We get at least 2 product mailings a day here at the shop and so it’s easy to go bleary eyed and loose your ability to see. This table by John Houshmand on the other hand caught my eye so much so that the post card sits behind my monitor so that i can look at it again and again to have just a taste of my first reaction… Material Tension!!

In the design world that i try to create  I’m always looking for tension, the charge of energy that putting things of opposites together generates. Years ago Jessica said something that has stuck with me… the gist of it being … sucessful design is when Modern and Traditional aesthetics look at each other in surprise… what a great graphic image.. Perhaps one of the staples of how i look at a space and create longevity; is when i’m able to impart something human into a space, like ourselves, our quirky personalities, our contradictions…. Material Tension!!

John Houshmand Furniture

Check out this beauty – “Chèrie” was design by Luca Ferretto for a fabulous company called De Majo. It is crafted out of Borosilicate glass with a crystal effect; Borosilicate glass is a highly durable alternative to traditional glass. It is chemical and heat resistant which makes it an excellent choice for use in chemical laboratory equipment, cookware and lighting. Chèrie is available in wall mountable or suspension versions with multiple sizing options creating endless design possibilities. I am all about the glistening, waterfall aspect of this fixture and I love the images shown using it from floor to ceiling as a divider. Lovely.

I can’t tell you how many times during the design process people, well clients, have a strong reaction to something they have decided upon as it takes fruition in their home and it dawned on me just how hard it is to visualize what something will look like from a few pictures and memo samples. So who can blame anyone for an OMG reaction.

Just a few days ago i got one of those phone calls from a JHA design client and spent the day forgetting just how common this scenario is…. then i remembered and the rocks in my stomach dissolved… i guess the purpose of this blog entry is to reiterate to all those people out there pursing a design project, have heart, if you have not yet experienced an “OMG” reaction, be ready, one will hit you soon, and when it does… relax it’s part of the process… with a little tweaking anything can be made right… and if it is your case that you’re looking at something only half complete… well then wait for what is to come.

create a decorative still life with a collection of different table lamps on top of your dining table. use a canvas table cloth that you can cut a hole in the center to hide the cords.  Play with volume, colour and form. Choose varying sizes as well as curvy shapes and contrasting textures, from smooth porcelain to beaten metal and even glass. Add a few vases into the mix with one or two floral stems that are graphic, not sweetly pretty, to complete the look. Done

keeping up with other design blogs is a full time gig. In my morning read i discovered an interesting peice from Apartament Therapy about this great source for silk flowers a company called Sia.  You read something online and then the investigation begins… and then only ends when you actually track down the source. Sia Home Decoration a French company pulls their products primarily from Hong Kong where technology is innovating itself every day with renditions of flowers and plants so close to reality most people have a hard time telling the real from the fake.  And taken from their book of flower trends:

“This autumn the look is all about intense colour - rich reds, hot, sexy crimsons, the deep shades of a Bordeaux vintage plus the full spectrum of dusky pinks and purples. Flowers of the season include roses, dahlias - the neat Pom Poms to the more flamboyant Majestics - as well as wild asters. Red is the starting point of any display and for this you can’t ignore anthurium, Vanda and Phalaenopsis orchids as well as banksia and protea for exotic luxury.
To these add a more rustic element with branches of berries and even rhubarb leaves. This season’s love of contrasts can be seen with flowers too, with the mixing of the delicate and the tough, the local with the exotic. Fabulous!”

Sia

We recently started carrying this beautiful commercial grade wood flooring in multiple metallic finishes! The product draws on the antique Venetian decorative art of plating paintings, doors, moldings and pieces of furniture with gold or silver varnish. This combination between wood and metal has a very old origin in the Italian art and the idea is to take this tradition and apply it to wood floors. Since these floors are commercial grade (meaning ultra durable) they can be used anywhere from restaurants and hotels to your kitchen or workout room at home. This image does not do the sample justice so you’ve got to stop by the St. Helena store to check them out in person!

So thrilled to be able to officially announce our new formalized relationship with Brand Van Egmond! After several years of being a fan, visiting their lights at the tradeshow and honestly having my breath taken away we are finally offically purshasing some items for dispaly.  Look forward to seeing the Hollywood Block, the Delphinium Suspension, I Love You Love You Not and A Vie En Rose pendant!! Sometimes even when it’s gray and gloomy outside the world still shines!!

Today’s subject is The Glamour Suspension from Terzani. One word: fabulous. It was designed by Dodo Arslan for Terzani in Italy with hand-soldered metal links, a white drum shade and it is available in gold, nickel or white. Glamour’s metal links radiate a feeling of contemporary elegance and remind me of a beautiful chain necklace. This fixture offers a soft, romantic light while providing some pretty serious eye candy. This light is smokin’!!

Hello all,

we’re happy to say that a breif walk thru of St. Helena has been added to You Tube and the Lunaria site under About us…

Please take a look see

You-tube St. Helena Tour

a word to the wise though… since it is “You-Tube” you are navigated away to the store so right click on the link and open the file in a new window.. Cheers and have fun