Candice Olson-New Furniture Line

We love Candice Olson. She's quirky, funny and so down to earth. And don't you just love her show on HGTV? She is just SO good.

Recently she just launched a line of furniture for Revco International (a really small company out of Los Angeles). The stuff is very cute and affordable.

Here is a video of the showroom in High Point.

Also here are some representative products from the line...







We would say that the line is well-made and well-priced. It's really not "upscale" but it's very much Candy Olson-affordable approachable and user-friendly.

To see the complete collection, visit Revco International web site.

Osborne and Little Wallpaper-Fabulous & Divine!

Our favorite line of wallpaper is from Osborne and Little. It's an English company that makes really funky and fun wallpapers. We don't like to use too much of it though, mainly because it's just TOO much. It's best used in a bathroom, an accent wall or a powder room.

Here are some our of our favorite from the new collection--it's fun, it's colorful, it's bright--just what we need in these trying economic times...

Osborne & Little wallpapers come in European rolls, which is the equivalent of our US double roll (11 yards). They are quite pricey (running about $150-300 retail per roll). Here's a good discount source for Osborne and Little wallpapers.

To see more of the collections, go to http://www.osborneandlittle.com/.

Luxury Silk Flower Arrangements

We love flowers. Our favorite thing to do on a Saturday morning is to go to our farmer market and get a bunch of fresh flowers to last us through the week. The only bad thing about it is, it always gets yucky by Thursday and Friday.

While nothing beats fresh flowers, we refuse to be snobby about it though. Not everybody has access to a flower mart or a farmers market, and who can afford to buy fresh flowers every week from a florist?

We often use silk flowers to substitute for those times. We put them away on special occasions that call for fresh flowers, but for everyday, silk flowers make the perfect substitute.

Here's the key though: IT CAN NOT LOOK CHEAP. Cheap silk flowers are like cheap suits. You better not wear them at all.

Here are some new luxury silk flower arrangements we just added to our site. We hope you'll enjoy them. If you would like to see more of these or get more pricing information, please visit the silk flower arrangements section of our site.

Kravet Fabric-Useful Information You'll Need to Know

1) Kravet is not a manufacturer of fabrics. It is actually a fabricator. It designs and purchases fabrics from several mills throughout the world, then package it into coordinating collection to be marketed to the trade. Certain designers, such as Barbara Barry, designs licensed collection that is exclusive to Kravet.

2) Kravet does not sell to the consumers directly. It must be purchased via a designer, a workroom or an authorized dealer such as Inside Fabric.

3) In addition to fabric, Kravet also sells trims, furniture, lighting and carpet.

4) Kravet fabric can be seen at Kravet showrooms, located in design centers in various cities. To locate a showroom near you, click here.

5) First quality Kravet fabric means that it is guaranteed to be free of any manufacturer defect. Kravet is very good at fulfilling their warranty obligations. If you are unsatisfied for any reasons they will take the fabric back. Keep in mind that you need to notify us right away when a fabric is defective.

6) Kravet fabric is divided into six groups:

a) Kravet Basics is the least expensive. It consists of simple and practical fabrics that priced at less than $50 a yard. Most are simple cotton, linen or silk fabric. This is our favorite group to use when we need a large quantity.

b) Kravet Couture is the most expensive group. It can go up to $200-300 per yard. It is also very elegant and very beautiful. Most fabrics in this group are imported from Europe.

c) Kravet Design is the largest group of the collection. It has a mid price range of $25-75 per yard.

d) Kravet Soleil is the outdoor fabrics collection manufactured using Sunbrella technology.

e) Kravet Contract is fabrics used for commercial applications.

f) Laura Ashley is a division of Kravet Fabric. In addition to Laura Ashley, Kravet also has exclusive collection from Pierre Deux, Soleil, Waterworks, PGA Tour and Lizzo.

7) Kravet fabric can be search on line here. While it is not perfect, it can give you a good starting point. We strongly recommend seeing it in person. Due to monitor variation and graphic quality; many times the images do not represent the true fabric.

8) It is nearly impossible to get Kravet discontinued fabrics. If your fabric is discontinued, the best solution is to find an alternative. This is because most vendors do not keep stock due to the sheer number of patterns available, and it is simply not feasible to call everyone who carries Kravet fabrics to find that particular pattern. Your time is better spent picking a new fabric.

9) To get instant pricing on Kravet Fabric, go to our Kravet fabric store and enter the pattern number (do not enter the color code).

Home Decorating-What To Skip and What to Splurge

Everytime we watch "Design on a Dime", we crack up. While we admire their creativity, some of the stuff just look absolutely terrible. Seriously, do you want an ottoman made from empty Coke plastic bottles? Sometimes cheap just look...cheap!

We think there is a better way. Your home can look nice without having to spend a lot of money. Here is a list of what we would skip/splurge on.

SKIP:

-New furniture that is not well-made or well-constructed.
-Cheap home accessories-plastic flowers, pink flamingos, gaudy fabrics fall into this category.
-Expensive remodeling jobs that are hard to change, like built-ins, hardscaping and the likes...

SPLURGE:

-A good house cleaner-a clean house is a relaxing house.
-Quality pieces that don't go out of style and will last for life. Focus on quality and not quantity.
-Luxury things that don't cost a lot but make you happy-like fresh flowers, scented candles and bubble baths...

Just like everything in life, there are many choices when it comes to your money. Spend it wisely...

Making Your Home Life Comfortable--Even During Hard Economic Times...

If you read newspapers and watch TV lately, you'd think the world is coming to an end. Seriously, the housing market is tanking, the stock market is spiraling downward, and every one is acting like we're all be heading for the soup kitchen soon.

While we don't deny that the economy is terrible--believe us, being in the luxury industry that is absolutely dependent on extra disposable income, we feel it. But here's the thing, is it all that bad? We can all eat a bit less, spend a bit less, drive a bit less, no?

We can't really do anything about the big issues, such as the budget deficit and the national debt and the housing crisis, but you can make your home life more comfortable without spending tons of money. You can, and you must--because a comfortable home life will protect you from all the craziness that' s going on.

Here's how:

1) Keep the house clean. A clean house makes you more relaxed, keep you organized, and just makes you feel better.

2) Plant a garden. Yes, grow something. Anything. Plant flowers so you can have fresh flowers in the house, keep an herb garden. You'll be amazed on how therapeutic it is...

3) Learn how to cook. Cooking is a creative process and it can be a lot of fun. It is also a lot healthier and more cost-effective.

4) Spend less. You'll be amazed of what you can find on Craigslist, the local consignment stores and the local classifieds. It's a great feeling to get something at a fraction of its original cost while saving the environment at the same time.

5) Be creative. Take some time to explore the inner creativity in you, and yes, everyone is creative in some ways. Sometimes just re-arranging the furniture can give a room a whole new look. Move your artwork to a different room. Group your accessories differently. Get a fresh coat of paint. You'll be amazed on how little things like this can change how you feel.

Hollywood Regency-Vellum New York

Have you ever met people that you instantly like? That you can tell the first time you talk that you'll love them for life? The people at Vellum New York are like that. Not only that their company makes great products, the people there are so awesome, so sweet. We hope they will do extremely well...

Vellum New York products fit into the Hollywood Regency look perfectly. Here are a few examples:
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This elephant status is large in size and looks very pretty in person...

We love these ginger jars...

This greyhound statue is our best seller. It's very Kelly Wearstler-ish...

All of Vellum products are made in Italy.

Modern Asian Decor-Jardins-En-Fleur

Asian decor is one of those things that can get cliche really fast if you are not careful. Really, how many Buddha statues can one take?

Today, the trend toward Asian decor is a lot more modern, more colorful, more fresh...

At the New York show a couple of months ago, we found a great vendor that does this look wonderfully. They are so pricey, oh my god! But their products are very pretty...

Here are some of our favorites:

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This pair of foo dogs, which supposed to bring you luck, is pretty large in size and come in white, blue and orange. It's just fun to look at...

We love this pair of hand-painted silk. Can you just see them in Elle Decor?


This is a nice new twist for an Asian stool. It also comes in a variety of colors..

This marvelous Chinese Pagoda breakfront is so pretty, we can hardly stand it...

You can see most of these products on the Jardins En Fleur web site. They are available for purchase through our home accessories store.

Cool Upholstery Fabrics

Isn't it hard to find cool fabrics for upholstering? It's really a huge investment! Most often the cost of upholstering is the same as buying a new piece. This is why you gotta choose it very carefully. The good news is there are SO many choices out there. Hundreds of thousands, literally....

Here are some of our favorite upholstery fabric. All are from Highland Court fabric, a division of Duralee. We like this line because it's very boutique-ish, and the patterns/colors are just sublime.

We are picking bright colors today because we want something cheerful to look at. Times like this, we can all use some pick-me-up, don't you think?

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We love this one for either a small chair or a small day bed. This pattern is called Cheaza, the pattern numberis 180512H Color 586.

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This pattern is called Heirloom, pattern number 180860H Color Tangerine

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This pattern number is 180830H color 707 Tomato. We can just see it on a decorative pillow, or a pair of occasional chair.

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We love, love Greek key...it's so modern and clean. This pattern number is 180826H and the color is Tangerine.

All of these fabrics are from the Philip Gorrivan collection (Philip who?) We don't know much about him, to be honest. But judging from the collection, we think it's better than Kelly Wearstler's, truthfully. She's a bit over-extended and over-exposed.

If you would like to see more of this collection, here is the link.

To get pricing for all the upholstery fabrics shown here, visit our fabric store.

Great Home & Garden Stuff from Los Angeles

We're are addicted to the Home & Garden section of the New York Times and Los Angeles Times. It comes in the Thursday's edition and is full of useful information--which can be applied anywhere you live in the country.

In case you miss it, or do not have access to the papers, here are some of the good tidbits from the Los Angeles Times.

Los Angeles Home & Garden happenings this month:

June 29-Venice Home Tour-Home Tour sponsored by the American Institute of Architects-a tour of home in a 1-mile radius such as the 23 Breeze House by David Reddy, Canal House by Emily Kovner, Cube by Mark Baez etc. 213-639-0777.

Neutra Tours-Managed by Cal Poly Pomona's College of Enviromental Design. Open this Saturday 11-3pm.

AWA Exhibits-work from 34 desginers in the fields of architecture, interior designs and landscape at the Pacific Design Center through July. Free.

Saturday 6/21- Composting Class by John Lyons at Descanso Garden, 11418 Descanso Drive, La Canada Flinridge $20. 818-949-4200.


Also, here is a wonderful article about growing a vegetable garden all year round in California. It's a great read.

Kravet Upholstery Fabric

Lately it seems as if everything is going green! And that’s exactly what Kravet fabrics is doing! They’ve launched a new line that’s environmentally friendly and made from natural sustainable yarns or recycled materials.

Not only do they have a fabric line that is completely echo friendly, they also have a very fresh and elegant look. Make your home modern and edgy by adding clean lines and bold contrast. Kravet Upholstery fabrics are a great way to turn your home from drab to chic.

They also allow you to choose a cut-out-approval order where you will be sent a sample of the fabric you purchased prior to shipping it. Already have a style in mind? Just type in the the pattern number or color you had in mind in the keyword search box and you’ll have your desired fabric in no time.

They make online fabric shopping easy and they make it affordable! Don’t miss out on discount Kravet fabrics, they offer affordable prices on everything they sell and you’re able to save up to over $500 on stylish fabric!

Buy Kravet fabrics and give your home a new look and attitude for summer.