dwellings and décor

Bloomingville creates a wide variety of products that brings warmth and coziness to homes and gardens. They have fabulous holiday decor but unfortunately it doesn’t look like they have a store in the states. When myself or a client is on a budget often times I look for inspiration from higher end or European furniture and decor stores for inspiration and then I either make my own or find something comparable from inexpensive stores. My mother taught me this and I think its a great idea and it can be a lot of fun and a creative thing to do. I hope all of you have fun decorating for the holidays and hopefully this furniture company can bring on some inspiration. Check out their catalog here.

Images from Bloomingville

Some of the words that I think of to describe Harbinger would be traditional, fun, chic, unique and quality. I especially love all of their one of a kind looks and fun upholstery. I am not usually a fan of eclectic but I think there is a nice mix of modern colors and textiles with the traditional furniture and decor. If you are in the Los Angeles area I would stop by their store and check it out. To see more images go to their fabulous website at www.harbingerla.com.

The owners of Day describe their style as Bohemian Modern or “haute boheme”. After reading that in their “All about Day” page on their website I began thinking about their description and I would say they definitely nailed it. The Day company started with stylish fashion apparel and branched out to home decor. Their focus is on the revival of craftsmanship with the idea that modern glamour could be worn every day. Check out more of their fabulous designs over at www.day.dk.

Nella Ventrina in Italy designs bathroom vanities that are unique and gorgeous! I don’t often come across such beautiful bathroom furniture. I really like the way they are displayed in these rooms especially the ones with the very large mirrors and top-mount sinks. I also really like the balance of traditional elements with modern style. These vanities really inspire me to add some glam to my plain wood cabinetry. I would think wallpaper might do it but I don’t how well that would hold up to the water. Any body have any suggestions?

Images from Nella Ventrina via Bueller Designs

Lekker Home Furnishings prides itself on originality, affordability and quality. You can tell in just the few images that I selected below that they are unique and high quality. The wood looks like solid pieces and not MDF or particleboard. I love the design too. Not too simple with elegance that will last you a long time. The owner Natalie van Dijk Carpenter has lived in Paris, Amsterdam and the Netherlands. (No wonder she has impeccable taste.) “Lekker” is a Dutch word for alluring, enticing, great, attractive and tempting. Check out more of their products over at www.lekkerhome.com. They have some great items for Fall.

Misha sells beautiful handmade wallpaper that have a Traditional Eastern influence. Interior Designer and owner Chiara Enrico started designing wallpaper after spending an extensive time in Shanghai. She describes her work as “Modern Western creativity meets ancient Eastern traditional figurative decoration.” The silk paper is hand painted to create this timeless and one of a kind look and she also provides custom design to tailor every clients needs. Check out the gallery to see installations of her work.

This is a special feature today because we get to look inside the home of owners of Auto and inside the store and their products. The owners of Auto Renata Bokalo and Roman Luba own this very chic and posh “mini department store” in New York City’s Meat Packing District. Their home is located upstairs from the store they own and work. I am sure many New Yorkers envy them because not only do they own a beautiful shop they are a staircase away from where they work. I have always thought that this would be a great way to live and its very environmental or some might say old fashioned. There does seem to be some disadvantages. Renata says that she can hear the music in the store when she’s upstairs and feels like she can’t get away from work. They decided to build an office to try to seperate all the zones. They also commented on the fact that they tried to make their home look different than the store. For instance they used darker colors in the home and they implemented more decor that come from their Ukrainian heritage. The auto store carries many different types of items ranging from pillows to jewerly to purses. It is known to be a one stop shop for anyone. If you are in the neighborhood you should defintly check it out and if your not they have a great website. http://www.thisisauto.com

Images from www.thisisauto.com and The New York Times

When I was decorating my apartment in college I loved going to Urban Outfitters, especially when they were having a sale. They have such great fabrics and designs and I love that they aren’t too serious. Below are some images that I grabbed from their site. I love the old Hawaiian records in the second image on the bottom right hand corner. There is a coffee store called Hawaiian Village Coffee and all of their stores are decorated with old Hawaiian memorabilia. They always have old Hawaiian records with great cover art on them. Another favorite of mine from Urban Outfitters is the black and white photo of the Eiffel tower with the tree branches. If you check out their website they have other black and white photos of different cities across the globe. Their stores are also really beautiful and the one in Portland, OR used to be an old warehouse building and they even kept one of the facades the same.

All Images from Urban Outfitters