New York designer Sandy Chilewich who began her career creating bold and fancy styles of leggings (Hue) is now combining beautiful colours and textures to accessorize the home. She combines modern design with durability and easy to clean products, used both indoor and outdoor….functionally fashionable!

Hue Hosiery

Make a statement in GOLD…

Chilewich Gold

Layer for contrast and texture…

Chilewich Layers

Define a space…

Chilewich Space

Lounge chair by Warren Platner, 1966 for Knoll

Atop of an unusually small pedestal base for such a large seating surface, the Platner lounge chair is an impact maker in any environment.    A beautiful mixture of metal rods and soft cushy textile make for a sculptural look and a cozy sit.   Designed in 1966 by Warren Platner, for Knoll, this chair has potential for retro glam and sophisticated modern.  

 When accompanied by its coordinating side table, this chair becomes parent and small tot. 

Platner chair with side table

The side table also features metal rods with a glass disc that perfectly fits inside the circumference of its top.  It is sweet and subtle yet the light bouncing off the torso of this table has the making for a small but sparkly dance party.  The Grandmother of this collection of course is the dining table that allows the dinner guest to gaze inside a tunnel of arched metal stems through its glass top surface while enjoying their meal. 

Platner Dining Table

Platner Dining Collection

 

This table is like a giant piece of elegant jewelry for your home, as is the whole Platner collection. 

On Sale Now until Feb. 7^th 2010.

The Warren Platner Collection

 

Designed by Verner Panton in 1969, the Living Tower embodied the spirit of the 60’s interactive ‘living’ landscapes.  Verner designed many great pieces, breaking away from the more traditional techniques and materials being used by his fellow designers. 

Hans J. Wegner Wishbone Chair

He took the living landscapes theme to a whole new level with the “Fantasy” Landscapes he created for Bayer in 1968 and 1970. 

"Visiona II". One of Verners Fantasy Landscapes

The Living Tower is still available through Vitra today, although not an inexpensive piece.  The Tower serves as Art, interactive furniture and a fantastic, eye-catching way to divide a room.

Verner with family

The Living Tower is available in red, matt blue and chocolate.  It is constructed of a Birch Plywood Frame, uses polyurethane foam, classic upholstery and the outer dimensions are 78 3/4″ square.  There are 4 levels at which you can lounge on the Living Tower.

4 Levels of the Living Tower

A fun,  funky piece of furniture sure to be a conversation piece for years to come.

I think everybody and their dog should have a downtown Kitty cat mat for their furry feline friend.

Place it under the food dish to catch all the bits and give your kitty something to look at while they lap up their liquid.

Prrrrrrr!!!!

10.  It’s sculpture first, furniture second

9.  It’s REALLY comfortable
8.  It has a high skinny back to rest your head on

7.  It has really neat humungous shock mounts that gently rock while you sit in it
6.  It makes a great cat bed

My adorable cat Chloe in our Bird chair

5.  It was WAY ahead of its time and still is today
4.  It looks as though it might squat at any moment to incubate an egg

This egg would be about the right size

3.  It is truly beautiful from all angles

2.  I can sit cross legged inside it
1.  It looks great naked

Well, if so, here are a few things that you may want to consider:

1 – Does the designer have a portfolio of previous projects to show you ? This is a great starting place to see if you feel this person has the ability to work with you. I would suggest that you look for a range of projects that may or may not fit your personal aesthetic. Someone that is diversified and able to meet the needs of a range of clients, is more likely to meet with you and strive towards something that is personal to you. If I am looking through a portfolio and everything looks the same, then I am inclined to think that I am going to end up with the designers aesthetic, not my own.

2 – I would want at least two references from recent clients who’s projects are complete.
A quick call to see if they are happy with the result. Did the designer listen to their wants and needs and did they find solutions that suited them. Did they find the designer to be knowledgeable in his/her chosen field. Did they prevent mistakes from happening, before they happened. Do they feel that they received good value for their money? Would they hire that person again and would they recommend that person to a friend, family or colleague ? If you can only ask one question, maybe this would be the most telling.

3 – How does the fee structure work? Of all of the clients that I have talked to over the years, this is the one issue that leaves most clients upset at the end of a project. The potential for unknown/hidden fees that often come with this sort of arrangement can leave clients feeling like something is awry . Generally, you should expect to pay an hourly rate as well as “actual cost” plus a percentage on purchases. This is the fairest way to both the client and the designer and it insures that the designer is making decisions for you based on what is in your best interest, as opposed to their best interest. Very often there are back room deals going on whereby a designer may receive a “kickback” from a vendor for bringing their clients to said vendor. If you are paying an hourly fee for advice and that advice is possibly being swayed by the amount of a kickback from one vendor versus another, well, that is unethical and you are bound to end up with some bad advice. If you are made aware that this is the arrangement, then that is a different story.
The advantage to the hourly rate and cost plus method is that the client may get to take advantage of pre-negotiated discounts, which can help to off-set the cost of a designer and this also means that you don’t have to go in and bargain for deals.

Happy hunting !!

Teeny tiny is always cuter.  OK, not always, but these Taika mini mugs by Iittala are absolutely adorable. 

The Taika illustrations by Klaus Haapaniemi have a wonderful whimsy about them and seem as though they are telling you a story of fantastic creatures in a land of decorative colourful collage. 

Taika means “magic” in Finnish, and these little ornaments will create just that on your tree or as a party favor this holiday season.

I have read so many comments online regarding, Marcel Wanders Zeppelin suspension lamp designed in 2005 which are incredibly negative. Why all the hate? This piece should be appreciated for it’s unique transparent texture and amazing diffused light. The transparent polymethylmethacrylate “candles” & faceted crystal globe provide a “sparkle effect” and play of light and shadow that I think is amazing.

So, my opinion is to keep an open mind – don’t be scared of creepy crawly things they may have inspired and influenced a designer to create something seriously uber interesting.