Floored by Inspiration: Beautiful Flooring Gives Birth to Divine Design
Shaw Floors invited a group of ten design writers and bloggers to North Carolina for the launch of the new HGTV HOME Flooring by Shaw collection. As part of the launch event, Shaw asked us to design a room from the floor up using products from the HGTV HOME collection.
The HGTV flooring collection has been in the making for over five years, when Shaw approached HGTV to collaborate on a product line. The environmentally friendly flooring collection ranges from: laminate floors that look so good that many mistook them,upon visual review, for hardwood; beautiful hardwoods that are so easy to install (click installation) DIYers will swoon; carpets in a gorgeous spectrum of textures, colors, designs and piles; and area rugs that can easily and affordably transform a room from blah to amazing.
My design partner, Ethan Hagan of One Project Closer, picked the flooring selections for our design project prior to my arrival. He selected a warm and visually rich laminate wood flooring and a multi-colored and multi-patterned area rug. Our design challenge was to create a design concept incorporating those two elements. We had a little over two and a half hours, while we traveled from Asheville to Greensboro, to create a mood board to communicate our design vision. We were provided with a plastic bin filled to the top with fabric, trim, an HGTV HOME for Sherwin Williams paint deck, and magazines ranging from design to fashion to beauty. Ethan and I quickly decided we wanted a contemporary, sophisticated, livable, elegant and subtlety glamorous design that was also soothing and calming. We wanted to design a room that was beautiful and inviting, and that would allow the homeowner to immediately decompress and quickly forget the stresses of the outside world as soon as they entered through the door. Our vision was a sophisticated sanctuary-all the comforts, glamour and luxury of a five-star hotel-at home. 
When we arrived at Tribuzio-Hilliard Studio, Ethan and I were assigned Loura ‘Lou’ Lockwood to assist us to bring our design vision to life. We couldn’t have been more thrilled to have her on our design team. She took one look at our design board and immediately knew what we wanted to create.
We were also ecstatic that HGTV design celebrity Lisa LaPorta really liked our design concept. Neither Ethan nor I are trained design professionals, we both come to the design and DIY fields from very different backgrounds. Ethan was a surgical videographer and is now the founder of the very popular DIY blog, “One Project Closer”. As for me, I’m a former software engineer with an incredible passion for beautiful design, and I’ve now made covering that industry for this publication my career. So to say it was a bit daunting to take on this challenge would be an understatement. Thankfully, Ethan and I both love a good challenge as much as we love design and DIY, so it was fun. And with Lou’s guidance I think we brought to life the sophisticated sanctuary we had envisioned. 
Decor Resource: HGTV HOME Flooring by Shaw area rug (Oleander Breeze) and laminate (Crystalline Oregon Trail).
Next: Behind the Scenes at the HGTV HOME Flooring by Shaw Design Challenge.
Read More »HeadSprung- Artsy & Chic Storage Solutions
Innovative design for space-saving storage solutions from HeadSprung
{ Booth at International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York City, 2011 }. I fell in love with the like the Ribbon Coat Rack (shown above). 
Z-shaped metal magazine wall rack.
Versatile wire rack for stylish shoe organizing.
Design Source: HeadSprung
Read More »Richard Hallberg for Veranda Magazine: Wall Street Apartment at The Setai 5th Avenue – Living Room
Living room in Designer Visions: Cinema Style "Wall Street" apartment at The Setai 5th Avenue.
Interior Designer Richard Hallberg skillfully uses a neutral color palette to create this soothing yet sophisticated living room consisting of diverse and contrasting design elements and styles: modern and traditional, and feminine and masculine. 
Design Resource: The Setai Fifth Avenue developed by Bizzi & Partners.
Read More »Neoteric Luxury’s Organic Style for Outdoor Furniture
Design Trends Spotted at HD Boutique 2010: Organic luxury and style was clearly apparent at the Neoteric Luxury booth. The outdoor collection sported a neutral, earthy color palette punctuated with strong red and orange accent colors, and interesting organic textures.
The organic shape of this orb swing calls to mind an elegantly designed bird’s nest that offers the promise of a nurturing embrace.
Neoteric Luxury dispels all arguments that eco/organic styled furniture has to be ugly with this outdoor seating arrangement- which is equally as beautiful as it is fabulously creative. The floor lamp comes complete with a rock base (real rock!)
Currey & Company – Creative Lighting as Decoration
Design Trends Spotted at HD Boutique 2010: Currey & Company had one of the best booths at the Hotel Design Boutique show. They quite cleverly displayed their amazing lighting fixtures draped as if precious jewels and ornaments off of a large tree. Proving that interesting and unexpected elements in design bring style personality to interior environments.
Porcelanosa Proves that Neutrals can Dazzle
Design Trends Spotted at HD Boutique 2010: Porcelanosa illustrates that the use of visual and tactile texture can transform neutral color palettes from boring and safe into eye-catching and exciting.
Global Views Embraces Refined Contemporary Elegance
Design Trends Spotted at HD Boutique 2010: With a nod to Mid-20th Century design, Global Views ushers in a new design era of updated contemporary chic.
Art Glass International is Bringing Back Sexy Glam
Design Trends Spotted at HD Boutique 2010: Shimmering elegance, voluptuous silhouettes, and luxurious leathers and silks. Perfect design elements for the gal who likes touches of glam.
Jonathan Adler: Colorful Geometry & Fun Decor
Design Trends Spotted at HD Boutique 2010: Strong pop inspired colors, black and white, and geometric shapes were on display at Adler’s booth.
Loving these Adler table lamps.
Furniture sporting contemporary infused Asian style – reminiscent of Chinoiserie styling seen in Hollywood Regency.
Bold, fun and colorful tea towels, and whimsical salt and pepper shakers (those elephants are too cute).
Elegant, yet not stuffy (nor pretentious) sculpture from Alder. Can see these pieces working in a variety of interior environments.
Spanish Modern Design: SALON at Tribeca Grand Hotel
The SALON lounge at Tribeca Grand Hotel was birthed from a simple desire to bring much deserved attention to modern Spanish design and architecture. SALON was the collaborative effort of Winka Dubbeldam principal at Archi-Tectonics, Richard Klein of Surface magazine, RED (represents Spanish design companies) and the Spanish Trade Commission. SALON lounge and bar, debuting during New York Design Week last May, now serves as a permanent exhibit showcasing furniture, lighting, rugs, and decor from 16 of Spain’s top designers.
Winka’s vision for SALON was to create an atmosphere of mystique and allure. Her goal was to design an interior environment that could seamlessly transform from light-filled meeting room by day, to a thriving social venue by night.
She explains that her design, “approach was to create an environment that speaks to Spanish modern 
design, drawing from the country’s deep-rooted history.” In part, her homage to Spanish cultural history includes a sophisticated nod to surreal artist Salvador Dali in the form of Dali Lip sofas (Note: Dali created an “object portrait” of Mae West-known as the Mae West room- using custom designed furniture, and the voluptuous red lip sofa was his interpretation of West’s pout) .
Richard explains that, “For the large part, Spanish design has remained ‘under the radar’ historically speaking, Our vision for SALON is to tell the story of these creative individuals and companies, who don’t usually have the level of exposure stateside, that say Italian design does. The result is a permanent, three-dimensional environment, that will bring their work to life.” And as you can see from these photos, the design of SALON captures and communicates the essence of Spanish modern design in a vibrant global setting.
Design Notes: Pair of Dali’s Lip sofas by BD Barcelona; Colorful rugs by Nani Marquina; Red link suspension lights designed by Ray Power for LZF Lamps.
Design Notes: Winka employed a sultry, sophisticated color palette that evokes the rich cultural influence of Spanish art and design, consisting of purples, olive, green, matte black, gold and low sheen metals. Winka chose this color recipe “to create mood and drama. By day, the colors and textures are more apparent, where as by night, the lighting shifts the space and infuses it with more seduction and dynamism.” ( Chair on right designed by Jaime Hayon.)
Design Notes: BD Barcelona’s Showtime Multi-leg Cabinet; Black Mercer suspension lights designed by Joan Gaspar and Javier M. Borras for Marset; LLadro Naturofantastic Figurines and Candleholders by various Spanish designers; Tres Tintas Madagascar wallpaper; in nook- Lladro’s black Rococo style mirror; and Glass Nim wall lights by Arturo Alvarez (mounted on Tres Tintas wallpapered wall).
Design Notes: Lladro Sculptural Vases and figurines designed by various Spanish designers and artists, including Jaime Hayon’s ‘The Lover II’ (on right: from his Fantasy Collection: ).
Design Notes: Plum-colored leather Camelot chairs designed by Eduard Climent for Koo International.
Design Notes: Silver Lurex mesh curtains by Naturex; Arik Levy mirrors; Santa & Cole Tripode lamps for Nani Marquina; LLadro’s Naturofantastic vase; Organically shaped Levitt modular seating designed by Roberto & Ludovica Palomba for Viccarbe; Yoshi round sidetable, and Plat coffee table from Kendo Mobiliario; and geometrically shaped mirrors Corbina from Inbani.
Design Notes: Seating by Sancal; LLadro vases; and Marset’s Standing lights.
Design Resources:
- Tribeca Grand Hotel Information: SALON is located at The Tribeca Grand Hotel, 2 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10013-2401. For further information, please contact Tribeca Grand Hotel, (212) 965-2080 or visit Tribeca Grand Hotel.
