I don't make it a habit to feature restaurants on CasaSugar, but when the interior design of one blows me away, I feel compelled to share. Take the Dressler, a neighborhood restaurant in Brooklyn, NY. While the Dressler serves a restrained, palette-tempting menu, diners are often equally taken with the eatery's décor. Capable of seating 60 diners, the Dressler's main room is an absolute visual treat. A pretty barstool reveals itself, upon closer examination, to be adorned with fairytale characters; a Baroque chandelier is alive with roosting birds.
Owner Colin Devlin showed great foresight when overseeing the interior design of his restaurant, which was completed by Joseph Foglia Designs. And the real charm is in the details: furniture, lighting fixtures, and accents were all made by Brooklyn Navy Yard artisan sculptors.
For last night's Top Design, which is the first of a two-part finale, the remaining contestants face a daunting challenge. Instead of a single room, Eddie (who celebrated his birthday on this episode), Ondine, Nathan, and Preston are responsible for styling an entire house in two days. For the first half of this finale episode, each designer is given one room for improvement in each house. The designers also have $20,000 per room to work with; the twist is that only three of the four designers will be coming back for the second half of the finale to finish their homes.
Nathan and Eddie both chose to work in the master bedrooms, while Preston chose a dining room, and Ondine one of the tiny bedrooms as an office space. I loved the backstory we got about each contestant, as well as the photos of their homes, in this episode. (Though, did anyone else notice that we didn't get to see any photos of Eddie's home?)
To see who won this challenge and who's out, read more
If you're sitting pretty like Blair Waldorf, your designer stilettos are neatly stacked in your custom closet. But, if you're more like Yours Truly, your ballet flats are piled up like Legos and plastic trucks in a kid's toy box.Source
While Beehive Kitchenware Company does make measuring cups and lemon juicers, their range of fanciful metal accents ensures that you can use them in any room of your home. I have my eyes on Beehive's Paisley Hooks ($27) myself, though there are plenty of other pieces that have enchanted me. The company, which is located in Massachusetts, is owned and operated by Jim Dowd and Sandra Bonazoli. The metalworkers' collaborative work has been exhibited at the Museum of Arts & Design.
Jim and Sandra's work has been featured everywhere from Gourmet to Architectural Digest. They were first influenced to create their metal home accents after seeing how beautiful antique kitchen items were. With the goal of melding form with function, they started their line of products. Birds and bees are a repeating motif in the company's metalwork, as are delicate petaled flowers. You can order these products online, or find them at a local retailer.
To see images of the products, and to hear about the company's environmental commitment, read more
The owner of a Queen Anne home in Florida decided that a home office might be the best choice for her small business. Her 700-square-foot attic space, which was recently featured in This Old House, seemed like the perfect fit, but it would require a lot of renovations. Her husband volunteered his services to realize her vision.
Here's how it looked prior to renovation.
To see how this attic was transformed, read more
If your man is in need of a design-inspired costume this Halloween, tell him to look no further than to Jonathan Adler, an influential interior designer and the man behind the internationally recognized lifestyle and home furnishings brand. While Adler never ceases to impress me with his home furnishings and interior design portfolio, he's also got some serious personal style, worthy of emulation by any design-phile. So I thought I'd show you how to get the look of JA this holiday, without rearranging your living room. Stay tuned for a Halloween How-To on Adler's main squeeze and hubby, Simon Doonan!
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