Creative Lighting: Moooi and Dunes & Duchess

Is it just me, or are you getting tired of seeing the same ole same ole predictable lighting choices when you shop for yourself or clients?  I want to share some fun lighting options that can liven up a room. Gone are the days where art is only hung on the wall. Lighting and art are merging to enhance the experience of interior design:

Contemporary Lighting

Marcel Wanders, Co-Founder of Moooi: thank you for Continue reading

Kitchen and Bath Trends 2013

2013Trends

The Modenus BlogTour Cologne trip was an incredible experience in so many ways. It was a privilege to see an international Furnishings & Kitchen and Bath show of the scale of IMM Living Kitchen because we were exposed to products designed for different cultures and spacial uses – also technologies that are way ahead of what we have in the US.  Below is a photographic tour of Kitchen and Bath trends 2013: Continue reading

Making Rooms More Fashionable with Contemporary Chandeliers

Contemporary chandeliers- I am so drawn to them lately! The great ones are not always easy to find.  Impressive lighting can be a focal start-point to build a room scheme around or a dramatic fashionable update to an existing well designed room. Here are a few interesting ones I have found. 

Flight Chandelier via Vosled via Modenus

1) The Flight Chandelier (above) by Vosled via Modenus and it is LED!!!  The Flight Chandelier echoes Continue reading

Cool Metal Curves – Contemporary Trend

The cool metal curves contemporary trend is an interesting one, creating fashionable updates to longtime classic styles.   I love the artistic nature of furniture design lately.  Any one of these pieces could be the artistic focal point in a room: Continue reading

LED Lighting

In case you have not heard, incandescent light bulbs are on a timeline to be phased out. 100 Watt bulbs will be phased out in 2012, 75 watt bulbs will be phased out in 2013, and 40 and 60 watt bulbs will be phased out in 2014.   This leaves us with the choices of CFL or LED. I am not a fan of CFL lighting because of the “three-mile island” greenish cast of light, which messes with the colors in a room and offers an odd ambience.  CFLs do have the advantage of lasting about 7 years, but if improperly disposed of, can harmfully expose people to  mercury. These factors make LED lighting look quite appealing. While the bulbs may cost more initially, they last 23 years. Yes, you read that right. 23 years is likely longer than most people will even keep a lighting fixture. Not only are the LED options efficient and responsible environmentally, but they open up a new world of creative possibilities, first embraced by commercial design and now taking hold in residential interiors.  Continue reading

Bejewel Your Home: More Crystals

I have been selling the gemstone lamps and accessories like crazy! Apparently I’m not the only one who loves them. Here are the latest:Gorgeous quartz chunk, great for table top, can be mounted to an acrylic base. Continue reading

How High Should You Hang a Chandelier?

photo credit: murano imports


If you have to walk under it, you want to allow for clearance of 7-8 feet from the floor. If the ceiling is super high, consult your designer.

If it is over a table, you want it 30-36 feet from the table, depending on the fixture.

Any design questions? Send contact us and we will be happy to address them.

Ammonites In Interior Design

Ammonites are long extinct pieces of history that make gorgeous decorative statements in both traditional and contemporary rooms.

AMMONITE  HISTORY:

The Ammonites survived several mass extinctions during the 330 million years they lived on Earth. The end of the Cretaceous Period (65 million years ago) was also the end for these cephalopods- history fans, take note!  Ammonites are found as fossils in most countries throughout the world. The name comes from the shell’s appearance: it resembles a ram’s horn.

What we now see is only the shell of the ammonite. The ammonite lived in the larger opening at the end of the shell, which acted as protection and enabled the ammonite to regulate its body pressure as it moved through different depths of water.

AMMONITE  LORE:

Lots of good lore about ammonite: all seem to attribute prosperity, health and good luck to the fossils. They are considered to be protective stones that give stability and structure to a person’s life,  are also said to change negativity into smoothly flowing energy. Ammonites are symbolic of the higher forces of the universe and their shape is said to attract and store wealth. Feng Shui believers consider ammonite to be  high energy stones that enhance the vitality, harmony, prosperity, and overall well-being of occupants and visitors of a home.

Whether you like them for their beauty or for their “meaning”, they are fascinating relics, jewels of the earth.

AMMONITE ACCESSORIES: 

This ammonite is cut and polished  to expose its colorful chambers, a beautiful table accessory, 7 3/4″ high:

This pair of custom lamps incorporate a gorgeous matching pair of polished whole ammonites, artfully mixing ancient history with contemporary design:

The lamp below is one of a pair of custom lamps:

All of these ammonites can be yours! If you have any questions and are interested in purchasing any of them, contact us.

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