Nova's Twisted Sister Glass Console Table

Who: Nova and Jon Gilmore Designs

What: The Twisted Sister Glass Top Console Table

Where: Modern Furniture via StylePath

How Much: Incredibly priced at $729.99

Why We Dig It:  We really like shiny objects and this metal glass console table with its aluminum silver-plated base of curvy intertwined shapes is so shiny it twinkles. Nova Lighting has been making innovative lighting designs since 1923, to bring a modern edge and their classic approach to furnishings they brought on designer Jon Gilmore to bring his amazing design talents to the drawing table. The result? The mother of all glass console tables—The Twisted Sister.

Why You Need It: This beautiful glass console table is a transitional style that would work just as well with a modern décor as it would with a more traditional look in just the right place. Can you imagine this artistic piece making a dramatic impact in your entry?  Or maybe you have a room where you need to add a little height to balance out your other petite furnishings.

What room do you need to add a little drama to?

• Posted at 7:51 PM
• console tables, glass console table
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Karim Rashid Butterfly Chair

There is no doubt Egyptian-born, globally-trained designer Karim Rashid is trending volcanic right now in the design world. His designs are fun, feisty and rare gems. His self-proclaimed style—“sensual minimalism” or “sensualism” as he tells designboom.com in a Proust-style interview. Rashid accomplishments are so vast, we won’t begin to list them here, albeit he has seen and done it all. He even published a book entitled, Karim Rashid I Want to Change the World published by Thames and Hudson, 2001. (Photo Credit)

If you are the life of the party, people immediately befriend you wherever you go and you love color and lots of it, then Rashid’s style could be your own. He uses every color from the rainbow and some he has even created himself. Anyone that can wear a cotton candy pink suit and manage to look delicious and dashing at the same time has it going on in more ways than one. His designs have his personality written all over them. His penchant and talent for design is far reaching outside of his interior design spaces, he has his own lines of house wares, lighting, packaging, art, fashion, branding and logos, surfaces, fabrics, and furniture.

Everything he touches leaves a trail of vibrant color and shapes and curves that literally dance before your eyes in the most delightful way.  Smashing hues of pink, purple, blue, green, red and more cover everything from sofas to hangers.

In honor of Rashid’s design genius, we’re excited to offer one of his brilliant designs…the Karim Rashid ButterflyChair in a bold turquoise hue, chrome steel frame and Italian design. This designer chair would make a perfect armless dining chair to accompany one of Rashid’s exuberant tables. If you can relate to this elegant seating then you may have just found the entry to your own StylePath. For more information about Karim Rashid and his world view his presspak.

The Karim Rashid Butterfly Chair. This designer chair is made for Magis.

• Posted at 1:19 AM
• designer chair, dining chairs
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Blu Dot: Three Stand Up Guys

Being the obsessive chair fanatics we are—our furniture editor had "quite a few" in her home at one time and I’m on the hunt for the perfect chairs for every room in my house—it’s no wonder we see ALOT of chair designers and designs. A favorite, we want to share with you,  is the Blu Dot crew. They create the most amazing chairs in comfortable and fascinating shapes. Chair fanatics themselves, they even conducted a Real Good Experiment with one of their chairs and produce movies about their designs featuring a large furry squirrel.

John Christakos, Blu Dot’s CEO and founder, recently interviewed with Bradford Shellhammer over at dwell.com. In the interview, he touches on what makes Blu Dot different from other design houses. He tells Shellhammer, “As one of the few design firms that also manufactures and markets its own designs, I have learned that design is really the easy part.  And the most fun part, although I suspected that from the beginning.  Getting a design from sketchpad to marketplace is much harder than I originally thought.”

Charles Lazor and Maurice Blanks join Christakos to make up the three Blu Dot principals. The three college friends share a profound passion for design, art and architecture. Their mission?  To “bring good design to as many people as possible.” Their design philosophy? To "create simple straightforward objects in a complicated world. Clarity is very important to us." We like the way they think!

Another character trait we love about these guys is they don’t take individual credit for their designs. They approach concept, design and production as a collective effort. Christakos says of the process, “We are a design collective and have been from the very beginning. For the first several years, Charlie, Maurice, and I designed everything and we did that collaboratively. Some pieces may have started in my sketchbook or Charlie's or Maurice's but by the end they were truly a group effort. We are firm believers that the collective effort often yields results that can't be reached on a solo basis.”

Others are talking about the Blu Dot trio too. Marissa Bartolucci of American Contemporary Furniture, says of the three designers,  "With their inventive, can-do spirit that characterized the work of the Eameses, Blu Dot has resurrected the values of the Good Design movement and its popular potential."

Design on you terrific three! The Blu Dot Buttercup Rocker below would work great as a living room chair and has my name written all over it. Simply b-e-a-uuuu-tiful!

• Posted at 8:24 PM
• designer chair, living room chairs
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Relaxing Ceiling Fans Offer Cool Breezes

On a hot muggy summer’s day there is nothing like relaxing under the coolness of a ceiling fan. Even in an air conditioned space, the ceiling fan offers a consistent source of cool breezes central air just can’t provide. Depending on where you live, you may not have central air, then a powerful quality ceiling fan in every room becomes a necessity. My favorite ceilings fans are tropical style reminiscent of a bungalow on a tropical island. What type of ceiling fans are you looking for?

Castaway Antique Pewter Ceiling Fan hints of the good times of an island vacation.

• Posted at 6:50 PM
• Ceiling fans
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Modern Mantel Clocks

You may remember your parents or grandparents having a mantel clock. The brass and glass anniversary clock was a popular favorite with its twirling pendulum, golden face and clear dome. Take a look at what clock makers have been up to since those days. They really put a new twist on the mantle clocks of times gone by.

The Wentworth Mantel Clock is made of contemporary chrome, a mahogany finish and protective curved glass.
 

The K Mozer Congreve Rolling Ball Mantel Clock is made of solid brass accented by a mahogany trimmed glass case.

• Posted at 7:13 PM
• desk and mantle clocks
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