March/April 2006

Contents Foundations Designs From Omaha Story by Elizabeth Wells Omaha designers are paying more attention to the details women want to make houses work better for families. Read More... Picture Perfect Story by Elizabeth Wells Photography by Jeffrey Bebee For Dan and Kathy Livingston, building on the signature hole at Deer Creek was just the perfect course. Read More... Cornerstones Profile Story by Kathryn Casey TLC's Laurie Smith discusses her new line of fabrics, her new book, and her inspirations for color. Read More... Technology Story by Duffy Hayes Sure your paint colors are beautiful, but what happens when you turn on the lights? Fabrics and paint can change drastically in the evening when the lamps are turned on. Make sure your bulbs are showing you the room you want to see. Read More... Christopher Lowell Story by Christopher Lowell Photography by Scott Dunbar Productions The courage for color! Christopher Lowell helps distinguish the fear of color by allowing it to be the starting point rather than an afterthought. Read More... Transformations Join us for our new transformation series as we satisfy your craving for change with dramatic details in the bathroom. Read More... Trends Story by Elyse Glickman Where do the "latest, greatest" trends come from anyway? Color expert Barbara Schirmeister talks about the wonderfully rich world of color in 2006 and how you can keep your home current, without starting from scratch every year. Read More... Additions Elements Cuisine Literary Rosie's View

Though we may not always be conscious of it, color is integral to the way we live our lives. After all, from the moment we're born, we're assigned a color. We paint rooms in shades that please us and dress in hues that we think flatter our skin and hair. We associate certain colors with emotion: Is red not the color of love? No matter what we do or where we go, color infl uences us?and sometimes without knowing it, it shapes how we feel about others. I remember sitting on the bed in my dorm room the first day of my sophomore year of college, waiting for my roommate to arrive. Late to register for on-campus housing, I was assigned a room that was to be occupied by another person?who was obviously also late to register for oncampus housing. In other words, we hadn't yet met, and I was jittery with anticipation: Would we get along? What if she snores? Will she mind that I'm hopelessly untidy? People ambled by the open door, wondering if my mystery roommate had yet made her appearance. "Oh, Lexa's your roommate, I think," volunteered a spirited blonde in Birkenstocks who was inexplicably in-the-know. "I hope you like purple," she added cryptically, and drifted back down the hall. I was perplexed. I now had this random clue about the girl who was to share my space for the next year, but what did it really say? Was she president of the Barney fan club? Did she guzzle grape juice? So this Lexa girl likes purple. Hmmm. I waited. I fell asleep on my extra-long twin mattress. It wasn't long after I'd drifted off that the door swung open with a "whoosh." Surprised, I sat up to take in the figure weighed down with numerous duffel bags standing in the threshold. She wore a floppy (you guessed it) purple sun hat over her dark brown curls and an even bigger grin. I got up, and she thrust out her hand, "Hi, I'm Lexa." Then-she actually curtsied. And for the next year, we were off . Our friendship has proven to be a long one, transcending the college era into bonafide adulthood. Our lives have changed, become more complex and interesting, but I still find myself glancing back on those early years and the things I'll always associate with the 19-year-old Lexa: Jethro Tull's Aqualung, Orange Roughy, and purple. Not so much because she favored purple clothing (she did), but because it was the first thing I ever knew about her. They say that purple is the color of royalty-and whenever I think of that fall day in 1991 when the California girl with the huge personality curtsied in the doorway, I can't help but smile.