Category Archives: Design, designers and online finds

Bemz teams up with Designers Guild

Posted on August 6, 2010 | Leave a comment

Ikea-furniture pimp company Bemz have incorporated designs by Designers Guild in their ever-growing collection of prints and fabrics to give your Ikea sofa a second chance in life.

In an earlier post I wrote about companies offering slip covers for Ikea sofa’s and chairs. Bemz was one of them. The Stockholm based  compa ny, spawned from the mind of the owner whilst on maternity leave, offers a large variety of fabrics they turn into slip covers to pimp your Ecktorp, Karlstad or Klippan sofa’s and chairs. Most recently they added designs from Designers Guild to their collection.

Designers Guild @ Bemz.com

“Founder and design guru Tricia Guild is famous the world over for her bold and graphic designs and unique pattern combinations. She has also authored several books, in which she encourages us to introduce colour and pattern into our homes. Tricia finds a lot of inspiration among plantlife which she injects with asian, antique and bohemian elements.”

Inspired? Or need to be? Try one of Tricia Guild’s books available through the Homevoyeurs.com webshop.

For instance Tricia Guild Flower Sense; The Art of Decorating with Flowers. Now available for $30.40 & eligible for FREE Shipping in some countries.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in Design, designers and online finds, Products from the Homevoyeurs.com webshop

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

The Adirondack Chair, an American classic

Posted on August 5, 2010 | Leave a comment

The Adirondack or Muskoka chair is an all time favourite for anyone with the luxury of a terrace and a bit of a view. In America, one will find them in great abundance in rural, outdoor settings and city porches alike.

Adirondacks

The original design of today’s chairs was drawn by Thomas Lee in 1903. He was on vacation in Westport, New York, in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains, and needed outdoor chairs for his summer home. He tested the first designs on his family who loved the comfort of his design. A local carpenter friend gladly produced a few for him. This friend, a certain Mr. Bunnell realized the chair was the perfect item to sell to Westport’s wealthy summer residents, and  without asking Lee’s permission, Bunnell filed for and received patent 794,777 in 1905.
The original Adirondack chair was made off eleven planks and pieces of wood. It had a straight back and seat, which were set at a slant to sit better on the steep and sloping mountain inclines of the area. It also featured wide armrests, which became a hallmark of the Adirondack chair. Today’s Adirondack chairs usually feature a rounded back and contoured seat as this is considered a bit more comfortable.

Adirondack chairs are becoming popular as outdoor seating at cafés and bars because the flat armrests are suitable for setting food and beverages on, making it possible to provide individual seating without tables.

Homevoyeurs.com’s webshop sells a great book about the chair with many inspiring photographs. At a mere $14.00 it works as a great coffee table book or present. Buy it here.

The Adirondack Chair: A Celebration of a Summer Classic

If you want your own chair, Google for instructions to make your own of for nearby retailers. They are sold all over the world.

Leave a comment

Posted in Design, designers and online finds, Products from the Homevoyeurs.com webshop

Design and decorating apps

Posted on August 2, 2010 | 1 comment

So I caved and got an iPhone. Do I regret my sudden lapse of spine? No! Not one bit. I love it love it love it!
Especially the photography apps are great. I have been taking pictures off my house, friends, dog, love and city through retro lenses, lomo apps, faux Polaroid’s eyes and with a great social app called Photoswap. I recently started thinking that people must have invented apps for decorating or design buffs like myself so I did a little scavenger hunt.

The best decorating apps.

1. Dexigner

This is an app from designer portal dexigner.com. An app for the near pro interior designer. Dexigner provides up to date news about the industry, keeps you up to date on events and calendar, and informs you about events and design events specifically in your area. Not sure if it works globally, but it sure looks great.

Dexigner app

2. The Maarten Baas app

I LOVE this one! Dutch designer Maarten Baas surprised many at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile, a large furniture trade show in Milan. No expensive hand-made objets, but a sleek and simple alarm clock app for iPhone owners. Now everyone can own a Maarten Baas original! It features actors painting the screen!

Maarten Baas app

3. The Home Depot app

With this app, your window shopping and bargain shopping days will be over. You can use your app to find decorating items for your home without running from store to store. Search for specific items, and make lists so you won’t keep having to go back to the store. The app also has a library of how-to-videos, complete with a shopping list so you can have all your tools and materials on hand to complete the project. The vids alone make it worth it. Shipping limited to countries outside the US unfortunately.

Home Depot app

4. The Sherwin Williams paint app

Need some inspiration? Don’t know what color to paint your room? The Sherwin Williams App will make it easy. Take a snapshot of a wall or part of your room, and press “use”. It automatically gives color suggestions. A bit like the many online tools available but a lot easier as you don’t have to upload a picture on the web.

Sherwin Williams app

[tweetmeme http://www.URL.com%5D

1 Comment

Posted in Design, designers and online finds, General living and fun stuff

Tagged , , , , ,

Fold your bowl

Posted on July 14, 2010 | Leave a comment

A recent article about my home on Apartment Therapy featured a picture of our fruit bowl. It’s a plastic/polymer bowl that we bought as a flat sheet. The edges are cut out to resemble a Dutch skyline with windmills, canal houses and draw bridges. Once put on the table the shadow cast by either sun or lamp shows the skyline on your table.

Many people asked me where I got it and who designed it. Margriet Foolen was responsible for the design, and I bought this bowl at Thinking of Holland. A dutch design shop I posted about earlier. It is available through their webshop and only costs € 22,-.

Leave a comment

Posted in Design, designers and online finds, See how others live

Tagged , , , ,