Beauty of Thom Felicia Furniture

You are probably familiar with Thom Felicia from "Queer Eyes for the Straight Guys". Do you remember that show? We kinda miss it from time to time. We don't know any straight guy who watched it though, only straight girls, hoping to fix up their men...

Anyway, Thom Felicia is getting to be a major licensing house. He's doing rugs for Safavieh, fabric for Kravet etc. The latest is a furniture collection from Vanguard Furniture. It's quite lovely and original.

Take a look:

Beauty Window Treatment Ideas

Coming up with interesting window treatment ideas that bring out the best in your windows as they bring in the sunshine, is a challenge to anyone with a yen to decorate. There are tons of non-traditional options and tips to make the most of what you have, and give your windows that million dollar look on a mostly discount budget.

How about recycling old items? If you inherited lace tablecloths that are no longer fresh and white, you can still get a lot of mileage and an interesting antique window treatment, by using a sewing machine to turn the tablecloths into window curtain panels. You might even have some old lace curtains on hand, that need to be brightened, but the bleaches have failed you.

Accept their "age" and build on it, by staining them with tea for a totally antique look. Simply take a bucket and use half hot water and half boiling water, to "steep" 30 black tea bags. When the water is dark, add your curtains and stir the mixture. Then let them sit for 30 hours, with the occasional stir to keep the color evenly distributed. Remove the curtains, squeeze out the liquid, and hang them to dry.

Window treatment ideas aren't always about curtains. The once popular wooden window blinds are making a comeback with people who prefer the warm, natural tones of wood to go with a wide variety of décors. Antique folding window covers can be had for a song at garage and auction sales, then refinished, and if you are artistic at all, decorated with tole paintings.

Contemporary Wardrobes Design

Contemporary Wardrobes

Contemporary Walk-in Wardrobes
If you do a lot of space in your bedroom, you may want to check walk-in wardrobe. They are relatively easily constructed, consisting mostly of simple walls "Stud", either with a simple opening in the rest of the room, or a door. Use all available space - the space above the door and also the short "corridor" in the walk-in wardrobe can be used as a warehouse. A fully open walk-in stylish contemporary wardrobe without the front is a luxury in terms of space, of course, but has the advantage of natural light with maximum.

Contemporary  Wardrobes
Installed standalone or contemporary wardrobe, or rather their long doors can be very impressive - for good or bad effect. To soften the lines of your contemporary wardrobe , you could replace the solid doors "with folded sheets of cloth to produce a soft rack effect. Another proposal is to replace the door with a wooden lattice, lattice or grid. The backs Doors can be additionally lined with a fabric to create a gentler facade. Since wardrobe , built-in or freestanding are so big, they will always fight with other large bedrooms each, especially the bed. Design and Wardrobe bed design should complement each other, then, instead of two for the attention.

Contemporary Wardrobes 

with Sliding Doors

A bedroom contemporary wardrobe, of course, either hinged or sliding doors. Unadorned doors tend to create soft lines and a vastness of space. This can be in a contemporary setting, if advantageous to provide an unbroken line around the entire atmosphere. In more time setting it is advisable to break the land either by decoration or to choose sliding doors that open to room in sections so that the eye into the details, but as freely over a level expanse.

Contemporary Wardrobes Design
Standalone bedroom wardrobe are probably the cheapest option for your bedroom (wardrobes walk normally the most expensive), but that does not mean that you compromise when it comes to having style.There are wonderful contemporary wardrobe designs available, which are a positive addition to a bedroom. Do not forget that until recently (a few hundred years) was one of them from unsanitary to a cabinet in the same room to hold while you sleep. Were kept in wardrobe design, upper up to Victorian times, on the landing. Given the relative size of the contemporary wardrobe, it makes sense, even today. The proportions of a staircase and landing are better suited than an average bedroom to take large pieces of furniture such as cabinets and cupboards.

Oceania Cruises - Exceeding Expectations; Especially When It Counts!

I know Oceania Cruises has a basic mantra of making things right, but its communication regarding the effects of the devastating Chilean earthquake on its cruises has been exceptional.

I have clients who are about to embark on the Oceania Insignia on a lengthy South American cruise.  Of course concern over what would be happening with the cruise has been significant.  Obviously bombarding Oceania with calls when it could not possibly have definite information in an every changing situation would have been counterproductive.  So I thought:  patience.

As if reading my mind, Oceania sent out an email and a fax (just to be sure the information was received) with an update, an explanation and a note of appreciation of the client's concerns and the stresses involved.  All in all three well-timed emails advising that things looked good and all plans were for the cruise to go off as scheduled.

Then yesterday I received the latest email.  Not only did it have information as to both disembarking and embarking guests, it gave details of some of the logistical concerns.  For example, it explained that if you arrived at the port after 3:30 p.m. you and your luggage would have to be tendered to the ship because ships with relief supplies were scheduled to arrive and the dock space was needed to offload the critically needed materials.  This was followed by a facsimile and then, in the early evening, a telephone call...with a note that Oceania would have a phone line open for questions until 9:00 p.m.

There is literally no more that could be asked of a cruise line in this situation.  Bravo!

BTW, I called my clients immediately...as they were arriving at the airport for their flight to Santiago (scheduled to arrive the day before the cruise, of course)...and advised them to arrive at the ship as early as they could to embark (probably around 11:30 a.m.) so that if there was a problem such as the early arrival of a relief ship, they had a better chance of embarking from the dock rather than a tender.  I advised that it was better to wait in at the port or on the ship than having a clearly chaotic situation with tendering just so they could spend a couple of extra hours on land.  (I bit of conservatism can avoid big hassles.)

I will keep you posted on how the embarkation went.  And, if you want to follow the cruise on the Oceania Insignia you can do so on The Gold Standard Luxury Travel Forum.

Beuty and Luxury ,,,Chinoiserie Chair

You've probably seen this chair quite a bit. It's very popular with the Hollywood Regency crowd like Jonathan Adler or Kelly Wearstler.

You can find similiar chair in black and other colors at Guildmaster. They are priced at around $1150 per pair plus shipping...

Style Home Accessories for Spring

We just uploaded a ton of new home accessories on our store. Here's a quick sampling:

All can be found on the home decor section on the front page. If you have time, please come visit!

Contemporary Kitchens

Contemporary Kitchen Design

Contemporary Kitchens
Contemporary style is popular for its flexibility to be placed on the modern or ancient environments. It is used in all furniture design kitchen.Contemporary kitchen furniture is increasingly popular in experience in this modern time. Its beautiful, kind of refreshing and easy to use, functional design contribute to its popularity.They are usually characterized by minimalist design and use of linear, geometric themes. This design style extends to the kitchen cabinets and home in these contemporary kitchens. Most of them have the characteristics of contemporary styles, designed with simplicity and crisp, clean lines.

Contemporary Kitchens
Although the focus of the contemporary kitchen cabinets are beautiful, they are still not sufficiently functional to all large vessels, crockery, pots and pans home. Contemporary kitchen using universal design principles, based on flexibility, ease of use, to prevent accidents and minimize fatigue. Cabinets are easily accessible, with retractable shelves, drawers and sliding doors spinning lazy susans. In cupboards and drawers pulls a large stainless steel, and usually handles or not, or just a simple metal pulls. They allow for easy cleaning and sustainable operation of your contemporary kitchen.

Contemporary Kitchens
Features contemporary kitchen design features clean lines and geometric themes. This is often cited as a minimalist style, as the absence of unnecessary ornament and beautify are left out. They are also often asymmetric balance of contemporary and modern kitchen design.Even in contemporary kitchen design is the use of artificial and synthetic materials such as plastic, linoleum, laminate, acrylic, concrete, chrome and glass. But natural materials can certainly be added to complement the man made elements and soften the industry itself in contemporary cuisine. Often you can find things such as wood, stone and granite accents and accessories.


Contemporary Kitchens
These contemporary kitchens are blended with the latest techniques and materials and apply breakthrough technologies in their architectural design. Their functionality is highly superior due to their careful craftsmanship and detailed construction. Contemporary kitchens have a prominent and a clear look and design. They look as if built in luxury. They have a modern touch, and are highly desirable. Their design is sophisticated, while remaining clean and efficient. They have a pleasing look and match with any background, thus their background requirements are not a problem at all. They speak and make a statement in the home they are present in. These contemporary kitchens have a style that speaks of luxury and grace.