Styleture

At Styleture, our editorial team always stays attuned to the latest in interior design trends. We’re never too proud to benefit from the wisdom of other design bloggers – especially a blogger like Boston-based Linda Merrill (www.surroundings.net), who also happens to be a designer. For Fall 2011, she’s been generous enough to share with us her favorite trends and product picks for the upcoming season, including eclectic mixes, vintage looks and soothing styles for the spa:

Mix and Match

“From high-low pricing, to mixed finishes and styles, antiques and vintage mixed with modern forms – true eclecticism is taking hold in the design world,” said Merrill. It’s partly a response to the economy and partly environmental. “We’re all reusing and refurbishing what we have, stretching the budget, splurging on some items, saving on others, keeping things out of landfills,” she adds.

Mix and match Hastings Tile & Bath's GDO Raised Panel Ceramic Tile

With Hudson Valley Lighting's® Chatham

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It goes without saying that at Styleture, we love kitchens. We have a passion for amenities such as kitchen sinks that evoke a sense of time and place; and no sinks do a better job of that than farmhouse sinks. For those of you who don’t already know, a farmhouse sink (aka apron front sink) typically has one large bowl with an exposed front panel. It works especially well with a kitchen designed in a classic country style décor, however there are no hard and fast rules in regards to the environment in which they can be utilized. We’ve been keeping a keen eye peeled for the farmhouse sinks that we feel are of impeccable design and quality, and now we’d like to share our five favorite ones with you:

Stone Forest Versailles Farmhouse Sink

The Stone Forest Versailles Farmhouse Sink

This Stone Forest beauty features a polished inside and rim with raised carving on the front apron. Available in Beige Granite, Papiro Cream Marble, Black Granite, and Jerusalem Gold. External dimensions 10 × 33 × 22. Read the rest of this entry »

The Styleture editorial team loves kitchens; and we’d be lying if we said we didn’t have a special place in our hearts for kitchens with islands. A well-designed kitchen island can greatly enhance storage, display, seating and all-around functionality of your kitchen, and look incredible while doing so. If you have your cooking range set up island style, then you also have the added benefit of featuring an island range hood in your kitchen. Chosen carefully, a quality, design-forward range hood can not only serve to keep the air in your kitchen and entire house steam, smoke and smell free, but it can also serve as an eye-catching focal point. As always, we’ve done our research on the best and most beautiful island range hoods out there, and we’d like to share with you five of our favorites:

Zephyr 36” Napoli Island Range Hood

The Zephyr 36” Napoli Island Range Hood

This range hood is part of Zephyr’s Next Generation Europa line. Napoli is a classic island range hood design. Strong with upwardly-angled walls, Napoli makes an impression in any kitchen. Upgraded with Zephyr’s DCBL Suppression System, Bloom HD LED bulbs and the unique Quick-Lock installation system, Napoli is as easy to install as it is to look at. A technological achievement, Napoli is a cut above the rest. Read the rest of this entry »

The ultra-modern Hoerboard Scomber mix DJ stand

Admit it – you’ve entertained dreams of telling your boss at your day job to go fly a kite, just so you can jet off to Ibiza and DJ the summer club circuit. It’s ok, we all have. Perhaps that dream was never more appealing than now, considering that the ultra-modern Hoerboard Scomber Mix DJ Stand is just a few thousand bucks ($2,330 once fully customized, to be more precise) away from being yours. Read the rest of this entry »

Zephyr's IMKDC (Inspire My Kitchen Design Contest)

Back in June, we told you about the IMKDC (Inspire My Kitchen Design Contest), brought to you by our favorite range hood innovator, Zephyr. The contest, in its second year, brings together culinary aficionados, and awards homeowners and professional designers with prizes for incorporating a Zephyr range hood into their kitchen. Even better, it enters those of you who participate, simply by voting or making comments on your favorite kitchen entries, into the IMKDC monthly prize give-a-way. The prizes include the Element Portable Grill by Fuego and the Beats Pro from the Beats by Dre line of headsets; both products are from the vivid imagination of Zephyr Arc Collection designer Robert Brunner.

The Element Portable Grill

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Chef Tom Hurley preparing the Dream Dinner from last year's Zephyr Inspire My Kitchen Design Contest

Our editorial team members at Styleture have long been fans of range hood innovators, Zephyr. It only takes a glance at some of the offerings from their Cheng, Arc and Essentials collections to realize these guys know how to merge design and utility, and offer an outstanding product. With the goal of bringing together culinary aficionados, and awarding homeowners and professional designers with prizes for incorporating a Zephyr range hood into their kitchen, Zephyr has brought back for the second year in a row their IMKDC (Inspire My Kitchen Design Contest).

The 2011 IMKDC marks the return of Zephyr’s expert panel of distinguished judges – including artist Fu-Tung Cheng, industrial designer Robert Brunner, and celebrity chef Tom Hurley – who will evaluate the contestants based on rigorous criteria. For example, Cheng has previously stated that he looks for designs that make exquisite use of colors and textures, as well as the overall application of the hood within the kitchen’s design; Hurley looks for the layered textures and nuances that make each kitchen unique. The initial open entry period for the contest commenced on March 28, when contestants began submitting digital photos and a brief narrative describing their kitchen’s design. Visitors to the IMKDC website have been and will continue to review the submissions and elect their top five kitchens. After the initial entry period, Zephyr’s world-renowned judging panel will review the submissions, awarding points based on materials, aesthetics, utility and the X-Factor – the kitchen one would most enjoy entertaining guests in. Winners will be announced on January 16, 2012.

Zephyr Horizon Range Hood by Robert Brunner

Winners of the homeowner category will be awarded a Dream Dinner grand prize consisting of a gourmet dinner for them and 16 of their closest friends, tailored to their tastes by Chef Hurley and his award-winning team; the dinner will be elegantly paired with premier and rare wines and champagnes from around the world. The prize will also include a hands-on cooking class by Chef Hurley the night before the dinner. Winners of the designer category will be awarded generous cash prizes: $2,500 for third place, $5,000 for the runner-up and a $10,000 grand prize will be awarded to the kitchen designer who best uses a Zephyr range hood. Based on last year’s turnout of incredibly talented designers, Zephyr is expecting the 2011 designer category to not only reveal innovative and groundbreaking kitchen designs, but also be ultra-competitive.

Zephyr Duo Range Hood by Robert Brunner

At Styleture we love contests like this; they’re not only a great way for a company to foster interaction with its customers in an interesting way, but they also allow customers to get creative and get rewarded for their efforts with exquisite prizes.

If you want to get in on the IMKDC action, visit inspiremykitchen.com

Let’s be honest; when we think of kitchen ventilation hoods, the first thing that comes to mind is certainly not a game-changing designer like Robert Brunner. After all, this is the dude who back in the day, dreamed up the design and direction for Apple’s Powerbook. Since then, he’s gone on to form Ammunition Design Group – a powerhouse design firm based out of San Francisco. When Brunner’s not hanging out at the Grammys with Lady Gaga and Dr. Dre, he’s collaborating on design projects with them: he whipped up the HeartBeats by Lady Gaga headphones as part of the Beats by Dr. Dre line, also his.

Now, Brunner has brought his name and talent to Zephyr, an innovator of design-forward ventilation hoods. The Zephyr – ARC Collection by Brunner is nothing short of pure geometry, bringing a sleek, minimalist aesthetic to a product that was once considered a utility, not to mention an afterthought. He’s utilized classic materials like glass, steel and wood, and created a series of range hoods that are as much about clean air as they are about clean lines. Here are a few of Styleture’s favorites from Brunner’s ARC Collection:

Horizon

Zephyr Horizon by Robert Brunner

The editorial team at Styleture couldn’t help but notice that the Horizon has a striking similarity to the latest iMac^®. Certainly, Brunner has taken the sensibility he once brought to Apple and infused this range hood with a similarly striking style. Horizon enters a low-profile freefall just inches from the kitchen wall, then challenges its audience with a sweeping, thirty degree upward lift. Compelling in red, black, white glass or stainless steel, the glass surface may be etched in one of two patterns: a leaf motif on white glass, or flower on black glass. A removable front panel for easy cleaning and service access, and a duo of halogens, completes this beauty.

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