Style on tap

For those of us living in the Northeastern states, Spring has finally sprung! As has landscaping season.

As I watched my husband and neighbors slave away under the hot sun I couldn't help but envision a great, modern beverage refrigeration  system in our garage. Apparently so did Kalamazoo Grill and Perlick...

With one, two, or three taps to accommodate multiple lagers, digital temp control and display, and Energy Star qualified, I believe the 48-inch beer dispensing and refrigeration unit is every man's dream!

View Perlick's complete line.

--aj

Tags: beer dispenser, outdoor refrigeration, modern grill, outdoor kitchen

Hardwood Floors for Patios!

Hardwood floors for outside, Vifah snapping deck tiles are easy to install, wear just like they would indoors, look great and are pretty affordable. Shown is the Contemporary Six Strip Style, but check these out in Bamboo, Plank and Classic styles too.

Get more ideas for the latest in modern living outside here.

Modern Outdoor Living

I'm scrambling to get my yard ready so I can enjoy every gorgeous minute of summer possible, and beyond the usual raking, I'm dreaming of transforming my tired patio into an outdoor living and dining area.

To help define the spaces I'm going for the DWR tall planters. Filling them with tall plants and low greenery, I should get a look that stays bright and floral all summer. And for parties, I'll add "flare" with some modern copper tiki torches.

Items I wont be getting but wish I were include the new J-400 series from Jacuzzi. It's the venerable hot tub company's designer line, and models come complete with iPod docking stations.

See the rest of the best picks for creating the ultimate in Modern Outdoor Rooms in Rooms to Grow.

Faux River Stone Fire Pit

Wow, is it ever going to be Spring? Better fire up the river stone fire pit to take the chill out of the air. Spotted this interesting faux stone fire pit over at  Plow & Hearth and then saw it at Amazon & Bizrate. So some deals off the $799 retail price might be had.

The faux slate top sits on an aluminum frame encased in a fiberglass faux stone body for a maintenance free fire pit experience. Propane produces flames around the Ceramic logs. The propane tank sits in the pull-out drawer.

I'd love to know how faux or real this really looks, though. I'm worried it may look cheesy. Anyone seen it in person? Let us know.

--diane

Technorati Tags: Fire Pit , Outdoor & Patio, River Stone Fire Pit, Modern Design

Four!

I love the new line of dressers and credenzas from notNeutral -- especially because the pieces were inspired by my favorite computer game of all time - Tetris!

Comprising of storage units based on the Greek numeric prefix Tetra (meaning 4), and Tetris (which use 4 segments to build interlocking structures), the line comes in four shapes and sizes and features one drawer in an accenting color.

View the complete line at Design Public.

--aj

Tags: modern dressers, contemporary credenza, modern furniture

Fire Tables

You can skip the centerpiece on this modern cocktail table. The Epsilon, a signature piece of British design firm Fuego, features a billowing flame from a stone table top. When I first saw the table, I mistakenly thought it was for outdoor. But designer Joseph Bernard wanted to harness the drama of a fire pit for a modern living room setting. The lattice base is available in dark walnut, medium oak or light ash. An all stone table is available for outdoor use.

The table top is handmade from reconstituted limestone and flex of dark granite. The top can be finished smooth or slightly textured -- which the company says enhances the granite's presence. The fire feeds off of an alcohol-based gel  and oxygen -- so the flame burns odorlessly and smokelessly. While no suppliers are established in the U.S. at this time, Fuego does ship internationally. Retail prices range from £900 to £1100 (about $1800-2200) depending on size and base.

--diane

Tags: Modern Cocktail Table, Fuego Fire Table, Joseph Bernard, Modern Design

Rare Film Screening @ Peabody Essex Museum

Peabody Essex Museum extends hours for rare screening of films by Joseph Cornell

(Major Cornell exhibition stays open for this special event)

Thursday, May 3, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Salem, Mass—On May 3, 2007, the Peabody Essex Museum presents  Joseph Cornell as Filmmaker, an exciting evening of modern art and film by one of the 20th century’s most influential artists. These rarely-seen films will be screened in conjunction with the exhibition Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination, which opens April 28, providing visitors the opportunity to experience a wide range of the artist’s work. The 75-minute program offers a cross section of the two dozen short films Cornell made between the mid-1930s and the late 1950s, including collaborations with avant-garde filmmakers Stan Brakhage and Rudy Burckhardt. PEM Chief Curator and Cornell expert Lynda Hartigan introduces the films and holds a question-and-answer period afterward.

For one night only, the Peabody Essex Museum will offer extended evening hours from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. to give film-goers the chance to visit the Cornell exhibition before the screenings. The Atrium café will be open until 7:30 p.m. for light meals and refreshments.

Entry to the films and the Cornell galleries is free and open to the public. Film reservations are recommended. Please call 978-745-9500, ext. 3011, to reserve.

Made possible by the Lowell Institute.

Image Caption: Nymphlight, 1957. © The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

WHEN:
Thursday, May 3, 2007
5:30 p.m. – Cornell galleries open to the public
7:30 p.m. – Cornell film screenings begin

WHERE:
Peabody Essex Museum
East India Square, Salem, Mass.

Film screenings take place in Morse Auditorium.

Film program
All films © The Museum of Modern Art, New York, unless otherwise noted.

Rose Hobart
Ca. 1936, 19 1/2 minutes
Black and white with blue or purple filter, sound on record or tape

Untitled (Bookstalls)
Late 1930s, restored 1978, 11 minutes
Tinted black and white, silent

The Aviary
1954, 11 minutes, directed and edited by Joseph Cornell, photography by Rudy Burckhardt
Black and white, silent

GNIR REDNOW (alternate title REDNOW GNIR)
1955–late 1960s, 6 1/2 minutes, commissioned and edited by Joseph Cornell, photography by Stan Brakhage
Color, silent, based on outtakes from Brakhage’s  The Wonder Ring, 1955. Courtesy of the estate of Stan Brakhage and Canyon Cinema.

Angel
1957, 3 minutes, directed and edited by Joseph Cornell, photography by Rudy Burckhardt
Color, silent

Nymphlight
1957, 7 1/2 minutes, directed and edited by Joseph Cornell, photography by Rudy Burckhardt
Color, silent

A Legend for Fountains
1957, completed 1965 with Larry Jordan, 16 1/2 minutes, directed and edited by Joseph Cornell, photography by Rudy Burckhardt
Black and white, silent

About Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination (April 28 to Aug. 19, 2007):
Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination is the first major retrospective of the artist’s work in more than 26 years. Featuring 180 works, the exhibition is co-organized by the Peabody Essex Museum and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. It presents new insights into this fascinating artist, illuminating the richness of the ideas he explored across all media.  Navigating the Imagination includes the artist’s finest box constructions, collages, dossiers, films and graphic designs from public and private collections–– more than 30 on public view for the first time. Seven of the collages in the show were donated to the Peabody Essex Museum by The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation. Lynda Roscoe Hartigan, chief curator of the Peabody Essex Museum, and a widely published scholar on Cornell, is curator of  Navigating the Imagination.

About the Peabody Essex Museum
The recently transformed Peabody Essex Museum presents art and culture from New England and around the world. The museum's collections are among the finest of their kind, showcasing an unrivaled spectrum of American art and architecture (including four National Historic Landmark buildings) and outstanding Asian, Asian Export, Native American, African, Oceanic, Maritime, and Photography collections. In addition to its vast collections, the museum offers a vibrant schedule of changing exhibitions and public programs, plus a hands-on education center. In 2006, PEM was named one of the nation's "Top 10 Art Museums for Kids" by  Child magazine. The museum campus features numerous parks, period gardens and 24 historic properties, including Yin Yu Tang, a 200-year-old house that is the only example of Chinese domestic architecture in the United States. The Peabody Essex Museum is open daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. General museum admission: Adults $13; seniors $11; students $9 Additional admission to Yin Yu Tang: $4 Members, youth 16 and under, and residents of Salem enjoy free general admission and free admission to Yin Yu Tang. Special exhibitions may require an additional fee. Location: East India Square, Salem, MA 01970. Call 866-745-1876 or visit our Web site at www.pem.org.

Riding in style

A few months back I received the dreaded baby shower invite -- pastel bows, ducks, rattles -- no cutesy baby paraphernalia was spared.

As I trolled her online registry I found myself at a crossroad -- purchase a white ruffled Moses basket (which I believe looks like a handbag my grandmother would have carried), or buck the norm and go for chic child wares.

The latter won as I made my way to modern baby boutique Nursery Couture. But this minor upset prompted me to go in search of even more modern-friendly baby gear for our expectant readers...

The Cameleon from Bugaboo (a fave among celeb moms Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow) offers a convenient 3-in-1 design -- transforming into a car seat, reversible bassinet, and reversible seat.

And while I'm not a fan of jumping onto the celebrity-driven product train, I must admit this colorful carriage caught my eye (yet may elude my wallet).

Available in 32 color combinations (sorry, no pastels), this Cadillac of toddler transport comes equipped with mosquito net and rain cover.

--aj

Tags: modern baby , celebrity baby strollers, bugaboo, baby stroller

Modern Wooden Coasters

Coasters so great looking it's a shame to set a glass on them...

Wood discs laser cut by Sarah Finn into delicate table protectors with strength their design belies. Wipe clean. Grab a set of eight (two of each shown) for $40 through A + R.

Green Hunting & Hanging Around

As environmental awareness explodes, modern design aficionados are going green when reinterpreting a traditional manly classic--the deer head.

Though mounting the heads of dead animals and hanging them above fireplaces was once unremarkable to a certain set of cigar smoking sophisticates, the trend has changed. We still like the idea of antlers (they're undeniably functional) and the beautiful natural shapes of the animals they're attached to. So we've reinterpreted the  old  look into a few trendy items we've been seeing everywhere for quite some time. Hang onto your heads, this trend's just not going  away.

Antlers by Alexander Taylor. Made of powder coated steel and available in red, blue. black, white and yellow plus limited edition chrome directly from Alexander Taylor for about $95.

Cast resin Ghost Antlers by Eric Grinder mount directly to wall with included bracket.  $230.

Carved from blocks of laminated basswood, these heads from Roost offer extra variety. $429 and up through Velocity Art & Design.