Have You Looked At The Lorts Blog?

One of our vendors is Lorts which we have posted about before. We just noticed that they have a very nice Friday feature on their blog, Fresh {off the line} Friday. Each Friday they post pictures of pieces that captured their attention showing off the creativity of interior designers "...proving that they work with some of the most talented designers around."



BTW, see what Evelyn Green did with Lorts and a client's home in Arizona.

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Eco Home Theater Designing & Building

In the modern era of convenience and saving the environment, one of the best places to start turning yourself into an earth friendly resident of this planet is by building an eco-friendly home theater. Now, the theater does not have to seat fifty people and be located in a subterranean vault of a billion dollar mansion. Those with larger homes can create an earth friendly environment perfect for watching the classics or new releases with family and friends. For those who can afford to “go big” with a home theater with the massive screen, superior audio, and plush home theater seats even then it is not necessary to break the bank in order to be as environmentally friendly as possible with the design and construction.

Designing the Theater

You will be wanting to decide the main focus for the room, of course to watch the screen but is this sports den, games room or a classic movie theater a lot of people who are designing the theater for themselves use Google Sketch its free and great layout tool. There are also many helpful design blogs such as Design Milk that will fill you with inspiration with some wonderful set ups.

Materials for the Entire Room

An eco-friendly home theater is all about what materials are used to set the room. From the projector, or flat screen television, to the flooring and seats, any of the materials for a home theater can be earth friendly. When it comes to projectors or huge flat screen televisions for your viewing enjoyment, LED is the most earth friendly way to go. LEDs, or light emitting diodes, have been on the market in small scale for many years. Today’s technology is allowing LEDs to be included into large movie projectors and flat screen televisions, using up to 40% less electricity than the LCD screens and projectors in use now. There is also the option of an eco-standby mode on most LED projectors that will reduce the energy consumption rate by up to 80% when the device is on, but not actively projecting images.

Flooring and seats are other eco-friendly options that many homeowners may not be aware of. Bamboo is an infinitely renewable wood choice for flooring, along with cork and laminate flooring. There is also low pile eco-friendly carpet available on the market for a softer step and a smaller carbon footprint. Stage presence is important when creating a home theater environment and that presence can often be felt in the seating. If the planned home theater is going to seat more than 5-15 people, you may want to hunt down authentic antique theater seats. If the thought of sitting where thousands have sat before doesn’t appeal to you, you can also find seating which is constructed from earth friendly and non-toxic materials.

Why Go Green?

Reducing the carbon footprint of everyone on the planet is one of the ways to help heal the environment. Even though a home theater is often thought of as a luxury most cannot afford, spending a little extra time, rather than money, to find eco-friendly materials and devices for your home theater can reduce your carbon footprint. Even those homeowners who are not building a large dedicated room for their home theater can re-engineer a smaller room in their home and remodel it as a movie viewing room for the family. The use of eco-friendly materials in one room in the house can lead the way to creating a total environmentally friendly home. 

This guest post ‘written by’ ..James Helliwell.

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Paddle-and-anvil Pottery By Kate Tremel

American Style Magazine profiles Kate Tremel who has been getting her hands dirty for the past 20 years, yet the technique she uses to create her pottery goes back centuries. While in college, Tremel traveled to Peru where she studied a paddle-and-anvil technique, which became her signature skill.



What is paddle-and-anvil technique?

A method of smoothing and finishing the walls of hand-made pottery vessels where a small stone or wooden ‘anvil’ is held against the inner wall of the vessel while a flat or curved wooden ‘paddle’ is used to beat the outer surface into shape.

The shape of the anvil determines how the clay will move.

* a circular anvil results in the clay expanding in all directions
* an oval anvil held vertically against the wall results in the clay expanding horizontally
* an oval anvil held horizontally against the wall results in the clay expanding vertically

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News From TODL

Some innovative, unique ideas from TODL today:


VID programmable lighting, media, comfort, or energy control

With a razor-sharp, full-size 6.4″ VGA display, two extra buttons and an optical rotary wheel, the Pronto RI-TSU9800 touch screen control panel is the easiest model to operate. Homeowners will appreciate the readability of the larger screen and the ability to displaying more icons or menu options on one single screen.

Switchable Liquid Crystal Privacy on Demand Glass

Switchable liquid crystal glass is a popular choice for any application including the home, corporate environment, or anywhere else there is a need for privacy or protection. By simply turning a switch, switchable liquid crystal glass is a state of the art glass featuring incredible privacy on demand and is becoming a popular item for builders, designers, architects and consumers. Eliminating the need for shades, curtains or blinds, the liquid crystal in the glass protects fine furnishings, carpets and displays from UV damage and the view of others.

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Looking for some great Christmas gifts?

  Look at our favorites from  the Architectural Record:


Mysqueeze
Move over  Juicy Salif (Philippe Starck’s iconic citrus juicer) there is a new squeeze in town. Mysqueeze is a handheld citrus juicer designed by Roland Kreiter for Alessi’s Fall/Winter 2010 line. The 5’’ x 2 1/4’’ stainless steel juicer features an ergonomic shape that resembles the shape of a lemon, with deep grooves to get its juices flowing. Available at Alessi-shop.com and retail stores. Price: $67.00.


Trash Origami: 25 Paper Folding Projects Reusing Everyday Materials
Tuttle Publishing’s Trash Origami: 25 Paper Folding Projects Reusing Everyday Materials by Michael G. Lafosse and Richard L. Alexander is a fun, instructive guide showing how to turn trash into origami. Intended for the reader with little to no previous folding experience, the book should also appeal to veteran origamists who will find inspiration in the unusual materials, such as candy wrappers, junk mail, and glossy magazines (old issues of RECORD perhaps?). An instructional DVD is included. Available at fine bookstores and online retailers. Price: $19.95.


Heath Ceramics
Heath Ceramics, one of the few remaining mid-century American potteries, has been making tableware and tile for over half a century in its Sausalito, California factory. The company has introduced two new winter-inspired, hand-dipped glazes for its Winter 2010 collection of tableware, which includes salt and pepper shakers, a bud vase set, and a hot cocoa set. The seasonal designs are specifically produced just for their season, making them collectables a select group is now on display at the Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial. To purchase go to  heathceramics.com. . Price: Ranging from $32.00 for an espresso set to $205.00 for a serving bowl set.
Photo © Jeffrey Cross


Custom rings by Jeremy May
To make these bookish baubles, British designer Jeremy May laminates together hundreds of pages of recycled books and colored recycled paper, and then carefully finishes them to a high gloss. The design of each ring is a direct response to the book the paper came from; the jewelry is then re-inserted into the excavated space in the book afterwards, allowing the book to work as a jewelry box. May also takes custom orders and can turn any favorite book into a literary jewel. He does not have a retail presence yet in the U.S., but does ship here and around the world. To order visit littlefly.co.uk.. Pieces start at $165.00, plus shipping.

These are just a few of their ideas.

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Celebrity Holiday Homes 2010

Received a note from Cabo interior designer Sandy Espinet about her HGTV Christmas special Dec 4th at 8pm called Celebrity Holiday Homes 2010.

She decorated Brooke Burke's home for the holidays and with all the interest in Dancing With The Stars, thought you might be interested.

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Stanley's Resort Coastal Living

Speaking of Stanley Furniture, one of the hottest looks right now is the collaboration of Coastal Living magazine and Stanley to produce the Resort look:

Notice the wavy textured metal X etegere in the bottom two pictures. It's a work of art!

Stanley's Plugged In Nightstand

Yesterday, we posted about a nightstand with a built in charger in a transitional style from C.F. Oakton.  Further investigation reveals Stanley has the Costa Del Sol Barcelona Stateroom Media Chest.

At first glance, it appears like a traditional European storage cabinet. But on closer inspection, you'll find a pair of matching cubbies towering behind the ornate molding on either side. Even the top drawer is a bit of tromped loeil--pull the antique flamed brass knob and you'll reveal a convenient drop down media tray complete with self-contained electrical outlet. Perfect for storing a DVD player, stashing a video game unit or just charging those everyday electronics.

It's Bridget Otto Thursday!

It may be Thanksgiving, but it is also Bridget Otto Thursday and today Bridget knocked herself out!  First, there's Hot new looks for fireplaces.  Our friends interior designer Kathia Emery of Emery & Associates Interior Design, interior designers Amanda Klash and Emma Davis of Montgomery Klash Interior Design, and interior designer Alice Dillon of Alice Dillon interiors reworked problem fireplaces with great looking results.

Second, Bridget writes about Home style books to warm hearts and hearths.  Any one of the books would make a great Christmas gift.

A Built In Charger!

Here's a great idea!  C.F. Oakton has a three drawer nightstand with a built in charger.





BTW, read what Pres. Steve Eisler has to say about HOW WE WILL SURVIVE AND THRIVE THE NEXT 12 MONTHS


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Win a Commissioned Painting

Here's a fun contest to enter. At Pure Home's blog a post invites your comments: Win a Commissioned Painting From Artist Erica Eriksdotter.

Young House Love has paired up with artist Erica Eriksdotter to give away one commissioned painting (up to a $350 value) to a lucky reader. 

Contest Entry Details:
TO ENTER: Comment on the Young House Love post, Paint Me A Picture, with the words “PAINT ME A PICTURE!”
and…
BONUS QUESTION: …tell us about your favorite piece of one-of-a-kind artwork that you currently own. Maybe it’s a finger painting done by a kid in your life? Something you got on etsy? Or a drawing that you sketched yourself to fill some blank space?
HURRY! GIVEAWAY CLOSES:Wednesday, November 24th at 8pm EST
NUMBER OF WINNERS:One

We entered!  BTW, Pure Home is a Seattle "...social trading hub for the home decor industry, bridging the communications gap between buyer and seller by leveraging the Inspir™ Color Standard with their patent pending Contextual Search technology."

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Join Us For The Fabricut Grand Opening and Trunk Show

If you are an interior designer or buyer of fabric for drapery and upholstery, you don't want to miss the Fabricut grand opening lunch at Landfair Furniture on Tuesday December 7th at 11:30am in our showroom.  Carey Quinlan will show you the new winter collection from Fabricut.  In addition, she will introduce one of their hottest collections, Trend Fabrics, a subsidiary of Fabricut, featuring the Jaclyn Smith Home Collection.

Landfair Furniture has Fabricut hanging samples, books and memos for your convenience along with beautiful decorative drapery hardware. 

Call or email Bev to reserve your space since seating is limited.

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Global Accessories

Home Accents Today has an article by Tracy Bulla about some global motifs (medallions and rings) featured in a variety of accessories.  We noticed two of our vendors featured:


Oil-rubbed bronze ovals interlock via silver aluminum accents to stylized effect in the Candice Olson-designed lamp from AF Lighting ($269).


Evoking the mythical, magical destination of Shangri La, Blissliving Home's eponymously named collection weaves a lush fantasy setting of flowers, birds and bees interspersed with lavishly wrought medallions ($295, full/queen set).

Come into our showroom and see more designs from all our vendors.

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It's The Economy!

Last year in December, I wrote about my outlook for 2010 at Home Accents Today. I wrote:

I don’t think all of our troubles are behind us. Private industry is in a process of reducing debt and has a ways to go. Private industry is working its way through reorganization, but government is still adding debt and that will have to change before it crowds out private borrowers.

I haven't posted about furniture and accessories stores closing their doors this year because I haven't seen many closings, other than Wayne Martin, here locally. Today, I was jolted by two store closings:

• Lacks Home Furnishings  -Lacks has 36 stores across the state of Texas. It has been in business for 73 years.  "Throughout its history, the company has helped customers finance their furniture purchases through extended loans.
  
  Banks and lenders gave Lacks the money to help make those payments, but now, Lacks says, those lenders will no longer loan the company money."
• After 17 years as an Ohio furniture store and 96 years as a family business, Stauffer's Home Furnishings is going out of business. 

After all the money spent by the Feds, the economy doesn't seem to be getting better.  Maybe spending even more money will do the trick.

Bev & Mike
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Bridget Otto Thursday

Bridget Otto has a story today about Tina Enomoto. How when she moved to Oregon from California she looked for a horse-friendly property, with a view and charming. She knew she found it when she looked at big red barn overlooking McMinnville and Carlton with a view of Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens, Mount Rainier and Mount Adams.

Can't you just picture living there when your mom would say, "Close the door! Do you think you live in a barn?"


"Well, yeah, Mom. We do"

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John Choquer, Custom Furniture

We want to thank John Choquer of Choquer Industries for the very nice referral. We are always pleased to be recommended and do our level best to meet expectations.

John builds custom cabinetry and furniture for customers in the Portland/Vancouver area using solid woods. Not only does he craft your furniture so that it can be passed on to your kids, but is also a piece of art. Here is his website which shows samples of his work,

NYC Treehouse

Speaking of tree houses here's one in NY City:



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It's Bridget Otto Thursday

Randy L. Rasmussen, The Oregonian

Bridget Otto brings us two stories this week in Homes & Garden, an Oregonian feature section.  The first, Hang Time, is about a new way to suspend a tree house designed by Schuyler Silva and Devin Zoller.  Mike asked if he was too old to have a tree house.  "Yes, honey, you are!"

The second article, Double Makeover, shows us how Arlene Lord of Mosaik Design remodeled two rooms for two sisters, Aili and Anya.  Included is an interview with Lord about creating rooms that can grow with the child.

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Keyboards for Senior Citizens

Courtesy of matulio on Flickr.com

Avid typists have special keyboards designed for them as do children but what about senior citizens?  Just because they are older individuals does not mean that they want to be out of the loop and without one of the best pieces of technology that we all use today to stay in touch with one another and keep up with all of the latest happenings.

While there are some senior citizen keyboards, a lot more thought could have been put into these designs.  In fact, the designs aren’t much different except in the fact that they have larger keys as well as larger font.

Why is it that when designers make special keyboards that they don’t fully think out the design first?  Sure, seniors could use children keyboards but that might cause them to feel a little funny about the entire situation.  By making a keyboard for senior citizens – and only senior citizens – it will help them feel like they matter in the world of computers.

While the large font and large keys are fantastic, many keyboards don’t take into consideration ergonomics.  If seniors are going to be using computers and keyboards like the rest of us, these keyboards should be built ergonomically correct although more than likely most seniors only type with a couple fingers.  However, isn’t that how we all started out?

Another thing that many manufacturers didn’t think of when they were making senior citizen special keyboards was the fact that many seniors wouldn’t need all the buttons or as many hot keys.  Only place a hot key for e-mail and internet, as these are the two things that a senior citizen is likely going to use the most when on the computer.  They probably won’t want to access YouTube, Windows Media Player, etc.

Finally, the layout of the keys.  When you first started typing, would it have been easier to learn how if all of the keys had of been in ABC order instead of the QWERTY order they are in?  Probably so.  Of course, learning to type at a young age, it’s inevitable that you’d have to switch back to the QWERTY design but for senior citizens this isn’t the case.  So, why not make things easier on the elderly and create a keyboard that is in alphabetical order?  This will help them in finding the keys and knowing where the keys are.

There are several different things that I think designers and manufacturers should have taken into consideration before making senior citizen keyboards.  My personal opinion is someone needs to develop a new one with all of this in mind.  These may be out there already but they aren’t easy to find.  Senior citizens deserve to use the internet but they also deserve to enjoy it, which they can do if they have a comfortable and easy to use keyboard in front of them.

Michael Simms is a freelance writer for QwertyKeyboard.org, a website about all things related to qwerty keyboards such as the best wireless keyboards, the best ergonomic keyboards, etc.

Mixing New and Old for a Refreshing Look

If you are living in an old home and thinking of fixing it up, a refreshing interior design idea is to work with contrasts. An older home may have exposed brick. Rather than covering it up, leave the old brick wall uncovered and use it as a contrast for modern decorations. However, there are a few things you will need to do first:

Clean the Wall

An older brick surface will often need cleaning. A brass brush and lots of water works well and is cheaper and less messy than sand blasting or power washing. It does not stain old brick like muriatic acid can either. You will need a number of these brushes – as they wear out relatively quickly – and several hours of free time. Make certain to cover the floor with a plastic drop cloth. As with all such projects, work on a small, less conspicuous section before venturing on to the entire wall.
To keep the water from running off your plastic sheeting, place a 2x4 barrier under the plastic in the shape of a ‘U’ and run the open area of the plastic up the wall wrapped in a 1x2 to create a basin. Using a nail gun, nail the 2x2 to the mortar in two places. When you have finished, just remove the nails, as later you will be filling cracks with grout anyway. Another option is to stick the lip of the plastic to the wall with a cheap silicone caulk. It will peal away and you can clean that part of the wall last.

Repair Bricks and Mortar

When you have completely cleaned your old brick wall, you will want to fill in cracks and missing mortar. Buy a coloured grout that matches the old and weathered mortar, testing in an inconspicuous area first.

Preserve Your Work

Two good choices for sealing an old brick wall are polyurethane and silicone. Both will give the brick a clean appearance and protect the brickwork. Polyurethane gives a slightly shinier appearance, while a silicone sealer tends to deepen the brick color but will not otherwise be noticeable. In each case, you will be working with irritating and volatile materials so make sure you work with the windows open and on small spaces of wall at a time. Take breaks in the fresh air after each patch of wall you finish. Ideally, you will do this job in the summer and leave the windows open for a day after finishing the wall.
Consider a bright and modern look to contrast with your nicely cleaned, repaired and sealed brick wall. Using your nail gun, you can drive cement nails into the brick to hang supports for modern chrome light fixtures. For securing more substantial objects, use a tool such as the Makita LXT202. This 18V LXT Combination Drill & Impact Driver Kit is excellent for making the holes for anchoring heavier items such as a built-in bookcase of lightly stained mahogany.

Horrors! Bridget Otto Thursday On Halloween

The living room is complete with cobwebs and a torture chair.

The Thursday Homes & Gardens in The Oregonian has an article by Bridget A Otto about George DeVita and his wife Sarah who wanted a house styled after the Munsters' famous house.  With the help of architect Brunier & Associates and Gene Newell of Gem Finish Carpentry the two are realizing their dream.

Turn Your Passion into a Career

There's a new website for individuals interested in a career as an interior designer. It's Find Your Art School.com

Interest in interior design schools is always consistently high, perhaps because interior design is such a vibrant, creative profession. Interior designers are in demand for their skills at creating inviting, livable interior spaces, utilizing their knowledge of texture, color, composition, design, lighting, health and safety. These are all topics taught at interior design schools and are not generally easy to learn on one’s own.

This is a great time to become an interior designer.  Times have been tough and many designers have quit or retired.  However, tough times don't last.  Furniture wears out, trends change and we all have less time to make design decisions.  We want an expert to do the hard work that will save us money, interpret our needs and give us a comfortable and safe nest for our home.

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Lawn Care Services

Some times we're just humbled by the industriousness of writers.  Lawn Care Services has recently posted an helpful article listing 40 Essential Books on Home Lighting.  Did you know there were so many books on the subject?  There are such titles as:

• The art of outdoor lighting: landscapes with the beauty of lighting by Randall Whitehead

This book also serves as directory for lighting and landscape designers as well as a basic guide for several exterior lighting design concepts. 

• Interior lighting for designers by Gary Gordon

Learn to amplify the artistic impact of your house through this book. The reader will be introduced to lighting jargon, perception and general design strategies.

• Lighting Style by Kevin McCloud

In this book, lighting and furniture businessman Kevin McCloud has provided readers with an outstanding and complete guide to implementing various home lighting solutions.

 Lawn Care Services has other articles that caught our eye:

• 40 Cool Blogs for Composting Fanatics 
• 60 Online Gardening Blogs for Beginners
• 10 Homemade Pesticides for Your Yard and Garden

We love it!  They are giving away information that would take us hours to research.


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The Trend Is A Little History In Your Space

We read My Design Secrets. Today the subject was Decorating with Worn and Washed Woods. We see designers shifting their emphasis from dark colors in case goods to the worn finishes that have a nice earthy matte look. Partly the new trend is the desire to re-use and recycle.

Lorrie Browne who writes the blog said,

I like washed finishes for a number of reason, not the least of which is their time-worn look. Furniture just has more character when it looks likes like it’s been around the block. But the beauty of these weathered pieces is their ability to fit perfectly into so many designs such as:

• As a counterpoint to a room full of medium or dark toned antiques, it’s a great solution.
• If you are going for a light, beachy look with lots of white and painted finishes but crave some natural warmth, it also works.
• And if you love modern pieces but still want to inject a little history, they fit the bill there too.

Our choice are pieces from Dovetail Furniture.  Come in and see the fabulous well-worn pieces, such as the Fowler Bookcase.  As Browne says, "They are interesting, beautiful and instantly bring a little history into your space!"

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Coop Dreams

Chickens seem to be the new rage. New York transplants, architects Mitchell Snyder and Shelley Martin, finally had a yard in Portland and wanted chickens with their garden Dwell shows us how they solved the housing problem for the their three hens.

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Global Views, Eastern Breeze Partner to Expand Studio A

TRELLIS CREDENZA

Global Views and Eastern Breeze Home Collections have partnered to develop and expand the Studio A line of design-driven home decor accessories and accent furniture.

Eastern Breeze has been selling its line under the Studio A name for the past year. With the new partnership, Studio A will become a stand-alone company that will utilize the infrastructure and market expertise of Global Views, and the design direction of Eastern Breeze founders Will Foster and Mary Wilson.

Global Views CEO, David Gebhart and his partners, Frederick Rayner and Lois Del Negro, are excited about this opportunity to expand the Studio A product offering.

“Studio A offers merchants and interior designers another tasteful viewpoint in home furnishings which could be further developed and enlarged," said Gebhart. "We welcome the chance to be a part of another exciting interior design assortment to greater fulfill the needs of our customers. Studio A gives us this ability. We feel with our experience, knowledge, and funding Studio A can become a major force in the industry—the innovative product design is already there—it just needs to be encouraged and supported."

Global Views is a diversified company offering fine designs in gifts, decorative accessories, accent tables, large furniture items, rugs, mirrors, and lighting. The Dallas-based company has showrooms in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, High Point, Las Vegas and New York.

Studio A showrooms and sales force will expand across the country as the company develops.

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Precedent Furniture and DwellStudio Partner to Bring a New Era of Furniture for the Modern Family

Christiane Lemieux, DwellStudio's founder and creative director

Precedent, a division of Sherrill Furniture, is excited to announce today that they are partnering with DwellStudio, the New York City-based lifestyle brand, to debut their first furniture collection in April 2011 at the High Point Furniture Market. Bringing their signature eclectic modern look to furniture, DwellStudio has designed a complete collection of upholstered and occasional pieces that will be manufactured by Precedent and other Sherrill Furniture divisions.

Precedent CEO, Woody Williams says; "We are thrilled to partner with DwellStudio because their impressive track record for innovative design in home furnishings.  We know that their uniquely modern sense of design in textiles resonates with today's style-aware 25 – 45 year old consumer, who many of our furniture retailer partners have found elusive.  We are excited to translate that same design sense into furniture."

Aesthetically, the line has an elegant European mid-century feel to it, but updated with DwellStudio's signature stamp of mixing old and new styles, adding bold color and pattern. For the upholstery collection, fabric sourcing will be a blend of Precedent's current vendors and DwellStudio's collection of residential fabrics with Robert Allen. Sofas from the collection will retail from $1400 - $1800 with occasional tables starting at $600.

Christiane Lemieux, DwellStudio's founder and creative director, explains; "We are thrilled to work with Precedent, a company that is known for transitional/modern design. They provide the experience that is essential to executing our styles with a quality level and price point that will our customers have come to expect."  Lemieux goes on; "We see that there is a growing population of design-minded, new economy consumers who want something unique, eclectic, and well designed at a great price.  We wanted to create a meaningful, hand-crafted collection of furniture with multiple fabric options to speak directly to the DwellStudio customer.  We knew that Precedent was the perfect partner to help us achieve that goal."

Target retail channels include specialty retailers, furniture stores and interior designers.  The collection will also be sold through DwellStudio's store-in-store at ABC Carpet and Home in New York City.

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Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health

If you were in Las Vegas at World Market recently, you probably drove past this building. We all marveled at its design and heard it was some kind of doctor's office specializing in the brain. We recommend you read Contract magazine's article, Splashy and Sustainable: Gehry Partners design a medical research facility in Las Vegas.

Larry Ruvo, a Nevada entrepreneur who lost his father to Alzheimer’s, formed an alliance with a major medical institution and founded the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. He then persuaded Frank Gehry, who had previously refused to build in Las Vegas, to design a facility that would create a sense of place and purpose. “I wanted to use his celebrity to help find a cure for a disease while generating a sense of excitement,” says Ruvo.

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Do You Consult Your Neighbors Before Painting Your House?

STIR, the regular Sherwin-Williams magazine has an article about a homeowners in Piedmont, California who painted their house brilliant shades of orange with violet and fuchsia accents.  The article asks of choosing paint colors for a house, in a community that doesn't regulate colors:

Where do the rights of private property owners end and those of the neighborhood begin?

Recently we changed the color of our house from a pale yellow with white trim to something reminiscent of our travels to Mexico. As in Piedmont, in our Portland, Oregon neighborhood "you’d be hard-pressed to find hues more vibrant than grays, blues and earth tones." 

We chose Marigold for the main color and gray for the trim.  The trim looks great with the roof.  Mike said the color initially reminded him of the yellow line on the highway. Amazingly, most of the neighbors love the color.  Only our parents wouldn't have chosen such a bold yellow. Mom almost drove up on the curve when she saw our house for the first time.

We felt no obligation to check with our neighbors before painting.  I would think they are happy that we keep our house looking good. We love it the color.  When we're standing in the brick-red colored kitchen looking outside, we see the Marigold and it does remind us of Mazatlan in Mexico.

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Landfair Furniture Adds Fabricut

Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery has some major news!  We are adding Fabricut to our line of fabrics. Fabricut is one of the largest, most progressive distributors of decorative fabrics in the world offering over 58,000 choices in fabrics and trimmings.  A look at the Fabricut website reveals their mission:

Our devotion to supplying exquisite fabrics and trimmings is over 50 years strong and continues with a daily commitment to develop exclusive products for our customers. With an array of traditional, transitional and contemporary styles, patterns and palettes available, Fabricut is the designer’s preference for fabrics and trimmings. Our extensive line of in-stock fabrics, extraordinary customer service and a knowledgeable, worldwide sales force is unmatched.

The Design Center at Fabricut as many of you know allows you o create and maintain virtual design boards for your clients. You can add fabrics and trimmings to your design boards as you browse Fabricut's  inventory. In addition, you can also include a personalized comment with each item to help your clients capture your vision.

Landfair Furniture will be adding additional lighting in our showroom to ensure that you can see the true colors of this fabulous line.  We will be dropping the Duralee Fabric line, but will continue supporting high quality and extremely customizable Duralee Furniture.

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Surya Thrives!

Rug and decorative accessories supplier Surya celebrates a tenfold increase in business since 2004, with double-digit growth each year. For 2010, company sales dollars are up 52 percent.

“Our customers have made us the company we are today," said Satya Tiwari, Surya president. “The best ideas and practices we have implemented have come directly from listening to our customers and trying to solve their needs.

Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery can help you with rug designs from Surya.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Are Shocking Price Increases Coming?

We listened to a King World News interview of Rick Santelli this weekend and thought the information was extremely informative.  Santelli, btw, is credited with starting the Tea Party movement with his rant on CNBC about big government and spending money we don't have.  You can hear that interview here.

I was shocked when I heard these statistics from the interviewer:

Agricultural Raw Materials +24% since this time last year
Imdustrial Materials Index +25%
Metals Price Index +26%
Coffee +45%
Barley +32%
Oranges +35%
Pork +68%
Cotton +40%
Rubber +62%
Iron Ore +103%

Every time you read that the government is doing "Quantitative Easing" substitute the words printing dollars and understand that when there are more dollars, the dollars we have in our pockets or bank accounts are worth less.  Every time you see the price of gold go up think that's one more vote for a loss of faith in the U.S. dollar.

It wouldn't surprise us to see prices of everything we consume move up and up and everything we own with debt go down in price.

Manufacturers of furniture and accessories have outsourced production to Asian markets to keep prices reasonable, however with raw materials soaring, we wouldn't be surprised to see finished goods no matter where produced go up in price.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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New Duralee Video

Duralee has a new video on their website that shows their customizing capabilities in Duralee Furniture and Owner's Select. The video also includes a look at new introductions at High Point using fashion forward colors, the new Benjamin Moore lacquer application and information about the making of their quality furniture.

Take a moment to appreciate the style of Duralee.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Head Off Furniture Buyer's Remorse

Right after you buy a new car, you start noticing how many other people drive a car just like the one you bought. That awareness is a way you avoid buyer's remorse. You think to yourself it must be a good car. Look at how many people made the same decision. How do you avoid buyer's remorse when you buy furniture? Mary Madden who owns Madden-McFarland in Kansas City has some ideas in "Head off furniture buyer's remorse."

1. Establish your budget and priorities. The sofa or chair may be your most important piece of furniture in a room (and the most costly) so buy quality, the best you can afford.  We certainly agree.  We sell a lot of high quality sofas and chairs, upholstered and leather. Madden writes:
   
   
   

   Good-quality furniture will be more comfortable, look better, feel better and last longer. In the case of your sofa, buy one with solid hardwood frames. The cushions, whether you desire the softness of down or the firmness of a solid foam core, should be well-constructed.

   One way you stretch your budget is by buying better quality for rooms that get the most use.
   
2. Decide between reupholstering and purchasing.
   
   
   

   Before reupholstering, consider the item’s condition and value. If it is in excellent condition other than a worn, stained or dated fabric cover, reupholstering may be a good option, especially if you’ve spotted a fabric that would be perfect with your decor.

   At Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery you can come in and compare prices of new versus reuphostering.
3. Shop carefully.
   
   
   

   The three most important things to remember: scale, scale and scale! Consider the height, width and depth as they relate to both the size of the room and the size of the people using the piece.

   Remember, to sit on various pieces of furniture. There are many cushion types and it must be comfortable. Also be sure that the seat depth and the distance off the floor is right for you.
4. Consider how you live. Is the furniture to be used in a formal or comfortable setting?  You certainly wouldn't want to use a formal chair for reading a good book.
5. Don’t settle."Not satisfied with the finish or size you see in a furniture showroom? Just say so." Almost everything is customizable.  The piece you order can be made so you will never see another like it.
6. Consider An Interior Designer. An interor designer can help you with buyer's remorse by saving you time and money.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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News From TODL

TODL has announced the upcoming November launch of the Trade Only Design Library Generation 6.0 after 18 months of development. TODL is an exclusive online research library where 51,728 trade members and manufacturers meet to share information and do business. The 6.0 release is the most significant launch in the company's 13-year history, utilizing new technology that will transition the industry's most comprehensive product research library into a fully integrated vertical market platform offering more functionality and new services.

TODL 6.0 is the result of more than a decade of market research, interaction, and service to design and architectural professionals, and the manufacturers and service providers that market to them. "It is incredibly exciting to watch TODL 6.0 come to fruition," says Stacey Tiveron, Trade Only Design Library founder and CEO. "6.0 not only advances product research and specification to an entirely new level, it facilitates business interaction and connection at all levels and between all players in our industry."

TODL's membership of design and architecture professionals can look forward to all new designs and navigation, more intuitive product organization, advanced project management tools, regional event alerts, industry networking, RFI tracking, and more.

In addition to TODL's current product galleries of residential, contract/commercial, hospitality, and green, members will have access to new galleries including luxury, healthcare, education, retail, architecture/building, and art. Content partnerships with leading publications and associations will bring TODL members exciting project and industry news specific to the type of project they are specifying. Meanwhile, Trade Only Design Library 6.0 listed manufacturers will have access to in-depth activity and flow-through analytics, superior lead generation tools, and advanced marketing options enabling manufacturers to specify the exact segment of the professional market they want to reach.

JAB Anstoetz Grandezza collection

JAB Anstoetz is introducing its 2010 European fabric offerings to the North American marketplace. Inspired by couture fashion in metropolitan cities, the Grandezza collection features modern designs in 15 patterns and 95 colorways. Designs range from jacquards and animal prints to metallics, velvets, and sheers, all exuding a feel of sophistication. The umbrella company of the JAB Anstoetz, Soleil Bleu, and Chivasso brands, JAB recently purchased the Stroheim brand by Fabricut and will continue offering Stroheim’s decorative hardware in addition to its own textile and wallcovering lines.

Bev & Mike
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Palecek Acquires PierceMartin

Palecek, a designer and manufacturer of handcrafted furniture, accessories, and lighting, has acquired PierceMartin, a designer resource for classic woven furniture and accessories. Palecek will launch a new corporate division and product line exclusively serving the design trade community. Details related to showroom locations and the product launch for PierceMartin by Palecek, slated for the first quarter of 2011, will be announced over the next few weeks.

Bridget Otto Thursday

Bridget A. Otto

Yesterday, at Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery, Cary Taylor, Allison Smith and Bev Landfair hosted an event for area interior designers that covered "what's new and unique in the world of furnishings, color and rugs."  Bridget Otto was there and files a report today about the content of the meeting in Portland designers gather and learn about custom creations. 

Although I've never met Bridget Otto, Bev tells me she looked stunning with her blonde hair. Thank you everyone for attending.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Should We Add Pet Products?

At the August Retailer Roundtable hosted by Home Accents Today in Las Vegas as part of World Market, we were surprised that several retailers were complementing their home decor sales with gourmet food, apparel, jewelry and handbags as a way to increase traffic to their stores.  I learned today that there's another area of retail sales that hasn't suffered despite the shattered economy: Pet Sales.  Maybe, we should add that category to our sales mix.  In fact according to the American Pet Products Association all pet sales have doubled in ten years.  The APPA estimates that sales this year will reach $47.7 billion up from $23 billion in 1998.

A radio report today sparked my interest in pet sales.  New technology is out that may propel sales in the future because it allows our pets to network with us and other pets and even give us a photo record of their day while we are away.  For instance, Mattel has come out with a toy named "Puppy Tweets."

The toy has two parts, a plastic collar tag that contains a sound andmotion sensor and a USB receiver that you plug into your computer. The tag comes with pre-written, prerecorded tweets that are activated by your dog's activity. So if she's sleeping, the tag may automatically send the tweet, "Somedays it feels like my paw is permanently on the snooze button!" If she's woofing, the tweet may say, "YAHOOOOOOO! Somedays you just gotta get your bark on."

Then there's Sniftag which combines a hi-tech tag with an online social media site. Equipped with an accelerometer and motion analysis software, you can check in with the dog at a web site to see what your dog is up to.

It also uses a wireless protocol to communicate with other Sniftags nearby dogs may be wearing. The tags automatically swap unique identifying codes and relay the encounter to the server when the dogs return to the SNIF Base Station at their home.

A Japanese company offers  a gizmo that translates a pet's barks and purrs into intelligible sentences.  Don't you wish you could decipher those looks that your dog gives you?  Another company offers a camera attached to the pet's collar that takes photos at timed intervals.  When you get home you can see pictures of what your pet was doing.  Imagine your dog could no longer get away with saying, "It wasn't me." when you come home to find a vase tipped over.  My pet would probably give me countless photos of our bedroom wall where he sleeps all day.

There is Zen Dog, for those who think therapy and relaxation through calming music and massage might be good for your dog; HydroSurge Rapid Bath Dog Bathing System, an "all-in-one" wet, wash and rinse device that resembles a garden hose with a spray-nozzle comb head; and GoDogGo, a fetch machine for dogs that automatically shoots out tennis balls at timed intervals.  Does it say "good dog" when the ball is brought back? I don't think so.



Forbes alerts us to a product we may see in the near future.

If you're allergic to animals or can't have one where you live, check out The Haptic Creature, a robot designed to recreate the touch-based communication between pet and owner. The creature resembles a small rabbit with long "ears" and fur. When petted, it responds with breathing, ear movements and purring vibrations.

I think I'm on to something here.  You may see Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery change its name to include Pet Products.  That would make us LF+DG+PP.  Does that sound  wrong?

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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What's New In Custom Iron Doors

We love front doors! When on vacation what draws the eye of the photographer?  It's the doors in the walls where you can only imagine what life is like beyond the address on the gate.

That's why our interest was peaked when we read the following about custom iron doors:

Redesigning the exterior of your home says a lot about your own personal tastes. The doorway is the entry point and the point of focus for any outdoor façade, so making a stunning and lasting impression with your home can not only increase the value, but also your own enjoyment of your home. A popular choice for entry doors on the market today are custom iron doors because of the unique factor they bring to a home.

Two companies are mentioned, Imperial Doors (below)  and Baltic Iron Doors (above).

The article states that the exterior of your home dictates the color of your custom iron work.

If you have a brick home, darker finished doors tend to accent this better than lighter doors, depending on the color of the brick. For white to cream colored bricks, black to dark green is a good finish, since it highlights the entryway. Darker colored bricks benefit more from having a cream-colored finish in order to highlight the entry point.

Bev & Mike
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