Tuesday, December 29, 2009

The Continuum Table



Jason Philips was born in 1983 and grew up in the furniture industry. From 2006 through 2008, Philips worked at The Philips Collection as Director of Product Development & Merchandising. The Philips Collection has won many awards for design and sustainability.

Now Jason Philips as Jason Philips Design has come up with this imaginative table, Continuum, reminiscent of the tree of knowledge from Avatar

Inspired by models of the space-time-continuum where 'spaghetti-like' structures orm an invisible network of folds of space and time in our universe.

Dimensions - 96x42x30"h







Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Saturday, December 26, 2009

Have you been to New Era's site?

New Era offers distinctive art for designers and has a special drawing that ends December 31st. (see below)
With over 65 artists and a highly experienced Creative Director, we react to style and color trends fast. We also release more new limited edition artwork than any other source. We can create custom images for your project quickly.
One of the first things you notice on the site is the revolutionary PANTONE color search engine. Search through thousands of images using the PANTONE Paints+Interiors color guide. Select the PANTONE colors you'd like to see in an image and click Search Colors. Now you can search for original art based on colors you have chosen.

They have a special drawing going on now. Register to win a Dean Jacobs original that has a $1,500 value.



Hope you win!

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Have you ever been chosen to be featured in a magazine?

ASID Group's Alice Krueser writes:

Art & Design Matters, a digital magazine, is seeking it's next Featured Designer at the DESIGNERS page and three other designers to feature at our HOME page at http://www.ArtandDesignMatters.com .

Designers who are interested must be included in our Directory of Interior Designers first. Here's how you get listed > Email your 1. digital logo (640 x 480); 2. your name, your company's name & website address; 3. a few SHORT lines of text that best describes you and your services; 4. and, the city (one, please) that you would like to be listed to info@ArtandDesignMatters.com . Once our editor has reviewed your submission, your listing will be uploaded to the directory. The winning designers will be announced in one of our upcoming digital publications with links directly to their websites. Be sure to SIGN UP to receive our periodic publications here >> http://bit.ly/SIGNUP . Submissions must be received by 12/31/09 to be considered as one of our next featured designers.

Designers who are listed at our directory are randomly chosen to be promoted within our publications that are published at our NEWS page.

Also, here's a free eBook if you would like to request a download about Gail Doby's 2009 Interior Designers Fee Schedule & Salary Survey Results .....it's a must read....filled with tons of information for your design business. Request Download here >> http://bit.ly/DSU_eBook

Good Luck!

Alice Krueser, Proprietor
Art & Design Matters
…..a complimentary online magazine
Sign Up to Receive Your Complimentary Copy of Art & Design Matters Here: http://bit.ly/SIGNUP
alice@ArtandDesignMatters.com
http://www.ArtandDesignMatters.com
713.816.7400
Follow me on Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/AliceKrueser
Become our Facebook Page Fan >> http://bit.ly/

Monday, December 21, 2009

White Pumpkins

While this story is late for Halloween, it was interesting none the less.



Why not try decorating with white pumpkins? Kim Knox Beckius, writes in "Kim's New England Travel Blog" that decorating with these "white orbs are all the rage."

CBS News in White, The New Orange For Pumpkins writes "The albinos are called Ghost pumpkins, Snowballs, Luminas or Caspers — presumably a reference to the friendly ghost. And the ones about the size of a baseball? Baby Boos."

The white pumpkins are orange inside. They still can be used for pie, just the outside is different. They look great!

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Saturday, December 12, 2009

Jason Ball: Top 20 Designer For 2009

Each year, Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery in Portland, Oregon rewards the most loyal interior designers based upon their use of our various lines of furniture and accessories. We call the list our Top 20 Designers. We know there are many fine furniture stores in the area and we are grateful for the design community’s support.


This year’s top position goes to Jason Ball, owner of Jason Ball Interiors. Jason Ball was kind enough to sit down with me and share some thoughts about his business.


LF+DG: Jason how did you become a designer?

Jason: I think I’ve always been interested in design at some level. As a kid, I constantly rearranged my room and put up new posters. My room was just never right. I was working as a market researcher in 1999, when my wife, Julie and I bought a 91 year-old NE home. A previous owner tried to modernize it with thin baseboards, gray carpet and white walls, rendering it not very interesting or comfortable. We decided to restore/remodel the house in 2001. We brought back some of the period items of 1908 like wood floors, custom woodwork and period light fixtures, but modernized it as well. I fell in love with the restoration and remodel process and decided to take on remodeling as a sideline. Then in 2004, I was laid off and decided to devote all my time to my new interior design business. It’s amazing how my life changed when I was laid off.


LF+DG: What kind of training do you have?

Jason: I have a Masters in Experimental Psychology and I had business and marketing experience. The first thing I did in 2004 was to consume every design book and magazine I could find to see how the professionals do it. At this point in my design career, I have over 5 years of experience behind me. This on-the-job training, I feel, is the best kind of training anyone can have.


LF+DG: How do you decide on the look and colors.

Jason: When I first start working with a new client, we go through the discovery phase of the project. Clients may not know specifics, but they know what they like and don’t like. I often have them walk me through their house to show me the pieces of furniture or art that really speaks to them. We may go though magazines and I’ll ask them what they like. Through all of this, I’m taking mental notes on the styles, colors and materials clients are drawn to. Clients often say they want a particular style, but the things they point out may lead us in a different direction. Then the clients and I will visit hard surfaces, tile, lighting and furniture stores, where I will steer them toward a limited set of options based on our previous conversations.


LF+DG: Would an informed person walk into one of your finished projects and say this look is Jason Ball?

Jason: While I work with all styles, I would love it if someone came to me and said, design my house to be a “Jason Ball” house. I’m working on it. The look is a contemporary to modern. The look involves clean simple lines that are edited down. It’s traditional in its bones, but with a contemporary/modern flavor. I love how in European design magazines, they’ll take an old space with traditional details (moldings, plaster work, etc.) and mix it with really modern furniture and lighting. I want the rooms I design to have just a few pieces with huge impact. Each piece has to have meaning on it’s own, as well as contribute to the overall look. Right now I’m really into custom glass pieces and original artwork. I wish more homeowners would take the risk to buy original pieces and support local artists at the same time. In the recent Condos In The Pearl, I felt right at home in the Manhattan Condo in Block 90.

LF+DG: Many men like the clean, black and chrome modern look, but it can be cold. How do you remedy that?

Jason: You’re might, modern design is generally thought of as cold and sterile. But, I don’t think it has to be this way. Color, texture, natural materials can all be used in such a way that the look is modern, but the feeling of the room is one of warmth. For instance, why not bring some natural wood pieces in like a coffee table cut from a tree stump? That one piece would go a long way to adding warmth to a space.




LF+DG:
How do you know when you are done? How do you know when it’s good design?

Jason: I recently found and adopted Suzanne Trocme’s definition of good design as my design mantra. She’s a writer and journalist specializing in interior design, architecture, art, and fashion. She said, “Good design is movement that comes to rest.” For me, a project is done when everything is in its perfect place and changing anything more would ruin it.


LF+DG: You have been an early adopter of Social Media. Why?

Jason: I have a marketing background and think that this is the best way to stay in contact with people about my business. While I’m not the first in the design community to adopt social media, I’m learning quickly the importance of having my name out there. I currently manage a website, a blog Insight into Design, a Facebook page, and am working on getting my portfolio on Flickr. This new media gives me another way to interact with clients and potential clients that wasn’t around just a few years ago. However, I’m also a firm believer in traditional media. I regularly submit finished projects to the shelter magazines, because they are always looking for good content. I’ll be appearing soon in Oregon Home magazine.


LF+DG: I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with us and thank you for shopping at Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery.


Bev & MIke

Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

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Friday, December 11, 2009

Amy Wells: Set Decorator For Mad Men

Reprint of Amy Wells: Set Decorator For Mad Men at Home Accents Today:



Judging by the Emmy nominations, Americans are fascinated by the hit TV show Mad Men. In case you've been living in a cave the past few years, Mad Men is more than the early 60s on Madison Avenue. It's about the roles of men and women just 40-plus years ago. It's about double standards, smoking, and glass ceilings before we even invented the words.

Sherwin Williams' magazine Stir has an interview with Mad Men set decorator Amy Wells, who also has worked on Last of the Mohicans, There Will Be Blood and Sex and the City. The challenge has been to make the sets and the clothing as real as possible. Wells not only talks about how she uses color to achieve the feeling of the period, but what colors are associated with the lead characters.

The article is a good example, too, of how a writer needs to know his characters. For example Wells started with,
Who are Don and Betty Draper? What kind of taste do they have? Do they have enough money to buy the things they want?
From there she painted the walls oatmeal yellow in the Draper bedroom.
Then I added a vibrant blue period headboard for contrast. There are no primary colors; we’re not in that era yet. When I think of Don, I think of graphics and the color of his office — deeper blues, black. With Betty, I think of pastels.
Does Mad Men interest people because many of us lived through that era or is it because we find the writing and characters interesting? Both probably and it's fun to see how much things have changed since those years.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Friday, December 04, 2009

The quest for quality

The quest for quality: "Three-fourths of home furnishings shoppers are looking for quality product. T..."

Dana French at FURNITURE Today writes
Three-fourths of home furnishings shoppers are looking for quality product. That’s one of the key findings from the more than 8,500 U.S. consumers responding to Furniture/Today and HGTV’s exclusive survey, The 2010 Consumer.Here’s what several home furnishings shoppers have to say about quality.


Hat tip Carrie Farmer's Blog

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

New For Designers From Ava Living

I just received an email from Nika Stewart who's been coaching designers to offer more services online for quite a while. She writes that Ava Living has just launched a service that gets you more leads! Yes - AvaLiving has entered into a partnership with Meredith Corporation (publishers of Better Homes and Gardens, Family Circle, Traditional Home, etc. etc. etc...). Meredith will be sending consumers to the AvaLiving site for virtual design services!

Would you like to be one of the designers they find???

All you need to do is join Ava's Social Marketing Program for Designers. Once you are a member:

* Ava Living provides you with Consumer Leads.
* You follow-up the Consumer Leads with a complimentary Room Review and your menu of paid online Design Services.
* The Consumer reads their review and can buy your online Design Services.
* The Consumer pre-pays and you then complete their online Design Services.

It’s a very simple, but extremely powerful way to increase your geographic reach, your client base, and your revenues.

Get all the details on AvaLiving's Social Marketing Program for Designers here.

***TO LOCK IN YOUR DISCOUNT REGISTRATION, USE THE REFERRAL CODE: Stewart

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery
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Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Year End Clearance Sale



Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery
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Getting The Sale

You have done another great design but it doesn't seem to get the recognition you thought it would. Why is that?
It's the marketing that doesn't come easily. DUDYE explains:

Designers are often focused on their own work, this is good, and it has its own place. But as a designer you also need to understand the market and your marketing. Another crucial aspect to focus on is your team. So concisely, you need to focus on four things:

1. Marketing - Your client/customer
2. The Market
3. Your Team - Your allies
4. Your work - You

Designers that focus and understand these four aspects of business get more recognition. Most designers' works are just beautiful and I say "just" because that seems to be the function of the designer's work. Beauty is fine but it doesn't seem to solve any problem that people might have.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery
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Monday, November 23, 2009

Apogee Painting (Blog)



There's a new blog in town, Apogee Painting (Blog) and there are good tips in their recent post: How to Care For Your Newly Painted Walls.

The company was founded by Chuck and Larisa Eichacker. I love to see businesses blog. It is the easiest and most inexpensive way to market yourself and business.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery
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Sunday, November 22, 2009

Floating On A Cloud!

From ALF Group in Italy:



We love the idea of the "floating" bed!



It has the look of Calligaris which is available in the U.S.!

Hat tip to Tevami.com.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery
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Friday, November 20, 2009

From Tufenkian: Introducing The New Moderns by Laura Kirar









Aren't the carpets gorgeous? And don't you just love the shades of gray?

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Friday, November 13, 2009

Landfair Furniture In NOLO!

The latest Explore The Pearl is out and here is our ad:



Be sure to notice the Pearl has a new district called NOLO or North of Lovejoy!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Revisit Jimmy Choo

It's been a while since I posted about Jimmy Choo shoes. They are not really shoes at all, but works of art and you are seeing them on "So You Think You can Dance" Cat Deeley and the CMAs, or at least they look like Jimmy Choos. Here with a tip to If It's Hip, It's Here is evidence:





They are spendy, but they may be coming to the masses courtesy of H & M stores.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Monday, November 09, 2009

Metropolitan Home Magazine to Close



Continuing a trend of closing shelter magazines, the last issue of Metropolitan Home will be the December issue.
Founded as Apartment Life, Metropolitan Home became known for incorporating professional designers’ tips into its articles. It had a circulation of about 560,000 in the first six months of this year...
Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery
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Friday, November 06, 2009

Interior Design Of Mad Men



Sunday night is the season finale of Mad Men and Newsday has an article about the interior design of the show at 1960s 'Mad Men' style: So dated, it's daring.

The show doesn't show neutrality, writes Manhattan interior designer Valerie Onor, but "feminine or masculine styles and shades again."

Annette Tatum, author of the new book "The Well-Dressed Home: Fashionable Design Inspired by Your Personal Style" (Clarkson Potter, $35), suggests letting your taste in clothes guide your interior decorating:
As often as not, the actors themselves seem to serve as design elements; their wardrobe, makeup or personal effects add a definitive pop of color or sophistication that plays off their surroundings for a seamlessly styled scene.
And don't miss our blog post about Don Draper's office furniture.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery
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Saturday, October 31, 2009

Megan Fox Shops For Furniture In LA


The poor-mans Angelina Jolie, heart throb Megan Fox was shopping for furniture recently. First at Indigos (pictured here) and next to high-end Cisco Brothers in LA. I thought the story of the founder was inspiring.
Cisco Pinedo has become well known in the furniture industry as a leading designer of high quality upholstered furniture and unique casegoods.This is the story behind the man and his company, Cisco Brothers Corporation.

Born in a small rural town in Jalisco, Mexico, his family decided to leave the country in search of a better life. In the mid-seventies, Cisco found himself in South Central Los Angeles with the challenge of learning a new language and trying to fit in a new culture. He was only 13 years old.

In high school, Cisco discovered his passion for upholstery while working part-time in a small shop in Huntington Park. His job was to disassemble sofas, but Cisco quickly became fascinated by how each piece was put together.

His drive for knowledge helped Cisco find a job for an upholstery manufacturer. With his typical hard work and perseverance he soon learned how to run a business first hand. In his early twenties, he began making custom furniture for neighbors out of his garage in his South Central home. As his small enterprise began to grow, he and his wife, Alba recruited the help of their family members to help him run their thriving business. Cisco Brothers Corporation was born.

In a highly competitive, design-driven industry, Cisco Pinedo developed his furniture with superior craftsmanship, cutting-edge style, and unparalleled value. The closely-knit family atmosphere of the company nurtured uncommon client loyalty. After the 1992 Los Angeles riots, Cisco decided to remain in the heart of South Central. It was a risky business decision, but Cisco saw the need to revitalize his ailing childhood neighborhood. The move proved to be timely as the company continued to expand.

The success of Cisco Brothers has been a critical component in the redevelopment of the entire area surrounding the business while at the same time providing training programs and secure employment for many families in the vicinity. In 2006, Cisco developed the Inside Green™ method of construction and became the first designer to create 100% FSC Pure sustainable upholstered furniture. The company moved exclusively to FSC Pure certified woods on upholstered furniture, using reclaimed hardwoods for a collection of stunning case goods and the use of water based glues and environmentally friendly detergents to wash all fabrics.

Today, Cisco Home has six retail showrooms including a gallery at ABC Home Furnishings in NYC and the acclaimed LA Design Center in South Central Los Angeles.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery
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Friday, October 30, 2009

Stanley Part of Coastal Living Idea House



More than 20 pieces of furniture from a variety of Stanley Furniture collections were used to furnish the Idea House.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Portland Monthly Magazine: Jessica Helgerson

Portland Monthly Magazine / Home & Garden / Home & Garden Articles / Detail

Chic Revival

Bringing back traditional glamour

By Amara Holstein

The article features Portland interior designer Jessica Helgerson


Posted using ShareThis

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Sleep Number Bed or Tempurpedic Mattresses? You Decide

Much speculation and talk has been underway about which mattress is the best: Sleep Number Bed or Tempurpedic.


I've taken an unbiased approach. There is a site out there that offers an unbiased customer referral on the best mattresses according to actual reviews from the actual owners.


Google "sleep like the dead" I found this guy who does mattress research independently. He says this style of mattress is the best:


Sleep Number Bed and that you can get a very good memory foam mattress or Tempurpedic Mattress mattress for much less.


Bev & Mike

Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery



Monday, October 19, 2009

Sandra Espinet: Guadalajara, Mexico

Couch Karma has this post about Sandra Espinet: Guadalajara, Mexico and some great looking pots:
Guadalajara is the second largest city in Mexico and it has lots to offer if you have a good guide or you know where to go. It’s a bit intimidating at first because of the size and distance between factories. But hidden within all of the pandemonium there is a lot of fabulous shopping. I go about once a year to keep up with new and unusual vendors and manufacturers.
Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery
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Sunday, October 18, 2009

Spanish Style Decorating Ideas


Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Interior Design between the Wars

Will you be in Vienna between October 14, 2009 and February 14, 2010? If so you might take a look at this exhibition: Interior Design between the Wars.



The Imperial Furniture Collection holds one of the key works of Viennese interior design around 1930: the apartment of the ceramic artist Lucie Rie, designed by Ernst Plischke in 1928. In the exhibition Interior Design between the Wars this outstanding ensemble will be placed in the context of the history of Viennese furniture design.

In Vienna between the two world wars a characteristic style of furniture and interior design had developed which differed significantly from the international Modern style of the Bauhaus, for example. Viennese furniture and interior design were notable for their formal variety, ingenious details and high standards of craftmanship. While the beginnings of this development lay in the years immediatly preceding the First World War, these new ideas continued to be influential during and after the Second World War both in Austria and abroad.

The Imperial Furniture Collection showcases this specifically Viennese facet of the Modern movement between the wars with examples of complete interiors designed by the architects Felix Augenfeld, Josef Frank, Wilhelm Foltin, Johann Vinzenz Kabele, Walter Loos, Ernst Plischke, Otto Prutscher, Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Franz Schuster and Oskar Strnad.

The exhibition will also explore the various fates of these architects (e.g. emgration) against the background of contemporary political developments. It will also illuminate the different roles and personalities of the individuals who commissioned these projects.
Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Wednesday, October 14, 2009

23 Curvaceous Contemporary Furniture

Designs Delight has a wonderful post illustrating curvacious contemporary furniture.

23 Curvaceous Contemporary Furniture

Shared via AddThis

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Friday, October 09, 2009

Come See Some Great Art

Before seeing the Coen brothers movie "A Serious Man" Saturday, we will be stopping in at an art studio to see the works of our friend and interior designer Nancy Zieg. She's been painting for 12 years and the last two years has been taking lessons from local artist Ardis DeFreece. Both will be displaying their art consisting of street scenes, still lifes, and landscapes at 305 SE 3rd #304 in Portland from 5:00pm to 9:00pm tomorrow evening.

If this is any indication of the quality, I can't wait!


Pears and Wine by Ardis DeFreece.

Bev & Mike
Brcome a fan of Landfair Furniture

Gilyn McKelligon Interiors


Our daughter Gilyn (Landfair) McKelligon has opened her new interior design office at 4860 Scholls Ferry Rd and has a new website. That's her with Bear.

She is on Facebook and LinkedIn, but so far no blog. She probably has enough on her plate with our two grand kids, one of whom can dribble a basketball between his legs and behind his back at age seven.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Thursday, October 01, 2009

What’s hot and what’s not in design now - The Boston Globe




What’s hot and what’s not in design now - The Boston Globe

...you’ll notice pale shades have given way to bold, intensely saturated colors, that leather shows up in furniture a bit more than it does now, that Japanese motifs are popping up all over.

For next year, subtlety is out, at least in terms of color, replaced by luscious, rich tones that evoke a Cirque du Soleil performance or the dreaminess of “Alice in Wonderland.’’ Delectable citrus shades - mandarin orange, lemon yellow, and pink grapefruit - are in, too. And, for better or for worse, so is the “Miami Vice’’ look, the combination of lacquered whites and hints of neon.


Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Sunday, September 27, 2009

North of Northwest Lovejoy

The newest "it" neighborhood in Portland is NoLo. That stands for North of Lovejoy. It runs from north of lovejoy to the river and west to 20th. It's the Pearl, but across I-405 to 20th. It's the only place left to build. Mix writes in the October issue the area "was considered the next big thing. Then the bottom dropped out. Businesses suffered from a lack of foot traffic..."

But there are some interesting things happening. The Pearl District Business Alliance (PDBA) has formed a group that will bring the merchants and real estate owners together to promote the area using all their social networking skills.

Mix says there are new restaurants going in. There's Wine Unwind that took over the space vacated by Vinideus at 1019 NW 11th. "Drop by on weekend evenings, when bluegrass and jazz combos offer live music."

There's Via Delizia, 1105 NW Marshall - gelato, neighborhoodcoffee shop and lunch spot - at night illuminated lanterns make you feel as if you are in Sienna.

MetroVino, a new bistro and wine bar, opened this year in the D.F. space at 1139 NW 11th.

Little Green Grocer is at 1101 NW Northrup, on the streetcar line. "Eat Well, Drink Well, Be Well" is the motto on the window.

Then there's Bridge Port Brewpub &Bakery, 1313 NW Marshall. The "transformation from warehouse to upscale neighborhood" has happened at the brewpub in a remodeling that save s the best of the old. It's where we meet.

You will see more more happening in the NoLo. Stay tuned and come visit.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery
We love it in NoLo across from the new Magnum Opus, arriving in late October.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Don Draper's Furniture on "Mad Men"

Are you a fan of "Mad Men" like we are? It is such an eye opener to see how just a little over 40 years ago, men were such smokers, drinkers, double-standard chauvinists. It's fun to see how the role of women has changed radically since those days in the early sixties.

You may be wondering where the show got some of the furniture seen in Don Draper's office.



Not everything on the "Mad Men"set is genuine 1960s vintage Manhattan. The sofa, chairs and coffee table in Don Draper's office are made in Los Angeles by Futurama. Owner Jeffrey Perry, who began selling vintage furniture in 1986 and has since reproduced classics in the manner of William Haines and Vladimir Kagan, created the Boxy sofa ...with a nod to the late Southern California designer Milo Baughman.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Interior Design with Color Contrast - Better.tv

Here's an interview of interior designer Libby Langdon about adding color. Interior Design with Color Contrast - Better.tv

If you are an interior designer, take a look at how she markets herself and her website Libby Langdon Homepage.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

The Miche Bag!




Here's a departure from furniture, but it's right in there as far as frugal and fashionable, the Miche Bag. Here's a video that shows how the handbag works

Friday, September 11, 2009

Explore The Pearl Ad

See our ad in today's Explore The Pearl magazine



Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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B, Smith Teams With Hammary



Hammary, a La-Z-Boy subsidiary and carried by Landfair Furniture, will introduce a new line of licensed case goods as part of the B. Smith Home Collection at next month's High Point Market.

The introduction, part of lifestyle expert, television personality and restaurateur Barbara Smith's line of home furnishings, will include around 34 pieces for occasional, bedroom and dining room.

The B. Smith look embodies contemporary design inspired by transcultural influences that merge eclectic style with ethnic influences that draw their inspiration from Smith's world travels as a model, author and business professional.

Signature items in the collection include a platform bed and coordinating dresser in a luxurious, dark mahogany finish with dramatic, carved accents.

"The bed is a statement piece that is a fusion of Asian, African and Caribbean influences," Smith said. "It epitomizes my vision of blending design with a world view."
We'll have pictures next month.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Tuesday, September 01, 2009

ZGF Has A New Portland Home

Somehow, we've missed this addition to the Portland skyline. Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects (ZGF) has a new home at 12th and Washington and is on track to achieve LEED (NC) Platinum and LEED (CI) Platinum. The new building has wind turbines on the roof that will generate 1% of the building's energy needs. Those turbines were mounted in mid-August.



Other sustainable features include a 6,000-sq.-ft. terrace and eco-roof that serves to mitigate storm water and reduce the building's heat island effect. Office ventilation mainly is achieved through a combination of an Underfloor Air Distribution System (UFAD) and natural ventilation. The system provides individual control through adjustable diffusers at each workstation. Passive chilled beams will aid in cooling on particularly hot days. Passive chilled beams are perforated metal panels mounted near the ceiling and chilled with cold water tubing.

The new mixed-use building not only will house ZGF, but will have street-level retail space, four floors of office space (for ZGF) and 17 floors of residential living space.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Friday, August 28, 2009

Block 90 Wins!

Not to be missed! During an evening ceremony at NW Natural on August 26th, The Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Portland announced the 2009 NW Natural Street of Dreams award recipients.

Realtor’s Choice Awards
Best of Show: Bedford, 937 Condominiums
Best Interior Design: East Village, Block 90
Best Kitchen: The Manhattan, Block 90
Best Home Furnishings: The Manhattan, Block 90

Professional’s Choice Awards
Best of Show: Maison, 937
Best Interior Design: Maison, 937
Best Master Suite: An Uncommon Life, The Encore
Best Kitchen: Maison, 937
Best Architecture: 937 Condominiums

People’s Choice Awards
Best of Show: Bedford, 937
Best Interior Design:The Manhattan, Block 90/Skywatcher, Waterfront Pearl
Best Kitchen: The Manhattan, Block 90
Best Master Suite: Luster of the Pearl, The Encore

We congratulate Jim Gillespie and architect Don Vallaster of Vallaster and Corl Architects who developed Block 90. Special thanks to Debbie Melville of DM Designs and Dawn O’Shaughnessy of Westside Designs who were the interior designers for both units, The Manhattan and East Village. We are so proud of the work they did. We at Landfair Furniture are happy to be involved with the two designers along with Paul Schatz Furniture in The Manhattan, and Asia America and Cargo for East Village.

Imagine. Block 90 won five of the 12 awards!

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Balcony Bliss



We love the summers in Portland and we love sitting on the deck having dinner in the evening. Even most hot days eventually bring an evening breeze.

If you've visited the condos in the NW Natural Street of Dreams or are planning to visit, notice which urban condos have balconies big enough to furnish with comfort, style and use-ability.
Two buildings stand out: Block 90 and Encore on the Park. It looks like The Encore has decks of about 700 square feet with views of the river and the new park. Block 90 is showing two pent house condos on the fourth floor that have a 1,600 square foot terrace in The Manhattan and 800 square feet in the East Village. There's plenty of room for all kinds of outdoor comfort and great views of the Pearl.

One piece of advice for any buyer of a condo with a balcony or terrace: Weight can be a consideration. Check with your property manager for any building restrictions.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Let's Talk Pillows

I note with interest that Cindy Crawford has teamed up with JC Penney for a debut collection of bedding, bath, window, lighting, accent furniture and decorative accessory items. This item followed a press release last week that Jane Seymour has teamed up with Capel rugs for some new product introductions at World Market in Las Vegas.

Do the stars really design their collections or is done by some nameless designer, a ghost designer if you will, buried in the bowels of JC Penny headquarters?



Pictured above is The 'Indigo Dreams' bedding and window treatments are part of Cindy Crawford's new line for J.C. Penney. The queen comforter set is $179.99 (price will vary). It's available at jcp.com. The line comes to stores Sept. 4.

My husband always asks about the pillows on the bed. When, he asks, did we start to put more pillows on the bed than one uses sleeping? Some beds, at the Street of Dreams had pillows that came out from the headboard to the middle of the bed.

Then there's the stacking of the pillows before turning in. When you get up in the middle of the night, the last thing my husband wants to do is trip over pillows. In the morning the pillows need to be reapplied to the bed. With all that goes on in our busy lives, the time loss due to pillows on some of these beds must be huge.

I always have to trick my husband into helping me with the pillow cases. We have a race of it and I usually beat him. I can't imagine getting him to stand still for tens of pillows. The one area I agree with him about the excess pillows is that time I come home tired from a long day and I just want to flop face down on the bed. The flat space to flop is gone!

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009

NW Natural Street of Dreams Magazine Is Online



This is great! Now the whole NW Natural Street of Dreams magazine is on the web. You can read about each condo, see the floor plans, see who helped make it a success by contributing their talent, furniture and accessories to the whole.

If you are not from Portland, take a look at our city and The Pearl. Its a great place to live and work.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Monday, August 17, 2009

30 Years Of Saving Corks

Mike and I golfed with friends Sandi and Gerry, yesterday. They've sold their house in Forest Heights and are picking up sticks for a move to Scotsdale, Arizona. Guess the winters are finally driving them out of Portland.

While we were eating our burgers at Rock Creek Tavern after golfing at Claremont, Gerry said in getting rid of "stuff", he was not going to get rid of his 30-year collection of wine-bottle corks. We gave him some ideas about their possible use in his new home, but they did not include this idea:


Made from recycled wine corks by Gabriel Wiese, the chair burn a contemporary design.Gabriel Wiese has intelligently used the cork caps of the wine bottles, keeping the shapes intact.I don`t know if you can patient to collect all the corks in order to be able to make new pieces of furniture. via Gabriel Wiese

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery
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The Biedermeier Style



Mike has just written a piece at Home Accents Today about the Biedermeier style, inspired by this sofa from an article in Luxist, The Beauty Of Biedermeier by Deidre Woollard.
Shown above is a rare Biedermeier sofa attributed to the workshop of Josef Danhauser. Danhauser opened Vienna's first high-end home furnishings store. The sofa has walnut veneer and maple inlays and ebonized detailing. This exceptional piece is priced over $50,000.
Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Friday, August 07, 2009

Is It Home Yet? Ad

I shared with you information about the new campaign from the furnishing industry and the World Market Center, called Is It Home Yet?

Here's the first ad:


Click to enlarge

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Art On The Edge, Rhonda Addison

I was given permission to film Rhonda Addison work. I was impressed with her Oregon Landscapes and her other images. In one case she photographed sheep in the Willamette Valley added texture and Psalm 23 in script. That Psalm, The Lord Is My Shepherd, means a lot to me. My father used to read that to me each night before he turned out my light.



Her paintings were displayed in the unfinished spaces in the Pearl Design Center as part of Art On the Edge, presented by Studio Art Direct, in conjunction with First Thursday art crawl in Portland, Oregon.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Art On The Edge, Mandy Main

Mandy Main gave me permission to film her paintings displayed at the Pearl Design Center in conjunction with First Thursday and Art On the Edge, presented by Studio Art Direct. The artists were invited to display their Oregon landscapes.



I was struck by Mindy's interest in the clouds in Oregon, sometimes high Cirrus, other times big fluffy white Cumulous clouds.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Art On The Edge, Sidonie Caron

Sidonie Caron gave me permission to make a video of her paintings displayed as part of Art On the Edge, presented by Studio Art Direct, First Thursday. As you can see Caron's art is hung in one of the unfinished spaces in the Pearl Design Center.

Caron has her studio close by and has spent some time looking at the underside of the Fremont bridge, the same view we have when we step out the front door of Landfair Furniture at 15th & NW Savier.



I just love people that find beauty in all that's Portland.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Art On The Edge, Eric Bowman

Eric Bowman gave me permission to make a video of his art displayed in the unfinished portion of the Pearl Design Center. The occasion was First Thursday's Art On The edge, presented by Studio Art Direct.



Eric painted some familiar scenes, to me native Portlander that I am.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Art On The Edge, Donna Young

Donna Young gave me permission to take a video of her paintings displayed at Art On the Edge, presented by Studio Art Direct, in the Pearl Design Center. I was struck by her use of vivid pink, she called it purple, in her paintings. She has been exhibiting since she was 17. The exhibit was all about Oregon landscapes and I saw a beautiful Oregon in her paintings I hadn't seen before.



While this space is unfinished, notice the two levels and high ceilings. In the front are big glass roll up doors. It's a great space.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Art On the Edge, Darryl Ware

Last evening the Pearl Design Center on the edge of the Pearl, initiated Art on the Edge, presented by Studio Art Direct, our First Thursday monthly event. Nine Oregon landscape artists displayed their art in parts of the design center that are still unoccupied. The artists displaying were Sidonie Caron, Donna Young, Eric Bowman, Mandy Main, Brett Holstetter, Tracy Leagjeld, Jeni Lee, Scott Gellatly and Kathleen McIntire. In addition, in the Landfair Furniture showroom, Darryl Ware displayed his colorful collages of Venice and Mazatlan.

I talked with Darryl about his art that's based on his travel photographs and his graphic art background. The video capturessome of what he does, but not its vividness and detail.





Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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Thursday, August 06, 2009

Have You Been To Block 90?




Block 90 consists of 11 units, basically all pent houses, with the most outdoor living space of any of the condos featured in this years Street of Dreams. Jim Gillespie and architect Don Vallaster of Vallaster and Corl Architects developed Block 90. The two found a way to preserve and enhance an historic Portland building that truly gives you that feeling that you are living in The Pearl.


Debbie Melville of DM Designs and Dawn O’Shaughnessy of Westside Designs fashioned the design of both units, The Manhattan and East Village, on a budget dwarfed by the budgets of the other buildings’ designers.


Debbie and Dawn worked with Paul Schatz Furniture in The Manhattan and Landfair Furniture + Design Gallery, Asia America and Cargo for East Village. Nothing was special ordered for the units. All accessories, upholstered furniture and case goods came right off the showroom floors. They are available for purchase along with many other beautiful pieces.


Last week, Debbie and Dawn presented their design to four independent designers, two from Seattle and two from Bend. The judges were stunned at what they had accomplished on their budget. Maybe, they suggested, the competition should be one based on equal amounts of money. The units have received quite a warm response from the public. It’s possible, they sense that the two units’ warmth and hominess is a realistic goal for their homes.


Both Debbie Melville and Dawn O’Shaughnessy are available in the units to answer your questions about your specific projects.

Bev & Mike
Landfair Furniture + Design gallery
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