CasaSugar

Guess Who Designed This Bedding?

CasaSugar — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:43:08 -0800

This hip Hollywood Duvet Set was designed by a famous male interior designer. Can you guess who it is?

Best of 2007: Male Interior Designer

CasaSugar — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 13:00:51 -0800

As part of our Best of 2007 polls, you named Todd Oldham as your favorite male interior designer. I couldn't agree more. I love Todd's playful sense of interior design as well as his great book Handmade Modern. I'd let him redesign my digs any day of the week!

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Your Favorite Male Interior Designer of 2008

CasaSugar — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 09:00:09 -0800

As part of our Best of 2008 polls, you named Vern Yip your favorite male interior designer this year. Thom Filicia came in as a close second in the polls, but Yip takes the cake in my mind for his work renovating two very worthy community organizations for low-income families in San Francisco. I'm impressed with his attention to detail and covet the sense of warmth he brings to his clean-lined interiors. And, of course, I also enjoy his charismatic presence on HGTV's Design Star and Deserving Design.
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Who's Your Favorite Male Interior Designer?

CasaSugar — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 04:14:25 -0800

Although few of us actually hire interior designers, their impact on all of our homes is undeniable. Their design style and choices permeate the shelter magazines we read and the home stores we shop at, so subtly that we don't even realize it. For our Best of 2007 polls, let us know which male interior designer has made a difference in your home.

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Who's Your Favorite Male Interior Designer of 2008?

CasaSugar — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 08:30:42 -0800

This year, we checked out the work of some fabulous interior designers. Who do you rank as your personal favorite of the male persuasion?

Casa Interview: Interior Designer Leslie Bamburg (Part 2)

CasaSugar — Wed, 13 May 2009 05:30:00 -0700

On Monday I brought you the first half of my interview with Labexperiment founder Leslie Bamburg. 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 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. Check out the rest of Leslie's interview below.

CasaSugar: What are some of the ways you’ve integrated technology into your prescriptions? I see you’re not a fan of hiding televisions, etc. How do you make them part of the big, cohesive picture?

Leslie Bamburg: Technology can be really beautiful, or really out-of-place, just like anything else you’d buy for your home. I spend as much time thinking about what technology looks like as I do any other piece of furniture or accessory. Just like you’d want a high-quality, well-proportioned and beautiful oven or refrigerator in your kitchen, the TV in the living room or the computer on the desk doesn’t deserve any less consideration. I am a huge geek, so I know that technology is a big part of our modern, futuristic lives.

Want more advice? Then read more.

CasaSugar: What’s the biggest dude decorating faux pas?

Leslie Bamburg: Stereotypically, I think guys tend to not use enough softness in a room. There is a welcoming, comfortable quality in a room that has pillows on the sofa, a throw over the arm of a chair, a cushy rug and soft drapery. They tend to think more functionally, and are the primary target market for large, black leather sofas.

CasaSugar: What’s the biggest lady decorating faux pas?

Leslie Bamburg: Conversely, some women use too much softness. I like a balance of soft and hard lines, and I do think there is a place for black leather, if not used in huge quantities. I think a room should reflect the client’s personality, but still be welcoming to guests - male, female and everyone in between.

CasaSugar: What have been some of the reactions from your clients that have surprised or delighted you?

Leslie Bamburg: Every time a client tells me they are happy with their design, it makes my day. And even though it happens often, I’m still always surprised when a client who claimed to not be interested in design gets inspired after we work on their home. The next time I see them they might have bought lime green patterned pillows for their sofa, for example, which totally work. You know who you are.

CasaSugar: How do you recommend a reader do a home prescription of her own? How can she look objectively at a room and see what’s missing/wrong?

Leslie Bamburg: You can never be objective about your own home. So get a prescription from Labexperiment. Seriously, though, it’s really hard to get distance from your own stuff, so the best thing is to bring in a friend you trust who will give you an honest opinion. You can also start tearing out magazine photos of rooms you like, then lay them all out and think about what is different between your space and those, and see if you can implement changes to make it feel more like the rooms you like. I don’t mean just copying the photos, but if a room you like has a focal element like a wallpapered wall, think about your space to see if you can make a similar statement in the same scale, like hanging fabric panels on the wall, or just painting it with stripes.

Check out some of Leslie's work in the gallery, and then head over to her site to start your prescription.

View 10 Photos ›

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Have You Taken All of My Best of 2008 Polls?

CasaSugar — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 08:30:49 -0800

For the past couple of weeks, I've been soliciting your opinions with my Best of 2008 polls, trying to figure out this year's superlatives of the interior design world, from your perspective. To achieve the most truthful results, you've all got to answer! So if you haven't responded to my polls yet, why don't you humor me and get at 'em?

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Open House: How Do You Define Masculine Style?

CasaSugar — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:15:41 -0700

Not all dudes decorate with high school sports trophies and rock posters. In fact, there are some absolutely design-savvy guys in my circle of friends.

How do you define masculine interior design? Does it involve darker colors? Earth tones? Leather? Are antlers involved? Furthermore, have you been influenced or impressed by any of your male friends' design savvy? Tell me by commenting below!
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Celebrate International Women's Day With CasaSugar

CasaSugar — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 05:00:59 -0800

Today is International Women's Day. Annually on this day, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate their achievements. Definitely look in your local paper to see if there are any events in your community celebrating this day, and for now, take a look at some of my favorite posts celebrating creative women here on CasaSugar.

Designer Natalie Chanin creates beautiful and innovative repurposed designs for your home.
Architect Zaha Hadid was the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize in its 26-year history.
Artist Yvette Molina paints dreamy flora on aluminum.
Photographer Tria Giovan has established a successful career shooting for a number of coveted shelter magazines.
Designer Sheila Bridges makes inspiring interiors for livable and lovely homes.
Architect Julia Morgan was the first woman allowed in Paris's Ecole des Beaux-Arts.
Artist Cal Lane brings an unexpected feminine twist to traditionally male-dominated objects.
Designer Eva Zeisel has not only lived an incredible and dramatic life, she's also making beautiful designs well into her 90s.

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How Much Do You Know About Todd Oldham?

CasaSugar — Wed, 21 May 2008 06:15:11 -0700

Todd Oldham. You've seen him all over the map for 20 years now, and you love him on Top Design . . . so much so that you named him your favorite male interior designer of 2007. But how much do you really know about the man? Take this quiz to find out!
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Take the quiz