Tidal Pulls

I was co-contractor in our house built in the late '70s. I still remember the cabinets in the kitchen. They were white oak, which was the "in" accent wood at the time, in fact we had white oak through out the house. After the cabinets were hung, my job was to wipe everything with a kind of oil that brought out the grain and protected the wood. After the oil was applied, then you needed to vigorously wipe off the excess so it felt smooth not tacky. It left them the color of honey, as I recall.

Then we purchased pulls. Every door had to be drilled once for the pull and every drawer need two holes drilled. I thought I would never get done with the measuring and centering and drilling. In the house we are in now, there are no pulls on the kitchen cabinets. Mike and I just have never found the time or extra money for the job.

LinkedIn introduced me to Linda Thompson who started a company called Tidal Pulls that uses a brushed chrome strip for a pull and it's attached to the back of the door or drawer. I love the ease of installation and its clean appearance. Linda's asking for feedback. What do you think?

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Come Join Us!

I want to discuss a "group" we've started at LinkedIn called Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery for Designers. We wrote early on

We invite you to join our group: Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery for interior designers in Portland, Oregon and surrounding states. This group will offer feedback about furniture and accessories seen and needed, help with purchasing decisions and insight into offerings at High Point and Las Vegas Market Bev & Mike landfair

Let me add that the interior design group in this area is a community. It forms smaller communities called NWSID. ASID. IIDA. ISD and AIA. Members talk to each other in those groups, but the community doesn't have a centralized platform for sharing information and questions. We hope to be that platform.

We also want to encourage you to be online. Have a web presence, be it a business website or a blog or Facebook or LinkedIn or Twitter. In Jeff Jarvis' new book "What Would Google Do?", he writes that people take you less seriously if you are not online and believe you aren't professional if you are not online. The easiest thing to do is Google your name. Can a family moving to Portland, needing a designer find you and your phone number and email you with questions? Can they see any photos of your work?

You can accomplish this today and it's free. See those two little words "Create Blog" in the upper right hand corner in the blue strip. It's that easy! Do you have any photos of your work on your computer? You can share them with us on your blog or through Flickr. It's all free!

Now's the time. Come join us!

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Facundo Poj Design

facundo: adj.

eloquent, articulate, having a fluent manner of speaking; expressive!

That certainly describes this find!

ofidio dining table
materials: 44 layers of engineered bamboo ply
oak dowels
dimensions: 73”l X 33”w X 29”h (sits 6) 94”l X 33”w X 29”h (sits 8)

aztec stool & wine rack
materials: 23 layers of engineered bamboo ply
oak dowels
dimensions: 17”l X 36”w X 26”h

ofidio bar chair
materials: 23 layers of engineered bamboo ply
oak dowels
dimensions: 17”l X 20”w X 59”h

I love the flowing lines which feels like each piece is alive and the pieces are made from bamboo. The artist writes:

I choose Plyboo as my medium because it is manufactured in large enough sheets, it is strong, durable, sexy looking and non toxic. Bamboo is also a fast growing grass and this helps prevent forest depletion. I do not use nails or screws. All layers are glued with a non-toxic glue, threaded together with oak dowels and clamp pressed. The result is structurally solid and soft at the same time.

His pieces are all limited editions or unique. He mostly exhibits them exclusively at Avant Gallery in Miami's Design District.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

21 Tips for Downsizing!

I want to call your attention to the latest issue of Oregon Home. They have a very interesting article titled 21 Tips for Downsizing. They interviewed "a designer, two real estate brokers, an estate sale organizer and a downsizer for tips to ease the move from living large to living small."

Our friend RayAnn Bogert owner of 12-year-old Bizy Girl Interiors in Lake Oswego,OR. was the designer interviewed. She offered this advice:

1. Fill your new pad with furniture that's properly scaled to it. - Like a Dachshund trying to push a Great Dane-sized doggie bed into its diminutive crate, you can end up with the same old cluttered-to-the-rafters feeling if you don't consider the scale of the furniture that will decorate your new digs.

Others interviewed for the article are Kent Mathews, a real estate broker at The Real Estate Firm, Karen Young Estate Sales and Appraisals in Beaverton, OR, Connie Osborne, Kim Childs, and a real estate broker with Keller Williams Realty in Lake Oswego, OR.

If you're thinking of downsizing check out the 21 suggestions. Our 22nd suggestion: come see us after the move. You might find your old furniture and accessories a little shabby in you sparkling new digs. Come see us. We'll help you brighten things up!

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Obama's Choose Michael S Smith For Interior Designer

Meet President-elect Obama's new interior designer for the private quarters. According to the Washington Post, he's Michael S Smith, 44, known for his "stratospheric budgets", his clients include Cindy Crawford, Steven Spielberg, Rupert Murdoch, Dustin Hoffman and Michelle Pfeiffer.

His interiors reflect a well-traveled look that includes the use of fine fabrics and rare antiques and a combination of different time periods, cultures and price points. His designs are known for being comfortable yet sophisticated, classic yet modern, filled with priceless pieces yet inviting and livable.

"He takes classic modern and he makes it usable to people today," says Key Hall, chief executive of the fabric house Cowtan & Tout. "His homes are very inviting and very livable."

[...]

In addition to his interior design business, Smith is involved in a number of commercial ventures, including his furniture and fabric lines called Jasper; a fabric and leather collection with Cowtan & Tout; bath collections with Kohler's Kallista brand; a collection of tile at Ann Sacks; and licensing agreements with Visual Comfort Lighting, the Mansour Modern rug company, Samuel and Sons Passementerie and Agraria Home Fragrances.

We can't wait to see pictures of the finished designs.

Bev & Mike

Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Sienna Architecture Is Closing

The blog Portland Architecture has posted about the closing of Sienna Architecture. The firm has been in business for 58 years.

As recently as last summer, the firm employed 45 people in its local office and 9 more in Seattle.

As I was scrolling through the post, I was struck by the similarity of a wall-hanging in the home (pictured above), of "a West Hills renovation of a small cottage into a dazzling modern residence..." that appeared in the the December 2008 issue of Metropolitan Home magazine.



We hope that some new firms will emerge from the Sienna ashes.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Purity to Forbidden: From Tinted Neutral to Deep Jewels

Global Apparel Trends Inspire the early '09 Robin Bruce Collections

According to trend expert Kai Chow, Rowe Fine Furniture, the manufacturer of the Robin Bruce collection of upholstered furniture,

Home furnishings décor trends for early 2009 will revolve around two fundamental concepts: Purity and Forbidden. The color and texture of fabrics will offer a range of Tinted Neutral to Deep Jewels textiles with both simplicity and boldness.

Purity: Tinted Neutral

The emerging trend for early '09 of Tinted Neutral is best described as a search for a pure, soft aesthetic. Ninety natural fiber fabrics, including eight new certified organic cottons, are the foundation of this trend. The colors range from pure white to creamy vanilla to barely blue and natural ecru. A washed, soft hand to the fabrics add a pleasing touch to compliment the lightness in color. Floral patterns are more in silhouette and contemporary.

Forbidden: Deep Jewels

Simultaneously, early '09 trends point to a desire for more Deep Jewels epitomized by richer colors and handcrafted textures. Asian and Far Eastern influences are noticeable and a bold approach to pattern is desired. Colors range from rich reds and golds to accents of black and intense blues. Such home décor statements create iconic pieces in a room setting rather than a more harmonious tonal palette.

These seemingly contrasting trends both point to a desire to define home furnishings with more fashion sensibility. The Robin Bruce collection was conceived as a custom upholstery line of furniture to allow consumers to explore, imagine and create unique home environments.

Robin Bruce offers a distinctive, designer's approach to custom upholstered furniture with a selection of over 200 fabrics. Robin Bruce is manufactured by Rowe Fine Furniture, Inc., a leader in custom upholstered furniture in the United States. Established in 1946, Rowe offers a wide range of styling in sofas, sectionals, chairs and ottomans with hundreds of fabric selections.

Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery is proud to offer Rowe furniture.

Bev & Mike

Reclaim Your Rubbish

Many designers for furniture and fashion are very green attempting to recycle our junk instead of dumping it into landfills. I was struck by two items at Planet Pink & Green that are very creative ways to utilize those things we accumulate.

Cheryl Janis attended Junk for Funk 2008, hosted by Portland Mayor Sam Adams and posted about how couture designers are using our rubbish to create high fashion.

Dress for the Queen of Clubs, (shown above) and designed by China Hamilton was created with shopping bags, kitchen drawer lining, automotive pin striping, discarded tubing, old packaging foam and stockings made out of shower puffs.

If you haven’t already guessed, the above is a gorgeous vase. The pages of books have been wrapped around a water-proof glass center for flowers.

If you had to guess you might think the vase is wrapped in feathers.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Last Call for Blogging TeleClass

If you haven't registered yet for the "Blogging for Interior Designers," you don't have much time left to decide. This 3-week live TeleClass, developed and taught by Cathy Perkins, The WordPress Wizard, is rapidly approaching capacity enrollment. So the time has come for you to make one of the most important business decisions you will make in 2009.

Cathy Perkins writes,

In emails, I have explained how this class will enable you to brand yourself, create relationships with your readers, find your competitive edge and identify blog-specific income streams.

In this last message, I want to let you know about a very special bonus some registrants will receive. Upon registration, you will have an opportunity to quality for a complimentary 30-minute consultation with Cathy Perkins, The WordPress Wizard, or Gail Doby, founder of Design Success University.

If you are selected to receive one of these free consultations, you can use your access to these experts to discuss creating your blogging strategy or to evaluate your marketing plans. Their brains will be yours to pick for 30 minutes.

Please go to Blogging For Designers to register now, and then
mark your calendars for:

. Tuesday, January 13, 5pm to 8pm Eastern

. Tuesday, January 20, 5pm to 8pm Eastern

. Tuesday, January 27, 5pm to 8pm Eastern

I am really excited about this TeleClass, and the opportunity to learn the techniques for creating and promoting a strong brand identity for ourselves and our services, cultivating strong, loyalty-based relationships with our clients, and developing unique, creative ways to reach out to them.

Please don't miss this opportunity to register at Blogging For Designers to get more details and learn about the special bonuses you'll get by registering and learn how to use blogging as a powerful tool to grow your business.

Thoughts About Equal

When Mike and I first met, we would go out for coffee at Papa Hayden's on 23rd near where I lived on 19th and Hoyt. When the coffee arrived, I would ask for artificial sweetener, "Do you have any fake sugar?"

Invariably the wait staff would bring out a little tub filled with blue packets of Equal. My name at the time was Beverly Ann Equall, pronounced "Ek wall". Mike was so fascinated with me that he would pull out his pen and add an "L" to all the little blue packets in the tub.

I've noticed that the little tubs have changed. No longer do they have Equal, but Splenda. Today, I read the following headline in the New York Times, Maker of Equal Sweetener Files for Bankruptcy.

Merisant Worldwide, the maker of low-calorie tabletop sweetener Equal said "market share had declined in recent years amid competition from Splenda and other sweeteners."

After 16 years, Mike says, "I'm still crazy about you, Babe!" Some things never change!

Five Key Pieces That Will Retain Their Value

Not long after we were married, my wife, at the time, received some furniture from the estate of her grandmother who lived in Montana. The pieces included a round, pedestal, oak table with leaves that expanded the table so we could have big family dinners. Also, included was a hat-box dresser with a tall pivoting mirror and a large bottom drawer, also in oak. Those pieces of furniture are still in her family and will be passed on to our daughters.

I read recently that Americans throw into the dump 87.5 million tons of furniture and accessories each year. If we really want to be green and practice sustainability, we need to change our ways, by buying good pieces that last.

What pieces should the average household buy? Lynsy Smithson-Stanley wrote in the Kansas City.com These five key pieces for the home will retain their worth.

1. Bed - We spend a third of our lives in bed. There a lot of things to consider with a bed, but you need a good headboard and footboard and frame, all built to last and pass down.
2. Conversational sitting area - Increasingly, this furniture is used in open floor plans, where all sides are visible. Depending on how roughly the furniture will be used, get solid wood frames, that are eight-way hand tied and don't scimp on the quality of the fabric. Make sure it feels good when you sit on it. Cushions come in all sorts of fill for your comfort.
   
3. A place to eat - formal dining furniture is an investment — in terms of money and square footage — that typically makes sense only for a household that often entertains formally. There are many alternatives for casual dining. Remember, "homework and or hobbies could demand a more durable top."
4. Storage - "Today’s consumers want furniture that is multifunctional." Here's where you can use sideboards and hutches. While the armoire is a little out of favor, customers are buying low chests that hold flat screen TVs, electronics and have some storage.
5. The question mark- Smithson-Stanley says this area "represents who (you) are, in terms of style and personality." It may be an antique, something from an artfair, or in our case we like to find original art in the cities we visit. We picked up a painting in Florence, Italy of the Door of the Supplicant. It cost more to frame the picture when we returned, but the piece means a lot to us.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery