This is my daily collection of noteworthy stuff that I saw online.

+ A delightful scene photographed by Alicia Bock that you can buy on Etsy. She is a completely self-taught photographer. All her pictures exhibit a vintage vibe. Via Apartment Therapy San Francisco

+ Pottery Barn Kids excel in devising amazing kids dcor. For the future rock star in your family, infuse a musical in their bedrooms with the Guitar & Boom Box large pillows. With kids, it is best to use a wide theme. Therefore, mix the pillows with Gavin Sheeting designed for kids who loves sports, animals, cars, aviation and music. Via Serendipity and Spark

+ The long and narrow curved wood tray adds style. The tray design accentuates the uniqueness of the gingery salmon burgers by Michael Smith. Sitting on a potato dill roll, watercress and red onion relish complement the savor of his Maritimes burgers. I am glad to report that Michael Smith's fascinating series, Chef at Home is entering its fifth season this fall. Via Food for Thought

+ If you are cleaning the garage or the shed, you could wall mount a few magnetic knife holders to neatly store paintbrushes. This is another great organizing idea from Martha Stewart. Via anh-minh

+ Eco-friendly back-to-school tips based on the three Rs: reuse, reduce and recycle. The best tips is to invest in reusable lunch box or bag, many reusable containers plus to use real cutlery and cloth napkins.Via The Gazette

Announcement: I am preparing a cool article on wood plates and trays. It is based on a craft project that anyone can do.

Many apartments or condo units have small hallway. Most units do not even have a closet. They lack functions.

The first room people see when they visit your house is the front entrance. For that reason, it is crucial that your entrance conveys the right impression.

Hallway Essentials

Any vestibule needs at least:

• a mirror to check what you look like before stepping out of the house,
• a seat to put on your shoes,
• a surface to deposit your handbag (can be hang on hooks) and deposit your packages (can use the bench for that),
• a surface to deposit the mail, keys and tech gadgets when you enter the room, and
• storage solutions for coats, scarves, gloves, shoes and umbrellas.

The rest is a matter of taste and lifestyle. To keep out the mess and produce a clean look, opt for closed solution. You want to eliminate any feeling of clutter while keeping things at easy reach.

You need a key holder near the entrance. After you must decide where to put your mobile tech gadgets (iPod, cell phones, etc).

Some people like a message center close by the door because they can read it all as they walk in the door. It may be a good idea if your students but I do not feel it is proper. Since families typically use another entrance than the front door, it is OK for the message center to be near the family entrance.

Grsns is one of Sweden's oldest, still active furniture makers. They export mainly to their Scandinavian neighbors. A tiny number of retailers in France, Great Britain, the US and Japan carry their products. It is sad because their collections are interesting.

SOURCING:
+ Hall Furniture by Grsns
+ Letter Holder by KeepItCartesian
+ Brady 2-Piece Entryway Suite at Pottery Barn on sale $249 - $1189 USD

The creativity level of designers continues to impress me. One furniture trend is sofa and chairs that adapt to the body and not the other way around.

I prefer the use of bands to the wire frame structure. But they are two interpretations of basically, the same trend.

I selected my favorite pieces from the crop of 2008 Red Dot Winners in the product design category to illustrate a few furniture trends.

Best of The Best

SKiN, designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel for Molteni & C, won the best of the best award. Within this avant-garde design, Jean Nouvel announces a new kind of comfort that is achieved through leaving things out.

Technologically, Skin is impressive too. The double leather cover is only supported by self-modeling geometric incisions. The leather feels soft to the touch. The floating seat makes this sofa surprisingly comfortable and brings a delicate touch. I would like to sit in one to fully appreciate the shape.

The Pumpkin Seating Furniture designed by legend Pierre Paulin for Roset follows the same concept but results in an opposite look. Pumpkin is a relaunch of a design originally part of the revolutionary redecoration of the Elyse Palace for Claude and Georges Pompidou in 1971. Pumpkin would sit perfectly in a family lounge.

From Ballet To Your Home

The laces of ballet shoes stirred the birth of Ribbon Stool series in the mind of its designer Nendo, a design group directed by Oki Sato. This amazing design is made possible due to laser cuts.

These high and low Ribbon stools are manufactured by Cappellini Spa with a polish lacquered finish in white, black, red, yellow and blue colors or in polish stainless steel.

Invite Your Buddy Home

The hourglass shaped table of Buddy is fun and chic. The leather-covered frame is matched with a steel top. In a pure European tradition, Molteni & C offered different finishes for the top and several leather colors for the frame.

The top opens to function as a small container. In fact, Buddy is fun, chic and practical. It characterizes the best friends of the fashionable crowd.

Stacking Chairs

When you host a party, having 5 or 6 chairs in reserve can make a big difference in the comfort level of your guests. Stackable chairs used to be the poor parent of furniture. With smaller condo living, it is time that thing turned around.

Karim Rashid imagined a set of intersecting surfaces to form of the seat and the backrest of the Poly chair. The chair does not feel square-edged. The Italian brand Bonaldo manufactured Poly in transparent colors or shiny black and white. Shop around since the prices of the Bonaldo Poly chair since to vary a lot from one retailer to the next.

MORE READING:
+ Ribbon Stools by Nendo for Cappellini at Unica Home price: $538 USD low, $846 high, $375 cushion
+ Black Poly Chair at Topdeq price: $195
+ Entire Poly Chair series at Karim Rashid shop price: $340 USD

This is my daily collection of noteworthy stuff that I saw online.

+ At San Francisco taught us unusual ways of displaying art by looking at how Maya and Michael of Visualingual did it in their home. Their way makes all the difference. If you wish to know more about their home dcor, Rearrange Design featured a house tour of their 2000 square feet apartment. Via Apartment Therapy San Francisco

+ This table featured the best in fine china from Legle Limoges to Bernardaud, Haviland and Royal Crown Derby. Again it demonstrates the added value of mixing and matching. Image from an undisclosed issue of Martha Stewart magazine. Via Toast and Tables.

+ The girl behind QlinArt is the second friend who told me that the English Tea at XO restaurant of Hotel Le Saint-James is second to none in Montreal. The impressive tea menu is served in superb tableware. Le Th St-James comprises a sherry or a white Port glass. I always plan a visit but I never seem to find the time. Jerome, my husband, is a tea drinker so I have no excuses to avoid this unforgettable indulgence.

+ Seven Spoons tested drive two chocolate cake recipes. Look at the impressive multi-layer chocolate cake she did by combining Martha Stewart's One Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes and Beatty's Chocolate Cake from Ina Garten.

This open-plan kitchen and dining room look amazing. It takes guts to design a black kitchen. It takes finesse to make it works.

Fashion designer turned interior designer Charmaine created a space that is airy and sophisticated in a house she shared with her husband and young daughter.

The Key Design Elements

Charmaine played with contrasts to add drama. The black cabinets and worktops act as the little black dress. The kitchen does not seem dark because it sits on a vast, light stone walls space. The high-gloss cabinets reflect the light while the waxed-concrete surfaces add textures.

The breakfast bar feels welcoming; it must be the hub of any dinner party. This kitchen proves that hard surfaces can produce a warm and modern rustic atmosphere, when used cleverly.

Congratulations to Charmaine and Paul on their beautiful renovation. If you wish to know more, Living etc. provides plenty of details on this barn conversion in the South of France. Do not be shy to adapt her great ideas.

+ Photographed by Bob Smith for the August 2008 issue of Living etc, pages 88-95 rights reserved pictures