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    Posts Found in Designer Spotlight

    Maryalice Huggins: The New and the Old

    Posted November 16, 2009 by colleen
    Found in: Design Concept, Decorating, Designer Spotlight

    “For Maryalice Huggins, old things — particularly fine antiques — are living, breathing beings. Some radiate irresistible allure. Auctions might as well be singles bars.”- NYTimes.com Home and Garden feature article, 11/13

    Maryalice Huggins, besides having a beautiful name, loves the artisanal and sumptuous quality of fine antiques and priceless heirlooms. And the heirlooms don’t just have to come from your family! Maryalice loves to mix and match from a variety of contemporary and historical artifacts and time periods, and we can do a lot to learn from her. Thank you, NYTimes.com, for bringing once again a refreshing mix of the old and the new to home and garden styling!

    What if you want to recreate the aesthetic of Maryalice Huggin’s home? I suggest we start with a base layer of neutral, contemporary objects. Some standard white walls and solid colored rugs, some geometric sofas and glossy tables. From there, let’s look at some antique, rusted, inspired pieces to give your home a kick. Good objects to look for are mirrors, lamps, and table sculptures. Let’s take a look:

    First, the base contemporary layer:

    Zuo 900231 Fortress Sofa White: $1,322.00

    And the antique lovely to set it off just right:

    Uttermost 12525 Hesper Wall Art w/Etched, Antique Mirrors and Pewter Finish: $144.00

    pewter mirror

    Find more contemporary style home decor at Smarter.com.

    Celebrity Spotlight: Building with Trees

    Posted November 6, 2009 by colleen
    Found in: Design Concept, Furniture, Decorating, Designer Spotlight

    NYTimes.com article on the Home & Garden section today talked about revolutionary architect Roald Gundersen, who builds structures, furniture, and whole houses with entire branches and trunks of trees. He bends and manipulates the trees to make beautiful organic structures that liven up any home and give it an earthy and fresh quality. Gundersen likes to build with trees because they represent the outdoors and nature, where he would spend all of his time if he could. Instead of living outdoors though, why not bring the trees indoors? And not in a potted planter or desktop tree simulation. Here are some beautiful pieces for you to add to your collection that are built with wood and make your home fresh and lively:

    roald image

    Canopy Swing Stand: On sale from $800 to $590, this beautifully built and organically curved structure will make you feel alive!

    canopy swing

    3400 Series Wood Chair: $114.99 Brings you back to memories of the old school house with this lovely, basic wood chair.

    wood chair

    Shop for discount wooden furniture at Smarter.com.

    Recommendations from That 70’s Show Interior Designer

    Posted October 30, 2009 by colleen
    Found in: Artwork, Design Concept, Furniture, Designer Spotlight

    Jason Miller, the interior designer featured on the NYTimes.com this week, talks about the beauty and simplicity of throwback 70’s style. He recommends three things: Polyester, Pop Art, and Plastic. Think Andy Warhol’s factory meets Hippie global world views. What do you do with all this throwback? A classic part of the 70’s that Miller doesn’t want to recreate is the colors–according to him, the cheap fabrics, carpets and furniture of the 1970’s made for flimsy fabric and flukey, dry colors. He recommends springing a few extra bucks and getting some dark chocolate browns and nicely hued colors instead. I like where he’s taking the modern twist.

    So what do you do to recreate the 70’s charm? Take a look at these options I found on Smarter.com. Hope it helps! With Halloween coming up this weekend, why not put your whole house in costume?

    Retro Modern Chair: $290.99
    chair
    Momeni Shag Comfort Rug from Walmart.com: $59.00-819.00

    rug

    Shop for more vintage style furniture and vintage style rugs.

    Celebrity Spotlight: Home Staging

    Posted October 23, 2009 by colleen
    Found in: Design Concept, Designer Spotlight

    Home Stager Meridith Baer knows a thing or two about telling a story through household objects. Home staging is a fad technique employed by realtors and homeowners who want to have an edge on a tough housing market. Basically you hire a “home stager” to design a lifestyle that will entice would-be buyers into focusing on the “lifestyle” designed for this home, not just the bare bones and wood. It used to be houses could be sold with the floor barley tiled, but now times and tough and people want to get the complete package when they’re buying a home. Home staging has become the best way to stand out in a tough market–but of course, it comes at a hefty price.

    Meridith Baer was featured in a NYTimes.com article in the home & garden section because she knows how to be selective in her designs without shirking her responsibilities to sell the lifestyle of a home.

    What does Meridith Baer recommend? Think about the story of the person who you want to buy this house. Is it a young family? A heiress? An older couple who just wants a snug home that can fit a Christmas tree in the door for the grandkids?

    She also is a big fan of strong, clean white lines and stone decorative objects to make the home feel filled, but not filled with miscellaneous objects.

    Recommendations for how to make your home a fairytale:

    LC White Leather Sofa: $740.99

    Chic and elegant, this is the perfect base layer for a clean, fashionable home.

    Dale Tiffany Marble Vase: $162.00

    vase

    Stunning piece that captures the light and brightens a room. Imagine it in a dining room or on top of the fireplace–gorgeous!

    Shop for affordable sofas and discount vases at Smarter.com.

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    Celebrity Spotlight: Paul Taylor + Home Design

    Posted October 16, 2009 by colleen
    Found in: Lamps & Lighting, Design Concept, Designer Spotlight

    The NYTimes multimedia slideshow this week gets in touch with Paul Taylor, the founder of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, to discuss home decor and style tips at his house in Long Island. For Paul Taylor, design is all about the idea of the home space, heritage and family heirlooms. Nothing is less “homey” than all store-bought materials, but of course you can’t live solely with inherited furniture. Therefore, modernization is all about striking a balance between the rustic, traditional decor and design and modern necessities.

    Let’s take a look at the Paul Taylor shingle-style home decor:

    The Staircase: (what we can take from this: Dark wood, dark green accents, picture frames and bright airy windows without a lot of grid)

    The Homemaker Image: (what we can take from this: Paul Taylor is an eccentric guy that fits the bill for this house. He likes worn wood and stone fireplaces, benches to sit on and beaded antique lamps. Green, again, is a very important accent color)

    How you can recreate your own look:

    Rustic Adirondack Log Pole Bench: $59.99

    bench

    Walnut Bench with Storage: $121.05 (marked down from $225.00!)
    walnut bench
    Jubilee Green Lamp: $404.80 (you save 12%)

    Grant K Gibson and California Dreaming

    Posted October 5, 2009 by colleen
    Found in: Design Concept, Decorating, Designer Spotlight

    New York Times online home and garden section features interior designer Grant K. Gibson this week in their On Location article. Gibson, a San Francisco inhabitant with his own design firm titled, creatively, Grant K. Gibson Interior Design, loves an element of luxury with a taste for thrifty design. He often shops at online stores such as 1stdibs.com to get the best luxury antiques from around the world. 1stdibs.com is designed for the elite, as you even have to subscribe to the website just to see the prices on the beautiful furniture, lighting, and decorative designs.

    What to take away from Grant K. Gibson: Luxury, antiques, brass, cool white and gold lighting and light fixtures, and sumptuous carpets and walls. Here’s how to get a start on luxury:

    Glass Candle Sleeve: $12.00-$16.00

    candle sleeve

    Buffalo China Dinnerware Set: $30.00-$60.00
    plates

    Celebrity Spotlight: Emotional Architecture

    Posted August 28, 2009 by colleen
    Found in: Design Concept, Home Improvement, Designer Spotlight

    Robert D. Henry, a New York-based architect, was interviewed by the NYTimes for an article in the home and garden section of NYTimes.com for his expertise in what he calls “Emotional Architecture”. Henry specializes mostly in designing spas, because “water and fire are so primal”, said by Henry, “they have such a calming effect.”

    Henry suggests thinking about the five senses when you are designing a home, so that it is emotionally comfortable and stimulating. He suggests lavender candles for smell and fireplaces for warm and touch, and a little loose tea with necessary equipment for a soothing taste.

    Top picks by Robert Henry to make all your soothing dreams come true:

    Lavender Candle set from Sabbonnyc.com: $18.00
    lavender candle
    Tea Stick Infuser from Momastore.org: $24.00
    tea infuser

    Here are some products from Smarter.com that compliment some of Mr. Henry’s suggestions!

    Teapot from Wasserstrom.com: $39.90

    Waterfall Showerhead in Chrome: $119.02
    waterfall showerhead

    Shop for more home decor at Smarter.com.

    Shopping with India Hicks

    Posted August 21, 2009 by colleen
    Found in: Bedding, Design Concept, Designer Spotlight

    Today’s Nytimes.com home and garden site showcases a shopping spree with India Hicks, the designer of a series of home and body products for Crabtree & Evelyn. While I am not a huge fan of the chalky, floral usual wares of Crabtree & Evelyn, India Hick’s inspiration comes from more tropical towns and products. Hicks picks out products with an organic feel and earthy touch, but bright colors and tropical designs. With such products as a pufferfish-etched dinner platter and a metal chandelier from Anthropologie, India has a style unto herself that we can only try to emulate.

    Here’s how!

    By using Smarter.com’s comparison shopping engine, I was able to find similar products to India Hick’s designs that are more affordable! Check out some of them here:

    Muse Metal Chandelier: $565.00
    metal chandelier
    Michael Kors Bali Queen Comforter: $299.99 (the price has been nearly cut in half!)

    Young America by Stanley Surfer’s Chase Cloakroom Bookcase in Natural Cherry: $799.00

    red drawers

    Celebrity Spotlight: Right in Your Own Backyard

    Posted August 14, 2009 by colleen
    Found in: Tips & Advice, Trend Alert, Designer Spotlight

    House tours welcome everyone to covet their neighbor’s upper middle class sprawling estate. It’s a groveling yet necessary part of society, and springing up at the end of summer is a whole host of House Openings in the New England and East Coast area for you to enjoy. Let’s take a look at some of the top up and coming designs in the east coast, and see what we can glean as the best home decorating tips for the 2009-2010 season!

    My favorite place for house touring: Cape May, New Jersey!

    Offered by the Cape May Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts , the tour boasts numerous renovated Victorians and modern functionality to broaden your mind and options of house decorating for your own home! This year’s Designer Show House is the newly renovated Carpenter Cottage on 511 Franklin Street. Open until January 3, 2010, this is a showcase you don’t want to miss, with package deals on top restaurants and luncheons available through the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts website.

    Once the home of lighthouse keepers, the Carpenter Cottage has been renovated with decor and household designs to look fresh, summery and clean, with simple lines and designs.

    carpenter cottage

    Tips and tricks to make your house into a Cottage oasis:

    1. White accents, but not a White main course. Basically to make everything fresh, you want to pick a primary color ( a nice blue or red) and then accent it with tons of white. White chandeliers, white candlesticks, white curtains, white bed skirt, white white white. Don’t try to compliment a color with another color, even a more subdued one. Make it fresh and classic.

    2. Modernize the bathroom! Make sure the appliances are nice and curious. You want clean lines and simplicity, but also some modern twists: maybe an interesting pewter faucet? A column-styled stand-alone sink? An antique mirror? Give it class.

    3. Artwork on the wall is an absolute must. But don’t go for modernist paintings or your children’s artwork (though that is always a nice family touch). Think about rustic farm images or weather-beaten wood frames. You want the house to look timeless, but also aged. Think about how you can recreate that with art. The potential is limitless!

    Low-Maintenance Living

    Posted August 7, 2009 by colleen
    Found in: Furniture, Designer Spotlight

    Manhattan designers Russell Groves and Neal Beckstedt have outdone themselves again–their collaborative designs for an industrialist East Hampton, NY house grace the cover of the NYTimes Home and Garden website page today, and for good reason. What makes a house low-maintenance?

    The designs, for the exterior, are clean, compact, and a little bit austere. With metal paneling, the house looks well-insulated, but also a bit too modernist and edgy to fit in the standard suburban landscape. It works for the Hamptons, of course, because anything works in the Hamptons if you have the money for it.

    For the interior, you want hardwood floors, tall ceilings and white walls for the canvas. The designs should be sleek and un-ornamented. Think basic wood and metal designs with straight lines, all-white sofas and maybe a leather back chair with wood legs, some sparks of color here and there but mostly in the range of white, dark brown and black with metal accents in the shape of lamps and table tops.

    The perfect accents for a modernist house: Modernist paintings and photographs, and tall white candles on glass candlesticks. Both bring a different light and energy to the house, which washes over the more basic and plain sofas, walls and colors described above.

    How do you transform your home into a Modernist goddess? Here are some thoughts and suggestions:

    Candice Olson “Delray” Floor Lamp - 7461FL: $358.00

    candice floorlamp

    Bubble Couch Chair by Kartell: $700.40
    bubble couch

    Clear/Silver Pillar Glass Candleholder
    : $25.08

    glass candleholder