Room with a hue: the Pantone Hotel is themed around every designer’s essential tool.

Cutting-edge design might not be the first thing that springs to mind when Brussels is mentioned. Maybe mussels, chocolate, lots of Euro-politics. As such, the Pantone Hotel is a much-needed blast of color in the midst of bureaucratic grey. If you’re a beige, greige or otherwise neutral palette person, then forget it. If you’re a designer, it’s hotel heaven.

Everything, from mugs and folding chairs to walls, is in a Pantone color showing its ID number or name. Even the bicycles (available for sale, though not for riding) are brightly colored.

Sixties moulded plastic chairs in zingy orange and Mediterranean turquoise, and stripey walls, are guaranteed to pep you up for a stroll round the city, but won’t look so great after too many brews.

Interiors are white canvases with splashes of color, each of the seven floors is themed by mood (earthy: brown; fiery: vermillion; vibrant: orange; fresh: aquamarine). The accents, used sparingly to dramatic effect, are provided by pantone panels on the walls showing each room’s palette along with tonally-coordinated original artwork. Block-color bedspreads abound in the bedroom; in the bathroom, cups, shampoo and toilet roll (yes, really).

The 61 guest rooms have LCD TVs and free WIFI; being a tall townhouse, the top ones offer great city views. If you’re a low-down, just pop up to the roof terrace to look out over this medieval city.

Rates from $143 including tax and every color in the rainbow and beyond, but not the Pantone products (cups, chairs, iPhone cases). The little colored sugar sachets are good to go, though.

The monastic and ordered realm of the design perfectionist.

Last week, the world learned of a certain breed of human known as the design perfectionist. They’re a type driven by symmetry, aesthetics, distinct lines and extreme minimalism. So extreme in fact, that many who eschew design most, consider common sense in favor of streamlined simplicity.

Steve Jobs was one, as evidenced by the ever-decreasing convolution of Apple products. Evidenced, too, by an anecdote from his widow Laurene Powell referenced in The New Yorker and recalled in his eponymous biography.

“We spoke about furniture in theory for eight years,” Powell told Walter Isaacson. “We spent a lot of time asking ourselves, ‘What is the purpose of a sofa?’”

A topical question: one that would really throw the Jobs’ household into a tizzy? The purpose of a sofa that takes up an entire room.

The design perfectionist has never met a sheet she couldn’t tuck.

They also debated washing machines for two weeks at the dinner table. The table itself was undoubtedly a painfully acquired object in its own right. Though, perhaps not as painfully perfect as Todd Waturbury’s apartment per The New York Times.

“It’s not simply that his book collection is restricted to titles with black, gray or white bindings, and stacked jacketless, in neat horizontal rows,” Penelope Green writes. “Or that nearly every item here is also either black, gray or white, including the paint on the walls… there’s an even deeper level of ‘perfect’ at work in this large one-bedroom apartment near Central Park South.”

The money shot of Waturbury’s cherry-picked perfection can be sighted by standing in the “sweet spot” of the apartment, wherein all the lines come together to form some kind of wood accented typographical vortex.

One can only speculate the impact extreme minimalism can have on the health of one’s sex life, though handsome Waturbury is one of the only apparent bachelors in the Times article. Besides, while a date night parlay into the vortex would be a deal breaker for most, for a New Yorker, being featured in The New York Times is natural aphrodisiac enough.

The design perfectionist does not attract dust. 

The Times also mentions Klaus Biesenbach, director of PS1 in Long Island City, Queens. When he travels, he puts anything that moves, including furniture, colored pillows, desktop accessories, into the closet. His own Lower East Side apartment contains a mattress, television and sofa sprung upon him by a houseguest, who also happens to be an artist. As such, the sofa has gained the status of “performance” as opposed to couch, the spectacle being gift giving.

Green delves into the homes and psyches of many other perfectionists, including a minimalist architect who forced his interior designer wife, an admitted hoarder, into living without a sofa for twenty years; an academic whose friends play a dinner party game involving moving objects from their permanent installations in order to see how long it will take their host to notice its misalignment (presumably before he runs off and washes his hands half a dozen times); and another architect who hilariously refers to radiators as “wall acne” and the maximalist who loves him.

The design perfectionist does not need doors.

Psychologically speaking, perfectionism “is a personality trait expressed in a spectrum of behaviors that range from adaptive to maladaptive, appearing as an element of obsessive-compulsive disorder.”

These perfectionists are the maladaptive kind, aesthetes to an almost supernatural degree who would sooner sit on a cold marble floor mindfully before defaulting to anything from Ikea, as so many do, unquestionably. These are also the devout opposites of New Antiquarians who acquire with intent and purpose, but accumulate nonetheless.

The design perfectionist is a fascinating and complex blend of principled aestheticism, exacting indecisiveness, clinical OCD and minimalist snobbery. To be a design perfectionist is very much a state of being, of living very distinctly in a clutter immersed world.

The design perfectionist knows that every object has its place and every place has its object.

Would you want to live with one? Probably not. But they do have their consciousness in check. Why clutter when you can minimize?

Images: Arch Daily; Kaye Tan; Home Interior Design; deluxearch; Convoy

The Treehotel in Sweden features unique, futuristic camp sites.

Imagine the scene: you’re walking through a forest in northern Sweden, when suddenly you come upon a collection of bizarre objects suspended from trees: a mirrored cube, a UFO, a giant bird’s nest. Have you been abducted into a Dadaistic art installation?

Relax, it’s n0t a flashback to a youthful overindulgence of banned substances, a sojourn through William S. Burroughs’ Interzone or even a Trekkie bootcamp. It’s a 21st century designer eco-hotel-camp called Treehotel.

Treehotel’s green credentials are exactly as you’d expect for a Swedish hotel set in a forest: renewable energy provided by hydroelectric power from the nearby river, LED lighting and water-efficient sinks, and combustion toilets. In most units, waste is heat-blasted at 600C; in the Mirrorcube, your poop gets frozen, while the heat from the freezer’s element is used to heat the room in winter. Dead smart, those Swedes.

The five ”treerooms,” designed by leading Scandinavian architects, are all different inside as well as out, with simple furnishings. The UFO, accessed by a ladder underneath has spacey print fabrics, while the ultra-realistic Bird’s Nest is circular with tiny round windows in its pale wood walls. The Cabin is much more conventional, but also larger - a rectangular box with huge windows and an outdoor deck, while the Blue Cone overlooks the river.

The Mirrorcube is like a live work of art. Its outer surfaces show constantly changing images of trees and sky, which you can appreciate from a roof terrace, a more zen alternative to watching TV. Another building houses a sauna and hot tub (this is Sweden, after all). The bad news: this is also where the showers are located, since none of the treehouses has its own tub or shower. This is the Swedish idea of glamping: fab interiors offset outdoor plumbing.

Meals are served, and guests greeted, in a guesthouse run by one of the owners named Britta.

Rates from $573, including tax, breakfast and unbeatable dinner table stories.

Photos: Peter Lundstrom, WDO; Frank Updates via Harper’s Bazaar

Just in time for holiday shopping and gift giving: The Box is back!

Our exclusive EcoSalon shopping must-have, the curated eco product assortment known as The Box, is back. We’re offering $500 worth of holiday eco-goodies for just $99 and these won’t last. That’s a guarantee.

From soy candles to handmade rugs, our Holiday Shelter Box is crammed full of swanky products to bring modern style into your home – with enough cool goodies included to give things away as gifts, too. Featuring full-size gorgeous green goods, hop on this now or miss out!

(If you do miss out this time around – supplies are extremely limited – our friends at Curbly are hosting a giveaway for the last remaining Shelter Box standing. Head on over to their site and register to win!)

Just look at what we have in store for you this time around:

Set of Two Wolfie & The Prints

In the dead of winter, these U-Pick Apples and Fresh Eggs prints from Wolfie & The Sneak will remind you of warm mornings spent perusing farmers’ market. Hang them on your wall, and you’ll instantly brighten your mood. The 5″ x 7″ prints are printed on 8″x 10″ French Paper, 100% post consumer recycled paper, produced in a hydroelectric-powered, family-run paper mill in Michigan. With inks guaranteed to last 98 years under regular glass, you’ll be enjoying your fresh produce for years to come.

(Retail value of $40)

Guerrilla Gardening Seedbomb Kit

Change the world, guerrilla style. That’s the idea behind Seedbomb from Greenaid, and the Guerilla Gardening Gift Set ensures that you have all the tools to make the world a greener place. Know of an unused lot nearby? Throw a few seedbombs in. A barren intersection that could use some foliage? Seedbomb away! The packaging is perfect for your guerilla gardening exploits, complete with a handkerchief and slingshot for ensuring that your 12 seedbombs get launched far and away. Seedbombs are hand-rolled in Culver City, Calif. using local materials, sustainable packaging, and socially responsible labor.

(Retail value of $20)

Stencil1 Bird Stencils

Put a bird on it. Your wall, that is. Make your own decorative aviary with these six bird silhouette stencils from Stencil1. You can stencil any one of the six designs onto cards, shirts, even your furniture; the possibilities are endless. And fun.

(Retail value of $19.99)

Wishbone Paperweight

With a busy social calendar in the month ahead, it’s good to keep a few presents on hand, and this striking paperweight from VivaTerra is the perfect item – and a good reminder to make a wish. You never know when it might come true.

(Retail value of $39)

Wishbone Ornament

Hang your wishes up so everyone can see! An match to the Wishbone Paperweight, or perfectly fine on its own, the Wishbone Ornament brings a little cheer to its owner. The ideal go-to gift for anyone who needs a little pick-my-up this holiday season.

(Retail value of $15)

Music for the Planet by 1% for the Planet

Produced by non-profit 1% For the Planet, Music for the Planet is a collection of 41 songs that supports the environment. The album features exclusive and rare tracks by many well known artists including Josh Ritter, Mason Jennings and Rosie Thomas. All proceeds from the album go to supporting environmental causes, so we won’t be surprised if you love the music so much that you’re inspired to buy another one for a friend.

(Retail value of $9.99)

Crash Candles Soy Candle

Every cozy home needs a few candles burning, especially in the winter months, and these hand-made soy candles from Crash Candles are the perfect option. Poured in a glass tumbler you can use when the wax runs out, the candle features the designs of one of our favorite Scandinavians, Lotta Jansdotter. No not only will you bring a little extra light into your home, but you can be happy knowing that they’re eco-friendly and supporting the work of contemporary artists and designers.

(Retail value of $24)

Klean Kanteen and NAU Stainless Steel Pints

Move over, Mason jars. So last year. Especially if you have a reusable option on hand. Perfect for outdoor picnics, concerts or even a birthday party, these pints ensure that you’ll never have to go disposable again, and unlike many glass versions, these won’t break. This exclusive four-pack of Klean Kanteen pints is discreetly printed with the simple NAU logo and made of 18/8, food-grade stainless steel. Durable, versatile, reusable, and dishwasher safe.

(Retail value of $39)

EcoSystem Journal

A blank journal is a blank slate, waiting to be filled with your thoughts, drawings and lists. These blank ecosystem journals have a flexible cover and are filled with pages of 100% post-consumer recycled paper. Sized at 7 3/8″ x 9 7/8″, you’ll have plenty of space to let your creative spirit fly, or encourage someone else that they do the same.

(Retail value of $18.95)

Paper Culture Gift Certificate

Haven’t gotten to your holiday greetings yet? That’s okay – now you can use this $25 Paper Culture gift certificate to customize your own holiday cards. Already ahead of the game with your cards? Your gift certificate can also be used for any product on the site from personal stationery to bamboo wall art. With a motto of “be modern. be eco” Paper Culture uses exclusively 100% post consumer recycled paper for card and envelope and a portion of all proceeds go towards supporting non-profits that focus on education, family and sustainability.

(Retail value of $25)

Recycled iPhone Re-Case

Any busy girl is sure to put her phone through the ringer, which is why you need to make sure it’s properly protected. The Re-Case from Miniwiz is made from 100% trash (rice farming byproducts and post-consumer thermo-plastics to be exact), though from the sleek design, you’d hardly know it.

(Retail value of $24.95)

Plywerk Gift Certificate

Every time you go on a trip you take your camera. In fact, you’ve taken so many photos by this point, your photographer’s eye is actually getting good. But what do you do with all of those photos? Don’t leave them in the hinterlands of your hard drive, print them so everyone can enjoy your work. The masters at Plywerk mount your photo on eco friendly bamboo, eliminating the need for a glass frame. Their easy-to-use website allows you to upload your photo, choose your size, and almost before you’ve had the time to hit send, you have a gorgeous mounted photo waiting at your door.

(Retail value of $20)

Angel Face Botanicals Aromatherapy Shower Steamer Set

In the midst of holiday parties and planning, any good hostess needs to take some time to herself and recharge. These delicious scented Shower Steamers from Angel Face Botanicals make the perfect hostess gift, a little “thank you” for throwing a dinner or cocktail hour in the busiest season of the year. The sampler set comes with Lavender Mist, Juicy Citrus, Peppermint and Eucalyptus, so you could even divide them among your deserving friends. Or if you’re feeling in need of an energy boost yourself, turn your shower into aromatherapy central and enjoy yourself.

(Retail value of $20)

VivaTerra Flowered Thermos

Your friends will be thrilled when you bring a batch of hot cider along on your winter excursions. This beautiful, double-walled, 34-oz. thermos from VivaTerra is perfect for transporting hot and cold drinks alike and with its floral enamelware design, you’ll be serving in ultra current style.

(Retail value of $55)

Verde Lifestyles’ Bamboo Rug

Bring a little zen into your home. This 2′x3′ dark brown bamboo rug from Verde Lifestyles is beautiful and durable, and with a mixture of earthy wood and red undertones provides an ideal dose of warmth to modern, rustic and contemporary settings. Perfect for welcoming guests in your entryway.

(Retail value of $24.75)

Lucky Bowl

A small bowl that can serve as a nice positive daily reminder. This 3 1/2″ inch ceramic bowl by Paloma’s Nest is handmade in Austin, Texas and is a beautiful little keepsake for any friend whom you feel lucky to have. Each piece is made out of pure white clay and has a matte finish.

(Retail value of $22)

Elephant Plantable Pocket Notebooks

If you’re like us, you have a few notebooks lying around, all full of to-do lists and great ideas. But what do you do when they’re full? If it’s a Plantable Pocket Notebook like these ones from Botanical Paperworks, you can take it right outside and put it in your garden. Filled with plantable paper, come springtime you will see a vibrant collection of wildflowers sprout. Perfect for sticking in your purse and jotting down quick notes, or passing along to the friend who always seems to be coming up with good ideas but never has a place to put them.

(Retail value of $9.95)

Grain Utility Card

This card really can say it all. Designed by Grain, with its word search puzzle the Utility Card contains over 100 different wishes, from Happy Hannukah My Love to Howdy Friend, Happy New Year.

(Retail value of $4)

To buy:

Please note that all editions of The Box are sold out except for Shelter. Please be sure to select Shelter from the menu below.

Supplies are extremely limited – first come, first serve. Remember to include your shipping address! The Box is priced at $99 per box, with an additional $30 shipping and handling surcharge. Orders are shipped via UPS anywhere in the United States. Sorry, we can’t ship to P.O. Boxes and we cannot process international orders. If you have questions, drop us a line at contact@ecosalon.com.

Edition

Fashion $99.00 USD Food $99.00 USD Shelter $99.00 USD Yoga + Beauty $99.00 USD

A solemn structure makes the case for a post-secular kind of design, and worship.

Several months back, The New York Times reported on a man named Tony Carnes who has taken on the Herculean task of mapping out all of New York City’s houses of worship. “Mr. Carnes is in search of every church, cathedral, synagogue, shtiebel, mosque, temple, zendo and ashram,” the story states. He posts his findings to his “public square,” nycreligion.info, where folks can find out about “the sizzle of religion in New York — the kosher sizzle! The halal sizzle!”

By the end of this year, Carnes and his group of volunteers will have driven down every last street in each and every borough of what he calls a “postsecular” city, meaning not quite a Jerusalem or a Mecca, but somewhere between secular and sacred.

A project in Finland, meanwhile, is making a solid (and solemn) case for a new breed of urban postsecular. A modern contrast to the stone and mortar rigidity of traditional houses of worship, the Chapel of Silence is a meant as a meditative refuge in the heart of Helsinki. A place to reflect and a space to be. Ostensibly, it’s a dogma free zone that, arguably, every city should have.

With its curved wood facade, the Chapel of Silence flows into the cityscape while its gently sloped interior beehives visitors from the bustle of city life outside.

Warmth and calm define the space, while wood provides the structure.

If not for the discrete crucifix on the façade, which might very well be a doorknocker shaped in the letter “t”, and another in the interior, architecturally-speaking the space is almost secularist. There is no apparent doctrine in the design, and minimalist simplicity trumps superstition. 

 Images: K2S Architects via ArchDaily; The New York Times

Our insider spills fashion industry secrets in Part 2 of a special series on American fashion manufacturing.

A Tommy Hilfiger advertisement proclaims, “Fresh American Style… discover style that truly fits the way you live.” The irony behind this statement is laughable. Here’s an “All American Brand” hardly designed by Americans, made far from American shores, that isn’t even primarily owned by Americans. Does American Eagle produce anything in America? Heck no. Think Abercrombie & Fitch is authentic? Forget it. Tommy Hilfiger sold his company to the Dutch and has been sitting pretty on his yacht ever since.

But the advertisement isn’t the only thing about that brand that is misleading. In 2000, Tommy Hilfiger, whose brand signified the great America dream, was caught manufacturing clothes in sweatshop conditions in the United States territory of Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands. As a U.S. Commonwealth, clothes made there could be labeled “Made in the USA,” but federal labor laws including the minimum wage did not apply. Perhaps Tommy Hilfiger didn’t know what his production partners in Saipan were up to, but you better believe they pulled their production out of there as soon as the news hit the stands. Shortly after the story broke, the garment factories in Saipan were officially closed.

Are the companies entirely to blame? The pressure to keep profits high and the cost on the sales rack low is an issue driven by both investments of blind shareholders and consumers who want a good deal for name brand clothing. Where the product is actually produced is rarely even discussed with the shareholders, who tend to be more concerned about the return on their investment. For the consumers it’s clearly labeled, by law, in every garment we own: Made in Indonisa, Made in Guatemala, Made in Taiwan. The possibility that the companies that we are investing in could be harming others or destroying our economy doesn’t register for most.

For one company, this was not the case. It was the shareholders of Hugo Boss who helped keep their American factory in Cleveland, Ohio from closing. Hugo Boss has been producing its suits there for the past 23 years, in a garment factory that has been operating continuously since 1932. Recently, however, even this bright example has been tarnished. Last year, the company moved to shut down the factory. The Hugo Boss Corporation blamed consumer and shareholder demands for the decision to close. The company had issued notices to the workers that stated:

“Looking at the company’s goals, which were driven by our customer preferences and our shareholder responsibilities, it is our conclusion and decision that it is time to close the Cleveland plant…”

Image via blog.cleveland.com

The workers despaired, but turned to their union to rally against the threat of losing their jobs. It wasn’t until the union realized that a group of shareholders which had invested $150 million into the fund that owned Hugo Boss was an organization called the Ohio Public Retirement System (OPRS). When they were notified by the Union, they threatened to pull their funds out. Not surprisingly, Hugo Boss changed its tune and in the end the company agreed to keep the factory open – provided the workers take a pay cut from $13 per hour to $10 per hour. (Had these been workers in China working for one of the factories that Walmart sources with, no negotiations would be possible, and they might be paid as little as $.44 an hour, and $.65 hour for overtime hours, if they get paid at all.)

While the Hugo Boss shareholders’ interest appears to have been largely coincidental in favoring the plight of the factory and its workers, there still are some American companies so committed to keeping American manufacturers in business that they are willing to pay the extra cost of doing business here.

Images via Feral Childe Spring/Summer 11

Feral Childe is one such business. Says Alice Wu, one half of the design duo that makes up Feral Childe, “We definitely pay a higher price for Made in the USA. Saving in shipping does not compensate. We know there are manufacturers overseas that can do it at a fraction of the price, but it’s a conscious decision we make: paying fair wages, working with people we know, and doing it locally whenever possible. We’ve built a manufacturing community.”

Wu and her business partner, Moriah Carlson, are well aware of the global options, but choose to keep the operation in America regardless.

“It seems crazy not to look in your own backyard first to do business if you can. We have all the resources available to us right here – why would we do business in China when we can do it here with people we know?” she says. “Every step of the way there are people making the clothing – people we know, people we care about. You could say that everything we do is not only ‘Made in New York,’ but also ‘Made with Love.’ Everything is connected to our whole community of people and hopefully others will become aware of that.”

While she and Carlson have decided to do business in an unorthodox manner compared to the New York fashion industry, she does say that they run into problems from time to time with their homegrown model.

“We build our working relationships with manufacturers and the people we work with count on us to continue working with them to stay in business. They count on us to grow our business and therefore give them larger orders with each season,” Wu says. “They believe in us and that’s why the ones who are willing to work with small companies do it. We are all in it together, but we’re left in the lurch when mills and factories disappear overnight.”

This is something she and her partner have experienced on several occasions.

“One of the mills we’ve worked with for four years now recently went under (it was in Montreal), and a Texas mill that we were just getting to know folded before we had a chance to even work with them,” says Wu. “Our New Jersey-based textile printer closed up shop this past October after three seasons of working with them, just as things were starting to go smoothly and we had to scramble for a new printer and learn a new way of doing things.”

These issues arise as a direct result of many American fashion businesses deciding to move production overseas. If a mill or factory loses too many orders to manufacturers overseas, they can’t keep afloat, leaving no choice but to close shop. This in turn creates problems of scale for true American brands like Feral Childe. If they want to help keep their mills, factories, and themselves in business, they have to walk a fine line between large and small orders.

“The stakes grow higher as we grow which makes it difficult to finance and find consistent resources. Many fabric mills and textile printers don’t want to partner with the little guys, like us,” says Wu. “They want you to order minimums of at least a thousand yards at a time. We have great sewing contractors, but sometimes they get overwhelmed if we have more orders than usual. Manufacturing in the USA isn’t hard if you are just starting out or if you are a huge company, but it is difficult if you are in-between and growing.”

Image via MadeinMidtown.com

When asked what she thinks would improve the situation, she emphasizes consumer awareness and local pride.

“I’d put fashion manufacturing on the map. I think that the garment centers in different cities need a visual representation. They should be put on some kind of map so people know these are major manufactures within their cities,” she says. “New York, L.A., San Francisco, Chicago – all the major cities in the States have manufacturing facilities and the locals as well as the tourists should know about them, and understand the economic and social value of that. So instead of looking at old factory buildings and thinking ‘industrial wasteland’ or ‘real estate land grab,’ they should think of the rich history of a once-thriving industry. And they should be conscious of the industry which is still thriving”

Wu takes a moment to reflect. “I just wish people had a greater appreciation for where their clothes come from. People now are so removed from it. I’ve met people who are surprised when I tell them we make everything in the USA. They say ‘Where?’”

Fortunately, Made in Midtown has already started a map of this sort, with interactive images of buildings in the garment district to show what is manufactured in the Garment District buildings.

Editor’s note: Louise Lagosi is not the author’s real name. Catch up on Part 1 in this series here.

AM/FM Radio is cool again thanks to the Retro/Modern Magno.

Designed by Singgih Kartono out of naturally harvested new growth wood, the Magno radio makes the AM/FM dial cool again. For those unwilling to go back to commercial, some good news: it’s also MP3 compatible.

The Magno is a light mix of retro and modern, and 100% artisan (each is handcrafted in an Indonesian farming village). Plus, for every tree that is used for producing a radio, a new one is planted. Included in the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Triennial, ‘Why Design Now’ in 2010, The Magno has won multiple awards, including the Good Design Award in Tokyo and Design for Asia (DFA) in Hong Kong.

We give it the Lustable Award for best radio.

Available through Areaware for $300.

If you’re familiar with textiles and design, you’ve probably heard of screen-printing, digital printing, and maybe even sublimation. All three are printing technologies used to create pretty patterns and pictures on fabric. But I would bet the Eames chair and ottoman I’m saving up for, that you don’t know about the Lumi Process.

It’s a cutting edge process that allows photographic images to be printed onto natural materials, from silk to wool to cotton, without any chemical treatment. Jesse Genet, who began her research five years ago when she was in high school, is the brain (and brawn) behind the new technology. Now she’s a student at Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles and has teamed up with fellow student and designer, Stephan Angoulvant, to launch Lumi Co.

They’re young, energetic and with a clever self-promotional video, funded the launch of their business with money raised on Kickstarter. It took them only 60 days to raise more than $13,500. They initially aimed for $12,000,

“…the minimum amount of capital needed to allow us to continue R&D, upgrade our equipment for production, and have enough working capital to develop products and open our doors to collaborators in the first quarter of 2010.”

To everyone who donated, Genet and Angoulvant sent out a leather bag, art print, card wallet or coasters (image below), each printed with images using their technology. It got people talking, about the product and the process, and the talk has been nothing but positive.

Genet and Angoulvant, on the other hand, are not talking about the specifics of their technology, other than to say it is eco-friendly and will provide access to innovative products and designs in the future. The Lumi Process doesn’t require intense heat or the use of harsh chemicals. It doesn’t use filters or half-toning; the final images are vivid, true to the original, durable and won’t fade with washings. All their supplies and materials are natural. And the process prints perfectly on textured materials and over seams. Is there anything it doesn’t do?

Actually, no. And now Lumi Co. is collaborating with Cisco Home, a Los Angeles sustainable furniture company, and launching its first product line in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. The owner of Cisco Home, Cisco Pinedo, who’s been in the furniture business for over 20 years, had this to say about the Lumi Process:

“The conventional printing methods don’t have the properties of natural materials…this is an amazing technique, especially for a company like ours where everything we do is around sustainability.”

It’s quite the entrepreneurial, environmental success story. And it’s not over yet.

It’s that special time of year – the time that brings (invited or not) extravagant eating, kindness and giving, and friends and family visiting. And if your people are anything like my people, they come bearing gifts and all sorts of sweet love and excitement. It warms my heart.

Mi casa es su casa. I love opening my home to people I care about, despite my home’s small square footage. The more the merrier, and my cats love the extra attention and warm laps to lounge on.

When I’m expecting visitors, here’s what I do to create a space that says “come in, relax and make yourself at home.”

First and foremost, there should be fresh flowers. Nothing too fragrant, though, or full of fresh pollen. Someone might have allergies or an aversion to strong scents.

So please, keep the flowers simple and put them in a pretty vase. Next, having a cup of hot cocoa and a tray of home-baked treats ready and waiting upon your guests’ arrival is a simple and special way to say you care.

Another significant staple of the well-equipped guest room is an abundance of bath towels and toiletries, preferably fluffy white bamboo and travel size products. A cozy bamboo waffle robe and cashmere throw are luxuries I’m sure your guests will appreciate and enjoy.

The more you provide for your guests ahead of time, the less likely they’ll need to ask you for this or that. So don’t be shy.

A closet full of hangers and a luggage stand are important for a comfortable and organized visit. As are at least two empty dresser drawers.

On the bedside table, I like to provide a plethora of reading material, from a stack of best-selling books to a magazine or two or three. Add pens and a notepad, a carafe of water with cups, and a gorgeous candle (don’t forget matches).

So they can wake when they want and listen to tunes at their leisure, I like to leave my guests an alarm clock and speakers to doc their iPod or iPhone.

Gather these items in your guest room and I guarantee your guests will feel like they’ve traveled, and gone to heaven. So much so that they might not want to leave – but that’s your problem.

What special things do you do to your space when expecting house guests?

Images (from top): flickr, Livet Hemma, greige, HomeWorkShop, La Dolce Vita.

What happens when one style meets another? Is it catastrophe waiting to happen or is there hope for harmony?

That’s why we created Style Clash. Some design styles are more flexible; others force us to stretch outside our comfort zone. Each week we will offer tips for mixing competing styles successfully.

What do we mean by “successful”, you ask? If nothing seems strange, jarring or just plain ugly, then I’m all for it regardless of time period, colorway or material. I call it a successful Style Clash.

For our seventh and final installment in the Series we will mix Vintage with Ethnic and see where we land.

Over the years we’ve watched Vintage (image above and below) run the gamut of trendy, from fashion to architecture to cars to movies and music. Shopping at second-hand stores quickly went from a sometime and secret event to hot, hip and cool.

In the interior design department, Vintage has a secure spot in design history simply by virtue of its eclectic and versatile nature. Vintage inspires a warm and fuzzy feeling, whether through nostalgia of times past or comfort in the worn and unpretentious.

Furniture and accessories are often hand-made or pre-owned but always solid and of good quality. This style reminds me of my grandfather who always liked to say, “such a shame…things just aren’t made the way they used to be.”

Interiors designed with Vintage in mind are packed with this and that; knick-knacks of all types from flower vases, pottery, tea cups and saucers, to framed mirrors and family photos.

Materials are mixed, styles switched and there are always plenty of comfy cushions, blankets and throws. The Vintage style (image above) isn’t strict so almost anything goes, as long as it’s old and eclectic.

Around the world we go for a look at another interior style called Global or Ethnic (image above and below). Lots of layers, intricate patterns and colorful combinations create the Ethnic space. Bold pieces of furniture and lots of carved wood and metal accessories add to this richly decorated design style.

Inspired by any and all foreign landscapes and cultures, Ethnic design (image above and below) means to all something completely unique and unusual. But the common thread throughout is exotic and natural elements full of deep, rich colors. The kind of color you can bite into, it’s so thick and rich.

Combining these styles may seem impossible to imagine, but that’s why we are here. Style Clash turns this unlikely duo into a design marriage made in heaven.

The bold, colorful textures of the Ethnic in the “clash” interiors (image at very top, image above and below) speak loudly but don’t drown out the nostalgic, flea market bohemian. Notice how the simple and stoic second-hand furniture combines comfortably with the exotic patterns, textures and layers of the rugs, pillows, throws and wall coverings.

There’s a mixture of lighting fixtures – an intricate chandelier and bold pendant – as well as a plethora of detailed accessories, each telling a significant story. The spaces communicate eccentric, rich and worldly while remaining simple and nostalgic. Truly balanced and brave at its finest!

If I had to define this “clash”, I’d call it something like mix and match bohemian with a spoonful of around the world eccentricity.

I’m sorry to report that this is the last of our Style Clash combinations, but please feel free to peruse the entire Series for further inspiration and eye candy.

Images via sköna hem, flickr, design is mine, Lonny, interior divine, NY Times.