I couldn’t help myself. I follow A Creative Mint’s photostream and fell in love with her recent pictures from Copenhagen. The splashes of red throughout remind me of the fabrics that arrived this week from Villa Romo and Boussac. Don’t be afraid to use a splash of color, it can transform any room.
1.&2. A Creative Mint 3. DLL 4. Cupcakes
Summer is officially here…have a great weekend and talk to everyone on Monday! Whatever you do this weekend make sure you grab a cup of sweet tea and gather with friends or family.
Brittany has some great father’s day posts that you don’t want to miss!
Image from: Going Home to Roost
With the 2010 World Cup underway we wanted to share with you four interior design styles from four different countries, who also happen to be playing in the World Cup.
SWITZERLAND
An underground mountain house literally built inside of a mountain in Vals, Switzerland. The architects on this one-of-a-kind project are seARCH and Christian Muller Architects. This house definitely has a ton of character and provokes a warming and cottage like feel. 
I love this kitchen!! Especially the sink.
Need some gas? Below are two pictures of a gas station in Grisons, Switzerland by the famous architect Iseppi Kurath. Neat huh?!
The exterior facade is made of metal.
GERMANY
This minimalist style home is nestled in Leipzig, Germany and is designed by Atelier St. The house also has sustainable elements such as solar panels on the roof, a water use chimney and many large windows to let natural light into the house.
CHILE
Hotel Indigo is located in Puerto Natales, Chile. Chilean architect Sebastián Irarrázaval designed this hotel and created all the distinct modern characteristics. There are 29 guest rooms and spectacular views of Fjord of “Last Hope” and Glacier Balmaceda.
This guest room looks so peaceful. The natural wood on the walls and floors is stunning.
Guests receive dinner promptly at 7pm and can do a variety of different activities including: horseback riding and glacier tours.
BRAZIL
Brazil’s own Arthur de Mattos Casas creates KAA, a modern resturant in SaoPaulo, Brazil. The most unique feature is a green wall on one side of the restaurant. It has more than 7,000 living plants. The natural color scheme and wooden accents allow guests to enjoy their evening with friends or family in a very relaxing environment.
The two pictures below are from a house situated right inside the heart of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The homeowner worked with the architect Marcio Kogan to create a harmonious space between the indoor and outdoor entertaining areas.
The final environmental friendly house is designed by designer Affonso Risi. I love the splashes of color throughout the house. The red chair makes a wonderful statement in the living room.
We hope you enjoyed our own mini tour of interior design from around the world. I must say, there were a lot of design similarities among the four countries while still creating totally different design concepts. Which one was your favorite?
Images: 1. Switzerland-Mountain Home Freshome.com 2. Switzerland-Gas Station Arch Daily3. Germany-Bertram Bölkow & HomeDug.com 4. Chile- Hotel Indigo & Cool Hunter.com 5. Brazil – Chictip.com 6. Homedug.com 7. Homeholic.com
Perusing our outdoor rated textiles yesterday and this happy stripe from Janus et Cie caught my attention. Doesn’t it just make you crave summer?
A few of us are relaxing in the triangle for the holiday and Molly & Ashley are headed to the beach (lucky!)
This photograph by Paul Octavious at 20x 200.com will be this weekend’s inspiration. Yes, please. Bring on the summer.
Hope you have a fabulous holiday!
-Brittany
What a fun afternoon!! Above Judy and Sharon Delaney from NBC 17 talk about when trying to pinpoint your style your jewelry can tell a personal story for the second segment. This is all a part of a 13 part series with the local television show — My Carolina Today.
The focus of this first segment is to give the viewer tips on how they can change the whole feel of a room by changing the art, lamps and pillows. We felt like quick change artists as we showed 4 separate vignettes using the same sofa and chest. We show the viewer that they do not have to change the investments pieces like upholstery and case goods to get a new look .
When determining what accessories to use Judy explains it all starts with the things you love that tell your story, whether a hand made needle point pillow from your grandmother or the tree of life picture you bought on your travels to Egypt. From there find a consistent thread as you explore the things to combine together.
Above, Kim Green, the Executive Producer for My Carolina Today caught in the act of tweeting for the show and Justin, the camera man in action. Thanks Kim, Justin and Sharon. We look forward to many more!
Stay tune, we will let you know when the segments will air and of course bring you the live footage right here on the blog.
And the crew returns for part 2 of High Point Furniture Market Trends and Favorites. Within part 2 you will find our remaining trends and also a few pictures of some iconic people: Thomas O’Brien and Mariette Hines Gomez. Lets begin!
Trend #4 – Neutrals and browns will never go away.
Below are shots in the Lee Industries Showroom of
some classic pieces that scream versatility and style.
Market wouldn’t be the same without testing the comfort-ability of recliners and sofas. Ashley is lounging in one of the relaxers from Lee Industries.
The bed has a classic and romantic feel while the sofa and coffee table display invites a family for a cup of ice tea on a Sunday afternoon.
Shots below are from the Hickory Chair Showroom.
A pillow line we saw in Inner Hall called Ankasa. Ideal for bedrooms, sun-rooms and/or family rooms.
We also had a chance to check out some lamp companies:
Jamey Young (left) and Barabra Cosgrove (right).
Trend # 5 Purple is still around! All the way from grape juice to wine colored tones.
Shots below are from Hickory Chair Showroom.
Below: Judy admires the nail head detailing on an upholstered cabinet in the Hickory Chair Showroom. Need a dining chair, take this cream one below, one of Hickory Chair’s most popular choices (right).
Often times when the team goes to High Point, it isn’t unusual to run into interior design icons. Hickory Chair had Thomas O’Brien on hand as he signed copies of his first book, called “American Modern.”You might have seen Thomas’s name on collections in Target, a lighting collection with Visual Comfort and his interior design studio called Areo in SoHo which he opened in 1992. Here is an article on him in the New York Times.
The team also stopped to take a photo with Mariette Himes Gomez. Mariette has a design studio in New York City and also a designer collection with Soicher Marin. Mariette and Thomas both design furniture for Hickory Chair. Along with Alexa Hampton and Suzanne Kasler who were also in the showroom showing off their collections with Hickory Chair.
It was nice to see you again, Mariette! Thanks for taking a picture with us.
Trend 6# Floral sofas are a breath of fresh air.
Below: is a shot from the Lee Showroom of a banquet with a Duralee print.
Left Above: Lee Industries and Right Above: Hickory Chair.
Trend # 7 Trellis is popular.
What is a trellis ? A lattice like pattern inspired by a lot of cultures, they can sometimes be graphic and organic. Below the bed in fabricated in a trellis fabric giving the room life.
This is taken from the Century Showroom and also seen on Apartment Therapy’s review of High Point Furniture Market.
Above are shots from Hickory Chair Showroom.
Trend # 8 Animal Inspiration
Animal influences were in every showroom that we visited. Here are some of the things we saw.
Shots Below are from Hickory Chair Showroom.
And last but not least, we had to share one of the coolest discoveries that Marty from Lee Industries showed us. Lee did an experiment putting one of their chairs they manufacture into a lake for two weeks. The actual chair is below on the left and you should definitely click on the YouTube video to see for yourself. We were amazed at how clean the chair looked after being in the lake. It was amazing!
Twice a year the team heads to High Point Furniture Market. It is just like Fashion week in NYC or Paris but with furniture. For a week High Point is the mecca capital for all things furniture, fabric and every home accessory you can think of. On Monday we spotted many trends. Here we have narrowed it down to our 7 favorites for 2010!! Lauren was our official trend-spotting photographer.
The team on the High Point shuttle.
Trend # 1 – Turquoise & Shades of Blue as predicted.
(Lee Industries High Point Showroom)
Trend # 2- Painted Furniture in brightly colored hues.
(Stanley Showroom -Coastal Living Collection)
Trend #3 Unique Wood Finishes
Ashley, Judy and Brittany experiencing a wood finish on a tri-fold table from Stanley’s new European
Farmhouse Collection (think Michael Thonet)
Above: Stanley’s Modern Craftsman Studio Collection, we especially love this sawhorse table.
Here Brittany sits on a sofafrom the McAlpine Home collection-perfect for a formal living room while a MacRae table graces the floor.
Tomorrow we’ll share more from our market trends. Expect purple, animal influences, trellis and floral sofas (yes, you heard us) In the meantime here is a review on Market from: Apartment Therapy.
Hey Design Lines Readers,
We bring you these flowers from A Creative Mint blog in Los Angeles. Leslie is the photographer and writer behind this beautiful blog. I recently found her work on the design inspired decor 8 blog and immediately fell in love with her shots. Enjoy these lovely bouquets and we will see you next week.
Be on the look out for the April forecast and also a post on another current project.
Enjoy the amazing spring weather!
-The Design Lines Team
These past several weeks every design blog you turn to is talking about the spring time. When I think of spring I am reminded immediately of Kiawah. I seem to always be taken back by the authentic architecture and landscape.
Kiawah, Island is often called a hidden treasure. For those who don’t know about it, this little island in South Carolina, is filled with wildlife and breathtaking landscapes. There is no other place that is so surreal and yet the nature seems to be untouched. As a child I grew up vacationing on Kiawah. I even remember my first trip down to this island thirty minutes east from historic Charleston. Many years ago a current client of Design Lines at the time, had a place on the river and my family went down during the sumer to visit.
I remember the dolphins jumping and swimming in the river as we sat on the screen porch eating the freshly peeled shrimp for dinner, a glass of ice cold sweet tea and feeling the warm sun bake our tired bicycle worn bodies.
If you ever need a trip for some exterior inspiration head south on I- 95 and get off on I-26 E then to 17 and turn onto Bohicket Road. Your last stop will be – Kiawah. You can’t miss it.
One of several golf club houses – this one is Cassique. Don’t you love that circle window in the front?
An aerial view of The Sanctuary, a five star hotel on Kiawah. It is the top luxurious hotel near Charleston and #1 Ranked Family Hotel in U.S. and Canada by Travel + Leisure Family. It is work it just to walk around the hotel and grab an ice cream cone in the candy shop. So delicious!
This hotel is so big in person.
Below are some pictures of some garden shots, Judy has taken in the past while vacationing at Kiawah.
The lush shades of green. Its spring time!
A natural landscape wouldn’t be the same without the palmetto tree.
A place to sit and watch some birds in the garden.
Bring some fresh lemonade and nice book to this bench.
In the mood for some chicken salad? Come on in. What do you think of the blue on the garage door?
What puts you in the mood for spring? What is your inspiration?
Images: Google, Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Judy
We should yet again receive Gold medals in Olympic Sport Spectating. I asked the Design Lines team to answer the following question: What 2010 Winter Olympics event have you enjoyed watching the most?
Hilaire’s answer was half-pike Snowboarding, Laurie & Molly answered that they adore watching the mens & women’s snowboarding events, as well. How about those US Snowboarding team jackets? We found them to be cool and fashion forward- it would fit right at home in this child’s study designed by Judy & Lauren.
Lauren’s answer to my question: ” Ice skating & Apolo Ohno- I know he’s not an event, but still.” Apolo Ohno has won his fair share of Olympic medals (the Vancouver medals shown below) but who doesn’t want to go for the Gold with this fabulous Fang Gourd Table Lamp in Antique-Burnished Brass with Natural Paper Shade from Visual Comfort?
Personally, I like watching the ski jumping and the women’s Aerial. I find both events to be thrilling- though I’m happy when they land on the ground again. Wouldn’t it be great if the Olympic inspired Rio rug from our friends at Niba Rugs in warm Miami was underfoot?
Ashley’s favorite:” Curling, it is so amazing & addicting.” Judy has been watching figure skating and has been cheering on the US Hockey team on its way to a gold medal! Go Team USA! Check out Jasper John’s beautiful interpretations of the American flag:
What’s your favorite Olympic Sport to watch? For our 2008 Summer Olympics Inspiration from China, click here.
-Brittany