Video: Jack Lenor Larsen, Fabric Designer

Irwin Weiner ASID - Elle Decor magazine recently featured short quotations from fabric design icon Jack Lenor Larsen, and it became immediatley apparent why this creative man became so successful. For those not entrenched in the interior design industry, his signature Larsen Fabrics company is now owned by Colefax and Fowler. Here are a few of his gems of wisdom, which I find very inspiring.

Sparrows build their nests to suit. Homes should be like birdhouses: Build them out as needs arise.

A common problem is that someone will have a blue rug and a blue sofa, and the two shades don't go together. What do you do about it? I would buy five more shades of blue, in pillows and other things. Pretty soon you'll have a color symphony.

If you want a color contrast, do it in small quantities. Take risks, but ones that can be changed.

It's more important to reinforce one's identity than to worry about taste. You won't learn taste until you've made some mistakes. Be courageous. Experiment. It's much more fun.

Click on the Jack Larsen link above to see the Elle Decor article, and enjoy today's featured video, an earlier "Handmade in America" interview, to learn more about his process.

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7 Quirky Chairs to Hail in the New Year

Irwin Weiner ASID - It's more than just sitting pretty. A good chair is functional, combining comfort and good design with a sculptural significance that makes it stand out in a crowd. I've selected seven chair favorites for their quirkiness, like the Grillage chair by François Azambourg for Ligne Roset (above) to tout as we ring in 2013. Here's hoping you and yours have a happy and healthy home in the new year!

David Lynch's Wire Chair for Silencio

FRAChair armchair (as in "fracture" - inspired by shattered glass) by Paul Sandip

Maximo Riera's Elephant Chair from his Animal Chair collection

Maria Westerberg designed this award-winning Rag Edition chair made of T-shirts for Green Furniture

Christophe Pillet's Video Lounge Inox lounge chair and ottoman

When Jim Relaxes arm chair and ottoman by Matali Crasset for Domeau and Peres 

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3 Videos: Celebrating Hand-Crafted Home Goods

Irwin Weiner ASID - Whenever I decorate a client's home, I always like to see one or more hand-crafted items included in a room. Handmade goods add texture and rich layering to the rest of the decor, and there's always an interesting story to tell about each piece - who made it, where it was made, what it means, and so on. I also love how no two items are exactly alike, a nice contrast to machine-made, mass-produced items.

We selected three videos today to help illustrate that there are real people behind hand-crafted goods: Mogck Pottery, RMIT Textile Design program (a weaving demonstration of technique used to make articles like the beautiful pillows shown in the top photo), and CMM Framing (custom framing work as in the second photo).

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Perfect Home Office Computer Table from Michael Bambino

Irwin Weiner ASID - It's often the case that a home office sacrifices good, clever furniture design for utility, but that's not the case with the Tambour Table, a computer table designed by Michael Bambino to hide the USB ports, laptop and mouse (when not in use), and power cords - note in the photo above how the power cord discretely pops out of the bottom right rear leg of the table! In our featured video, you'll see how the hidden storage underneath the tabletop operates. The design is lovely and functional.

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