Return! Reconnect! Relaunch

What’s the best thing about returning to Cincinnati? The answer isn’t Graeter’s ice cream or Frisch’s fudge cake, although that very well could be the answer. It is reconnecting with dear friends and enjoying their company for more than a 20 minute quick visit. The other best thing is the re-launching of Becky Barras Interior Design!

I always loved retuning to Cincinnati but it often seemed there were so many people to see I could never find enough time to really enjoy our time together. Now all of that has changed and I am so happy to able to leisurely spend time with my favorite people.

I have also been steadily and successfully restarting my design business. With some help from some wonderful former clients, friends and my connections in the real estate community, I am excited to say all is well and I will be writing about projects very soon. I will be going to the local design center and will bring you up-to-date info on all the newest fabrics, furnishings and wall coverings. There are so many exciting things going on in design and I am pleased to share them with you. I have been gone from Cincinnati for 7 years so many of my former clients have become current clients in need of an update, so I am thrilled!

We can explore together all the new large scale printed fabrics for draperies and upholstery and the vivid new colors schemes for spring and summer. There are also so many sturdy yet beautiful fabrics that are water-resistant for outdoor furniture. The colors and patterns are finally surprising and fun and not just plain navy, green or brown with a bland plaid thrown in. And of course this is the time to get all your outdoor and indoor porch areas spruced up so you don’t have to think about them for the rest of the season.

Stay tuned as these are subjects Becky Knows Everything really does know about!

Photo from Southern Living

Becky Knows Everything is Back!!

Hello everyone! I know some or all of you have been wondering where I have been and I am here to tell you BECKY KNOWS EVERYTHING IS BACK!

So many changes have gone on in my life since our last blog so I will try to summarize them for you – we traveled to Cincinnati and to Mom’s house for Thanksgiving, hosted Jimmy and Adie, Baby Andy and Mom for Christmas in Rochester, and I managed to live through Tuesday Morning’s holiday season and a tortuous inventory. Then all the really big news happened! WE FINALLY SOLD OUR HOUSE after showing it 165 times in three years and no, there really was nothing wrong. We were elated at that news as it meant MIKE AND BECKY COULD FINALLY RETURN TO CINCINNATI, which we both consider home.

I learned quite a bit along the way, knowledge I could easily have lived without. For instance, did you know if you show your home 165 times you have to clean it that many times too? I mean really clean it, not just the regular stuff. You can never go out without making the bed or cleaning up the kitchen or sweeping the front walk. I know many of you are really, really neat and keep beautiful, orderly homes 24 hours a day (are you reading this Kathy Schott?) but you surely cannot ALL be that way. This task really drove me nuts – that and having to constantly leave my house on short notice, but we did finally get through it. If I weren’t at Tuesday Morning you could often find me at The Outback’s happy hour killing time while strangers wandered through my home. The Outback’s coconut shrimp is delicious by the way.

The next thing I learned was that it is WAY better to have a company transfer you and the movers pack for you then for you to do it yourself. The hours I spent sorting and donating and selling and packing I will never get back but, we did get to come home in the end.

So now here we are living in a special place in downtown Cincinnati in a high rise with amazing city and river views. It is the perfect size for us. We are near all the new dining and retail development downtown and the best part for Mike is that there are friendly maintenance men who will fix ANYTHING cheerfully and quickly. Actually this is the best part for Becky too as now Mike doesn’t complain, or worse yet try to fix anything himself.

SO, I welcome you all back to BECKY KNOWS EVERYTHNG! Please stay tuned. There is WAY more to come as I have been reuniting with tons of friends and re-launching Becky Barras Interior Design. If you live near the Cincinnati area and need help with your design project, contact me today!

A Wonderful Cincinnati Week

Well, what a time I have had! I recently traveled to Cincinnati to both visit my friends and to attend a baby shower for my daughter-in-law, Stephanie. That’s right, Becky is about to become a BABA – that’s what my Macedonian heritage calls a grandma. I have been doubly blessed as our daughter Adrienne is also expecting a baby in late September.

Since my Stephanie is due in late June two of my dearest friends, Pat and Teri hosted a lovely baby shower for her. I came to Cincinnati from Rochester and Adie came in from Boston and of course Stephanie (and Andy too) were in from LA.

I had the best week ever. First on the journey I stopped in Lorain to see my Mom who is a nutty as ever (more on that trip later), then I continued south to Cincinnati. I arrived on Wednesday around noon and immediately met my good friend and former neighbor Kathy for a fun, quick lunch. I was staying at Kathy’s for a few nights and I was so looking forward to hanging out with Kathy and her very cute and funny husband, Tony.

They lived up to my expectations, complete with a lovely private room and bath, wine, appetizers, a beautiful buffet breakfast and even an intercom system to entertain me. It was like staying at a very posh bread and breakfast that included wine and pizza and laughs. Kathy’s home looked beautiful and I was proud to say I helped her with its design. Her dog Millie was charming as always and we got to sit on her deck with all her flowers blooming – Kathy is a world class gardener and it was all so pretty. As a matter of fact when Andy was married, Kathy told me what to buy and she came over and planted my pots for me – they were gorgeous. We had a great time.

On Sunday (after spending a few days visiting friends and having such a fun time) the baby shower took place. Stephanie received lovely gifts from friends and family. Teri and Pat had an incredible buffet with so many choices – chicken salad, marinated sundried tomatoes with cream cheese, turkey and spinach rollups and so many other items, including a lavish spread of sweets from Cincinnati’s premiere bakery The BonBonerie.

It was so nice for me to be surrounded by my friends, my two daughters (both expecting baby boys) and to feel the friendship and love I always feel when I am “home.” Here is a photo of Steph at the shower holding a quilt Mike's mom made for the new baby.