DESIGN FOR MEN

Founded RISD graduates, Bill Hilgendorf and Jason Horvath, Uhuru Design, started in 2004 and is certainly a young company on the move. This New York based, design/build furniture company is making waves by creating sustainable yet stunning hand crafted pieces of furniture. Uhuru’s standard chair (pictured above) is now on display at The Brooklyn Museum of Art in the Luce Center for American Art on the 5th floor along with iconic chairs by Harry Bertoia, Eero Saarinen, Frank Gehry, George Nelson, and Charles Eames.  All of their pieces possess a certain simplicity and cleverly use materials that might otherwise be overlooked.  Here a few of my favorite pieces.

Fenced In Table                                                                Ohana Bar

Bilge Lounge (this piece would be great in the apartment…hmm)

Moo Bench (love that name)                                      Stoolen

Canopy Bed

Click here to check out the Uhuru for more info on the company and their work.

Images from Uhuru Design

There I was in the U street corridor area of D.C. planning to purchase a sofa from Urban Essentials, a contemporary furniture store I discovered a month ago.  On the way there I noticed a store that I recognized from my online hunt, called RCKNDY, pronounced “Rock Candy”.  I walked in the door and it was love at first sight. There it was, the perfect sofa, the Paramount from Blu Dot in a deep charcoal.  I recall eliminating it from the short list because of the fabric color.  At some point, I decided to go beige/light khaki so the sofa would go with everything.  I was wrong! As soon as I saw the Paramount in person, the ideas flowed.  I thought, it will go perfectly with my walnut credenza and add depth to my monochromatic color palette.  The  design channels the Florence Knoll sofa which I love but can’t afford.  Speaking of cost, I splurged paying $1700 for the Paramount medium sofa (shown below).  The sofa is 80″w, 32″d, and 31″h…perfect size for a studio apartment.  Oh and it is comfortable which was an important consideration.

My rules of thumb are to spend more for quality and not to settle for something you don’t love.  So be patient, the right sofa will find you and consider important elements such as scale and aligning with your style.  I realized that in my frustration with not having a place to sit, that I almost invested in a piece that I would soon resent. And no piece of furniture deserves that.

Is the Paramount Sofa, your perfect sofa?  You can purchase and view it and other Blu Dot pieces at RCKNDY or shop online at Blu Dot’s website, by clicking here.

IMAGE CREDITS: Photo 1 by Kibwe Daisy, Photo 2 from Blu Dot

For the Boston readers, check out this event.  The Room to Dream Foundation is having it’s annual gala on April 1st and you don’t want to miss this fabulous event for a great cause.  The foundation does room makeovers for chronically ill children from low income families.  I first became involved with Room to Dream when designing a room for Ethan, who has severe cerebal palsy.  The experience changed my life and I realized that design can really change people’s lives.

The event will be spectacular as four local designers will be creating rooms to be on display at the event.  So, become a kid again for a night by attending this carnival themed event.  For more information, check out the Room to Dream site by clicking here.

David Yurman has done it again! Loving these necklaces from the Wave Collection, inspired by the stunning antique Japanese tsuba shown above.  A tsuba or sword guard is a flat metal disc that helps keep the sword balanced and protects the hand from sliding up the blade while in use.  Tsuba originated in Japan around the late 14th century and the one above dates back to the 19th century, during the Edo period.   The necklaces pick up on the wave motif in the tsuba.  I love the richness and depth of the relief.  I am curious about pricing.  I could see myself wearing the silver one with a white v-neck come spring.  Check out my previous post on their tag necklaces, by clicking here.
IMAGE from Details Magazine

The online editorial Sewn From the Soul from Street Etiquette blows me away.   In celebration of Black History month, seven stylish friends from New York united to create an piece that speaks to our history and the evolution of style. The power comes in their clear interest in incorporating styles from the past while infusing elements of today. The monochromatic palette ties the ensembles together which range from rugged and casually hip to refined and sophisticated. I had to include some favorite shots but these are just a taste.  The shot of this little boy made me think about how my mother and my aunt used to dress me, classic and dapper.  Can we get kids to dress like this again?  I would wear just about all of the looks portrayed in this editorial.  My favorite outfit is the gray turtleneck and wool trousers with the white belt worn by the guy on the far left.

Definitely check out the Sewn from the Soul  editorial by clicking here.  I am feeling quite fortunate to have found their striking blog as well, talk about inspiring fashion.

Designed by Platform 5 Architects of London, Mapledene Road is a renovation of a property that was formerly a crack house located in the conservation area of Hackney, a borough of London. The design team revived this structure creating spaces that flow into each other. The exposed brick on the interior adds warmth.  Subtle architectural moves add life to the facade while creating extra living areas within. One of my favorites is the protruding glass cube with window seat. As for decor, I love the simplicity of the palette punched up with pops of color as in the lavender chairs in the dining area.

Images from Platform5Architects

Boston area thrift store chain, Boomerangs,  opened a new boutique concept in Boston’s South End. At Boomerangs Special Edition, a collection of gently used high end items are sold at low prices. The store idea came from the success of a booth this summer at the antiques market in the South End, where employees selected designer pieces to sell.   Soon, consigned pieces from local artists will be carried but they are not planning to sell furniture or home accessories at this time. So Boston readers, stop by Boomerangs Special Edition located at 1407 Washington St. For more info, click here to check out their website.

Image from BostonGlobe

Built in the  1900s, the Chandler Inn is one of Boston’s most affordable boutique hotels.  Recently local interior designers, Dennis Duffy and Eric Roseff designed the newly renovated Boutique Queen (above) and Boutique Twin (below) rooms.  Both room types were a challenge for the designers as there was not a lot of space to work with.  These rooms needed to include multifunction areas including the console style desk below the screen rather than an entertainment unit or credenza.  The result is a space that is big on style and easy on the budget.  Click here to check out the Chandler Inn website for more info.

Images from Chandler Inn

Bythreads, based in Copenhagen makes these really awesome slim, journal sized laptop bags made of quality materials including full-grain leather, environmentally friendly materials, and neoprene. The cases are sleek and simple and 13 or 15″ MacBook safe, tempting me to go out and buy a MacBook to justify the purchase.

Image 1 from Stylecrave; Images 2-3 from Bythreads

Trapped at home due to what I am calling,The Great Snow Storm of 2010,  I am coping by fantasizing about warmer weather, specifically spring gear.  One of my favorite stores, Reiss did me proud with their Spring 2010 collections for their main line and 1971 (more casual, less expensive) line.  The following are some of my favorite looks.

IMAGES from Reiss