I keep mentioning one of our favorite shows, House Hunters International.  We love to see the variety of homes that are in sunny climates and are beach side or come with a water view.  In many of the homes, we see "plantation shutters."

I didn't know much about plantation shutters until I read this article, Plantation Shutters: Window Treatments that Increase Your Home Value.

Plantation shutters are multi-purpose interior window coverings. They allow for an adjustable flow of air, and an adjustable amount of light, entering a room. They provide privacy. They provide shade, which helps keep interiors cool when outside temperatures climb. Additionally, they add an additional layer of insulation against outside cold. They are a versatile and highly desirable decorative touch.

The article lists five tips for the selection of plantation shutters. Aside from those tips, installation of plantation shutters greatly increase your home's curb appeal.

Seven Rules Made To Be Broken

As we find in writing poetry, "Smart designers break lots of rules."

Marni Jameson writes,

No wonder so many do-it-yourself home decorators are stuck at their thresholds, afraid to make a move. If they do conjure the courage, they make design choices so wimpy even their pets will yawn.

Syndicated columnist and speaker Marni Jameson and author of “House of Havoc” and “The House Always Wins” (Da Capo Press) lists seven rules that are made to be broken. Still afraid? Call a local interior designer and tell her you want to be bad! You want to break the rules.

UPDATE: I received this email from Marni Jameson: Please change the sentence in the article to read:

I didn't realize how strongly I felt about this until last week, when a refreshing message arrived in my inbox, from the folks at Lou Hammond & Associates,// SHOULD BE Hunter Douglas, a leading maker of window-coverings.

Do You Have Stainless Fatigue?

Do you have an opinion you'd like to share on this topic? MSN asks "What comes after stainless steel?" For 25 years stainless has been the leader in kitchen appliances, but manufacturers are looking for a replacement.

The appliance industry has tried to promote new looks before. In recent years, manufacturers have pitched "oiled bronze," "antique copper" and a gray hue called "meteorite," as well as aluminum and other look-alikes, but none has been able to unseat stainless steel.

We know a look doesn't last forever, but I am not tired of stainless because it's so clean and forward looking.  I have a feeling that some form of Gold finish is on the horizon, because it's been out of favor for so long.

So the question is: Do you have stainless fatigue? If so what would you like to see as a replacement?

A Console That "Does Tricks"

According to Homes & Gardens last Wednesday, Bridget Otto is a fan of Lonny magazine and of white rooms!

I paged through the online magazine Lonny and came across an ad for Resource Furniture.  The store looked familiar and I remembered I posting about the company in Space Reinvented. The article featured inspired contemporary bedroom design.

Now they are featuring a console that doubles as a dining room table. Here it's featured in mirror glass: 




They have many dining room table styles to choose from. Maybe, they need Landfair to represent them in Portland.

Fall Is The Time To Store Outdoor Furniture

The staff at Homes & Gardens a publication of the Oregonian has a how to Prep your outdoor spaces and garden furniture for winter. Tips cover vinyl strap furniture, metal frame furniture, wooden furniture, painted wooden furniture, solid metal garden furniture, wrought iron furniture, and umbrella (or fabric seats).

October Is Window Safety Month

Since this is Window Safety Month, I thought appropriate to reprise this post of last year:

Suzanne Simon loves to help her clients with their window coverings.  There are so many designs in fabric and blinds and color combinations that to the inexperienced, choosing what’s best for your home can seem overwhelming.  I can help you. 

Now’s the time, before the holidays and cold weather to make some changes.  Window coverings can make your home cozy, improve lighting, and save energy.

Now, before the holidays when the little ones come to visit, is also a good time to make sure your window coverings are safe.  Just as we hear every year about babies falling through second-floor screened windows, so do we hear of children and pets getting tangled in window cords and choking. 

The Window Covering Safety Council has some tips to make sure your children and grand kids are safe:

• Never place a crib, playpen, bed or any type of low-standing furniture near a window. In exploring their surroundings, young children can accidentally fall through an open window or window screen, or become tragically entangled in a nearby window cord.
• If you have looped pull cords, retrofit the cords for safety.

·        Rapidly gaining favor in today's window fashions, are cordless designs. They are the best choice for use in children's bedrooms and any area of the home where children spend time playing.  In fact, cordless designs are favored by consumers and decorators. They love the "clean" look and streamlined design.

Most traditionally corded window fashions, either vertical or horizontal, are available in "cordless" styles through the use of spring-loaded mechanisms, battery- or motor-operated lift controls, or simple wand pulls.  I will be happy to talk with you about your windows, and budget.

Bridget A Otto On Saturday

Nice article today in Homes & Gardens by Bridget Otto about a family needing a designers eye to realize the potential of an unused and uninviting daylight basement.  Two of our friends, Erin Davis of Mosaik Design & Remodeling and Jenny Guggenheim of Fig Studio, helped the owners see how the basement could be revamped structurally and then designed to avoid wear and tear with surfaces and materials.

Ross William Hamilton, The Oregonian The spacious new family room serves multiple purposes -- with room for all. The colorful artwork on the wall is a collage made by portrait artist Judi Mintzer. The family hopes to keep track of their travels on the large world map.

GLASS RECYCLED'S SUM-FALL Event

Our friends at GLASS RECYCLED are having a SUMMER-FALL event. 'That’s SUM-FALL Event' allows you to take advantage of their GLASS RECYCLED Web Site Gallery by scrolling through their colorful samples to find the perfect counter top that fits you and your surroundings.

At GLASS RECYCLED they aim to stay on the cutting edge by providing unique green options for both residential and commercial environments at an outstanding value. From August 1, 2012 to December 20, 2012 you can purchase their GlassSLAB for your home or business at a discounted price.

Fashion Too Far!

What a waste of shoe leather!

Bridgett Otto writes today about the success of the Portland Fall Home & Garden Show's Molly's Fund Fighting Lupus. She also tells us that our friends at Urban ID won the Peoples Choice award:




Doug Beghtel/The OregonianDinner at Tiffany's by Urban I.D., the People's Choice award winner.

New Product Introductions From Global Views

 

Gold and black seem to be the in colors! Call Bev for more information and a quote.

Isn’t It Odd?

Bob and Sara became our neighbors when ten years ago, they purchased a little salt box style house at the end of our street. Over the years, they added a room to the upstairs and converted it to a master bedroom.  Both were golfers and their front yard looked like some of the finest fairways I’ve played.  They enjoyed a weed-less lawn that Bob religiously mowed and edged.

In the front yard was a Japanese maple, the kind that grows like an upside-down umbrella.  Bob even hired a Japanese gardener to trim the little red maple. Bob and Sara were from Phoenix and after awhile, came to miss the Arizona heat and their family still living there.  Up went the For Sale sign and after a considerable amount of time, in a buyers real estate market, the house was sold. Bob and Sara said goodbye and soon the new neighbors moved in.

One day while walking the dog past Bob and Sara’s old house, I noticed the little red maple that had been watered by lawn sprinklers was gone. Soon all the grass was stripped away by sweaty, shirtless men and a drip irrigation system was installed.  Next, a load of slate was delivered and soon more sweaty men built paths paved with slate between new mounds of fertile dirt.  I asked the new neighbors about their plans and they said they had always wanted a flower garden and that’s what they were building. The flowers are in now and they may bear flowers and aromas for nine months out of twelve.

Isn’t it odd! One man’s tree is another man’s thorn.

Bernhardt In Homes & Gardens

Kim Cook writing in Homes & Gardens focuses on the fall season and inspirations for interior designers. In the section Parisian Panache, she says, "Tufted furniture and mirrored, lacquered furnishings evoke the élan of a turn-of-the-century French apartment, or maybe old Hollywood glamour.

She states that "Bernhardt (Interiors) has the low-profile Lotus coffee table, Balboa media console and Gustav dining table, all in lustrous polished steel.

Here are photos of those items:

Lotus Coffee Table, in polished stainless steel - W 67-1/2 | D 31-1/2 | H 16 in.

Balboa Media Center, Metal frame in Polished Stainless Steel finish - W 78-5/8 | D 17-5/8 | H 19-7/8 in.

Gustav dining table with glass top and polished stainless steel metal base - Diam 54 | H 29-5/8 in.
with matching polished stainless chairs and upholstered slip seat with welt - W 22-1/2 | D 23-1/4 | H 35-3/4 in.

New From Bernhardt Interiors

Ardmore Leather Bench

N8400

W 71 | D 28-1/2 | H 15 in.

Henley

Dining Table (84")

• Tempered glass top with eased edges and corners
• Railroad tie design top in Gray Pearl finish
• Polished Stainless Steel finish base

 

Home Furnishings Business reports today that Uttermost is jumping into the rug business at next month's High Point Market.

 "Customers have been asking us for rugs for years and I think they

will be pleased," said Mac Cooper , president. "Rugs have been a top priority for many of us since last year, and this will be the biggest launch we have ever made into any new category."

The company's offerings range from flat weaves in bright colors, to wool and viscose hand-tufted rugs, to hand-knotted rugs in soft, worn patinas. The rugs are designed based on current fashions, with an emphasis on transitional patterns to work in a wide range of home settings. Traditional designs feature cleaner patterns with current colors.

Home Furnishings Business writes that "Furniture brand Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams has rolled out its collection of home furnishings inspired by CBS show, "The Good Wife".

The collection - available in the US - was developed in collaboration with set decorator, Beth Kushnick , who is responsible for the designs seen on the series."

You know, the collection looks a lot like Bernhardt Interiors. Speaking of Bernhardt, Jennifer Guggenheim posted pictures on her Facebook page of her Laurelhurst client using our furniture from Bernhardt Interiors.That's the Beckett Sofa! Also available in a loveseat.

 

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The Rubi Collection From Pande Cameron Rugs

Have you seen the new Rubi Collection from Pande Cameron Rugs? They are inspired by Indian Sari.  Look at how warm they are.  They are pictured in 8 X 12 sizes, priced at $5600 retail.  A range of sizes is available upon request.

Dinero

Nisha

Verde

Filigri

  

Rust

Fig Studio Adds Partner

Jenny Guggenheim owns Fig Studio. She's a Duck. She trained at the University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts and Parsons School of Design in New York City.

Before establishing Fig Studio, Jenny worked with GBD Architects, Inc. where she honed her commercial design skills and gained extensive knowledge related to sustainable building practices and strategies. Her LEED AP credentials and experience working on LEED Certified projects allow her to easily guide her clients toward environmentally responsible design choices.

Her husband Jeff recently completed the seven exams necessary to be a licensed architect after thousands of hours of "targeted work experience." When he was looking for a place to practice, Jenny said,“How about you join Fig?” In their initial newsletter, FIG. Studio Architecture + Interiors | Vol. 1, Jenny writes:

As a kickoff to this exciting new endeavor, Jeff and Jenny did what any sensible designers would do: attend the Salone Del Mobile in Milan, Italy. This annual event is the world’s largest furniture and design tradeshow. Surrounded by a dizzying array of beautiful, cutting edge and sometimes-ridiculous design, they found themselves charged to return to Portland and deliver on their inspiration from abroad.  

But first, they took a quick side trip to Marrakech for some additional inspiration, a little excitement and some relaxation. They bartered in the Souk for Bedouin metalwork and rugs, dodged snake charmers in the square and relaxed on their riad’s rooftop terrace while bathing in the hot Saharan sun.

On the way home they took a quick detour to Barcelona to meet friends and experience Gaudi’s architectural masterworks, The Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila and Parc Guell. Jeff and Jenny ate their weight in tapas at Quimet & Quimet, and enjoyed a day of bike riding on the Barcelona coastline.

Fig Studio is now ensconced in the Paramount Movie Studios building at NW 19th and Lovejoy. The Paramount Movie Studios building is also home of trade rep Heather Gee-Pape of Inform Interiors who carries many of her favorite furniture and lighting lines. In addition, Filling Spaces, owned by Deepali Kalia, moved to this location and installed the paperstone counter from Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery. Kalia carries many fine Indian bedding, fabrics and draperies.

Jenny Guggenheim was featured in the June-July issue of Gray Magazine of Pacific Northwest Design in which she offers "6 Color Tips From Jenny Guggenheim."

We hope Jenny and Jeff enjoy working together as much as Mike and I do.
 

Costco to launch high-end line of furniture

Costco stores will soon offer The Jennifer Adams Home collection consisting of bouclé-upholstered sofas, hardwood headboards and hand-crafted dining room tables, some priced at upwards of $4,000.
The collection, made in California,  will consist of 83 pieces.

Will Costco shoppers punk down $2,000 to $4,000 for furniture and special orders delivered in six weeks?

If you are a high-end retailer, don't go screaming into the night. It may lead consumers to conclude they are tired of slap together, disposable items that are placed on the curb with a sign that says, "FREE!" They might get an education and you will benefit.