Irwin Weiner Interiors in Spring 2012 New York Home Observer

Irwin Weiner ASID - What a pleasure to be one of the featured designers in the latest issue of The Home Observer from the New York Observer! I love my clients' beautiful home, a great reflection of their energy, vitality, fun, and artistic natures. When an interior designer clicks with a client, magic can happen, and their space truly reflects their personalities. You can click on the e-version of The Home Observer below and use the page-find feature at the bottom of the screen to scroll over to pages 50-53 to see our feature story, "On a Pedestal."  

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5 Favorite Accessories from Bobby Berk Home

Irwin Weiner ASID - Yesterday I told you how I was early for a client appointment in lower Manhattan, so I went for a neighborhood stroll and discovered some teriffic design stores. These next few posts on Design2Share will be devoted to telling you what I discovered during my pre-meeting walkabout.

The second store I discovered was a lot of fun, the well-curated contemporary furniture and accessories store called Bobby Berk Home (in NYC, but also in Atlanta and Miami - and we hear LA will be their next beachhead). Here are five accessories that really drew me in at BB Home; click on each photo to learn more about the items.

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5 Favorite Designer Pillows from Michele Varian

Irwin Weiner ASID - I believe in coincidences ... or what some people refer to as "happy accidents." I was early for a client appointment in lower Manhattan last month, so I went for a neighborhood stroll and discovered some teriffic design stores. The next few posts on Design2Share will be devoted to telling you what I discovered during my pre-meeting walkabout. First, let me tell you about Michele Varian.

What a great store! Loaded with charm, fascinating accessories, and unique quirkiness, Michele's store showcases her signature designer pillows and handbags, but goes beyond to jewelry, tabletop, wall accessories, and so on and so on and so on.

This fashionista and DIY fanatic hits all the right notes, and I'm featuring some of my favorite pillows from her Spring 2012 collection. Don't you love the signature way Michele uses highly-visible pillow ties - sometimes leather, sometimes fabric?

Click on a pillow to learn more about it, and

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5 Accessorizing and Decorating Tips from Bradley Thiergartner

Irwin Weiner ASID - We started Design2Share many years ago to showcase the best of interior design, and to "share" the projects, tips, and solid experience designers have had with clients and their homes. That's why I'm so excited to showcase some of the beautiful projects from the two designers behind NYC firm Bradley Thiergartner, Benjamin Bradley and David Thiergartner.

Their 20-year collaboration has produced a number of impressive "tailored traditional" homes with precision and contemporary overtones. You can view some of their featured projects and read what this decorating duo has to say about them in our D2S Scrapbook photo essay- Bradley Thiergartner: Accessories at Work. And we asked them about the oftentimes difficult step of accessorizing a room. First, they commented about the interior shown in the top photo.

The power of accessories! Built-in bookcases provide a natural display space for a variety of accessories. Books, boxes, and objects create a visual feast. Our standard accessory - throw pillows - invite you to sit. Colorful artwork in multiples hang above the sofa.

 And here are five accessorizing tips Benjamin and David wanted to share with you.

1. Add your personality to the accessorizing process. After we provide many of the basic accessories for a space - artwork, lamps, throw pillows, throws, etc. - we then like for the client to purchase things on their own so that the room takes on a personal feel. Many times a room lacks personality if all of the items are selected by a designer. While the room will undoubtedly be beautiful, how it reflects its owner is a crucial factor to the success of the “feeling” of the room. Accessories are such an important element. They add tremendous warmth and interest. They provide “eye candy” and allow you to discover elements of the room long after you have taken in the feeling of the space. They also give us great insight into whom the room belongs, what are their interests, hobbies, etc. Finally, accessories can add comfort to a room ... a wonderful down-filled pillow, a cashmere throw, a good reading light, the soft sent of a candle. All of these accessories add to the comfort of any home.
2. Sprinkle in the unique. We love to haunt antique shows, antique malls, and flea markets for one-of-a-kind accessories. Many times we will have already spoken with the client and reviewed where we need accessories and what we might generally be thinking. We let them know that we will be attending an antique show or such and we'll discuss a budget. We find that, in most cases, the client is thrilled to know that their designer will be selecting unique and interesting objects that none of their friends will have. 

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