Growth Table Turns Homework and Craft Time Into Family Affair

Irwin Weiner ASID - Such a Family Fun idea! I admit that I'm sometimes late in discovering certain design innovations - there are always so many, I'm bound to fall behind - but I just had to share something cute as a button with you: the Growth Table by designers Tim Durfee and Iris Anna Regn.

Made from marine plywood and bolted together, it's a system of graduated-height desk/work surfaces and benches that accommodate humans of different ages and heights. Adults down to youngsters can have fun working and playing together, and wouldn't this be ideal for home schooling?

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Paris Concept Store Hones in on Contemporary Design

 Irwin Weiner ASID - About ten days ago, Jay and I explored MERCI, a Parisian shopping concept store that provided a fresh and startling mix of new and used merchandise, but the merchandise extended into categories like fashion, home accessories and furnishings, kitchen and bath, and books - and some great all-natural foods and a fresh take on the bistro scene. My Little Paris, a blog we love when it comes to one of our favorite cities, describes the store as follows.

Welcome to MERCI, a store which is lovely, lovable and loving. It’s located in a majestic, sun-lit loft where you can browse from room to room just like in a real house. Stop and look through an old-fashioned trunk spilling over with unique creations and finally find that little dress nobody else has yet to wear! Don’t forget to buy a tiny bunch of roses at the flower shop, and cuddle up on a sofa in the book corner as you check out the latest literary sensation and sip a well-earned lemonade. You’re not going to believe this, but you’ll be raising money! The profits the store makes on your purchases are donated to charities.

Charitable donations - count us in! We love to shop responsibly, and this was a great way to make our purchases count. So what about the home design scene at MERCI? Big thumbs up all around. We thought the collection of home goods was amazingly well curated. One-of-a-kind architectural and antique finds cuddle up playfully with some truly hip and beautiful furnishings. Here are a few examples; click on each photo for more information, and sign up for MERCI's newsletter so you can enjoy their upcoming online shopping experience.

Pressed Chair, Aluminum, by Harry Thaler for Moormann

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Paris Style Video: Roche Bobois Furniture

Irwin Weiner ASID - Greetings from Paris! Jay Johnson and I are on Day 3 of our vacation in the beautiful French capital, and that of course means that we're on "assignment" for Design2Share. We never go anywhere without reporting back on residential and home trends, and that includes the latest international hotel scene and other looks in public spaces that will soon influence the shape of home style. Our third featured video is a what-if lifestyle video from Roche Bobois, the iconic French furniture design firm, imagining what life would be like if its furnishings were part of everyday life outdoors. Lots of fun. Also fun: the ASTROLAB dining table (top photo), with an automatic, fully-visible mechanical mechanism (how steampunk!) that extends or retracts the glass leaf extensions.

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John Reeves, Designing the Antique Furniture of Tomorrow

Irwin Weiner ASID - I found a video of a furniture maker with a philosophy that's in perfect synch with my decorating and interior design ethic. UK furniture designer John Reeves tries not to follow design trends. Instead, he insists on designing clean, contemporary furniture with nods and twists to past periods and styles, but all with an attempt to create "antiques of the future," decor elements that someone can live with for a lifetime.

I'm tired of disposable decorating and furnishings. They insult homeowners and my clients. Good quality pieces hold or gain value over the years and, when mixed with more moderate priced pieces, add impact and timelessness to a room unlike anything else.

Reeves isn't buying into the disposable culture where you purchase a mass-produced item that will last only a few years and must be disposed of. And if you're making furniture for the long haul, it better be sustainable, too. Reeves only uses sustainably sourced timbers and he also uses discarded materials in his work, like scrap marble.

In his Sketch collection, Reeves uses old aluminum engine blocks from Vietnam and melts them down into recycled furniture (beautiful sand cast pieces that have a finish not unlike rough, washed river stones). Click on each image for more product information, and visit the Reeves Design website.

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