Arched window coverings

Arched windows are a delight -- until you try to cover them. More so when you are working on bedroom decor and blackout will be a necessity. I follow suit to the architectural details of a home, working to enhance such details adds layers to the focal point of the design. On this white dining room the drapery rod's carved crest draws the eye to gracefully arched window. Yet since the dining rooms sits on the street side of the home the draperies are fully drawn when privacy is wanted. The faux sheer curtain is an effect created to add more light and is sewn on the leading edges of the blackout drapery to lighten the look.

In this Florida room the main focal point was the two-story high arched window. A curved rod follows the shape of the arch further accenting the unique detail. For a bedroom a curved cornice can also cover the top portion of the window with a drape drawn behind.

The curved cornice follows suit to the architecture while providing full blackout for sleeping. Choose like colors for the drapes as for the walls thus allowing the light to shine throughout the room. Dark colored drapes often soak the light make it harsher on the eye to accept the contrast of light and dark.
Further, blending a variety of same tone hues creates an illusion of grandeur when space is limited which is the original intent of the arched window.

The ultimate Green HDTV

Philips 42PFL5603D/27 42-inch 1080p LCD HDTV

The ultimate in "green" televisions, the Eco TV was named Best in Show in CNET's Best of CES at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show. It's made with lead-free flame-retardant materials and the packaging box is made from recycled ones.

Along with superb picture quality and minimal power usage, features include an ambient light sensor, active content monitoring, a low standby mode at only 0.15 watts, and a consumer-selectable Power Saver mode. Plus the Eco TV features 1920 x 1080p resolution, a 29,000:1 contrast ratio, and 5ms response time. $1,999 on Amazon (free shipping) As predicted this is one that not only you'll love watching it makes you feel that you are actually saving energy in this overloaded planet Earth.

ME Barcelona opens this July

ME by Meliá, a hotel line that integrates modern design and fusion cuisine, will add a fourth property to its roster on July 22: the ME Barcelona. This will be the second ME property in Spain, following the opening of the ME Madrid in October 2006. The ME Barcelona is in the Innovation District, a waterfront business park that houses about 200 international companies — many of them technology-related — and is near the convention center. Highlights of the 259-room hotel include the 24th-floor restaurant, Dos Cielos, which has 360-degree views of the mountains and the Mediterranean (a rooftop garden will provide the restaurant with fresh herbs and other ingredients). There is also a pool on the sixth-floor terrace, along with two night life spots: the Chocolate Bar and the Penthouse Pool Lounge. Nightly rates start at 200 euros, or about $322 at $1.61 to the euro.
Personal Tip. The Picasso Museum, located three kilometres from the hotel, houses works dating from 1890 to 1967, including 'Forsaken Ones' and 'The Madman' from the Blue Period, and 'Head Only' from the Cubist Period. Also on display is the renowned Las Meninas (1957), a suite of 58 works conceived in response to Velazquez's painting Las Menas.

Spring into Summer Colors

Summer in the Colorado mountains is more like an unending spring season. New buds are finally coming to life and the last remaining snow patches are still dotting the evergreen lush landscape. Views of every tones and shades from green to purple renew the sense of creativity and add a new palette. The colors are crisp and clear not muddled and that will translate right into home fashions.
So dare to be bold and let nature come home!

The Horizon

Kitchen ventilation hood company Zephyr had a large presence at KBIS this year, in large part due to their collaboration with designer Robert Brunner. The former Pentagram notable and current head of Ammunition was the creative force behind the Arc Collection, Zephyr’s new high-performance range hoods. Each of the 10 Arc models feature the new Clean Air option, a setting that automatically circulates several times a day to prevent stale air and foul odors.

The Horizon (above) is available in black, white, or red glass that can be custom etched according to customers’ individual tastes. Don't let the low-profile fool you, even though it only extends 10 inches from the wall, the compact motor behind that unfettered facade packs up to 1,000 CFMs.

Thermosensitive Experience

The Mississippi-based design team of Erin Hayne and Nuno Gonçalves Ferreira is behind the Swamp Collection, a series of heat-sensitive stools and lounges that integrate materials that allow the surface to change color temporarily in response to body heat or ambient heat. Far from being a gimmicky fad option, the collection is a class act that encourages users to interact with objects in order to enjoy tactile experiences. Visual Reference Studio’s new collection includes Touch wall panels for public spaces and the Please Touch pillows that offer a smaller scale thermo-sensitive option. Reverse new color ways are also available, so that there is also the option of seeing the red material change to violet.

Staying up to date with CEU's

Keeping up with trends and design practices can be and is, indeed a full-time job. On the one hand you must take the CEU's to keep you license in 'current' status, thus a chore. On the other having the choices of what to attend not only keeps you informed but let's you hone in and tap into resources you did not have before. I have been approached in several occasions regarding my interest in becoming an expert witness in several design-related cases. While I must admit that attending any courtroom for whatever the reason is about as appealing as getting a root canal, the CEU I attended this evening on 'becoming an expert witness' has opened my eyes in fearing not the process but actually finding it quite educational in nature. I have provided affidavits before and even referred colleagues for their experience, yet, now I further understand that my experience is what I bring to the table. Being able to listen, learn and offer an impartial, unbiased opinion on subjects that I am passionate about, and so versed in that it comes natural, is one more way I can further my value to the profession.

Book Signing at Book&Books in BalHarbour

David Shepherd, mentor, business guru, friend and now author of page-turner 'Resurrecting Randi' available through amazon.com, joined us this past weekend as we hosted in his honor a 'very Latin happy-hour book-signing event'. David had an opportunity to read a few pages from his novel and afterwards autographed quite a few books for guests and friends. Now his National book tour continues as he heads through Texas and ends in his hometown Austin.

Please pick up a copy, you will 'not be able to put it down'. David Oshinski, Pullitzer Prize Winner (author of the terrific book, 'Polio')
said he had picked up Resurrecting Randi while on a plane.

"To put it mildly--as they say--I couldn't put it down. It's a beautifully written book with terrific characters. I was swept away by the narrative and found myself trying to figure out what was coming next. You are a truly remarkable story-teller; this book deserves best-seller status."

Call it tech-toy pride.

Must-see TV. Upfront and center as the new focal point in the main room.

Never mind that many designers will cringe at the sight of exposed sets in living rooms, especially those prominently displayed. That opinion is so widely held among designers that some don't even like seeing TVs in plain sight even in more casual family rooms. But slim, sleek, flat-panel screens are changing our interior landscapes. This is particularly true for young people. They are very electronic in their thought processes, so the design for the main room's focal point is shifting. "I have a penthouse that is soft, modern and sleek. The fireplace isn't fussy. And the TV is so contemporary, it's almost like another piece of art," says Davis, a real estate broker.

Some designers find themselves resisting client pressure to show off the TV. "Not in a formal living room," Washington designer Lori Graham says. "I am a purist in that regard." She is putting a set in one living room grudgingly, she says, quickly adding, "It was a loft-like space whose style is much more modern and eclectic." Even there the TV is mounted in a grid of shelving.

"I will not ever put one over a fireplace," declares D.C. designer Susan Vallon. "It is a traditionally warm gathering place and focal point, and you are negating the whole thing by putting a TV there. I would rather have people drywall over the fireplace and remove it as a center of attention."

Rather than being so dramatic as to drywall over a major architectural feature we understand the need of our clients to want the option of occasional entertainment when they would enjoy a TV in their living room and above their fireplace. Be it New Years and your guests want to see the ball drop or the yearly football/Thanksgiving dinner... Finding 'designer-acceptable' solutions is more challenging than trying to swim against flow.