CasaSugar

In the News: Something to Bank On

CasaSugar — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:30:27 -0700

New York magazine's "The 72-Room Bohemian Dream House" unveils what is perhaps "the greatest real-estate coup of all time": 190 Bowery Street. In 1966, thanks to much pressure from his real estate agent, photographer Jay Maisel scrounged up enough money, $102,000 to be exact, to purchase the abandoned 1898 Germania Bank building in Manhattan's Bowery district, which then was largely middle-class and German and by no means a "hot" neighborhood. 42 years, Meisel still lives there with his wife, Linda, and daughter, Amanda. The six-story building, which measures around 35,000 square feet, is now valued upward of $30 million. The first three floors are used as gallery spaces. Although Maisel hasn't let a broker set foot in the building, one agent said, "I would do anything to get that building." The building has undergone no major changes to its interior, and maintains many of its original features including the safe-deposit vault, an ornate copper elevator cage, a verdigris-coated copper roof trim, tin ceiling and wall tiles, and the bank's original kitchen, which was once used by staff who cooked for the bankers. Talk about a good investment! Check out the article for more details and a slideshow of the space.
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In the News: Cold Storage Living

CasaSugar — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:30:24 -0700

New York's "Warmer When Occupied" is a sneak peek into the TriBeCa home of architect Diana Kellogg and husband writer-director Neil Burger (Interview With the Assassin, The Illusionist). And, when I say "home," I mean a former cold storage warehouse. The couple had their eye on the place for years, "drawn to the mysterious qualities of the street and the house,” and finally jumped on it in 2001. Though a warehouse conversion is not uncommon these days, preserving its history is. In warehouse neighborhoods around the country, especially in New York, historic buildings are being transformed into distant semblances of themselves, looking more like a W Hotel than the remains of yesteryear. In this case, the couple opted to "preserve traces of how the building functioned,” rather than fighting it. They held onto to small details like "the drill holes for the hoist," as well as the open-floor plan of the space, setting kitchen appliances on the walls, rather than centered around an island. And not only did they preserve these features, they also made note of them; play swings for the children hang from hooks welded to the building’s steel support beams.
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Casa Link: The Strategest '68 Edition

CasaSugar — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 09:00:42 -0800

New York magazine travels back 40 years in time, celebrating some iconic designs of 1968, as well as giving you a salivating sneak peek into the Upper East Side apartment of a pair of art collectors, which showcases the best of the sixties art scene.
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This Just In: NY Mag's Shop-A-Matic Gift Guide

CasaSugar — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 16:03:55 -0800

Remember how New York magazine launched its window shopping service, Shop-A-Matic, in August? Well Shop-A-Matic is back with a gift guide that's organized by personality type and price, so you can shop for gifts for your High-Intensity Boyfriend or your Worldly Dad, and spend anywhere between under $25 and $900 and up from the comfort of your glaring computer screen. Of course, I find myself glued to the "Home-Obsessed Girlfriend" section, and emailing all the links to family with a very indiscreet HINT HINT subject title. If only I'd had the Ikea Kitchen Starter Box in my first apartment, I might not have ordered so much take-out. . . .

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New York Mag Honors Design Revolutionaries

CasaSugar — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 10:13:57 -0700

The cover story of this week's New York Magazine is Design Revolutionaries, a thoughtful conversation with nine of New York's greatest living designers and a list of 25 other design innovators. The story pays tribute to those who changed the way we look at mundane, everyday sights-from subway maps and perfume bottles to mechanical dry cleaning racks and sofa fabrics. Not only obvious choices like the woman/brand/homemaker legend Martha Stewart and homeware visionary Eva Zeisel were included but also historian saviors of cast-iron architecture and big oil logomeisters. It's nice to see these innovators given credit where credit is due, and I appreciate that NY Mag acknowledged that they left hundreds of design luminaries out, due to space limits. Click your way over to NY Mag to read the story, and don't forget to enjoy these images below.

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This Just In: New York Mag Launches Shop-A-Matic Window Shopping Service

CasaSugar — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 14:58:09 -0700

One of the best ways to find one-of-a-kind and super-stylish homewares is to browse the boutiques of New York. But most of us are at a geographic disadvantage, not to mention too busy to window-shop full time. That's the inspiration behind Shop-A-Matic, a new window-shopping "service" from New York Magazine.

Think of it as an online catalog where someone does the cool-hunting for you, but you have to hit the pavement to purchase most of the products (although some are available online). Here's some insight from the press release:

New York editors set out on foot across the city to select and photograph almost 1,000 home décor items and make them searchable at nymag.com by price, color, material, style, etc. The launch includes ten categories of home items, from beds to lamps to dining tables, and will expand to include fashion and accessories in September.

Each category - including lamps, sofas, bookshelves, and more - is well-organized by just about every factor you can imagine, and the snapshots are actually pretty fabulous. I'm especially excited about the rug section, which seems to have some really unique discoveries. Just browsing Shop-A-Matic will remind you what a great shopping city New York is. What do you guys think of this idea?

Nice and New: T Magazine's Design Issue Is Now Online

CasaSugar — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 08:30:23 -0700

T magazine's Design Fall 2008 issue is now online! Among other things, the issue takes a look at provocative new design trends, profiles British editor turned designer Ilse Crawford, tours the design scene in Philly, visits Mario Bellini's Milan palazzo, looks at some inventive coat trees and umbrella stands, and sneaks a peek at a monochromatic loft and an Upstate New York steel-framed guest house. The cover, shown here, which features a chest of drawers that slide in opposite directions, is an allusion to the different directions design is taking today.
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In the News: Meet Philippe Starck

CasaSugar — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:30:13 -0700

T magazine, an online publication covering women's and men's fashion, design, food, and travel put out by the New York Times, currently has a fun profile of Philippe Starck, featuring a video of the prolific designer as well as a collage with the tagline, "From underwear to mega-yachts, Philippe Starck knows no boundaries." The video itself is a collage of sorts, showcasing his designs, which do run the spectrum from toothbrushes to hotel interiors, as well as his quirky character. If you've yet to "meet" Starck, T's interactive format is fitting for the playful French designer. The collage is much like one you'd see in a print magazine, but scrolls north, south, east, and west with your mouse, revealing more of Starck's designs, photos of him, captions, and brief editorial portraits — "his design dna," "his eco mania," and "his colorful character." Enchanté Monsieur Starck!

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Happy 103rd Birthday Eva Zeisel!

CasaSugar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:39:30 -0800

World-renowned Hungarian industrial designer Eva Zeisel turns 103 today! Though she is best known for her work with ceramics, Eva, a featured Designer Spotlight here on Casa, has designed everything from acrylic candelabras to wooden and glass coffee tables, and is considered by many to be the matriarch of industrial design.

In fact, New York magazine named Zeisel in its list of nine living Design Revolutionaries back in '07. Better yet, her work is in the permanent collections of museums like the Met, the V&A, and the MoMA, and she received the National Design Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York in 2005. Honored with the award at 99 years old, she could have brought closure to her successful career, but she impressively continues to design new works of art today. And while the curves and sensuous shapes of her recent designs are certainly sought after, her earlier pieces remain relevant and stylish, a mark of a truly influential designer. Take a look at some of Eva's work below.

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Casa Interview, Part II: Domino Founding Editor Deborah Needleman (and an Awesome Giveaway!)

CasaSugar — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 09:00:39 -0700

Deborah Needleman, the founding editor of Domino, is a goldmine of savvy advice on decorating your home, honed from years of experience heading up the style-centric magazine as well as decorating her own home. You can read the first half of my interview with her here. Deborah's tips and thoughts on decorating continue in the second half of this interview.

Our homes are really personal spaces. Considering that most of us are shopping from the same few décor retailers and finding inspiration in the same shelter magazines and blogs, how should we go about personalizing our homes?
Every home definitely needs a few old things and a couple unique things. And when most of what we have is mass-produced, it's more important than ever to have some things made by actual human hands, whether it's pottery, rugs, pictures, whatever. It is essential to find a few things that no one else has, whether you find them in a shop, at a tag sale, bring them back from a trip, collect them from nature, or even make them - like just tacking up drawings or notes from friends. Stuff that is meaningful to us, what we love or collect or find is interesting to our guests. I also do think it's really nice to have one really good piece - whether that's a table, rug, chandelier, whatever. It gives your room some substance, some weight - and also ensures it doesn't look like anyone else's.

To read the rest of the interview, read more.

I love your home, which I saw featured in New York magazine a few years ago. I know that you’re a big fan of neutrals and white, or at least you were when that article was written. Are you still a neutrals gal?
Thanks. It's funny, in New York City which is so chaotic and where I get easily overwhelmed, I need to be a neutral gal. It totally calms me down, and keeps my head clear. But upstate, where I feel more relaxed, I love layering patterns and color - florals, suzanis, chintzes, Indian prints, etc. I'm covering my sofa there in purple linen, my study is painted black, and one room is the craziest color green I've ever seen.

I love how your home is elegant and adult-oriented, yet still kid-accessible. What is your advice on and personal experience with creating gorgeous spaces that are also kid-friendly?
I have never understood dumbing down design for kids. No one had kid-friendly homes when I was growing up - people just had the homes they had and their children lived in them! A family home is for adults and children - why on earth would anyone give over their living room to let it look like a play room?! I'll probably get hate mail for this, but aside from a gate so children don't tumble down the stairs, and maybe a lock on the cabinet if you have the kind of children that want to eat the Ajax or whatever, children can be taught that table edges are sharp and that food is to be eaten in the kitchen and that open markers can't be left on the rug!

Other than that, if you have a fairly light palette like I do, you have to accept that you won't have the cleanest house in the world. Fortunately I like a bit of a patina on things! I like that the floor is scuffed by skateboards in part because I love a house where children feel free to run wild, have loads of friends over, and make forts out of the sofa cushions, but also where they have a sense of responsibility and respect for things. Oh, and I have cheap rugs, so if they get destroyed, I won't be sad! And I certainly wouldn't choose a linen velvet sofa fabric if I had to do it again! Kids don't rule the roost, they share it.

Your HomeGoods StyleScope tool helps home decorators find their style. How would you describe your own style?
I think I'm fairly conventional at core - I couldn't have furniture at funny angles or a bed floating in a room or anything too wacky or "fun." I dig symmetry. I like things that are classic in shape and form - not overly embellished, but I appreciate many kinds of design. I think I take this fairly classic base and mess it up a bit. I'm certainly not traditional. I like to layer on personality and quirk with ethnic textiles, cushions, interesting objects, fabrics, and art. I love stuff from India, Morocco, England. Thus, Bohemian Classic.

And to revive a favorite Domino feature of mine, what are 10 things that make you happy?
Hilarious question! Well, first of all, we never let people say their children or their dogs!!! Too boring and obvious.

Nearly all Santa Maria Novella products (if I could only choose one thing, it'd be their potpourri. But I'm crazy about the milk body cream, the honeysuckle perfume, and the pomegranate soap and bath salts). I am obsessed with scent - on my body and in my home!
My veg garden. (Really, seeing my children eat their way through our veg garden, but at Domino I would've edited that out as too sentimental!)
Making flower arrangements for the house.
My white parsons table (I have two) - and a brilliant new parsons side table in the pitch-perfect green color.
Comfy chairs in kitchens and bathrooms.
Cheap weekly blowouts from walk-in, no-appointment places.
Summer dinner outside with friends.
Staying in a lovely hotel room (never a trendy hotel, I like old-school, old-fashioned hotels). I love that nothing belongs to me and the beds are perfectly made. The Duc du St. Simon in Paris is pretty excellent.
Bobbi Brown makeup. Makes you look sun-kissed, not dolled up.
I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't say this, but having a decorator!! Specifically having the genius Rita Konig as a decorator!

Thank you, Deborah! We have a special giveaway for you CasaSugar readers on the way. One of you lucky readers will win a $500 gift card to HomeGoods! Check back for more details about the giveaway later on today!