Architectural Digest Home Design Show 2013

(Lilian August)Spring fever sparked as hundreds turned out for the annual Architectural Digest Home Design Show this past weekend in NYC.  People were looking for signs of spring and they found it in the beautiful interior design. Connecticut-based Lillian August shows off their elegant collection above.  They featured their Tyler sofa in a cornflower blue upholstery and the Leila cocktail table.

(Dorya Interiors)Dorya Interiors introduced their Contemporain collection at the AD show. Shown above are their Trinity sideboard, Jade sidechairs, and Monroe dining table. Other Dorya contemporary living room furnishings is seen below. All of their furniture is made of the finest materials with a unique design flair as shown in the silver nail detailing in the chairs. 

(Dorya Interiors)Miles & May, a company from upstate New York, creates superbly crafted furniture from recycled or reclaimed woods. Below is a buffet, their A-line Server, made of reclaimed chesnut, blackened steel and white lacquered steel, a unique combination of the old and the new.

(Miles and May)If you love gadgets and things that transform into something else, then you'll love the furniture from Milano Smart Living. Below is their version of the murphy bed but with more refined mechanics.  The bookcase swivels smoothly to reveal a mattress which gently lowers into a bed.  They also have sofas that turn into bunk beds and coffee tables that lift and expand to become dining tables. 

 

 

Tune in next week for exciting tabletop design and party styling from DIFFA's Dining by Design event!

Interested in learning more about furniture? Take a look at Sheffield School's Complete Course in Interior Design. At Sheffield, you'll learn how to transform a space, create color schemes, and select furniture, lighting, and accessories.

Jewelry Inspiration: Show Me the Money

Klimt02 is a website that provides an international forum for contemporary jewelry in a creative space that offers knowledge, information, debates, and exchanges - all within the artistic realm of jewelry. Based in Barcelona, Spain, Kilmt02 inspires everyone interested in the selection, quality, art, technology, and creation of art jewelry. Sheffield School has kindly been given permission to share works of global designers here on our website. Today's post focuses on a jewelry designer from New York City, Lauren Tickle, whose "Increasing Value" collection converts actual paper currency into more valuable objects.

Lauren Tickle

Lauren Tickle
Necklace: $300.00 US Dollars, Currency Converted 2011
US Currency, Silver, Latex, Monofilament, Surgical Steel
11.43 x 20.32 x 22.86 cm
Photo Credit: Marc Creedon

Lauren Tickle
Brooch: $54.00 and $22.00 US Dollars, Currency Converted 2012
US Currency, Silver, Latex, Monofilament, Surgical Steel
Photo Credit: Lauren Vanessa Tickle

Lauren Tickle
Brooch: $54.00 US Dollars, Currency Converted 2012
US Currency, Silver, Latex, Monofilament, Surgical Steel
1.9 x 9.53 x 9.53 cm
Photo Credit: Lauren Vanessa Tickle

Lauren Tickle
Necklace: Green With Envy, $350.00 US Dollars, Currency Converted 2011
US Currency, Silver, Latex, Thread
7 x 20.32 x 20.32 cm
Photo Credit: Rachit Shukla

Lauren Tickle
Brooch: $36.00 US Dollars, Currency Converted 2012
US Currency, Silver, Latex, Monofilament, Surgical Steel
1.9 x 8.26 x 8.26 cm
Photo Credit: Lauren Vanessa Tickle

Lauren Tickle
Brooch: $22.00 US Dollars, Currency Converted 2012
1.58 x 6.65 x 9.19 cm
Photo Credit: Lauren Vanessa Tickle

Lauren Tickle
Brooch: $22.00 US Dollars, Currency Converted 2012
US Currency, Silver, Latex, Monofilament, Surgical Steel
1.58 x 6.65 x 9.19 cm
Back side
Photo Credit: Lauren Vanessa Tickle

Lauren Tickle
Brooch: $22.00 US Dollars, Currency Converted (Body) 2012
US Currency, Silver, Latex, Monofilament, Surgical Steel
1.58 x 6.65 x 9.19 cm
Photo Credit: Rachit Shukla

Statement

“INCREASING VALUE”  New Object’s Value > Sum of Currency Converted  My work is an experiment in the concepts of value and adornment. The Values Exploration process takes currency of defined value, distills it to graphic elements, then resynthesizes an object of much greater value. How and why are these notes distanced from their face value? Idea, concept, process, and labor create value. Is this new, finished form a microcosm of industrial production? or a parody?  I force wearers and observers to reflect on the concept of adornment in our society. One of the most conscious actions humans undertake is the decision of what to wear or not. My work takes underlying materialism and makes it explicit, imploring evaluation from all sides in each social context.    - Lauren Tickle   website: www.laurentickle.com mail: ltickle@me.com

If you're interested in learning more about jewelry design, we encourage you to explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.

Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

Bouquets In Honor of Spring

I thought for today's post, I would just brighten your day (hopefully) with photos of gorgeous spring bouquets.  Here in the Northeast, we are still experiencing our fair share of cold weather.  So, I hope where ever you are, that warm weather is on it's way soon!

Source: Twigg Botanicals via Style Me Pretty

Source: Flower Design Events

Source: The French Bouquet

Source: Heart, Love, Weddings

Source: Caroline Tran Photography

Source: Kickstand Events via Style Me Pretty

Sheffield School began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.

Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

Design Trend: Creature Feature

(peacock pillow - Bassett Hall, courtesy of Global Views)One of the recent and still popular trends in interior design is the love of animal images on furnishings.  Designers jokingly call this trend “creature feature”. Inclusion of almost any type of animal image in design usually renders that furnishing instantly desirable.

If you’re having a hard time picking out patterns for a client and you know the client is an animal lover (pets running around in the home is a dead giveaway), then maybe it’s time to look at prints with animals. Don’t get this confused with animal prints – like zebra-striped prints or leopard prints; that’s an animal of a different stripe! These are popular too but I’m talking the whole animal here. Some clients shy away from spots and stripes but fall head over heels with cats, birds, the whole menagerie!

Peacocks strut their beauty on this pillow from Global Views, seen above.  Shown in jewel colors of red, gold, pink and yellow, this peacock pillow is a great addition to any elegant room.  Birds are always a popular choice and we have several examples here – the Ash Hill pillow from Joss & Main, the bright Nesting pillows from Koko, and the Vintage blossom from Dwell Studio. 

(Ash Hill pillow from Joss & Main)

(Nesting pillows from Koko)

(Vintage Blossom, courtesy of Dwell Studio)For those who have an affinity for furry animals, these rabbit and squirrel pillows from Arhaus are oh so warm and cozy. They have the feeling of a Beatrix Potter wonderland.  Lastly, for those into exotic animals, we have the zebra and lion pillows from Dwell Studio in bright spring colors. 

(Rabbit pillow, courtesy of Arhaus)

(Squirrel pillow, courtesy of Arhaus)

(Zebra pillow, courtesy of Dwell Studio)

Interested in learning more about decor? Take a look at Sheffield School's Complete Course in Interior Design. At Sheffield, you'll learn how to transform a space, create color schemes, and select furniture, lighting, and accessories.

Wedding Planning Details: Drinks at the Reception

The Sheffield School's Complete Course in Wedding and Event Planning gives us a great excuse to keep researching the latest trends in weddings. I'm noticing that many weddings are starting to feature one or more "house cocktails" that guests can indulge in at the reception. The venue is usually well stocked with serving stations that contain signage explaining the drink choices and attractive displays of ready-to-serve selections. It's easy, convenient, and gives the wedding planner an opportunity to tie in the overall wedding theme with the beverages. Example: a Mexican-themed wedding gets an assortment of South of the Border cocktails.

From our friends at 100 Layer Cake, the top wedding and inspiration blog, I've selected a few reception drinks tables that illustrate this trend. Remember that today's weddings are all about good styling and details, and even drink signs will carry out the details found in signage, invitations, and other print throughout the wedding and reception venue. Click on each photograph to see more photos from the wedding.

Thanks to 100 Layer Cake for their beautiful photographs, posts, and wedding and event inspiration. 100 Layer Cake is a unique, comprehensive wedding and event planning resource for and by thoughtful, crafty modern women. Their vendors, projects, weddings, resources, sponsors, and marketplace are hand-picked and thoroughly researched with the hope that every single one is a truly unique addition to both your wedding and your planning process. Visit the 100 Layer Cake website today.

If you're interested in learning more about wedding planning and decor, we encourage you to explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.

Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.