Styleture

At Styleture we never pass up the opportunity to celebrate good style. With ICFF (International Contemporary Furniture Fair) just around the corner, we can’t wait to see what new products are in store. While we anticipate the latest and greatest in design, we want to take some time to celebrate a few of our old favorites. And what better time to celebrate than May 5th? In honor of our own “Sinko” de Mayo, here are five of our favorite sinks.

ILBAGNOALESSI One Tuna by LAUFEN

LAUFEN is masterful when it comes to innovation and organic forms, taking bathroom design to another whole level. With the graceful curves of the fish that bears its name, TUNA is an imaginative piece with timeless flair. Its soft fluid lines and clean white finish create a modern and luxurious statement for any bathroom.

Mojito by Native Trails

Just in time for summer, Native Trails’ new Mojito bar and prep sink is making a splash. With a look as refreshing as its namesake, Mojito’s hammered copper texture brings beauty to any backyard barbeque. This innovative sink combines artistry and functionality with a deep circular shape perfect for filling with ice and keeping bottles cold.

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Styleture recently joined other interior design bloggers, new media innovators and industry leaders for the 2013 Design Bloggers Conference in Los Angeles, California. This premier conference brought together the world of interior design and new media, emphasizing the importance of blogging, social media and more. The two-day conference was filled with inspiring and heartfelt speakers, excellent networking opportunities and even a mini concert by a Grammy award-winning singer!

Adam Japko, founder of the DBC, opened the conference with these wise words: “Social media is about human beings and human connections.” Blogging is a way to make connections with followers by sharing a piece of who we are in every post. This speech set the theme for the rest of the conference. While there were many excellent speakers and presenters at the DBC, here are our three favorite standouts:

Iconic interior designer Charlotte Moss spoke about the importance of honesty and integrity in blog writing. Her knowledge and passion for design, along with her Southern wit, wisdom and humor inspired us all to be authentic and original in everything we do.

Designer Barbara Barry started off the second day, not with a speech but with an experience. Her flowing, poetic words painted a picture of how color, passion and beauty are the driving forces in her life. Like a storybook, each page revealed a deeper understanding of the importance of design and why the simplest things can be most inspiring. “I believe beauty can transform the way you see the ordinary.” These are truly words to live by.

Last but not least, singer-songwriter and Grammy-winner Patti Austin spoke about her lifelong interest in design and her work with the Over My Shoulder Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes mentoring through music and design. She ended her speech by singing “This Little Light of Mine,” a song that gave her inspiration to co-found Over My Shoulder. After her song, we certainly felt inspired by her voice. Let the church amen!

Overall the conference was a great success. We walked away with inside knowledge of the interior design field, what it takes to be a successful blogger and how to use our niche industry as an advantage. See you next year!

If you’re a designer looking to showcase your talents, here’s some exciting news:

Larger Than Light’s popular “Let It Shine” contest is back! From now until December 15th, Larger than Light is inviting designers to submit their best interior design project featuring a Littman Brands’ lighting fixture for a chance to win a $1000 cash prize. Two runner-ups will receive a Littman Brands’ lighting fixture of their choice from Troy Lighting, Corbett Lighting or Hudson Valley Lighting (valued at $500 or less). And all three winners will have their work published in the Winter 2013 Larger Than Light magazine.

Do you think you have the lighting and interior design skills to win?  Then visit Larger Than Light’s Facebook page to enter.

Check out these past winners for some design inspiration!

Crosby by Troy Lighting
Residential Project for HGTV’s new series “Showhouse Showdown,” Pittsburgh, PA.

Designer: Joseph A. Berkowitz of JAB Interiors, Inc.
Inspiration: “We chose to hang this enormous fixture close to the cocktail table, thus making it one of the accessories in the room. The fixture’s massive scale and masculine lines are a great contrast to the soft Flocati rug and white slip covered sofa.”
Contact: www.jabinteriors.com

Embrace by Corbett Lighting
Luxury Residential Project, McKinney, Texas

Designer: Allan Moore and Amy Adams of AMA Interiors
Inspiration: “Clean transitional feel with a touch of 1920s Hollywood glam.”
Contact: www.amainteriors.com

Modern architecture was popularized in the 1950’s by renowned architects such as Joseph Eichler with a style of homes that came to be known as “California Modern.” These homes were characterized by glass walls, open floor plans, and post-and-beam construction. They can still be seen in many communities throughout Northern and Southern California, and there are even organized tours that allow architectural enthusiasts to get an up-close look at homes built during this significant design movement.

One such tour is taking place in Sacramento, CA on Saturday, June 26 – the city’s first-ever tour of this kind. Fans of Modern architecture and design can get a brief glimpse into what it would be like to live and work in more than 20 different California Modern homes and commercial structures built between 1945 and 1970.

Participants will receive informational booklets and driving maps and are allowed to visit the residences at their own pace and in any order that they wish. Additionally, each location will have homeowners and tour guides present to answer any questions visitors might have regarding these unique works of modern architecture.

To find more information about purchasing tickets for the tour visit http://sacmcmhometour.blogspot.com/. And if you know of any other Mid-Century Modern tours please share them with us in the comments.

Sacramento Mid-Century Modern Tour

Fine wine and architecture make for a nice pairing. Where to find it? Quixote Winery in Napa Valley, California. I recently had the opportunity to attend a tasting here and truly enjoyed their signature “screw cap” Petite Syrah. It seems most everyone does, including the staff at Food and Wine magazine who rated Quixote one of the twenty best new wineries in the world between 1999 and 2004.

However, even more amazing than the wine is the winery’s architecture. Quixote is the first, last and only building in North America ever designed by the legendary Viennese antimodernist architect Frederick Hundertwasser.

Hunderwasser Designed Winery

As you can tell from the winery’s architecture, Hundertwasser wasn’t a fan of straight lines, flat surfaces or right angles. In fact, none of his projects feature them. Quixote is no exception. From its onion-shaped dome covered in gold leaf to its rounded pillar columns and uneven lines – Quixote was one of Hundertwasseis’ last testaments to the ornate, curvaceous designs of Europe. The winery took 10 years to build, and the architect did not see it in its final state. Quixote with its Dr. Seuss -like décor, bright colorful mosaic tiles and delicious wines is a must stop destination when in the Napa Valley.

Quixote Winery, Napa Valley

Many tourists use their summer and winter vacations to travel around the world to view some of the most spectacular, newest and most interesting buildings built by man. Here we are highlighting a few of our own suggestions of architectural destinations for you to consider in the coming months due to their newness, restoration completion and limited engagements.

Fairmont Plaza Architectural Tour (Limited Engagement): For a limited time and on a month by month basis this summer, The Plaza in Central Park is offering architectural tours of the hotel. The tours are being shown twice a week and include tours of The Oak Room, The Palm Court, the Grand Ballroom and some views of the amazing rooms and suites. The tours are led by architectural historian, author and teacher Francis Morrone. The tour is about 45 minutes and are being held every Tuesday and Saturday in June at 3pm by reservation only. The tours have a limit of 20 people and are as of now only scheduled to take place in June (but we assume they will most likely go through the summer). To reserve a spot, call The Plaza Boutique at 212-588-8012.	The Plaza Hotel NYC
Marcel Breuer Exhibit	Marcel Breuer: Design and Architecture – Marcel Breuer (1902-1981) was one of the leading architects and designers of the 20th century due to his experiments with tubular steel for furniture designs such as his famous “Wassily” club chair. In the 1930’s he also created furniture with at the time unconventional materials such as aluminum and laminated wood. It was also during this time that he designed sleek interiors of buildings that were created by some of the most influential architects of the time. This exhibit shows the various creative periods during his career, materials used, and architectural work categorized in themes of “Spaces,” “Volumes,” and “Houses”. His architectural examples show innovations in spatial organization, construction techniques, and architectural forms which defines his architectural works.This exhibit was last shown in 2007, so if you can catch it we highly recommend it. If interested you can visit the Museam of Art at the Rhode Island School of Design until July 19th, 2009 to view this exhibit: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM Exhibit Description: “The first exhibition to treat all facets of Breuer’s work with equal weight, from the highly innovative furniture he produced as both a student and teacher at the famed Bauhaus, to the modest houses he created after moving to the United States, to the large-scale buildings he designed for major cities. Models, drawings, floorplans, photographs, video projections, and interactive computer terminals shed light on his long and varied architectural career in this exhibition, developed by the Vitra Design Museum in Germany.” Museum of Art – The Rhode Island School of Design
The Standard in New York City: Another hotel in New York worth visiting is the new Standard which has just been finished this past spring. The Standard has been designed by the Polshek Partnership Architects and consists of a concrete and glass slab on stilts, located on the West Side of Manhattan in the meat packing district. The hotel has just opened a hip and upscale restaurant and beer garden at ground level with bars and a lounge on the top two floors of the hotel which will prove to be some of the new hot spots of the city. Although this architectural specimen is much unlike the plaza described above, it is a modern take on the ‘hip’ architecture of today. If you are a fan of modern / minimalist design you will enjoy your stay at the hotel, but make sure to get the Hudson River side for the view, and bring your nicest shoes as there is a great night life within walking distance in the meatpacking district. The Standard 848 Washington Street, New York (212) 645-4646	NYC - The Standard
Frank Lloyd Write	The Robie House – by Frank Lloyd Wright – Although this house was completed over 90 years ago, it remains a masterpiece of modern architecture. The reason this is one of the top destinations of 2009 is that it been going through a ten year restoration process that is being finished in the next year. In order to beat the crowds at the centennial anniversary in Spring of 2010, now is the best time to see this work of art. You can tour this FLW house which was built for the final cost of $58,500 for his client Frederick C. Robie. and completed in 1910. The house is one of the most important buildings in American architecture, and is considered the greatest example of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie style home. This home is the first example of an architectural style that is unique to American Architecture which in turn inspired an architectural revolution. The house has sweeping horizontal lines, dramatic overhangs, stretches of art glass windows and an open floor plan which are all still used today in many contemporary designs. Robie House – Tours: Friday – Sunday from 11 am to 3 pm 5757 S. Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago Illinois Call 1-800-514-3849 for tickets
Burj Dubai- The World’s Tallest Skyscraper – This is the tallest building in the world with 160 floors and standing approximately 2,600 feet tall, and truly is an architectural miracle. The building has required over 5,000 workers to use 330,000 cubic meters of concrete, 39,000 metric tons of steel rebar and 142,000 sq meters of glass. This tower houses residential occupants, commercial spaces, restaurants, retail spaces and hospitality spaces such as the world’s first Armani Hotel and Armani Residences. This building is slated to be completed in 2009, and is already the world’s tallest building as well as the world’s tallest man made structure with the mast now taller than that of the KVLY-TV mast in North Dakota. It is a remarkable scene and can be seen towering above the clouds when flying into Dubai. Burj Dubai Official Website	Tallest Building - Burj Dubai