Heritage Sonic Square (Bathroom Design)

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Heritage Belmonte Comfort (Bathroom Design)

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Caprieze Fresso (bathroom design)

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Caprieze Fresso Furniture Detail (Bathroom Design)

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Sonic Square Fresso (Bathroom Design)

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Fairport Single Lever Basin Mixer (Bathroom Design)

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Heritage Tempus Basin Mixer (Bathroom Design)

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Bristan JS2 wall mounted basin mixer (Bathroom Design)

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Bristan Twist basin mixer (Bathroom Design)

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The Origins of Luxury in Interior Design Today . . . 17th Century France?

    Yup. That pretty much sums it up. You can either hang up now, or read on to see the highlights of a marvelous seminar I attended recently at the Philadelphia Marketplace Design Center. It was taught by a refined and elegant James Caughman (of Kohler Interiors - group responsible for Baker Furnishings and others...). Mr. Caughman so perfectly and eloquently spun - for a captivated crowd of interior deigners - 'the appropriate pictures of the day' that he successfully made his case before the packed house. An art historian by training, his thesis is this: The the seeds of luxury today were planted in 17th century France. So right he was. Here's a synposis.

















    Luxury has never been fair: there are those who have it and those who do not. Those who want it; those who sell it - and those who try to make people want it in order to sell it. From the perspective of word origin, it can be tracked to the Middle Ages, from the word lust or lasciviousness. (hmm...we could spend some time here - but we'll move on.) Luxury - today and yesterday can be summed up as carrying the fumes of excellent design; excellent materials and fine, artisinal workmanship.





    But imagine a time in history- again in the Middle Ages - where restricitons called Sumptuary Laws literally 'restricted' what people could wear (to include color!) or what they could own, based upon their social station. These laws were of course designed to preserve a social status amongst the wealthy, the noble and of course the royal. ("It's good to be the king." Unless of course - your NOT the king - then it's not so hot.)


    So let's think about these Sumptuary Laws for a moment from the point of the economic engine: Not great for commerce. If you want to sell a lot of things to a lot of people - it must be legal for them to own and wear it. Happily, it was in late 17th century France that the Sumptuary Law was struck down. But WHY?


    Necessity is the Mother of Invention:

    Louis XIV may have had the grand idea to build Versailles, but the man and his country were much out of cash as a result. The dilemma faced by all of the Louis' then was how to create cash - or in their case - gold? The 'people' were not happy so heavier taxation was not a viable answer. More importing was certainly not the answer as it would only require more gold to do so and thus further deplete the crown's riches. And so, a brilliant minister of finance, Monsieur Colbert , suggested to the court at Versailles that France needed to become an exporter of SOMETHING...but what THING? After putting their "Versaillian" heads together - or perhaps they simply looked around at their surroundings for starters - they concluded....LUXURY. STYLE. That's what they'd sell. That's what France would become: the grand arbitor of all things regarding taste and beauty - to include - selling it. And so the court set out to set up France as the leading exporter in silk fabrics(and thus usurp Italy, the leader at the time), fine furnishings and fashion. And so they did. Craftspeople and industry innovation were specifically drafted and sought out in order to support France becoming the dictator AND supplier of all things "style."


    Voila. And so was born in a 'little' pretentious, enormously massive and exquisitely beautiful palace names Versailles - the "must have" consumer mindset - the aspirational customer. Luxury as a commodity!



    First stop abolish the Sumptuary Laws. Next stop: Great PR - for Versailles.


    In order to create and drive the thirst to see and be seen - and to have what the 'in crowd had" - Versailles was promoted into the 'must see' destination for the noblesse - the "Hollywood" of fashion and design. To drive the thirst for French silks, the court decided to create a promotion of - for the 1st time - seasonal fashions. (year 1678). And so the news presses would be engaged with a publication akin to The New Yorker - called "Le Mercure Galant - and in it - would be printed pages showing the latest spring, summer, winter or fall 'must-have' fashions and hair styles. These single page printings were made with the printing plate. Knowing that - you may now understand the origins of the the expression in which someone is hailed as being a "fashion plate." The word couture would comes from the French word "to sew or to stitch." It was Louis XVI's taste for 5" stacked red heels that the expression "well heeled' would be born. And it was Louis taste for diamonds (vs. the pearl a la England's Elizabeth I), that would drive the diamond trade in India and perhaps even inspire the creation of the sparkling Hall of Mirrors at Versailles which when lit by candlelight was said to shimmer like endless diamonds.


    Move Over Jennifer Aniston.

    Sorry Jen. You may be cute, young, and thinner-than-thin, but - you're not the mistress to the king . Step aside. In fact, the styles and 'must haves' of the day were not dictated by the king's queen - and certainly not by a lowly actor. No - the person to follow was the king's mistress. Louis XIV had his Mm. Montespon (portrait here); Louise XV had his Mme. Pompadore. These 2 revered, sought after, and oft-painted kingly mistresses would be the arbiters of style and taste in their day. Lucky for Marie Antoinette that her hubby, Louis XVI had no mistress, so it was she who set the tone for fashion, hairstyles, and luxury during her time on the hot seat.


    From Furniture to Hairstyle? Hmmm...

    This one I loved. As a whim a matched set of 3-drawer chests were built for Versailles -something that had never been built or seen before. (Remember...we're' in the 17th century.) Such the rage was the 3 drawer chest (or commode) - that fairly soon, a woman's hairstyle would be born in which the hair was piled and rolled at the top of the head in what looked like '3 drawers.' You can no doubt guess its name! (Photod here, I could find only a 2 drawer 'frontage' hairstyle, but you get the point. . . do you think she kept anything in it?)



    Comfort Enters the Scene and Pushes Style
    Every design student gets to walk the marvelous path of furniture history while in design school. A thorough look at the humanity's evolvement from cave dwelling and cave paintings, to the time when rocks and wooden stumps in the caves would eventaully give way to the earliest stools and then chairs. (Getting these early stools and then chairs to stand properly was no synch - but that's another blog). However - look at a history book and you'll see that comfort was not exactly 'the thing' through the middle centuries- that is until the mid 1700's. It is during this time period - and in France - that design students today can see the 1st scientific sketches of chairs in which comfort was considered - and so chair backs developed their slope, the Bergere chair we know today (and pictured at the top of this blog entry) entered the scene, the arms and rails on the chairs changed, more sumptuous padding and fabrics were used - all to create comfort, as     well as beauty and luxury. And from this movement - there developed a slew of wonderful new chair styles during this time- in France. Seen here, lavishly upholstered and padded silk chairs,one of which boasts swags that look as if they were taken direclty off of a courtly gown; the other is richly embroidered as a fine walking coat might have been.










    And for fun - I've included a portrait of Marie Antoinette wearing a gown that was very much the fashion in her day. The silhouette for women had become quite wide as its skirt was held in a broad vertical line by virtue of side 'wings' if you will called panniers. I've also included a photo showing the apparatus undergarment that created the sought after silhouette. I show it to you because I recall being fascinated in graduate school when a professor suggested that it was the pannier that pushed the development of the French door - otherwise, one needed it to enter and exit a threshold by turning sideways. Seeing these examples - one can conclude it a fair hyphothesis! Fashion and design - to this day - remain close kin - the one influencing the other.














    Did Somebody Say Shopping????

    Yes. The French did. There was a time when 'people came to you' if you were an important person of means. However, the Marchand-Mercier entered the scene during 17th century France- the early department store. . . a wonderful place to experience and go shop for your wares. It was the French who lit buildings and streets at this time in the evening to accommodate shopping and commerce longer into the day. (Do you love these people or what?)




    ******************************




    And so the wonderful seminar spun. Mind you - I cannot remember what I had for breakfast today - but I will always remember that it was Louis XIV mistress, Mmd Montespon, for whom one of my favorite shoes was invented: You'll see them on her feet in some portraits; you see them casually kicked off and placed near her chaise in others . . . the mule! :) Vivre La France!
    Source URL: https://interiordesignq.blogspot.com/2010/03/
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NY Design Center - Some Yummy Finds for this Phili Designer

    In the spirit of "The Grass is Always Greener" - my pal Peg and I decided to pop up to NYC's Design Center on Lexington Avenue to see "What have they got - that we haven't got?" After scouring all 16 floors of the NY Design Center and drawing comparisons to our Design Center here in Philadelphia - Answer: Plenty!


    Let me say first - I still do love my design center here in Philadelphia and I do not want to 'break up." However, I would like like to be able to 'date a little' because peeps - there's a lot of wonderful furniture in them-there 'NYC Design Center' hills. Mmm. Mmm. Mmm.




    Yes, I do still love my the Marketplace Design Center here in Philadelphia - from the terrific individuals who work there and who take tremendous care of me and my clients - to the fabulous showrooms and lines available there. It is still love. AND - let me add too that the design center in Phili boasts an impressive (and convenient) array of fabric showrooms in addition to wonderful furniture galleries. These were not housed together in the same manner in the NY Design Center. Serious fabric hunting requires a jaunt to the NY D&D building I understand. Still - for this designer, there's something to be said for the time-pressed woman when it comes to one-stop-shopping for great furnishings AND a fantastic assortment of fabric from every great fabric house ranging from from Pindler & Pindler to Robert Allen to Kravet to Croce and Duralee to Shumacher....and so on. However - (fade in Frank Sinatra singing "New York, New York") - NY - my city and home state did have some fairly delish ideas to show on all 16 of the floors in their design center vs. the Philadelphia 4 floors.


    The name of the game here peeps is FURNISHINGS! Wow. What a breadth of selection in the NYC Design Center- from mid-century modern, to French provincial, to Swedish antique and just much MORE in the way of traditional and transitional furnishings, by way of case goods, upholstery, office furnishings, hand made fabrics on to to cutting edge design from the world over. So once again, may this transplanted and former NY-er say....Wow. That's my town! (Fade out Frank.). Since this building - like the one in Phili is open only to the design trade . . . I'll let you be a fly on the wall and show you a few yummy finds.




    Shown here - a concept seen in various showrooms in both modern and traditional renderings - but this provincial version was most beautifully executed: a 3-striped settee. (This graceful piece was in the Hickory Chair Pearson Showroom)






    Take a gander at this coffee table I spied in the Henredon Showroom. We saw a few variations on this theme in a number of showrooms - but this one was particularly well done. This coffee table has 4 ottomans on casters that neatly tuck underneath the table top when not in use. Should one desire a place to rest one's feet - or even should extra seating be desired - out these ottomans easily slide. Don't you love great design?



















    I defy you to have trouble finding the perfect dining chair or side chair when in the Louis J. Solomon showroom. Each one was more beautifully executed than the next. This is just one view along a 40' wall that greets you as you enter the showroom. My photo does not do justice to the elegant feeling in the showroom in total.





    Check out the stunningly well done dressmaker details on this embroidered linen chair in the Hickory Chair Pearson Showroom. Granted, my mother would be asking for a good thorough steam by the upholsterer here on the skirt (hey - Linen will be linen - ) - but still - can you taste the craftsmanship??(shown in 2 views)



    I stepped off the elevator in NY looking lost and confused on each of the 16 floors at the NYDC. Regrettably - I have no sense of direction: a fact that applies to me indoors as well. I didn't see one familiar face in the building, nor was I greeted by name as I walked into a showroom. But, I had the pleasure of a personal tour by designer Michael Tavano in his Wow Factory showroom. What a treat - and what a talent. I remember still the incredible dressmaker details on his window treatments; the hand painted silks by an 80-year-old fabric designer to whom he remains loyal and with good reason - and in his showroom there were these unforgettable contemporary roller shades from England woven - with stainless steel
    threads. Spectacular. Granted, none of these items above had a price tag that would be for the faint of heart - but - a girl can always look and dream, no?
    I admit that it was nice to get home to the comfort of familiar surroundings in our 4-story tall Marketplace Design Center after the long day up in NY. Still - while it may be true Dorothy - that there's no place like home - a trip to Oz every now and again - may be just what the design Wizard ordered.


    NY Design Center: 200 Lexington Ave, NYC. Open to the design trade.


    Source URL: https://interiordesignq.blogspot.com/2010/03/
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Posted by angel

Universal Toilet


    Design Credit:
    Changduk Kim and Youngki Hong of Daejin University (South Korea)
    Client:
    The Universal Toilet is a flexible toilet design useable by both the disabled and general population that removes the social stigma of handicapped facilities. For the disabled, even a dedicated handicapped toilet requires maneuvering, especially when in a wheelchair. With the Universal Toilet users don’t need to turn or twist but can simply slide forward off the wheelchair directly onto the toilet. There is even a chest board to lean against for added stability and comfort. Handles on the chest board can also be of use when standing or transferring between the wheelchair. For non-disabled users, the chest board becomes a backboard to lean against. The Universal Toilet is also very space efficient, requiring only a quarter of the space of existing handicapped toilets. And since the toilet’s sleek, curving forms are like nothing seen before, handicapped users need no longer feel self-conscious.
    Data and images provided by IDSASource URL: https://interiordesignq.blogspot.com/2010/03/
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Universal toilet concept could replace handicap stalls


    This universal toilet design is the work of Changduk Kim and Youngki Hong. It was designed to eliminate the need for oversized handicap-accessible bathroom stalls that always seem to be larger than my studio apartment. The commode part of the toilet can be sat on frontward or backward to easily accommodate wheelchair users and the average pooping Joe. The wall-mounted part of the toilet includes handles, a chest/back rest and an attached sink.

    This toilet concept is no different than the usual slew of futuristic products that includes a lot of smooth, contoured lines, angled shapes and a lack of color. Seriously, flatten out that toilet seat. It's just asking to cut off circulation, therefore creating that dreaded "toilet dead leg." — Travis Hudson

    Universal Toilet, via Yanko DesignSource URL: https://interiordesignq.blogspot.com/2010/03/
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Classic Home Decoration

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Once Upon A Time . . . at Kravet

    Gather round for a tiny little story about a 'big' manufacturer named Kravet. Name another "Luxe" manufacturer that would issue a refund to one of my clients - at the showroom's own suggestion no less- as a courtesy for being unexpectedly late on a client's shipment. The delay? On the heels of a fabric back order, (delay #1) - Kravet's Quality Control people failed one of my client's 2 chairs in the quality control test. Called into question was one small (and I do mean small!) area of fabric as it rested on the frame. Not to their standard. It failed. The delay in total resulted in a $350 credit to my client.



    Name another manufacturer in the lower priced market that provides a lifetime warranty on the upholstery frame for the original owner. Deliver excellence, and you can easily afford to offer that type of sweeping - (and unheard of in lower price points) - quality guarantee. That's my Kravet.


    Seen here are various shots of the showroom in Philadelphia's Market Place Design Center. One shot shows an area of the showroom with fabrics hanging at the back wall, and a just a few of the limitless upholstery silhouettes. In the next shot, note this darling swivel chair and in particular the dressmaker details on the tufted & skirted bottom. These proceed around the entire chair. . . perfect for furniture that 'floats' in a room thus exposing its back. Incredibly comfortable too.





    Name another manufacturer - upstairs or downstairs (that's a price point reference....not a Masterpiece Theater Title from PBS...) that makes a sofa that is so comfie that when I have clients sit themselves down on various upper end upholstery manufacturers and then lead them to Kravet . . . when their hind quarters hit the Kravet cushion - the faces light up, the men actually get excited and the phrases "This is the most comfortable thing I've ever sat in. I could live here," come up time and time again. And I always giggle at predictability of it all.


    Now let's talk fabric. See this photo? These are 'wall pages' of fabrics for you and I peruse, along with shelves of books and hanging swatches - - -All there for us to chose from when it comes time to select our fabric - that is after we've custom selected the arms, leg, back, etc. that we want on our upholstery. In contrast, there was a different experience to be had when I recently shopped with a one of my favorite clients. (They are all favorites! As my mother always said: "A mother cannot chose favorites." :) She was right.) Anyway, these particular 'favorite' clients wanted to shop in a famous national chain furniture store. When it came to finding a simple celery green fabric in the store's assortment that we could use to pipe a chair for a sun room... we had a choice of exactly how many fabrics? 1. (one). Yes - 1 fabric. Makes sense...if you only offer 200 fabrics in a line and have to divide those amongst 8 key color ways, and divide again amongst solids, prints, plaids, textures, etc....1 solid celery green choice makes sense. And if that one celery green fabric happens to be too gray or too blue - too sorry! There is only 1. Take it or frustrate. Go further down the price point scale then where my client and I were that day and the fabric selections will quickly dwindle in number to only 100, 50 or none, as in "This sofa only comes in this fabric." Now go 'upstairs." Pay a little more than you will at an Ethan to be sure - have a larger selection of silhouettes and customizable silhouette options and sprinkle in crazy comfort...AND...add 4,000 fabrics from which to chose. You'll never miss finding the right shade of anything, or finding the distinctive fabric for an arm chair, the right texture, the perfect signature look you want on 'something.' Not to mention being able to find the right fabrics for the perfect coordinating draperies, pillows, bedding or reupholstery project.



    Yes, you will pay more for sweet Kravet than you will at popular national chains. Oh but the value you get in return? By contrast, that $1,000 sofa somebody advertised in a circular last weekend simply will not look too good in 3 years - smooshed, dog eared and tired - and it will feel even worse in 5. Yes, you will pay more for a piece of Kravet, but it not only sits like a dream, but it wears like a tank. From 8-way hand-tied springs, to spring-down blend cushions, to high quality decking to the highest quality, kiln dried grade AA woods for their dowel joined frames. Baby - you get what you pay for. I happen to own some Kravet. I also own some other manufacturers as well, mid-end in my sitting room and office, and lower end in the basement. The Kravet is outperforming them all - looks like new, sits like a dream.


    AND. Can we talk about Becky and Heather? Amongst 2 of the cheeriest, warmest, kindest and most helpful peeps one could hope to bump into in a high- end, low-end or any-end showroom or store. Those myths you hear and fear about the "Lux World Showrooms?" Forget it where my Kravet is concerned...they'll even ply you with cookies. :) (Did somebody say cookies??)

    Ah Kravet . . . I wish all furniture stories ended as happily as you do!
    Source URL: https://interiordesignq.blogspot.com/2010/03/
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At Interius - Treasures to be Found If You're Quick.

    Listen up peeps. Interius - a great little place at which to turn up an exotic treasure and piece of distinctive character for any room - is moving. Alas you say? Chin up - they're only moving down to the basement of the Marketplace Design Center (2400 Market Street, Philadelphia) FROM - an upper floor at the Marketplace Design Center! That's our good luck - as is the fact that they'd rather not have to carry too much with them for the move. And so, they have marked down all goods by a sweet 50% through the end of April 2010.


    Check out this marvelous carved wooden bench . . . it could go traditional, transitional or ethnic in a snap. From a front hall foyer to a breezeway to a conservatory. What type of cushions should we design for the seat once we get it home. (My hind quarters like cushions....) Shall we go textured and earth tone, a little richer with a sultry Jacquard or perhaps some decadent velvet with a contrast cording? Original price for the bench around $2400 - at 50% off - even better. Take a look at what else $1200-ish dollars will buy you at Interius during their moving sale . . .






    Art Collectors - check out these wonderful hand carved stone sculptural pieces. They are really glorious and their price . . . don't ask me how . . . but each one was about $2400 - discounted 50% makes them even nicer!




    This eye-catching, carved, open-faced display cabinet shown below is really stunning. (The sides are all carved open panel as well.) My photos do not do the piece justice. In an ebonized lacquered finished, the cabinet would be a striking addition to a living room, a study or a guest room....a real conversation piece. So elegant and distinctive. I nearly fell over when I saw the original price tag which was a great deal at "about" $2400 (!) (How is it that everything I liked was originally $2400-ish?) - so at the sale price of $1200 - what a deal of a steal. Wish I had a spot for it in a current project - or in my home. Regrettably, I do not. But maybe you do...in yours! (See detail shot below too!)




    If you make it to Interius - enjoy - and good luck! May the goddess of great finds be with you!
    Source URL: https://interiordesignq.blogspot.com/2010/03/
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Antique Home Design

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