March 26, 2011

Beautiful Wallpapers with Artisan-Inspired Designs

Products

When we learned last month that Thibaut, one of our favorite wallpaper companies, was teaming up with The Alpha Workshops, one of our favorite artisan collectives, we knew that the outcome of their collaboration would be terrific. And when we saw the saw the beautiful wallpapers they produced together at a recent press party, we saw exactly what we’d expected: Lovely, livable prints and textures brimming with hand-crafted touches in a fresh palette of colors. The studio of Alpha Workshops, a not-for-profit organization that trains and employs people living with HIV/AIDS in the decorative arts, is well-known for hand-painted wallpapers, custom painting, Venetian plaster … Read Post

March 6, 2011

Modern Classic Furniture at Good Prices

Interiors

If you live and California and you love modern furniture, you might want to stop into one of the Room Service stores in LA, Newport Beach or San Francisco. They’re having a sale on pillows,  lamps, home accents and custom furniture orders until 3/15. Even if you don’t live in California you can still take advantage of the sale by ordering online. To get a virtual tour of its stores, see a list of its celebrity clients or browse through its products—which range from new pieces to mid-century classics—visit its Web site.  Its idea gallery shows a wide range of … Read Post

February 22, 2011

Cross-Cultural Kitchen Concepts

Kitchens

Indians approach kitchen design much like Americans do, but there are lots of differences, too. A primary point of departure, for example, is a general lack of interest in pro-grade ranges or any kind of range at all for that matter. One reason is based on access to fuel. It’s not easy getting gas lines into many of the buildings in India. Another reason has to do with the way Indians cook. Much of the food is rather slow cooked on a stove top, which in India is called a hobb. Very little food is cooked in an oven, so smaller countertop ovens are often … Read Post

January 16, 2011

New Furniture from Bungalow 5

Products

What’s best about the furniture and accents from Bungalow 5 is that they’re at once familiar and fresh. The versatile pieces also merge influences from East and West, which allow them to slip easily into rooms of any style—traditional, modern or anywhere in between. Founded by designer Luca Rensi a few years ago, Bungalow 5’s collections are created by a small group of New York-based architects and designers who blend comfortable, classical shapes and silhouettes with fresh finishes and beautiful materials sourced from all over the world. Among our favorites are reasonably priced pieces from the Harlow Collection in the high-gloss … Read Post

January 4, 2011

Smart Cabinet Solutions for a Small Kitchen

Kitchens

This newly renovated New York kitchen may be compact, but thanks to a super-efficient space plan by kitchen designer, Dave Burcher, along with the storage-enhancing features of its new cabinets from Brookhaven it’s incredibly functional and beautiful, too. Dave has much to say about the finer points of good-quality cabinets, particularly with respect to making the most of a small kitchen with smart, space-saving solutions. We asked him to share his top small-space, value-added cabinet and storage ideas. Here’s what he had to say: 1. Start by carefully considering layout and construction. This galley kitchen was converted into a U-shaped layout to gain a narrow slice … Read Post

December 20, 2010

Beautiful New Wallpaper Designs

Products

Thanks to a spate of fresh designs by a new crop of designers, wallpaper is experiencing a renaissance. The new wallpaper designs come in fresh colors, too, like Pantone’s 2011 color of the year—a luscious pink called Honeysuckle. This pretty pink, along with other livelier updated colors, are also breathing new life into wallpapers with classic patterns, such as damasks, lattice prints, and florals. I love the idea of papering just one wall of a neutral room to rev it up with a pop of pattern and color. Any of these three sensational papers—one contemporary, one classic and one transitional—would … Read Post

December 17, 2010

Stylish and Hardworking Kitchen Sink and Faucet

Design, Products

T’is the season to celebrate! And if done right, a newly renovated kitchen makes it easy to party. And among the essentials that can help most are a quality sink and faucet, like those from Elkay’s Avado collection of products in this updated kitchen. The sink is line’s the simplest under-mount version, which is made of durable 16-gauge stainless steel. It also incorporates a proprietary Sound Guard that mutes the sound of dishes and utensils knocking about inside. The faucet sports an elegant low-profile (it rises less than 12 inches from the countertop surface) and is finished in brushed nickel. To be as eco-friendly as possible, … Read Post

December 9, 2010

Bespoke Bohemian: English Style with a (Rock Star’s Sentimental) Twist

Interiors

We’ve been fans of the music of Bryan Ferry since the Roxy Music days, so it’s not surprising that the living spaces in his London apartment would appeal to us, too. We saw these photos of his two-bedroom artist’s studio in the Chelsea area online earlier this week in a story that appeared in WSJ. Magazine. Written by Rita Konig and photographed by Alexia S, the piece offers a glimpse of the gentleman rocker’s digs, which prove that the urbane singer-song writer is as particular about crafting lovely living spaces as he is about making beautiful music. The light and airy … Read Post

December 8, 2010

The Newest, Energy-Efficient Lightbulb

Products

Talk about a bright idea! Most people know that one of the easiest ways to go green and save money at home is to replace a standard incandescent bulb with a compact fluorescent. Well, now it’s just as easy to go even greener and save even more money by replacing that incandescent with new a new bulb from General Electric. Called the EnergySmart LED, the 9-watt bulb is super energy efficient—it generates the same amount of light as a 40-watt incandescent with 77 percent less power. It also produces the same omnidirectional quality of white light as an incandescent, unlike … Read Post

November 26, 2010

Beautiful, Eco-Friendly Kitchen Countertops

Products

Choosing an eco-friendly countertop in a kitchen renovation isn’t just good for the planet, it’ll make your life easier, too. The engineered stone countertop in this kitchen is called ECO by Cosentino is made by the same Spanish company that produces another well-known quartz surface called Silestone. Here are seven reasons to love it: 1. It’s beautiful 2. It’s composed of 75 percent post-consumer and post-industrial recycled raw materials, including glass, mirror, porcelain and industrial furnace residuals, and 25 percent natural elements, including quartz, other stone scrap and corn-oil-based resin, which makes it incredibly eco-friendly 3. It’s extremely durable 4. It’s non-porous … Read Post