Designer to Watch-Erin Martin

We stumbled upon the work of Erin Martin the other day and we think we're in love!

Her work is organic in a very sophisticated way. The words "organic" or "sustainable" get thrown around a lot these days but very people get it right. We love her use of natural materials, muted colors and texture variety.

Her designs seem very original too-as no two houses are alike.

Here is a sample of her work:

To see more of her work, visit Erin Martin Design.

Real Cool Barstool

We totally dig this barstool from Arteriors. It has an unique shape to it, and we love the organic look/feel.

The barstool sells at $450/each with free shipping.

You can find the specifications in our barstool section.

Vogue September Issue-A True Economic Indicator

If you watch the news and read the papers, you can get reallly confused. One day the housing index is up, the next day it's down. One day the stock market roars for some weird reason, the next day it tanks for other weirder reasons.

And you know what the best economic indicator there is?

The Vogue September issue.

We just got it today and it's nice and fat again. True, you have to flip through hundred of ads to get to some flimpsy content, but the nice part about that is, advertisers are spending money again! Which can leads to all kind of good things.

And we don't know about you, but we are having this frugality fatigue, big time. Enough already with all this self-deprivation. Sure, the way we spend money is forever changed, but if you really really want those Channel clogs and you don't have to cut into the rent to pay for it, why the heck not...

So here's to Vogue, and to better times ahead!

PS There's a lovely feature on an art-filled apartment. Click here to see the slideshow.

Source: Vogue

Decorating in Neutral Colors

We love, love Reed Krakoff clothes. Have you seen it? He does amazing American sportswear. Classic, comfortable, and sooo classy...

What strikes us most about the below ad is how pretty the neutral room looks though. It's classic, modern and timeless. Like a perfect black dress.

For neutral, classic furniture like this, we like Bolier upholstery. Really pricey, but they are beautiful in person.

Here are some examples:

To see more of the collection, check out Bolier's web site.

One Very Cool Arm Chair

It's usually a good idea to add a couple of arm chairs to your living room configuration. You can do a really fun fabric to punch in some colors ; add some dimensions of the room by varying the height so it's not so flat, and perhaps most importantly, style it up a bit.

Here's a really cool one that we like:

The chair is made by Jessica Charles, a division of Hancock and Moore. The price depends on the fabric, but it ranges about $1400-1600 or so.

Picking Colors for Your Decor

Don't you find coordinating colors to be the hardest thing to do? It's really is a headache, actually, trying to get a paint to go with the fabric that coordinates with everything else.

Robert Allen has a very nice tool that we thought you might like. They have different room themes already mixed & matched for you.

See below for some samples:

To see more, click here.

PS The paint is from Sherwin Williams. You can also search for fabrics from Robert Allen site from the link above. It doesn't give pricing information, but you can find that on our Robert Allen fabrics section by entering the name of the pattern in the search box.

Living in a Mansion

Don't you love reading about how other people live? Rich people, specifically. It gives us a little escape and a little fantasy, don't you think?

If you haven't had a chance to read the NY Times today, check out this article about this couple living in a mansion in Newport. What interests us most about it was not that the house was grand, but how this couple--who seem really unpretentious--manage to live a very authentic life that reflects who they are. There's a quote in it that we love--"At some point you'll have to come to terms with who you are, however unpleasant, if you are going to be anything at all".

Not to mention the pictures are eye-candies too. To see the slide show, click here. To read the article, click here.

Source: NY Times

New Jamie Young Lamps

Have you seen the new Jamie Young lamps lately? They have some beautiful new fabrics...

If you are not familiar with Jamie Young, check it out. It's a really cool line. Well-made and not too terribly expensive. Plus you can swap out the shades to create different looks.

Here are some of our favorites:

We'll be posting these up in our Jamie Young Lamps section by the end of this week.

PS Did you notice the slideshow? Cool heh? We just discovered it on Picasa. It's free and super simple to use.

Gimme My Decorating Magazines Back!

The NY Times today has an article on The Selby. You probably heard of the site. It's about real people in their homes--some famous, some not. The article also went on to discuss how people can relate more to "real places" than professionally decked up places frequently featured in decor magazines, which contributes to their ever growing popularity.

We love the Selby too but in a way, it's like watching Rachel Ray cooks vs a professional chef. There is no competition! Magazines offer beautifully shot, gorgeous decor that we can fantasize about. We don't want to look at houses that look just like ours, for god's sake. For example, look at the image below from Homebodies, one of the blogs mentioned:

We want our decorating magazines back! We miss them, terribly.

Thom Felicia Fabrics for Kravet

Thom Felicia is one of our favorite designers, mainly because his designs are very liveable and very approachable.

Here is a fabric collection he did for Kravet that we thought are quite nice. The prices are not too bad either (about $99/yard but you usually can get it for much less).

To see the rest of the collection, click here. Pricing and production information can be found on our Kravet Fabric section.

Contemporary Dinnerware

Do you ever go to fancy restaurants and wish you can buy the dinnerware? The ones that are so cool and make everything look better? Well, we saw some at the Dallas show and we thought we'd share it with you. It's so cool, and not too expensive either. The line is made in Germany--very contemporary and sleek.

Here are some examples:

You can buy them directly at the vendor's web site. They are sold in Euro.

Modern Silk Flower Arrangements

Just want to share with you some beautiful modern floral arrangements we just got in...



These can be found in our silk flowers section. If you see them in person you wouldn't believe how real they look.

Cool Upholstered Bed

A couple of our favorite things for the day:



1) Laced up boots from Nine West ($209)
2) Modern Upholstered Bed from Brownstone (appx $1800 for queen, $2000 for king-COM)

Modern Bookcases

We've been struggling with the decision whether to buy an iPad or not. We are late adopter, or maybe even no adopter, type when it comes to technology. There is something about holding a book and flipping the pages that is really satisfying to us.

That is, until you want to carry ten books with you when you travel. And most of them are hardbacks. Times like that make us wonder if printed books are going the way of CDs, you know. Like, who buys CD anymore?

But as we were driving down the Melrose Design district the other day, this gorgeous bookcase from the Poliform showroom almost caused us to crash the car. It is STUNNING! It's huge and it's perfect if you have a loft with very tall ceiling.

We don't have the pricing information for this item, sorry. Poliform is very high-end and upscale, so it is probably really expensive. But, if you have a really good carpenter, it's probably really easy to build! And, wouldn't it be great as a room divider too? Just make sure your carpenter anchor it properly.

You see, there is always a place for books! Ipad or no Ipad.

To see more bookcases from Poliform, click here.

Pretty Linens from Lili Alessandra

We saw the bedding/decorative pillows/drapery line from Lili Alessandra in Dallas last week and we just fell in love. It's really pretty, but in a clean-lined, modern kinda of way.

If you like neutral colors, soft and pretty bedding you'll dig this line. The best thing about it is you can get coordinating pieces for everything. For example, you can order the headboard to coordinate with the bedding, drapery and so on...

Here are some samples:

We'll be posting this online in our decorative pillows and bedding section soon. In the mean time, if you would like pricing info please drop us a line...

Fabulous Black and White Chair

We're loving these side chairs. Upholstered in black and white, it really adds some jazz to an otherwise neutral room.

Images via Traditional Homes.

The fabric on this chair is from F Schumacher--it's a little expensive, let us warn you. Fortunately for a small chair like this you should only need 3-4 yards. The pattern is called Gordian Weave and it comes in three different colorways. It is a little bumpy though, as the knot pattern is raised quite high.
You can find it in our F Schumacher fabric section.

Dreaming of A Modern Beach Home

Are you summering somewhere this summer? Not us! We're stuck here at work, trying to make a living.

But indulge in fantasies we must. So let's look at some really, really pretty modern beach houses today...

In case you are wondering, this house is in Alys Beach, Florida. Don't you just love how simple and neutral it is?

Modern and Glamorous-Chandelier from Barbara Cosgrove

We are loving this new chandelier from Barbara Cosgrove. It's so chic, don't you think?

The chandelier is priced at $925 including shipping.
The shades can also be replaced with parchment shades. The best thing is, it can be painted with any Benjamin Moore paint color. How clever!
You can find this chandelier in our Barbara Cosgrove Lamps section.

Five Ways to Make Your House Younger

Did you see "Hot In Cleveland" last week? We didn't either, mainly because we don't even know how to find TV Land on our TV. If you miss it, you can see the full episode here.

Anyway, the reason we mention it is because reading a LA Times review on the show we saw one funny line-- "To think we spent all that time and effort and money trying to look 10 years younger and 10 pounds lighter," says Malick, a recently unemployed soap star now being offered grandma roles, "and all we had to do was crash-land in Cleveland."

You'll have to be at that age to know what we are talking about! You know, the age where we look at younger women more than our husbands do? The age that we keep saying to ourselves, man, if I can only have my old body back with my current brain?
Which leads us to this point, do you know your house can look 10 years younger too? Most people don't realize this, but the way we decorate our house is very much like the way we dress, it literally can add or subtract a few years.

Here are five ways you can instantly update your home:

1) Use fresh and happy colors via use of wallpapers, paints and fabrics.

Wallpapers are so in now. We love, love it. Not as much to wallpaper every room like they did in the sixties, but by wallpapering just one wall or a small bathroom or dining room, you can instantly freshen things up.

Thibaut.com

2) Get rid of things that are outdated.

You know how mom's jean just add 10 years to your age and 10 lbs to your butt? Outdated things like ivy silk plants, sofa arm covers, oak furniture, shabby chic sofas (so 80s!) are the equivalent of mom's jeans. Worse yet, it screams "grandma"!

3) Update your furniture

Furniture is like fashion. It changes with time. You probably notice that furniture are not as heavy as they use to be. The heavy, ornate look for furniture (think Real Housewives of Orange County/New Jersey/Atlanta) are as out as McMansions. Rather, look for furniture that are modern and clean-lined with fresh designs. If you have upholtery pieces with good bones (say, a very comfortable sofa), consider re-upholstering it with new fabrics. The fabric choices nowadays are amazing.

4) Get small little things that count.

Sometimes things are so tough that shopping is not an option (2008-2009, anyone?). But you know how sometimes a little thing can make us feel much better, say, a tube of pretty lipstick? It's like that for the home too. We spend so much time in our home, it's ok to treat yourself a little bit. Little things like dressing your bed with really good sheets, make your bathroom like a spa etc. goes a long way. You see this with a good hotel--it's the little details that make all the difference.

So consider buying a new rug, a couple of pretty pillows--it doesn't have to be expensive. Homegoods is a good store for bargains like this. Buy lots of books secondhand. They make you look smart (and great accessories too).

Note: A good source for hotel things is American Hotel Registry. They sell actual hotel sheets, pillows and mattresses and from what we can see, the prices are pretty good and that you can buy directly from them. (We are not affiliated with this site in anyway)

5) Go contrarian.

The problem with trend is that after a while everything looks the same. Remember how Juicy Couture was all the rage just a couple of years back? What happened now to those velour tracksuits?

Home trends are like that too. After a while everyone's house look the same. Enough with the granite counter already. Enough with one paint color for each room. And please, do we need 10,000 square feet home?

The best styles are the ones that buck against the trend, stay true to the classic, and retain its integrity.

Go with your personality and your style, unless, of course, you have no style (in that case, consider hiring help).

Just remember that simpler is better, and less is more.

Crazy for Stripes...

We're so in the mood for stripes lately. It's modern. It's striking. It's fun. It makes your eyes pop.

Here are some great designs using stripes with either wallpapers, fabrics or paint:

Images from Elle Decor

Images from MyHomeIdeas

Some pretty striped wallpapers:

Source: Matthew Patrick Smyth Wallcoverings for F Schumacher wallpapers.