I love it when designers stretch the limits of what is possible – and when designs exude
a sense of fun. So when I found these Duffy London tables, I just had to share.

Duffy is debuting its Runner Table this month at London Design week.

With the novel concept of using ‘runners’ as its structure, the table blends thin steel legs with a substantial walnut table top. The design achieves an illusion of weightlessness, with the runners running the length of the table, and falling off the edge to become the legs.

And bring your inner child to dinner with Duffy’s Swing Table.

According to the company, “This four poster table uses its structure to suspend a central GEO lampshade and eight hanging chairs that sway playfully.”

Talk about a memorable dining experience! My friends would line up for the chance to sway and munch.

And I adore the other benefit — easy sweeping and mopping!! (via Notcot.)
 

What do you think of Duffy’s creative tables?

by Sherri Blum

Today our Nursery and Kids Room Design Expert and Contributor, Sherri Blum introduces us to one of her peers. A pioneer specialist for children’s-room interior design, Sherri designs for celebrities, and for the baby next door.

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As a children’s interior designer and product designer, I have the opportunity to meet some smart, creative, witty and all around FANTASTIC women in the children’s industry.

Not only do I exhibit my own products at the same trade shows (sometimes even sharing a booth), but I also source their products when decorating my clients’ nurseries. So I thought that it might be nice to give you an inside peek into the creative minds and lives of some of my favorite and most inspirational colleagues.

My first interview is with Katy Mimari of Caden Lane. I first met Katy at the ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas three years ago.

Not only was this woman drop-dead gorgeous with her bouncy auburn hair, but she flashed a big, warm grin and greeted me with genuine southern hospitality. How refreshing!

We talked for a while, discussing ways in which we could work together. I had always loved her unique and beautiful bedding (top-notch quality, too!), but now I knew that the person behind the designs was someone that I would enjoy working with through the years.

It’s my pleasure to introduce you to my friend, Katy….

Sherri Blum (SB): What city do you call home?
Katy Mimari (KM): San Antonio, Texas… y’all.

SB: When did you first realize you wanted to be a designer and how did you prepare yourself for this career?

KM: Hmmmm… I think I’ve always been creative? I was the best color-er in kindergarten, middle school has never seen so much talent, and I designed our senior T-shirts in high school – I mean, if that isn’t a designer in training, I don’t know what is. (Ha-ha – I’m kidding.)

Seriously though, I graduated from The University of Texas – hook em horns – with a degree in Advertising. I started my first business in college, as a photographer…and always dreamed of creating a product that could be used around the world. I don’t have any formal training in design, but I think that’s part of the creativity that’s necessary to have a business like this. If you do things the way you are told, well then, that truly isn’t creative – right?

SB: How did you get into this business/start the company?

KM: As a children’s photographer, I was witness to the quilted & themed diaper bags that were sadly the only bags available to modern moms…I did not yet have kids of my own, but I knew that once I did have children, I would need something MUCH more fashionable to carry dirty diapers in.

Conveniently, I did become pregnant during the first year of starting Caden Lane, which lead to our bedding & accessory collection. I was NOT going to do choo-choo trains or Winnie the Pooh. Turns out a pregnant diaper bag & baby bedding designer is a fabulous marketing technique!

SB: What do you adore about your job?

KM: I adore working with pregnant women. I love those precious few months that are filled with so much dreaming and hope – and knowing what awaits them the first time they meet their baby. No one can describe that kind of love. Plus, designing nurseries & children’s room has to be the best creative outlet ever – where else can you glue rhinestones to the walls and hang swings in the corner!

SB: What do you like the least?

KM: Not having more hours in the day to get everything done. In fact, I’ve been meaning to ask you… do you have some I can borrow?

SB: When you need inspiration for your designs, where do you most often turn?

KM: What do they say… Genius is 99% perspiration, and 1% inspiration. I look for inspiration when I need it, I don’t wait for it to hit me, or lead me in the right direction. I always go with my gut, and design what I would want in my OWN child’s room at that specific moment in time.

SB: How might your clients describe your “signature look?”

KM: Hmmm… well it depends on where you are from! In the south – we are considered modern (compared to the smocking & pastels that used to be so popular). I think we are a fresh take on a NEW modern design for nursery & baby accessories. I love color and design – and never want to be cornered into a theme. I want all of our collections to be versatile enough to be considered delicate and daring.

SB: Famous clients? Tell us a little about working with each.

KM: They have all been fabulous. Samantha Harris was my favorite. Ashlee Simpson’s house was incredible; and Tori is JUST as she seems in her show. They were all wonderful!

SB: What’s the most exciting thing on the horizon for you?

KM: Actually – we are working with another celebrity nursery right now! She’s not due until the end of the year, but her taste is impeccable! It will be very exciting to see what designs develop.

SB: What do you know now that you wish someone had told you when you were first starting out?

KM: Always look forward, never look back – take chances, and trust your gut. Oh, and save up for the crash of 2008 – present.

SB: You’ve learned your design studio will self-destruct in 60 seconds, what three things will you grab?

KM: Two bottles of wine, and a glass.

Sherri Blum loves putting her talents to use designing beautiful rooms for her tiny clients. Sherri’s designs are popular among celebrities and have been featured in numerous TV shows and publications.

Sherri operates her design firm Jack and Jill Interiors and she creates her signature line of children’s wall art, clocks and hand-hooked, wool rugs — Sherri Blum Designs. Sherri writes the Jack and Jill blog, and resides with her family in rural Pennsylvania.
 
 

Design Junkies, what’s the most exciting thing on your horizon?

Good designers are onto it.

An unexpected element can make a room. Like a corrugated-steel barn door in a
dining room.

“I love them because they are textural and sculptural and unexpected…perhaps three important design concepts I incorporate in all my projects,” said New York designer Gail Shields-Miller, on her design for a Fire Island dining room and kitchen.

“It was a costly choice but undoubtedly the right decision. They are beautiful opened or closed and I adore the fact that they are not swing doors. For the most part they are left open and allow the eye to get a small glimpse of the hall to the master bedroom.”

And the unexpected doesn’t stop with the doors. Shields-Miller loves to play up contrasts: old with new, sleek against rustic. The blue Venetian plaster is a rustic finish straight from the source.

“The work was actually done by a man from Venice Italy…a real artisan of the old school variety who worked lovingly on the wall for two weeks,” she said.

“The space needed a burst of color and Venetian Plaster was a very classy and refined way to achieve that goal. I adore it; and it is one if the features that guests and visitors comment on with ‘oohs and aahs’ over and over again.”

Shields-Miller custom-designed the dining table for the space.

“The table is a 3-inch slice of an African bubinga tree with the bark and cutting marks from the lumberyard still intact; it rests on a contemporary bronze interpretation of a picnic table,” she said.

She surrounded the table with modern Brazilian chairs and topped it off with a simple, wrought-iron candelabra fixture. Contemporary art and an antique Korean blanket chest layer in more color and interest.

“I love to juxtapose unexpected pieces, and prove how good design needs to be original and not cookie cutter, if it is to be interesting and successful.”

View more of Shields-Miller’s work at her Web site.
 

Where have you used the power of the unexpected?

by Lia Fagan

Here’s makeover motivation for the weekend, from my new Canadian friend, Interior Designer Lia Fagan. (I seem to make lots of Canadian friends—must be the hockey gusto.)

Lia can spy neglected furniture cowering in the corner of any second-hand store; and she has the beauty kit to give it new life – literally. Enjoy this guest post from Lia, where she introduces us to the formerly forlorn, but now high-society, ‘Stella.’

I found Stella at a used furniture store on Ottawa St., which is a lively street in a neighbouring city that is home to numerous antique stores, fabric & decor shops.

“What’s a pretty girl like you doing in a state like this?”

Time had not been kind to Stella.

She was scratched, dented and buried behind other unwanted furnishings near the back of the shop. Someone had tried at some point in time to line her drawers, but did so poorly. They used vinyl kitchen shelf liner and didn’t even take the time to cut it to size or press it into the corners .

I saw so much potential though, in her sturdy frame and unusual shape. Stella was a great candidate for makeover because she was well constructed of solid wood, and the original finish was already well worn, meaning it would be fairly easy for me to remove.

I found it almost amazing that this one piece of furniture with a door and 4 drawers once housed someone’s entire wardrobe. It seems crazy given the giant walk-in closets we’re used to today.

“What I could do for you with a little color and sparkle.”

I thought that this antique would make a great addition to a contemporary home, adding the character and charm of days past to a modern bedroom.

Stella sanded and primed.

I really wanted to modernize Stella without losing her vintage flavour. In order to really make her shine, I chose to use this bold, Kelly green for her exterior and crisp white for her interior.

The original interior was so dark and drab. I couldn’t imagine hanging a fabulous new dress in such a dreary space.

I always line the drawers of my pieces. I figure the inside deserves the same treatment as the outside. Plus, it’s such a simple treat to open a drawer and get a tiny thrill from the beauty that lies inside.

To top off the transformation, new hardware was in order. I chose to use these classic, floral, clear glass knobs.

“Beauty isn’t always easy, sugar.”

The challenges? While dismantling Stella, removing her hardware and preparing her for paint, I realized that the screws that held the door on were old and completely stripped. I tried everything to get them out…I did not succeed.

Normally I would prefer to remove the door to paint it separately. I also usually prefer to install new hinges/screws or at least clean up the existing ones. In this case, that was not an option. Given that the existing hinges and door were operational, I opted to leave it alone and continue on with painting.

I am not a fan of painted hinges, but sometimes, there is no alternative. If you have to do it, I recommend opening and closing the door several times while the paint is drying to make sure that the hinges continue to operate smoothly.

Burlington, Ontario Interior Designer, Lia Fagan’s background in design, and her eye for detail, enable her to breathe new life into otherwise unwanted furnishings. Her distinctively styled, colourful and quirky “characters” can find a way into your home through her Etsy shop, Mod Pieces.

Lia loves all things beautiful and mixing the old with new, into uniquely personal spaces. She writes about style and design at her blog, Mod Nest.

What furniture is hiding in your basement or garage, that you could transform?

by GraceAnn Simoni

It’s that time again parents; and here’s some great advice to set your kids up for success, from Contributor GraceAnn Simoni. An Interior Redesign and Staging Specialist and Instructor from the Chicagoland area, GraceAnn shares with us budget tips and advice for decorating with your existing furniture and accessories.

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The kids are going back in school and the homework is starting. Have you designated a place for them to do that homework?

Studies have shown that a quiet place away from all the activity is best. In a busy family, where might that be? I remember my kids hated to be upstairs in their rooms doing homework in case they had a question or needed help. What’s the solution?

I think the solution is right there on the first floor….

Many homes have both a living room and family room. How much activity does that living room really get? Why not designate a small space perfect for homework?

In the photo above, you can see where we have placed the sofa on an angle near the window, allowing for the sofa table that had been used in the hall to serve as a desk.

This space has great light coming in the window, a lamp for additional task lighting, plenty of quiet, not far from the kitchen, and close to the snacks or to ask Mom for help. There is even a sofa where Mom can sit and read while overseeing the homework. The living room will still have the adult space we all like for entertaining and it will not go unused.

If it’s in your budget, some furniture companies even offer convertible sofa table/desks like this one from Fairmont’s Caprice collection.

The front panel flips open for a larger desk surface, and the top folds back, revealing a shelf and supply-storage drawers.
 
 

Now, what about those backpacks and shoes, that seem to collect in the hallway?

Why not take an old coffee table and get baskets or bins to fit underneath? Perfect place to sit and take off shoes and the bins serve as a gathering place for all the miscellaneous items. You could designate one for each child, or family member.

GraceAnn Simoni of Yours Redesigned Naperville, IL, is a Redesign and Staging Specialist and Instructor, and a member of Interior Redesign Industry Specialists (I.R.I.S.).

If you need help getting the The Home You Want With the House You Have™ visit www.yoursredesigned.com.

 
 
How do you accomplish homework—with fewer headaches—in your household?