So I’m beginning to notice a theme among the lighting fixtures that I share each week. Anything sparkly that resembles a piece of jewelry is pretty much guaranteed a spot on my weekly favorite blog post. With that…here is the Flut which is created in Italy, by a company called Italamp. It was inspired by an earring dripping with diamonds and it definitely gets that point across. This cluster of glass and crystal is incredibly stunning in person and it comes in two sizes. How about a couple of these little gems suspended over your kitchen island??

I love the Mi …. Specchio sconce by Marlo De Rosa more and more every time i see it. this Wall lamp takes the notion of celebrating the light bulb to a whole new level. Outfitted with a natural aluminum sheild, a dimmer and a double lighting source you can either have the light bulbs illuminated or have light coming from behind the sheild. The wires that hold the bulbs is of course fabric covered and comes either in the multicolor or in the grey cords (other colors available by request as special order).  and they come with the light bulbs too boot. i love the one with the spot on it!

Available at Lunaria for about $630 (depending on the rate of the euro) plus transport.

After a fixture arrived from Produzione Privata yesterday, I can now say I am a big fan. After taking a look at their website I found myself loving everything I saw. The line was founded in Italy by Michele De Lucchi, and started out as a craft-oriented production of experimental products sketched with pencil. You can see these quick sketches on their website where they are now used to identify each fixture in a very whimsical way.

The flora and fauna throughout the line is so charming and I am crazy about the silver and gold finishes available for the Murano blown glass fixtures (anything metallic or sparkly always gets me). Here are a few of my favorites:

ONE, TWO!

let me hear your voice!

on Friday Night a dear client of ours decided to throw me a party for my birthday and celebrate the completion of her home at the same time. So often we get caught up in the details and while you can see a job coming together the moment of completion is hard to capture and with that taking the time to be thanked goes by the wayside.  After years of doing this “job” i’ve gotten better at finding clients thanks in the joy which floods their face when something amazing is delivered or the relief that fills a clients eyes when all the sudden design decisions just make sense. I call it taking time to appreciate the little moments.

But then there are those great moments when you get the big thank you like i was gifted with on Friday or i can remember a few years back when another client threw a dinner party for all the people who had worked on their project. It’s those acts of kindness along with all the little moments that make my job so wonderful.  So if you have people in your life that are doing things for you, remember to thank them, they will really appreciate it!

To quote Terzani: “Light is a flower.”

Designed in Italy by Bruno Rainaldi for Terzani, the Orten’zia is a flower inspired fixture adorned with hand soldered, nickel-plated metal petals. This light sends bursts of shimmering light throughout the space it occupies and it comes in multiple fixture types including the suspension, wall or ceiling lamp, wall sconce and even a brilliant little portable table lamp with a rechargeable battery. The light and shadow created by this fixture is so unique and organic - it literally gives the effect of a garden on your walls. We have one illuminated in the front window of the St. Helena store…you’ve got to stop by and check it out.

I recently came across a lovely chair in Luxe magazine that I had to share with you all. The “Peacock” chair was designed this year by the New York designer Dror Benshetrit for Cappellini Studio and made from a single sheet of felt wrapped over a dark brown varnished metal base. I am currently in the middle of a little felt obsession (I’m getting creative with my gift giving this holiday season) so this chair immediately caught my eye. Most would only consider using felt for children’s crafts, but the material is soft with gentle edges and with a little imagination it can magically be transformed into something extraordinary (i.e. this chair and hopefully my holiday creations!).

JHA is currently working on a rather large design project and the hot item of the day has been the budget - how much over our original number we are and what can we cut.. Jessica and I had a conversation last night where we both exhaled a huge sigh of relief in that we did the lighting first and some would say out of order.

It’s interesting to think about the order of design elements in the building/purchasing process… so often some of the most important elements get left out in the cold becasue there just isn’t any money left at the end of the day for them.  One of the hardest hit design elements is Lighting. There are two rationals one can take.. either adopting the notion that a contractor puts in generic lighting so that the home-owner can replace fixtures personalizing their space or more often and probably more true, proper allowences were not made in most areas of the building process and so money gets borrowed from one catagory leaving the last men standing with no budget to speak of..

The Lunaria storefront for us was a revelation!  In this project i speak of, the lights will be fabulous, they will make the rooms and the home unique and wonderful! We reversed the order and considered the lights part of the architecture and so thankfully we wont have the problem many large project do!

And so we thought, jessica and I, that we should share this notion… We encourage you as a designer or a homeowner to put appropriate weight on lighting! get it right and make is special! becasue if you don’t do it when you are in the design process it’s highly unlikely you will change things up once you move in any time soon.

it’s all over the television right now.. Main stream retailers are offering lay away for the christmas gift giving season and so we thought… lighting on layaway… sure why not! Lunaria is now able to offer you a 6 month plan to furnish your home with the best lights ever! call us for more details.

Part of being in the “know” as a designer is keeping your eyes on both the high-end showrooms and main stay retail fronts like “West Elm” & “Pottery Barn”. Rooms can be successful if all levels of furnishings and accessories are on display as long as a proper balance is maintained and care is taken to making things fit. That said i noticed a current trend while shopping at West Elm the other day….something I’m calling.. “the big switcharoo”….

Okay maybe i’m giving them credit for a merchandising maneuver that is just that, a way to sell more.. Throw pillows priced as the cover and the insert but who has a 12″ x 12″ insert just sitting around at home? or an ottoman “slipcover” priced without the shell to fit inside.. what’s next a table without legs or a sofa without the cushions ot sit on..

In the Custom Interiors industry when you work with an Interior Designer this is common policy, everything is based around the idea of custom so sure you will have the goods separated out to make personalization an easy process and so In my mind i saw it as being able to easily switch out one’s pillows without throwing the dishes out with the dishwater, REUSE YOUR FILLS…but i’m an interior designer of 14 years…

And so I say,  BUYER BEWARE! the Main Stay retail fronts now want to have their cake and eat it too! They are expecting the consumer to understand this process, “it’s clearly marked” i heard one salesperson say… but some might feel that they are being tricked as they shop. The game has changed! So the next time you go shopping take special note of those pesky price tags… so that when you reach the register after having fallen in love with what you’ve decided to buy you WONT be surprised to find out that shopping is now like renting a car, the true cost is only divulged when you go to pay.