver This Weekend

I've never been to Denver so I'm really excited to be heading there this weekend. I will be speaking at the Colorado Women's Expo and in pretty good company I might add...Suze Orman, Bob Greene, Stacy London and ME! This is a pinch me moment for sure. I'm thrilled to be included in such an amazing lineup. So if you are in the Denver area, be sure to come on by and say hello! This is going to be a great event.

Purple and Gold

I love purple and I love gold. Put them together and you have my favorite color combination of the moment. I'd love to use the colors in my house but the only space left to design is my husband's den (aka his "man room"). Maybe I can somehow convince him that I'm actually designing the room in honor of his favorite NBA team, the Lakers. Go purple and gold!

Designing For a Cause...

I've been asked to participate in an innovative and socially responsible design project. I'm honored and thrilled to have been asked to join such a talented and prestigious group of designers. The project is being orchestrated by Orange22 and is sponsored by Surface magazine and the groop. Stay tuned for more information.

Eight icons of design have joined forces with Orange22 Design Lab to launch the firm's Blank Canvas Project. Each designer will create a new edition of Orange22's indoor-outdoor, eco-friendly Botanist furniture. Orange22, which is preparing to unveil the new iconic designs at ICFF this May, has committed to match each designers royalty to a social cause of their choice.

"When we began thinking about the Botanist™ Blank Canvas project two years ago, we knew we wanted to produce more than furniture. Botanist is about entrusting our colleagues - each of whom we admire, to do what they love and give back in the process. Botanist is simply a unique business model that serves as a catalyst toempower design for positive change," says Dario Antonioni, founder of Orange22.

"The Botanist™ Blank Canvas Project is an exciting collaborative initiative which gives designers and artists an opportunity to be creative as well as altruistic."
-Richard Koshalek, President, Art Center College of Design.

Botanist is a winning formula, because while the project will no doubt produce breathtaking furniture, it will also effect positive social change. Orange22's original Botanist line-which includes a cocktail table, end table, and bench-features intricate surface patterns cut with water-jet technology. Each sleek, metal form begins its life as a Blank Canvas . "We designed the structures to be strong and versatile enough to sustain any pattern we could imagine," says Antonioni. "Now, the industry's most celebrated designers will do the dreaming. Consumers are embracing design more and more each year and now with the Blank Canvas program they purchase furniture products with the knowledge that they too will be making a difference."


Botanist™ was launched in 2007 by Orange22 Design Lab, an award winning design studio in Downtown Los Angeles.

This year's 2008 Blank Canvas participants.

Yves Behar(fuseproject, San Francisco)
Margo Chase (Chase Design Group, Los Angeles)
Milton Glaser (Milton Glaser, Inc., New York)
Kahi Lee (Kahi Lee Lifestyle, Los Angeles)
Karim Rashid (Karim Rashid, Inc., New York)
Joe Ricchio (Ricchio Design, Seal Beach)
Massimo & Lella Vignelli (Vignelli Assoc., New York)
Claude Zellweger (One & Co, San Francisco)

The 80th Annual Academy Awards

My wonderful and talented husband Jason Bentley presided over the music at the 80th Annual Academy Awards Governors' Ball last month. The room was absolutely gorgeous, the menu by Wolfgang Puck was divine (macaroni and cheese with black truffles, need I say more?) and of course the music was nothing less than inspired. I'm so proud of my cutie pie hubby. The only thing that could make this even more awesome is if next year I get to help design the event. Ah, a girl can dream...

Ikat: My Latest Obsession

I've been a long time admirer of ikat prints but recently it's grown into a full-blown obsession. Lately the fashion and interior design industries seem to be celebrating ikat in a big way . You can't open a fashion or design magazine without encountering the lively woven textiles. These prints are breezy, relaxed and exotic and make me dream of chic places far far away. They are luxurious without being pretentious and for me define casual elegance. I am completely infatuated with this new trend which has been twice legitimized in Elle Decor by interior design trend gatekeepers Margaret Russell and most recently by Anita Sarsidi. I can't remember the last time I felt so strongly about a print. I want to wear it AND decorate with it. A fleeting romance? Perhaps, but aren't those always the most passionate? I encourage everyone to run out and have a spring fling with this refreshingly laid-back look.
Anthony Todd:

Madeline Weinrib:


Diane Von Furstenberg:

By Margaret Russell, Elle Decor:

Me and Dennis Kucinich

This is hilarious.
I received an email a couple weeks ago from a DOD fan informing me that I am mentioned in a new book called Aristotle and An Aardvark Go To Washington: Understanding Political Doublespeak Through Philosophy and Jokes, a political satire by best-selling authors Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein. Even though it mocks and pokes fun at politics, the media AND me, I think it's the coolest thing ever! In the book, I interview Dennis Kucinich! It's pretty funny.
Below is an excerpt from an interview with the authors.

BF: You have a hysterical last chapter where you set up your own interviews. You imagine the interviews, and you have Home and Garden's Kahi Lee interviewing Dennis Kucinich.

Thomas Cathcart: We're shameless, aren't we?

BF: Yeah, you have Robert Verdi, Fashion Police host, interviewing John Edwards. Then MTV has Barack Obama, and Rachel Ray talks with Hillary Clinton. They're much more interesting and amusing than the real debates, I must say.

Daniel Klein: Well, the idea was that we're at the point where every little niche was having their moment. You know, the MTV, YouTube, I think the gay channel, Logo. Everybody had their chance to do their interviews. So we thought, why stop there? And imagined these other ones.

Kahi on The Early Show on CBS

Contemporary Living Room

Check out one of our latest room makeovers. We did it all for $1000 and yes, that includes the blue sectional! Smart shopping is what it's all about.
BEFORE:

AFTER:

Abraham's stylish room divider gives much needed separation between the living room and dining room.

I'm no Picasso but I think my paintings turned out pretty well. It's fun and easy to create custom one-of-kind art.

Happy 2008!

Well, so much for my New Year's resolution to update my blog weekly. We're four weeks into 2008 and I'm just now getting around to posting my first blog. I guess I was doomed to fail as soon as I made the resolution. Resolutions never seem to work out the way they're supposed to. Next year, I resolve not to make any resolutions and then maybe, just maybe, I'll accomplish something.
I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays. I wish I could say I did. Don't get me wrong, I loved spending time with friends and family but I came down with a mean cold and was in bed with a box of Kleenex from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day. Needless to say my New Year's Eve was less than rockin'. Instead of dancing the night away with champagne and confetti, I was at home with my two cats and a humidifier.
So far 2008 has been really busy and exciting. We've hit the ground running on Design On A Dime so things are cooking on the TV front. There's a lot happening at my design firm as well. I have two exciting clients. I'm still working on the Beverly Hills residence but we also have a fabulous new commercial client. We've just started work on a nightclub/restaurant project that I am super excited about. Stay tuned for details.
In addition to all that, I've started to redesign my own home. As you might imagine, a designer's home is always in flux. I am tempted by so many beautiful new styles and colors on a daily basis that it is extremely difficult to stick with any one look in my house for too long. So the metamorphosis begins once more.

I've received a lot of email inquiries lately so I thought I'd take this opportunity to answer some of the more popular questions here:

Q: How did you make the Victorian Silhouette Art for the Christmas episode?
A: A little elf named Spencer helped me create the art on the Photoshop computer program. If you are tech-challenged like I am, I suggest finding someone well-versed like Spencer to teach you how to use the program. Once you get the hang of it, it's pretty simple.

Q: Where did you get the bird stencil from the Eclectic Kitchen episode?
A: I got the stencil for $10 at Urban Outfitters. Sadly, they no longer have the stencil in stock. But they do have other interesting stencils and decals so it's definitely worth a perusal.

Q: Do you make personal appearances?
A: While I don't actively speak at conventions and conferences, I do have a couple dates scheduled. I will be in Orlando on February 13 for The International Builders' Show. I also have a tentative engagement in Denver in April.

Q: How do I sign up to be on Design On A Dime?
A: This is definitely the most frequently asked question. The show shoots in the Los Angeles (with my team) and in Chicago (with Frank's team). If you live in LA or Chicago and would like to apply to be on the show please visit Pietown.tv

That's it for now but I promise I will be posting much more frequently than I have been.
Let's have a Happy, Healthy and Stylish 2008!

Tony Duquette: Design Icon










Tony Duquette is one of my design heroes. He was an influential twentieth century interior designer, artist and set and costume designer. His career started in Los Angeles in the early 1940's where his artistry and panache quickly caught the attention of Hollywood. Duquette designed sets and costumes for Metro Goldwyn Mayer which produced some of the most lavish and iconic films of the era. In the 60's and 70's Duquette designed homes for the likes of Doris Duke, Norton Simon and J. Paul Getty (wow!). Duquette's design style changed and evolved over his 60 year career but it always remained a step ahead and a cut above. His designs have stood the test of time and are as gorgeous now as they ever were.

There is a new book out titled simply Tony Duquette authored by Wendy Goodman and Hutton Wilkinson with a forward written by another hero of mine, Dominick Dunne. I can't wait to get my hands on it. It's at the top of my Christmas wish list (hint hint).

Below are some photos from his portfolio.

Latest Design Project
Kahi Lee Lifestyle has signed a new client! We are very excited to start work on this gorgeous 4,000 square foot Beverly Hills home. The newly built home is nestled in Beverly Hills with sweeping views of the city. We are scheduled to complete work in April 2008.

Altar Your Space Event at Tara Home
Two nights ago, I had the honor of being invited to the launch of Jagatjoti Khalsa's inspiring book Altar Your Space at his store Tara Home. The event was hosted by Joely Fisher who also wrote the introduction to Jagatjoti's beautiful book. Notable guests included Adrien Brody and Sharon Stone.

An Aside of Mac n' Cheese

I don't smoke, I don't drink (much), I don't gamble and I don't swear (okay that one's a lie, sorry Mom) but I do have one major vice...macaroni and cheese! Why does it have to be so irresistably delicious?! I love everything about it from it's molten cheesy center to it's crisp burnt edges. My addiction is no secret. I wear my obsession on my sleeve.
Every once in awhile I get emails from fans and fellow M&C addicts claiming they know who makes the best mac n' cheese. Being the mac n' cheese connoisseur that I am, I am usually very skeptical of these claims but I recently got an email from Linda in New York who may have found a real contender. S'Mac in NYC looks like my idea of heaven. They make 10 different kinds of mac n' cheese. In fact mac n' cheese is all they make! I'm particularly excited about their Cajun mac n' cheese. Thanks Linda for the heads up! I am booking my flight today.

Here's what Linda had to say:

Hello Kahi,

I really love your designs and ideas from Freestyle and was even more pleased to find out that you’re hosting Design on A Dime. Because I’m a business systems analyst in the finance industry, seeing someone with artistic flair fills me with awe. I find it remarkable how you can create a design on paper and bring it to life via renovation/decoration. It’s just mind-boggling.

Okay, so enough with the oooh’s and aaah’s, I’m sure you get plenty of those. I noticed in your blurb on your website and on hgtv.com regarding your pursuit for the perfect mac n’ cheese – well, if you ever come out to NYC, supposedly this place makes the best in town: http://smacnyc.com/

I haven’t tried it yet, but I’ve heard many reviews and recommendations for this place. It had gotten a ton of press 2 years ago and it’s a busy place if you walk by the shop in the East Village.


Take care,
Linda

Where I'll be on November 10th...

Happy Halloween!
I had such a blast shooting the Halloween special for TV Guide Network's Fashion Team. I gave viewers some fun and easy Halloween party decorating tips. It was the first time I've ever worn a costume on television and it was so much fun! I've got to figure out a way to do it more often. Thank you to host Daphne Brogdon and guest co-host Nick Verreos of Project Runway fame for making my appearance so much fun. And a huge thank you with hugs and kisses to Ever and Vanessa for hunting down laboratory equipment, dry ice, doll heads and all the other crazy Halloween stuff I sent you out to find on short notice. Check out these behind-the-scenes photos:

Kahi "The Bee" Lee:

Getting my bee hive touched up in the green room:

Going Gothic with Nick:

With Daphne Brogdon and Nick Verreos:

Getting some last minute notes before filling in for Nick:

Chatting with Daphne:

Buzzing around backstage:

Exotic Dining Room
This makeover is one of my most favorite designs to date on Design On A Dime. Not only were the homeowners, Ravi and Jerusha, super cool people who love color and dramatic design but the room's architecture was gorgeous and had huge potential. We gave Ravi and Jerusha an Indian-inspired dining room with plenty of bling to satisfy Jerusha's love of shiny things. And remember, we do it all for just a $1000!
BEFORE:

AFTER:

A new more subdued color palette:

A cluster of customized chandeliers, gold ceiling paint and iridescent fabric give the room its sparkle:

Spencer's awesome custom dining table was built from scratch:

New purple velvet upholstery gives the dining chairs a regal look:

Gold wall stenciling, Abraham's new chunky chair rail and a few sumptuous accessories finish off the room:

Kahi Lee is Today's Girl
Thank you to the people at Maxim magazine for deeming me Maxim-worthy. I was Maxim's Today's Girl from Friday Oct 26th 2007- Sunday Oct 28th 2007. My reign was short but glorious. Thanks Maxim.com. It was fun!

Behind The Scenes
A few of you have asked me to post some behind-the-scenes photos. So here ya go!

This is how I keep paint out of my hair:

Hamming it up with Spencer:

Studying my lines (yes, sometimes we have lines):

Me with the guys:

Without our trusty sound guys, you'd never hear a word I say:

The unglamourous part of my job...in the workshop, covered in sawdust:

Kicking butt and taking names:

Whimsical, Eclectic, Country Kitchen
The recent kitchen makeover we did on Design On A Dime is one of my favorites because we were asked to go completely over-the-top! The homeowner wanted a kitchen to match her quirky and fun-loving personality. The rest of her home was funky, hip and colorful but the kitchen left the homeowner stumped. Teacups, doilies and vibrant colors helped us transform the bland space into a stylishly kitschy kitchen for under $1000.
BEFORE:



AFTER:

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
I was asked to design a Care Bear for Fox Home Entertainment's "Create A Care Bear" benefit for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. To date they have raised over $100,000 dollars for this very worthy cause. I created Carina Ballerina. Isn't she cute?

The Solair
In addition to working on Design On A Dime, I have been hard at work on the Solair a $160 million dollar, ground-up high rise residential complex being built in conjunction with the city of Los Angeles (across the street from the historic Wiltern Theater). The model home which I designed was built off-site in a nearby building because the 200+ unit building is still under construction. When complete the structure will stand 20 stories tall and be an exciting new addition to the Los Angeles skyline. I could not have done it without my fabulously talented and incredibly sexy staff. A HUGE thanks to my right hand man Ever and also to Vanessa and Jim. Thank you guys so much for all your hard work and dedication.
I will post more photos soon but here's a little sneak peek.

Matt & Shari
Old school HGTV fans are very familiar with Matt Fox and Shari Hiller. I just shot a pilot for their new HGTV talk show. I am so honored that they asked me to be their very first guest. Matt & Shari are AWESOME. They are two of the nicest and most sincere people on the planet. I wish them the best of luck on their new venture.

Sirius Radio Interviews
I did a phone interview a couple of days ago with Derek and Romaine on OutQ, Sirius 106. They were gracious, funny and all around awesome. Big ups to Derek, Romaine and everyone at OutQ! =)

I am also booked to do an in-studio interview on Maxim Radio, Sirius 108 on Wednesday Oct 17th. So be sure to tune in if you are a Sirius subscriber. I'll be on with "guy-culture" connoisseur Mike "Stretch" Roberts.

In the News...
Hi All -
I just wanted to share some recent news items featuring yours truly. Thank you for your continued support!
xo,
Kahi

Small Room Decorating - I talk about getting the most out of a small space.

The Los Angeles Daily News -I'm on the cover. How exciting! The article also features a Q&A with my husband. It's the first time we have been featured in print together! It's definitely going in our scrapbook.


Peninsula People -This one is near and dear to me because it's my hometown magazine. I grew up with peacocks in Palos Verdes Estates (hence my peacock logo).