Summer Cooking Give Away – 40″ Precision Series Grill from Capital Cooking

The interior design blog Modenus has just served up an amazing summer give-away that will have grilling foodies doing summersaults! They’ve teamed up with Capital Cooking to give one lucky Modenus reader a 40” Precision Series Grill (similar model pictured above) valued at $7700.  What’s even better than a chance to win this great grilling machine? The opportunity to enter your name for this give-away once a day during the duration of the event which runs through May 17th! Details at Modenus.

Exhibition: Beautiful Premonitions by Sebastian Errazuriz at Cristina Grajales Gallery

Sebastian Errazuriz’s "Beautiful Premonitions" exhibit will run from April 28th 2011 through June 24th 2011 at Cristina Grajales Gallery (10 Greene Street, 4th Floor, New York City).

The “Beautiful Premonitions” exhibit will be Errazuriz’s second solo exhibition, and continues his exploration of artistic and design themes and processes from his first solo exhibit which debuted at Design Miami/ in 2008.

Errazuriz’s Porcupine Cabinet (front) and Metamorphosis (right back) shelf at Design Miami/ 2010.

Designers & Architects: Tile of Spain Wants You!

Cevisama 2010 – Pamesa Ceramica’s “Mood”

More specifically, they want to offer four interior designers and architects the fabulous opportunity to join them for an eight day architectural journey (February 4th through February 12th, 2011) of Spain’s world renown design and architectural attractions. Did I mention that those lucky designers and architects will also be attending Cevisama, the International Ceramic Tile and Bath Furnishings show – to include tours of the booths and tile factories? Of course, designers and architects can not be sustained by beautiful design and architecture alone, so Tile of Spain is planning a cultural immersion that includes samplings of Spain’s unparalleled gourmet treats and culinary confections. Want to know more? Below is the preliminary tour itinerary:

• Feb. 4           Leave the United States for Madrid, Spain.
• Feb. 5-6        Travel to Zaragoza by Spain’s Alta Velocidad Española (AVE), a high-speed train network which is on track to become the world’s biggest network of ultra-fast trains. Spend a couple days exploring the culture and architecture of Zaragoza.
• Feb. 7           Travel to the remote town of Teruel for a glimpse of extraordinary Mudéjar architecture.     
• Feb. 8-11      Off to Valencia, the business epicenter of Spain’s ceramic tile industry and the venue for Cevisama 2011. Spend time at the trade fair while also touring a ceramic tile factory. Additionally, the group will have a guided tour of Valencia’s City of Arts & Sciences, a monumental complex designed by world-renowned architect Santiago Calatrava.
• Feb. 12         Depart for the United States via Madrid, Spain.

Reign in Spain 2010 Tour Participants

Designers & Architects: I know that you’re busy (holiday season, projects, what-not), but don’t procrastinate! The deadline is looming, December 1, 2010. I made it easy- here’s the: 2011 Reign in Spain Details and Entry Form.

Umbra You Design Awards – August 15th 2010

Umbra will be celebrating its 30th Anniversary on August 15th- coinciding with the New York International Gift Fair. At the event, the Umbra You Design winner will be selected from among three finalists. Below are the design entries that will be vying for the title of Umbra’s You Design Most Creative:

I think the Cupcake Tier is adorable, and the Mon Faux Foyer is elegant, but my fave is the Bear Can – just too cute!

Details: Umbra You Design

The Decorating Diva LLC in MSN.com Lifestyle for 2010 Design Trends

We were honored to be included, for a second year, as design experts on MSN.com’s lifestyle feature on design trends for 2010, “What’s Hot (And Not) in Home Trends for 2010” written by Christopher Solomon. 

This slide (9 of 14) shows The Decorating Diva.com’s “Outdoor Living Room Design Trend 2010”.  The gorgeous outdoor living room oasis (outdoor furniture and drapery) shown in the slide is from Home Infatuation. Doesn’t it make you long for the warm and sunny days of spring and summer, and all the fun of entertaining outdoors?

This slide (14 of 14) shows The Decorating Diva.com’s “Kitchen Design Trends” from our reports at the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show in 2009.

In December, we published our “Top 10 Design Trends for 2010” depicting the predominate design trends that we believe will be strong in 2010. Take a look, and let us know what you think about our forecasted design direction for this coming year.

The Decorating Diva LLC in NOLA.com’s “Ten trends for 2010”

We’re absolutely thrilled to be included as design trend experts in The Times-Picayune’s digital magazine, NOLA.com’s “Ten trends for 2010 highlight the new home looks for the New Year” written by Molly Reid.

In December, we published our “Top 10 Design Trends for 2010” depicting the predominate design trends that we believe will be strong in 2010. Take a look, and let us know what you think about our forecasted design direction for this coming year.

Christian Louboutin at Design Miami 2009

A quick look at the recently opened Christian Louboutin boutique in the Miami Design District. More photos to come.

Christian Louboutin will be on the Design Miami 2009 “Design Talk” panel (with Mattia Bonetti and Jacques Grange) on Thursday, December 3rd (5:30PM to 6:30 PM EST) .

In-Review: Design Miami 2008 Highlights

Design Miami 2009 opens to the public on December 2nd 2009. In the meantime, here’s a few of our favorite images and reports from last year’s amazing show. {Stay tuned for our Design Miami Coverage starting Dec 1, 2009).

Design Miami 2008 in one word: Impressive. A must see for the design aficionado. Not just for the designs exhibited but for the breathtaking structure that houses said exhibits. The Design Miami exhibition structure was created by the New York-based architectural firm Aranda/Lash, and sets the tone for the outstanding and innovative design finds housed within.

Exterior "lace draped" entry – Design Miami Exhibit Hall and detail view of "structural lace"

Beyond Organic: Design in the State of Nature is the first Design Miami in-house curated exhibit. This exhibit is a stylish nod to the role nature has in design.

GLASSLAB performed live outside, creating unique and beautiful glassware. They captured the attention of the press, and the general public as they demonstrated the age-old technique of glassmaking.

Tom Dixon‘s installation of heavyweight furniture created through the industrial process of flame cutting steel. The furniture was designed and created for the grounds of the 14th century Sudeley Castle.

One of my personal favorite’s was the Al Sabah Art & Design Collection. The Bokja design collection by the very talented artist/designer team of Hoda Baroudi and Maria Hibri is pictured below. Their fresh, colorful approach to design married with the artisanal traditions of the East creates a unique, original piece of furniture with a story of its own. The Bokja collection is housed in a Design Miami satellite location on 40th NE street. You must make time to visit and enjoy this amazing visual experience. Actually, the entire experience at Al Sabah’s exhibit was extraordinary. From the beautiful music, incredible fragrances and delicious Middle Eastern treats created an environment that delighted, enticed and seduced the senses. Like I said, you have to make Al Sabah Art & Design Collection a must see on your Design Miami/, Art Basel and Art Miami excursions this week and over the weekend.

Industrial Organic Chic by Sebastian Erranzuriz from Cristina Grajales Inc (New York). The images speak for themselves. Mr. Erransuriz is a tremendously talented artist that has captured and fused the beauty of nature with the hard reality of industrial materials like glass and steel. My favorite pieces are the bamboo plant wall shelf "Bilbao"- absolutely ingenious design and the rooted tree table base. I like the duck lamp for its surreal beauty and the fashion in which the lamp mimics the duck’s posture (had it had a duck head).

David Wiseman‘s collage chandelier and wall sculpture. Beautiful. Inspiring.Captivating. Ground-breaking. Just a few words to describe this work of art. Take it in for yourself at R 20th Century‘s exhibit booth.

Campana Brothers at the Albion Gallery Exhibit Booth.

Chandeliers from XYZ Designs at the Contrasts Gallery Exhibit Booth.

Jousse Enterprise presents Rick Owen’s Stag Benches and Table Base.

Priveekollektie showcases the "Cliclounger set Miami" designed by Alexander Pelikan and the "Fredersen/Miami" wingchair by Joe Kranen and Johannes Gille.

Matthew Marks Gallery Roy McMakin Domestic Furniture.

The Decorating Diva Best of Design Miami 2008: Exhibit Booth Design

Sebastian + Barquet (New York & London) -The Decorating Diva winner for Exhibit Booth Design at Design Miami/ 2008.

Design Happenings for November 17, 2009

Award winning kitchen designer, Susan Serra CKD (see our in-depth design interview with Susan ) will be in New York City presenting to the New York Chapter of The International Furnishings and Design Association (IFDA) on the usage of Social Media tools (twitter, blogs, Facebook, etc) with respect to the design industry.   Reservation details (though RSVP was 11/12, still call as you may still be able to reserve a spot).  Susan’s blog: The Kitchen Designer

Lifestyle and Interiors Photo stylist, Annette Joseph will be making an appearance on NBC’s Today Show at 9AM EST  on behalf of Better Homes & Gardens magazine to share Thanksgiving table setting ideas. If you can’t watch it, make sure you TIVO it!  Annette’s blog: AJPhotoStylist

In The News: Media and Blogger Mentions of The Decorating Diva

A BIG Thank you to all those listed below for sharing the love and spreading the word about The Decorating Diva.com.

Minneapolis Parade of Homes 2008 guidebook in which they profiled The Decorating Diva.com article “Top 10 Design Trends for 2008″. The Top 10 Design Trends article also appeared in My Bindi.com’s Lifestyle section.

Alltop.com, an online magazine rack of popular topics updated hourly, for including The Decorating Diva.com in their top decorating and design websites.

Library Journal for highlighting The Decorating Diva.com budget decorating articles like “Top 10 Budget Decorating Ideas“, “10 Awesome Decorating Ideas for the Budget Minded“, and just in time for the holidays: “Holiday Decorating on a Budget: 5 Ideas to Get You Started“.

Jackie Blue Home on the “Luxury Bedrooms Illustrated – Get Inspired” post, and a double-thanks to Jackie for creating the gorgeous illustrations used in that post.

The Home Know-it-All for listing The Decorating Diva.com in their Inspiring Decorating Blogs list.

Lisa Pandey of Zillow.com spotlights the “Color Trends: Orange is Hot for 2008 and 2009” article as “Orange is Hot” in her article “Remodeling Color Spotlight: Orange“.

All the best,

Carmen Natschke
Editor/Publisher
The Decorating Diva LLC
thedecoratingdiva.com