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Top Trends at High Point Market

by Farima Alavi April 25, 2013 3 Comments

Liz and I went to High Point Market this weekend to spot the hottest trends in home design. Some trends have made a comeback — like gold furniture — while others, like mid-century modern furniture, are still holding strong. We saw many new ones, including leather furniture, lounge chairs and clever storage solutions, but three trends really stood out.

Bar Carts

Spring Trend: Bar Cart Clockwise: Baker Furniture; Four Hands; Sauder Furniture; Leslie W. Moore Designs

It’s all about entertaining these days — especially with summer days ahead. What better and easier way to serve drinks than a bar cart? From extravagant wood carts to retro-style, glass-topped ones, there was a cart to fit every person’s design style and budget.

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The Nursery Files: Adventures in Craigslisting

by Marianne Canada March 29, 2013 13 Comments

My friend and coworker Camille and I have pretty different tastes when it comes to design, but there is one thing we agree on: We both love a bargain. And so, for this week’s installment on my nursery design, I thought I’d riff on her Adventures in Antiquing series and share my latest furniture find, as well as some tips for turning a diamond in the rough into a showpiece for your home.

I’m a Craigslist junkie. I have the app on my phone and iPad and also check it regularly on my laptop. Obviously, furnishing the nursery has been at the top of my mind lately, because I was lacking a dresser for the room. Since I want this dresser to double as a changing table, I wanted a long and low solid wood midcentury-modern dresser, and I didn’t want to spend more than $200. When I found this Franklin Shockey sculptured pine dresser on Craigslist for under budget, I knew it was The One. These dressers typically sell for $400-$1000, but this particular example was a steal because the finish was in pretty bad shape:

Franklin Shockey Sculptured Pine Dresser

I could see past the dried-out wood and scratches and knew this was a great piece. And so, I started off by giving it a good cleaning. Once it was dry, my husband, Chris, treated the exposed surfaces with Howard Restore-a-Finish, then gave it a generous coat of Howard Feed & Wax (I had to skip these steps because these products give off fumes that are a no-go for pregnant ladies).

Restoring the wood finish on a vintage dresser.

The dresser still needs a little more TLC — maybe some wood filler on the deeper scratches — and I might take Young House Love’s advice to use a brown magic marker to blend in more shallow nicks. But for now I am thrilled with the results:

Mid-Century Modern Dresser with restored wood.

This dresser is just my latest Craigslist find (I really am an addict), and made me think about some other items I’ve been lucky enough to track down. Like this midcentury couch and wacky 1970s globe lamp:

Mid Century Modern Couch and 70's Globe Light

Those are just a couple of favorites from a house filled with Craigslist bargains. How about you? Do you have any tales of triumph from Craigslist? Go on, make me envious.

MORE NURSERY FILES:

Color Trends at High Point Market

by Farima Alavi October 25, 2012 25 Comments

Last week, a few of the HGTV.com editors had the privilege of visiting High Point Furniture Market. We saw a lot of fabulous designs, from innovative furniture to one-of-a-kind lighting. I was on the lookout for the hottest colors in interior design. Here are my top four color picks:

Blue

Many designers have transitioned from the bold blues you’re used to seeing to a fresher, ice blue. I still enjoyed seeing unexpected pops of the bright blues in China cabinets and drawers.

Trending Color: Blue Media Cabinet by Design Legacy; China Cabinet by Steven Shell; Denim Map by Splurge/Robert Nicholas; Tufted Chair by HGTV HOME

Designer Shane Inman’s Decorating Tip: Use soft blues for your walls and darker shades of blue in your upholstery. For something unexpected and daring, use a smokey-slate blue on base moldings and window casings.

Orange

I never thought I could decorate with orange, but seeing this color in accessories, upholstery and seating immediately changed my mind. It completely changes the mood of a room.

Trending Color: Orange Chevron Wall Art by Vanguard Furniture; Dining Chairs by Design Legacy; Teal/Orange Pillows by TOURMALINE home; End Table by Trade Winds Furniture

Designer Erica Islas’ Decorating Tip: If you’re worried about a color overpowering a space, use it as an accent color mixed with neutrals. For example, pair a striped orange-and-white ottoman with a neutral sofa.

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Daily Delight: Custom State Tables

by Kayla Kitts October 5, 2012 6 Comments

I was born and raised in Tennessee, but I probably won’t live in this lovely Southern state forever. What better way to remind me of my home than a contemporary table shaped like Tennessee from UncommonGoods? The white looks especially pretty and mod with wooden legs, but I wouldn’t mind giving it a custom color like grey, sky blue or red. (Too bad they don’t have orange for the Tennessee Volunteers — now, that would be a perfect pairing!)

Custom State Tables

What state would you “memorialize” in your home? The place where you grew up? Your favorite vacation spot? Tell me below!

Secondhand Sprucing: Living and Family Rooms

by Kate Riley September 18, 2012 17 Comments

Hello, Design Happens fans — Kate here again with another roundup of inspiring projects for the home in the continuing series on secondhand sprucing, and this time the focus is on main living spaces. We all need a place to sit down, rest a book or drink, and visit with fellow residents or friends in a family room, and for most of us we need a place to relax while watching television. Naturally the furnishings we need include sofas, chairs, coffee and end tables, ottomans and storage units.

A secondhand sofa with a classic shape can be reupholstered in a modern fabric to give it a fresh look, or if the cushions are in decent shape, slip-covered for a casual and easy to clean option. Chairs are readily available on Craigslist and often you get lucky with a great set from your local Goodwill. One of the most clever ways to repurpose a coffee table is to cover it with foam and fabric and turn it into an ottoman!

Family Room Furnishings (Reupholstered sofa by Made by Girl; Bergere chairs by Design Manifest; Slipcovered hand-me-down sofa by Miss Mustard Seed; Thrift store ottoman coffee table by Five Days Five Ways)

Design Happens Welcomes Centsational Girl’s Kate Riley

by Kayla Kitts September 10, 2012 15 Comments

We’re so excited to announce a new addition to the HGTV Design Happens team! You all know Centsational Girl‘s Kate Riley, right? Of course you do. Well, starting tomorrow, and continuing every Tuesday, she’ll be writing a five-part weekly series on sprucing up secondhand finds and turning them into stunning home decor you’ll love for years. She’ll provide tips on seeing the potential in old finds and honing your DIY skills to give them a brand-new, modern-day makeover. Sound fun? We thought so, too! Check back tomorrow for Kate’s first post on secondhand sprucing, starting with the bedroom.

Daily Delight: Industrial Chic Locker Baskets

by Marianne Canada August 6, 2012 6 Comments

Here we are in August, and somehow it’s time to start thinking about back-to-school. I swear school starts earlier every year! I’ll admit that my school days are long past, but I can’t help but wax nostalgic about the smell of freshly sharpened pencils and the squeak of new shoes. And so, my inner middle-schooler gave a little cheer when I spied this so-old-school-it’s-new-school basket rack from Hertz Furniture.

Hertz Basket Rack

Picture this rack in a pool house or mud room, keeping wet swimsuits, muddy shoes, and sports equipment stashed in style. The best part? The rack comes in 20 colors ranging from vibrant teal to neutral putty. What do you think, would you bring a little locker room chic into your home?

Adventures in Antiquing: Repurposed Wooden Tray

by H. Camille Smith August 1, 2012 12 Comments

One rule I follow when thrifting is to see a find for what it can be not what it is. Take this antique drawer I found at an estate sale. It was at the bottom of a scrap wood pile in a stuffed-to-the-gills garage. The home’s previous owner had been a never-throw-away-anything-you-may-someday-need type and had seen the potential usefulness of a small drawer that had long since been separated from it’s original piece of furniture.

What sold me is its runner-less construction. Runners are the wood or metal glides that help a drawer to smoothly slide in and out; without them a drawer is just a shallow box. I was on the lookout for a small tray that could do double duty serving food and drinks at parties and was big enough to neatly store magazines on my coffee table the rest of the time – I thought I could make this drawer work. The bottom was flimsy due to water damage so I added a plywood board to strengthen it then tacked on quarter-round trim to disguise my fix and handles on each end so it could really function as a tray.

This project was a bargain costing me less than 10 bucks -- $3 for the drawer + another $6 for the handles which are actually gate pulls rather than drawer pulls. The quarter-round trim and stain I already had on hand.

Our Unique Finds From ICFF

by Kayla Kitts May 31, 2012 8 Comments

So, last week most of the HGTV.com editorial team headed to NYC to soak up four days of contemporary and ultra-modern design at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF). Liz, Briana, Camille, Farima and I all covered 145,000-square-feet of space and talked with hundreds of designers, retailers and manufacturers from all over the globe. It. Was. Exhausting. And so much fun! We met Jonathan Adler, bumped into our very own Jamie Durie (who turned us all into giggling fools) and picked up some incredible design trends that we can’t wait to share with you all. But with more than 500 exhibitors, we were bound to pass a few unique and odd pieces worth passing along, since we’re pretty sure you won’t be finding any of these in your local furniture shops. Of course we saw plenty of functional, innovative and clever furnishings, but these are purely design for design’s sake. Ready to see? Here we go!

icff 2012 carnegie fabrics parsons the new school for design canopy Carnegie Fabrics :: Parsons The New School for Design

A Structural Pavilion Created From Sustainable Fabric: I was completely and utterly mesmerized by this canopy that I noticed within the first few minutes of entering the conference on day one. Design students from Parsons The New School for Design took fabric off a chair and upcycled each piece to form this dreamy structure. Imagine installing this in your outdoor space and hiding from the sun with a good book. Sigh…

icff 2012 rachel o'neill velcro chandelier Rachel O’Neill

A Chandelier Made From Strands of Velcro: “Velcro: it’s not just for your KangaROOS shoes. It can also be your chandelier, and a beautiful one at that. These are custom made-to-order — the designer lives in Ireland but sells a lot in London and NYC, too.” — Liz Gray

icff 2012 tracy kennedy wallpaper fringe design Tracy Kennedy Wallpaper

Textured Wallpaper With Touchable Fringe: “When I first saw this wallpaper, I immediately thought of the flapper costume I wore a few years ago for Halloween. I can totally see it in a swanky bar in Las Vegas. Nevertheless, it was one of the most memorable pieces of the show for me.” — Farima Alavi

See a Mannequin Lamp, Zombie Chair + More

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Daily Delight: Exceptions de GRANGE Hall Cabinet

by Briana Mowrey April 16, 2012 4 Comments

Sorry, this is another one of those situations in which I find myself fancying something French despite my utter lack of French-speaking and comprehension skills, so I’m at the mercy of Google Translate on this one. This stunner is a Grange hall cabinet from the Exceptions de GRANGE collection, as far as I can tell.

grange cabinet

Google Translate also tells me it’s a “furniture input concept,” and while I am not sure exactly what that means, I like the sound of it! Maybe it’s referring to the fact that parts of it are 3D while the drawers and shelves are recessed into the unit itself? It’s like a wild mashup of this DIY nightstand by Brian Patrick Flynn, the trompe l’oeil door decals I wrote about and this Heidi Merrick Huntington dress in Neapolitan that I’ve had my eye on for weeks. In other words, this piece looks like it’d put the fun back in functional.

[Via: ARRAY Magazine]