Recover and Renew

Designer Fabrics and Textiles from Bergamo

Recover, renew, reupholster! Bergamo designer textiles and fabrics are ready to change your impression of that sofa or chair you have been fighting to keep, you know the one where the fabric is shot but the rest is still good. Or you may be planning a ground up interior design project and really want to make a dramatic visual statement that only serious attention to detail will fulfill. Bergamo understands and has collaborated with top designers like Lori Weitzner, Ulf Moritz, and Dominique Kieffer who have designed entirely different fabric concept all of which are stunning. Here are a few of the Bergamo designer fabrics from their Rubelli and Sancho collections. I hope you get inspired!! -via LOVE IT!!!!!

High Point Furniture Mart 2010

The city of High Point, North Carolina bears the moniker “Furniture Capital of the World”. Barbara Taylor, President of High Point Museum, in a speech she delivered August 17, 2005, explained how High Point got this name. In 1919, The Southern Furniture Exposition Company built a showroom specifically for furniture manufacturers to have a place to display their creations. This showroom was 10 stories and cost over a million dollars to build. This was the first furniture market of its kind.

Building on their past with furniture, the city of High Point has become the premier destination for furniture buyers. According to the High Point Convention and Visitors Bureau, there are more than 50 discount furniture stores in and around the area. These stores offer home furnishings at near wholesale prices and ship to any point in the United States. The Bureau even offers a “passport to savings”. The passport offers hotel discounts to anyone traveling to the city to buy furniture and includes a guide to local stores. High Point also boasts the largest furniture store in the nation and the world’s largest Chest of Drawers, all fitting and proper for the Furniture Capital of the World.

The High Point Market

In 1909, when the first High Point Market was hosted at the Southern Furniture Exposition Company showroom, the focus was on showcasing regional furniture manufacturers and their goods. The show has grown to incorporate manufacturers from all areas of the home trade, including textiles, lighting, and accessories to name a few. According to the High Point Market Authority, there are over 2,000 exhibitors representing 110 countries. The 12 million square feet of show space is spread across 188 buildings.


Keeping track of this many exhibitors and this much building space is a demanding task. In 2001, The High Point International Home Furnishings Market Authority Corporation was established to handle the nuts and bolts of the twice yearly shows. Through them, exhibitors may register for space and attendees may obtain passes. The Market Authority also provides the transportation between buildings, hotel accommodations for those attending and all aspects of pulling the show together.


According to the High Point Market website, highpointmarket.org, the market is the only place to experience so many of the home industry suppliers in one place. These are the industry leaders in their respective fields, the companies who make the designs and set the trends. According to the website, each new show features a place to “connect to the hottest home trends and business best practices with leading researchers and industry experts”.

Hickory Furniture Mart is one example of the furniture lines that will be represented at the 2010 Mart.
Hickory Furniture Mart, a unique mix of nearly 100 furniture outlet stores, shops and galleries. Within this four-story complex, you’ll find home furnishings, accessories, lighting, art, fine rugs, fabrics and much more – all with discounts up to 80% off retail. Over 500,000 visitors travel to the Mart every year to visit some of the best discounted furniture showrooms in NC.


2220 US Highway 70 SE # 253
Hickory, NC 28602-5192
(828) 322-3510




 

Valentine's Chair

Heart Cone Chair. Designed by Verner Panton.




Designed in 1959 by Denmark’s Verner Panton, the Heart Cone Chair began as a variant of the slightly more demure Cone Chair of 1958. The metamorphosis went from the fantastical to the fanciful: Cone Chair looks like an ice cream delicacy and Heart Cone Chair like a box of chocolates. Whoever would have thought I’d grow so fond of sweets and hearts?



Panton once worked as an assistant for Arne Jacobsen—note Heart Cone’s nod to the sensuous Egg Chair. Although it has lovely contours, don’t oversimplify Panton’s Heart Cone Chair. It’s meant to play with lots of iconic shapes, not just the bloody organ: “Heart Cone Chair has large, projecting wings reminiscent of Mickey Mouse ears that could also, however, be interpreted as a contemporary take on the classic wing chair.” Constructed of durable materials—laminated body, stainless base, polyurethane foam upholstery—Heart Cone Chair doesn’t compromise durability for style. And given the delicious color choices, this Panton gem is easy to swallow. Of course, there’s the red, but also golden yellow, rust, and chocolate in warm tones; and blue, green, and steel in the cool range.

The Round Table

Arthur, round table. Designed by Dirk Wynants. Manufactured by Extremis.

As explained by its creator, “The mystical Arthur round table is symbol for justice, equality and joy in life. The round shape stimulates conversation, being one of the most important things in life.”

The Arthur round table with central rotating lazy susan is retro on the one hand, contemporary on the other. If viewed from the side (base and all) it resembles a sort of space-age, geometricized peony in bloom; while from above it might remind you of the dining set in Woody Allen’s Sleeper, or of some rogue component of the docking station in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001.
The table top is segmented (like a pie chart) in a way that neatly demarcates its capacity—8 segments for the eight-seater, 10 for the ten-seater, and so on. This feature fits neatly within manufacturer Extremis’ vision, which is to cultivate equality, togetherness, and productive exchange: “this member of the Extremis family, appropriately named ‘Arthur’, is a synonym for encounter, communication, gathering, hospitality, togetherness.” The name refers to Camelot and the legendary Knights of the Round Table—one of the Western world’s enduring emblems of shared responsibility, justice, and familial/fraternal contentment. Though dining at the Arthur table probably won’t stimulate you to seek the holy grail or defend the kingdom from marauding Saxon hordes, it will eliminate being stuck in that dreaded middle spot of traditional rectangular tables, where good conversation goes to die, where you find yourself with the dubious alternative of a senile uncle on one side and a morose, pubescent cousin on the other.-via

Designer Showcase

Coordinate fabric designed on the pillows to accent the purple and red
Overstuffed chairs and headboard was covered in print to match bed ensemble
Accessories added the final touch using art, plants, statues and personal items
The wall was a faux using a pale yellow and white to soften the room and bring out the pastel yellows in the print and accent pillows
The green and pale yellow silk stripe was used was used for the end table covers and for lining the draperies
View from Master Bedroom into Master Sitting Room
View from Master Sitting Room into Master Bedroom

Master Suite Sitting Room/Not shown in this picture was an antique love seat across from the fireplace which was covered in the pale yellow and green silk stripe which lined the draperies and was used for the table tops. A green and yellow tassle trim added the final touch of elegance to the draperies





I recently had a request to reprint this about a Designer Showcase I did in Columbus Georgia.

I was lead designer in this showcase of homes project. My project was the master suite, consisting of the sitting room, bedroom and master bath. Proceeds went to support the local symphony.

This was quite a large bedroom, I selected this floral print which showcased 26 colors in the pattern. I then used red, green, yellow and purple as my accent colors. A small room could not handle this large pattern, this allowed the room to have a warmer feeling. First I choose a pale yellow and faux painted the walls which were originally white. I added the light fixture, replaced the carpet from a dark brown to an off white bringing out the background of the fabric. The table skirts and drapes are lined in a pale yellow and green stripe creating a garden escape feeling. There was a surrounding patio which displayed a flower garden making this room feel an extension of the garden.

The sitting room sofa was upholstered in the same yellow and green stripe and the floral pattern lined with the same stripe was then carried through on the half draperies which were displayed on a swing rod giving the room a three dimensional look allowing more view to the garden.

When working with a large room, as you can see, color and a lot of it works!!! The room has a clean fresh yet romantic feel with a softness to reflect a mellow yet fun mood.

Mood Lighting

When remodeling and decorating, we usually look for furniture, paint, carpets and decorative items as pictures. However, the lighting can have a big impact on the overall look of a room. The lighting design is responsible for setting the mood or ambiance of a space. With careful design and planning for the type, color and hue of the lighting, the room can be given a different ambiance. The right lighting can set a mood, improve productivity and contribute to people’s sense of well-being. It can transform unappealing spaces into desirable ones. Bright rooms give a positive and optimistic feeling, while darker rooms are more intimate and romantic. Research had proven that light can make big difference in how we feel.

This is simply, sexy, cozy and serene. Placing floor spotlights below plants will create the soft shadows which adds to a calm peaceful feeling.

http://lightingbygregory.com/

Sensual Textures

For sensual indulgence and relaxation, your items may be chosen for delicacy of their textures. These luxuries may change with the season or your mood, remember that a little richness can go a long way, be selective and choose a few favorite pieces rather than accumulating clutter. Velvet and silk textures are found in the natural world. Pictured here is Porfiro-Lorca an Italian cut velvet woven with cotton. A sensuous brocade or intricate embroidery will add an exotic tranquility to any design. Tassels and trim evoke a soothing feel of glamour, mystique and elegance.