"Age-restricted Communities"

I remember when King City was built back in 1966. King City was created as a planned adult community. The city's legal restrictions forbid minors from living within its city limits for more than a short time. Not only minors were forbidden. I was under the impression that anyone younger than 50 was not welcome.

The Association of Interior Designers (ASID) points out today that the new buzz phrases are "age-restricted communities" geared toward "active adults", not necessarily retirees built for boomers.

Builders are setting aside big sections of projects, if not whole developments, for older baby boomers.

Take a look at the demographics, said Vernon McClure, president of the Home Building Association of Richmond. The number of empty- nester baby boomers will double in the next 10 years, he said.

Active adults want low maintenance living, first floor condos and walkable neighborhoods.

"This is about a change in lifestyle," said Don-ald O. Allen, owner of D.O. Allen Homes, whose company has built six communities in the Richmond metropolitan area that are targeted toward boomers.

"They can have a first-floor master suite and they can get rid of the lawn mowers, rakes and shovels, and someone will clean their windows once a year."

My question: What is the definition of active-adult? Does this qualify?

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Newest Products From The Home Accents Marketplace

From Home Accents Today, new products from the home accents marketplace and several vendors are represented at Landfair Furniture:

Utterly elegant
A heavily antiqued gold leaf mirror with delicate embellishment from Uttermost lightens and updates the familiar, ornately framed looking glass.
UTTERMOST








Take me away
Roma Moulding’s Corner Fence is a moody landscape that captures a tree-lined fence post receding into the distance.

Nature lover
The Origins Cava table, a semicircular piece made from the shell of a fallen tree, creates a stunning focal point with a ceramic Buddha. Both are from The Phillips Collection

CANDLEHOLDER
with Stamped Round Back Mount with 2 Conquistador Swords and Antique Black and Gold Finish, Set of 3 (2 Swords, 1 BackMount), Back: 17"D, Swords: 9"W x 38"L, Holds 3 Taper Candles,
CBK











EIFFEL TOWER DESIGN WINE RACK
with Glass Holders and Brown Rust Finish,22"Sq x 71.5"H, Holds 20 Bottles
CBK




Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

This Just In, From Design's Front Line

There's a whole new world out there that is more current than the latest home furnishings magazine, the design blog. The Washington Post has a list of design blogs for the interior designer or the individual who is discovering his or her decorating style.

You can find trend forecasts, designer profiles, product launches and reviews, sale announcements and links to featured stores and merchandise along with practical decorating advice and inspirational eye candy. Reader insight and advice are welcome, creating a mix of design voices, resources and ideas from around the globe:

Apartment Therapy , about small spaces.

Design*Sponge

Decor8, an Elle Decor favorite by a blogger in New Hampshire.

Pigtown*Design, based in Baltimore.

Design hole, based in Detroit.

Bloesem blog, by a Dutch blogger.

SF girl by bay, from a self-described bohemian blogger based in San Francisco.

On the right side of this blog, you will find links to local designers and resources, interviews and links to design blogs around the world, for that is the reach of the internet. An article about you doesn't just reach the Portland area, but the U.S. as a whole and Europe and Asia and South America and is available everywhere there is a connected computer. Watch our blogroll grow!

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Introducing Snap Shots from Snap.com

I just installed a nice little tool on this site called Snap Shots that enhances links with visual previews of the destination site, interactive excerpts of Wikipedia articles, MySpace profiles, IMDb profiles and Amazon products, display inline videos, RSS, MP3s, photos, stock charts and more.

Sometimes Snap Shots bring you the information you need, without your having to leave the site, while other times it lets you "look ahead," before deciding if you want to follow a link or not.

Should you decide this is not for you, just click the Options icon in the upper right corner of the Snap Shot and opt-out.

How to offset lack of space, light, cash

From Fort Wayne.com, you've downsized, now you want your loft, condo or apartment to look bigger and you want it to feel bigger, here are some tips:

Altering the lighting, from ambient to natural, for instance, can make a space feel less cavernous and more open.

A fundamental step toward renewing a room is to reduce clutter.

Find furniture and accessories that are multifunctional.

Low ceilings can make a room seem claustrophobic. Painting a low ceiling and the walls in the room the same shade can make the ceiling seem higher.

Replace the large, coffee can-like fixtures in track lighting with smaller, less conspicuous ones.

Mirrors -- even the small, decorative kinds -- can expand a space.

Lose the carpet. It's a lot more spacious with hardwood floors.

Hire a professional. They can help you avoid pricey mistakes.

At Landfair Furniture we can help you find the interior design professional that can match your taste and budget. Give us a call or come in.

Julie Herschbach at Huper Optik ProTINT

Summer has finally arrived here in Portland; 80 degrees yesterday and today. The arrival reminded me of an interview we did last year as part of an ASID Industry Partner focus. We interviewed Julie Herschbach owner of Huper Optik ProTINT and used her product on our Macadam store windows to protect our displays.

We discussed Pro Tint and how her husband Jim started the business in 1989 as Pro Tint Window Trimming. For a long time, she was in the background and people would call and ask for Jim. Gradually, callers started asking for Julie as well as Jim then just Julie. Now with two capable employees Pro Tint is not just the Jim and Julie show.

Julie says that fabrics, carpet, wood floors, art and upholstery will fade over time from not only ultraviolet light, but from heat and visible light. Through Pro Tint’s relationship with Huper Optik films, Julie and her crew can provide the best product in terms of performance, aesthetics, high quality protection and customer service, at work or at home.



Fifteen years after Jim started the business, he is retired, but Julie and Julie’s office manager Amica Quesnel and sales consultant Sandy Coleman are busy seeing clients and making estimates. She does find time for a workout and an occasional book by Nicholas Sparks. There is precious little time for gardening so she and Jim have converted garden areas to grass. Julie has recently added a DVR from Comcast to see some of those TV programs commercial free. Now she can decide when she will view a popular show and she can record one show while watching another. She says she even has perfected a technique to record two shows at once.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Summer Introductions

From Casual Living, Courtney Mueller highlights new products at the summer gift shows. Here we are some new items from vendors we carry that will make a splash this summer.

Metal figures from Palecek are constructed of strip metal in open weave forms to create graceful woman designs.

CBK's Classic Bulging Design Lantern is highlighted by a mix of bamboo, wire and iron in a natural and black finish.

Palecek debuted additional outdoor-friendly designs, including the Bamboo club chair, crafted of bronze wrought iron with gold bamboo nodes accents. Suggested retail with outdoor fabric and cushions is $1,316


Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

The Back Deck

We've posted several times about The Resort Effect, the act of taking

the comforts of the house's interior to a nearby outdoor space, usually one that is attached to the house. This means plush furniture upholstered in weather-resistant fabric, a cooking area or heat source and a covering, such as a canopy, to keep the rain out.

Combine the comforts of home, outside, with plasma TV and expensive electronic games, not to mention stereo systems and you have created an Eden, a perfect world at home.

Not so fast says June Fletcher writing in the WSJ.

...some homeowners say they’re falling out of love with their expensively furnished backyards, which require hours of upkeep and costly repair. Others are abandoning the rooms altogether.

The backyard misery has been a boon for exterminators and repair shops. Fire ants nest in speakers and televisions. (They’re attracted to the hum and vibration.) Squirrels chew on the arms of teak furniture and on speaker wires. When expensive electronics come into contact with water, dust, pollen and heat, burnouts and other problems can occur.

Yes, every year I plant pots with new colorful annuals and Mike refinishes the deck every two years. I've even had to replace some clay pots that flake in the cold. In the fall, pots need to be moved closer to the house to keep plants from freezing and lots of summer nights one of us waters front and back.

While the answer may be Less is more, here in Oregon there is nothing like the back deck for a quiet place to read a book, dine, listen to the birds and the wind chime, and gather with friends. Some evenings we fondly recall our nicest evenings in Tuscany by hauling the dining room table outside. We invite the kids and grand kids over for dinner and conversation as the stars come out in the candlelight.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

The Klismos Chair

Klismos: Ancient Greek chair form with saber-shaped legs, splayed at the front with a concave back. Originally popular in the 18th century, the klismos chair saw a revived popularity in the 1940s in the work of designer T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings.



Carol Prisant in the July, 2007 issue of House Beautiful claims she is seeing this design frequently, lately. Originally it was designed in Greece and its popularity peaked around 400 B.C.. It was revived in the 18th century. You'll know a klismo by its concave top rail that cups your shoulders and four curved saberlike legs.



Furniture of Ancient Greece by by A. Whitham writes

The Klismos, used principally by women, was made with delicately curved back and legs. These features allowed the sitter to be in a freer and more natural position. According to Bishop (1979), the backs of these chairs, referred to as Stiles, were designed to the curvature of the back for comfort and extended to the shoulders. The Klismos, like most other furniture, was made of wood and not ornately decorated. In order to increase the comfort, cushions and animal skins were usually placed on the Klismos.

We have a variation of a klismos in our home, high curved back, curved legs, but ours has arms with an upholstered back, seat and arms. The wood is dark honey colored and I chose a black fabric with nickel sized gold polka dots. It's Mike's favorite chair for reading, feet propped on the ottoman.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Bonnie Trumbull, Season to Simplify

The Portland Tribune in Season to Simplify has a nice article about our friend Bonnie Trumbull of Bonnie Trumbull Interiors.

Trumbull says this time of year, we pack away our winter wardrobe and hang our summer clothes. It's time to lighten the interior of our homes and "It's a breeze to make the transformation."

We want to "create a cooler nest" and we do that by removing many small items that make the room feel "heavier." Removing area rugs automatically lightens a room as does changing out lampshades. Trumbull replaced a mohair throw with a cotton one. The object is to "get rid of the heavier texture. Open the windows to let in more light and remove the candles to the backyard for evening light. Finally, "she brought in seasonal color, placing purple spring flowers on the fireplace mantel and white hydrangeas near the window."

Bonnie Trumbull can be reached at (503) 697-8513 in Lake Oswego, OR.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery