Treating Building Facades as Video Screens

Irwin Weiner ASID - Watching the following German video from two years ago, it made me realize even more how playful we can be when we design exterior and interior walls. This Hamburg video installation project on the exterior wall of a gallery, called 555 KUBIK, won awards at Cannes but also wins design brownie points from me (a lot of good that will do them!) for beautifully illustrating that geometry, form, function, beauty, and playfulness should be part of any design project. Kudos to creators Urbanscreen.com for being so inventive, using walls as a video canvas.

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Update on June 30, 2011 by Design2Share

Super King Size Leather Beds: We just found a great collection of sleek leather bed designs. They add sophistication, whether your bedroom decor is traditional or modern. 

Featured Project: DIY Painted Headboard 

Now is the perfect time to think about freshening up your interior space. With a splash of color here and a new piece of furniture there, it's easy to redecorate. Here's a quick, budget-conscious DIY design idea to help get you started.

Paint Your Own Headboard

Chances are if you if you purchased your bed frame as part of a bedroom set, the headboard is already included. If you don't want to put forth the extra cash, especially after paying for a pricey mattress, no problem! Painted headboards are a great way to add a pop of color to your bedroom.

Step 1: Measure the width of the head of your bed and mark it with blue painter's tape from floor to ceiling. Now, choose your color based on your desired color scheme. You obviously don't want it to be the same shade as your walls, but it should complement that color.

Step 2: Once you have your color, paint the wall, staying within the blue painters tape. Once the paint dries, if you choose to do so, you can detail with paint or with some removable wall decals from a company like Blik. For as little as $40, Blik makes easily removable wall decals in fun shapes like bookshelves, chandeliers, birds, etc. If this sounds like too much work, don't worry and leave your wall a solid color.

Step 3: Simply position your bed up against the painted wall, prop up some decorative Euro pillows in coordinating colors and patterns, and you have yourself a headboard. You might want to take this opportunity to invest in a new comforter or duvet in fun, light, spring colors. You'd be surprised at what a little bit of paint and some new bedding can do for your space!

Contemporary vanities and more at Decor Planet for your bathroom needs.

Happy Fourth!

Irwin Weiner ASID - This is the year (hopefully) that I make the transition from legal alien status as a South African citizen living and working in the United States to full-fledged United States citizen (actually duel citizenship, but that's a fine point). What a wonderful country this is! I came here 26 years ago to study, and have stayed ever since. No regrets, only praises to sing. So the July Fourth holiday celebrations, picnics and BBQs and fireworks, stir my soul and make me glad for my great, good fortune. Happy fourth to you all - and enjoy this video of fireworks from NYC's incredible Macy's display on the Hudson River from 2009.

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Update on June 29, 2011 by Design2Share

Super King Size Leather Beds: We just found a great collection of sleek leather bed designs. They add sophistication, whether your bedroom decor is traditional or modern. 

Featured Project: DIY Painted Headboard 

Now is the perfect time to think about freshening up your interior space. With a splash of color here and a new piece of furniture there, it's easy to redecorate. Here's a quick, budget-conscious DIY design idea to help get you started.

Paint Your Own Headboard

Chances are if you if you purchased your bed frame as part of a bedroom set, the headboard is already included. If you don't want to put forth the extra cash, especially after paying for a pricey mattress, no problem! Painted headboards are a great way to add a pop of color to your bedroom.

Step 1: Measure the width of the head of your bed and mark it with blue painter's tape from floor to ceiling. Now, choose your color based on your desired color scheme. You obviously don't want it to be the same shade as your walls, but it should complement that color.

Step 2: Once you have your color, paint the wall, staying within the blue painters tape. Once the paint dries, if you choose to do so, you can detail with paint or with some removable wall decals from a company like Blik. For as little as $40, Blik makes easily removable wall decals in fun shapes like bookshelves, chandeliers, birds, etc. If this sounds like too much work, don't worry and leave your wall a solid color.

Step 3: Simply position your bed up against the painted wall, prop up some decorative Euro pillows in coordinating colors and patterns, and you have yourself a headboard. You might want to take this opportunity to invest in a new comforter or duvet in fun, light, spring colors. You'd be surprised at what a little bit of paint and some new bedding can do for your space!

Contemporary vanities and more at Decor Planet for your bathroom needs.

Mother Nature Gave These New Homes Good Bones

Photo: Art GrayIrwin Weiner ASID - The homes you decorate always start from what we like to call "the bones." These are the architectural features of the house, from the walls and ceilings to the floors, doors, windows, and room shape. One of the first jobs in interior design is to "get the bones right," or to make sure that any weaknesses in the architectural decisions are addressed. It helps when a home is newly made, but even new construction can be a nightmare for decorators, e.g. open-plan spaces need to be better defined by their function and still maintain good flow with the rest of the house. We admired theseAndersson-Wise "natural houses," new-construction spaces that celebrate nature through the use of beautiful building materials and clean lines. The natural homes in this video are what we mean by good bones!

Click to read more ...

NYC Hotel Puts Art Installations in the Spotlight

(47th Street View of "Billowing Beauty" Photo: Nova Colette Bronstein) 

Nova Bronstein - The Lab Gallery of The Roger Smith Hotel, located in the center of the hustle and bustle of midtown Manhattan, is a rotating candy store for the eyes.

(Photo: Nova Colette Bronstein)

(Photo: Nova Colette Bronsein)Standing on the corner of 47th and Lexington and peering through the windows at this brightly colored and compelling beauty, I was confronted with a locked door. I felt like a small child eagerly looking up at a glass jar of cookies high on a shelf, visible, but clearly not within reach.  It's almost painful to ONLY watch the mixed concoction of Dr. Seuss meets Parisian whimsy in this aerated dreamscape - the pieces lift and fall, swell and sway, beckoning you to touch. 

These playful animated works are the creation of French artist Anne Ferrer. The self-proclaimed, "frustrated sculptress" finds solace only once having completed her sensuous forms. These earthy, root-like behemoths are hand-stitched out of fabric and breathed into life with pumps of air.  

What is her goal? To instill in all of us the feeling of "ravishment!" And she does. Oh, she does! 

For those of you who are like me - jewelry inclined -imagine those luscious forms broken down to outlines, silhouettes, or combinations of color. Anything you're drawn to can serve as inspiration for the next creation. Let the "ravishment" prevail! 

The Lab hosts 20 or more installations per year, which equates to something new on view about every three weeks. Swing by the gallery to witness an ever-rotating mix of creativity on display - and enjoy the following video portrait of Ferrer's installation.   

Article reprinted with permission of the Sheffield School in New York. Design2Share encourages you to explore your creative side; check out the newly-launched Jewelry Design Course offered at the Sheffield School. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any other school in the world.

• Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing their distance education courses.
• Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

 Click here to subscribe to our daily design videos.

Update on June 24, 2011 by Design2Share

Super King Size Leather Beds: We just found a great collection of sleek leather bed designs. They add sophistication, whether your bedroom decor is traditional or modern. 

Featured Project: DIY Painted Headboard 

Now is the perfect time to think about freshening up your interior space. With a splash of color here and a new piece of furniture there, it's easy to redecorate. Here's a quick, budget-conscious DIY design idea to help get you started.

Paint Your Own Headboard

Chances are if you if you purchased your bed frame as part of a bedroom set, the headboard is already included. If you don't want to put forth the extra cash, especially after paying for a pricey mattress, no problem! Painted headboards are a great way to add a pop of color to your bedroom.

Step 1: Measure the width of the head of your bed and mark it with blue painter's tape from floor to ceiling. Now, choose your color based on your desired color scheme. You obviously don't want it to be the same shade as your walls, but it should complement that color.

Step 2: Once you have your color, paint the wall, staying within the blue painters tape. Once the paint dries, if you choose to do so, you can detail with paint or with some removable wall decals from a company like Blik. For as little as $40, Blik makes easily removable wall decals in fun shapes like bookshelves, chandeliers, birds, etc. If this sounds like too much work, don't worry and leave your wall a solid color.

Step 3: Simply position your bed up against the painted wall, prop up some decorative Euro pillows in coordinating colors and patterns, and you have yourself a headboard. You might want to take this opportunity to invest in a new comforter or duvet in fun, light, spring colors. You'd be surprised at what a little bit of paint and some new bedding can do for your space!

Contemporary vanities and more at Decor Planet for your bathroom needs.