Design2Share Travel Video - The Cellars-Hohenort

Irwin Weiner ASID - I enjoy returning to my native South Africa to visit family and rediscover truly exotic and beautiful places. Last October, Jay and I visited family staying at The Cellars-Hohenort. It's a beautiful resort in the foothills of the Constantia Valley wineland country, just north of Cape Town.

The Hohenort building is a historic Cape Dutch building that now houses 52 luxury suites and rooms, along with a chic lounge and restaurants.

The accommodations, which we didn't get to see, vary from luxury suites to smaller rooms - but we were told that all were meticulously appointed.

But to us, the amazing gardens took the cake. (Perhaps we'll "borrow" a few ideas for our own garden!)

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6 Multi-Purpose Furnishings for Small Rooms

(Altea Relax sofa-bed unit, from Resource Furniture)Janet Ramin - Are you pressed for space? Looking for additional storage? Feeling cramped where you live? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this post can help you. I’m very tough on my furniture – I not only expect them to look good, but I expect them to work really hard for me. How, you ask? I make sure they fulfill a function, preferably several functions. I want them to multi-task!

If you have a small room or live in a cramped city apartment like I do, each piece of furniture I place has to do more than one thing. For instance, this bed from Bo Concept lifts up and doubles as storage space for blankets, sheets, etc. You can even store old design magazines in there. I can then free up my dresser from storing linens to just house only my clothes. If you’re a clotheshorse like me, this is essential!

(Storage bed from Bo Concept)If you have a studio that functions as a bedroom and a living space, then you know Murphy beds are a wonderful solution to store away your bed. Resource Furniture goes one step further – they add a sofa or a desk so that their Murphy unit houses multiple furniture.  The Swing unit below shows a sofa and a bookcase but hidden behind it is the bed which swings out and over the sofa when in use.

(Swing unit from Resource Furniture)

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Academy Award Movie Designs - Paris Nouveau-Steampunk Style in "Hugo"

Irwin Weiner ASID - I grumble about having to go to the movies, but sometimes I'm absolutely delighted by the experience ... once I'm sitting down and feeling swept away by a good story. I love shopping for interiors with clients in Paris, and that's why I so loved watching the visual 3D treat that was Hugo, an Academy Award nominee this year for Best Picture and Art Direction, among other accolades.

The styling of this Martin Scorsese movie was amazing. The details of Paris interiors and public spaces like libraries, opera houses, movie theaters, and the train station were precise and mindblowing. There was a heavy steampunk feel to the movie, as we went behind the scenes of the train station and saw 3D steam coming from elaborate pipe systems and the intricate gears and fittings of the illuminated clock tower. 

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Academy Award Movie Designs - Southern Sixties Style in "The Help"

Irwin Weiner ASID - I have enjoyed so many movies this past year - and I'm not a huge movie fan. D2S readers know that I do, however, love movie interiors, particularly those that stylishly portray another era.

The Help was one such movie, and it deserved to be nominated for Academy Awards in acting, with memorable turns by Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain (she's in two best picture nominees this year: The Help and The Tree of Life), Emma Stone, Sissy Spacek, Allison Janney, Cicely Tyson, Mary Steenburgen, and Bryce Dallas Howard playing the Southern Belle on steroids. 

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