CasaSugar

New and Noteworthy: Poppytalk Handmade Online Virtual Street Market

CasaSugar — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 09:30:00 -0700

Poppytalk goes live today with Poppytalk Handmade, the first online virtual street market, curated by Poppytalk. The market will last one month, and will showcase handmade and vintage goods from 75 international emerging designers and artists. This month's designers come from everywhere from Paris to Israel, South Africa, the US, Canada, England, and beyond. The market will offer details and enlarged views of the products, and will also direct customers to the vendor's online shop (be it etsy, mintd, dawanda, or other) with just the click of a "buy" button. I can feel my wallet getting lighter already!

Coming Soon: Anji Mountain Bamboo Shag Area Rugs

CasaSugar — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 07:37:44 -0700

I can't get enough of shag rugs lately: I adore the look, and I love the feel of them under my toes. So I'm really excited about this area rug made from a blend of 80 percent sustainable bamboo and 20 percent cotton.

With a texture similar to silk or cashmere, the Anji Mountain Bamboo Shag Area Rugs (via Behind the Curtains) sound absolutely luxurious, and the durable and anti-bacterial material is also luxuriously practical. The rugs will be available in two sizes - 5 x 8 and 7 x 10 - and five rich colors; I particularly love the sage shade and the pewter (pictured).

Coming Soon: Danny Seo Do Just One Thing Calendar

CasaSugar — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 08:30:15 -0700

It's not even September yet, but I've already found my desk calendar for next year. I just adore the idea of this Danny Seo Do Just One Thing Calendar ($9.59). The tear-off calendar, coming out Sept. 1, will offer one eco-tip per day to help you live a greener life, and many of the pointers will be so quick and easy, you can implement them immediately.

For those of you who don't know, Danny Seo is sort of like the (male) green lifestyle equivalent of Martha Stewart. He's got a ton of books, a column in Country Home magazine, and a blog, so there will be no shortage of fodder for the calendar. Just be sure to recycle the pages when you're done.

via Apartment Therapy SF

Coming Soon: Dwellbaby and Dwellkids Fall Collections

CasaSugar — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:20:20 -0700

Thanks to Apartment Therapy: The Nursery for tipping me off to the new kiddie duds from modern textile maker Dwell. Due out in November, the new offerings for nurseries and kids' rooms include three patterns: a transportation motif, a sophisticated floral (above), and a nod to Noah's ark (below). All of them convey a cute child-like charm without being too cutesy. To top it off, the textiles are printed on organic cotton with low-impact dyes. What do you think of this look?

Coming Soon: Amenity Home's Nursery Line

CasaSugar — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 08:30:15 -0700

These woodland creature designs are so adorable and serene, I kinda want them for my own bedroom. But they're actually part of the new nursery line created by Los Angeles-based design shop Amenity Home.

Though the products don't go on sale until October, you can already pre-order as well as admire them. Made from organic cotton and other sustainable fibers, the nursery line includes blankets, pillows, wall art, and other baby-room accessories. Everything is rendered in charmingly muted earth tones, which are a nice change from the usual pastels. What do you think?

via Design Milk

We Have a Winner For the Home Goods Giveaway!

CasaSugar — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 05:30:05 -0700

Drum roll, please! The winner of the Home Goods giveaway is LaBelleDame! Congrats! LaBelleDame will soon be the proud owner of a whopping $500 gift card to Home Goods, and all the fabulous decorating finds it can afford her. Coming from a staunch Home Goods fan (and shopper), I know she'll score plenty of stylish items to dress up her pad. As for the rest of you, stay tuned for more giveaways in the future.

Coming Soon: CasaSugar's Holiday Gift Guide

CasaSugar — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 14:00:59 -0800

Next week kicks off my 2007 Holiday Gift Guides, which will run until Christmas and showcase detailed home gift guides for all of the home-oriented folks in your life. I'll feature gifts for a variety of decorating tastes and budgets, so stay tuned!

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Ask Casa: An Energy-Efficient Washer and Dryer?

CasaSugar — Tue, 19 May 2009 10:00:09 -0700

Hi CasaSugar,

I'm going to have my first baby in August, and my mom wants to gift me a washer and a dryer to help me with all of the added laundry. I'm really grateful, but I'm not sure where to start looking. I know that I want something that's Energy Star rated, can be separated or stackable, and has a good warranty. Since my house is pretty small, I'd also like to have something that's not that big. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Jen

To see my advice for Jen, read more.

Hi Jen,

Congratulations on the new baby, and the generous soon-to-be grandmommy! A new washer and dryer should definitely help to make your life a little easier once your baby arrives, and I'm glad to see that you're interested in getting an energy-efficient set.

You'll definitely want to get a front-load washer. Why? Since front-load washers don't use an agitator (the post in the middle of top-loading machines) you can get more laundry in there - an average of 30 percent more. They also have a high-speed, high-efficiency extractor, which means your clothes come out of the washer dryer than they would from a top-loading machine. They're gentler on clothes, quieter, and are often stackable. In addition, they're much more energy- and water-efficient, using half as much water as top loaders. And while I recommend using cold water cycles whenever possible, if you have to use hot water, front-loading machines use almost 70 percent less electricity to heat the water.

So, what machine do I recommend for you? I'm going to go with the Maytag Neptune MAH2400 ($750).It's pretty darn small, at just about two feet wide and deep and 34 inches high, but boasts a large, 2.4 cubic feet capacity (the equivalent of 16 bath towels). It's part of Maytag's QuietSeries 300, which means it won't wake up Baby while you're tossing in laundry during naptime. It also comes with a warranty, can be stacked, and has a high-efficiency wash system. And yes, it's Energy Star qualified.

Why a Maytag? Well, if your mom buys this machine by the end of the month, she can save big bucks. Maytag appliances are eligible for an up to $600 rebate through the Energy Star program.

You can, of course, pair this washer with the Maytag Neptune Electric Dryer ($700), but since dryer technology hasn't improved nearly as much as washer technology, it's not as much of an urgent issue. Since these two machines are matched, they will stack easily. However, whenever you can, be as eco-efficient as possible and dry your clothes on a clothesline.

If you're not interested in the Maytag, I've also included some stackable machines in the widget below. Good luck with your new baby and your new washer and dryer!

Congratulations,
Casa

Amana 3.5 Cu. Ft. Super Capacity Front Load Washer - $598.00	GE Profile 4.2 IEC Cu. Ft. Colossal Capacity Front Load Washer - $999.00
Maytag Neptune® 2.4 Cu. Ft. Large Capacity Compact Front Load Washer - $749.00	Speed 27" Stacked Electric Washer/Dryer with 3.3 cu. ft. Washer, 7.0 cu. ft. Dryer, 8 Wash Cycles, 3 Dry Cycles, 500/650/1000 RPM Spin Speed and Centrally Located Controls - $2,199.00
Bosch 27" Front Load Washer with 3.81 cu. ft. Capacity, 11 Wash Cycles, Energy Consumption of 146 kWh/year and Spin Speed of 800 RPMs - $639.00	Whirlpool 27" Front-Load Washer with 3.7 cu. ft. Capacity, 10 Wash Cycles, 4 Temperature Options, Built-in Heater, 1,100 RPM Spin Speed and CEE III Energy Star Rating - $769.00
Speed 27" Stacked Gas Washer/Dryer with 8 Wash Cycles, 3 Dry Cycles, Automatic Dry Cycles, Extra Rinse, Quiet Efficient Blower & ENERGY STAR Qualified Washer - $2,299.00	Speed 27" Front Load Washer with 8 Cycles, ADA Compliant, ENERGY STAR Qualified & Rear Control - $1,599.00

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Casa Interview: Interior Designer Leslie Bamburg

CasaSugar — Mon, 11 May 2009 09:00:30 -0700

Two years ago, Leslie Bamburg formed her company Labexperiment, an interior design business that offers an affordable professional decorator option to the design fiend who lacks mad cash. Labexperiment works on the premise that beautiful design can be affordable, individualized, and integrated to meet the resident's needs. Leslie notes that she doesn't believe that there should be separation between people's fashion, media, tech needs, music, and interiors. With this philosophy in mind, she makes diagnoses of clients' homes, notes what they need to add, subtract, or rearrange, and then prescribes the elements needed to improve a room or home.

I recently sat down to chat with Leslie about her business, design sensibility, and advice for readers.

CasaSugar: Tell me about your initial home visit with a new client. What are you looking for? And what kinds of things do you want to know about them?

Leslie Bamburg: Besides taking all the necessary photos and measurements, I just try to get to know the client, to figure out their style and functional needs for the house. Some things are obvious - if they have little kids and a dog I will want to make sure things are easy to clean. But some things come out only after a good conversation. Inability to keep plants alive (like me), or a childhood trauma involving the color fuchsia, for example. I always bring an inspiration book of magazine cut-outs, so we can look at pictures instead of using vague words like “modern” to figure out what they like.

For the rest of the interview, read more.

CasaSugar: How do you determine where furniture and décor will be purchased from? Does it depend on budget? Do you ever use antique/flea market finds along with retail shops?

Leslie Bamburg: The best thing about a prescription is that with every shopping list item, I explain why I chose it. So if the client wants to look for something similar at another store, or even an antique or flea market, they know what they are looking for and what is important about it. My selections definitely depend on budget, as well as style, timeline, and location of the client. Though I have an ever-expanding list of stores and websites I look at, I like to make sure I personally know the quality of all the major pieces I am recommending. I’m not going to recommend that someone buy a sofa, for example, that they can’t test out beforehand. Comfort is such a personal thing.

CasaSugar: What are your go-to stores for purchasing furniture and décor for clients?

Leslie Bamburg: I do shop at all the major retailers, like CB2, Pottery Barn, and Williams-Sonoma Home, but I don’t want a finished room to look like a page from a store catalog, so I try to mix things in from different sources, as well as the client’s existing furniture and personal items. I like rooms to look like they came together over time, even if everything was purchased on the same day. I also try to take advantage of stores where I get a designer discount, since who doesn’t like to save money?

CasaSugar: How has your fine arts background informed your interior design work?

Leslie Bamburg: I learned a lot about composition, proportion, and color, which I use every day, but I think the most important thing is the ability to edit, and stop when something is done. Also, my focus was on mixed-media art, which meant that I was rarely shopping in the art supply store, but looking for my supplies everywhere - the hardware store, grocery store, thrift stores, and electronics supply stores. This really taught me to think creatively about where good things can come from.

CasaSugar: Do you recommend art for clients as well? If so, how do you go about this?

Leslie Bamburg: Yes, though everyone has a different preference for the type, quality, and price of artwork they want on their walls. I’ve recommended everything from Ikea frames on old family photos to expensive paintings, to DIY artwork like stretching cool fabric on a canvas. From my first meeting with a client I usually have an idea of what they are up for.

CasaSugar: What are some of the most common mistakes or decorating sins you’ve seen with clients?

Leslie Bamburg: When people don’t like to shop, I often see them getting a set of furniture from a store, so they can get it over with quickly. Putting together a well-designed room takes time and effort, so I can see why people sometimes take the easy way out. I also see people who like to shop and have a great sense of their own style, but their rooms are a mishmash of unrelated items, because they don’t have an overall vision and goal for the room.

Thanks Leslie! Check back soon for the rest of the interview. If you want to see what an online prescription looks like, check out the gallery.

View 7 Photos ›

Source and Source

How-To: Remove Red Wine Stains

CasaSugar — Thu, 07 May 2009 08:00:28 -0700

Sometimes you can get away with treating stains at a later date, but when it comes to red wine stains, it's best to treat the spill immediately. If you find yourself with a ring of shiraz on your favorite white tablecloth, or a drip of pinot noir on a beautiful blouse, take these steps as soon as possible. I'll tell you how to banish stubborn red wine stains when you read more.

First, make sure to blot (not rub or scrub) the stain with paper towels. However, if the fabric is "dry clean only," skip this step and get it to the cleaners posthaste.
Position a dry washcloth between the layers of the fabric (such as the front and back of a blouse) to prevent staining on the back of the material.
Mix one teaspoon of laundry soap or dish soap and one cup hydrogen peroxide in a small bowl. Dip a sponge in the bowl, and gently blot the stain.
Review and follow any special washing directions for the type of fabric.
If the fabric is machine washable, wash in cool water and air dry.
If not, wash by hand with a mild detergent.

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