via: anthropology, madeline weinrib atleier, design sponge, fabricadabra
March 15th, 2012
Ikat Gone Wild
March 14th, 2012
Green With Envy
The color green is making a splash in interior design and is one of the hottest color trends for 2012. Fellow Interior Designer and HGTV Design Star Cathy Hobbs, color expert Shannon Kaye, host of DIY Network’s Fresh Coat, and I shared a few of our favorite tips and tricks to decorating with the color green for SheKnows.
St. Patrick’s Day might serve as the unofficial start of spring with its Irish green hues, but this year we’ll be seeing the color green in all spectrums as it makes a splash in home decor. Tangerine Tango might be the official color of the year, but green is becoming the “it” color of the season. In House Beautiful’sMarch 2012 issue, green was declared “the neutral that goes with everything!”
Once considered a vibrant accent color, green is taking center stage in decorating color palettes.
Shades to avoid
Some shades like neon green or a bright lime color might seem like no-brainers to avoid, but interior designer Sabina Vavra disagrees. Vavra, a co-star on the A&E series Keyshawn Johnson: Talking Design, says “the trick is not avoiding shades of green, but knowing how to use them properly and what to mix them with.” For example, you wouldn’t want to put a grass-green base with moss-green accents because the tones would be “negatively contrasting,” but each color individually could create a beautiful space.
For the full story on SheKnows click here.
March 5th, 2012
Monday Must-Haves…
Happy Monday everyone! I wanted to start the week off proper by sharing some of my personal favorite of-the-moment items with you. As a designer, I am constantly utilizing new concepts, resources and beautiful things, which I want to divulge with you on a weekly basis. Below are a handful of delectable items that inspire me this week. Enjoy!
JUICY LEAF-Venice, CA
Juicy leaf is a great place to create succulent arrangements that are unique, long-lasting and contemporary. They have everything you might need to create a beautiful plant. Bring your friends and have a plant party!
MAXIM LIGHTING 18 LIGHT GLIMMER CHANDELIER
I witnessed the ever-strong presence of this monstrosity at Lightopia in Laguna Beach. It is bold, glamorous and versatile. I love it!
PUZHEN AROMA DIFFUSER
This is a completely new take on aromatherapy in my opinion. Its absolutely stunning. This is one of my favs…
DESIGN WITHIN REACH-GOLD STEMWARE
I strongly believe that your palette with be completely satisfied in using these gold beauties alone. They are a great price too!
KRAVET WALLCOVERING-ECHO HOME LINE
This velvet flocked paper is fresh and modern. Its a wallpaper even a man would love! Im using it on a current project for a bachelor and we’re both pretty excited. I’m looking forward to the installation!
Thanks for tuning in for my weekly obsessions. Stay tuned for more! Happy Monday friends!
March 2nd, 2012
Brainstorming Floral Ideas
Working on the creative concepts for Mr. Joel Robuchon’s restaurant at MGM we thought we’d share a few concepts that inspired us:
PS Dont forget that as of Monday March 5th Joel Robuchon will be completely transformed into our Spring 2012 look of fuchsia and turquoise! If your in Las Vegas make sure to visit them at MGM and a word to the wise is book your reservations early…
Thank you to Wildflower Linen and The Juicy Leaf for the inspiration!
March 2nd, 2012
An interview With Lightopia’s Kenneth Vick
Kenneth Vick and his dog Luce, a golden retriever-shepard mix, and owners of Laguna Beach’s lighting store Lightopia, have created the perception that is unique to where your mind typically wanders when thinking of lighting stores. For starters, you have modern-styled architecture in a building with cascading glass exterior just a block from the beach. Arriving there feels more chic Palm Springs than a beach-styled lighting store.
Walking in, you are awakened to a gallery of fantastic fixtures, pendants, and awe-inspiring chandeliers that seem to take a life of their own. Peak to the back of the shop and you will find a custom lighting lab created to show the latest capabilities and strides in the industry. In between Kenneth’s time working with some of the most coveted designers and architects in the industry, along with creating his custom line of gemstone fixtures, dubbed Dame Juvel, we sat down with Vick for a few questions on the trends and transformations he sees in lighting:
Where have you seen lighting design, particularly in chandeliers, moving from and to?
Interestingly enough I noticed recently that the “chandelier” as we know it seems to be evolving from light fixtures with arms and candelabras to more amorphous shapes and fixtures with multiple pendants. Thus, we are seeing a lot of cascading shell fixtures, round drums out of wood and metal, or tiered fixtures with layered glass balls. Either way, the traditional “arm” type chandelier seems to be more yesterdays news.
Which lighting designs and trends do you see that will be particularly hot this Spring?
Lighting fixtures tend to not be so seasonal as most pieces are installed in a room year round, however there are some new incredibly beautiful flower lights now on the market. They make faux branches with tiny light buds or stems with tiny light buds inside beautifully done faux flowers. So, for spring you can choose Cala Lillys, Azaleas, or my favorite Phalaenopsis Orchids!
How can homeowners work those fixtures easily into their current décor?
The Flower and Branch lights are very easy to work into any décor. They can be placed in any large or small vase, preferably dark material to hide the small cords, or drilled out wood blocks to create a garden scape. A light garden would be great to see in an outdoor room at night, imagine a patch of light, beautiful color, and no watering!!
For your personal lighting line, Dame Juvel, where do you draw your personal inspiration from?
I’m so inspired by nature’s bounty. I’m an avid runner and dog walker and sometimes I come across the most beautiful plants hiking or even just cruising through Laguna Beach that are about to bud or have new growth that really makes me happy. The driving force behind nature to me is the same magic and beauty in life and that comes through our line of lights Dame Juvel. We work with the most amazing semi-precious gem stones that are just nuggets of the earth like quartz, agate, labrodorite, and aquamarine among others. Lighting these gemstones up really shows the depth and beauty of nature’s glory and they are stunning in a room.
What 3 tips can you give for homeowners wishing to move into more energy efficient lighting?
Three tips for homeowners to move into energy efficient lighting would be first check out the Department of Energy and Energystar websites. They have lots of useful tips and information on the new light bulb fact labels for 2012 and other fan and lighting energy saving tips.http://www.energysavers.gov/your_home/lighting_daylighting/index.cfm/mytopic=11970
Another source would be to check out Lightopia’s Green Home Program we developed on our website: http://www.lightopiaonline.com/green-home-program.html
We built an energy savings calculator and show green videos, products, and explain what an LED actually is. Or stop by our store in North Laguna Beach.
Planet Green is another wonderful resource for great tips: http://planetgreen.discovery.com/
February 17th, 2012
Flower Shopping for Mr. Joel Robuchon
A few photos from a recent trip to the flower market while specking options for the MGM hotel restaurant Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas.
February 16th, 2012
Joel Robuchon
Recently I had the pleasure of meeting with Joel Robuchon’s team in Las Vegas at MGM to discuss coming on board as the new designer for the seasonal changes of the self titled restaurant, Joel Robuchon. I have been since awarded the esteemed position of be the designer behind the restaurants spring 2012 and summer 2012 look, debuting March 5th and June 12th at the restaurant. Below is a sneak peak at the 4 concepts I pulled together as a start of our creative design process for the restaurant…
February 10th, 2012
Moxie + Marketing + Mojo
Yesterday’s Rick Campos of Christopher Tracy Interiors and I hosted our boot camp course for emerging design professionals at the Laguna Design Center. The day was truly amazing and we had a phenomenal group to speak to. We covered everything Moxie + Marketing + Mojo and were fortunate to have two top notch guest speakers come join us. Julie Thigpen of Belle Maison and Modern Chic Home spoke on all things blogging, while Allison Olmstead of TO Media Co covered the top 10 tips for PR and courting the media.
Here are a few photos of the day. We hope you can join us for our next course, Blazing Your Path, April 12th, 2012 or for our 10-week Desgin Business Builder Master Class (the e-couse) which opens for registration March 21-23, 2012.
Allison of TO Media Co. 
Interviewing Julie Thigpen of Belle Maison
February 6th, 2012
By SABINA VAVRA / FOR THE REGISTER
For some, wallpaper conjures memories of their grandmothers. For designers, wallpaper continues to be one of the quickest ways to transform a space. Throughout the years, it has fallen in and out of favor, but now it’s the object de jour. Papering walls began around 200 B.C. when the Chinese glued rice paper to their walls for decoration. Throughout China, and later in Europe around the 12th century, wallpaper gained in style and favor.
Subtle colors add texture and interest to an otherwise boring wall.
In 1675, French engraver Jean-Michel Papillion created block designs in continuous patterns and became known as the inventor of modern-day wallpaper. Wallpaper has grown immensely in popularity with its range of styles, prints and materials to choose from. Both 2009 and 2010 saw bold-print wallpaper as the ongoing trend. This year there has been a move toward more subdued prints and tone-on-tone colors.
Metallic wallpapers have become hugely popular, giving a sophisticated sheen to walls and creating visual interest, especially when done in tone-on-tone colors. Everything from warm bronzes to icy silvers grab attention and create a sophisticated space for entertaining and relaxing. Natural textured wallpapers such as sea grass are top choices for office settings and bedrooms. Coming in monochromatic colors as well as multicolored hues, they add dimension and texture.
Stripes have also gained in popularity, and when hung vertically can make a ceiling appear higher. Pairing the right-colored ceiling with a striped wallpaper can create a sophisticated dining room. Now the hard part – determining which walls to paper. Current trends lean toward fewer accent walls and more fully papered spaces. “People are finally moving away from just a feature wall and are once again wallpapering two, three and four walls in a room,” says David Klaus of the wallpaper company Graham & Brown. If you do choose to create an accent wall of paper, pick the wall that grabs your attention when you enter the room. To complete the look try matching the paint on the remaining walls to one of the background colors of the chosen wallpaper. This will provide symmetry and harmony.
If budget is not a concern, wallpapering the entire room will give the most dramatic and impactful statement. Just as the current styles of wallpaper vary, pricing can also range drastically. Sold by the roll, prices can range from $35 to well over $600, with an average around $120 per roll. Typically an average-size master bedroom will need about eight rolls of wallpaper, whereas an accent wall generally may need only two. An easy estimation for wallpapering a bedroom including installation is typically $1000 to $2000 based on an average-price wallpaper.
Costly as it may seem to those of us familiar with paint and its prices, wallpaper is hard to beat when it comes to the impact it brings to any room. Simply stated, wallpaper is the single most dramatic way to re-create a room. Considering the range of materials, colors, styles and walls to possibly adorn in wallpaper, it is almost impossible to not be open to the options available.
Sabina Vavra is an interior designer and creator of Creative Power Course, an educational program for emerging design professionals. She is also the designer behind two episodes of this season’s “Fix This Kitchen,” featured on A&E as well as former co-star of A&E’s “Keyshawn Johnson: Tackling Design.” Based out of Aliso Viejo she can be reached at sabinavavra.com or 949-916-4664
February 6th, 2012
Keynote Goodness
A few months back I was asked to be the Keynote speaker for Student Career Day at the Laguna Design Center in California last Friday. I spoke on “Greatness + Myths + Being Daring” and I have to say it was truly such an honor to be asked to be the speaker for the event, and I can’t thank ASID and the Laguna Design Center for the privilege. The day went off without a hitch and here are a few of the photos from the event.
Browse through some gorgeous and brilliant books by true genuises that are sure to inspire.
