Get The Lead Out!

Did you know come April of 2010, it's going to be more expensive to remodel or repaint your home? The EPA has established new regulations with regards to the removal of lead paint which will affect homeowners with homes built anytime pre-1978.

Our home is near Grant High was built in 1929. From now on sanding or remodeling will have to adhere to new rules. An overview is available at Homesavvi in a January article titled Lead Paint. Oregon.gov has TIPS FOR REMODELING AND FIX-UP that you will want to read before undertaking your next DIY project. Interior designers and contractors have been studying the new rules for some time.

Here are some tips that stand out for me:

• The Oregon Lead-Based Paint Program certifies professionals who inspect homes for the presence of lead-based paint and others who can identify or remove lead paint hazards.
• If you choose to hire someone to do the work, be sure you are dealing with someone who will use lead-safe work practices and who is registered with the Construction Contractors Board. Please see the list of certified companies to identify abatement professionals that test or work on individual residential properties.
• DO NOT Power blast, dry scrape or dry sand because these practices create lead dust.
• DO wear personal protective clothing and equipment, such as eye protection, rubber gloves, and a respirator.

This new law seems to be as stringent as the asbestos removal laws. Lead paint must be disclosed to potential buyers when selling your home.

I'm certain the painting contractor will charge me more to comply.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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ZoLi Products BPA Free

Oregon had a chance to protect our children by banning the use of bisphenol-A (BPA) in baby bottles and sippy cups, but the effort failed in the Oregon Senate. BPA is a a potential endocrine-disrupting chemical found in baby's utensils. The FDA said it had "some concern" about the potential effects of BPA on the brain, behavior and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children.

BPA has been banned in Washington. The chemical is used in the lining of canned products, and banning the chemical, opponents said, would hurt Oregon food processors. They said the market has already responded to the use of BPA. 90 percent of the bottles and sippy cups offered in Oregon now BPA-free. Proponents said said the state should err on the side of caution when it comes to children.

I am glad to see that the market has responded to family concern over the use of BPA and thought you would be interested in these new products from ZoLi:



ZoLi is a California manufacturer whose products can be found in Portland at POSH Boutique in the Pearl

Hat tip to the new EcoBold website.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Need Plumbing Supplies

Here's a blog I like: Need Plumbing Supplies. Not only does the site focus on the latest Moen kitchen and bathroom faucets, but offers great video advice on DIY projects. Frankly, Mike and I have just not been very good at fixing anything to do with plumbing.

We are the kind of people that find it easier to place a bucket under the sink in our basement than actually get in and repair the leak. We try to avoid Drano and Liquid Plumber for our drains on the advice of Sewer Rats, the people we call in Portland to fix the clogs. However, Need Plumbing Supplies has a nifty video that gives us confidence that we can be successful in this regard.

Here are some of the videos they offer for free:

• Fixing a Kitchen Faucet Leak

• How To Install InSinkErator Garbage Disposals

• Unclogging A Garbage Disposal

• Pedestal Bathroom Sink Leak Repair

• How To Unclog A Bathroom Sink Drain

That's what makes a good site. You walk away knowing more than you did before.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Gladding McBean Pottery

Reprint from Home Accents Today's The Landfair Retail Focus:


Market Street building in San Francisco, using terra cotta trim.

Earlier this month I posted about Elements International. The Portland company decided to open their "To The Trade" showroom floor to the public prompting me to ask on Linkedin "To The Trade Only - Is That Still A Valid Business Model?" I received a large number of responses and invite you read them and add your own thoughts to the mix.

I asked Karen Ingalls about her store and top sellers. She pointed out Gladding McBean (GMB), maker of Architectural Garden Pottery. I had never heard of the company and nothing has ever been written about them at "Home Accents Today."

The company began over 125 years ago when pottery clay was discovered in Califorrnia. Initially, the clay was used for sewer pipe, but over the years GMB expanded its line to include fire brick, roof tile, chimney pipes and ornamental garden pottery. To this day it still provides the red tile for roofing at the prestigeous Stanford University.

Today GMB is an maker of architectural garden pottery. "Gladding has combined the old world craftsmanship with new technology such as laser scanning and sophisticated computer aided design to provide customers with infinite creative possibilities." Ingalls has singled two pieces for you readers of this blog:





Thoughts? You can comment directly, email me at landfair3554@comcast.net or become Our Fan on Facebook

“WEAVING SOCIAL MEDIA INTO YOUR INTERIOR DESIGN BUSINESS”

Dialogue Consulting and Emily Dunn have put together a series of webinars geared to Interior designers that we're recommending. Dialogue Consulting has extensive experience developing business for interior designers. Emily Dunn has a degree as an interior designer and has combined that knowledge and experience with social networking. Beginning February 22nd the two will lead you through five weeks online that will teach you exactly how to help you to have your business flourish in 2010!

WEEK 1: NICHE/TARGET MARKETING: Why it is no longer helpful to be a generalist and how to find your niche so that you bring VALUE to your client.

WEEK 2: BRANDING: We will explain what your collateral says about you and how to have it more impactful for the best possible image.

Week 3: SOCIAL MEDIA – Blogging: The most overlooked and underutilized Social Media tool is Blogging. We will give you step by step techniques you can begin to apply immediately to build your brand and GET NOTICED by potential clients.

Week 4: PROMOTION: We will show you simple strategies that will will LEVERAGE your efforts and how to get your blog posts syndicated for MAXIMUM exposure to your target market.

Week 5: Open Q&A: where you can have total access to us and ask anything that will put the finishing touches on your brand new approach to attracting clients to your Interior Design Business.

We have never offered open access to our consulting services before, but because we am totally dedicated to helping people in OUR industry, we now want to offer this to you.

We are NOT going to take to to a cliff, give you a parachute (information) and throw you off and wish you good luck. WE WILL TELL YOU EXACTLY HOW TO DO WHAT WE HAVE DONE TO GROW BUSINESSES! WE TAKE YOU THROUGH THE PROCESS, STEP-BY-STEP, TO GET YOU ON SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE RIGHT WAY.

The investment in yourself and your business is $497.00 and includes these extras:

MP3 interview with LYNN LEE, SEO expert, author, consultant:

How to use Keywords for more effective online visibility ($57.00 value)

MP3 interview with TIM BUTT, owner of Black Bamboo, Architect

Most effective techniques of offline networking ($27.00 value)

PDF download from Deborah Flate, owner Dialogue Consulting

How to set your fees for profitability ($27.00 value)

Sign up now! One payment of ONLY $497.00

Sign up now! Two payments of ONLY $257.00

One more BONUS just added: We will be randomly selecting someone to set up their: Facebook, Blog, and LinkedIn profile.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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NUSA Furniture

My, My, My!!! Now this is furniture design!

NUSA Furniture gathered design and manufacturing talents from around the world. "For over 10 years Nusa has been dedicated to the highest standards of quality, durability and design excellence importing, distributing and manufacturing hand crafted artisanal furnishings. NUSA strives to serve the most discriminating clients for both residential and hospitality projects."

That part about serving "the most discriminating clients" probably means a high price point, but look at these designs:









Absolutely stunning!

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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New From Duralee Fabrics

Thomas Paul! Born and raised in New York City, he's worked for such designers as Bill Blass, Calvin Klein, and DKNY. He started his own business with the Thomaspaul pillow collection in 2001. Since then his line has steadily expanded to include tabletop, stationery, and lamp shades. His ultimate goal is to have products covering every aspect of the home, all with thomaspaul patterns gracing them.

Now, following the success of his first print collection for Duralee, Thomas Paul expands his offerings of iconic patterns with Thomas Paul 2.

His progressive and intuitive design sensibility is highlighted with a movement from modern two-tone, large-scale motifs into refreshingly re-imagined traditional designs colored for a more transitional feel.

Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery is proud to carry both Duralee Fabrics and fine furniture.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Choosing Furniture Size

Here's something to check out! While searching HGTV.com for videos of World Market in Las Vegas, I came across Genevieve Tips and I thought this was good:

Choosing Furniture Size

Enjoy!

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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G/S Architects' Newsletter

We just received David Giulietti's newsletter. He's the principal at Giulietti / Schouten AIA Architects P.C. on NW Thurman. In the newsletter I noticed that his firm has been busy on the Keates / Siker residence. Marilyn Soljaga of Soljaga Design Group,, was the interior designer on the project.

I also read that Jennifer Conway is now married to Jeff Guggenheim and she has started Fig Studios Interior Design.

You can read the whole letter here.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Lorts Introduces New Designs

World Market in Las Vegas is the place for new furniture introductions. This week we'll see the introduction of the new Jordan Spencer by Lorts line.











Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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The Ants And Grasshopper

Do you remember the story of the ants and grasshopper? The ants worked all Spring, Summer and Fall collecting food and building shelter for the coming winter, while the grasshopper played. When the harsh winter came, the lowly grasshopper was freezing and hungry. He had nothing saved to survive. He asked the ants for help, but they rebuked him for his carefree attitude. The story is used to teach the virtues of hard work and saving.

Humans seem to have an inner need to save, but they sure save things that are not overtly key to survival. My dad saved coupons in a shoebox from Raleigh cigarettes and was determined to save enough to get a nice present for himself. I learned well. I have saved matchbooks, stamps, and change from my pockets at the end of the day. I wish I’d been better at saving money.



I have a good friend who saves lovely limited edition Coalport figurines. Another saves wine bottle corks. Basketball fans save bobble head dolls. There are comic book collectors, playboy magazine collectors from the beginning of the magazine, baseball cards and autograph hounds. My daughter collects Pez dispensers.

Some of the things we collect will never have any value. Some get lucky and it turns out that their collection becomes valuable. Still others buy numbered limited productions that due to their scarcity rise in value. There is a whole industry dedicated to the collector that helps you identify rarities and charts values.

It seems we have strayed from the moral of the ants and grasshopper story. We seem to have forgotten why we save. We may find that when it comes time to survive in a harsh climate, we have acted the part of the grasshopper and had our fun saving, but accumulated little of value.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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8 Lighting Tips For Your Event

Funny, the things we take for granted. When we go to the Street of Dreams in the evening and don’t stumble around in the dark tripping over curbs or when a hot summer night finally cools off a little and we decide to play tennis in the park. We just walk over to the switch and within five minutes we have light. Isn’t it amazing! There are some right now that would give anything, just for a candle to light their way

Lighting has allowed us to stay up later, stay out later and be safe.

You may be a designer or architect that is asked to design an outdoor area for recreational use or on a committee to arrange outdoor lighting. Here are some questions to ask:

• What area do you need to light?
• What type of work/activity will be going on?
• Do you have a power source?
• Are noise levels an issue?
• Is the area well ventilated?
• Does shadowing need to be considered?

There are some minimum standards of lighting that apply to different activities. Generally, the more there is a need to perceive fine detail, the more light is needed. A tennis player needs more light to see a fast serve of Pete Sampras than does the Street of Dreams, which is more concerned with the ambience of fine homes.

You may also want to evaluate the quality of light that different bulb types offer.

Metal Halide bulbs are between 3-4 times more powerful than Tungsten Halogen bulbs. They produce 3-4 times more light per watt than a Tungsten Halogen bulb.

However, there are tradeoffs. Metal halide bulbs emit Cold white light, will last between 5000-10000 hours, have a 5 minute strike up time and should be left 15 minutes before lighting them again after they have been switched off. Tungsten Halogen bulbs emit warm white light, last between 2000-4000 hours, strike up immediately and can be switched on straight after they have been switched off.

Funny, isn’t it, the things we take for granted?

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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So You Want A Home Bar

We receive many emails each day and many lead to posts on our many blogs. This week I received an email from the Food Service Warehouse (FSW). It's all about Restaurant Supplies and Equipment. I didn't find any connection with equipment supplies and our readers until I spotted a series of articles "Stocking Your Home Bar, Part 1: Basic Tips for Home Bar Design."

Many people like to entertain in their homes and having a home bar where everything is centrally located rather than the kitchen, like we use, for mixing drinks is more efficient. The article suggests you think about the following basics before getting started adding a bar to your design or redo of an existing home.

1. Dream up the details - Your home décor, entertaining style and personal tastes are all important when it comes to design.
   
2. Assess you budget - align your dreams with the money you are willing to spend.
3. Choose the location - Many people used to build the home bars in the basement where there was room to dance. Not so much anymore! Still you need to plan around the plumbing.
4. Think about the size and shape - Many people customize their home bars to fit whatever space is available. Keep in mind the heights you need for bar tops and standard bar stools.
5. Consider hiring a contractor (and I would suggest hiring an interior designer. The job is much like the expertise one would need to design a kitchen.)

Part 2 covers Essential Supplies for the Beer Lover
Part 3 covers Essential Supplies for the Wine Lover
Part 4 covers Essential Supplies for the Cocktail Lover

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Art & Design Matters

Art & Design Matters is a national eMagazine that features a large number of artists working in a variety of media, interior designers, and art galleries. It has a whole section for interior designers and even features an different interior designer each month. I went down the whole list of designers and there is not one designer from Oregon on the list.

If you are interested in being considered to be listed in our Directory of Interior Designers, email them your name, address, phone number, website address, a high resolution jpeg image of either your company logo or a room that you have designed, and a few short sentences that describes you and your services to info@ArtandDesignMatters.com.

Being a member of the Directory of Interior Designers will promote your services and give you the opportunity to become our featured designer with additional exposure within our digital magazine titled “Art & Design Matters”. Email us and ask us how you can participate in the Featured Designer promotion.

This Directory of Interior Designers displays our ongoing dedication to strategically bring our art and design participants and viewers together to conduct social marketing through the support of our advertisers and our parent company Accessory Hut.

Sign up for their Email Publication

What are you waiting for? Next time we go down the list, we want to see some members of the Oregon community.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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TV Lifts

We've always liked furniture that could serve multiple purposes, like the coffee table that converts to a dining room table. Call it multi-tasking, it works great in a small condo.

Another piece of furniture that can serve several functions is the TV cabinet. We have them in our dens, kitchens, living rooms and bedrooms. Yet when we are not watching them, they are just dust collectors. Now, your television can “disappear” when not in use, and in its place, an exquisite, hand-crafted armoire, console or buffet can appear!

How is this possible?

State-of-the-art TV lifts allow you to have your television “pop-up” out of a custom-designed piece of furniture because of innovative technology including silent remote control devices and infrared relays. When not in use, your TV is neatly and discreetly tucked away within a beautiful cabinet or console which can then be used as a serving table, desk, or even a book shelf! Talk about multitasking!

ImportAdvantage offers a number of TV Cabinets with the lift built in or they offer the mechanism that can be added to a cabinet that you convert or have custom made.

Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery offers a number of great looking cabinets for the new TV to sit atop, but until now had no advice for those looking to conceal the TV. Now we can.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Is It Time For A New Sofa?

How's your sofa doing? Has it stopped being comfortable? Have you had it awhile and need a new look? Have your needs changed?

• Your children are older and are easier on furniture
• It's time to change the color of the walls and the old sofa won't fit with the new colors.
• You've had an upholstered sofa for years, but now want to try a leather sofa, maybe in a soft glove leather or bold in a bright red leather sofa.

These are all good reasons for thinking about purchasing a new sofa. It can be a major expenditure, so let's look at some things to consider before the new purchase.

What room will it be in and will it be in the same position as the one it's replacing? A sofa that won't get a lot of use doesn't have to be as sturdy as one in a den or media room.

What will its function be? Does it need to be a sleeper sofa or a sofa with a recliner. Do you have pets? Pets can determine whether you go tight or woven fabric or leather.

What size sofa do you need? Will someone be taking a nap on it? How about depth of the seating area? A shorter person may want less depth so their feet hit the floor. How many people do you want to seat on the sofa?

Do you want a high backed sofa or low, soft cushioned seat or firm?

Now we get to style. Sofas come in very traditional styles, transitional and contemporary. What's the style of your home or decor? Is your new sofa going to match your color scheme and blend in or is the design or color going to be the focus? Should the sofa be dressy or casual?

The colors available in furniture these days have only been surpassed by the choice of patterns but also by the choice of styles. In most good furniture stores you will find the traditional sofa in all shades of brown and beige; if it is patterned, the pattern will be subtle – maybe even just embossed onto the fabric. Alongside this, you will also find the ‘state of the art’ contemporary designs, anything from scarlet red tartan, to almost fluorescent pink floral patterns. The styles will range from old-fashioned Chesterfield to innovative minimalist leather and chrome – these days anything goes.

These are all important considerations. That's why you need to spend some time on your research and sit on a variety of sofas to make sure it feels comfortable. We want you happy with your purchase for years and years.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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RedesignWorks

Fredrick D. Joe/The Oregonian

Pretend today is Thursday and what happens on Thursdays? Why, Bridget A. Otto Thursday happens! It's been awhile for this feature, but I had to make sure you read about her feature story in Homes & Gardens, "Designers rearrange old stuff for a fresh look."

At a fundraising auction for Alliance Française de Portland, Seshu Vaddey and Marcelle Caturia bid on and won the services of interior designer Nicole Rivlin.

Caturia thought Rivlin could help them get their living and dining space organized and styled in a direction that she and Vaddey could follow and work on over time.

After meeting with the couple, Rivlin thought the project would be ideal for her recently formed partnership called RedesignWorks, formed with fellow interior designers Nancy Zieg, Kathia Emery and Shirley Roggen.

The aim of RedesignWorks is to help homeowners restyle with what they already own. For us that means no new furniture, however the couple has a home that works better for them thanks to the use of interior designers.

Contact: 503-222-0135, redesign-works.com

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Pamala Sandall Featured

Interior Designer Pamala Sandall announces in her newsletter that:

This week, I'm honored to be featured on the homepage for the project that I worked on this summer - the Street of Dreams. My primary focus on this joint venture was the Master Bedroom Suite. In addition to it's featured position in the Avaliving website, it also took People's Choice awards for the Street of Dreams

BTW, Sandall will be conducting a home decor series to homeowners at PCC. See her blog for details

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Filling Spaces New Website and Blog

We just added Deepali Kalia owner of Filling Spaces to our site along with her blog The Mood Board. The Filling Spaces website is new and has a great look and sound. Deepali specializes in bedding, pillows and drapery.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Celebrate The End Of A Mad Year

Back in August of 2009, Studio Art Direct presented "Art On the Edge" at the Pearl Design Center in conjunction with the First Thursday art crawl in Portland, Oregon. The blog of Studio Art Direct has just posted a new farewell video to 2009 set to the music of "Mad Men." It's very enjoyable.



Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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