CasaSugar

Your Home Never Looked So Good!

Sponsor — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:45:14 -0700

If you’re spending more time at home to save money, why not make it more cozy, modern, and comfortable with a few new items that won’t break the bank? As a Bank of America customer, learn how you can earn up to 20 percent cash back at over 300 online retailers by shopping through the bank’s new Add It Up™ website. Simply sign in with your online banking ID at bankofamerica.com/additup, click through to the desired store, and use your Bank of America debit or credit card to start earning cash back when buying that new lamp at Vivre.com. Or enroll in Bank of America’s Keep the Change program and every purchase you make with your Bank of America debit card will be rounded up to the next dollar amount, and the difference is then transferred from your checking to your savings account. Learn even more about Bank of America’s match details when you enroll. Your home never looked so good!
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Keep the Change - You’ve Earned It!

Sponsor — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 05:45:08 -0700

There’s just something more satisfying about buying that morning coffee from the cute barista at your coffee shop than brewing your own cup o’ joe - even if it has the potential to save you money, right? Guilt-free solution: Bank of America’s Keep the Change savings program - where every debit card purchase is rounded up to the nearest dollar and the difference is transferred from your checking to your savings account. So, when you buy that $2.50 coffee, the program rounds it up to $3 and automatically transfers $0.50 from your checking to your savings account. And if you’re new to Keep the Change, Bank of America will even match your round-ups for the first three months, up to $250! Learn even more about Bank of America’s match details when you enroll. So go ahead, enjoy that caramel mocha latte.
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Browse, Shop, and Earn Cash Back!

Sponsor — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:45:13 -0700

You’ve spent hours online shopping for Summer sandals, and now you’re eyeing some espadrilles and can’t resist the urge to make them yours! Well, now you have even more reason to browse and shop online. As a Bank of America customer, learn how you can earn up to 20 percent cash back at over 300 online retailers through the bank’s new Add It Up™ online shopping website. You sign in with your online banking ID at bankofamerica.com/additup, click through to the desired store, and then use your Bank of America debit or credit card to start earning cash back. Learn even more about Bank of America’s match details when you enroll. Face it, a girl can never have too many shoes . . . and you know Carrie Bradshaw would do it.
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Vern Yip's Transformation in the Tenderloin

CasaSugar — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:00:31 -0800

Vern Yip and Bank of America recently teamed up to transform a worn community center at an affordable housing complex into something much more vibrant. You can see the before shot here. To see how the space was transformed, check out the slideshow.

View Slideshow ›

Before and After: Tenderloin Family Apartments, Transformed

CasaSugar — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:00:19 -0800

Remember when I told you about how Vern Yip was teaming up with Bank of America to transform two Bay Area nonprofits? Well, this morning, I was fortunate enough to attend the unveiling for the Tenderloin Family Apartments. Managed by the Chinatown Community Development Center, it's a safe, high-quality affordable housing property in the heart of the Tenderloin district, one of San Francisco’s lower income neighborhoods challenged by issues such as homelessness, safety, and drug use.

Renovations of the community room were just completed, with the reveal and ribbon-cutting ceremony taking place this morning.

Here's how it looked before Vern worked his magic:

To get a sneak peek of the transformation, read more.

Here's how the room looked for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. There's so much about this room I adore, from the George Nelson Bubble Lamps to the renovated kitchen space and updated flooring. Check back on Monday for more photos of this great space!

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Casa Interview: Vern Yip

CasaSugar — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 08:30:47 -0700

Designer Vern Yip is a household name for many Casa readers, thanks to his judging on Design Star as well as his hosting and creativity on his tear-inducing show Deserving Design. Vern is currently contributing his design expertise to two very worthy community organizations, the Tenderloin Family Apartments, which are home to 4,000 low-income San Francisco families, and the West Oakland Boys and Girls Club, which has been serving youth in this neighborhood for over sixty years. I was thrilled to talk to Vern about his design renovations for these two community spaces.

CasaSugar: I’ve been out to both the Tenderloin Family Apartments and the West Oakland Boys and Girls Club, and they’re very excited about their renovations.

Vern Yip: This is such a wonderful and amazing opportunity for me. The renovations are being funded by Bank of America. This is part of their celebration of renovating their 118 Bay Area banking centers, so as part of the celebration they’re renovating two spaces for two Bay Area non-profits. Having been there, I’m sure you can tell that these are two organizations that are really deserving and could really benefit from a facelift.

To read more of the interview, read more.

CasaSugar: What's happening with the Boys and Girls Club?

Vern Yip: The Boys and Girls Club is providing such a huge service and a lot of these boys and girls would not have a space to go to otherwise. We’re giving them an activity room facelift so they can have a beautiful, and functioning place to hang out. That’s a really great thing. I’ve been talking to some of the people involved with the boys and girls club and gauging what they need . . . Initially I was looking at the floor in pictures and thought it was nice, but apparently it’s really worn, so we’re doing a top to bottom renovation including new flooring, new lights, and of course great new paint colors and a new space plan so this space can work much better with a new layout. We’re also going to do some really functional things like a new check-in desk and a new media corner. We’re going to use really durable materials so this facelift will hopefully last a good long time.

CasaSugar: I was reading up a little bit about your plans for the Tenderloin Apartments. What are you excited about with this project?

Vern Yip: You know, the really great thing about this space is that it’s used by the entire community. Everything happens in that space, from weddings to birthday parties to meetings and movie nights. So you want that space to really pull people together and feel celebratory. Right now it doesn’t feel celebratory. It’s a little dour and office-like, so I was talking to some of the Tenderloin Family Apartments staff trying to gauge who lives there and what are there needs. And it’s really a wide array of people, a mix of Russian, Asian American, Chinese, African-American, and Hispanic people.

I was doing some research to determine what were some key colors that represented all of those communities, and oranges and reds are two colors that are represented in all of those groups. So we’re putting in a new floor that’s going to be beautiful and patterned, but it will be made of VCT [vinyl composition tile], so it will be really durable. We’re going to do a custom mural on the wall that’s a tree with a large canopy done in a white silhouette on top of these wonderful warm orange walls, so it’s really going to stand out. A tree to me is really symbolic of bringing community together, it’s that life force. Another issue was, just like the boys and girls club, the residents didn’t feel safe hanging outside, so I thought, if we can’t bring them to the trees we’ll bring the trees to them. And then we’re hanging these incredible George Nelson lamps in a series, in two shapes, in a saucer shape and a cigar shape. We just want to make a space that the residents can be in and enjoy. That’s the goal and the purpose. I’m really excited that Bank of America made all of this possible because certainly these two non profits definitely deserve it.

CasaSugar: Definitely. And of course without outside funding they could’ve never done such an extensive renovation. Is this renovation going to be on Deserving Design?

Vern Yip: No! I wish it was. I wish we could fly our whole crew out and shoot this. I do hope it will be an inspiration to the show and network to tackle community-oriented spaces. We’ve been focused on individual spaces, and we’re just starting to branch out to community spaces. As you can imagine, it’s pretty cost-prohibitive to renovate such a large space. It really takes someone like Bank of America stepping up to the plate and saying, “We’ll do it as part of our renovation celebration.”

I’m very excited about this. My whole show and my heart and soul is all about giving back to the community through design, and the power of design to affect people’s lives. This is such an amazing opportunity to affect so many people’s lives in just two spaces.

CasaSugar: It’s going to make a huge impact. Thanks in advance for flying out and making such a wonderful contribution on the Bay Area community.

Vern Yip: I’m thrilled for the opportunity and thrilled that Bank of America brought me on board to do it. It’s a wonderful opportunity to change people’s lives.

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Home Away from Home: Jacques Grange's The Mark Hotel

CasaSugar — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 13:00:04 -0800

Last winter, my mom got some amazing deals on botanical prints and chinoiserie-style furniture when one of New York's luxury hotels, The Mark, was selling its furnishings to go hybrid—in other words, to convert a third of their building into co-ops and become somewhat of a boutique hotel. Fast forward nine months and Jacques Grange, France's most famous interior designer, has given birth to a new Mark, transforming what was once an elegant, traditional, and antique-filled space into a buoyantly modern mix of 20th century furnishings and contemporary furniture designed by Grange himself. I was a bit anxious about how the Mark would metamorphose, but I think the results are everything that the Upper East Side needs today: a dose of humor, a dash of trend, and a dollop of Paris.

To see images of the transformation, read more
According to the New York Times, Grange said

"That’s the influence of New York - the modernity, the creation. I’m more protective in Paris, more traditional, but I’m more open to being modern in America.”

That surprises me. As old world and conservative as France may seem at times, I see Paris as one of the more cutting-edge cities in terms of design. Modern design furnishings are everywhere there, in major department stores citywide and living rooms on both banks. In the US, contemporary flair is just starting to move beyond specialty stores and haute hotels. In any case, Grange's eye for interiors is always welcome here, and I hope to see more from him stateside.

View 10 Photos ›

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Casa Shops: EQ3

CasaSugar — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 06:00:44 -0700

I've always thought of Canadian furniture store EQ3 as a sort of Ikea for grown-ups. So I started doing some research on the company after seeing a post on Decor8 the other day, and wouldn't you know, that's pretty much what the founders had in mind.

EQ3 was founded by Peter Tielmann, who moved from Europe to North America in 1999 and was shocked by the lack of cool furniture options for young consumers. You can definitely see the European design influence in EQ3's delightfully affordable furniture, rugs, and other home wares. For more on EQ3 and my product picks, read more

The furniture and other products are un-boring but basic enough to fit into all types of decor; there's a great selection of lovely modern couches that won't break the bank, despite very hip silhouettes and customizable fabric options. The goods are available at EQ3 showrooms in Canada and the U.S. (check out the store locator to find one near you) and also online. To see some of my favorite pieces, click on the photos below.