Color Trends for 2006

Our last post was about color and our personality. Furniturestyle has an article about the use of color and trends for 2006.

Homes will evolve to become places where culture, fashion, technology and comfort converge, according to Cinzia Black, Director of Special Projects North America for The Mix-Global Color Research Ltd., a London-based trend forecasting firm.

Consumers’ color choices in 2006 will reflect this synergy, she continued. But while the world’s population explores the future of technology, people also will maintain a firm grip on their roots—an idea that easily translates into home decor.

Black says the top color palettes for 2006 are:
Origins: reflecting

a need to make contact with our roots...the color palette consists of earthy neutrals, such as sophisticated chocolate brown, ox blood and Mother of Pearl shimmer.

Integral:

Dominated by pumpkin, russet and vegetable greens, this palette pays tribute to the intrinsic, productive life on the land.

Intimate:

The luminous range of blues, pastels and peachy cosmetic tones carry strong illusions to healthcare. It is a foundation for a gentler style of what has gone before.

Clarity: The need for human contact and the importance of natural light is demonstrated in the use

neutrals, steel grays and watery green-blues are presented in glossy, automotive finishes to mimic the translucent qualities of mirror and glass.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Color trends Home decorating Interior design

The Personality of Color

Pure Contemporary is out with an article entitled The Personality of Color

Colors have personalities too. Some of them very strong, strong enough to make you think you're famished or full, sleepy or wide-awake. Some might spark your hospitality, or your love life.

And getting a handle on what colors say to you can be a great help when you're choosing paint colors for your home.

Check out the article by Debbie Zimmer, color and decorating expert with the Rohm and Haas Paint Quality Institute.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery
Pure Contemporary color home decor

My Dog Park Friend - Kate Nason

Imagine my surprize when Oregon Home, in the March-April edition, ran a story about N.E. Broadway in [Shop Talk] and there is my friend Kate Nason from the dog park. Almost every day Ralph our Golden plays with Kate's dog, Jackson. If Jackson is not playing with his buddies, he's squeaking his squeaky toy.

Getting back to [Shop Talk], a number of stores from 29th and Broadway to 15th and Broadway, cater to the home. At 2419 NE Broadway is Chairwear, run by Kate Nason.

Meet The Queen of the Slipcover
Then again, her fiefdom encompasses so many other subjects as well: pillows, cushions and window coverings, to name a few.

The woman with the golden thimble is Kate Nason...whom we first met when we needed to commission three slipcovers for a puppy-sixed chair for a three-month old Aussie model to sit in during a Christmas gift guide shoot.

Three years ago, Nason opened a store front on this street, a studiolike space where she has "thousands" of fabric swatches-including a Portland exclusive on the hotter than hot Lulu DK line-and, of course, her trusty sewing machine, where you'll find her putting petal to the medal on most days.

Later, in the magazine, Nason is featured as a designer and problem solver, in "Mom, I think I've outgrown my room!"

The problem: Your daughter's a young lady, not a baby-but she's stuck in a nurserylike room.
[...]
(Sophie Shorten and her mom's) design plan came together when they met Kate Nason, an art historian by training who opened her own slipcovering business, Chairwear, and who's turning her talents to interior design. "We were across the street from Kate's shop...and saw this fabric in the window and Sophie just fell in love with it..."
[...]
"The big idea was to make the room fun-to updateit so that it really fit Sophie's personality, says Nason.
[...]
The next step was incorporating Sophie's beloved fabric into the design. Nason crafted 20 yards of "Discotheque Dot" and "Psychedelic" cotton into dozens of pillows. a duvet cover, curtains for the bed alcove and cushions for the built-in window seat. She also addedfun green fringe to the windowshades and lamp shades, and covered Sophie's large corkboard with bright green denim. "We chose colors that would tie the whole room together, and added things like storage bins to make it function well," says Nason.
[...]
"If you'd come in here before, you'd have thought it was a 2-year old's room, Sophie says. Now I love it!-especially the colors. They're really calming."

Kate Nason - Chairwear - (503)-335-8692

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Bridget Otto - Spatial equality

Bridget Otto is up this Thursday with an article in The Oregonian's Homes & Gardens section. Her article entitled Spatial equality is about positioning furniture in a room to achieve balance.

The best way to start positioning furniture in a room -- whether it's to achieve balance, a better traffic flow or most efficient use of space and focal points -- is to sketch the room on graph paper, marking dimensions of windows, doors, built-ins, fireplaces, etc. Then, create templates to represent furniture.

Otto interviews three interior designers Carol Cornwell of Colours, Lisa Seung of Portland Home Decorating, and Nancy Zieg of Nancy Zieg Interior Design. (Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery interviewed these three designers in 2005, here, here, and here.)

Otto's recommendations are

PLACEMENT GUIDELINES

Doorways/traffic lanes: Should be 3 feet, but can be a tad narrower in spots that won't get a lot of traffic.

Sofa/cocktail table: At least 18 inches apart; closer makes it difficult to get in and out; farther makes the table hard to reach.

Dining room: There should be at least 3 feet behind the chairs to allow easy movement.

TV viewing: The best views are straight-on, so don't place seating at more than 45 degrees off that line.

CREATE A PAPER ROOM

Sketch your room on graph paper, marking doorways, windows, fireplace, built-ins and any other immovables.

Measure your furniture at its widest points and transfer to paper using the same scale as for the room sketch. Cut the shapes to create templates.

Move the furniture here and there. If you don't like what you see, make cutouts of furniture from another room -- or of a piece of furniture you'd like to buy.

It's too bad the online article doesn't have the pictures from the article. There are good examples of the good and bad placement of furniture using Nancy Zieg's home furnishings.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

What Makes a Chair or Sofa Comfortable?

Barbara King in the March issue of House Beautiful writes an article entitled Comfort, Inc

What makes a chair great?

There's more to picking a chair or sofa than looks. It has to feel good, too. When it comes to seating, one size-or shape-never fits all. So we paid a visit to Steven Jonas in New York to learn the essentials of comfort, quality, and sitting where you ought to sit. He is president of Jonas, a family of upholsterers who have for three generations have been making custom seating. The Jonas showrooms is the Chanel of upholstery, with 260 styles of armchairs, armless chairs, dining chairs, sofas, love seats, and chaise lingues, all in white muslim like dressmaker's mannequins. As I tried them out, here's what Steven had to say:

How should a person go about finding the most comfortable chair or sofa?
The first thing you've got to do is sit in them. Simple, right? You can't order a sofa online with a guarantee that it's going to be comfortable. It's one of the biggest mistakes people make. It's not all about aesthetics. I mean, aesthetics are very important, but as architects would say, form follows function. Function is paramount. We can build it right; it's just a matter of what's right for you. There's no one particular chair or sofa that suits everybody. It depends on how you like to sit, how tall you are, how big, how young, how old. And what you're using it for.

After 30 years of being in this business, can you look at someone and pretty much size up what will be right for them?
You know what? This is the way I think of furniture when I look at a person. Your legs, your knees, your butt, your back, your neck-these are important factors in finding a piece of furniture.

Explain that, please.
Some people like to sit with their back at an angle. Some people like to sit with their knees parallel, their legs straight. These are different issues you want to think about when you;re sitting on a piece of furniture. Basically it comes down to your center of gravity-where you want the least stress. You buy a chair so you can either be cradled in it or sit on top of it. Like, my mom wants a chair where she's on top of it. Get up, push out. I like a chair where I can sit in a pair of pajamas and feel enveoped. And some people like both.

Do men and women differ in their preferences?
Men generally like deeper. more slouchy chairs. Women like more upright ones that give them better posture.

What did you mean when you said you can build a chair or sofa right?
A good chair, a good sofa, starts with the construction. You've gotto have top-grade wood. We use a maple that's been dried in a kiln, no defects, one solid piece-that way you don't get breakage. We hand-tie the springs with soft cord so they stay springy. We layer and keep layering with burlap, horsehair, cotton, a down pad, muslin. You're never supposed to feel the lumber.

Does that all add up to comfort?
Well, there's more to it than that. Like the pitch of the seat. It should be graduated, 20 percent from front to back. And then there's what you fill it with. Our cushions are 80 percent down, 20 percent feather. The back of the seat is 100 percent down.
Here's a piece of advice, by the way. Don't ever vacuum your down cushions, because vacuums are very powerful these days, and eventually the quills start to poke out. Give the cushions a whack once in a while to get the surface dust off, and once a year, in the spring, put them out in the sun for a few hours. The warnmth will perk up the loft again. Just like it does on a duck.

How does less expensive furniture differ from the top end?
The wood isn't one piece, and it's not always the best quality. You often feel the wood in the platform and the arms. The springs aren't hand-tied and you're not getting a variety of springs. you need various gauges, so they'll move independently and not as a unit. Here, feel the arm of this sofa. See? It moves. It's alive. It has life, a mind of its own. Now check out the back. It's firmer in the lumbar region, where it's supposed to be firmer and softer the rest of the way up. Beautiful, don't you think?

Let's say someone is in a small apartment or doesn't have lots of money to spend on a range of pieces. What would you recommend they buy?
I would go with a deeper sofa, because you can always put a pillow on it and make it upright if you need to. And a comfortable man-size chair. Then probably an open-arm chair of some sort where you can sit straighter-it also adds a lightness to the room.

Editors comments:

Here at Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery I agree with most of what Jonas says. When you are looking for a sofa or chair, sit on it. We try to have examples of the various types of seating available in our showroom. There are many variables such as a tight back, cushion or pillow back. Then there is seat height and seat depth. A woman 5 foot three will want a different seat height than a man of 6 feet.

Jonas offers cushions that are 80 percent down and 20 percent feather. The Sherrill line we carry exemplifies the range of cushion options.

There is "spring down", It is the most expensive, but has the best sit. It has Marshall springs surrounded by down, always comes back to its original shape and has low maintenance.

There is "comfort down" which is all down. I don't recommend it for a sofa. Down needs a lot of maintenance. It needs to be whacked when you get up from sitting on it. If you choose this type of cushion for a sofa, your sofa can start to look lopsided.

There is "fiber down" which mimics down, but is not quite as soft. It is great for people who are allergic to down or have a limited budget.

Finally, there is "standard UD", the least expensive and tends to have a higher crown.

While it is true "you get what you pay for", it is more important to choose a chair or sofa that is right for the space you have. You don't need the same quality of chair or sofa in a low traffic area or that will get little use. Use that same kind of chair or sofa in a heavy use area and it is liable to break down in a year. Choose a chair or sofa that is the right size for the area and leave room for a place for lighting and a table for beverages.


As Edith Ann would say, "That's the truth, phlllllppp!"

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

NOTE: Edith Ann's Rocking Chair - On the comedy variety series ROWAN & MARTIN'S LAUGH-IN/NBC/1968-73 comedian Lily Tomlin played a devilish five and a half year old little girl named Edith Ann. Ms. Tomlin in her role of Edith sat on a jumbo-sized rocking chair that made her adult-sized body look like a little girl's. Rocking her chair Edith Ann would tell childish stories about her family and her dog Buster. When she concluded a point she said "And that's the truth" and sputtered her tongue as she gave the audience the raspberry.

Are you taking your Manganese?

If you are like me, you take your vitamins daily and try to get your husband to do the same. Good luck with that!



I read that magnesium is a trace mineral that our bodies need in order to maintain normal muscle and nerve function. It also keeps our hearts' rhythm steady, supports a healthy immune system, ensures the integrity of our arteries by controlling blood pressure, and helps to maintain strong bones. Plus, it works to regulate blood sugar and is involved in energy metabolism.

Early to Rise in Message #1670, has an item today on the difference between Magnesium and Magnesium Oxide.

Magnesium oxide is a more economical form of magnesium that is widely used by supplement manufacturers. In his health report, Nutritional Supplements That Don't Work, Bill Sardi writes: "Only 4% of magnesium oxide is absorbed. So a person taking 400 milligrams of magnesium oxide would effectively absorb only 16 milligrams."

I take Kirkland's Daily Multi Vitamins and Minerals and it has Magnesium as one of the ingredients. Only, it has 100 mg or 25% of a RDA. (Some experts suggest the optimal intake is closer to 800 mg.)

The article also, indicates many excellent food sources of magnesium include green vegetables, salmon, nuts, seeds, and beans. See, honey, I may be full of beans, but I'm not "full of beans" when it comes to taking my "dailies".

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Kimberlee Jaynes Uses Color

Yesterday, we posted here, about the article in Pure Contemporary written by Caroline Kooshoian entitled Choosing the Right Colors for Your Home and Yourself.
Today, we want to direct your attention to Kimberlee Jaynes web site. Jaynes is an interior designer and her site has some great examples of the use of color. She writes

Color is the first element the eye registers. Color is the least-expensive change a homeowner can make to enhance that all-important first impression.

[...]

I was raised to believe that style has nothing to do with money. I was taught that simplicity, color, perfect proportion and interesting textures gives even the humblest of environments a sense of harmony and style.

Kimberlee Jaynes has many examples of before and after photos. There are many examples of her work with clients and before and after home staging. This is one of her home staging examples and demonstrates how the use of color dramatically makes the home more desirable.

Take some time to browse her site. You may gasp at many of the "after" pictures.

Kimberlee Jaynes Interior Designs, Inc.
(503) 407-9525

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Choosing the "Right" Colors

From Pure Contemporary, Caroline Kooshoian has written an article Choosing the Right Colors for Your Home and Yourself
that is an excellent start to the use of color in your home.

The article is for those "do it yourselfers" or DIYs. So why is Landfair Furniture, which caters to the design trade, featuring such an article?

First of all, every time you turn around there is a show or article about design.

Target is democratizing design, women’s magazines break from runways to run issues dedicated solely to interior fashions, and clichés of paint brush wielding, HGTV watching moms have replaced the soap opera viewing, bonbon eating set of the 1980s.

One of the new popular shows on HGTV features Candice Olson who may be the new "Martha Stewart".

Caroline says

The country is in the throes of a collective lust for design. And while we don’t all want to actually do it ourselves, we do want our homes to reflect ourselves. We want people to walk in and have a sense of who we are and what we’re about. And the easiest way to impart these ideas is the one we seem to have the biggest problem with: color. (emphasis added)

Designers need to know what the public is seeing and learning. It helps a designer connect with a client faster. A good interior designer can communicate more effectively with an educated client and if there are misconceptions, knowing about those, can help the designer more fully educate a client.

The article also offers some new tools that are available.

Trends get in the way of what we know we like, and trying to fit colors in with existing furniture, cabinetry, floors or wood work makes it all worse.

Pittsburgh Paints launched the Voice of Color “Color Sense Game”. One of the things it does is create an individual color identity based on that person’s psychological and behavioral make-up. Maybe the "orange" we see featured, does not fit well with your psychological profile. That is information that is a great time saver when using an interior designer, that of blending what you like with what you have.

For me, one of the most interesting parts of the article tells us that "Colors Lie"!

In most relationships, lying is right up there with cheating, not so in a love affair with color. Use the lies colors tell to cover up architectural oddities or highlight gorgeous attractions.

Caroline has some very nice illustrations of ways to paint a room to alter the appearence of a room. This part can help a client see in black and white the effect of various paint jobs on a room.

One last thing, if you are an interior designer and love to use contemporary furniture, Pure Contempory is looking for designers to answer design question from its readers. What a great way to market yourself!

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

The New Reds!

From Casual Living, Red Unraveled by Courtney Mueller

Reds have been toned down lately. Instead of the bright, eye-catching reds seen over the last few years, this year's red shades are more subdued and rustic. From kaleidoscope and paprika to crimson and mandarin, many of the new shades incorporate hints of orange. Again, geometric and tropical patterns are noticed.

Sunbrella by Glen Raven; Bamboo Mandarin
100% SUNBRELLA ACRYLIC. Designed by Richard Frinier, Bamboo Mandarin has an Asian appeal with a soft bamboo pattern featuring a ground weave in an all-over texture.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Ottomans in the Home

In case you missed it, Nanine Alexander in the Homes & Gardens section of The Oregonian on Feb. 16th writes about ottomans:

Ottomans, no longer content with supporting roles as footstools, are edging coffee tables offstage in Northwest living rooms. In fact, their fans are giving them the run of the entire house -- from living room to bedroom, foyer to dressing room.

Alexander offers Five Shopping Tips for Ottomans

Size matters. An ottoman paired with a chair should be no wider than the chair. An ottoman paired with a sofa should be no wider than the seating area.

Use butcher paper or newspaper to lay out the size of an ottoman's footprint on your floor so you can see how much space it will take up. Adjust your aspirations accordingly.

Upholstery. Fabric is better suited to ottomans used chiefly as seating. If you plan to use it as a coffee table or to rest your feet, look for fabric that resists spills and soils or have the fabric treated.

Leather is a good choice for durability. Leather that is dark, distressed or in a pebbled texture stands up especially well to wear, resists spill stains and ages well.

Tufts and buttons. Not the best choice if you have pets or children; the sunken buttons attract animal hair and cracker crumbs and can be close to impossible to clean. Buttons also can pull loose and are difficult to reattach.

Storage. Look for sturdy hinges and lids that are easy to lift.

In our home we recently switched from a two foot long ottoman for our feet and magazines to a transitional design, Sam Moore leather ottoman that is 42" X 28" and 18" high.

It is perfect for our feet, is big enough for a tray that can be used for hors dourves or magazines. We also trained Ralph the dog to stay off of it.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Celebration of Creativity

On march 2-5, 2006, come to the 28th Annual Celebration of Creativity Fine Art Exhibit & Sale.

Southminster (Presbyterian Church)'s annual "Celebration of Creativity" fine art show and sale is a reflection of our belief that artistic creativity is a manifestation of God. The show occurs the first full weekend every March and features painters, sculptors, potters, jewelry-makers, fabric designers, and photographers from the Pacific Northwest who have been invited to participate.

The event begins with a "First Look" Gala on Thursday evening from 7:00 to 9:00 ($10 at the door)

Friday an Exhibit & Sale from 10:00 to 5:00

a reception for the artists on Friday evening from 7:00 to 9:00.

Saturday the show is open all day from 10:00 to 5:00, featuring artist demonstrations

concluding Saturday night from 7:30 to 9:00 with a concert-where guests are surrounded by the art-in the evening ($8 to $10 at the door).

The Sunday worship services also occur in the midst of the art from 10:00 to 11:00.

The show closes Sunday afternoon at 4:00

Two friends of ours will be exhibiting, Darryl Ware and Kathryn Delaney.

Southminster Presbyterian Church
12250 SW Denney
Beaverton, OR 97008
503.644.2073

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

How Do You Feel About Discounts?

An article at Jim Logan got me thinking about the traditional retail industry. I noticed in the paper today that our competitors are offering special discounts and I got a flyer in the mail from Macy's (Meier and Frank) about a sale and on the radio was a sale for Gold Toe socks at Fred Meyer. I know that people wait until just before Christmas to shop because of the discounts.

What Jim Logan suggests in When You Can't Think Of Anything To Offer, Offer A Discount. Not. is don't offer a discount but an addition. He offers the opinion that if you automatically offer a discount of 20% you are saying, in effect, your product is over priced. Instead he suggests offering something free in addition to the customer purchase or savings of some percent on an additional purchase. He says

Instead of offering a discount, offer a bonus or premium to attract buyers. Offer something for free – a complimentary product or service, ticket, registration, subscription, etc. Partner with others in your or related markets and giveaway other products or services as a bonus for buying from you. People love getting things for free. Free continues to be the most compelling offer of them all.

What do you think? Assuming the offer has high value to begin with; would you rather receive a free bonus or a discount?

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

discounts economics retail

The Portland City Grill

Here's a restauranteer on the top of his game, Walt Holman at the Portland City Grill.

For those of you outside of Portland, Oregon, the Portland City Grill sits on the 30th floor of the second tallest downtown office building, affectionately known as "Big Pink" for its light pinkish color. Your dining pleasure is enhanced by the view of the city at your feet. We have had several wonderful dinners with friends at the city grill and the bar is a favorite gathering place after work or on the weekends.

Michael isn't too impressed with most restaurants. He thinks most are forgettable and can number his favorites on one hand. So it was with considerable anticipation that we made reservations for our four person Christmas party last December.

Our reservations were at 8:00 PM and we arrived early. I asked if a window table was available and was told that it would be a few minutes. We went to the bar and waited. They gave us a little plastic block that lights up and vibrates when the table is ready. A half hour goes by and I get up and check with the hostess and it is not ready. Then it's an hour. Finally, we were presented menus at 10:00 PM. I was angry and said, "Well, I guess we won't be coming here anymore!"

Last week, our friends Suzanne and Jack Gallagher were dining at the Portland City Grill and they related our story to the manager, Walt Holman. The next day Walt called me and apologized for our experience and said he would like an opportunity to make it up to us. He invited us to dine again on the house!

I asked if Valentine's day was avaiilable.
He said he would make it available and asked, "What time would you like to eat?"
I said, hesitantly, "7:30?"
"Done, he said. We'll see you at 7:30."

Walt said that with so many fine restaurants in Portland, a restaurant gets one shot to get your repeat business.

We dined last night on teriyaki chicken rice paper spring rolls and Kung Pao calamari for appetizers, followed by caesar salad for me and a mango and macadamia nut salad for Michael. We each ordered the 10 oz Petite New York strip with peppercorn bandy sauce. I had scampi with my steak. The meal was more than wonderful! It regained its status as one of Michael's top five restaurants.

If you come to Portland and have dinner out, Michael suggests you dine at Jake's, Mint, Lucy's Table, Ciao Vito and the Portland City Grill.

By the way, we arrived early and we were seated early. Thank you Walt.

Portland City Grill
30th Floor
Unico/US Bancorp Tower
111 SW Fifth Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97204
503.450.0030

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Night Out at Lucy's Table

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner last night with friends at Lucy's Table on NW 21st and Kearney.

There is a nice bar inside the front door where you can sip and eat. Inside the restaurant, the space is lit in a pinkish hue, very flattering. It was busy, perhaps the tables a touch too close together, but with all the people still not overly loud. Maybe its the drapery and carpeting. The wait person was knowledgeable about the food and how it was prepared.

The whole menu is varied, something for everyone on one sheet of parchment. We chose an Arigula salad with orange slices and cashew brittle. Excellent! Our server knew we were splitting the salad and brought it on two separate plates. For the main course, I ordered Oregon Salmon served on a pureed celery and spears of asparagus. Michael ordered the grilled “Painted Hills” beef Rib-Eye on a bed of Macarpone Potatoes and a gorgonzola butter & beet-enriched demi sauce, topped with “Smoky” Onion Rings. Donya ordered braised rabbit in a Chardonnay-Dijon broth including Applewood bacon, pearl onions, green olive, and fennel served on crispy white polenta and Craig ordered a double cut pork chop stuffed with spinich and arugula. The presentation of the meals was beautiful and all meals were done perfectly to our tastes.

I said there was something for everyone on the menu. There was lavender blackened Ahi Tuna, Grouper, vegetarian “meatloaf” and wild boar ravioli. One of the specials was a rack of venison. The meal was wonderful and with drinks came to $150 for four a far cry from the $150 for two we experienced in Cabo San Lucas in January.

Would we go back? In a heartbeat! Would we change anything? Maybe the dessert menu this night seemed a little limited.

Lucy’s Table is located at 704 NW 21st Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97209 — Telephone: (503) 226-6126

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Glass Furniture

We are seeing more glass used in furniture everyday, especially in contemporary furniture.

The magazine PURE CONTEMPORARY has an article entitled Furniture of a Better Glass by Caroline Kooshoian.

The curves of Curvet's Fiocco table take a delicate design detail and make it useful: the bends double as magazine racks.

The magic of glass has been admired since its discovery in about 5,000 BC and has lived on in everything from children’s tales like Cinderella to the imaginations of architecture’s giants like Philip Johnson, who used the stuff to create his masterpiece Glass House in New Canaan, CT. But the grandiose history and ingenious applications of glass do not stunt the imaginations of newcomers to the material. Rather it inspires them to test glass for what has not yet been done, resulting in pieces as exciting and innovative as the first hand-blown vessels of 27 BC.

Kooshoian shares information about grading quality of glass in furniture.

When you’re deciding on a piece of glass furniture, notice the detailing. If it has polished edges, beveled edges, is etched, colored, textured, or tempered for added strength it will cost more. But, the extra cost is well worth it. Tempering can be expected to add about 30% to a product’s cost. A small sum compared to the expense of replacing a chipped or damaged piece that, with the treatment, might have remained intact. (If broken, tempered glass will break into pebble-like pieces that greatly reduce injury.) The thickness of glass also contributes to a higher cost that pays back the owner by hiding wear and tear.

A coffee table and dining table, both are extendable from Calligaris

The article emphasizes that glass furniture is costly, yet at Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery where we recently added Calligaris to our lines, glass is used for many of the table tops. It is tempered glass and the prices are reasonable.

BTW, PURE CONTEMPORARY has a special section Ask The Experts. If you are a designer with a special interest in contemporary design, the magazine is looking for designers to help answer questions. To be considered as an industry expert, send your bio, areas of speciality and contact info to Be An Expert.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

BERMANFALK Coming to Landfair Furniture

We are adding a new line, BERMANFALK at
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery.

Located on Canada’s west coast in beautiful British Columbia, BERMANFALK has been designing and manufacturing high-quality, all-wood furniture for over 20 years.

Gary Berman and Paul Falk have assembled a team of experienced furniture makers who carefully translate their clean, distinctive designs into furniture that is both elegant and timeless.

BERMANFALK furniture is synonymous with luxurious living. Ideal for creating expressive, enduring interiors that define individual style, their furniture is characterized by the extravagant use of solid maple. Their collections add beauty and comfort to your living space.

HOM by BERMANFALK is their line of contemporary furniture. Designed for modern living, the HOM collections are akin to BERMANFALK in quality and beauty, yet deviate in style and occasion.

Exceptional workmanship and the use of durable materials are the foundation of their furniture. With an all-wood construction, drawers that have fully dovetailed joints and silky smooth undermounted slides, high solids stains that are carefully hand-rubbed, and the use of only the best conversion varnish, their dedication to quality is obvious in each BERMANFALK piece.

Catalogs are in the showroom, fabric samples are on the way and wood finish samples are here. We hope to place our opening order soon. Wanna help?

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Future Colors

In case you missed it, in todays Oregonian, in the special advertising section Autos/DriveTime, Dee-Ann Durbin writes

Auto colorists paint future in shades of blue, brown

Only a handful of people know what new vehicles will look like in 2009. But automotive paint supplier PPG Industries already has a good idea what colors those vehicles will be.

Blue will get more popular in the next four years as more dramatic shades are introduced. Yellows and oranges will get richer and warmer. Reds will glow in deep shades of cranberry and wine, and dark brown will make a comeback.

"Not everything in here is gospel, but it's a general direction," said Lorene Boettcher, PPG's manager of global design and color marketing.

Each fall, Pittsburgh-based PPG hosts a color tour for auto industry officials so they can look at upcoming trends and choose colors they can refine further in their own studios. Future colors are identified from trends in fashion, interior design, architecture and even cosmetics, Boettcher said. (Emphasis added)

As hybrid vehicles get more popular, drivers may be looking for earthy, natural tones. Luxury makers, always looking for ways to set their vehicles apart, might choose rich blends that change slightly depending on the light or paints with flecks of silver-coated glass.

PPG has 20 colorists in North America, Europe, Japan, South Korea, China, Malaysia, India and Australia. They work separately to identify trends and then bring all their ideas together for the show. This year's show features 130 new colors.

Silver is the worldwide favorite right now, making up 37 percent of vehicles produced. White is second at 14.4 percent. Blue and black are right behind, at 12.7 percent and 11 percent.

Silver will remain popular for several more years, Boettcher said, and PPG is trying to enhance it by experimenting with blends like silvery green and technology that makes paint look like liquid metal.

Boettcher said natural tones will be a hit, including leathery browns and sophisticated, muted metallics. One color she showed was inspired by cappuccino, another by burlap.

Many auto executives have steered away from brown because it was a popular color when the industry went through tough times in the 1970s, she said. But that will start to change.

"That's going to start at the high end and work its way down to the mainstream," Boettcher said. -- By DEE-ANN DURBIN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Who is Maryann Fielder?

Are you familiar with Maryann Fielder? Nancy Zieg and I have worked with Maryann on several projects. Nancy is the interior designer, we provide furniture and Maryann is commissioned for art for some of the walls. I just added her web site to our blogroll and was captivated by some of her original paintings.

Maryann Fielder asks:

What is the sum total of one's life, knowledge, observations, perceptions?

My painting continues to evolve in direct resonse to my experiences and environment. The central question of my painting is: "what does it mean to be human?"

You can reach Maryann Fielder at 503-869-9527 or maryannfldr@hotmail.com

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

CBK and Cristina

From Home Accents Today in Las Vegas, CBK expands Casa Cristina line. Casa Cristina is the line of accessories licensed by Hispanic superstar Cristina Saralegui.

CBK has expanded its Casa Cristina line by adding pieces to the most popular styles. The pieces added about 110 SKUs to the collection. Pulaski Furniture has added a new bedroom group to the Casa line, called Urbana, which is geared toward smaller, less opulent homes.

Landfair Furniture+Design Gallery has access to the complete CBK line of accessories and has many examples on its floor.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Mirador Chosen for Design Gallery

From Home Accents Today, Design Gallery focal point for trendy looks in Vegas

The Design Gallery, a juried exhibit area featuring stylish products and displays of up-and-coming trends, was created as the centerpiece of the temporary venue at this week's Las Vegas Market.

The Design Gallery will be located in a dedicated section of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center and will feature a broad cross-section of new designs.

Companies and products were hand-selected for inclusion in the showcase by an internal show management committee.

"At the Design Gallery, attendees can expect to see more of the high-style products that represent home decor and furniture," said Babs Blair, director of leasing at World Market Center. "We want this area to be a destination that showcases trend-setting products and serve as an incubator for unique new companies. Even companies selected more than once will be moved to different locations within the Design Gallery to keep it fresh and exciting.

"We use our collective knowledge of what is being promoted at different shows - including European fairs," said Blair. "In addition, we look at the quality of the exhibitors displays and review their catalogs as part of the basis for our criteria."

Lois Richards, trade shows and temporary leasing manager at World Market Center, stressed the Design Gallery is not simply a collection of trendy furniture or home decor products.

"It is more visual merchandising," she said. "The companies merchandise in unique ways, using the layouts of their booths to make it aesthetically beautiful so the booth is part of what they're showing. The whole ambience of their location, their booth, their stage and how it's designed is what's trendy - not specifically a piece of furniture or a designer color. It's more of a total look."

Richards said market attendees won't want to miss this innovative gallery. "It is going to be fresh, new and vital," she said. "It's an ever-changing area that is a must-see."

The selected exhibitors at this market's Design Gallery include: Antiques 2000, Bojay, Bull & Stein, Charles Carol Design, CTC/Chicago, Dare Deco, IDS Interior Design Source, Ital Art Designs, Leftbank Art Company, Mel V, Mila Brown International, Mirador Furnishings, Pulvermacher Designs, Rags, Roberta Schilling, Shawna Stoney, Sweet Smiling Home, Texture Home Decor, Thumprints, Van Teal, Wallternatives and Zambezi Trader.

Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery carries the Mirador Furnishings line and is pleased that a jury has selected Mirador to appear in the Design Gallery.

Bev & Mike

Flat Screen for Super Bowl XL

From the SacBee (registration required),

The new dilemma in home decor: Finding the right spot for flat screens

The 55-inch plasma screen at Joe and Patty Caldero's house in Elk Grove found a home over the fireplace. Increasingly, new houses are being built to accommodate both flat-screen TVs and the hidden wiring they require. Sacramento Bee/ Lezlie Sterling

Before opting for over the fireplace, try sitting and looking over the fireoplace for an extended period of time. You may find you get a crick in your neck, because the set is too high.

Credenzas, long and low cabinets sometimes also called buffets or sideboards, marry well with flat-panel TVs.

[...]

Install a flat-panel TV on a wall and you gain usable square footage. Big-screen behemoths of the past protruded as much as 30 inches into rooms. They dominated and were considered an unsightly focal point by interior designers.

[...]

After a flat-panel (or two) is purchased, its placement and installation likely will require professional help. Wires need to be hidden, sometimes in walls, and component installation of a home theater system often requires a pro. You don't just plug everything in and adjust the rabbit ears. There never have been more options for installing a TV.

CNET has some great information about getting HDTV and their recommendation for Flat-Screen TV's

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Eight Questions to Ask Before Hiring an Interior Designer

It seems that every day a new magazine comes in the mail detailing home decorating ideas. I'm having trouble keeping up with my reading!

Home, in their January 26th issue has an article entitled Hire It Out: Interior Designer. The lead paragraph asks a great question:

If you're a regular Home reader, you may be thinking, "Interior designer? Why?"

After all, each month our editors work to give you the know-how to design and decorate with confidence. But a day may come when scheduling constraints, blocked creativity, or a thorny layout problem makes hiring an interior designer the best option.

The article makes some very good points.

First, make sure the scale of the project really warrants an interior designer.

If you just want to add a piece or two to a room, many furniture stores have in-house stylists who can advise you. On the other hand, if you're talking demolition, you'll need an architect. Interior designers fall somewhere in between: They create furniture plans, coordinate colors, handle purchasing, and manage the installations through a rolodex of reliable subcontractors. To find a pro, peruse shelter magazines, seek recommendations from folks whose homes you admire, and check the American Society of Interior Designers website's (asid.org) referrals page. Meet at least three candidates who satisfy your style and budget needs, and trust your gut on rapport. "You have to like the person; they have to like you," says Debbie Wiener, of the Washington, D.C.—area firm Designing Solutions. "After all, you're hiring a new best friend for the next six months—and that's assuming it's a short project."

Second, get a contract.

Third, how much will it cost?

Four, Eight must-ask questions for the designer, plus the answers you want to hear.

Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery has an interior designer on staff Mondays and we specialize working with designers and their clients. In addition we are members of NWSID and ASID. Because of these associations, we believe we are in a unique position to recommend designers that may fit your needs if the scale of the project warrants.

Bev & Mike

It's Bridget Otto Thursday!

Thursday is becoming "Bridget A. Otto Thursday". Today via The Oregonian's Homes & Garden section, Otto captures our attention with the article
Color vision, Forecasters home in on future trends.

Color is big business.

Steve Noble, with the Luxury Marketing Council, told people at a 2004 interior design seminar in Seattle that accurate forecasting translates to fortunes. He talked about an ad featuring a chartreuse Saab. Looking back over my notes from that seminar I find this notation next to chartreuse: "sleeper color."

He called it.

Color Marketing Group uses a democratic approach, as Conroy calls it. Each year, during conferences in the spring and the fall, members break into workshops and, before discussing color, consider what key influences will drive color direction.

Those influences can come from the economy or world events, such as Hurricane Katrina.

"These things dramatically impact how people look at the world," Conroy said. Sad news keeps people closer to home, which, in the color forecasting world, translates to more soothing colors.

Conversely, just like the expression "the future looks rosy," colors brighten when things are going well.

Cultural influences also have an effect. As technology knits the world more tightly, we see, taste and feel other countries' influences more quickly. This plays out in a category the color group labels "Hybrid."

The bottom line for 2006:

"Colors for 2006 will be warmer, clearer and brighter," the color forecasters report. "Reddened oranges will replace coppery hues; yellows will gain importance; blues will dramatically recede; and complex neutrals will add sophistication and luxury to the 2006 Consumer Color Palette."

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Online Spending in 2005 Up 22%!

Here's some very heartening news for our on-line furniture and accessories store, Landfair Furniture Annex, from comScore Networks.

comScore Networks just released holiday season and annual online spending figures for full year 2005, concluding that total Internet spending for the full year, including travel, reached $143.2 billion, up 22 percent over the $117.2 billion spent online in 2004.

Non-Travel (Retail) spending for the Holiday season was up year over year by 25%! For the full year of 2005, Non-Travel (Retail) spending increased to $82.3 Billion, up 24%.

Within the Non-Travel (Retail) Home & Garden spending was up 32% in 2005; and spending on Furniture increased 24% in 2005 (and "they" say that furniture is not sold over the net).

Further, according to data from Goldman, Sachs, Nielsen//NetRatings, and Harris Interactive eSpending Report, the distribution of spending in stores over the last four years has declined from 78% to 68% and online has grown from 16% to 27%.

What do we conclude from all those numbers? The internet is increasingly a place where people shop for their homes and Landfair Furniture will continue to emphasize the internet for awareness of our offerings. We will continue to use our blog to deliver information that based on your feedback, is useful, entertaining and valuable.

We will continue encouraging you the interior designer to get a web presence; web site and/or blog. Based on visitors to Landfair Furniture+Desugn Gallery. your future clients need your input. Some don't want to rely on their judgement when it comes to spending money. Some are not familiar with many of the terms you use. They want to see examples of your work and read about your design philosophy. The market is relying more and more on the web and you need to be there.

Bev & Mike

UPDATE: In a recently released Memo/Report on the use of the Internet by both men and women, the study found

women are catching up in overall use and are framing their online experience with a greater emphasis on deepening connections with people.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

New Items: Sonoma Large Urn with lid

New Items: Sonoma Large Urn with lid
Originally uploaded by gily122000.

Yipes Stripes!
Absolutely stunning color. If you need a punch for your room, this is it.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

New Items: Three Vases

New Items: Three Vases
Originally uploaded by gily122000.

16" orange orange
and two 20" one is orange orange and the other is orange red.

These vases would be great in any setting from mid-century to now.

Notice the colors, Orange, light blue and Chocolate are the latest interior colors.

New Items: Three Vases

New Items: Three Vases
Originally uploaded by gily122000.

16" orange orange
and two 20" one is orange orange and the other is orange red.

These vases would be great in any setting from mid-century to now.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

New Items: Two Ceramic Canisters

New Items: Two Ceramic Canisters
Originally uploaded by gily122000.

One is 22 Inches high with lid
Second is 16 Inches high with lid
Color: Caramel

The lids are cool and impressive.

Lamp can be used with Asian or Transitional. Ask for details.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

New Items: 22" Ceramic Charger with Stand

New Items: 22" Ceramic Charger with Stand
Originally uploaded by gily122000.

Caramel in color on stand, 22 inches in diameter.
Great large accessory for transitional to European environment.

Do you send enough "Thank You" notes?

I was impressed recently, by my brother's fiance. She held Christmas dinner at her house for the whole family of about 30 people. She asked me to bring a salad. Three days after the dinner, I received a thank you note in the mail for bringing salad. Now here's a woman with three girls, she's an emergency room nurse, she's planning her wedding on January 1st, hosting a large dinner, and she finds the time to send a note. The wedding took place, there was a honeymoon and yesterday a thank you note came in the mail, thanking us for the wedding present.

Mike has a friend in Bend, Billy Two Hawks, who is also very good at sending notes thanking us for something or other. Recently, we received a note thanking us for attending his 60th birthday party.

I raise the issue of "Thank You" notes because I came across Jim Logan's Blog and he writes about 8 Tips To Writing Personal Notes Of Appreciation. He writes:

Personal notes of thanks are probably the most powerful thing you can do as a person in a relationship. The goodwill represented by taking the time and personal care to write a note is incredible.

Check out his web site for the eight tips here.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

New Items: Sonoma Collection Box with Lid

Sonoma Collection Box with Lid
Originally uploaded by gily122000.

Yipes Stripes!
Keep your secrets here.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

New Items: Empire eliptical bowl

Empire eliptical bowl
Originally uploaded by gily122000.

Exotic wood inside, hammered finish outside

This would make a dramatic transitional to contempory statement.

29 inches long

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

New Items: Lorenzo Collection:Two Candalabras and Table lamp

Lorenzo Collection:Two Candalabras and Table lamp
Originally uploaded by gily122000.

20 inch and 16 inch Candalabras and Table Lamp, color is champagne gold

Great way to unite a theme in one room.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

New Items: Large Orange Orange Bowl

Large Orange Orange Bowl
Originally uploaded by gily122000.

19 1/2 inches in diameter, 4 1/2 inches high.
You can see light through this big bowl.
Forget football. This is the real Orange Bowl!

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

New Items: Nambia Charger with Metal Stand

Nambia Charger with Metal Stand9
Originally uploaded by gily122000.

Target this!
Black and cream in opaque ceramic.

Use in contempory loft space or setting or update your accessories.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Decor8, the Blog

We discovered a new blog, Decor8, written by Holly from Boston, Mass. It's a very interesting blog with lots of great ideas and interesting pictures. We were struck by this photo of a poster:

The poster, "The Illustrated History of Rocking Chairs", is available from Design Boom for $10. Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery has to have it.

Bev & Mike

California Olive Oil?

January 18, 2006

From MercuryNews.com, Golden State's olive presses yield bottles on par with world's best.

For the most part, California olive oils aim for the high end of the market. The best -- handpicked, cold-pressed and unfiltered -- compare favorably to the most respected in the world, taking top honors in international competitions.

California's production is still small, about 400,000 gallons, and it is best used not for cooking, but for applying as a flavor enhancement. The greener the olive the more peppery, so many olive oil producers try for a balance between the black olives and green. It takes the olives from about three trees to produce a gallon of oil.

There are strong links between wine and olive oil. Both crops thrive in similar climates and soils. It's no accident the modern California olive oil industry took root in the wine country of Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties. Table olives had long been grown in California, but little premium was put on the oil until vintner Lila Jaeger began making oil from old trees growing at Rutherford Hill winery, says Vossen, the UC extension olive oil guru.

Today, most growers follow the lead of Evers (Ridgley Evers, a software executive, had brought the first Tuscan trees to the States in 1990 to start DaVero oil company in Sonoma.), who fell in love with a Tuscan oil and planted trees on his Dry Creek Valley farm that were grown from cuttings propagated in Lucca, Italy. Tuscan-style oils tend to be more herbaceous, with a pungent, peppery kick, depending on how early the olives are harvested in the fall and how long the oils have been stored. Oils from more mellow varieties such as manzanilla and those that have been harvested when the fruit is riper are more likely to be softer and more buttery. Oils also begin to lose their sharp edges when they're stored, so an oil from last year's harvest will be less bitter than one that was just pressed.

Olive oil goes perfectly with the good breads that are baked here in Portland. A good restaurant here pays attention to both.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

DailyCandy

January 17, 2006

Are you going to be traveling to one of these cities: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco or Washington D.C.? Check out DailyCandy!

We first learned about Daily Candy as most do: from a friend who was traveling to New York and wanted to know where to find those hidden treasures only insiders know about. The web site is filled with tips about Fashion, Food & Drink, Beauty, Arts & Culture, Fun, Services and Travel.

You can sign up for an email about your favorite city or one email for everywhere.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Bridget A. Otto on Furniture Folly

Jan 5, 2006

Bridget A. Otto has an article in The Oregonian of Thursday Jan. 5th, about buying furniture,

Furniture folly
Don't sit down on a costly mistake

Jennifer Litwin's frustration drove her to write a book.

Even though Litwin is an antiques expert who trained at Sotheby's and reports on furniture for Consumers Digest, the Chicago-based author discovered the pitfalls of furniture shopping while trying to furnish her own home.

If she was frustrated, she thought, what must the average consumer experience?

One salesperson would say one thing about a sofa, and another would say something else. Litwin says she began to wonder who was being honest about the furniture.

The $75 billion-dollar-a-year industry is virtually unregulated, Litwin says. No one governs anything, leaving the consumer to be her own best advocate and driving Litwin to write "Best Furniture Buying Tips Ever!" (Random House, 2005, $14.95).

Litwin, who has been involved in antiques and reporting on furniture for about 12 years, says that unless you spend every day shopping and comparing, it's hard to evaluate the quality of furniture.

So, consumer, arm thyself.

Litwin recommends doing some comparison shopping online before walking into stores. The Internet is a good tool for learning about styles and checking prices and sales, she says.

Once in the store, ask what materials have gone into the piece, Litwin says, and get the salesperson to put it in writing. And speaking of writing, get a written warranty -- from either the manufacturer or the store. Warranties can run the gamut, so be sure you understand what is covered and how the warranty would work.

Litwin says consumers can't afford to be shy. If you are buying a piece that will require some assembly, ask how many pieces are involved and whether the store offers free assembly -- it can save you hours of frustration.

"Ready to assemble means not ready to use," she says. Litwin spent $75 on a desk for her son, and -- after finding that assembly involved 30 pieces and dozens of nuts and bolts -- she paid someone $200 to put it together.

Even the experts make mistakes sometimes.

Beverly Landfair, co-owner with her husband, Mike, of Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery on Southwest Macadam Avenue, advises buyers to assess how the furniture will be used.

[for the rest of this article, please click the link to

Furniture folly
Don't sit down on a costly mistake]

Bridget A. Otto: 503-221-8527; bridgetotto@news.oregonian.com wrote this article. It will be archived for two weeks only!

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Link Requests

We get "link requests" from time to time and we actively solicit links to our blog. On our right side or sidebar you can see the web sites we link to. Links drive traffic to your web site or blog. There may be 25,000,000 blogs, but only a few hundred are getting large amounts of visitors.
For instance:

#1 Daily Kos: State of the Nation averages 445,240 visits/day;
#50 BTF's Baseball Primer Newsblog averages 14,103 visits/day;
#100 Althouse averages 6,477 visits/day;
#250 Curmudgeonly & Skeptical 2,566 visits/day.

It drops off pretty substantially leading to what "geeks" and marketing people call "the long tail". The theory being, small blogs have loyal readers and those loyal readers may go to a blog or web site that is linked to the loyal reader site. Thus if you want lots of traffic, link to a lot of sites.

We recently received an invitation to link with Ceiling Fans Info Source. The email said:

I have visited your website and have found your
index page tasteful and I think the content could be
of interest to our web site visitors. I would be delighted
and grateful to become your reciprocal link partner.

Not only will I link to Ceiling Fans Info Source, but I found a number of articles that were informative and useful.

One such article is entitled Ceilng Fan Energy Efficiency

Ceiling fans can be a great way to increase the energy savings in your home while providing a comfortable living environment. Offering more features and functionality than a standard light, many ceiling fans can easily be installed in the same location as and replace your light fixture. Ceiling fan energy efficiency can vary greatly between ceiling fans and the accessories added to them, such as light kits.

With ever higher energy prices, it makes sense to investigate ceiling fans for your home.

Whether you are selling products on the web or providing a service, we all want people to know about us. A web site or blog that has links to supportive businesses or helpful information will get the word out about you.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Placing Ads in Surprising Places

Brian Carroll, e-business editor for Furniture|Today in his blog Tecnology Today writes in Placing Ads in Surprising Places

...advertising on blogs is a a huge growth category, giving advertisers a laser-like ability to target certain readerships that traditional mass media cannot provide. One example is Budget, the car rental company, which at last count is advertising on 177 blogs.

Budget says they can't outspend rival Hertz so they advertise on 177 blogs. (The owners of Landfair Furniture are going to rent a car in Cabo beginning Jan. 7th for a week. We are open to taking advertising money from a car rental company.)

Brian Carroll goes on to write

Ah! Outspend Sears or Crate & Barrel or Rooms To Go? Not likely. Outsmart them? Out-nimble them? Maybe.

One example: Sippican Cottage, a small furniture maker in Massachusetts. This is a nimble company, advertising-wise, that is choosing to invest in the blogosphere. You could even call what the company is doing a blog-centered integrated marketing campaign. The Web site I just pointed to. In the site is a blog, which is dedicated to news from the company (http://sippicancottagefurniture.com/page31whatsnew.htm).

Advertising on this section is automated, with a trickle of change coming from companies such as Amazon.com. Not much, mind you, but all automated -- no human intervention required.

Companion to the site is the Sippican Cottage blog, a thoughtful read by the company's entrepreneur, Gregory Sullivan. No advertising there, yet, but that has not stopped Sullivan. He's dipping his toes into blogads by advertising at, among other Web destinations, Althouse, a blog by a law professor with a readership Sullivan has determined might like his furniture.

Another blog-savvy furniture company -- Landfair Furniture in Portland, Oregan. Beverly Landfair emphasizes interior design and consulting -- in other words, a lot of customer contact. A blog, then, makes perfect sense.

So a blog is one click off the home page (http://landfairfurniture.blogspot.com/), where it gives readers (and potential buyers) tips and perspectives on home decor and quite a bit more. ( Click here to see our sister publication's writeup on Landfair.

On Landfair's blog are Google AdSense-place advertisements that, like the Amazon.com trickle, doesn't provide enough money for anyone to live on, but it costs only the space at the top of the blog.

I'll keep searching, maybe devote a print column to this subject. It's too easy not to consider, particularly the explosive growth in blogs and in the numbers reading them.

Need more on the study of blogads? An in-depth study can be found by clicking here.

Hat Tip to Gregory Sullivan for bringing this article to our attention. We were aware of Lisa's article but not Brian's. You will notice we have linked to Sullivan's web sites and will investigate whether we can use his line in our store.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Painting is Done, Happy New Year!

We are pooped! We have spent the last three days giving the store a clean, fresh, new look on the inside, while helping customers.

The back wall and the longest wall was a tuscan red called Red Pepper, is now a rich chocolate called Obsession for Chocolate. The south wall with many windows was Royal Purple is now Promises, Promises, a kind of light bluebery parfait and looks great with the new contempory dark brown woods and orange. The west front wall was Cockatoo Gold, a mustard color, is now Easy On the Eyes, a marshmellow white, as is the area behind my desk and counter and the north wall which was a orange rust color called Rum Punch now is the same light bluebery parfait. We have kept the charcoal accents on the beams and around the windows and doors. The paint came from Raye Ann and Rebecca's Designers' Studio, "a stylish paint infused with attitude and hip chic'ness".

Stop in to see the new colors and grab some animal crackers. They are low fat.

We want to wish you all the best for the New Year, may you be healthy, happy and safe.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Tankless Water Heaters

In case you missed the article, don't subscribe to The Oregonian or live outside of Oregon, Bridget Otto had an interesting article in Homes and Gardens Thursday. In Tankless water heaters: wave of the future or drop in the bucket?, Otto tells us about tankless water heaters, that there may be considerable savings over conventional water heating and space savings. There may also, be some tax savings.

Tankless -- or on-demand -- water heaters heat water as it passes through, as opposed to traditional water heaters, which keep gallons of water heated and stored, leading to what is called standby loss.

[...]

The best application for a tankless is an area that is a long way from the water heater, say from a tank in the basement to an upstairs bathroom. Any time water travels through a long stretch of pipe, much of it ends up just sitting in the pipe, where the heat is wasted. A tankless heater located near the water outlet eliminates this waste. There also are small units designed for point of use, such as a hot-water tap at a sink.

We added a tankless water heater in the kitchen for instant hot water for tea or instant cereal. The savings to your yearly hot water bill may amount to about 10%, but that could be offset by new wiring needed. There also may be some energy credits available. Retrofitting could be expensive, but it certainly could be more efficient to use tankless water heaters in new construction. If you are planning on adding a bathroom or building new, it's worth checking into.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Vitamin D!

New pill taken daily lowers the risk of colon, breast and ovarian cancer. A 45 year study has concluded that taking Vitamin D is so important that it should be made a priority. People might want to consider a vitamin supplement to raise their intake to 1000 IUs per day Seldom has a life-saving prescription come so simply or so cheaply: Get enough vitamin D daily and cut your risk of some cancers by up to half.

That's the good news from a study by cancer specialists at the University of California, San Diego, Medical Center. The bad news is that -- because the main source of vitamin D is sunlight and many of us have begun avoiding it -- many people aren't getting enough.

We're heading off to Cabo in less than two weeks to get our Vitamin D fix.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Uttermost to Offer Lighting Fixtures

Uttermost is making its debut into lighting fixtures at the Dallas Market in January.

"This is the largest product development effort we have ever made," said Mac Cooper, president and CEO. "It makes our lamp introduction three and a half years ago look small."

The 161-piece introduction consists of 24 families of lighting, ranging from two-story foyer chandeliers to mini chandeliers to vanity lights to sconces to kitchen lighting.

Carolyn Kinder, who lead the creative development of Uttermost’s lamp debut, is also the creative force behind Uttermost’s lighting fixture line.

Landfair Furniture has always been proud to carry the high quality lamp line.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Terence Riley's Last Exhibit at MOMA

When I visit New York, the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) is always at the top of my list of things to see. I just read in ArtsJournal.com that Terence Riley, chief curator of architecture and design is staging his most elaborate exhibit at MOMA. After 14 years this is his last.

He was traveling in Spain trying to put together an exhibit featuring stadiums, auditoriums and theaters, when it dawned on him that the exhibit should be concentrated on the explosion of architecture in Spain, alone.

...inventive architecture in a country that had long shunned experimental forms. From the Barajas Airport Terminals in Madrid with its vast wings of wavy steel, to the Santa Caterina Market in Barcelona with an undulating roof of riotous color, so much of what he was seeing was compellingly original.

Powered by a democratic awakening after decades of Fascist rule and by the dividends of European Union membership, Spain, he saw, was clearly outpacing its European siblings in the breadth and daring of its new architecture.

Jürgen Mayer H.'s Metropol Parasol, for Seville.

The Habitat Hotel in Barcelona by Cloud 9, with Acconci Studio and Ruy Ohtake.

The resulting MOMA exhibition, which opens on Feb. 12, will be Riley's last.

I plan on seeing this exhibit!

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

10 Tips for Using Colors

From House Beautiful and Designers William Diamond and Anthony Baratta, how to rev up your rooms with 10 Tips for Using Colors

1. A painted ceiling will influence a room without interrupting the eye. Paint the ceiling pink to add warmth and surprise, or sky blue for a feeling of the outdoors. For a more dramatic effect, try gold or silver leaf.

2. Buy a colorful quilt, old or new. Stretch it over a frame like a painter's canvas and hang it on a wall for an instant shot of pattern and color.

3. We love to paint floors. Use French blue, dark green, Chinese red or even black. If you're feeling adventurous, stencil a border or an overall pattern in a darker shade or complementary color.4. Accessorize a neutral room with one strong color. For example, pick one big color -- like hot orange -- and find throw pillows in a geometric orange print, a stack of fabric-covered orange boxes or orange ceramic bowls and vases.

4. Accessorize a neutral room with one strong color. For example, pick one big color -- like hot orange -- and find throw pillows in a geometric orange print, a stack of fabric-covered orange boxes or orange ceramic bowls and vases.

5. Be creative with colorful paint. In an all-white modern room we might paint just one wall in a strong color. The colored wall will recede and give added dimension to the room.

6. Add colored lamp shades, which can be custom-made with almost any fabric or paper in every imaginable color. 7. We love to use antique Swedish, Austrian or German painted furniture to add an elegant touch of color. For a more playful look, we'll paint or pinstripe a piece of thrift-shop furniture.

7. We love to use antique Swedish, Austrian or German painted furniture to add an elegant touch of color. For a more playful look, we'll paint or pinstripe a piece of thrift-shop furniture.

8. Rugs are one of the easiest ways to introduce color into a drab setting without overwhelming a room. A strong rug will "ground" a room and add depth and drama to a neutral space.

9. Reframe a painting or print with a color mat that matches one of the artwork's dominant colors.

10. Slipcover a sofa and chair in a clean, bold color canvas with a contrasting welt. Slipcovers are a less permanent investment, so you can have fun experimenting. Try bold checks or stripes in crisp clean colors or a favorite large-scale print.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Your style makes your home unique

From the Homes & Gardens section of The Oregonian, an article by Bridget A. Otto: It is all about you Your style makes your home unique

Home furnishing catalogs land in my mailbox everyday.

These glossy publications pack page after page with stylish sofas, side chairs, vases, lamps and knickknacks that mix and match to bring together the perfectly coordinated room.

It's great -- if you want your home to look like a catalog and not like your home.

Making a house a home is about bringing out personality and style. It's about living in it, not just looking at it. The problem is, not everyone knows how to tap into their style. That's why catalogs filled with every last item needed to pull a room together are so popular and why big-box stores are loaded with cookie-cutter kitchens. Everything's done for you. No need to stop and think about how your personality might play out in a room.

It's enough to send chills through Julie DeJardin.

After 15 years as an interior designer, DeJardin's philosophy has remained the same. She works with clients to find their style, harness it and use it to create rooms that reflect their lives.

"Everyone has it," she says of personal style. "They just need help to release it."

DeJardin, like many other designers I've spoken with through the years, has several tricks. She has clients go through magazines and tear out examples of what appeals to them -- everything from doorknobs to light fixtures. DeJardin says the process always ends the same way: Everything that catches her client's eye will have something in common, such as texture, styling or color.

It happens every time.

Another way she divines design is to ask what their "buzz item" is: a commercial stove, a particular countertop material or a certain style of cabinetry, for instance. Once that's established, the overall look begins to take shape.

Amanda Klash looks for treasures. It's her surefire way to bring unique personality to a room, she says. Klash, of Montgomery Klash Interior Design, asks her clients what they pick up when they travel or what sorts of collections they might have hiding in the basement or packed away in boxes. So many people don't give their things the attention or the prominence they deserve, she says.

Sprinkling a room with special pieces -- family photos framed just right or a collection of hand-painted pillows, masks or musical instruments -- adds vibrancy, says Klash.

Picture the catalog image again: matching sofa and loveseat; occasional rug under a wood-and-glass coffee table, holding some books and a couple of substantial candleholders.

Nice and safe.

Now picture a collection of colorful glass paperweights grouped on the table and African tribal masks at attention on the mantel. Immediately, the room takes on depth.

Sharing your belongings this way shows off another side of you that others may not be aware of, says Klash, who loves that stores such as Pottery Barn have brought good design to the masses.

"But I'm against people being safe," she says, "and worrying about what other people think. Our home is a sacred place where we should be able to be who we are."

Just recently, Klash was talking with a client who pulled out a tremendous silver collection. The client wasn't sure what to do with it.

For Klash, who suggested simply displaying it on a shelf, it was designer's gold.

Personal style may be elusive, but it's not impossible to find. Sometimes I think the magazines with their gorgeous rooms do more harm than good. They seduce us and hypnotize us. We become like so many lemmings marching in design lock step, thinking this is the only way.

The truth is, there are a million ways to do a room and a million ways to make it your own. There's a very clever print ad now running for Andersen windows and doors. It's a picture of a highly stylized room with the tagline that reads: "Is it possible to see yourself in a room without mirrors?"

Walk through your home. Do you see yourself?

Bridget A. Otto: 503-221-8527;

bridgetotto@news.oregonian.com

Add your personality to your home

Get those family photos out of the box and into frames. Gather them on tables or frame them identically and hang them in groups.

Have a bunch of candleholders gathering dust? Put the same color candle in all of them and gather them on a mirrored or silver tray. This works for lots of collections: crystal decanters, silver pieces, cut-glass bottles.

Are the throw pillows on your sofa made from the same fabric as the sofa? Try pillows that are brighter, richer or darker in color for a contrasting, yet complementary, change. Keep all your receipts and don't cut any tags off. Because if you get the pillows home and don't like them, you can take them back and try again.

Have something you'd like to display, but nowhere to display it? Take a look at the bookcase in the family room. It doesn't need to hold only books. Store some of the books and make room for a display shelf.

Julie DeJardin can be reached at

DeJardin Designs
1500 SW 5th St. #1505
Portland, OR • 97201 • Tel: 503.768.4540
kitchens@dejardin.net

Amanda Klash can be reached at

Montgomery Klash Interiors
2600 SW Montgomery Dr.
Portland,OR 97203-1787
(866) 338-0087

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

New Products

Bubbles ThighShapers

a "push-up bra" for the butt!
slims the thigh without flattening the behind
shaping hosiery provides smoothing and comfortable thigh control without the need for a girdle or pantyhose
a special combination of fabrics provide upward push for a small or flat tush
"no roll" band engineered for comfort, strength, support and hold
designed to support the thigh & butt cheek without uncomfortable squeezing
silicone provides all-night anti-gravity control for a no-slip comfort fit
*TIP: Take Bubbles shopping with you. You will find that your butt will look great in most of the jeans you try on, giving you more options in the way of style, fit and price!

Spoon Coffee Mug

Hip pocket. This clever, all-in-one design solves the eternal question of where to park your spoon post-stir. Modern white glazed porcelain mug and spoon.

Hat tip to All Things Jen(nifer)

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Doodling

I always look forward to the monthly newsletter from Bullguard, the anti-virus company. We all doodle, as far as I know, and some meetings offer more opportunities than others. Click on the link and see for yourself.

http://www.bullguard.com/curiosities/default.aspx?id=409

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Blog Demographics

In the article Blogs: no-cost marketing By Lisa Casinger, there is excellent information about blog audiences.

This summer, online market research firm ComScore Networks released a report on the scale, composition and activities of blog audiences. The report was sponsored in part by Six Apart and Gawker Media (a blog software company and blog publisher respectively).

The report detailed some interesting facts:


* Nearly 50 million Americans, about 30% of the U.S. Internet population, visited blogs in the first quarter of 2005, up 45% from the same quarter in 2004.

* Of the 400 largest blogs observed, divided into eight categories, political blogs were the most popular, followed by lifestyle blogs, tech blogs and blogs authored by women.

* Compared to the average Web surfer, blog readers are considerably more likely to live in wealthier households and be younger. They also spend about 23 hours a week online, 10 more than the typical Internet user.

* Blog readers visit almost twice as many Web pages as average users and they are much more likely to shop online and typically spend about 6% more than other online shoppers.

* Blog readers are a market segment waiting to be tapped and many savvy retailers have recognized that. Multi-million dollar companies have set up blogs talking about their product or company, making consumers more aware of their brands. Blogs are a form of viral marketing, which means increasing brand awareness by getting people to spread the message to other users; blogs simply give you control over the message.

Blogs are one more marketing strategy available to the business world, especially small business, and more and more companies will take advantage of this new way to connect with customers and prospects.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Blogs: No-cost Marketing

From Home Accents Today, Blogs: no-cost marketing By Lisa Casinger.

A few home furnishings retailers started blogs as a way to communicate with their customers and increase their brand awareness. One retailer takes a more personal, unconventional approach to his blog because it ties into the type of advertising and marketing they do, while another retailer offers more business-like information and ideas to entice designers and their clients.

Thompson Lange, co-owner of Homescapes, Carmel, started his blog as a way to personalize his Carmel, Calif., store after bi-monthly newsletters became too expensive. Lange direct-imports a large part of his merchandise and his travels around the world are the focus of his marketing efforts. The retailer started its Web site in the late '90s and realized it could take its newsletter format to the Internet for free.

"The blog was an informational tool from the very beginning," Lange said. "I'd already found that when I wrote my friends e-mails from the road, they forwarded them on to their lists and we saw there was a 'market' for the chatty, border-line rude sense of humor I have toward the store and the idiot-adventures I get myself into while I'm out buying the product that feeds the beast."

The other retailer is Landfair Furniture.

Mike Landfair, co-owner (with his wife Beverly Landfair) of Landfair Furniture, Portland, Ore., wanted to generate some buzz about his small store that caters to the trade. With a limited ad budget, he decided to use his Web site to give designers and their clients information that would make their Web visits worthwhile.

"Blogs are free and pictures can be posted along with content," Landfair said. "I also believe that people searching for furniture would find our store easier."

Landfair Furniture has Web sites for its blog, the store and its annex, the online store. With traffic counters Landfair sees the traffic building on each site and that's translating into traffic in the brick-and-mortar store as well; the online store, too, is catching on.

"I started the blog in March and at first couldn't find enough to write about and site traffic was stuck at a small number," Landfair said. "Then I started posting regularly and the visits to the blog have steadily grown."

Landfair's blog gets about 50 unique visits a day; that's a potential 50 customers. The retailer also offers an e-mailed newsletter each month that recaps the blog topics and links to those articles. Mike and his wife, Bev, comment on everything from Hurricane Katrina and the furniture markets they attend to new local restaurants and design trends on their blog.

Check out the whole article for some very good information about using blogs for marketing.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery