by Saxon Henry So many empty condos, so little time! This caveat served as designer Tui Pranich’s cue to opportunity. His business partner Jason Atkins was looking for a furnished apartment to rent and the offerings were so dire that they made haste and founded Tui Lifestyle. “We can furnish a condo in 72 hours,” says Pranich. “Our packages include everything from custom designed furniture to lamps, picture frames and ironing boards.” Packages range from $14,999 to $50,000.   The rampant rise of condos was also Sam Robin’s inspiration for her Ready to Wear line of furniture, created with Francesco Caracciolo di Marano. “We knew that we could combine great style and affordability,” says Robin, who can supply pieces in this line, which cost between $200 and $5,000, in about three months. When the condo market went schizophrenic, trendsetting designer Jorge Rosso of Studio Rosso Ubarri created Home Therapy. “So many people were asking me how to achieve high design on a minimal budget that I started a service for people who have good things that simply need editing or who need design advice,” he says. A full day of therapy will cost you $1,200. See other design stories by Saxon Henry.

by Saxon Henry

In her introduction to THAD HAYES: The Tailored Interior, Evelyn Lauder says of Hayes’ skill, “Thad Hayes can make a home fit into its own skin, not into his skin.” A perusal of the 21 interiors in the book proves Hayes’ long-standing client’s point, as the string of residences and retreats range from a pied-à-terre at the Pierre Hotel in New York to the Lauder’s Georgian vacation home in Palm Beach and a Tudor Revival in Texas.

Whether the designer is creating a backdrop for a contemporary art collector in New York City or Leonard Lauder’s collection of art deco posters in Palm Beach, his dexterity in working across styles and periods is apparent. His own Greenwich Village townhouse is among my favorites, as the interiors have a breathless quality to them. This is owed in part, perhaps, to the fact that Hayes had modernist architect Mies van der Rohe in mind when he introduced certain elements, or possibly to his affection for Japanese architecture. “I wanted our house to embrace and fulfill all the romantic notions we have around the idea of ‘home’: the welcoming of friends, cooking, children’s chatter, sitting around a hearth,” Hayes explains. “That was really my expectation.”

For his client’s interiors, he envisions environments that are equally personal, and it’s likely a result of his attentiveness during a project, as described in the introduction by critic Charles Gandee in which he quotes Hayes as saying, “I don’t delegate. I direct everything. I’m in every meeting with every client; I go to every job site. I go to the upholsterer. I know every pillow fabric…every detail.” This attention to detail leads to rooms that reflect “repose, clarity, and restraint,” says one client, but Hayes’ restraint is anything but spare.

One of the strengths of the beautifully photographed book is that it shows the designer’s dexterity and range: a New Jersey Craftsman, a modernist summerhouse in the Hamptons and a gentile home in Baton Rouge were given identities that shrug off any evidence of having been “designed.” In the acknowledgements, Hayes himself writes, “In my line of work it is easy to begin believing one is laboring for one’s art.” Hayes’ art has such a delicately powerful quality to it that even the natural light seems to tiptoe into the rooms, unwilling to allow its harshness to interrupt the quiet beauty that has been achieved. 

           by Saxon Henry

In a world that concentrates all too often on which titles are ranked highest by blockbuster booksellers, I thought it would be a nice change of pace to ask independent booksellers around the country to mention a few of their favorite books relating to design and architecture, and why they chose them. If you're a fan of beautiful books with lush photography, you're going to enjoy these.

 

Anderson Books in Larchmont, NY:

 

Sublime Spaces and Visionary Worlds: Built Environments of Vernacular Artists by Leslie Umberger

This book is art, architecture and design all rolled into one. It chronicles the homes of over 20 vernacular artists. These spaces are offbeat and oh-so-personal. While you might not love each and every space, you cannot help but be impressed by the work that went into each one.

 

Lyn Peterson’s Real Life Kitchens by Lyn Peterson

This is a wonderful book to glean ideas on redoing your kitchen. It is full of practical advice on renovating the most used space in your home. Think of it as a head-to-toe guide (and it’s beautiful to boot). The illustrations are simply wonderful.

 

Rainy Day Books in Fairway, KS:

Farrow & Ball: The Art of Color by Brian Coleman (Author) and Edward Addeo (Photographer)

Brian Coleman provides an inspiration for designers, homeowners, and everyone who appreciates the importance of the role of color in interior design. Coleman hosts a tour of cottages, castles, lofts; then illustrates how paint and wallpaper are paramount to a room’s overall design and feel. From a classically furnished pre-war Manhattan apartment to a post-modern glass and concrete home in Toronto, Edward Addeo’s visually stunning photography of the interiors reveals how color is being taken to a new level of art. This is a must-have for someone considering redecorating, and designers also love it.

Bunny Williams' Point of View: Three Decades of Decorating Elegant and Comfortable Houses by Bunny Williams

World-renowned decorator and gardening expert Bunny Williams makes this observation: “You learn from people with great taste.” As a novice, Williams worked for the legendary decorators Sister Parrish and Albert Hadley, absorbing everything she could about their peerless design sense. Our customers are especially fond of her books—like the best-selling An Affair with a House—in part because they are as much memoir as how-to manual. This luxe volume includes sections on color, windows and other design-related topics with well-illustrated examples. Each example lives up to Williams’ claim that interiors should fit each client “like a couture suit.” The rooms she showcases in her books are chic but not to the point of being museum pieces. We especially like the fact that many of the rooms are filled with books!

Stone & Feather: Stephen Holl Architects / The Nelson-Atkins Museum Expansion by Jeffrey Kipnis

Architecture in Kansas City has a more prestigious history than many outsiders think; Frank Lloyd Wright designed a local church as one of his last commissions, and in 2007 our well-established museum, the Nelson-Atkins, reopened after a lengthy intermission with an addition by Stephen Holl that made every best-of architecture list from the New York Times to Time magazine. So naturally, this full-color documentation history has been the prize find for our proud readers. The book takes you inside the process and reveals the decisions made by the “starchitect” in ways that amateurs and art-lovers can follow, if not fantasize about their own dream houses. (Isn’t that what books are for?)

 Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

Speaking of Wright, perhaps the most popular architecture book at our store in a long while has been this novel about the youthful Frank Lloyd Wright. The historical novel tells the little-told chronicle of Wright’s early romance with one Mamah Cheney (no relation to the Vice President), the one woman who was, well, man enough to keep up with the burgeoning modernist. Horan’s years of research are handled transparently so that the Chicago landscape and other settings might as well be fictional—though knowing that we are reading about real people and historical affairs makes the story all the more compelling for our readers, who can combine their two great loves: art and gossip!

 

Brookline Booksmith in Brookline, MA:

101 Things I Learned In Architecture School by Matthew Frederick

This is a gem as it demystifies things made complicated in the classroom.  It starts with "How To Draw," for example. The author is an architect and instructor who wishes he'd had such a book while in school. Anyone interested in design on any level will benefit from this nifty tome (and the book itself is wonderfully designed!).

Natural Architecture by Alessandro Rocca

Rocca is an architect, architecture critic and professor at Milan Polytechnic. He is also the author of numerous books and articles. The book is elegant with fabulous photographs of architecture in nature, natural and/or manmade environments around the world.

The Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka

The subtitle says it well: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live. With great photos and clear text, the book shows how to maximize space in reasonably sized houses while creating beautiful interiors.

Eco Design, The Sourcebook by Alastair Fuad-Luke

This revised edition—to acknowledge the huge growth in efforts to go green—shows how to live sustainably with style. From the smallest item to an entire structure, the information you need is here.

 

 Tattered Cover in Denver, CO:

The Architecture of the Absurd: How 'Genius' Disfigured a Practical Art by John Silber

In this book, Silber examines some of the extreme examples of public architecture (such as Gehry's museums) and concludes that these are not always wonderful improvements.

Green Homes : New Ideas for Sustainable Living by Sergi Duran

This has been a big seller in the growing field of sustainable building & greener lifestyles.

Simple Home : the Luxury of Enough by Sarah Nettleton

We are seeing this as another growing trend: simple, open spaces decorated with few, but carefully selected objects.

 

Bookloft in Great Barrington, MA:

Houses of the Founding Fathers by Hugh Howard, photographs by Roger Straus III

This book goes a long way to show us—beyond our 7^th-grade knowledge of say, Mt Vernon—how the homes and places of the founding fathers informed and inspired their patriotism, their deeds and their writings. It’s a lovely book with great text by Hugh Howard, whose previous book was Mr. Kimball and Mr. Jefferson, about Fiske Kimball—an important architectural historian who first reveled that Thomas Jefferson was in fact also a great architect.

 Book Passage in Corte Madera, CA:

Julia Morgan: Architect of Beauty

This groundbreaking female architect designed more than 700 buildings, many in California, and the beautiful book offers an overview of Morgan's work. It also explores the historical and cultural settings in which her buildings were created.

California Romantica by Diane Keaton.

This visually dramatic book features homes in the California Mission and Spanish Colonial style.

Linda Applewhite's Architectural Interiors: Transforming Your Home with Decorative Structural Elements

The ideas illustrated in this book provide lots of inspiration with their rich sun-washed colors and interesting use of architectural elements inside the home.

California Country Style by Diane Dorrans Saeks

This book showcases comfortable, casually elegant homes.

 

 Sundog Books in Seaside, FL:

The New Civic Art: Elements of Town Planning by Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk & Robert Alminana

As one of the earliest and best-known examples of New Urbanism, this book was an easy choice for us here in Seaside.

# # #

I've visited Seaside regularly over the years and I do believe the buildings nestled into the coastline of the panhandle of Florida represent some of the most serenely beautiful beachside architecture I've ever seen.

       by Saxon Henry    

Before voluptuous breasts and shapely bottoms were the norm, Barbie's curvaceous figure made many of us green with jealousy. Now, I find out that I have something else to envy: her house in Malibu. Not the small, plastic digs with a handle we filled with her frilly clothes and pointy shoes as children, but real live interiors, 3,500 square feet of them, designed by  Jonathan Adler.

The home, you see, is a life-sized interpretation of that fussed over pint-sized Dream House, bringing to life all the fantasy and fashion that personifies the shapely doll: elements such as skirted, corseted, lace-up “dress” chairs; a chandelier made of Barbie hair; a closet filled with thousands of pink shoes; a sunburst mirror made from 65 Barbie dolls (above the fireplace); pieces from the Barbie Loves Jonathan Adler™ home décor collection (launching nationwide in September 2009); and a garage that includes a real Barbie Volkswagen New Beetle (all pink with a motorized, pop up vanity in the trunk).

The house also features a Barbie Museum, which houses dozens of dolls and art pieces such as Barbie paintings by Andy Warhol. “Of all my work, bringing to life Barbie’s famous Malibu Dream House has been one of the most fun design projects yet,” says Adler. "Barbie was a dream client because she doesn't have a husband to rein in the fantasy or tone down the glamour."

Barbie’s outrageously pink birthday party, a star-studded soiree that showcased the residence for the first time, was designed by event-planner-to-the-stars Colin Cowie. It included more than 45 celebrities walking the pink carpet (get a load of Heidi Klum fondling Barbie's stash of pink stilettos), music by DJ AM, specialty cocktails such as the Barbie “Doll-icious” and “Strawberry Blonde,” custom floral centerpieces shaped as stilettos heels and a “plastic fantastic” theme infused throughout the night. Other details: 1,800 pairs of Barbie sized sunglasses, 3,500 pairs of Barbie shoes and 3,500 Barbie handbags filled custom designed Lucite tables. Along with centerpieces made up of 3,000 pink roses were 146 pounds of pink candy and 1,030 pounds of ice, which were used to create an ice sculpture of a birthday cake.

 “We’re bringing the entire idea of Barbie alive – how she eats, how she decorates, how she lives, and certainly how she entertains,” says Cowie.  “Barbie is a great client – she has great style, she loves the details, she enjoys her bling and she has tons of amazing imagery for inspiration – you’ll see lots of pink, shine, her famed black-and-white zebra print and always a few Barbie surprises.”

   by Saxon Henry

Since March is the month that Nature begins nesting, I wanted to share with you the great breadth of knowledge of a veritable linen encyclopedia, Fabrizio Biasiolo, owner of Casa del Bianco. After all, there’s nothing more comforting than a well-made bed.

 

Selecting and Buying Linens

What’s the most important thing to consider when buying sheets? There is no right fabric. There is only a fabric that is right for you. Your own personal taste and your intended use should dictate your choice.  Cotton, percale or sateen, sheets are smooth, strong and comfortable and demand relatively easy care. Linen is the strongest fiber, but the least uniform, and it has great airflow for coolness, but its irregular surface creates sheets that are not quite as soft as cotton and ones that wrinkle more than other fibers. Silk sheets are woven from extremely smooth, thin uniform yarns and tend to feel more luxurious, but they are substantially warmer than either cotton or linen, and they require more care.

Why is Egyptian cotton considered the best? Egyptian cotton has the longest fibers when spun, producing the smoothest yarns for weaving. The result is the most comfortable cotton fabric. Linens made of Egyptian cotton also pill less (the annoying balling of loose fibers on the fabric’s surface) and offer greater durability so they last longer.

What’s the difference between percale and sateen? The construction of these fabrics makes each feel and perform differently. Percale is woven with the same number of threads in the warp and weft on the loom, and they interlace evenly in a basket weave pattern. This balanced weave produces a strong fabric with maximum airflow to make summer slumber cool. Sateen is woven with an uneven number of threads in the warp and weft so more threads float over the fabric surface, producing its characteristic beautiful sheen but also creating a fabric that is less porous with less airflow and is consequently warmer. Since sateen is an unbalanced weave, there is also a greater possibility of surface pilling from friction of the unbalanced threads rubbing together. On the plus side, however, sateen sheets require less ironing than percale.

What is the truth about thread count as a measure of quality? Thread count is very misunderstood.  Higher thread counts do not assure comfort or quality. After a certain point, the denser the number of threads per square inch, the heavier and less supple the fabric becomes. A sheet with a very high thread count (800 and above) will be hot and heavy on the body and a sleeper will feel as if they are sleeping under a tablecloth. We recommend 400 to 600 for optimal comfort because with bed linens, it is the weight per square meter that counts. The optimal weight for sheets is 110 grams per square meter.

What is so special about Italian linens? Without a doubt, it’s the three processes called the “finishing” – bleaching, burning and mercerization – which are done better in Italy than any other place in the world that make Italian linens special. Manufacturers may buy fine Egyptian cotton yarn, weave it anywhere in the world on the best German looms, but if they don’t “finish” in Italy, the fabric will be inferior. The same holds true for wool, silk, cashmere and leather finished in Italy.

Preserving the Life of Fine Linens

How long should fine linens last? The life of linens is measured in “washings” not years. Care for them well and they will give you long service. The paradox is that as linens approach the end of their “life,” they often feel their best – softer and softer. By following proper washing and drying instructions and by alternating your linens (allowing them to “rest” between uses), you can greatly extend the life of your linens.

What is the best way to wash linens? We recommend cold water and very low detergent and, if necessary, only non-chlorine bleach. Always wash like items together to minimize the abrasion. For instance, separate towels and sheets.

What is the best method for drying linens? Contrary to what our grandmothers taught us, it’s not line drying. Cotton is sensitive to heat and sun and it’s important not to over-dry or over expose cotton sheets. If using a dryer, set the temperature at medium and remove from the dryer while damp. This will allow sheets to air dry and will preserve the fabric while minimizing wrinkling. If you do iron or touch up your linens, be sure to use moist heat.

Why have my expensive sheets lost their luster? There is a good probability that you have excess detergent remaining in the fabric, possibly soldered into it from too long in a hot dryer. Washing sheets in cold water a couple of times without detergent will often restore their original beauty and sheen.

How should I store my linens? Linens don’t require special storage, but you should never seal them in plastic. Adding a lavender sachet to your linen closet is a lovely way to lend fragrance to your bed; plus it’s a natural insect deterrent.

See other images of Casa del Bianco fine linens on DesignCommotion.com.

   by Saxon Henry

Stephanie Odegard knew early on that she wanted to create a business model championing socially responsible ideals. It was in 1980, after a 5-year Peace Corps assignment in Fiji, that she made the commitment to help talented artisans who were largely oppressed. “I was about to leave Fiji when I walked into a showroom built by our craftspeople,” she explains. “Everyone was there—sitting on grass mats, the men bare-chested with traditional dress and women in sarongs, and they had made a traditional feast in my honor with roasted chickens and suckling pigs and dishes wrapped in coconut leaves.”

Odegard was astonished, as this was a very important feast normally prepared only for very important people and almost always reserved for natives to the land. “It was incredibly moving to realize that they had prepared this traditional feast in my honor,” she says. “It was the first time I truly realized the impact their work could have on people’s lives.”

After Fiji, her desire to help others led her to Nepal and India where artisans worked in dire conditions and child labor was the norm. She helped Nepalese weavers design carpets that would be marketable in the west, and she founded Odegard, Inc., to offer the plush rugs to discerning interior designers. In India, she contracted with local stone carvers to produce accessories, ornately carved fireplace mantles and pavilions.

Since that time, the founding member of RugMark, which monitors manufacturers to help prevent child labor, has had great success in changing working conditions for the better. “There are now more people working, the standards of living have been raised, schools have been created within factories, and a great number of children have been educated through RugMark schools,” she remarks. “Our suppliers have created clean water standards in facilities and they have installed the only smoke free boiler in the industry in Nepal.”

Odegard has recently taken her activism a step further by switching her finances from a traditional banking arrangement to RSF Social Finance, an organization that divides interest monies between deserving companies doing good in the world. “It is important to me that we are dealing with socially responsible organizations in so far as possible in our interactions,” she says. “Knowing our interest money is going to socially responsible green and fair trade companies as well as non-profit organizations, rounds out my goals for becoming more and more the world citizen I wish to be.” Running a company that champions green ideals and corporate social responsibility (CSR) is incredibly challenging, especially where dealing with the financial arena is concerned. “The people working in these areas are usually less interested in corporate social responsibility and are more interested in the bottom line,” she says. “They tend to create covenants that are difficult to maintain, and to keep the focus on both social and fiscal responsibility is always a challenge.” Odegard’s goals for the future include continuing to defeat negative forces at work in the poor communities from which she gleans her wares. “We often have to work with self interested and political labor unions that use extortionist techniques, which prevent us from providing quality, appropriate working environments,” she explains. “Implementing certification strategies and inspection processes are sometimes difficult because local officials are often not interested in raising the standards of the poor. We are up against this all the time.”

   by Saxon Henry There is no one answer to this question: there are as many as there are personalities under the sun. I've plumbed the minds of Philippe Starck, Andreas Reichert and Karim Rashid, and each had a remarkably personal point of view. Reichert says, "I love it when a project is ready to go into production and when I have a really good feeling about the design – this really warms my heart. This usually happens in the unspectacular and pragmatic surroundings of a factory, which makes the situation all the more distinct and special." Starck claims, "Anyone can build a building that protects people from heat, sun and cold. What I am determined to do is to make a stage where people can be sexier and more brilliant, a place where they can awake smarter." And Rashid declares, "I am inspired by every project I have worked on, by every city I have traveled to, by every book I have read, by every art show I have seen, by every song I have heard, and by every smell, taste, sight, sound, and feeling.” The list of other visionaries who have influenced Rashid is long and diverse, ranging from Andy Warhol and David Bowie to DJ’s Felix da Housecat and Grandmaster Flash. Film directors Stanley Kubrick and Francis Ford Coppola are on his list, as are Saarinen, Niemeyer and Noguchi.

See the wanderings of these mythic minds at my blog on FastCompany.com. For other design stories, visit DesignCommotion.

 Swatch It!                                                                                            

                                                                      by Saxon Henry

Due in part to visionaries like David Serrano and Robert Wilson, who have been offering furniture in any color that Benjamin Moore produces through their shop Downtown in Los Angeles for the past 11 years, furniture has become bolder and more beautiful. With his imagination as his guide, Serrano pioneered a process that seals the furniture after it’s painted, protecting it and bringing it a lacquered gleam. A fine artist who grew up in a small town in the Mexican desert, which is renowned for its lavender and purple sunsets, he developed a fascination for color early on and has nurtured it his entire life.

“The first piece of furniture I painted was an apple green coffee table, which I matched to a Banana Republic shopping bag,” he says. “My partner said, ‘You’re crazy; no one will buy this!’” A young designer named Kelly Wearstler, who was just beginning her career at the time, snapped it up, beginning a long collaborative relationship with Serrano that has produced a kaleidoscopic array of furniture for her projects.

The trend migrated to South Florida, and Christopher Raessler of the RGR Design Group began offering furnishings in any Benjamin Moore color about seven years ago. He works with several companies in Miami that paint the furniture and then treat it with a strong, glistening finish.

“We use Benjamin Moore colors and we can also mix custom colors,” Raessler remarks. “The finish is not technically lacquer, which requires a long process that takes many weeks to achieve. I call our finish the 21^st-century lacquering method because we’re much too impatient now to wait too long for furniture!”

This 21^st-century finish is achieved with modern products rather than traditional techniques. Serrano’s sealant was originally made for use on automobiles. “It’s extremely durable,” he remarks. “Photosynthesis can yellow traditional lacquers, which is a great concern for those living in climates like South Florida’s where there is so much light. The finish we’ve created will not yellow and it is cleaned with a damp cloth.”

If you are a do-it-yourselfer, a word of caution from Carl Minchew, the director of product development at Benjamin Moore: “You can’t use our paint, which is meant for walls and trim, on furniture and expect it to be durable without the special coatings that these companies have created.” 

Serrano concurs that it is the sealant they use that makes the furniture resilient and the colors so lush. It’s the expansive range of color choices that they can offer clients that Raessler enjoys. “Never before have we been able to provide so many choices in furniture colors,” he remarks. “The fact that the lacquering enlivens the colors and brings sophistication to each piece is a bonus.”

About his fearless color choices for furniture, Serrano quips, “Color has never done anything bad to me, so I’m not afraid of it! The newest hue I’m perfecting is one I’ve matched to a dry chicken bone—have you ever noticed how many tonal gradations there are in a chicken bone that has been beautifully bleached by the sun?”

For other similar design stories, visit DesignCommotion...

  by Saxon Henry

Audrey Hepburn once said, “Some people dream of having a big swimming pool. With me, it’s closets.” Were she still alive, Ornare’s closets would likely make the iconic actress swoon! The Brazilian company that migrated from South America to Miami is known for its exceptional detailing and luxurious appointments. A stroll through the Miami showroom brings great sensory pleasure. There’s something about the sleekly polished woods, which have managed to retain their textural personalities, combined with a peppering of undulant furniture that creates an air of allure.

 

I believe it’s safe to say that the populous of the vibrant country of Brazil can’t help but produce provocative products; and though Rio de Janeiro often gets blamed for Brazil’s tantalizing reputation, it’s not just the cariocas, or natives of Rio, that birth designs exuding sexy charm. São Paulo stakes its own claim here. During a recent trip to the city, Jason Richard Adams, director of Max Strang Architecture in Miami, noticed. “São Paulo was a city of absolute contrasts: lush rolling hillscapes with concrete towers rising up out of the canopy,” he explains. “There was a great vibe about the streets, and my favorite area was the libertage, or Japanese freedom district.”

 

He also noticed the sultry quality of the products being manufactured there. “What makes Brazilian design so inherently sexy is the mentality of the people,” he remarks. “They are in touch with nature, and prefer their designs to follow that path.”

 

Marcos Zucaratto, a Brazilian-born, Miami-based interior designer for Artefacto—a luxury Brazilian brand that has exploded in the U.S. in the past several years, couldn’t agree more. “We have so many natural resources that we work with, all of which link us to the organic,” he says. “We don’t limit our designs to straight edges; we create a balance between the organic, or natural elements, and the sensual.”

 

The designer, who designed the living room in the photo above, believes that Miami is a great place for Brazilians to strut their stuff. “It’s a natural place for us to put our creativity out there,” he explains. “I am a true carioca—was born and raised in Rio, which is an incredible city full of contrasts and beautiful people. This helped me to be who I am, and it is my constant inspiration.”

 

Designer Thomas Bina, the creative director of Los Angeles-based Environment Furniture, is a native Angeleno, but he’s been living in Brazil for the past five years in order to cultivate resources and designer relationships. He spotted a green trend coming out of Brazil, which is why he moved there. As is the case with most other aspects of life there, the environmentally friendly products pouring out of the South American country are far from boring. Case in point is the Giramundo swivel chair, which is covered in yarn scraps that were collected in Rio. And who can forget the playful wares of the Campana Brothers with their knack for envisioning spirited environmentally friendly products?

 

Ornare has also made a commitment to sustainable design. “Their factories were impeccably clean, modern and environmentally green in their re-use programs,” says Adams, who visited the company’s facilities while in Brazil. “As is the case with many of their products, the aspects I loved the most about Brazilian design was the use of reclaimed wood, and the stylistic ways architects and designers utilized this material.”

 

The company has just launched Linah, a new line of kitchen products, in the U.S. Why Miami for its first U.S. outlet? “Miami was a great choice because we felt that the city is home to the perfect combination of design innovation and luxury,” Ornare’s Director Esther Schattan remarks. “The city is filled with cosmopolitan citizens that are open-minded when it comes to embracing new ideas.”

 

Though certainly not a new idea, Adams’ last comment about the Brazilian’s penchant for the provocative is far from an afterthought: “It doesn't hurt that there is an abundance of sexy people in that country!” For other sexy design stories, visit my ezine DesignCommotion.

Everyday I am amazed to find that design is absolutely everywhere. I would like to share my discoveries with you. As I'm interviewing design visionaries, they never cease to amaze me in their depth and talent. Ross Lovegrove claims the road to success for any designer is paved with stamina. “Thou shalt not waffle,” he proclaimed. To read interviews with Lovegrove, the Campana Brothers and Piero Lissoni, visit my ezine Design Commotion. Lissoni claims that design for him is close to child’s play. “I still play everyday,” he explained. “I have just changed the scale of the things I am playing with!” Lovegrove designed the Swarovski Crystal Palace at Design Miami/ this year. See an interview about his design of Liquid Space here.