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The woman who helped usher the interior design industry into full flower in the United States was prolific in putting out ideas that will help freshen up today's interior design business. Look at our latest Designer Monthly, Interior Design: Look Forward by Looking Back to Dorothy Draper.

Did you ever have a problem designing small spaces?  Take a look at how top interior designers solved this common problem in our latest Designer Monthly, How to Design Small Spaces at the Kips Bay Decorator Show House.

 

 

 

 

Tuesday
Jan292013

Taking It from the Streets: Graffiti Inspiration for Home Furnishings

Yellow Mirror by Luis Alicandu

Graffiti's many admirers have created a demand that has brought street art into many homes through a number of furniture designers. We've chosen a few of our favorite pieces. Click on each image for more information on a style trend that's guaranteed to add both edge and street cred to your decor.

Imperfection 6 armoir/chest by Jimmie Martin

Deer Head with Winter Grafitti by MIHO

Red-Black custom painted chairs by Stephen SelzlerSquiggle Dot Com bedding by SIS CoversCustom painted furniture by UK's Graffiti Kings 

 

 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 ShuiWedding 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.
  • Monday
    Jan282013

    Jewelry Inspiration: Nostalgia, Beautifully Wrought


    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 the Netherlands, Malou Paul, and some of her beautifully crafted, wistfully nostalgic pieces. Click here for more samples of her work.

     

    Malou Paul

    Malou Paul, Ring, 2013
    Malou Paul
    Ring: Oblivion – Walcheren 2013
    Silver, old postcards, glass


    Malou Paul, Earrings, 2012
    Malou Paul
    Earrings: Crown Jewels 2012
    Zinc, steel

    Malou Paul, Rings, 2011
    Malou Paul
    Rings: Floral Stories 2011
    Silver, glaze

    Malou Paul, Necklace, 2012
    Malou Paul
    Necklace: Blooming 2012
    Zinc, wool, cotton

     


    Malou Paul, Necklace, 2012
    Malou Paul
    Necklace: Chain of Memories 2012
    Zinc, steel

     

    Malou Paul, Rings, 2012
    Malou Paul
    Rings: Floral Stories 2012
    Fair Trade and Fair Mined 14 Ct gold


    Statement


    The jewelry of Malou Paul distinguishes itself with a nostlagic feeling. On one hand this is reached through the (re)use of materials, such as old doorknobs, (old) zinc, old postcards, wool, combined with precious metals. On the other hand through the sources of inspiration, like mourning jewelry, victorian jewelry and traditional costume/folklore. Also nature, in all its different appearances, is an inexhaustible source of inspiration for beautiful shapes and colors.

 
     

    Together, this ensures that the jewelry pieces of Malou Paul carry a piece of history within them. The jewelry looks lived in, each with its own story. In addition, experimenting with materials is important, as well as the search for new shapes and forms. The ultimate goal remains making an interesting piece of jewellery, without "overthinking." 

     

    On sale at

    Webshop
    www.maloupaul.markita.nl

    GoLDFABRIK
    www.goldfabrik.nl 

    Op Voorraad
    www.op-voorraad.com 

    mail: paul.malou@gmail.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 ShuiWedding 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.
  • Friday
    Jan252013

    Inspiration for a Beautifully Decorated Wedding Reception Table

    There's nothing more disappointing than going to a beautiful wedding, then going to the reception and the venue falls flat because there's no inspired decorating going on. Receptions are important in any wedding planning process. It's the way you bring every guest together to celebrate the newly-married couple. It's a way to feed and fete your guests and thank them for coming to your event. And the reception decor, particularly the reception tables, should carry the color scheme and overall theme of the wedding. Here's an inspiring reception table that put us in awe, and we're sure you'll find it inspirational, too. Click on any photo to see more.
    In our inspirational photos, the rustic nature of the old wood tables and chairs is vastly amped up with the addition of lacey fabric and abundant flowers - and note the flowers at many different heights and locations (chair backs and the center of the table, with high and low arrangements adding color and romance without blocking the view across the table). Flowers + Tabletop by Karen Tran Florals.





    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.


     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 ShuiWedding 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.
  • Thursday
    Jan242013

    Jewelry Inspiration: Felted Rings for Chilly Days

    The Carrotbox is a site dedicated to all those wonderful rings made of glass, lucite, resin, plastic, jade, wood, bakelite, metal, and even stone. Alice Matsumoto from Vancouver, BC, Canada has a ring shop and has kindly given us permission to inspire our jewelry lovers at Sheffield with her discoveries. In this post, Alice focuses on rings fashioned with felt and beadwork.

    Woolly weather calls for woolly rings, like these sculptural felted Merino rings by Strong Felt (North Carolina's Lisa Klakulak).

    Bonus

    Even more jewelry:

     

    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 ShuiWedding 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.
  • Wednesday
    Jan232013

    Jockeying for Position: Sit-Down Parties

    (Spring setting, courtesy of HGTV)Have you ever been to a big sit-down party or a wedding and didn't know where to sit?  Mass confusion erupts!  Last year I hosted an 18-person holiday dinner - which is really not that big a party - and no one knew where to sit.  Suddenly, it looked like a frantic merry-go-round scene or a game of musical chairs. I vowed not this year!  I discovered place card holders!

    Okay, everyone knows about them but I always thought they were meant for really large parties - like weddings or big formal dinners where no one knows each other.  I really didn’t believe they were needed for smaller family and friend parties.  But you can probably picture it when my guests approached the dinner table: the new guests attending for the first time looked like lost lambs.  Small family tensions start bubbling up - no one wanted to get stuck next to non-stop chatterbox Aunt Sally or deaf as a post Uncle Eddie.  Understandably, everyone wants to sit next to at least one good table companion. 

    The best way to alleviate the confusion is to marshal the guests like a general and just position them with place cards.  As host or hostess, you know the guests best and it’s their comfort that you are ensuring.  I always think it’s best to start with the most outgoing, sociable people and spread them apart so the lively conversations can be distributed evenly.  I then position Shy Sam or Quiet Christy near them so they can be drawn out to join the conversations. 

    It also helps to start the conversation flowing with a wonderfully decorated table and fun place card holders.  It takes away a little bit of the pain of table positioning. Above is a whimsical but elegant elephant card holder.  Below was my holiday place card holder - a snowflake card holder to complement my blue and white snowflake table theme.  

    If you're planning a garden party or a little afternoon tea party - these colorful purse card holders will brighten your table decor.  If a wine and cheese party is more your style - the wine cork card holders is another inventive way to position your guests. 

    Another idea is to reposition your guests for the dessert course.  This will force new table companions and relieve them of any long-winded guests.  You can reuse the place cards – just add the second name on the back of the card.  This may even start new friendships!