Looking Good

I have been reviewing my finds from my trip to Las Vegas Market and still am finding a lot of inspiration from these great items.  Let me share some of the good looking pieces I am loving:

Which is your favorite?

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Photos by Rebecca Ward

Went To Market

I made a whirlwind trip down to Las Vegas to see what's new from my vendors and then find some new vendors. Success on both accounts! I just wish I had more time to spend there, but alas, with all my client projects I could only afford to spend two days out of my busy week down there.
Besides visiting showrooms and taking a few CEUs, the market kept us designers well fed and entertained. Monday night had a circus in the breezeway complete with carnival food.
I will go into more detail about my great finds at market in the posts to come. In the meantime, have a great weekend!

Inside The Light

The Bellagio

While in Las Vegas, my designer friends and I naturally had to "ooh" and "aahh"-- and maybe even drool a bit-- over the fabulous hotel and restaurant designs. It's a hospitality designer's paradise!

The Palazzo

Dos Caminos Restaurant at the Palazzo

Dos Caminos Restaurant at the Palazzo

What we wouldn't give to have a project like that!  

The Cosmopolitan

We stopped in the newest hotel to the strip, The Cosmopolitan. 

The Cosmopolitan

The main shopping and dining area consists of a humungous chandelier installation that is quite breathtaking!  

The Cosmopolitan

 The chandelier loops around the 4 stories of the atrium, enveloping a few bars.  Very classy!

The Cosmopolitan

The Cosmopolitan

Who wouldn't want to be a VIP guest and check in at this VIP lounge?

The Cosmopolitan

Do you have a favorite hotel on the strip?


Photos by Rebecca Ward

KBIS 2011

So I'm back and hitting the ground running today after spending the week in Las Vegas for the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS).  I gleaned so much information and saw so many vendors that it will take me a while to sift through it all.  Simultaneously, the Window Fashions Convention was underway with its own classes and vendors that I also participated in.  Over the next week or so, I will unfold the details but for now I will be playing catch-up on all that I need to address after being gone for a few days.  I hope you enjoy your weekend!  Happy Friday!

Craziness!

I hope you all had a great Easter Weekend!  My life is very busy right now with work and starting to look for a house!  I love it all though and am really excited for the next few months to unfold.

I am literally running out the door to catch a plane to Las Vegas.  I will be spending the next few days with my designer friends attending the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (aka KBIS) and the Window Fashions convention.  I know I will return with all kinds of great info to share! 

In the meantime, I will leave you with this photo of some of the ideas going into my new commercial project of a pizza diner.  It's going to be very modern and a fun place to get pizza!  The greys and blacks wil be a perfect background to all of the great food.

Photos by Rebecca Ward.

Going to Market?

 I won't be heading down to the winter market in Las Vegas next week since I know I have to go in the summer.  I am also planning to attend KBIS in Vegas in April.  However I took a look and the style file on their website just to see what trends are happening right now.  You can read the style file for yourself here to discover what is happening with the lively colors, bold damasks, subtle yet exotic hues and shining silver accents.

You can also check out some of the featured exhibitors here.  They have many inspiring photos such as these:

Linon Home Decor Products, Inc.

Star International Furniture

Asian Art Imports

Midwest-CBK

Are any of my readers planning to attend Market next week?

Images from www.lasvegasmarket.com

Reclaiming Wood in Interiors

I am loving the look of reclaimed wood furniture and flooring.  It's so natural and "green" that it makes me happy to simply see the wonderful pieces cropping up everywhere.  I noticed the reclaimed wood being featured all over the Las Vegas Winter Market this year.  I particularly loved everything in the Dovetail Showroom, which featured much of this style.  Some of it is very rustic and provencal while others look cleaner and washed in the Scandinavian style.

Image from Dovetail

As I looked through my magazines this last weekend, I especially liked the spread in the April issue of House Beautiful called "The New Look of Wood" with categories of reclaimed, washed, tinted, graphic, and white.  The pictures are so inspiring and exquisite that I recommend picking up this issue.  I give you just a sampling here to whet your appetite.

Images by Rebecca Ward

You Can Take That to the Furniture Bank

I was sadly unaware of the existence of furniture banks until I went to the Why Green, Why Not? symposium in Las Vegas this month, as I mentioned in my blog here.  Kathy Ireland mentioned it as a way to be green.  I wasn't the only one not in the loop though, since someone piped up to ask her what exactly a furniture bank was.  On returning home I did a little research and found one local to me as well as useful websites for furniture banks nationwide and I thought I would pass on this knowledge for those unaware of their existence, like me

There is an organization called the National Furniture Bank Association (NFBA) whose mission is "to assure that no child in America has to sleep on the floor."  Furniture banks will take your donated unwanted furniture, often pick it up, and relocate it to a family in need.  What a wonderful way to clear the room for your new furniture or just get rid of some in an over cluttered space.

For my local readers, Furniture for Families in Folsom, California is the furniture bank for the area.  Other furniture banks can be located on the NFBA website simply by entering your zip code.


Of course, there are always charities like Goodwill and Salvation Army as well as internet sources like freecycle who will be happy to take your donations.


I think knowing about furniture banks will be a great value for me in finding ways to help my community and I will definitely recommend it to my clients, families and friends! 


Have you ever used one?

Went to Market

I got back from a quick trip to the World Market Center in Las Vegas where the winter furniture market is going on right now.  I had never previously had a chance to go see the showrooms so I thought this was as good of a time as any.  It is quite the ordeal!  Three buildings comprise the Market with the Las Vegas Design Center and its permanent showrooms with many temporary exhibits there for the market week.  I traipsed up and down the 11 floors of building A and the 16 floors each of Buildings B and C which left me exhausted by the end of day 2.

I did get to sit in on a synposium put on by the SFC on green design with a panel consisting of Kathy Ireland, Angelo Surmelis from HGTV and the president and publisher of Dwell magazine, Michela O'Connor Abrams. But more on that later.

Overall I think a great introduction for me to Market for when I need to return with specific needs for my clients.