Wish List: Prestige Furnishings from Donghia

Irwin Weiner ASID - The late designer Angelo Donghia would approve - his D&D Building showroom is looking luxe and fantastic these days. Here are some of the prestige Donghia furnishings I've been lusting after these days. Clients take note - some of these items will blow your decorating budget, but in my Wish List fantasy world, every client would have a blank check in the ready to cover some of these beautiful, high-end necessities. Click on each photo below for more information on some of my favorites.

Elegant Side Seating: Versailles Bench

Light Up: Stellare Chandelier (Tall)

Great First Impression: Touro Center Table

Masterfully Modern: Anziano Chair (Natural)

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Deck Your Halls With Sparkle Aplenty

Janet Ramin - It’s that time of the season to create a holiday wonderland in the home. Here are a few suggestions to brighten up your rooms and your table. 

In our first décor setting, we have what I call the Golden Door – the entrance to a fabulous, luxe-filled ambiance. Gracing our holiday table is the Gold Nest runner and placemats from Z Gallerie. The dinnerware is the very chic black and gold Metropolitan set, also from Z Gallerie. Instead of the usual evergreens, we have the aromatic Golden Clove tree from Horchow, coming in a variety of heights. For pure luxury, we have the Snow Lynx pillow (faux, of course) and the Sparkle pillow, both from West Elm.

For our second décor setting, the Silver Peacock, we turn to the blues and silvers of the winter landscape. To provide instant color and drama to the room, we used several branches of the Ice Spray – made of rough cut crystals - and Peacock feathers from Z Gallerie. All the branches are held in the elegantly curvaceous porcelain Artura Vase from Crate and Barrel.

For our table setting, we have a lacey bowl, the Aqua Nest, designed by Heather Palmer and available from Artful Home. To match the silver décor, we've chosen the hammered Savoy pitcher and shaker from Crate and Barrel. Candlelight is provided in the iridescent Coastal Mosaic hurricane lamps from Pier 1 Imports. And for that something unusual, we have the Aqua Finial from Kirklands, a ceramic sculpture for your holiday table. 

Thanks to the Sheffield School in NYC for permission to reprint this article. Are you interested in learning more about decorating and accessories?  Take a look at Sheffield School's Complete Course in Interior Design.  At Sheffield, you'll learn how to transform a space, create color schemes, and select furniture, lighting, and accessories. 

CLICK HERE to see Design2Share's Favorite Holiday Decorating Trends for this year.

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Train Your Brain to Be More Creative

Irwin Weiner ASID - Recent studies into what the human brain can do and how people learn show us that being in a rut isn't very good for your head. You need to break out of old patterns and try doing things in new ways ... every so often ... to stimulate your brain and stay on your toes. Here's an example: Neurobics is a system of brain training and fun learning exercises that can keep your brain stimulated (at any age). I believe they can help stimulate creativity, too.

One neurobic exercise is to shop at a different grocery store. Think about it - that will cause your brain to make new associations and become more perceptive and sharper. Or I like the neurobics exercise of combining two different senses at the same time, like closing your eyes and listening to music while smelling a fragrant flower. Brain studies show that you're stimulating your mind and helping to strengthen your ability to perceive, understand, and process information.

There's always an interior design application for me in this type of activity! I believe it's a valid neurobics activity to

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Plinth & Chintz: Intelligent Interior Design Blog

Irwin Weiner ASID - There are many great interior design blogs. We just wrote about 5 Interior Design Blogs We Can't Live Without in our Williams-Sonoma Designer Marketplace column, but we realized that we could have expanded the list to 100 or more different blogs ... and kept on going from there.

We love the different viewpoints expressed online by designers. The blogosphere is filled with information galore, with talented pros sharing their tips and secrets, their resources, their experience and knowledge, and the work of other designers that inspire them to work harder and better. 

One of the blogs we love is Plinth & Chintz, created by Dallas interior designer Laura McDonald Stewart. First, watch the following video to learn more about Laura's fascinating background and how she came to start her blog - this is a good example of what ASID is doing in their "Thought Leader" video series, showcasing designers who have the special knowledge and training to "bring it on" for commercial and residential design clients. Forever dispelling the notion that interior designers can only pick out colors and throw pillows, ASID is helping to educate the public by highlighting the talents, education, and vast amounts of training that go into our best industry professionals.

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