From the yearly archives:
It would be an understatement to say that women’s fascination with shoes is one of life’s biggest mysteries. Men can’t fathom it, and even a good number of women themselves are at a loss to explain their passion for footwear. And I most willingly admit to be among the throngs of females who can stand arrested for a short lifetime in front of a shoe window display just to gaze, gape, admire, or denigrate.
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Pantone Color Swatches
Collecting is a bit of a habit for those who like to accumulate piles of stuff. A nice way to get started on a color path is to begin by “color collecting”. This is a term that I use to excuse myself from the term hoarding.
I have been a color collector for many years now, with piles of color references in every empty drawer. If this idea appeals to you then you can easily start a collection of your own.
Choosing a favorite color is easy, all you have to do is focus on the ones that bring you joy. Here’s how to get started.
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Last week Design Museum Holon was officially opened to the public. Located in Holon, a city southeast of Tel-Aviv and designed by the architect Ron Arad; it is a beautiful creation. Enveloping ribbons with a play of dark and light, mass and space, protection and exposure; it reminds me of another famous museum. Click here.
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Room by Better Homes and Gardens
When the first tiny chrocus’ pop their heads out among the grass you know that it’s time for Spring decorating. Adding an uplifting color or a flowery print to a room can help this theme emerge and bloom. There are so many great colors and patterns to choose from. I went hunting and this is what I found.
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My graphic designer hubby is always finding cool stuff for me to obsess over. The latest? Sweet Home 3D, a free interior design program that lets you create floor plans, add walls, and place windows, doors, fixtures, cabinets…everything. And after you’ve set up your new home, just drag and drop furniture and accessories for every room, and take a virtual tour through the space.
Example floor plan from Sweet Home 3D
If you’re handy with 3D imaging, you can even create your own pieces to import into the program. Luckily, there are also plenty of 3D images—from cribs and coffee tables to iPods and clocks—created by Sweet Home contributors, and are available for download under the 3D Models section of the site.
Sweet Home 3D is a very intuitive program, and while I haven’t gotten to putting together the entire house, after 10 or 15 minutes of playing around I put together a rough plan of the bathroom as it is now. And once I have specific measurements for the replacement tub, toilet and sink, I’ll be able to start rearranging the virtual space into what I hope will soon become reality.
My first attempt
The software is free to download for both Mac and PC, and is available in several languages. Have fun!
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Textile Collection by House Beautiful
Fashion week in New York has just passed and all fingers point to denim. A standard American statement since the days of the beetles, denim is once again in the spotlight as a chic dressing option. On a more genenrous note, Aeropostale, a junior store in the USA has just collected a whopping 624,893 pairs of jeans for humane causes such as the Haiti earth quake victims through their “Jeans for teens” program.
Adorning a home with denim is something of a statement and when it comes down to it, this down-home fabric makes for a durable decorating solution. Blue is a popular color choice and there are many ways to incorporate it into your decor. The blue kitchen below by House Beautiful is a successful example of how to work with this element.
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This past Valentine’s day weekend, when my friends Judith from Chicago and Daphne from New York made a quick jaunt to Paris, we decided to have a girls’ night out. To be near them, I booked a hotel room in downtown Paris. I just wanted a place to bunk for the night and the Best Western at Notre-Dame de Lorette offered a convenient place as well the required standards of a well-known chain.
One thing that makes or breaks a trip, along with your budget, is the price of a hotel room. In Paris, a decent hotel room in a central location can cost between 150 to 300 Euros (US $200-$460). My single room at the BW Lorette amounted to a modest 98 Euros (US $130) for one night.
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Bold is beautiful, so don’t be afraid to go bold. making a statement with color is as easy as 1,2,3. Bright, strong colors go well with so many decorating choices. Brights are a given when decorating a teens room, there are even furniture lines designed especially with this trend in mind. Check out this bright fuchsia chair from Jonathan Adler’s new juniors collection.
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One thing can be said for Michal Negrin – she is a woman with definitive style.
There is no doubting from the moment you walk into her home who owns it. It’s sort of fabulous in a way. The same way that I love this insane pink and purple house in my neighborhood owned by one of the local geriatric mafia (my nickname for the seniors in the neighborhood who flag you down when driving and order ask you to drive them to the center of town – they kind of ignore if you say no and get in anyway).
It’s not a small apartment if you consider the size of the rooms, but there is so much crammed into the space, you’d never know it.
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image from trendhunter
Last month was Stockholm Design Week. Although I wasn’t actually there (yet). I did spot a really clever chair on Dezeen. Click here.
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