tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80479033551007959642011-12-28T00:51:44.444-06:00Advice, ramblings and fun stuff.Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.comBlogger251100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-14441196044388284482011-12-16T20:32:00.001-06:002011-12-16T20:33:35.094-06:00

After reading this tweet from the design community's very own @JamesSwan this week, I decided to tell you about a project that is close to my heart. At the end of February, this coming year, I will be heading up a monumental task: to build a house in a week … in Mexico. I had the opportunity to help with an Extreme Home Makeover here in Nashville a year or so back and I know pulling that off in

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-55416494173377736032011-12-11T20:48:00.003-06:002011-12-12T16:43:53.335-06:00

My Christmas tree is a mess, a hodgepodge of items that neither match nor make good sense color-scheme wise. Wood, glass, plastic, paper … unknown substances hang from its branches with no apparent rhyme or reason. It's PERFECT! I am not so sure that a Christmas tree should be a reflection of the latest and greatest decorating trend. I am of a mind that it should be a story of life, its

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-41727439883604911922011-11-25T23:23:00.002-06:002011-11-25T23:34:38.229-06:00

This is a hot idea...or maybe it's a cool product, either way, I love it.  About 14 years ago I installed my first programmable thermostat to help save on my heating and cooling bills. I have since replaced it with newer versions as they have become smarter and smarter. The problem has been that the thermostats are either hard to program or have few day-evening-night-weekend setting options, so

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-68846800424995805702011-11-12T23:34:00.001-06:002011-11-25T23:41:54.040-06:00

Innovation...inspiration...imitation...limitation...exasperation... These seem to be the five phases of design. We start out to innovate, look for inspiration, which usually leads to imitation, where we see our (perceived) creative limitations, which eventually leads to total exasperation. Do we follow this chain of events because we doubt our own eyes or brains ... maybe because we are afraid to

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-57981763936404023872011-10-02T20:34:00.004-05:002011-11-25T23:35:20.367-06:00

It was almost like being back in high school -- the "cool" people didn't want to be seen with the "un-cool," the jocks giving noogies to the nerds, and those band geeks like me stuck in-between with no social status at all. (By the way, this post has nothing to do with design ... please file under "Ramblings.")  Photograph: Roy McMahon/Zefa/Corbis I am, of course, not talking about high school;

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-86512667971397526182011-07-24T17:56:00.000-05:002011-07-24T17:56:18.567-05:00

I've heard this statement in defense of something hideous or outdated, more than once in my time in the industry: "I have classic taste; I don't want to be trendy." What we're really talking about is the difference between trendy and trending. Let me list a few things that are or have been trendy: pet rocks, parachute pants, the mullet, velvet Elvis paintings, orange-and-black shag carpet, and

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-45272581659032294192011-06-18T16:37:00.004-05:002011-11-25T23:41:54.040-06:00

What's the quickest way to kill a good idea? Appoint a committee to discuss it.This post will concentrate on working with your designer or architect or decorator to achieve the very best outcome. And my basic point here is, design-by-committee does not work. Actually I consider design-by-committee the equivalent of painting by numbers. Does it look like a horse? Of course. Would you hang it in a

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-73166450122002988762011-04-26T19:30:00.004-05:002011-11-25T23:35:48.962-06:00

I have a little blog. If you are reading this, you have seen it. Not a lot here, a thought or story once a month or so -- ramblings, mostly. I have two friends that have completely opposite takes on blogging. One blogs every day. Every day. I am not sure I even think every day, much less gather those thoughts and write them down for the world to comment on. His blog is insightful, funny, snarky,

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-20725768522062055632011-02-25T14:16:00.008-06:002011-11-25T23:41:54.041-06:00

One of my Facebook friends had an interesting status the other day. It read, "What is the difference between art and decoration?" At first I just hit the "Like" button, considering it a nice ponder, but the question has been with me all week. What makes art "Art" and what makes other art simply "decoration"? It's the same question I ask myself about my favorite TV shows, "American Pickers" and "

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-76607418166225907012010-12-31T13:54:00.004-06:002011-11-25T23:43:09.095-06:00

I waited until the last day of 2010 to write this post for a reason. This year I've done something that I've never done -- allow the year to wind itself down gracefully and slowly ... not a frantic push to the end. Really, the last day of the year is no different than any other day, a rising and setting of the sun as we fly through space. But we all enjoy new beginnings, we all love moving

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-23254189625020627842010-10-24T20:55:00.008-05:002011-11-25T23:36:59.938-06:00

I recently spent a very passionate four days in Chicago with 14 other people. I was at the inaugural meeting of the Jenn-Air Appliances Design Advisory Council, of which I am a member. This is an intense group of designers, architects and industry professionals that Jenn-Air has assembled to advise the company on a myriad of topics. Needless to say, when you get in a roomful of designers and

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-37319350918221969072010-09-27T21:41:00.008-05:002011-11-25T23:37:46.636-06:00

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of working on "The Nashville Build." This was the Extreme Makeover Home Edition that was filmed right here in my fair city, Nashville. The project was a new daycare and preschool for Lighthouse Christian School, which lost a majority of its buildings during the recent Nashville flood. This is not my first foray into the world of extreme construction volunteering

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-36074738564271953032010-08-30T20:48:00.014-05:002011-11-25T23:41:54.041-06:00

Not all kitchen makeovers have to be total remodels. Quite often a few well-thought upgrades here and there are all you really need to get your kitchen cooking again. I see a lot of '70s, '80s and even '90s kitchens that could be pulled from the world of drab into the world of fantastic with a simple face-lift.This lovely 1970s kitchen actually had a lot going for it. The layout functioned just

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-45912951236365731522010-07-28T12:58:00.005-05:002011-11-25T23:47:23.516-06:00

Is it hot in New York or is it just my career? Last week I was treated to a trip to New York City by my friends at Jenn-Air appliances to see the "House Beautiful" 2010 Kitchen of the Year, designed by Jeff Lewis. The only thing hotter than the new line of Jenn-Air appliances featured in the kitchen may be the midday temperature in Times Square. If you read my earlier post, "A Lot of Hot

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-74357174979627593832010-06-22T22:31:00.004-05:002011-11-25T23:41:54.042-06:00

Sustainability, sustainability, sustainability -- if you're not using sustainable products, you are a hater of nature and no friend to the earth. Sounds a little harsh, doesn't it? Over the past few years the "green" movement has gained a lot of ground and I myself try to use "green" products whenever possible. Like many of you I want to enjoy my life, have nice things and leave the smallest

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-71808140430601621822010-05-09T19:06:00.009-05:002011-11-25T23:38:57.545-06:00

Photo by Larry McCormack/The Tennessean I have spent the week with my good friends -- picking up and throwing away large, soggy sections of their lives. Their life, like many in the Nashville area, was swept into the river physically, mentally and emotionally. The recent flood is the largest (costliest) non-hurricane natural disaster in U.S. history and for

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-71176674187600180492010-04-19T23:04:00.009-05:002011-11-25T23:43:09.095-06:00

I own an Advantium microwave oven, a slide-in glass-top range with built-in warming drawer, a french door refrigerator with purified ice and water in the door, a state-of-the-art stainless tub dishwasher, an instant hot water dispenser...the list goes on and on. All of these gadgets are here to make my life better and to make cooking the ultimate adrenaline rush -- still we eat most every meal

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-48661167422801761032010-04-07T22:08:00.007-05:002011-11-25T23:41:54.042-06:00

"I have often wondered what it is an old building can do to you when you happen to know a little about things that went on long ago in that building." -- Carl SandburgI recently visited the Carl Sandburg home as part of a trip to Asheville, NC, to see my son and daughter-in-law. One of the stipulations for making the house a historical site was that it stay exactly as it was the day Mrs. Sandburg

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-58904132452947860272010-02-16T22:22:00.005-06:002010-02-16T22:27:53.562-06:00

I don't want this post to sound like a marketing piece for Jenn-Air appliances, but after this weekend I am a much bigger fan of their product. Jenn-Air has always occupied a strange spot in my appliance selection process. Their appliances are good quality, people who own them are rabidly loyal, they are historically hard to install, and the price point is usually too high for one demographic and

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-63857237592390716902010-02-06T21:10:00.006-06:002011-11-25T23:45:01.083-06:00

Emphatic, Dominant, Subdominant, Subordinant - I remember learning these terms in my first Interior Design class. They refer to the items or elements in a room that vie for our attention; the red leather sofa or the monumental stone fireplace with flanking bookshelves. In my case, since I do kitchens and baths, it is usually an island or specialized piece that becomes the Emphatic. This is the

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-80928924806238323042010-01-26T16:08:00.007-06:002011-11-25T23:43:09.096-06:00

Ahhh, the colloquialism. I love clever sayings and word plays. I was engaged in a kitchen consultation the other day when the lovely southern lady I was meeting with said to me, "...Well, that's not a lot of sugar for a dime," after I explained a design and construction process to her. In the design business we refer to it as the point of diminishing return. Part of my job is to help people spend

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-79602136524454025662010-01-18T23:34:00.006-06:002010-01-19T00:01:40.737-06:00

I had the strangest thing happen to me at Staples a while back. In the course of business I, like most professionals, have to make copies and what better place to do this than your convenient local office supply store? On this day, however, I would find all the machines at my local Staples either out of ink/toner or paper or both. Maybe this should have been my first clue. Being the only customer

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-72096494160544421032010-01-08T22:35:00.008-06:002011-11-25T23:41:54.043-06:00

Elvis would be 75 years old today, hard to believe. I love Elvis, I love the music, the movies and "taking care of business in a flash" -- without the flash part.A few years back, during my music days, I made the pilgrimage to Graceland. I didn't spend any time weeping at the gate or leave a guitar-shaped bouquet of roses at the curb side, I simply went to see how the King lived. You hear a lot

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-58732568267177805762009-12-29T21:42:00.008-06:002009-12-29T21:59:22.328-06:00

About 99 percent of the projects I do are custom cabinets and this has nothing to do with the fact that my client base has deep pockets, it's based on the fact that custom is the best way to take small spaces and make them function well. I recently posted a reply on an industry blog where a new designer asked the question, "What's the best way to explain the difference between custom cabinets and

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8047903355100795964.post-2305946357588171952009-12-23T00:18:00.008-06:002011-04-26T19:10:00.997-05:00

I picked up a Restoration Hardware catalog today while Brenda and I were at the mall. I always like to get this catalog; I might not like everything in it but for mainstream America, they pretty much have their pulse on current trends, be it color or style.This issue is thought-provoking, because the very first picture I look at has two very weathered-looking doored cabinets in the background.

Billy Williams, AKBDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05973411861734083780noreply@blogger.com0