Happy Halloween

Interior design from the past can be scary, but the vintage finds culled from top shops around the states and displayed on 1st Dibs are delectable treats for design enthusiasts.

The US is going green, and buying vintage is a great way to reuse while adding some cache and a sense of (modern) history to your home. But before you get the wrong idea, shopping 1st Dibs is nothing like scouring yard sales or antique shops for that one of a kind modern icon. This site is stocked with only the best, and easy to search categories let you choose by designer, style and region.

Just check out this festive, Halloween theme sneak peak. And remember, a dash of orange remains stylish throughout the year, and as you'll see, in any decade...

Modern Kitchen Design Ideas

Done gawking and ready to know what this beauty is? It's SieMatic's new CompactDesign SL 101 in Greige finish with Titan Walnut accents, and we think it's absolutely gorgeous.

We love the simplicity, top-quality workmanship and open spaces. For a comparatively small kitchen, this system packs in storage and a sense of greater space. The trick is achieved through floor to ceiling storage, and long, uninterrupted lines. The subtle color variation adds depth without jarring the eye into seeing many disparate pieces which would clutter the space visually and make it appear smaller. One caveat - keep those visible cubbies clean and well organized, a much easier task when everything is open and easy to reach.

Graffiti Decor

Most often associated with underground counterculture, graffiti conjures up scenes of back alleys, subway trains and gritty urban life. Scrawled onto public walls and private properties, appreciation for graffiti as an art form is a highly debated issue. And while graffiti writing dates back several centuries, in recent years the debate has been heating up, as the line between high and low art becomes blurred. Is graffiti décor or debauchery?

Whichever it is, some people pay a lot of money for it. According to the International Herald Tribune, last February a stencil called “Moona List,” by the British street Artist Nick Walker showing the subject baring her bottom, sold for £54,000, or $106,000, at a Bonhams London contemporary art auction, more than 10 times the top end of its pre-auction estimate. And in March, a bronze rat by Banksy, another British street artist, sold for $169,000 at a Sotheby’s contemporary art sale in New York.

If you are inclined toward the argument for graffiti as art, you’re in luck! Today, there are graffiti-patterned fabrics and throw pillows with graffiti-like scrawlings in bright saturated colors, hovering UFOs and counterculture cartoon characters.

Studio Italia Design – an Italian Lighting company – has created the Graffiti Collection to help you make an ultra-sophisticated ‘graffiti-as-art’ statement in your home, office, or wherever else you want to impart a decidedly urban flair. Available as a sconce, pendant, table and floor lamp, the Graffiti fixtures are composed of hand-blown glass featuring white or black sketching. Each fixture is hand-crafted at the company’s factory in Venice, Italy and results in an industrial-chic look that doesn’t give off a warehouse vibe.

Breast Cancer Awareness

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. What better way to show your support for cure than with the Sweetheart floral arrangement from Ovando?

Order here.

--allie

Tags: Breast cancer, Susan G Komen Foundation

Dress your table

My friends and I have been trying to make holiday dinner reservations to no avail. Some restaurants are booked, others are by invitation only. A few cannot guarantee that our enormous party will have tables together. Since when is 12 an exorbitant amount?

So it appears that we may be dining at one of our homes. That's fine. But what we really crave from our holiday dinners is the ambiance. We love the decor, the flourish.

It now falls to me to gather some mod Thanksgiving table decor ideas. And no, a simple runner will not do. We'll be serving our meal on simple white dishes, so there is little chance of the settings clashing with the centerpiece.

One of my fave ideas comes from Deborah Drury, owner of Deborah Drury Interior Design in Lexington, KY. She suggests painting the pumpkin a color of your choice for some added modern flare.

Online Surveys & Market Research

--allie

Tags: holiday decor, contemporary holidays, modern table decor, table centerpiece

Modern holiday decor tips

The holidays are right around the corner. If it managed to slip your mind, although I can't imagine how seeing as every retailer has had glittering faux trees up for weeks, don't panic! We're here to help.

Actually, were looking for help from readers -- a kind of holiday decor support group.

As much as I hate to admit that with the plethora of online search engines, retail and interior designer sites out there, I sometimes can't find exactly what I want. Which creates a vicious circle. I know what I want. I know the components that I need. But I can't seem to put it together. I'm not crafty. Hopefully, some of you are!

So here's what I need -- send me your modern holiday do-it-yourself decor tips. Send pics and info to [email protected].

--allie

Tags: holiday decor, contemporary Christmas, modern table decor, design advice

Kitty Christmas shoppig

You know how much I love animals, and my strong feelings on providing them with thoughtful Christmas gifts. While cats aren't my personal fave, I do not begrudge them their holiday tidings.

The Kittypod Mini from Elizabeth Paige Smith.

--allie

Tags: Kittypod, gifts for pets, holiday gifts, modern pets

Passport to Glamour

Attention design pros and design snobs, high fashion and home furnishings will mingle together at Las Vegas Design Center November 13 for “Passport to Glamour,” open to trade professionals and connoisseurs of design.

Randy Wells, vice president of Las Vegas Design Center, said Passport to Glamour will lead attendees on a day-long tour of insights about capturing the luxury market, featuring leaders throughout the design industry.  “Many of Las Vegas Design Center’s tenants will showcase the bling in their own showrooms and we’ve invited some special guests to share their insights on trends in contemporary design,” Wells said.

For more information on events scheduled at Las Vegas Design Center at World Market Center Las Vegas, visit www.lvdesigncenter.com or www.lasvegasmarket.com.

Is Danish out of date?

Think of Denmark and four things spring to mind: Hans Christian Andersen, the melancholy Dane (that would be Hamlet), sugar-coated breakfast pastry and, of course, meticulously crafted teak furniture from the 1940’s and 50’s. Who isn’t familiar with the sleek and sturdy lines of Danish Modern sofas, chairs and dining sets? Anyone growing up in suburban North America in the 1950s and 60s either had at least one piece of Danish Modern somewhere at home or in the office, or knew someone who did.

The legacy of Danish Modernism is an impeccable calling card, but 21st century Danish design has moved on. Is the world ready to move on too?

Continue reading the article from LushPad.

--allie

Tags: Danish furniture, modern Danish design, LushPad, modern furniture

The winter blues -- in October!

It's October 22, and I am FREEZING! It is 26 degrees in my neck of the woods (Western NY). I am listening to the dismal pitter patter of a mix of rain and snow against my roof and windows -- nature's sadistic way of telling me to take me winter coat out of storage. I'm so glad I spent a small fortune on my very chic autumn trench coat.

In the midst of my displeasure, I am still looking out for those of you who enjoy an endless summer.

Check out the Dodaz Chit Chat sofa.

Feel free to cast your weather-elite pity on me.

--allie

Tags: outdoor sofa, modern patio, DODAZ Chit Chat, colorful outdoor furniture