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 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.

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Home Decorating Trend: Asian Meets Contemporary in Interior Design

Asian accents at Two Buttons Gallery, Frenchtown, NJ

Interior designers are always looking for trends to help guide their clients through the choppy waters of tastemaking. Trends, as we know, can be good and bad. Trends, if they're too "trendy," can come and go quickly, leaving your design project looking dated and so last year. But other trends are strong design currents that may be good to follow because they make good sense and are design-worthy styles. One example is combining Asian accents with contemporary furniture. This makes sense on many levels.

• Asian accents add international flair to interiors, as well as providing decorative points of interest.
• Contemporary furniture oftentimes borrows lines and motifs from traditional Asian furnishings, so there's a definite harmonious blend of new and old when combined with Asian antiques and accessories.
• The West has been fascinated with the exotic styling of Asian decor for centuries, and this trend is a natural carry-forward and fresh update of our decorating heritage. 

Click here to read my latest piece for Williams-Sonoma Designer Marketplace, where my design partner and I interview bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert and her husband Jose Nunez; they own a large import gallery in New Jersey, and you'll like Liz and Jose's advice about how to select good Asian accessories for your home and design projects. To accompany the advice in the article, I've selected a few contemporary furniture pieces that will style well with Asian antiques and accessories. Click on each photo for more product information.

The perfect display of Asian accessories: the Collectors Cabinet from Global Views

Jiun Ho's Hans Night Table is a sleek pedestal to display Asian treasures.

Functional coffee table from BoConcepts - sleek lines, Zen profile, go well with Asian accessories

Shiny metal clads the Terra Console from West Elm, a perfect surface to display accents!

Global Views' Cathay Arm Chair has a sandblasted finish that makes this Asian piece contemporary, ideal for an Asian throw.

If you're interested in learning more about interior design and decorating, 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.

Explore the Beautiful Ceramics of Italy

Ceramics of Italy is an International Contemporary Furniture Fair exhibit coming up that will feature nine of Italy’s leading ceramic tile companies and their new designs. The ICFF will be held from May 19-22, 2012 at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City. The show focuses primarily on modern design, and the Ceramics of Italy exhibit will show off fresh tile trends for floor and wall coverings in booth #1432. Exhibitors include Atlas Concorde; Ceramiche Refin; Cooperativa Ceramica d’Imola; Cotto d’Este; Fap Ceramiche; Mirage Granito Ceramico; Il Ferrone; Sant’Agostino; and Settecento mosaici e ceramiche d’arte.

Expect to see many state-of-the-art flooring and wall covering developments.

• Urban motifs
• Wood, stone, and concrete looks created with ink-jet technology
• LEED-compliant tiles
• Super-thin porcelains

 

According to Franco Manfredini, president of Confindustria Ceramica:

We are excited to be attending the show for the fourth time. New York is an important market for our Italian companies and the architects and designers we meet every year make it an event we cannot miss.

Italian manufacturers continue to focus on both aesthetic and technological trends that are both bold and progressive in the tile industry. For updated information on Ceramics of Italy’s participation at ICFF or to view new products launching this season, visit the Italian Tile website.

Bonus

Click here to read Sheffield's exclusive photo tour: A Day at the Kips Bay Show House.

As lead curriculum developer, it's fun to check out new flooring and wall covering products. If you're interested in learning more about the exciting world of interior design, then 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.