Hotel Savoy - Buenos Aires Old World Traditional Style with Some Twists

Irwin Weiner ASID - We can learn a lot about residential interior design from international hotels. We're covering the hotel beat this week on Design2Share because with summertime here, we're all planning destination vacation getaways. So why not stay at somewhere stylish. Who knows? You may come home with decorating, gardening, and color combination inspiration from your hotel stay that you'd like to experiment with in your own space. And that means indoor or outdoor space, too; we learned a lot about beautiful garden planning from staying once at the Four Seasons Istanbul. In today's featured video, you'll find an older building in Buenos Aires providing good bones for a contemporary, yet still very traditional boutique hotel makeover at the Hotel Savoy.

Bonus

Click here to make sure your next destination vacation is a style-conscious design trip (among other things!); discover Wallpaper* City Guides.

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Gardening Video - Tips for Gardening in Small Spaces

Irwin Weiner ASID - We bought metal planters from Portugal at a Bucks County archetectural salvage store, filled them up with potting soil, and have been planting herbs and veggies on our patio for the past few years. Every so often we'll throw in handfuls of Dr. Earth organic fertilizer to keep nutrients chugging along in each planter (these closed eco systems need boosts on a regular basis). And the results have been rewarding. Last year we planted rainbow chard and purple basil along with other herbs - chives to Italian parsley.

This year we're planting green zebra and cherokee heirloom tomatoes, lemon thyme, nasturtium, rosemary, basil, parsley, and tarragon ... sticking to a great salad theme. Today's featured video will help bring out the gardener in you. Even if you don't have a large yard, e.g., you live in a small urban apartment, you can still garden in a small space and have a manageable time of it. We're all busy adults, so let's follow tips for making life and leisure time easier and more productive. Extra features: click on each of the two photos in this article to get some great container gardening tips and inspiration. 

Bonus

Click here to read our friend Linda Grasso's gardening quest - How Can I Find Perfect Heirloom Tomatoes? Find the best varieties for taste, growing ability, and yield!

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Elastic Living Luxury Apartment Rentals - Is It for You?

Irwin Weiner ASID - There's a groundswell of enthusiasm for "elastic living." By that we mean apartment, condo, and hotel-like buildings that offer short-term or longer-term accommodations, fully furnished, with complete-package amenities (maid service, room service, gym, pool, concierge).

Your small or large suites are bigger than what you'd find at a hotel, they're decorated as they would be for a luxury apartment or house (albeit "staged" and missing that interior design stamp of the owner's personality), and they have generous kitchens. The result: you're living in a luxury condo that mimics an intimate boutique hotel.

Corporations and individuals who travel and work a lot find elastic living properties to be the height of convenience; think an actor working for several months on location shooting a movie or TV show on location away from home or a busy executive who has an extended project away from her home office. AKA Luxury Furnished Suites is one such provider in multiple cities (e.g., Beverly Hills, NYC, Philadelphia), and the view of a terrace in their Central Park location (see top photo) shows the allure and fantasy of a fully-furnished luxe accommodation, which they cleverly refer to as a "Pied-À-Terre On Demand."

The following video interviews people who live in these elastic living rentals - and don't you think they would be ideal situations for families who are decorating their homes and have to move out for a period of time while their demolition, renovation, and interior design projects are in full swing?

Bonus

Click here for What's Wrong with a Hotel Look for My Home?

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Interior Design Video - Making Handmade Modern Furniture

Irwin Weiner ASID - The process of making fine furniture fascinates me. That's why I loved today's featured video showcasing the Edwin Blue company and the thought and process behing making their handmade modern furniture.

Individual materials are crafted to their minimalistic best; hey, it's not everyone's look, but if you're truly into sleek, contemporary, and barely-ornamented furnishings, the Edwin Blue off-the-shelf and custom furniture line is probably just right for you.

Bonus

Click here for Classics in Contemporary Bedroom Furniture.

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