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Liberty Of London Hits Target

Liberty of London for Target

Pretty patterns from Liberty Of London hit Target on March 14.


Mark your calendars:
Liberty of London for Target hits stores this Sunday. The British company's line will be available for a limited time at select Target locations and on Target.com. The prettily-patterned line is Target's first collection to span such a wide variety of categories from home and garden to fashion for women, men and children.

A venerable brand, Liberty & Co. was founded in 1875 in England. The company is best known for its micro-floral prints, which are practically woven into English heritage. Unbelievably, Liberty of London has an archive of over 43,000 print designs (!), 25 of which they have handed over to Target for the partnership.

If you want to get a hold of these adorable goods, hit your Target early -- they're guaranteed to sell out quickly!

Above, clockwise from left: Media Bins $7 to $15; Quilt in Pink Floral Print in Full/Queen and King Sizes $50 to $60, Standard Sham $15; King Sham $25; 4-pk. Note card Set $6, Mugs in Teal Peacock Print, Green/Blue Print $5 each; Ceramic Teapots in Multicolor Floral $13;

Below:
Liberty of London for Target Bike in Pink/White Floral Print $200

All photos courtesy of Liberty of London for Target.
Liberty of London for Target

Everything Under $100, Shopping, Your Home, News & Trends

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The Week's Home News: March 5, 2010

Martha Stewart Living Paint

Martha Stewart Living Paint is available now! Photo: Home Depot

The home and design news for the week of March 1 to 5.

From Martha Stewart paint to Esquire-branded furniture, there were a ton of exciting product launches and announcements. Here's a round-up of the major home and interiors news of the week:

1. Martha Stewart Living Paint has finally arrived at The Home Depot! There are 280 Martha-approved colors and a foolproof color key system to help you choose hues.

2.
And even more exciting: Martha's launching a reality show! According the the Associate Press, in the forthcoming Help Me, Martha someone petitions for help "for a friend who's having trouble planning a wedding or a special meal or is facing some other lifestyle issue. The doorbell rings and - surprise! - Stewart and her team are there to take over."

3. We can all look forward to a Kate Spade New York home collection in fall of 2010, thanks to a partnership with CHF Industries to create sheets, duvets, shams, bedding accessories, bath accessories, bath towels and rugs.

4. Three cheers for Ikea: Furniture Today reported that the Swedish company raised more than $10 million for children's charities last year through its holiday season Soft Toy sales!

5. Sunbrella jumped on the app bandwagon and launched a mobile application.

6. The Kips Bay Decorator Show House announced this year's designers, among the 18 participants are Celerie Kemble, Vincent Wolf and Christopher Peacock.

7. Calling all gentlemen: Esquire magazine is going to have its own line of furniture through a partnership with Halo.

8. The Shabby Chic continues to heal after its troubles last year; the company has partnered with Miles Talbott for a line of furniture.

9. Former Queer Eye For The Straight Guy star, Thom Felicia, has launched his first furniture line.

10. Design stores were closing on both coasts as Design Within Reach closed its first store following leadership changes and West Elm shuttered a DC location.

11. Meanwhile, boho-chic Anthropologie opened up shop in New Orleans -- what a perfect pairing!

Decorating, Cleaning & Storage, Shopping, Your Home

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Oscar Nominations for Interior Design

Julie & Julia

Meryl Streep as Julia with her famous pegboard. Photo: Paramount Pictures/IMDb


ShelterPop nominates its favorite film interiors for our very own Oscars.


The Academy Awards are a frenzy of news for the fashion world, but it's hardly a major moment for the interior design world -- even though films are filled with beautiful locations and sets. While there are awards for makeup and costumes, there's no recognition for the actual decoration of the rooms in films. So, we decided to create our very own Oscar category for interior design, and we asked our ShelterPop writers what films they would nominate for an Oscar for Interior Design. Here's what they had to say:

Julie & Julia
"The Paris pad that Paul and Julia Child share may have had a humble, cramped kitchen, but its living spaces were luxurious. An entire two floors near the Seine river, the apartment is reportedly on Rue l'Universite and has lots of windows, nice architectural details and is stuffed with antiques and personal mementos. It's definitely got a sense of "home.""

-- Kristine Hansen

"I nominate Julie & Julia for recreating Paris in the 1950s, from restaurants to flats to the house in Marseilles, and on to Julia's place in Cambridge. They really got the details right and it's a reference for good decorating ideas. Also, I had lunch at Julia's house once in Cambridge and they did a great job recreating that kitchen and showing how Paul had organized and planned it all."

-- Jane Freiman
Up In The Air

While it's hard to tear your eyes from Clooney, the sets and interiors in this film were pitch-perfect. Photo: Paramount Pictures/IMDb

Up In The Air
"While he spent most of his time on an airplane (or "up in the air"), Ryan Bingham (played by George Clooney) still had to have someplace to hang his hat when back in Omaha, Neb. His apartment, with its white walls and sparse furnishings, is the perfect utilitarian space for the man on the go. It also suggests the feeling that something's missing, which is the attitude Bingham develops over the course of the film."

-- Van Sias

A Single Man

1960s design at its finest in A Single Man. Photo: Artina Films/IMDb

A Single Man
Perhaps the fact that it is directed by a fashion designer (Tom Ford) has something to do with the impeccable sets and decor in this film. The decor featured in A Single Man is undoubtedly a character in the film. The movie is set in the 1960s, and I'm a huge fan of that time in interior design when mid-century meets what we call retro and glam. The characters' rooms are very well suited to their personalities and gender, and not to mention gorgeously decorated."

-- Jaime Derringer

Up

Carl going up, up, up. Photo: Walt Disney Pictures/IMDb

Up
"What strikes me about Carl and Ellie's humble pad in Up is that it's perfectly suited and customized for their every whim. Framed photos from their childhood, personalized artwork from Ellie, and even a hand-painted mailbox are all spotlighted in colorful form. After all, interior design should be personal (and fun!), right?"

-- Erin Loechner

Coraline

Curious Coraline in her unusual house. Photo: Focus Features/IMDb

Coraline
"Coraline should be nominated for the impact it has on a child's emerging sense of interior design! When I saw Coraline with my kids, they were mesmerized watching how the old, creepy, drab Victorian house came alive with magical lit-up gardens, a warm and inviting kitchen, and colorful living areas. (If only it was so easy in real life!) The movie sparked their imaginations, and as a result, my 11-year-old daughter took what she saw in the film to create some magical lighting designs of her own in her bedroom."

-- Marilyn Zelinsky-Syarto

Coco Before Chanel

Plaster walls in a Coco Before Chanel interior. Photo: Haut et Court/IMDb

Coco Before Chanel
"While Fantastic Mr. Fox, Sherlock Holmes and The Young Victoria all deserve honorable mentions (and my boyfriend can't stop talking about the kitchen from It's Complicated), I have to vote for Coco Before Chanel. From the French tavern in the first scenes to the Coco's studio in the final scenes, the interior designs in this film are spot-on. Plus, that amazing French country house Coco lives in? To die for. No wonder Coco was inspired to greatness!"

--Laura Fenton

What about you: What film would you nominate for an Oscar in Interior Design? Send us a message via Twitter @ShelterPop, and we'll tally the results to choose a winner.

More from the Oscars

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Oscar Theory: Best Supporting Actor Goes To...the Creepy Guy

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Secret Source: Barn Light Electric

Our go-to source for vintage-style barn and industrial lighting.

The Source: Barn Light Electric

The Goods: Barn Light Electric is a Florida-based company that specializes in, you guessed it: Barn-style lighting. However, these fixtures aren't just for the farmyard, they're suitable for both commercial and residential uses and in exteriors and interiors of a wide variety of styles. The company touts their commitment to "commercial grade lighting at residential prices."

The Secret: Barn Light Electric's website has a huge selection of light fixtures available online, which makes finding just the right sconce or ceiling pendant much easier for the individual homeowner. Plus, almost every fixture from Barn Light Electric is American-made, which makes their prices even more impressive.

Things to Know: In keeping with the latest trend, Barn Light Electric recently launched a new collection of vintage-industrial-style fixtures, including the handsome Barn Light Benjamin Industrial Pendant ($98) and the minimalist Barn Light Indy Industrial Pendant ($85).

Above from top left clockwise:
"The Old Dixie" 11" to 17" Warehouse Shade, Barn Light Industrial Static Topless Sconce, Minimalist Polished Brass Cage Pendant and Warehouse Barn Light - The Ivanhoe.

Interested in other sources of quality vintage-style lighting fixtures? Check out this post about Schoolhouse Electric Co.

Decorating, Everything Under $100

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Favorite Find: Little Nest

Little Nest's Ball Chair

Photo: Little Nest

Miniature, modern furniture for kids from an Australian furniture company.

Always wanted your child's room to look like a mid-century masterpiece? Well, you're in luck: Little Nest, an Australian furniture company that manufacturers modern furniture designs for children, is now offering its wares in the United States.

The company makes child-sized reproductions of classic, modern furniture like Arne Jacobsen's iconic Egg Chair. These petite pieces are near facsimiles of the original designs, with exceptional attention to detail and multiple upholstery options. However, these perfect, pint-sized chairs and tables don't come cheap: Prices start at $89 for a replica of the 1952 Bertoia Child's Chair and go up to $899 for a Eames lounger look-alike. We suspect only die-hard modernists might be willing to take the plunge.

Above: A miniature version of Eero Aarnio's 1963 Ball Chair, $695, Little Nest.

Little Nest's Egg Chair

Photo: Little Nest

Above: A pint-sized Egg Chair by Arne Jacobsen circa 1958, $585, Little Nest. For more sources of contemporary and mid-century modern furniture, check out some of the best sites for modern children's furnishings:

- DucDuc
- Ikea
- Kid-O
- Modern Seed
- Muu
- Nurseryworks
- Oeuf
- The Netto Collection

You can also read on for more posts about modern children's furnishings:
- Jonathan Adler has launched a children's collection.
- Six modern bunk beds.

Decorating, Luxury Living

Read all Daily Drool posts

A House Fit for Fred Flintstone

Flintstones-like house in Portugal

Photo: Jsome1/Flickr

This Portuguese house bears a striking resemblance to a famous cartoon home.

"Flintstones. Meet the Flintstones. They're the modern Stone Age family. From the town of Bedrock, they're a page right out of history." We all remember the song and the hit TV show that chronicled the lives of Fred and Wilma Flintstone and their neighbors Barney and Betty Rubble.
Fred Flintstone and his house

Image: Hanna-Barbera

While the Flintstones' stone house was a cartoon fantasy, there's a real house in Portugal that bears a striking resemblance to Fred's house in the town of Bedrock. (The photo above depicts a real home in Portugal today.)

Located in northern Portugal, this unusual house, known as A Casa do Penedo (literally 'house of stone'), is said to have been built between boulders found on the site.

A real life Flintstone house

Photo: Jsome1/Flickr

According to Treehugger.com, the unusual structure was built in 1974 as a family's rural retreat. While Barney might have found Fred to be a nosy neighbor, that's nothing compared to overwhelming attention of real-life curiosity seekers and architecture enthusiasts – the homeowner of the stone house, Vitor Rodrigues, has been forced to move out of his house.

While you might be thinking, 'Who'd want to live in that stone hut in the first place?" a video of Vitor Rodrigues showing the interior of the house to the Portuguese media shows the house to be quite cozy on the inside. And Rodrigues himself? He looks proud and pleased to own A Casa do Penedo, but somewhat exasperated by all the attention.

Can't get enough of strange houses? Read on:

- A Real Life Hobbit House
- Treehouse hotels in the Northwest.

Green Design, Luxury Living, Famous Homes, Design, etc, House Tours, Architecture, Cool Homes

Read all Daily Drool posts

A California Dream House

A three-story beach house for a family in Manhattan Beach, CA.

Exterior of KAA Design homePhoto: Erhard Pfeiffer 2010/KAA Design Group



Most of us fantasize about a life of barefoot, beachside living; the KAA Design Group makes those dreams a reality for their clients through the homes they build.

The Los Angeles-based design firm is a 20-year old group of architects, interior designers and landscape architects, who specialize in that California-cool brand of indoor-outdoor living.

While us north easterners suffer through a cold, snowy winter, we can turn to the firm's first monograph, Lifestyles of Southern California: Personal Sanctuaries, for sunny inspiration. The handsome coffee table book features 11 residences that all sit in sunny CA, including this modern domicile at right.









Ready for some California real estate dreaming?
Check out the garden and interiors of this fresh space:


Front garden patio

The modern deck sits at the front of the house. Photo: Erhard Pfeiffer 2010/KAA Design Group

A perfect example of KAA's modern, So Cal style is this 4,500 square foot home in Manhattan Beach, where the outdoor spaces are treated like rooms of their own. The house sits a stone's throw from the beach on a small lot with sidewalks and neighboring houses encroaching from all sides (yes, those are public sidewalks surrounding the front patio above). Yet inside the house feels like an airy, private retreat.

Upstairs living areas

The house features both indoor and outdoor fireplaces -- heaven! Photo: Erhard Pfeiffer 2010/KAA Design Group

Gathering its inspiration from Indonesian design and the homeowners' many travels, both the architecture and the interiors feel like they could be in Bali or some other isle. Beamed ceilings and teak floors give an exotic edge to the design, while the furnishings and art pieces were collected over years of the homeowners' far flung voyages.

Upstairs hallway and patio

The vaulted ceiling had to have a very low pitch to meet area building code. Photo: Erhard Pfeiffer 2010/KAA Design Group

In this house's unusual design the public space is on the top floor of the house, while the private spaces (like bedrooms) are on the lower floor. This layout takes advantage of the upper floor's views of the beach -- who wouldn't love that?

A lower floor bedroom

Curtains provide privacy in lower-level bedrooms. Photo: Erhard Pfeiffer 2010/KAA Design Group

All images from Lifestyles of Southern California: Personal Sanctuaries, the KAA Design Group's first monograph.

For more Southern California homes, check out these posts:
- A colorful and family-friendly home.
- A $9.5 million dollar stunner.
- Si, Si: Spanish revival in Hollywood.

Gardens & Outdoor Living, Luxury Living, Design, etc, House Tours

Read all Daily Drool posts

Big Sur's Post Ranch Inn

The Post Ranch Inn

Photo: Dwell

A hotel overlooking the Pacific Ocean by architect Mickey Muennig.

About 150 miles south of San Francisco, in Big Sur, California, the landscape is remote and rugged, with towering oceanside cliffs and redwood trees. It takes a certain kind of architect to understand and work with such a unique landscape. Architect Mickey Muennig has lived in the area for almost forty years and over that time has designed many buildings for this wild stretch of land.

Among the most well-known of his works is the Post Ranch Inn, which sits on a natural cliff ridge, approximately 1,200 feet above the Pacific Ocean. Opened in 1992, the Post Ranch Inn is an exclusive hotel with 40 rooms (there were only 30 in Muennig's original design, ten rooms by architect Vladimir Frank were added in 2008). The Post Ranch Inn isn't your average hotel, it is a cluster of cabins and treehouse-like structures that sit along a wooded path.

In an article for Dwell magazine, writer Keshni Kashyap describes how Muennig set about creating the plans for this rustic, yet refined retreat, "After surveying the property for several weeks and climbing the trees to find the best views, Muennig designed a few defining structures: tree houses built on slender stilts sitting ten feet above the ground; earth-sheltered, hobbitlike rooms covered in sod, grass and wildflowers; and cylindrical cabins echoing the beauty of the majestic redwoods that dot the property."

Detail of treehouse at The Post Ranch Inn

Photo: Dwell

The resulting structures fit right in with the Big Sur landscape, where views of the sky, ocean and mountain command the eye.

However, the price for this architectural perfection breathtaking retreat is steep, with rooms starting at $550 per night. For those of us who can't swing the expense, there's a restaurant on site where outside guests can dine.

Love rustic, West Coast design? Take a gander at this post:
- Treehouse Hotels

Green Design, Luxury Living, Design, etc, Architecture

Read all Yes Please posts

Designs of the Weird: Prickly Pear Chair

Crazy, cactus-shaped chairs walk the line between art and interior design.

The Prickly Pear Chairs by artist/designer Valentina Gonzalez Wohlers are some of the craziest looking seats we've seen in a while. Wohlers describes these chairs-turned-art-objects as "born out of the creative experience of a Mexican designer in Europe." She says, "The chairs juxtapose Mexican and European aesthetic values, incorporating the formal design elements and quirks of both to create a cultural blend."

Each chair's form is based on the classic Louis XV chair (Europe) and the Nopal cactus (Mexico). The chairs have bright pink wooden frames and green fabric upholstery with cactus spine-like hairs growing from the tufts. While on the one hand, these pink and green chairs are rather silly, Wohlers hopes they will also encourage reflection and acceptance of differences.

The chairs were first shown at Milan Design Week last year -- we'd be curious to know if they found their way into a home or a museum. Want to read about other unusual chairs? Take a gander at these ShelterPop posts:

- A super-mod rocking chair
- A dining chair made from children's building blocks
- A bar stool that looks like a peacock

Luxury Living, Design, etc, News & Trends

Read all Daily Drool posts

Daily Drool: The Viceroy Snowmass Opens

The Viceroy's latest luxury hotel, designed by Kelly Wearstler and Jean Michel-Gathy.

As we reported earlier this year, the Viceroy Hotel and Resorts Group has once again tapped designer Kelly Wearstler to create the interiors for its latest locations. The Viceroy Anguilla opened last year, and now Viceroy Snowmass has opened its doors.

The Snowmass location is Viceroy's first mountainside resort. Based in Snowmass Village, Colorado, just minutes from chi-chi Aspen, the resort sits in a town known as Aspen's laid-back cousin -- however, the arrival of a luxury resort of this caliber may change that. Interiors at The VIceroy Snowmass were designed by Jean Michel-Gathy and Kelly Wearstler. (Michel-Gathy did the spa and room interiors, and Wearstler tackled the pool terrace and café and bar.)

The resort features a restaurant that will offer fine dining along with "picnic boxes" for the trail, a separate lobby bar, a spa with holistic services and even an outdoor pool that they claim will be open year-round. Can you say apres-ski?

According to Interior Design, the Snowmass outpost of The Viceroy is on track to become one of only two LEED-Silver certified hotels in Colorado, and one of only eight in the United States.

Interior Design reported on the details of green design, "All dirt removed from the construction site was saved and reused. Construction workers were transported to the site by bus, reducing fuel consumption and vehicle emissions. The Viceroy also provides reusable and washable water bottles, hand towels, and shampoo and conditioner bottles. A saline pool creates its own chlorine through the use of salt and electrical current. There's even a gratis on-site electric car charging system."

The eco-friendly design is just one more reason to love this chic Rocky Mountain escape!

Love looking at luxury hotels?
Check out Kelly Wearstler's drool-worthy design for Viceroy Anguilla.

Green Design, Luxury Living, Design, etc, Architecture, News & Trends

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