Valli & Valli teamed up with designer, Antonio Citterio to craft a new collection of door levers combining leather and stainless steel. Antonio is famous for his designs with Italian furniture company, B&B Italia. The use of leather on a door lever is different from an aesthetic stand point and also from a use of functionality. In other words, the leather not only provides the looks, but also makes gripping the door easier. The leather is available in two colors to include black and orange. Via.
During autumn, temperatures fall and the days shorten, bringing the need to be safely at home before nightfall. Maybe this is why we associate the coming of the season with more family time. As with the summer, our homes should change to reflect our lifestyles during this season. Wool clothing, rugs, and upholstery keep us warm, as do sweater-knit throws. In more traditional homes, dark or muted colors like aubergine or persimmon are quite popular. Contemporary homes may use the same color pallet, or may try a more graphic look using bold seasonal colors, like pops of orange and yellow with black and white backgrounds. There are a ton of magazines and design periodicals that may have a lot more ideas, but one of my favorite places to look for inspiration that I can replicate is in retailer catalogues. My pick of the season? Pottery Barn. I normally abstain from the typical arts and crafts look, but there is something about fall that always works some heartwarming seasonal items into my home.
Cutesy items are a big "no-no" in my designs, but during the Halloween season, when everyone wants to dress up, I will occasionally help my clients masquerade their homes as an ultimate testament to the Martha Stewart Home look.
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Posted by J. Chandelle, in General.
The first things you usually notice when you walk into someone's home for the first time are the furnishings and accessories, but the architectural elements that surround these items also help to define your perception of the space. The most common architectural elements are baseboard (which goes around the room at the base of the floor) and, if you're lucky, crown molding to finish out the top of the wall. Other than that, you are left with neutral colored walls with some kind of texture. Sadly, one of the most important elements usually goes unnoticed unless there is something wrong with it. This article will focus on flooring, specifically hard flooring like stone, wood, tile, etc. Carpet falls under soft flooring and will not be covered in this article.
This custom home has tons of architectural detailing, way too much to cover in one article, but this is an excellent example of how the detailing can create a space that is an absolute knockout.
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Posted by J. Chandelle, in General.
Ian Gill takes his inspiration from nature in the shape of abstract forms. As an artist, Ian's main focus is in the area of sculpture working with metal, wood, and stone. I was inspired by his works in bird feeders and bird baths that are featured in this story. I really like the abstract approach of the metal shapes where from my perspective they blend in well with nature. The color of this metal is one of my favorites in outdoor settings. Ian also has many larger sculpture works that are perfect for city parks and properties. Metal is particular resilient outdoors making it a great long term investment. I find these bird feeders and bird baths to be a bit different that what's in the retail stores today which first "peeked my interest". More information: Ian Gill.
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As many of you are aware Will and I both live in Houston, Texas. Hurricane Ike came through the coast of Texas on early Saturday morning. Will happened to be out of town, but I was at home "riding the storm out".
I had a few elderly family members with me that I was caring for as well during the time. I had a total of five people in my house with me. Some of the people had limited mobility which added another element to their personal safety needs. About 2:00am Saturday morning we started experiencing heavy winds. In fact, the wind was so strong that it was howling outside. I had heard the term howling before, but did not really understand what that meant until I experienced it first hand.
The winds got up to about 110 miles per hour for the storm. The wind was a bit less when it hit my home in Houston since the city is about 50 miles north of the coast line. At 2:00 am the eye of the storm was over Galveston Island. The storm was moving 14 miles per hour. Thus, I would experience the eye of the storm in about 3 ½ hours and then several more hours of the back side of the storm.
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