The Ultimate Home

Stocking up for Holiday Homes

 

Before we blink, Thanksgiving will be over and we will be living in the crazy pace of the Holiday season.  If you can spare a moment in the next couple of weeks to slip into the stores to stock up on some special hostess gifts, I'm certain that you will be grateful that you have them on hand come December.  One of my favorites is Slatkin's Holiday fragrance candle.  About four years ago, I was a Christmas gathering at my friend Lita's home and I got my first whiff of Holiday and it remains my all time favorite candle.  I always have a few on hand for gifts and also make sure that I have one for my own home as well.  Do you stock up on hostess gifts?  If you do, please share your gift ideas.

Framing Art

This time of year, the bookstores and stationery stores are chock full of great calendars.  In addition to making great holiday gifts, consider purchasing calendars for affordable art.  Publishers such as Cavalinni make beautiful calendars and print them on high quality paper.  Each calendar contains at least 12 prints for about $20.  Pick four or six of the best and have them framed.  They give you a great visual statement for a family room, bedroom or bathroom at a very reasonable price.  Tip: to keep the framing costs low, have the prints matted to a standard size frame, then you will be able to save greatly by buying a ready assembled frame with glass or plexi.  These are available at places like Dick Blick  or Aaron Brothers.  Pick up the calendars now at stationery stores or bookstores, but shop now for the best selection!

Painted Beauties

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Raymond Goins.  Raymond and his Atlanta-based studio create artistic masterpieces for the home.  Most of his best work is in painted furnishings and accessories.  One of his newest pieces is a glass gilded screen which uses a process called Eglomise.  In Eglomise, the artist must paint every object in reverse order (ie. highlights are painted first, then objects and lastly the background).  These are just the kind of decorative elements that add a very big 'wow' to a room.  See more at www.raymondgoins.com.  In Atlanta, the line is available to the trade at Grizzell & Mann and in San Francisco at McRae and Co.

Control with Cordpro

If you're like most homeowners, you have an orange electrical cord in your garage that is a tangled mess.  I know I certainly did, until I found CordPro.  CordPro is one of those simple, patented inventions that has you scratching your head and saying "Why didn't I invent this?".  It turns that tangled cord into a neatly organized way to store all of your electrical cords.  When you need to use your cord, simply pull from each end and you'll only unwind what you need.  You can learn more at www.cordpro.com

Ann Getty

I had an opportunity last week to meet Ann Getty.  As a member of the Getty family dynasty, she could have simply enjoyed a life of leisure.  Instead, she has spent a lifetime pursuing her passions for art, fine living and paleontology.  In 1995 she launched Ann Getty & Associates, a full service interior design firm.  Shortly thereafter, she began manufacturing and marketing a line of beautiful chairs, case goods, upholstered furniture, and accessories.  This March, she came to the South to introduce her line to Atlanta designers.  In her slide presentation, she began by sharing pictures from her fascinating trips around the globe.  She went on many archeological research trips where she saw first hand, man’s earliest art forms.  She has traveled extensively throughout Kenya, Turkey, China and other exotic locations.  She based many of her furniture pieces on inspiration she got from these far flung locales.  She believes, by the way, that ‘east meets west’ in Venice, not Istanbul.  Many of her pieces combine the best in both European and Asian influences, and the pictures above are from her line.  You can see her complete collection at Ann Getty House.

   

Inspiration & Textiles

I had an opportunity this week to attend an introduction to Mark Pollack's latest textile line.  Mark is the design director of Pollack Associates.  His latest collection of 21 textiles use inspiration from the textile archives of the Museum of Art of the Rhode Island School of Design.  The line is called Women's Work:  A Common Thread.  Mark and his team culled the archives of the museum to find historical garments and embriodery masterpieces (all hand made by women) and then used these items as their design inspiration.  It is a wonderful feeling to look at and touch a beautiful piece of fabric, but I can tell you that something magical happens when you can see a modern textile and know the details of the historical inspiration that was the basis for the design.  You can read more about each museum document and the corresponding Pollack Textile here.

Ahoy at the Spring Linen Market

I went to the AmericasMart this weekend to see the new products that you will see coming in the stores this summer.  The biggest trend:  All things Nautical.  Most of what I saw was very tasteful and elegant, yet fresh and fun.  For those of us landlocked homeowners, Nautical themes keep reminding us to plan trips to the beach in 2007!

Traditional Building & Fine Paints of Europe

This week I went to Boston to attend  The Traditional Building Conference.  This is a small trade show of vendors focused on and committed to marketing products useful in traditional home preservation, restoration and renovation.  I had the pleasure of speaking with the John Lahey, the owner of Fine Paints of Europe.  They make a complete line of couture grade paints and varnishes which use only the finest resins and pigments.   They also have recently been selected as the only paint company to produce paints that use the Pantone color system.  I had an opportunity to see a front exterior door painted, and I can quickly see why this paint is so special.  John says the best way to try their paints and experience the difference is to order their Dutch Door Kit.  He says that once you try their products, you’ll want them throughout your home.  If you are lover of Traditional home building products, make plans to attend the Traditional Building Conference in New Orleans fall of 2007 and Boston in spring of 2008.