Well, no more. I’m no expert on what else is out there in the electric fireplace market, but the Classic Flame products I viewed are worth sharing. Take a look for yourself. There’s plenty for the pure traditionalist, as well as more streamlined  designs for the traditionalist who loves a little modern in the mix. If you’re in a home that does not already have a fireplace, these are worth considering. Or if you’re like me, with two fireplaces but none in the bedrooms, these present an option to a major remodeling.

"Artesian"

"Everest," which debuts next week at the Las Vegas furniture market, is crafted from marble. Its upscale material and classic design deliver this electric fireplace out of the realm of kitsch and straight to cool.

"Gossamer" is ideal for a French bedroom without the luxury of a built-in woodburning fireplace. Retail: $1,599

As a person who loves oxymorons, how could I not delight in "Baxter"? Heat and refrigeration stand side-by-side, in perfect harmony. Plus, this hard-working furnishing is a media center, too. Retail price: $2,399

"Anaheim" has a nice ebony finish and polished nickel hardware for currency.

I like the clean lines of "Captiva."

Now to Tresanti's wine fridges. "Chianti" is a clever work of engineering, as well as a handsome piece of furniture.

"Meridian" is apartment-friendly with its compact width and greater verticality.

So far I haven’t come across a service that is as much of a bargain as Designer at Home. And if you haven’t yet used an interior designer—or are on a budget—this might be for you.

Designer at Home (DAH) is the brainchild of LA-based British designer James Charles. He began his career at Roche Bobois, is a two-time winner of HGTV’s Designers’ Challenge, and past clients include Sean Connery, and members of Duran Duran and A-Ha (a detail I loved- I ♥ the 80s). The idea surfaced when Charles repeatedly received comments from people who wanted to hire him but couldn’t afford to.

“I wanted to provide good quality advice for little money, and give people a chance to be involved in the process,” he says. The process is fairly simple, broken into 3 parts: “your part, [their] part, and the fun part.”

Your part: The first step involves you thoroughly measuring and drawing the room you want help with, including the furniture and fixtures currently in it, and then you fill out a questionnaire. You’ll also provide a few photos so they get a proper understanding of the room.

DAH does offer written and video instructions for the more complicated tasks—such as drawing a scale image of your room with all the appropriate measurements included—necessary to receive a personalized room plan.

Their part: Working off all the information provided, a designer will formulate a solution for your room, keeping you apprised as they go.

The fun part: Redecorate and shop! Within three weeks of receiving your information, DAH provides (via FedEx):

1. an annotated floor plan describing where furniture and accents should be placed,

2. a color board complete with images of all the pieces and swatches of suggested fabrics, and

3. the instruction document which outlines exactly what goes where, how much the pieces cost, and where you can purchase them.

Furniture and accents chosen for your room are sourced from online retailers, as well as local and national stores. DAH will look up stores in your town to make the purchase stage as easy as possible. Another feature of DAH is that they provide access to over 12,000 to-the-trade fabrics including those from JAB Stroheim and Kravet, and is a source for rugs as well.

But how much does it cost? Only $299 per room. That’s hundreds cheaper than what some of the other companies are offering. DAH’s menu of services also includes two cheaper, less involved options.

Additionally, Charles has future plans to add a paint consultation option, and a white-glove service where he will offer help with art placement, lighting, and suggest higher-end décor items and furniture. Input from guest experts is also in the works.

Belcourt chair in Grotto Cerulean

Old Course in Dover Jungle

One is The Beginner’s Guide to Edible Herbs: 26 Herbs Everyone Should Grow & Enjoy. Bit sweeping, that subtitle–I suspect Paris Hilton would rather prance around with her dressed-up chihuahua than transplant hyssop after all danger of frost has passed. Still,  one prefers an excess of enthusiasm in a writer to the drear of a dutiful tone, and  Charles W.G. Smith is nothing if not enthusiastic about herbs. “Experiment!” he enjoins herb growers who might feel timid about branching out beyond basil and parsley for pesto, “You’ll be amazed by the pesto possibilities!”

The book (Storey Publishing, $12.95, www.storey.com) offers good information on growing, harvesting, and preserving 26 basic herbs.  I like the recipe he offers for Herb-Marinated Goat Cheese; what with layering slices in jars with herbs and oil and letting them commingle for a week, it has an air of the mad scientist about it, like Alexander Fleming letting a petri dish of staphylococci sit out while on vacay, and therby accidentally discovering penicillin. Here it is:

Herb-Marinated Goat Cheese

Adaptable to many cooking uses, fresh goat cheese may be best appreciated as an appetizer or snack when simply marinated with herbs—especially basil, thyme, rosemary, marjoram, chives, or fennel. Use both fresh leaves and flowers for the marinade and as a garnish.

8 ounces fresh goat cheese

2 tablespoons whole or coarsely chapped fresh herb leaves or edible flowers

10 black, green, or white peppercorns

Extra-virgin olice oil

1. Cut cheese into 1/2-inch-thick slices. In a glass jar, layer slices with herbs and pepercorns. Cover with olive oil and attach the lid.

2. Let sit for at least a day to allow the flavors to blend. This will stay fresh for about a week at room temperature. If desired, store in the refrigerator, bringing to room temperature before serving.

Makes 8 ounces

Hyperbole is exaggeration for effect, and I, for one, adore it. Okay maybe that’s hyperbolic, but I do like it a lot; once after I delivered a eulogy for a funeral, I was told by one mourner that I did such a good job of accentuating the positive, eliminating the negative and not messing with Mr. In-Between, she didn’t even recognize  the deceased.

The cover for The Andrews Sisters “Accentuate the Positive” record; Al Jarreau, Chet Baker, and Bing Crosby are among the many who have memorably covered this song.

Here’s an example of hyperbole from the Trad Home article “Rediscovering a Classic,” May 2008 (note the words in bold):

“When Lynn and Frank Ehret moved to San Francisco’s Pacific Heights neighborhood just a little more than two years ago, they began with the best; a stately 1903 home by architect Albert Farr, who once designed a home for writer Jack London and whose addresses are coveted for their enduring beauty and their many heart-stopping details.”

Isn’t this a heart-stopping photo of writer Jack London? He looks so young and fresh and earnest.

“Best” is subjective, and when we say “heart-stopping” we want to wow you, not trigger a myocardial infarction. When you use hyperbole, you are writing figuratively, not literally. And while we’re on the subject, doesn’t it chap your heinie when someone says “literally” when they mean “figuratively,” as in “he literally flew out of the house” or “she literally blew up like a balloon”? I’m guessing your heinie isn’t literally chapped, though, since it’s almost July.

Another example of hyperbole is from a Trad Home piece about a gorgeous Colorado garden, in which Robin Williams, not the frenetic funny guy but the renowned English garden designer by the same name, was asked by a homeowner to design her garden, and he replied, “A thousand horses couldn’t keep me away.” Follow this link to see the figuratively heart-stopping garden: http://www.traditionalhome.com/gardens_outdoorliving/beautifulgardens/goingtotheflow_1.html

As long as I’ve mounted the horse, I might as well canter on with my Anglican/equine theme, using this classic example of hyperbole from the bard himself:  “A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!” Of course, Richard III speaks that immortal line when he’s been unhorsed on a battlefield, so maybe he was in such mortal danger he literally would have given his kingdom for a horse. Is it hyperbole, dear reader? And is it hyperbolic or merely presumptuous and a little affected for me to call you “dear”? BTW, my favorite version of Richard lll was a brave little blackbox production put on in the back of a bookstore in a Chicago suburb in the nineties; the fact that there were fewer people in the audience than in the cast didn’t make it any less magnificent, maybe more so.

A poster from the 1955 movie of Richard lll with Laurence Oliver

Of course, exaggeration is in the eye of the beholder, and  at Trad Home we are held to stringent standards by Copy Chief Cynthia Mitchell, who turns a gimlet eye on any description that includes the word “perfect,” such as “a perfect refuge,” “a perfect design,” “a perfect chair.” Often she’ll suggest dialing “perfect” down half a notch to “ideal,” noting that nothing in this life is perfect.

Alas, the lady is right about that. Even “ideal” is pushing the figurative envelope.

Almost as fun as hyperbole is its opposite, understatement (”Houston, we’ve had a problem.”). More on that when we get to “U is for Understatement.” If you know of any good examples, send them along!

Familiar with only a few of the companies, such as Taillardat, who has appeared in TH pages previously, I was very interested to discover the others. Some of them already have a US presence—at retailer Bergdorf Goodman, for instance—but the remaining brands seek a home here.

18 of the companies carry the Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (Living Heritage Companies) label, which recognizes them for promoting French industrial and craft heritage. EPV-labeled brands are known for excellence, and those on display here are artisans with mastery of rare traditional or technically advanced skills, and antique machinery and/or archives. The companies present were hand-selected by the French Trade Commission.

A comprehensive catalogue featuring the exhibit’s participants is available as a free iPhone app (it also works on the iPad and iPod Touch).

The exhibit is open to the public tomorrow, Thursday June 24, from 12-5p, at Felissimo Design House, 10 West 56^th Street, NYC.

Check out a few highlights and some of my favorite finds after the jump.

sculptures by Verodalla

 
A bistro chair  from Maison Gatti, made of Indonesian rattan and rilsan, a castor oil plant-derived material.

Another sculpture from Verodalla. I just love the little footprints!
 

The most gorgeous glasses from Diversion, which is run by two sisters. I can’t wait for these to be available in the states.
 

THG faucets shown with black Lalique crystal handles. THG also works often with porcelain company Bernardaud.
 

Profil designed by Jamie Drake for THG, with Lalique crystal inlay – beautiful.
 

Handmade, gilded wallpapers from Ulgad’or. Gilding is applied with either stencil, screen, or by hand.
 

A close-up of the gilding work by Ulgad’or. Owner Gabor Ulveczki also creates gilded murals and panels. It was lovely to speak with Gabor for a little while and this was one of my favorites.
 

A Moissonnier secretary. The company is known for their classic lines and the color of their patinas.
 

Silver flatware and decorative items from Lapparra. Their terrines are gorgeous and made with ancient techniques.
 

Example of Maison Fey’s hand-painted, textured leather wall covering. The repeats aren’t even rectangular, but are glued together like a carefully-pieced collage.
 

Rolls of Maison Fey’s papers.
 

A traditional wing chair made modern with mp3 player hookup, by Henryot & Cie.
 

Hard to photograph, but so interesting in person. These sconces are glass with colored glass or metal blown into them, by Verreries de Bréhat.

If you’ve been to Cambodia, it’s a must-have. If you haven’t, it will persuade you to get there. And soon. I’ve tried for years to describe to people what it is about Angkor that puts it smack dab at the top of my favorite places list. McDermott’s book communicates visually what I have not been able to communicate verbally.

Through the use of special black-and-white film that is sensitive to infrared light, McDermott’s collection of photographs of the temples of Angkor is not just dramatic, but ethereal.

He puts it best himself. “It is the intangible spirit of a place that is most elusive when one is trying to create a visual portrait,” explains McDermott.

Not only do McDermott’s photographs capture Angkor’s physical beauty, but also that indefinable spirit that is so difficult to put into words.

For additional details, visit asiaphotos.net.

Now Sakata has come out with SunPatiens, which the company bills as something new under the sun. These hardy little plants will root in two weeks versus the usual four. SunPatiens will thrive even in the most brutal sun and keep right on coloring your world until hard frost. If you neglect them and let them get parched, they may look half-dead, but just revive ‘em with a pint, as the Irish say — though of water, not of ale. They’ll perk up right away. You can get the spreading type, like this:

They also come in compact varieties like this:

The new SunPatiens are available at Home Depot, Walmart, and other retailers. With my penchant for the ahem, exuberant (some would say gaudy), I like the spreading type better, and prefer them all mixed up like Joseph’s coat of many colors. Any which way, they’re a novice gardener’s pal.

We started where most things do: inspiration. We briefly discussed the colors, research, home and fashion trends, and qualities (strength, beauty, protection) that influenced the Shaw designers. Regional inspiration boards and displays showing national and regional sales of existing products by color were interesting to study.

The group was paired off to create our own inspiration boards. The Shaw team wanted to see what we were inspired by and what we were seeing in the market. I worked with the fabulous Carmen Natschke from The Decorating Diva. Here’s our board (including some pieces you may already recognize from past TH issues):

If you want to hear me discuss our board, here’s a video. More of what I’ve been seeing in the market will be in our pages soon!

 
While explaining his board during this exercise, environmental lifestyle expert Danny Seo gave great advice that you may have heard before, even from your own interior designer, but I wanted to reiterate:  If you aren’t sure how you want to decorate a room, use your closet as inspiration. Look at the colors and textures you’re drawn to. Chances are if you are always happy wearing it, you’ll always be happy living in it.
 
Following that exercise we toured Shaw’s pilot factory, which is a super-scaled down working version of their larger plants. Here they can innovate, experiment, and do quality control without interrupting the workflow at the factories making carpet for sale.

We saw the machines involved in tufting, which stitches yarn into the backing material either as loops or cut pile, with patterns, textures, and pile heights controlled by computers.

 
We also observed the dye range that continuously applies red, yellow, and blue in various formulations to create the colors in which the rugs are offered, and a gravimetric dye dispenser, which carefully measures the exact amounts needed for each color.

 
Tigressá carpet yarn is extruded (nylon pellets are melted down, then squeezed through triangle shaped holes, cooled, strengthened and stretched into fibers for yarn), tufted, and then dyed which allows for more color options than using pre-dyed yarn.

Even with their recycled Nylon 6, Shaw is able to achieve bright colors because they go all the way back to the raw materials. The other way of recycling carpets is to shear the fibers off and melt them down, often creating muddy colors.

Before we left research and development, we participated in the stain resistance experiments I mentioned previously. Another point illustrated by that demo: Because Tigressá carpet stays clean and dry, it’s more hypoallergenic, which is great news for allergy sufferers.

 
At the previously top-secret technical center we got to see the real science in action.

The editors and bloggers. Yes, I’m wearing my safety goggles.

There were several laboratories, each dedicated to a specific function or test of the product. Some highlights:

A humidity-controlled lab lets Shaw check how the carpet and backing fare in real applications in different environments. While we were there, a carpet that had been installed was curling so they were going to send it back for more work. A tip: a warm installation helps to avoid re-stretch problems.

In the cleaning and maintenance lab we tested out Shaw’s patented R2X spot treatment product. You may remember this is also the formula that the carpet is produced with, but it’s also available as a stand-alone spot treatment. Another tip learned: agitate a stain lightly from the outside in, do not rub.

 
In the microscopy lab, college interns were observing Tigressá fibers. The strength and softness come from high-tensile denier filaments, which are thinner than human hair, and are shaped like distorted triangles or Ys.  Because they are so fine, they are soft and can be tightly packed together for added strength.

Can you see the fibers on the computer screen? The larger oval-shaped one is a human hair.

What that essentially means for you is that it takes a lot of stress before the filaments wear down, and because so many fibers can be twisted together, the pressure of daily wear is spread out (similar to how laying on a bed of nails doesn’t hurt because of the large surface area). So it will take an extremely long time before your Tigressá carpet ever looks worn.

Other grueling tests the carpet endures before it’s ready for you to purchase include: its backing being torn off to check yarn strength, a roll test to check for backing separation, a tumbler that simulates human foot traffic, and a chamber that approximates the exposure to light, heat, and ozone that a carpet experiences in its useful lifetime testing for color fastness and any degradation.

If you’re buying carpet, interested in more of the science, or want to find out about the health and environmental impact of carpets, check out the Carpet & Rug institute’s website. And if you’re interested in Tigressá carpet, don’t forget to Tweet to Save the Tigers!

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