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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Explore The Pearl Ad

New From Global Views

In November Jenny Heinzen York, editor of Home Accents Today, did this interview with the creative director of Global Views.



Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Start Blogging Like A Pro

Create Your Own Blog: 6 Easy Projects to Start Blogging Like a Pro will be released on January 18, 2010. You can pre-order yours at a savings of $7.15 by following the link below.



In this simple guide, one of the world’s most experienced bloggers walks you through every step, from getting started to building a worldwide audience. Tris Hussey covers it all, from low-cost blogging tools to high-powered writing tips! Get this book, and get started fast–with a professional-quality blog that meets your goals, whatever they are!

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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New iPhone Apps For Designers

IIDA HQ Blog by Carmen O'Donnell has information about 8 Apps for your iPhone that are geared for design professionals. They include Mark on Call which allows users to create & share detailed floor plans. Cost: $2.99; and Pantone Color Library which allows users easy access to the Pantone color libraries, serving as an on-the-go color reference guide. Cost: $9.99

Bev & Mike
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