Mike has always been fascinated by mosaics and stippled art.  He came across Artaic - Innovative Mosaic's blog and saw this mosaic that hangs in the Anglican Church of St Peter and is made entirely of burnt toast.

Maurice Bennett, 33 year old British artist, Adam Sheldon created a six foot mosaic of Christ on the cross made of 153 pieces of burnt toast. Adam used his toaster to burn all 153 pieces of bread. He then scraped out the parts he wanted to be lighter with a knife and used a blow torch to make the darker pieces. 

Purchased By One Of Our Clients

Lily Pad Wall Sconce
18.25 inches X 18.25 inches X 4 inches deep
Holds two 40w candelabra bulbs
Page 216 of Global Views Catalog

Uttermost Lamps Are Ordered

We just ordered some beautiful Uttermost lamps for clients and I thought you would like to take a look:

These lamps are in stock and will be shipped immediately at a great price. Call Bev for details: 503-249-7951

Visit Verdigris Vie

Here's a prolific blogger, Verdigris Vie, who has posted 211 times this year.  My best year was 180 times in 2010. Verdigris Vie has this photo apparently of the home of Designer Jay Griffith of LA.

Bridget A Otto On Saturday

Bridget Otto has 12 festive ideas for your Thanksgiving table from Portland interior designer Garrison Hullinger, of Garrison Hullinger Interior Design, JJ De Sousa,  interior designer and owner of Digs Inside & Out, Lora Coburn,  owner of CoCo Designs and interior designer Jason Ball, of Portland's Jason Ball Interiors.

While the centerpiece is beautiful, soon the conversation begins over dinner and the centerpiece is moved to the floor.

What was I writing about last November? Here's a look:

• Paddle-and-anvil Pottery By Kate Tremel
• News From TODL
• Looking for some great Christmas gifts?
• Celebrity Holiday Homes 2010
• Stanley's Resort Coastal Living
• Stanley's Plugged In Nightstand
• It's Bridget Otto Thursday!
• A Built In Charger!
• Win a Commissioned Painting
• Join Us For The Fabricut Grand Opening and Trunk S...
• Global Accessories
• It's The Economy!
• Bridget Otto Thursday
• John Choquer, Custom Furniture
• NYC Treehouse
• It's Bridget Otto Thursday
• Keyboards for Senior Citizens
• Mixing New and Old for a Refreshing Look

I'm still writing about Stanley and Bridget A Otto, in fact look later today to see our latest on Ms Otto. I was struck by our announcement that we were adding Fabricut by announcing a trunk show.  Who knew that less than a year later the economy would put us under? In fact I wrote about the economy in It's The Economy!  A year later things don't appear much better.  Furniture stores are still failing and frankly Europe's contagion could easily spread to the U.S.  Check out Why Mexico? for a comparison of the U.S. to Italy and Mexico.

I can't believe how much less stress and pressure I feel now that our showroom is closed.  Hard to believe how nice it is to have lunch with Mike or go to Jazzercise early in the morning.  I love working from with all my designer friends from home.  Let me know if I can help you.

The Buzz: Gel Beds

The buzz at High Point this year had to be over Gel beds! What the heck are Gel beds. Is that short for Jello?

Quality bedding for great sleep has been defined by sleep number beds and tempurpedic mattresses. Now add Gel beds. Intellibed describes its bed as "...made from a soft, but extremely strong and elastic solid copolymer gel formed into a series of vertical support members that begin to compress under light loads, but when the pressure on any localized area becomes uncomfortable, the support members relax allowing that localized part of the body to sink into the mattress. In this way, pressure points under the hip and shoulder areas are reduced by a remarkable 50-80%."

Makers of Gel beds include Restonic, Jamison, Paramount, Serta, Simmons, Gold Bond and many more.

Mike is interested because he complains about our pillow top mattress.  He says it feels like he's sleeping on a futon.  His hip bones hurt in the night from the mattress pushing back at him.  I'm comfortable, yet the mattress set is almost ten years old, so it may be time to investigate the new technology.

One aspect that I like is the formulation of the gel.  Gel bed manufacturers say gel provides for better temperature control.

Results Of The 2011 Pinnacle Awards

Designers in 16 furniture, accessories and lighting categories were honored recently in the 2011 Pinnacle Awards.

Stanley Furniture's Coastal Living Resort won in the major collections category for designers Richard Schroeder, Denis Kissane and Gary Hokanson.

mix

Take a strong measure of vintage modern, add a dash of Danish design and a smidge of transitional style and what have you got? Mix: a delightfully timeless combination of yesterday and today, vintage and modern, form and function. Combine any of the five accent finishes to create a two-toned monument to the beauty of wood, or pair a finish with one of the 17 paint colors to create a look that’s uniquely yours.

New At High Point

The October 2011 issue of Home Accents Today is out and in it I see some of the vendors we support introduced new products at Fall High Point.

 

The new item from Bernhardt Interiors is the Gustav side chair. It is same style as the Delancey chair shown above, except it has a shiny metal frame and upholstered in a metallic "snakeskin" leather.

Frederick Cooper unveiled new lamps from the Larry Laslo Collection.

Global Views introduced a seashell-inspired swirl platter.

"Putting a modern twist on the timeless tradition of the symbolic wedding band, these handsome 22" and 28" table lamp designs are crafted in a gold and silver chrome finish for unmistakable style. Accessorized with white or brown linen shades, the Matrimony Reclining Table Lamps from Nova Lamps will form the perfect union with your decor."

From Uttermost, "Hand painted artwork on canvas is stretched and mounted to wooden stretching boards. A textured finish is added for extra definition. Due to the handcrafted nature of this artwork, each piece may have subtle differences."

The Texas Fireframe Grate

Winter will be here soon and some are predicting a legendary winter for those living in this area.  By legendary, I'm assuming it means that 50 years from now people will soon be talking about the winter of 2011-2012, like my father talked about the winters of the past when the Willamette River froze over.

When we think about being cold, we either want to be in Mexico in the winter or sitting here in front of a warm fire.  Some people have bought into the notion that a fireplace is a waste because all the heat goes up the chimney or they have converted to a natural gas fireplace with fake logs.  Still most of the heat goes up the chimney.

The other day I came across an invention that sends the heat of burning wood out into the room instead of up the chimney.  The Texas Fireframe grate was invented by a physicist back in 1974 and people just swear it:

"It is the greatest fireplace invention since the discovery of wood matches."
-- R. Seiden, Berkeley, CA

"I was astounded!... The increase in heat output is remarkable…the temperature in the room increases from 7 to 12 degrees with the [Texas Fireframe grate] over the temperature with a regular grate. I find that all your claims are true, if not understated.”
-- L. Isaacson, Berrien Springs, MI  

It's simple really as these pictures show:



The Texas Fireframe® grate is made of hot rolled steel, welded bars, and includes slip-on, height-adjustable, friction-locking arms. Fully-assembled. Instructions included.

It comes in three sizes; the U-25 unit fits almost all fireplaces. You can order on line and have it in place before the snow flies.

Floor to Ceiling Wall Art Is Now Easy

This is not your grandmother’s wall paper. These are not murals; this is floor to ceiling WALL ART. The applications are limitless and the results, stunning!

Choose from over 7000 original works from New Era Portfolio’s exclusive collection. Also, a stock image bank with over 12 million images, an abstract art collection, vintage art, photography and more collections coming in the near future. You can virtually find an image of anything you desire or even upload your own sourced imagery.



Do you want to have a whole wall as a city nightscape, or awake with the mountains out your window and Portofino on your wall? It all comes from New Era Walls by HP.

Uttermost Introduces New App

What if you are an interior designer and you want to show some Uttermost products to your clients. Now you can with an iPad and an Uttermost app for as little as $2.99.

This new app is for use by Uttermost sales representatives, retailers, and consumers. The functionality includes nearly everything that the Uttermost Web site includes, plus swiping from image to image, pinch-zooming for extreme enlargement, etc. This app is ideal for presenting product one-on-one, or when connected to a big screen or monitor, to a group of people.

“We love new technology, but only if it benefits our customers," said Mac Cooper, president . The images on our new App are incredible, second only to seeing the product in person.”

The time is coming when I'll have to break down and get an iPad or an alternative from Amazon!

Writer Nate Gibson Inspired By Landfair on Furniture

As a designer for Manchester Wood, a solid wood furniture manufacturer in Granville, NY, I spend a lot of time looking at various interiors when conceptualizing and designing furniture pieces. Thinking about how designs would work with different spaces provides ideas on how to refine them and create products that fit many settings well.

I'm come across multiple interiors on Landfair on Furniture that have especially interested me with their design elements and got me thinking about the ways those design elements would work with our solid wood furniture. One of these interiors is the rammed earth, adobe-style farmhouse.

Specifically, the contrast of the adobe and brick with the wood in the interior is a very nice look – two very different types of building materials that complement each other very nicely. The stone-wood look instantly made me think of some of Manchester Wood's slate-topped tables and has given my ideas for future designs, such as new finish colors and types of slate that I think might be more complementary.

Another post that I took inspiration from was the House of 2015. The ultra-sleek and modern look of this house of the future is accented by beautiful wood flooring.

The natural wood grains combined with the modern look of the interior have given a number of ideas for future pieces for our glass-top collection. The richness of wood paired with the open feeling evoked by glass combine for a very pleasant ambiance.

Those posts are just two examples of the inspiration I have taken from the Landfair on Furniture blog, there have been others and I'm sure many more to come. Thanks for reading.
 ~Nate Gibson

Lighting From Global Views

One of our clients just ordered this beautiful lighting fixture made by Global Views.

Take a look at all the other lighting fixtures from Global Views.

Sitcom

Sitcom is a vendor we love.

Sitcom is the leading designer and manufacturer of contemporary, transitional furniture and accessories. We offer fun and functional designs to really make your living space special!

Sitcom is a privately owned company whose first product release was a single folding chair that won “Best Furniture Design” by International Design Magazine, and is in the permanent collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Today, Sitcom and its in-house design team have a well-established reputation as a leading supplier and designer for major lifestyle retailers throughout the world such as West Elm, Crate & Barrel, Macy’s and Z Gallerie. Sitcom won the prestigious “ADI Award” in January 2008.

Here's a wonderful antique distressed round table in solid elm with an acid washed zinc top perfect for the breakfast nook:

Sam Moore Builds Comfort !

Part of the reason I'm attracted to this great occasional chair includes the many functions and possibilities that it allow it to be integrated into your room.  You can go contemporary; note big graphic design.  Transitional, or updated traditional with the wings. Sam Moore builds comfort into every chair.

(click on photo for larger view.)

Relaxed Or Informal Dining

Stanley Furniture is releasing a 22-piece expansion of its Classic Portfolio line.  The dining line has entry level pricing in three styles: the industrial-influenced Artisan, the European-inspired Old World and the sleek Modern line.

Why? Stanley believes there is a void in the market for affordable fashion-forward everyday dining. Formal dining is a slow seller. Maybe because, as the previous post pointed out, home owner needs for formal dining are changing.  We are moving to smaller homes and the formal dining room is wasted space.  Maybe, it has to do also, with no bottom seen in casual dining pricing.

Stanley Furniture "... is focused on delivering really great finishes that require an artistic hand to apply; great classic styling that really feeds someone's creative sense and then trying to do it at a price that's attainable."

Want to see more? Go to Stanley "New For Fall.".

The House Of 2015

Zillow has an interesting post outlining the way our new homes in 2015 will look.  You might be surprised who the buyers are and what has disappeared.

New From Bernhardt Interiors

Bernhardt Interiors has had a sofa in this style for years, now they've brought out a loveseat measuring 59 inches long shown here in leather:

In addition, all upholstery pieces come in either leather of fabric.

Another new item is the trestle-style dining table with hand-hammered stainless steel top featured here in House Beautiful in a sandblasted Driftwood finish.

Sherwin-Williams Launches iPad App

Jean Nayarat contract magazine writes:

Got an iPad and need a little color inspiration? Then take advantage of STIR, a new iPad application from Sherwin-Williams. The new app is actually a digital magazine specifically developed for design professionals. A free tablet tool, STIR was created to help designers and architects easily access inspiring color and design content, including innovative project features, color-trend stories, product and technology news, and interviews with creative professionals.

Among the many features the app will offer to enable architects and designers to make the most of the tablet experience will be project slideshows, videos featuring behind-the-scenes experiences with designers and creative thinkers, links to the company's site for specific colors and product specs, and opportunities to chat with other designers in real time. 

The STIR app can be downloaded for free from the Apple iTunes store or www.swcolor.com. An Android version will also be available soon.