Trend Watch: Glow In The Dark Bedding
You can pretend you're fighting bad guys or you're an angel while you sleep.
This cheeky design from Atypyk (above, right) is for the angel in your life -- even if you're a devil you can have a halo while you're sleeping! It's just a basic cotton pillowcase, but in the dark, a glow-in-the-dark halo emerges wiping away the sins of your day. I think this would make a super holiday gift for your partner in crime!
See what else is glowing after the jump!
Store Your Paperwork On a Fabric Shelf?
Hang your insipration on your sleeve... fabric. Photo: Louis Lemaire
One $28 Frame, 5 Ways
Pin-Up Frame, $28 at MollaSpace. Photo: MollaSpace
Each frame comes with a set of same-colored push pins -- and that's the only hardware you'll need to hang this beauty where you see fit (tape and magnets, not included, work as well). It's MollaSpace's way of reinventing the traditional frame. So I thought, why not reinvent it further?
Here are five ways of taking the frame beyond the simple photo-display purpose. Do you have other ideas? Share them with us!
The First White House State Dinner Serves Up Modern Design
A view of the place setting at the State Dinner. Photo: Gerald Herbert, AP
I lived in Washington, D.C., for several years during the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, and whenever there was a State Dinner the city would buzz. It's a night for the "Hollywood of Ugly People," as the nation's capital is often called, to shed those navy and red suits and play dress up. But last night's State Dinner, the Obamas' first official dinner since taking office, seemed different. Sure, the First Couple looked incredibly stylish (and ridiculously in love!), but the party itself looked like it was straight from the pages of Town & Country.
And we were inspired.
So we decided to find out the story behind the elegant dishes, the captivating candlelight and the gorgeous greenery that dominated the grand tent on the White House's South Lawn. Take a look around.
Don't miss our gallery of Presidential China Patterns below -- it's an inside look at some of the White House's most elegant dishes.
White House State Dinner
President Obama and First Lady Michelle hosted their first official State Dinner on November 24, welcoming Indian President Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur to their grand Washington, D.C. home -- with a couple of hundred other guests. The State Dinner stands out for its modern decor and especially elegant ambiance. Here's your seat at the biggest (and most stylish) event in the nation last night.
Nicholas Kamm, AFP/Getty Images
The Obamas greeted their guests at the North Portico of the White House. Here, they meet the guests of honor -- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur. Just wait until you get inside.
Brendan Smialowski, Getty Images
The White House set up a large tent on the South Lawn to hold the dinner. Chandeliers were woven with greenery -- an ode to Michelle's love of gardening, perhaps -- and tables were lined with candles. On the walls, you might notice arrangements of magnolia branches. Also serving as decor, locally grown ivy and nandina foliage.
Susan Walsh, AP
The round tables were draped in apple green linens, and in honor of the Indian Peacock, deep purple flowers were placed at the center of each table. Designed by White House florist Laura Dowling and her team, the centerpieces are meant to evoke "the classic American garden," says the First Lady's Office. They're made up of purple, plum and fuchsia hydrangea, garden roses and sweet peas. All of the bouquets will be re-used throughout the White House after the dinner, a purposeful act of recycling.
Gerald Herbert, AP
The tables were set with dishware from the White House's historic China collection. The service plates are Castleton China from the Eisenhower administration and Lenox plates from the Clinton years that were commissioned to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the White House. The dinner plates, also designed by Lenox, hail from the George W. Bush years, a gift of the White House Acquisition Trust in 2009.
Gerald Herbert, AP
Some of the food hailed from Michelle's famous White House gardens. Guests nibbled on a dinner cooked with herbs and lettuce from the White House garden. The honey used with the poached pears came from the White House beehive. Desserts were garnished with mint and lemon verbena growing in the White House Kitchen Garden.
Andrew Harrer-Pool, Getty Images
White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford and Guest Chef Marcus Samuelsson created the menu. Since the Indian Prime Minister is a vegetarian, there were lots of healthful choices, including potato and eggplant salad, red lentil soup and green curry prawns with collard greens.
Nicholas Kamm, AFP/Getty Images
A view of the exterior of the grand tent.
Andrew Harrer-Pool, Getty Images
Presidential China Patterns
Presidential china patterns date all the way back to the nation's fifth president, James Monroe (or, more likely, his wife Elizabeth Kortright Monroe). Some first ladies, like Rosalynn Carter, don't commission a china pattern of their own, while others delight in the activity. So far, the Obamas have eaten off reproductions of Abraham Lincoln's place settings at the inaugural luncheon and the Woodrow Wilson pattern, which Michelle Obama chose to mix with pieces from the 1939 World's Fair for the administration's first state dinner on Feb. 22. Asked before her first hostessing duties at the White House whether she would get to work on a china pattern, Mrs. Obama replied, "I think that's part of the job."
At left, Mrs. Obama discusses the menu for the 2009 Governors Dinner on Feb. 22, 2009 as White House Chef Cristeta Comerford and White House Pastry Chef William Yosses look on in the White House kitchen.
Mandel Ngan, AFP/Getty Images
The George W. Bush State China Service.
Ron Edmonds, AP
The White House Magnolia Residence China Service, chosen by Laura Bush.
Ron Edmonds, AP
A plate from the 300-place service costing $240,000 designed in part by Hillary Rodham Clinton for the 200th anniversary celebration of the White House.
Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
Soup bowl, fish plate, dessert and dinner plates, ramekin, and fruit bowl from the Ronald Reagan service of 1981, courtesy of The White House Historical Association.
Will Brown, The White House Historical Association
Lyndon B. Johnson Service Plate from 1967, on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Will Brown, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Dwight D. Eisenhower Service Plate circa 1955, on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Will Brown, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Cocktail cup, oatmeal bowl, after-dinner coffee cup, and dinner plate from the Woodrow Wilson service of 1918, courtesy of The White House Historical Association.
Will Brown, The White House Historical Association
Purchase reproduction Benjamin Harrison Presidential China at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum Store.
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum in Boston
"On Chesapeake Bay" game platter from the Rutherford B. Hayes state service of 1879, courtesy of The White House Historical Association.
Will Brown, The White House Historical Association
Good Deal Alert: Snapfish Photo Books Now 50% Off
Spare yourself this Black Friday. Instead of hitting the malls at 4 a.m., make professional quality, homemade gifts while you're in your pajamas. And now you can do it on the cheap.
Rachael Ray featured Snapfish's photo books on her show Wednesday morning and she kicked off a great deal. From now until Dec. 2, use the code RRBOOK to get all photo books 50% off! What's more, $1 from every photo book sold will be donated to a food bank in your state. It seems like a great Thanksgiving weekend project.
Check in next week to see how mine turned out (it's in the mail as I type) and to get the full review. That's a sneak peek up above!
Fresh Window Treatments: Drapes Made With Doilies
Not your grandmother's... oh wait! Yes it is! Photo: Lisa Fontanarosa Collection
Yet with one glance at Michaela Scherrer's recent doily-inspired drapes and room dividers, I vowed to never close the door to my child-like decor again. After all, what's old almost always becomes new again. For more about window treatments 101, read my tips here.
Michaela Scherrer is a sought-after interior designer that specializes in the dichotomies of simplicity vs. detailed, old vs. new and feminine vs. masculine. Inspired by Japanese design, she combines her love for technological complexity with our need for a natural, simplistic state of living.
What You Can Get For $600k: A Detroit Stadium vs. Manhattan Studio
Photo: The Detroit News
According to The Detroit News, the city of Pontiac, Michigan will sell the Pontiac Silverdome, the former home to the Detroit Lions, to an unnamed Canadian company for $583,000. When we saw that number, it sounded like a downright reasonable sum for a whole sports complex, especially considering that the stadium cost $55.7 million to build in the mid-1970s (approximately $220 million in today's dollars!).
Here in New York City (where several of your ShelterPop editors reside), $583,000 doesn't go far, and it certainly wouldn't buy you an 80,300-seat stadium plus 127 adjacent acres. We wondered what it would buy, so we hit up the local real estate listings to find out.
It turns out, you won't be getting anything close to a stadium.
Affordable Luxury: Installing Heated Floors This Winter
Underfloor heating isn't just for the wealthy anymore. Photo: wuertele, Flickr
You might think that heated floors are for those people on HGTV building their dream house or renovating their million dollar home, but that's not the case anymore. Heated floors are a luxury for the masses! According to Russ Dunn, vice president of marketing at ThermoSoft, heated floors are riding the coattails of home improvement DIY trends of installing ceramic tile, marble, porcelain, natural stone, laminate, engineered and natural woods. What does DIY-ing have to do with it? Well, the more that people improve their homes themselves, the more that they save. So while your floor is bare, why not reward yourself with a little luxury?
Not only does electric radiant floor heat eliminate the cold feeling associated with hard surface flooring, it provides indescribable comfort. Dunn explains that electric radiant floors save energy because they are more efficient than conventional forced air heating systems that waste heat blowing through the duct-work and rising to the ceiling. There aren't many surfaces under which you can't install an electric heating systems. ThermoSoft manufactures heating systems designed for virtually any subfloor and any floor covering. The installation steps might vary but almost any floor covering can be heated with ThermoSoft's electric radiant floor heating systems.
Under $100: Napkin Rings For Every Mood
Naturally, I've had table settings on the brain and thought it would be fun to introduce a few fun fabulous napkin rings into my home this year. Of course, like everyone, I'm scraping pennies together in preparation for the holidays, so no worries --- everything you see here is well under $100!
Let's go shopping, shall we?
Photos (clockwise), left to right: Modern Dose, Jonathan Adler, Neiman Marcus, NotNeutral, Z Gallerie
For your inner child, these napkin rings are guaranteed conversation pieces!:
Chalkboard Mustache Napkin Rings, $24 (set of 4), Modern Dose
Foo Dog Napkin Rings, $60, Neiman Marcus
Skull Napkin Rings, $40 (set of 4), Z Gallerie
Rabbit Napkin Rings, $18 each, Jonathan Adler
Ant Napkin Rings, $18 (set of 4), NotNeutral
Photos (clockwise), left to right: Plum Party, Vivre, Bloomingdale's, Target, Scandinavian Design Center
Rob Lowe Trades One Montecito Estate for Another
Photo: Jon Kopaloff, FilmMagic
Back in the 1980s, when actor Rob Lowe was a member of the infamous Brat Pack, he got into all sorts of trouble with drugs, alcohol and an underage girl.
In more recent years, the chisel-chinned actor has cleaned up, gotten married, made a couple of cute kids and adopted a dignified and lavish lifestyle that resembles that of Robert McCallister, the wildly rich Republican senator he portrays on the award-winning and super sappy television drama "Brothers & Sisters."
The Lowe family has long lived in the leafy, aristocratic and uber-expensive enclave of Montecito, California, where they recently sold their fancy Fuera Lane estate for $7,600,000. Want to take a look? Click through our photo gallery.
Rob Lowes Montecito Manse
Actor Rob Lowe purchased the posh property in Montecito, California – reportedly for around six million smackers – in the spring of 2005 after getting all kinds of lucky and selling the family's former estate at the tippy-top of the real estate bubble for around $25,000,000. However, Mister Lowe's real estate luck had run out by May of 2009 when, like so many others selling property in the aftermath of the real estate melt down, he was forced to sell the stately estate for far less than the original asking price of $12,398,000.
MontecitoEstates.com
The gated and traditional European style manor house, built in 1929 and renovated to Lowe's exacting standards, sits on a manicured 1.13 acre lot in one of the most desirable sections of Montecito. Listing information for the property indicates the home contains 6 bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms, plus a separate guesthouse. The champagne colored formal living room is lit by a crystal chandelier and warmed by one of the mansion's many fireplaces.
MontecitoEstates.com
In addition to the main and guest houses, the meticulously maintained property includes a circular drive and major motor court, mature shade trees, sprawling lawns, a sport court, dog run, and a huge swimming pool and spa. The Lowes sold the pristine and pretty property because they've moved to yet another nearby Montecito mansion which they custom built on a perfectly private, 3.4 acre ocean view property.
MontecitoEstates.com
The light and bright, all white gourmet kitchen is open to the family room. It has every top-grade stainless steel appliance known to man, crisp marble counter tops streaked with gray veins, a huge work island with a breakfast counter and windows that look out over the back yard and swimming pool.
MontecitoEstates.com
The banquet sized dining room has wood floors, another crystal chandelier, gorgeous garden view, and a long table where the Lowes could have easily entertained some of the other famous folks who own property in Montecito, including Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas, talk show titan Oprah Winfrey, tennis ace Jimmy Conners and actor Christopher Lloyd whose home was tragically destroyed by a wildfire in late 2008.
MontecitoEstates.com
