Design2Share Travel Video - The Cellars-Hohenort

Irwin Weiner ASID - I enjoy returning to my native South Africa to visit family and rediscover truly exotic and beautiful places. Last October, Jay and I visited family staying at The Cellars-Hohenort. It's a beautiful resort in the foothills of the Constantia Valley wineland country, just north of Cape Town.

The Hohenort building is a historic Cape Dutch building that now houses 52 luxury suites and rooms, along with a chic lounge and restaurants.

The accommodations, which we didn't get to see, vary from luxury suites to smaller rooms - but we were told that all were meticulously appointed.

But to us, the amazing gardens took the cake. (Perhaps we'll "borrow" a few ideas for our own garden!)

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Fall Wine Tours & Parties - Coming Up!

With Labor Day coming, it's time to be thinking about the upcoming wine season this fall. Summer is a time for outdoor parties, white wines, BBQs, and delicious snacks. But with fall getting closer, wineries are gearing up to harvest their grapes for the fall wine tours, and you should start thinking about planning as well.

To enjoy great wine doesn't mean a vacation to international wineries in France and Italy. Napa Valley, California is one of the most noted wine regions in the United States - but there are many more wine producing regions in the country worth visiting. The Finger Lakes in upstate New York is another distinguished wine region. (And on and on....)

A great way to try new wines and decide what your preferred wine will be is to take wine tours and go to wine festivals. Here are a few tips.

• For any wine aficionado, a great vacation idea is to visit wineries instead of visiting resorts. For example, on Long Island in New York there are many wineries to visit near the coast. 
• A vacation idea would be to rent a Long Island property, tour a few wineries, and enjoy anupcoming festival like the Long Island Wine Country Annual Harvest Fest Celebration.
• When planning a wine tour, make sure there's a responsible driver for all those who are drinking. 
• A lot of folks trekking to wine country prefer to order a limo or bus service. 
• Do some research on what wineries are nearby and the most popular to visit. Plan to go wine tasting at 3 to 5 wineries for the day and that should suffice. 
• Wine touring doesn't have to be expensive; as a matter of fact, most wineries offer samples of 5 to 8 wines for $5 or less!

Hosting your own wine tasting party is a great way to try new wines from a region and to spend time with family and friends. Host a theme party by either choosing one type of wine served or by choosing different wines produced by the same winery. Depending on the wines chosen, certain types of cheese and chocolates can be paired for an even greater treat. 

Share any other great ways to enjoy the upcoming wine season with us!

Thanks to guest blogger Megan Gates, who is an active blogger and handles communications on behalf of Elliman.com. She provides written work to the blogosphere pertaining to New York City Real Estate, Long Island Rentals, and the latest in architecture, design, and fashion. Follow her on Twitter @ MEGatesDesign.

Design2Share Video Pick: Here's a great basic how-to video from The Cheese Impressario on pairing wine, cheese, and condiments for your next wine tasting party at home.

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Each Glass of Wine is a Taste of Place

 Irwin Weiner ASID - I was extremely moved by the videos produced by Wilson Daniels Films. They specialize in capturing the essence of a winery, and that includes generations of tradition, passion for growing quality grapes, families living in the main house (and what beautiful homes indeed!), and a lifestyle that respects both land and grapes. 

In this first video, you'll meet the Schram family behind Schramsberg Vineyards, dubbed America's House of Sparkling Wine. Try not to swoon too much when you catch glimpses of the family's historic Victorian home (see photo above).

You'll see a lot of the same patterns of storytelling in this next vineyard video, which showcases the Alsace based Marc Kreydenweiss vineyards. Perfect shadows cast on a perfectly dressed family, well-posed people and beautifully turned phrases. Wine documentaries are meant to be set pieces that try to capture the essence of a family's wine business, so you'll see similarities from one vineyard to the next. But you absolutely get a sense of the family and the pride of heritage that uniquely combines everyday life with business. Where they live is all about how they earn a living and why they love living there. And I also wouldn't mind living in the Kreydenweiss family home, with its hundreds-of-years village history.

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Update on July 28, 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.