Home & Garden Blog » Designer Spotlight

Earlier this week I received a gift from my friend Karla because she knows how much I love candles! I am quite particular about my candle selection, I use them all around the house. I do not like the ones that emit aggressive scents nor do I like the ones that do not burn clean and leave a gooey mess at the bottom of the jar. Fellow candle lovers know this is a sign of poor quality, lord only knows what you have just burned and exposed your body and house too! Once you start using quality candles, you never look back…

Well she discovered this awesome brand called Black & Light Candles and sent me a couple:

Here they are in all their glory, gracing my lovely bed stand. First things first, I’m all about packaging. I don’t care who you are, you take the same quality item, wrap one lovingly in tissue paper and an artful box and take the other and wrap it in butcher paper, well I’m reaching for the pretty one. Call me fickle, packaging is a girls best friend!

Good packaging tells me this merchant cares about quality, customer satisfaction and style! That said, look at the classy packaging that Black & Light candles come in…

The candles arrived in these beautiful boxes, that are completely re-usable! Mine are currently housing my vast collection of costume jewelry. Plus they didn’t bombard it with sticky logos and banners that don’t peel off (I hate that..) and on the inside of the boxes is a quote from the lovely Anne Frank:

Makes you want to seize the day and all that huh?

Here’s why these candles rock:

• Once lit, the candle literally glowed! Hard to describe but awesome. The entire pillar emanated a lovely glow from tip to tail. Normally candles only emit a light from the top, near the flame, I don’t know how they constructed these candles but they GLOW! Super cool.
• Completely Scent FREE! Burns clean, pure and scentless! No headaches, no cheesy pineapples or fruit cornucopia scents drifting through your bathroom and hallways.
• They are beautiful, I can see them highlighting a variety of home decor settings. Plus, they have a wide selection of styles and patterns to choose from, so have at it.

Honestly, I can’t stop gushing about them! Don’t take my word for it, see for yourself…you’ll thank me, I know it!

To shop or browse the Black & Light Candle Company, Click here!

This glass heating panel from Thermoglance takes us away from traditional metal radiators that are clunky and let’s face it, does not necessarily add to the aesthetic of a room!

Thermoglance radiators can be controlled by a chronothermostat which detects the room temperature and adjusts the heat accordingly. The glass heating panel is so easy to install, the floor or wall-mounted heating panels simply need an electric power socket. Space-saving, stunning and silent, glass heating panels are the way of the future.

See how elegant and unassuming the glass heating panels are in real life situations:

I like it! Nothing wrong with traditional metal radiators, but the way I see it life is all about having options. 

To read more or shop for Thermoglance Glass Panel Heaters, click here. 

Ever wanted to crawl into your television set and witness what it must have been like to live in Bedrock a la’ the Flintstones? Well now you can get a glimpse with these awesome surrealistic soft rock pillows from Livingstones!

There is something both primitive and very modern about the design by Stephanie Marin, with Smarin Design. The opening image looks fun, yet incredibly dangerous. Ha, I guess that is the appeal! Instinctively our base instincts tell us that one would be mad to jump head long into a cluster of boulders. Yet somewhere deep in our guts, knowing that these are surrealistic rock pillows makes me want to drop what I am doing and join them!

In her own words, Stephanie describes her collection of indoor and outdoor stone furniture;

“The project revolves around our relationship to nature, to our need to find and bring elements Nature into our interior atmosphere. Useful and beautiful metaphor objects for a new habitat. The interior space becomes an imaginary landscape, an intimate territory of our invisible travel.”

Stephanie Marin - Smarin Design

She strikes me as a very creative and innovative lady. I would love to meet her, though we might have a communication barrier to overcome as I believe she speaks French. C’est la vie! Good design is universal…

Gaze upon a portion of her collection in the following images:

Care for a Boulder Nap?

Nothing like jumping from stone to stone…

Mmmm… I wish I was there!

To visit the official site and learn more about Stephanie Marin and her Livingstones Rock Collection at Smarin Design , click here.  

It is my humble opinion that tiles are under appreciated, and if one would only take the time out to do some research, one would find that tiles and wall decor in general can completely transform a room from blah! to breathtaking!

A prime example of what I mean are the gorgeous contemporary tiles from Monocibec. The Cult Tiles offer a pleasingly retro aspect, due to their striking patterns and coordinating color schemes, yet are obviously very clean and modern. Designed to accent modern interiors, the contemporary Cult Tiles have a palette of hues of tranquil greens, oranges, browns and black which complement and accentuate the abstract look. The repeating circular design (pictured) adds an air of clean oriental simplicity, whereas the tiles featuring the pattern of wavy lines encourage a feeling of relaxation and warmth. The textured lines of the tiles add a tactile and remarkable feature. The tiles are suitable for urban living, and with their focus on the minimalist, they are appropriate for those with an eye for decorating trends.

These tiles can be featured as wall decor or tiles for your floor. It is simple, but far from ordinary! Which is perfect.

To learn more about the Monocibec Cult Tiles, click here.

To shop for bargain Wall Decor, click here.

To shop for discount Tile & Flooring, click here.  

The waterfall was created by a group of men for a public display in the heart of Tokyo in 2006. The architecture was designed by Tadao Ando and the “waterfall” optical glass bar was designed by Tokujin Yoshioka and installation was performed by Olafur Eliasson. Together, this group of men created what appears to be a bar made from water. Using an optical glass block, the same material used in larger observatory telescopes, is crafted using unique techniques that creates the illusion of a “waterfall” while the light reflects off of the glass.

I think the design for this bar is tranquil, modern, unique and brilliant! Personally I have always had a pension for waterfalls and all things “water” like, for example all those miniature Zen fountains they sell nowadays or indoor or garden fountains as decor, I like all those. Keep in mind, I’m Asian so maybe I am genetically predisposed, but I find the sound of trickling water very soothing and relaxing.

Plus we have this ancient (ok maybe not ancient, but old) water fountain in the office that we gave to our bosses as a gift when we first started the business, and it is suppose to symbolize our success and future wealth! (again with the Asian superstitions..ha!) But it holds a place in my heart and I believe the ol’ gal has some magic in her because we are doing great. So my advice to you is, go and get yourself some form of flowing water decor, it can only bring you good luck and much success!

Happy Holidays!

Shop for your lucky water fountain, click here.

Designer of the Water Bar: Tokujin Yoshioka

Ps. This is what our fountain looks like….just FYI. In case you are superstitious and want to try your luck with the same model! I make no guarantees that it will be as lucky for you as it was for us!

YouTube - Watch Todd Oldham Salutes George Nakashima

On a quiet hillside compound near New Hope Pennsylvania, George Nakashima, his family, and fellow woodworkers created exquisite furniture from richly grained hardwoods. Tables, desks, chairs, and cabinets from the simple workshop grace the homes, mansions, and executive boardrooms of people who prize such excellence.

Check out the short homage Todd Oldam gives to George Nakashima. Shows great examples of his work.

George Nakashima - “A tree is our most intimate contact with nature.”

I am an Angeleno to the core, born and bred! I still remember the first time I saw the LAX Theme Building, the first thing that popped into my head was the cartoon The Jetsons, surely they lived there I concluded as a child! I could not wait to beam up there and take Astro for a stroll.

However the LAX Theme Building, designed to resemble a landing spaceship and completed in 1961, was actually not inspired by The Jetsons, as many people believe. It was the other way around: The Hanna-Barbera cartoonists, who brought the show to the world in the 1962-63 season credit the building for fueling their imagination.

Designed primarily by Paul R. Williams (who also contributed to the Beverly Hills Hotel), the LAX Theme Building was to be the crowning touch on a new, completely futuristic airport.

It was built when L.A. was still new and hope for the future abounded. Everyone thought the future would be just like “The Jetsons”. I admit it, I imagined we would be driving flying cars and eating food pellets that blew up into full blown turkeys by now too.

Some of my East Coast friends argue that the building personifies everything that is wrong with Los Angeles: ephemeral, not serious, and geared to the movies. But I LOVE it as a piece of iconic architecture and an original Cali landmark. Personally, it reminds me of a time when Los Angeles (and myself) was brimming with hope and youth!

Our world is over technologized and we tend to stop enjoying the simple things in life. Ample evidence can be found in our kitchens, where blenders and food processors clutter our counter tops. Now instead of getting out a knife and chopping up fruits and vegetables, we now have 10lbs food processor that we still need to drop chopped food into, strike anyone else as redundant?

Basic Knives reinterprets one of our most basic kitchen tools, the knife. The set of knives makes other kitchen tools redundant by incorporating different (cutting)-actions within the un-used surfaces of the blades.

This design concept is simple and efficient, no fancy buttons, no bells and whistles, just simple logic in finding avant-garde ways to utilize common cutlery.

Designer: Caroline Noordijk

Source: Yanko Designs

I wanted to take a moment and highlight one of my personal heroes and favorite designers. These segments are what I dub “dream a little dream posts” because in my dream world I would be able to purchase his designs on a whim. A girl’s gotta dream right?

Well the photo above is of the man himself, Vladimir Kagan. A brief synopsis of who he is and what he has accomplished is best summed up by a clip from his autobiography:

Vladimir Kagan is one of today’s most enduring designers of modern furniture with a career that has spanned over fifty-five years. He started designing in 1947 and by the early Fifties, his innovative sculptured furniture created a new look in American furniture. Today, his sparkling creations are on the cutting edge of the 21st century. His designs are spearheading creative designs for hotels, furniture, textiles and home furnishings. The European Magazine says: “Vladimir Kagan is one of the most important furniture designers of the 20th century. Furniture designed by him in the forties, fifties and sixties have become icons of Modernity and an obligatory reference to every designer. He is the creative grandfather of a whole new generation of designers.” - Biographical Notes 2004

Here are some examples of his beautiful work:

Fauteuil Broadway par Vladimir Kagan

Villain Chair by Vladimir Kagan

Fauteuil et pouf Wing de Vladimir Kagan

Canapé Welcome par Vladimir Kagan

Long Island by Vladimir Kagan

I am speechless. I will own a Kagan in my lifetime, I swear it on whatever God you pray too. It will be mine, oh yes… it will be mine!

In Kagan We Trust.

Source of pictures is from JGS Decorations Mod’eles, check them out here.

Their showroom is fabulousity, check it out JGS Decorations Showroom.

What red blooded American gal hasn’t seen “Sleepless in Seattle”? Well it has been on rotation on the local movie channels lately and I happen to catch the tail end of it yesterday. I always thought it was really sweet that Jonah (the son) wanted a lady who could peel an apple in one long strand like his deceased mother use too. And as fate would have it, Annie (Meg Ryan) had such a skill.

Well I decided to go to my kitchen and give it a whirl, heck I wouldn’t mind landing me a Tom Hanks! Turns out maintaining the single strand of apple peel without scalping your thumb is harder than it looks. The whole incident inspired me to search for a tool that would help me harness my apple slicing skills …

My top pick is from the MoMA store. Position this ingenious disc-shaped slicer on any apple and rotate to release perfect slices for snacking or cooking. Also, if you do not need the whole apple at once, you can leave the disc slicer pressed against the fruit and it will not turn brown or dry out! It’s made of stainless steel and is dishwasher safe.

Sold for - $38.00

MoMa Members pay - $34.20

My second choice is the Apple Corer and Slicer from CHEFS Catalog. Core and slice apples in one fast and easy motion. The diameter of this slicer is 3.5 inches so it can handle large apples as well, plus the extra large handles gives you more leverage. Sadly it does not provide the whole one long apple strand effect I was seeking, but on the bright side it retails for $14.99.

Still does the trick just maybe not as cool, and you may not snag Tom Hanks with the second choice.

To see more apple slicers, click here.

To visit the MoMA store, click here.

To visit the CHEFS Catalog, click here.