Archive for September, 2008
The radiator has always been more of a hindrance to the look of a room than a complement. Not to mention the heating devices just plain get in the way of a great design plan: I’ve worked with apartments where it was impossible to position a sofa or bed around them.
Well, leave it to the Italians to turn a radiator into a piece of art: Claudio Colucci turned up the heat on his imagination and came up with the Puzzle Radiator for Runtal.
Made of metal plates, which are positioned horizontally across steel tubes that conduct heat, the Puzzle Radiator comes in an assortment of color plate/steel tube configurations; one style looks like a xylophone-inspired color chart, while another looks like a piece of abstract expressionist-inspired color field art. The covers on the steel plates can be changed to accommodate different hues — bright pink, grey, black, eggshell, etc. – so don’t worry about committing to one particular color configuration. The radiator’s height ranges from 660 to 1970mm in height and from 500 to 770mm in width.
For more information visit Trendir.com, unless you can read Italian; in that case check out the manufacturer’s website, Runtalitalia.it.
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Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 30 September, 2008
John Clarke’s collection of stark, black and white prints available for purchase on etsy.com, benefit from pop masters that came before him. Taking pop cues from Lichentstein’s Drowning Girl and anything by Wharhol, Clarke goes a step further creating pieces that are striking in their use of printed media and strikingly touching in their honest emotional connectedness with the viewer. The collection is unified without becoming redundant, and any of Clarke’s pieces would be a choice items for any collector or erstwhile designer looking for that personalized unique touch. For a fuller look at his collection, check it out here: Joan Clarke
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Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 29 September, 2008
Decorative wall art has come a long way, baby. A very cool option these days comes from a French outfit with the very un-French name, HomeStickHome. The company specializes in wall stickers. I know. I know … you’re thinking, “Stickers? The adhesive things that I used to collect as an 8-year-old and stick on my school books?”
Well, HomeStickHome creates the most sophisticated stickers you will find anywhere, my friend. To put in the words of the company, the stickers provide “ornamental zen for inside.” There are sticker designs for kitchens, kids’ rooms, edgy living rooms that range from graffiti-inspired graphics to bold, mod-style shapes to Eastern-influenced motifs; this list goes on…. They are available in a variety of monochromatic colors and arrive on a board with a variety of sizes to choose from (20×20 cm to 15×15 cm to 10×10 cm).
The company tasks a different guest designer each year with creating a new collection. Emmanuelle Valin’s designs this year are romantic, eccentric, and quite cool. They appear as woodcut-like silhouettes of Art Nouveau-esque styled anemone, exotic leaves, palm trees, Pompon flowers, dahlias and roses, and more. My favorite is the “Coquelicot,” which features twiggy wild flowers, abstractly rendered and positioned askance as though caught in an invisible wind. It would look divine on the wall in a dining room, or behind a dining table.
Though the sticker designs are sophisticated, applying them to the wall is not: it’s a simple paper transfer process. Visit HomeSickHome.com for more information; though be sure to click the translate button parce que the site is in French.
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Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 27 September, 2008
The ceramic tiles and glassware in Tifa’s décor collection immediately captures the imagination. The tiles are a striking mixture of times and places. One can look at the ornate interwoven pattern and jewel tones on one tile and be sent to Bombay, and then turn around and take in the delicate pink and rose bouquets and find oneself in the Victorian age. What makes them similar is their disregard for the conventional and dedication to exquisite detail in design. Ironically, this very fact is what makes them so unique as a collection.
Their glass shares the same sense of wonder and whimsy. Some stand alone with brilliant patterns influenced by Mondrian and the like. Others contain more of a narrative, sure to capture the imagination and inspire the heart.
Designer Yafit Riklin hand designs each piece, and her love the work is an innate part of this delicate collection. Be sure to check out the website at www.tifa-arts.com
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Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 26 September, 2008
For most of us the words “stackable chair” conjure up images of institutional meeting places – conference rooms, high-school cafeterias, banquet halls. Which is to say, not such pretty places. Though, these easy-to-pile-up and store chairs are practical. Dare I declare that we could all use a stack of seats that can be easily stored and put away until the days when we have extra dinner guests, company in town, or a party? Yet, no one wants a set of institutional-looking chairs to throw off an artfully designed dining room, especially for a party where the best china and crystal is set.
Feel More Human has created a stackable chair to do just what their name implies.
The Palau 303 Chair’s streamlined design features a seat that transitions into the legs naturally, thus, avoiding that whole “clunky” unsightly problem that most stackable chairs have. Yes, this design is modern, clean, and dignified. It’s workable in any room and with any kind of décor, as the seat is covered in a wool/viscose blend available in a range of neutral colors (grey, taupe, chocolate, goldenrod) and the legs are made of stainless steel. My favorite seat covering is the Princess print, a delicate red and off-white floral pattern, which adds an extra dose of elegance. The chair retails for about $600.
For more information, visit FeelMoreHuman.com.
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Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 25 September, 2008
It’s not always science or technology that we have to thank for cool, inventive new design concepts. Sometimes it’s old-fashioned thinking outside the box, or in this case, thinking inside the lampshade. Dutch designer Philip Bro Ludvigsen thought of this one: creating thin foil patterns to insert in lamp shades, designs that can be easily changed, whenever, to alter the feel and appearance of a room within minutes. The shades are available as hanging pendant fixtures or floor lamps in acrylic or glass. The real excitement comes with the foil inserts, which range from elegant flowery designs to mod motifs to animal patterns.
One of our favorite foils is the Warhol-esque hot-pink flower scheme. But, hey, we could change our mind about that … and then change the look of the lamp in a matter of minutes by swapping out the foil pattern. Pretty cool, eh? More information on prices, patterns, and styles, and instructions on how to insert the foils can be found at www.LeKlint.com.
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Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 24 September, 2008
Sometimes it’s the little things that pull the room together. Even a pillow or two can do it, especially if they’re from Hable Construction, one of our favorite West Village boutiques. The place is stuffed with pillows, not the oversized, over-the-top, dramatic variety that can drown a sofa, rather the cute-as-a-button variety that subtly brighten up and tie together a living room ensemble. They come in bold and positive Pop-inspired patterns in neutral and primary-colored hues, and in a variety of materials such as wool felt appliqué, embroidered linen, hand-printed cotton, and woven jacquard.
We are particularly keen on the new line of wheat linen pillows. The prints all synch and can be mixed and matched. The cayenne paisley pattern, with large orange, red and green pixilated paisley shapes, in the 14” x 18” size is our favorite choice for fall. Pillows range from $65 to $150; for those who don’t live in NY, the pillows can be purchased online at HableConstruction.com.
Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 23 September, 2008
From the man who made monkeys cool again, Paul Frank’s Small Paul collection of furniture and children’s toys for 10grain, provides all sorts of options for your little monkey. From the recreational with his rockin’ roller of an indoor seesaw to the practical, Frank mixes clean lines with funky fun.
I couldn’t help but fall for his Pop Stick chair. Inspired by popsicles sticks, the chair looks cute enough to eat. For more of the Small Paul collection, be sure to check out www.10Grain.com
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Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 22 September, 2008
And the list continues…
Design to Grace caught out attention with their selections of outdoor art. Their extensive collection of hanging wall panels capture the majesty of the outdoors, with patterns as whimsical as butterflies or something with the geometrical cache of a palm leaf.
We turned to I.C.E. out of the Netherlands for the best patterns, and quality rugs and that’s exactly what we found. I.C.E. rugs are produced by experienced craftsman the world over. What’s most unqiue about I.C.E. is their respect for the origin of the hand knotted carpet, creating a true spirit collaboration and a fine product, the labor of love. That explains why they are in demand worldwide. They have exlusive designers contacts, so you’ll find patterns here that you find with other purveyors.
From carpeting we move on to what lies beneath it. Refin Ceramics has long been a player in the flooring game. So leave it to them to take on the challenge of going green and succeeding with flourish. Click here to see the stunning samples that make up their Eco-Leader collection.
At the end of a brisk autumn day, soak your cares away in this Luxury Oval Free Standing Stone Bath by Castello Fuse art with luxury and you have the rounded edges and well colored stone of a Castello bath.
With such a great show and so much happening, it’s hard to narrow down our favorites, but we hope you find some of these options as interesting as we did.
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Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 19 September, 2008
You’ve just moved into your new apartment. The neighborhood is great, the people in your building are kind, you’re only ten minutes away from work, things couldn’t be more ideal. There’s just one thing. The place is, well, too be kind – petite. You can murmur to your friends things like “Well, space being at such a premium…” and “with the way the market’s going…” but small is small is small.
But appearances can be deceiving, can’t they? And surely your new small living space, with a few tricks and savvy purchases, can be a chic haven unparalleled by some manse in Newport with 18 bathrooms.
To start – switch your mindset. In a larger space, this may mean investing in a piece of artwork that truly speaks to your aesthetic as well as a table to focus the eye upon entering the room. In a smaller space, your table and your art can be one in the same, accomplishing the very thing two pieces would accomplish. Take the Mild table by Contraforma The dark finish of the wood combines with architectural 90 degree angles to enhance your space aesthetically and to provide you with more space should you decide you need it.
Continuing with that change in mindset, it should begin to be easier to see your space in a whole different way. Gone are the days when foldable beds were uncomfortable and passé. Check out Wall Bed Factory and you can see that folding beds are no longer a thing of the past, but a thing of the here and now – a scientific use of space, and never an eyesore.
But you don’t need to buy new furniture to give the illusion of space. All you need is a weekend to change your living space, white paint of walls, to collect light and enhance your space. Don’t have time for home renovation? Then a white shade or curtain will have a similar effect.
The old ideas are classics for a reason: They work. Trying a large mirror on one wall and you’ll be stunned at how the place seems to expand before you. In keeping with your new perception of your space, get high-tech – halogen lights in adjustable fixtures placed around the perimeter of your space will noticeably change your place, and all with the flick of a switch.
Posted by Keren Fathi-Poor at 18 September, 2008
