It’s Linda’s birthday. Time to put up the Christmas tree.

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Many years ago my dad woke me up in the middle of the night.  I sensed panic as he grabbed me up in his arms and ran toward my parent’s bedroom.  Suddenly, he unceremoniously dropped like a hot potato on the bed.

Dad dropped me in response to my mother’s urgent screams. The baby was coming. No time to call an ambulance.  No time to load everyone up in the car.  The baby was coming… NOW!

My little sister, Linda, was born at home in the wee hours of the morning.  Dad arrived just in time to catch Linda as she pushed her way into this world.  It was quite the event.

A Family Tradition is Born

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“No” isn’t an answer. It’s a direction

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My sister, Linda, busily prepared a sample board for a client. She add fabric swatches, pictures of tables and chairs, paint chips and samples of trim.

The idea is to give her client a visual of how she addressed their redecorating needs and desires. She does that a lot at LaBella Casa.

I looked at the board in amazement. I would have never thought to combine that stripe with that floral. The colors weren’t all the same, yet they complimented each other. My fingers would brush across a variety of textures and finishes.

And, on each sample board, you’d spot some surprising twist. It could be a leopard print chair, a neon glow pillow or delicate trim on a rustic lamp shade. Whatever it was, it was beautiful.

But then I’m Linda’s sister. Everything she does to decorate a home amazes me.

That’s when it occurred to me. What if, after Linda put all these ideas together, the client didn’t like it. What if their first response was “No, that’s not it.” So, I asked her.

Linda answered with a bewildered look on her face. It’s as if she were searching her brain trying to figure out why I should ask such a silly question.

“No” isn’t an answer. It’s a direction,” my sister explained.

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My sister; a born decorator

Childhood memories, LaBella Casa store, Linda Patino, Mad decorating skills, My sister Linda, Uncategorized

cropped-LaBella-Casa-Square.jpgMy sister, Linda, is a genius with fabric. She uses linen, toile, cotton and lace to make your home beautiful.  And she’s been doing it for over 30 years.

She calls her design shop LaBella Casa. That’s Italian for “Your Beautiful Home.”

Trust me. My sister knows a thing or two creating beautiful spaces to live.

It all started in the mud.

Our family grew up in a cherry orchard in the Yakima Valley.

When we were little, my brothers spent hours under the big Lambert tree hauling dirt, rocks, and sticks in their Tonka trucks to Linda. She used these materials to build homes filled with her designer mud furniture.

Once she finished decorating she would “sell” the home to my brothers, in exchange for Tonka truck road grading and hauling. Then she’d move to the other side of the tree and start building a mansion, that she would fill with her designer mud furniture. Continue reading My sister; a born decorator →