Wthether Cruz Roja or Creu Roja: Still a Great Organization

Red Cross at Barcelona

I can leave Cozumel, but some things remain the same. At the Festival of Sant Jordi (St. George) - the patron saint of Catalan, there it was, the ever present Red Cross we know and love. In Cozumel, It is Cruz Roja. Here it is the Creu Roja. 

Roman ruins at Barcelona

Withn a half block of the Red Cross tent, there are Roman ruins, the hotel where I am staying, three department stores and a book fair with many famous Catalan authors signing autographs. That is a bit different than Cozumel. 

Roman ruin area at Barcelona

Massive crowds at Festival of Sant Jordi

I couldn't bear this much traffic every day. It is much more crowded than Cozumel's streets when the cruise ship arrive. But for a few days while on vacation, it is actually quite fun.

Dining ideas from The Magic of Design

D391 table and chairs from Ashley Furniture

There are some great dining ideas available these days from The Magic of Design Furniture & Interior Design. Here are a few of the selections and you can also see more ideas on our Facebook page here.

D432 from Ashley Furniture

D553 from Ashley Furniture

Great bar D668 from Ashley Furniture

We Include Delivery at The Magic of Design

Movers hoisting a sleeper sofa to second story

The Magic of Design Furniture & Interior Design includes delivery and installation, sales tax too. It is one price delivered and installed, and we take away the trash.

Sometimes that is an easy thing, a house with first floor access and a big front door. Other times, it can be a bit more challenging. For easier small deliveries, we have the pick up truck and two men. For the tougher jobs, we use a professional mover out of Cancun. Here are William, Alonso and Chuco (William is below pushing the sleeper) navigating the side of a house to get the sleeper to the second story where the living room is. We couldn't go from the front, as that is where the electrical wires are.

Easy or tough, we get it done! 

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! The time of year signifies so many things. Rememberances as a kid when my mother made sure I had a new dress, bonnet and sometimes parasol for the Sunday photos, each and every year. My brothers all decked out in new suits sewn by my grandmother, who came from a family of tailors. They were exquisite, and I've heard boy's suits are one of the hardest things to sew.

It is the beginning of spring. Here in Cozumel it is when it starts to get warm again and actually, I close the house up more, instead of looking forward to leaving the windows open. But back in Ohio where I am from, it meant opening the house again ... the first hint of spring flowers. 

It is the time of my grandmother's baked ham and spaghetti and cheese, thoughts of the summer picnics to come we used to share, with Ohio white corn and the best tomatoes on the planet. (Come on, if you are from Ohio, you know it's true. Our soil grows the tartest, juiciest tomatoes.)

Now I suffice with an email from my niece and Facebook photos from my brother. Not quite the same thing, as when I was small and we all crammed in  our living room for the family photo. Mad Men like, the parents with highballs and flash cameras, beehive hairdos and a million broken dreams to go around. But the one thing we always felt on Easter was love! That special kind of family love that only happens with those you are born with. 

Again, happy Easter!

Cozumel Condo

Cozumel condo decorated by The Magic of Design

One of our favorite projects this year was a condo we designed in the north with clients from the states. We think the condo turned out beautifully. This is a shot of the great room. The clients had a local artist do the painting and all the furniture and window treatments were provided by The Magic of Design.

The property is managed by Isabella and Matias from Cozumel Seaside. If you would like to rent this property  - a little slice of Heaven you could have for a week or two, feel free to contact them!

How to Successfully Furnish Your New Condo or Home in Mexico

Penthouse model in Palmar condominums

You’ve made a dream come true and bought a great vacation home in Mexico, Bravo! But you have no idea how to go about furnishing it. Maybe you’ll rent it and have a management company, or you want it all to yourself to enjoy – either way you are ready to get started but don’t know where to turn.

 You work all the time in the United States or Canada and only get a few quality weeks a year to go away with your family. The last thing you want to do is spend the entire two weeks of your vacation driving from Cancun to the Riviera Maya or crossing on the ferry to shop the mainland. It’s your vacation time you want to enjoy your place in Cozumel and go diving! 

Showroom of The Magic of Design 2011

Freeing up your vacation time and allowing you to shop from your home in the US or Canada is where an interior designer’s service (like ours) comes in.  Here is how it works:

1.       Let the designer know right off the bat what type of furniture you like. Do you like modern, clean lines? Do you want traditional furniture? Do you want rattan or wicker? Cut out some photos of things you like, scan them into your computer and email them to the designer.  Tell the designer what you are interested in. All the best furniture manufacturers’ catalogs are available online, for the lines we represent, so you could also look through a few catalogs online to see what is available.

2.       Just because you’re in Mexico doesn’t mean you need to order things only made in Mexico. It is a global economy today. Furniture is made all over the world, so you should have access to anything you would like. We import furniture from all over … rattan and hardwood with veneer from Indonesia, China, the Philippines, Vietnam and Mexico. Upholstery from the United States with a comfort level unmatched around the world. Rustic style furniture is available in Mexico and it has its place, but if you have a small-scale condo, it may just be too big and bulky.

3.       So now the designer comes in armed with choices. You show us your plans. We make suggestions and work closely with you to bring your ideas to reality. If whoever is making the design decisions can come to Mexico and meet with the designer, that is the easiest and simplest way. But I have worked with many clients whom I never meet until the day they walk in their place when it is completely furnished.

Client's living room accent table & lamp

4.       Work with someone who is in Mexico full-time. If the designer you are working with is in the United States or Canada, how will they be able to coordinate the shipments? They need to check the items as they come in, deliver and install them. All the beds will need to be assembled. Most dining tables and chairs are shipped unassembled, too. Assembling a house of furniture is not something you want to do when you arrive.  You want to be able to put your feet up and sip a margarita, not figure out if you have enough screws to put everything together. If something is broken, the designer in Mexico can return it or replace it. We install everything so we know if a part needs replaced.

5.       By working with a designer, you don’t have to worry if something will fit. We measure your place and if something doesn’t fit or looks oversize, we can arrange to return the item for credit  and get you something else. When we don’t like the way something looks, we will tell you. We are professionals. That is why you hire a professional and guess what – it costs you nothing extra.

6.       Don’t pay everything up front. I hear horror stories of clients who go online, without a designers help, and pay 100% up front for furniture they have never seen. When they arrive, the furniture doesn’t look like they thought it would. A sofa is delivered when they ordered a sleeper and nobody is there to help them straighten it out. We require a 60% deposit and balance before delivery. We live in the Riviera Maya/Cozumel area full-time; you’ll be able to find us, so we can help if a problem arises. 

7.       You’re in Mexico… work with a Mexican company. By working with a Mexican company, you are covered under Mexican law. People tell me all the time that they want to support the local economy. I know we buy furniture all over the world, but all our employees are Mexican except me, I am from the states, but our corporation is located in Mexico. All profits support the local community. We pay Mexican taxes, sales tax, rent, salaries, pensions etc. here in Mexico.

At The Magic of Design our goal is to make your new home or rental property beautiful to look at and comfortable to live in. We have been in business here in Cozumel for 8 years. But interior design has been my passion since 1987 when I worked for Carole Korn Interiors and other design firms in Florida. This business is what we do full time, it’s what pays our bills. So we are very customer driven and will work very hard to keep you and the friends you refer to us as lifelong friends and clients. We want your experience with us to be stress-free and fun. Furnishing a new place should be like Christmas morning all bright and shiny, or  like that feeling you get with the first whiff of new car smell.

So there is it is a nutshell. An interior designer is there to help you bring your ideas to reality. They have the pulse of what’s going on in the furniture and decorator markets around the world and they have your comfort at heart.

Luh McDevitt

The Magic of Design is run by professional US interior designer Luh McDevitt. Luh has over 20 years’ residential and commercial experience in interior design, including 7 years as a Director at prestigious Carole Korn Interiors in Florida, USA. Luh has worked on countless hotel, resort, condo and restaurant projects. For more than 12 years she has lived in Mexico, where she has worked on over 1,500 projects to date and over 2,000 people have bought her products.

The Magic of Design Furniture & Interior Design  website


Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/themagicofdesigncozumel

Some of Our Comfy Sofas

Zia Salsa group

We have had great success with our sofa groups over the last 8 years we have had The Magic of Design Furniture & Interior Design. Most of our sofas and chairs are imported from the states. It makes for comfortable seating. I think these sofas will go really well with the new rustic furniture we are having made in Puebla.

CEN-23 coffee table with drawers in Naples Turquoise finish

We also have chairs that coordinate with our sofas as seen below.

Riley Slate

Riley Slate Accent Chair

Lucinda Quartz

One of my new favorites is the Lucinda Quartz sofa, which will be arriving in a few weeks. I think I would like to combine it with the Hacienda Dining Chair and the Dos Pedestales Dining Table.

Hacienda Dining Chair in Chocolate Finish

Dos Pedestales Dining Table