Tim&Mary - Folded Glass Baroque

Baroque will obviously continue to fascinate designers and provoke new interesting interpretations. I was impressed by this elegant and light coffee table, named Tim&Mary, by the young french designer  Pierre Lescop.

 

His brief description: Coffee table, Folded glass and painted
Based on the Baroque theme, I used the formal code, and played with. Tim Burton's atmosphere and furniture inspired me to create : "Tim&Mary"

via

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Interior Designers Help Homeowners Discover Styles

If you are not sure why you may need an interior designer or what this service will cost you, go read the article with this title on  NYTimes.com.

"Cost and the fear of paying high fees are the main reasons why consumers shy away from designers, but professionals say not hiring them can also be expensive. ''We save money because we know what works and what doesn't work. Typically a designer doesn't make mistakes. A good designer can work with a reasonable budget and will be able to tell you approximately how much a project is going to cost and can offer you, if needed, low, medium and high end choices''."

It shows also something many clients forget - what are the advantages of hiring a designer to help you with your own home furnishing dilemmas instead of using the free design services offered usually by furniture retailers - "However, typically consumers pay the full retail price and are limited to the merchandise carried by the stores."
Other very useful information you can find in this article:  what  generally the design process involves, tips to working with a designer or decorator, fees and low-cost alternatives. And finally, something I would always like to tell customers:

Web sites are a good way to view portfolios, but remember that the looks displayed often represent the clients', rather than the designer's, style.

 More on the role of the interior designer in one of my earliest posts: Design Versus Decoration
and in this great article by another professional: To be or not to be....or...to hire or not to hire an interior designer.

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Kettal Maia wins Interiorismo Plus Award for Excellence in Outdoor Furniture

Some news that will hardly surprise anyone acquainted with this beautiful collection -  the Kettal Maia collection, designed by Patricia Urquiola, has won the Interiorismo Plus Award for Excellence in Outdoor Furniture. The award was presented at the Gala Dinner held in Barcelona on 4 November. Have a look at the latest additions to the Maia collection - Urquiola's swing chair is my favourite :

source: Interiornews.com

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Talent 2009 at Designhuis

Designhuis Eindhoven presents its second edition of Talent with 175 objects and installations from the 2009 graduates of 30 european design institutes and universities.

A lot of talent and clever design solutions along with playful approach and fantasy. Enjoy some of the projects that I liked very much:

'Selfpowered lamp' (left),

designed by Allard from BoerHogeschool (

photo byLsa Klappe)

consists of 90% recycled material and is powered by muscle strength. By using weights one can see how much energy is needed to keep one lamp burning. One hour of light needs 4000 kilos, 4 kg will give you 6 seconds of light. Allard Boer efforts to make people conscious about there energy consumption. In this prototype he lets construction, technique and design coincide while the archetypal form of a lamp is maintained.

Copper cabinet, Designer David Derksen

Graduated Design Academy Eindhoven 2009

This fragile cabinet is intended to store small things that hold a great personal value. It's entirely made of copper foil with a thickness of 0.1 millimetre. The folds make it sturdy and give it a papery look. You can see that the cabinet needs to be handled gently and with care, the same applies to its content.

Wall lungs, Designer Myrthe Mandemakers

Graduated Sint Joost, 2009

(

photo designws.com)

Designers idea: Plants are the lungs of the house, these 'wall lungs' enhance the air quality and improve the acoustics. They are made from biological degradable felt that's been treated for dust mites. The plants grow on biological cotton that's been finished with a watertight natural rubber.

Bisazza Opens a New Flagship Store in Miami

Bisazza flagship stores are a great source of inspiration for interior designers and clients searching for luxury interior surfacing materials and furniture.
All Bisazza flagship stores are located in the main capitals of design: Antwerp, Barcelona, Berlin, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Milan, Moscow, New York, Paris, Rome and most recently Tokyo – with a Miami location opening in December.
Each Bisazza flagship store explores the amazing beauty of mosaic as a decorative mediumand suggests ideas for its way of application. The new flagship store in Miami is its fourth showroom in the United States.
It is located in the Design District area inside an impressive building and occupies a space of 400 square meters. The airy and luminous environments are perfectly fit for displaying the Bisazza Mosaic Collection and Bisazza Home, an assortment of furniture and decorative accessories signed by leading designers such as: Andrée Putman, Jaime Hayon, Marcel Wanders, Patricia Urquiola.




(via PRWEB)

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2010 Design & Color Trends forecasts

As my regular visitors already know, Trendoffice is the blog where they can always find the latest and most professional information on trends in interior and furniture design - from all the world.  Here is the next one:

BEHR announced 2010 Design & Color Trends:

"Responding to a world bursting with change, innovation and diversity, four distinctive trends emerge: Soft Structure – the softer side of modern:

Taking their cues from the fashion world, neutrals become cool and complex. This compelling palette goes beyond the boundaries of conventional gray and taupe. Expanded hues of mushroom, stone and white are enhanced even more with subtle undertones of blue and lavender.

Artisan Voyage – a vibrant cultural exploration:

Travel ignites our imagination and helps us form ideas for creative expression. The details we remember from our sojourns away can be profound or subtle. Each memory recalls a different impression captured in the moment: the delicate taste of tea, the raucous sound of city traffic, the luxurious feel of fine silk on our skin, the pungent scent of spices, the grand view of cityscapes.

Dark Glamour – a glamorous take on industrial style:

Dark hues set a mood of Gothic intrigue. Vivid, jewel-toned accents enliven the space, preventing a somber air. Antique white, smudged black and smoky gray combine with gemstone garnet and jade to create rich, alluring palettes.

(Although I understand that this style can be regarded as suitable for a time of recession, in my opinion it will not help to overcome the resulting depression, and, having in mind that our way of living depends so much on everything that sussounds us, I would hardly recommend it to my customers. Glamour - yes, but glamour connected with the luxury of the natural materials, good quality and authenticity. )

and Farm House Craft – a fusion of urban and rural.

Capturing the essence of growth and renewal is a palette of earthbound colors. Deep succulent greens found in verdant gardens mix with the lush, vivid hues of springtime fields. Accompanying them is a deep brown reminiscent of turned earth. This organic pairing of colors brings forth a stress-free atmosphere of living.
A provincial assortment of furnishings intersects with modern sensibility. Appliances are high-tech stainless steel. Cabinets are polished, blonde maple, while hardwood floors are constructed from reclaimed timbers. Decorative accessories are found in patina copper and pewter grays. Hand-woven baskets are filled with just-picked seasonal fruits and vegetables. Pots of herbs bathing in the sunlight are ready to be added to the next meal ..."
  My expectations are that this is the style that will get the most popularity in the coming year.

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The Newest Trend in Kitchen Appliances

Warming and cooling drawers are not that new, but may be you have still not discovered how comfortable they are: warming drawers keep counters uncluttered by providing an area to store prepared food that is not ready to be served, while cooling drawers (or undercounter refrigerators) act as another refrigerator, creating extra room in your standing fridge. Another useful feature: cooling drawers can also be placed near the food preparation area, giving you easier access to condiments and other refrigerated ingredients.
The newest trend in appliance drawers is in-drawer microwaves.
Top picture - Dacor Microwave In-a-Drawer.

They can be placed in islands, under countertops and underneath cooktops or wall ovens. In addition to being very comfortable they obviously  are also less obtrusive, as they don’t interrupt the design of wall cabinetry.

via

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Rough Luxe Design Ideas

Get stylish with organic ring pattern -this beautiful
Set of 6 Eucalyptus Drink Coasters

can be your way to be in step with the latest trend in interior design - rough luxe.

"Now, it's hitting our homes.." Channel 4 announces. How to get it? Here is their advice:

"Distress Your Furniture -You can buy furniture ready distressed, or buy old pieces in junk shops and distress furniture yourself easily (by painting, allowing to dry, then rubbing back with sandpaper). "

 

"You needn't go the whole way with this look - just one large distressed item in a room, such as old shutters or a piece of furniture, will give a hint of rough luxe style to a room." - or a floor, I would add, as in the image below (from Remodelista Daily)

 




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Kitchen Storage Ideas

Make the most of your kitchen with suitable storage accessories and clever solutions:
Easy Stack Bottle Organizer by Vacu VinHafele 568.60.710 - Ironfix Built-In Ironing Board



Axis Waste Basket for Over Cabinet by InterDesign®

Deluxe Chrome Under Cabinet Stemware Rack

Undercabinet 6 Bottle Wine Rack & Stemware Holder- Chrome by Spectrum®

Triple Stemware Holder - Mounts Under Cabinet

6 Bottle Pewter Bouquet Wine Rack by Oenophilia




Or, if you prefer the warmth of wood, here is a simple idea that you can probably implement yourself:
Wooden Wine Glass Holder - Undercabinet

Wallpaper Magazine - Design-Art is not a 'done' trend

"Murmurings of design art being a 'done' trend, if Superdesign is anything to go by, are definitely premature." announced Wallpaper.com in their Frieze week report

Have a look at some of the best examples they show:
Reverb chair by Brodie Neill for the Apartment at Superdesign.jpg

Winner of the 'Best Product' award, the Cristallo Sommerso vases by Yoichi Ohira.jpg
Demakersvan's Cinderella table in marble

Formations low table by Joseph Walsh

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