interior design ideas: March 2009

LEED for Homes

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most well-known, visible rating system for energy efficient, high performance buildings today. A program of the US Green Building Council, LEED is taking the lead in educating professionals and consumers in the green building movement.LEED for Homes was officially launched in February...

Please Support Your Local Stores

We were driving down the design district in Los Angeles the other day and we were struck with how many "For Lease" signs were out there. It seems like almost every other shop is closed! Then we read in the LA Times that Cook's Library is closing. For those who do not live in LA, Cook's Library is an independent bookstore that specialized...

Modern Home Office

Working from home is such a popular trend nowadays. Most people we know either work from home part time or full time. For us, we practically live in our home office. This is why we think it should be both nice and functional, with an emphasis on functional, as it is so important for getting our work done.Here are some modern offices that...

Ragged Mountain Green Day

Bonin Architects was invited by the Ragged Mountain Resort to participate in their second annual Green Day Event March 14th. Ragged Mountain is located in Danbury, NH, just an hour and a half drive from Boston. Established in 1964, Ragged Mountain is now positioned to be one of the fastest growing ski resorts and real estate development in...

Designers to Watch-Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch

Have you ever read about someone's life, and say, man, that is one bitching life! We do. A lot of it is from fashion and design magazines. You know, the ones that are always about some pretty young thing who is, invariably, married to some hedge fund manager; has a pied-a-terre in Paris; a loft in New York; a country house in Connecticut?Well,...

Upholstery from Nathan Anthony

We use a lot of Nathan Anthony products for our home staging projects. They are reasonably-priced; the turn around time is pretty fast; and they come up with new stuff all the time.Quality-wise it's reasonable. We would say that it's in the mid range... It's not super high end. The prices reflect that. It's the kind of furniture you buy when...

Trina Turk Fabrics for F. Schumacher

Designer collaborations are everywhere nowadays. You see Pierre Hardy designing shoes for the Gap, Alex McQueens for Target--all designed to bring high-end designs to the masses. Although we have to say, we're not that impressed. Has anyone seen the Vera Wang collection for Kohl? Cheap looks cheap, no matter what name you put on it.For Schumacher...

Pretty Fabrics from Thomas Paul for Duralee

We love Thomas Paul. Started out as a pillows line, Thomas Paul has now taken off like a rocket with a rug line with Chandra and recently, a licensed fabric collection with Duralee. His stuff is casual, colorful and reasonably-priced--a perfect combination when you want to brighten things up a bit without spending tons of money.Here are some...

Green Homes Outperform Conventional Homes

Green homes stem from an overall concert for their environment. Their design, materials, and systems set them apart from conventional homes. For example, green homes outperform conventional homes these areas:Environment / Site: Landscaping which focuses on using native plants has a positive effect on the site by reducing irrigation, pesticides,...

Fresh Colors for Spring-Furniture from Bungalow 5

We saw Bungalow 5 at the New York show last February and we just loved it. The colors are so fresh and fun. The prices are reasonable too (under $500 for most pieces). They are just perfect for spring.Here are some samples from the line. Most come in different color combinations.You can see the rest at Bungalow 5 web site. If you need help...

Love This House

Elle Decor did a feature on Monica Lhuillier's house a while back. It's one of those houses that you'd just said, I wish I live in that!Here are some pictures from the feature.When you browse through the pictures think about how neutral colors can be used so elegantly. Notice also the lack of clutters and the well-edited accessories.Furniture...

Loft Living Inspirations

We just love the idea of living in a loft. There's something kinda cool, kinda chic about it. Now, to actually live in a loft is a different story. Have you tried it? It's often cold, uncomfortable and hard to decorate.Still, loft living is a popular concept especially in the cities. So if you are into it, here's are some inspirations from...