Love New Orleans?

Dan Milham is my friend and a talented photographer. He recently retired as the chief meteorologist at WDSU-TV in New Orleans to begin his new career as a photographer capturing images of places we love to visit. Dan's company is called Picture New Orleans. He specializes in capturing images that showcase the unique culture and landscape of New Orleans. If you want to add a little bit of New Orleans to your interior landscape, let me know. Dan and I will work with you to select the perfect photograph for your space.

www.pictureneworleans.com

Italiana Design

Here are a few images I took when shopping in Milano. Of course fashion is everywhere there --whether in store fronts or on the backs of gorgeous Italian men and women.

I found an area of the city that had great Italian furniture showrooms. The showroom designers understood how important it is to create great vignettes to showcase what they are selling. Check out the vignette where papers appear to be in the process of falling from the shelves. This display catches your attention and showcases their lighting, sofa and occasional tables. The use of black contrasts with the white making the sofa pop out at the viewer. Don't you want to sit down? I sure did. Now that's design!

Lesson learned: Italians love to use the best products and are very proud that many of the world's finest products are design and made in Italy.

3 Key Ingredients to Good Design

This morning I listened to some of the top designers (Bob Brown, Matthew Quinn, Suzanne Kasler, Stan Topal aned William Peace) in Atlanta talk about Interior Design. In this complicated world, several themes seemed to prevail from the panel discussion.

• Composition -- The right composition makes an interior space unique. It's important to have the right mixture of color, textures and proportion to make a room harmonious and unique. Understanding my clients' needs helps me create the right compostion of furnishing and finishes that suit their lifestyle.
• Lighting -- Lighting is more than just adding lighting when the sun begins to go down. Look at the lighting in a room when the sun is up. Consider the use of natural lighting along with artificial lighting when designing a room. Proper use of lighting can distinguish different textures, enhance the values of each color in the room, and bring attention to interior focal points.
• Editing -- Edit what's in the room. Too much can overwhelm a space taking away from the design.

Check out some of the rooms that these designers created.

Go Home -- A Cool Place

We all like to Go Home after a long day at work or a great trip that inspires us. Today at AmericasMart, I found a cool place that helped my imagination Go Home. It took me back to my Grandma Floy's kitchen when I saw a vintage sink with drain boards on each side. The showroom that caterers to the Home Furnishing market and interior designers has unique one of a kind vintage items and reproductions that look authentic. If you want to Go Home, I'll help take you there with a visit to this great showroom. What a great place to visit today!

www.gohomeinc.com