Design

give to me your leather

By Amy Bleier Long

If you’ve been contemplating a new sofa, chair, or ottoman, now’s the time to buy: Select items from Elite Leather will be on One Kings Lane for up to 50% off retail price (OKL requires membership, but it’s free). Pieces available include the Belcourt tufted armchair, Old Course tufted ottoman, both below, and the Barkham chair from LA designer Nathan Turner’s collection. The sale starts Friday, July 23 and ends Sunday, July 26.

Belcourt chair in Grotto Cerulean

Old Course in Dover Jungle

Ethereal Angkor

By Jenny Bradley

I have to share with you a new book that is on my list of new favorite things. It’s John Mcdermott’s, Elegy: Reflections of Angkor (McDermott Gallery, hardcover, $75).

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.

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eye on the tiger – behind the scenes at Shaw

By Amy Bleier Long

I’m kind of a geek, so I was very into the heavy-on-the-science tour of the Shaw headquarters. It was cool to see the process from start to finish, and it really illustrated the advantages of Tigressá SoftStyle carpet.

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!

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eye on the tiger – Tigressá SoftStyle

By Amy Bleier Long

 
In the market for new carpet? I just got back from a slightly whirlwind trip to Dalton, GA, for a press event hosted by Shaw, the world’s largest carpet manufacturer, and CCA Global Partners, where I toured Shaw’s corporate headquarters and had an exclusive preview of their brand new line coming out this weekend.
 

Tigressá SoftStyle is an innovative line of nylon carpet, but it’s also the culmination of a lengthy development process, one I learned a great deal about over two days. Shaw let us (9 bloggers, 3 trade editors, and me!) see the evolution of Tigressá by literally opening their doors so we could examine each step in the production cycle. Read more

bon anniversaire!

By Amy Bleier Long

This week, Sabine and I visited Pierre Frey for a presentation honoring the family-owned company’s 75th anniversary.

“Exhibition 1935-1955: Inspiration & Realism of Fabrics” celebrates the whimsy of Pierre Frey’s early years and brings to New York a curated collection of textiles, drawings, and paintings usually held in their Parisian archives. The beautiful patterns are lively, and feel as fresh now as ever.

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case study

By Amy Bleier Long

Technology can be really wonderful or really frustrating.

In my house—and probably yours—there is a lot of technology: multiple computers and TVs, DVR, iPhone (his), BlackBerry (mine), a Wii, a Roomba, and iPods for everyone (mine’s custom-painted by the fantastic company Colorware - it makes a great gift).  And the devices are all fun or make our lives easier.

Except when they don’t—how about our remote that doesn’t work for the first 5 minutes the TV is on? —though, we tend to live with it. Occasionally, I get wistful for simpler times when people wrote letters instead of emails, had to crank their phones, and men wore hats (possibly I’m watching too many Cary Grant movies, if you can do such a thing). Thankfully, when I feel that way, I can turn to Thomas Paul’s wonderful Luddite collection.

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a marvel-ous cooker*

By Amy Bleier Long

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the launch (and demo, with lunch!) of AGA MARVEL’s PRO+ line of kitchen appliances. New hot (range, vent hood) and cold (fridge, wine cellar) products were showcased, but the star was the 36” Range.

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Caldrea, take me away!

By Amy Bleier Long

Sometimes­—well, a lot of times­—I spot something when I’m covering new products, or shooting in someone’s home, that makes me want to toss everything in my house and start fresh. I get this overwhelming urge to replace what I have with much fancier versions: this feeling extends from furniture to desk accessories, even cleaning supplies. After all, don’t functional items deserve to be beautiful, too?

Caldrea’s cleaners and detergents are some of those special things.

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Going SoLo

By Jenny Bradley

Not having been to San Diego since I was a teenager (and suffice it to say, that was more than just a couple of years ago), I had no idea what to expect design-wise when I made my way there a few weeks back for a shoot.

Knowing I’m always on the prowl for beautiful shop locations for the magazine, a friend suggested I check out the Cedros Avenue Design District in Solana Beach. The shops were wonderful, and varied—quaint garden shops, chic clothing boutiques, coffee shops…you name it.

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I got a feelin’: new textiles big on texture

By Candace Manroe

Metaphores, a French fabric house opened by Olivier Nourry in 1981, has always been as much about texture as it is the  other design elements (color, pattern, style, weave or print, and weight). At its Paris showroom in the St. Germaine district a couple of weeks ago, I was pleased to get up close and personal with Metaphores’s  2010 introductions. My pick for most interesting texture from their new “New York, New York” collection is:

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