What's on my radar today: CaesarStone

This past week I had the pleasure of learning about CaesarStone's latest quartz surface, Motivo™, at a local NKBA chapter meeting generously hosted by Mitrani Shower Doors and Caesarstone.  Motivo is a textured embossed quartz surface available in two textures, Lace and Crocodile, that can be used in wall panels, furniture, counters and more. Viewing a small sample does not do it justice. It must be seen in a large application. In my local area, Mitrani Shower Doors, in Woodland Hills has two large installation shown in their shower displays. The texture resembles the authentic pattern found on a crocodile. Stunning.

Shown above: Crocodile 3100C.

Lace2141L

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Cool looks, new finds or what I love today.

Always on the hunt for fabulous finds, check out what is catching my eye. 

Backsplashes

 

I discovered a great new kitchen website called Beautiful Kitchens where I first found this funky glass back splash designed with red circles. It is from www.funkysplashbacks.com.

 

Heath Ceramics, dimensional tile was just what this kitchen needed.

The tile pattern wakes up an austere kitchen with flat one dimensional surfaces.

Photo credit: Kitchen at the 2009 Decorator's Showcase house by J. Weiss Design

 

Here is the same pattern by Heath Ceramics, shown in a matte brown. I have always loved this pattern.

Installation by Ann Sacks at KBIS in Matte Brown using oval shaped tiles. Photo: © Ann Sacks 

The same tile takes on a whole new appearance with a theatrical look. Almost as if a curtain is rising, using 3x9 shaped oval tiles in a custom color. Photo: © Annie Schlechter. 

This is in the Maritime Hotel, (Matsuri Restaurant), New York City in the Meat Packing District.  

Bathtubs

 

 

  

The clean contemporary lines of The Cube collection appear to have no visible seams. 

Found at Wetstyle.com

Are you ready to submerge? As in, get ready to get your body submerged in a deep tub. 

The BC09 from the Cube Collection is 30" wide, 60" in length and 24" deep. 67 gallons. Comes with a Wenge tray.    A drop in tub available in a 1, 2 or 3 wall configuration. Glossy or matte finish.  

Designer note: I do not recommend this as a tub/shower application.  A 24" depth is awkward to climb in and out of for a shower, especially for people with mobility problems or small children. 

The BC11, from The Cube Collection. 

10 possible configurations available. 

60" x 32" x 17 3/4", 70 gallons.

 

The BOV02, from The Ove Collection from Wetstyle. 

It's great that it has a wider ledge to lean sit on and swing your legs over and into the tub. 

72" x 36", 65 Gallon capacity to overflow. 

S 1978 Also from the Niche Collection from Wetstyle. 

Clever storage ideas for the tub collections.

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Beachy Kitchens

Looking towards fair wheather ahead, here are a few of my favorite beachy kitchens from Coastal Living that inspire spring remodeling. 

Photographer Richard Leo Johnson, Writer Bradley Nesbitt

Did somebody say cookies and milk? 

This kitchen beckons with a "come play with me" spunky retro palette. 

Milk glass pendants. The play of aqua appliances and mosaic blend tile against an all white palette.  

Photographer J. Savage Gibson, Writer Bradley Nesbitt

Love the color on the wood floor. 

Photographer Roger Davies, Writer Bradley Nesbitt

What makes this kitchen special is the apothecary chest that divides the kitchen from dining room. The height of the chest serves as a good visual break between the two spaces.    

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Friday Faucets: Hey, my faucet is named as a finalist!

Delta's Pilar, (my) pull-down kitchen faucet with Touch2O technology was named a finalist in the Industrial Design category of the 2010 Edison Best New Product Awards on Feb.11, the 163rd birthday of inventor Thomas Alva Edison. The Pilar uses capacitance technology (touch anywhere) to allow users to start and stop the flow of water with a simple touch or tap anywhere on the spout or handle.

I first wrote about the Delta Pilar in May, '09 and again in November 09, and then again in December '09. I am excited to know "my faucet" has been nominated. So how's it going so far you ask? Great! The touch mechanism is a dream for me. I admit, it took a few days to get used to, similar to learning how to drive a stick shift, I had a few herky-jerky days trying to get used to it. But the first time I had "chicken hands" it was smooth tapping all the way. Here is my routine: When I begin to prepare a meal, I turn the handle to the "on" position and touch it anywhere to turn it off. When I am ready to rinse, all I need to do is touch the faucet anywhere with a slight tap to turn the water on and off just as quickly. The other benefit is the water temperature remains constant where I last positioned the handle.  After experimenting tapping on and off with different body parts, back of hand, pinky finger, wrist, forearm, I found that I prefer tapping with my knuckle. Sensor technology, I can really get used to this! The other happy note on this is my soap dispenser. (If you are a client of mine, you know that I never liked soap dispensers because they are usually junk and the first thing to break in a kitchen.) The Pilar Soap Dispenser has changed my view of soap dispensers. It is as sturdy as it looks. It passed the pump test, no sticking and remains free flowing. 


Congratulations to the engineers and product designers at Delta on your 2010 Edison Best New Product Awards nomination for the Pilar Touch2O . The other nominees in this category are SOLE POWER ROOF TILE, from SRS Energy & MOTOROLA APX™ 7000 FIRST RESPONDER RADIO, from Motorola

The 2010 Edison Awards Ceremony and New Product Showcase will be held at the Capitale in New York City on April 29, 2010.

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Lumiere Circolare Floral

Yesterday I asked if you 

could guess what this was in this photo.

 

If you guessed a rain head, you get a gold star. 

The Lumiere Circolare Rain Canopy by Jaclo is composed of a patterned semi-transparent cover that is available in several different designs and colors for a range of options that effortlessly meld into their setting.

Actually this is an interesting idea of adding light through the rain head fixture. Very clever. More patterns can by found at Jaclo.com

Lumiere Circolare Floral

12R-LF-***

• 12" Diameter Rain Canopy with 228 Easy clean, replaceable, rubber jets for full rain effect
• 12" drop from ceiling
• ½" male IPS inlet connection at ceiling
• Lit internally by LED lights
• Floral pattern available in:
• Black: (12R-LF-101)
• Silver: (12R-LF-102)

Prices start at $4,500. 

The second item featured in the top photo is JACLO’s Dream Light Rain Canopy. It enables you to experience revitalizing color while fulfilling a daily ritual. The futuristic design of this lit Rain Canopy features LED lights, which illuminate the falling water. The lights can be programmed to turn on manually with the flip of a switch or they can start automatically whenever the shower is turned on. Featuring a full rain spray, the canopy can be customized with fixed colored lights in white, blue, amber, red, green or warm white. 

FACTS: 16" x 20" Rettango dream light rain canopy

1620-DLRC

• 16"x20" rectangular rain canopy with 149 easy clean replaceable rubber jets for full rain spray effect
• Brass construction with surface or flush mount to ceiling. ½" male IPS inlet connection at ceiling
• 12 low voltage, direct current LED lights with 110V AC input voltage (transformer included)
• Single color, fixed lighting comes on when water comes on
• LED lights available in:
• White (standard) (-013)
• Blue (-015)
• Amber (-016)
• Red (-017)
• Green (-018) 

Prices Start at $8,900
* CE approved

Now why can't hotel rooms install these features in the guest rooms? 

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Remember Chelsea King

Since last Friday, my stomach has been tied in knots hoping for a miracle for Chelsea King. Chelsea was last seen Thursday, Feb. 25. before heading out for a run after school. Her car was found at the Rancho Bernardo Glassman Community Park. Her cell phone, iPod and school clothes were found inside the car.
Source: "Strong Likelihood" Body Found Is Chelsea's | NBC San Diego

News reports state that a body likely to be 17 year old Chelsea King was found in a shallow grave near a tributary about 15 feet from the southern shore of Lake Hodges. 

Speaking about faucets, fashion and anything else seems trivial right now when I really wish it was possible to reverse time and make the tragedies of the past week go away. Speaking to friends about this, I find that people either want to tighten up their security and warn their loved ones not to walk alone and take protective measures to be safe. Others could not fathom changing their habits of giving up their hobby of jogging trails or running in parks. The fact is we live in a society where monsters are allowed to live amongst  us. All you have to do is look up a map of registered offenders to see where they live and read all about their convictions to see what these animals are into.  Experts say that sexual offenders can never be rehabilitated. The animal who took Chelsea's life has a history of sexual attacks and was jailed for it. Why was he let out in the first place? This outrages me to no end. And don't fall into a sense of complacency because there are no sex offenders on your block. These creeps are on the loose. The bastard who took Chelsea's life was registered with a home address 75 miles away but stayed in the neighborhood where Chelsea regularly went for her long distance runs.   

Here are the usual tips to stay safe listed at the bottom of this post taken from familywatchdog.com. But I think we need to go further in taking proactive measures. Chelsea left her phone in her car and even if she did have it on her she might not have been in cell phone range to get a signal or she might have already been in harms way to even get a chance to call for help. 

So what can we do and what can our kids do if facing a situation where we are in potential danger and alone? What about GPS tracking that can be attached to clothing? A GPS watch perhaps. What about safety alarms that can be attached to sports wear, socks or shoes that can let out a blaring horn to scare off potential attackers? Are there personal silent alarms that we could trigger, unnoticed by an attacker, that would transmit a GPS signal when in danger? There has to be better ways to stay safe and keep our loved ones safein our daily lives. Let's face it, sex offenders will always be around us, and there will be times when our kids will be in unsafe situations. There has to be better ways to keep out loved ones safe. 

tips to stay safe

Parents

• Always know where your children are.
• Put your children's emergency identification (name, address, phone number) on their clothes.
• Teach your children your home phone number and to how call 911 if there is an emergency.
• Agree on a specific time when children must return home.
• Contact law enforcement authorities immediately if there is any suspicious or unlawful activity.
• Purchase and watch The Safe Side video with your children.

Children

• Always tell your parents where you are going.
• Never enter any home without getting your parent's permission first.
• Never get into any vehicle, unless your parents know and have said it's OK.
• Always wear reflective clothing at night.
• Never approach any house that is not well lit.
• Remember anything weird that an adult says or does to you and tell your parents immediately.
• Run away from people who offer you candy or other treats or want you to help look for their puppy or kitten.
• Scream, run and fight if anyone tries to grab you or make you to go with them.
• Don't play in areas that you are unfamiliar with.
• Stay on well-lit streets and always use the sidewalk. If there is no sidewalk, always walk facing traffic.

    

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Can you guess what this is?

...Answer to be posted tomorrow. 

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Kitchens and Baths in Hotel Residences

More on the lawsuit of the ugly kitchen: I must tell you that I am intrigued. Since I cannot bring you photos (yet) of the Ikea Kitchen that has become the center of a lawsuit at the Gramercy Park Hotel, whereby an Icelandic couple is being sued for putting IKEA kitchen cabinets in their swank co-op located at 50 Gramercy Park North I decided to take you on a photo tour of hotel bathrooms that were voted best hotel bathrooms by Oyster Hotel Reviews.  Tacky or Tasteful: You decide.

The Loft Room at the Gramercy Park Hotel, New York City

The bathroom vanity area, decorated in black marble, dark wood and retro 70's accent lighting. An ode to Studio 54 perhaps? Careful with that first step into the shower. I think I may get a headache looking at those lamps. Rates: $389.00 per night

Gramercy Park Hotel

Did somebody say luxury? I don't care how luxurious the toiletries are with their ginger infused soy milk shampoo and shea rice-milk conditioner. Note to traveler, bring flip flops to use in shower. I would not want to put my bare feet on this shower floor. 

Affinia Shelburne Hotel

There is nothing really spectacular here other than the vanity looking clean and updated. Good lighting. If it weren't for the backlit round mirror and magnifying mirror, this bathroom ranks as an average updated bath. 

Rates: $256.00 per night

Bathroom at The Deluxe Room, The Peninsula,  Beverly Hills

Better. An older suite, classic lines. Lighting is good. But wait...is that a mirror in the shower??? Good heavens, ugly bodies need not book this room unless you don't mind being confronted with your own nakedness in the mirror while showering.
Rates: $506.00 per night. 

Good to see they have a separate room for the loo. But wait...is that a phone right above the TP holder? If ever you want to call me from the loo, I will put you on hold. Indefinitely.

Clean shower. Flip flops not required. 

Rate: $506 per night. 

Note: Oyster.com has to say that the Peninsula is "One of the best hotels -- if not the best hotel -- in the entire L.A. area, much less Beverly Hills, the Peninsula bills itself, accurately, as an "exclusive oasis."

 

Bathroom in the Deluxe Double Room at the Mandarin Oriental, New York

This is a jazzy bathroom space. Flat screen tv. Big walk in shower with multiple shower heads. Rain head, body jets, hand-held shower. A little small, but young, fresh & swanky.

Bathroom in the Deluxe Double Room at the Mandarin Oriental, New York

Rates: $710.00 per night

 

The Plaza  Midtown East, New York City

The Plaza's bathrooms have enough space for twin 24-karat-gold-plated sinks and a partitioned-off toilet with its own window.

 A full-size soaking tub and shower have intricate mosaic walls, and the thick Mascioni Turkish cotton towels and robes (available in both adult's and children's sizes) don't disappoint. Do you feel pretty? 
Rates: $677 per night.

Bryant Park Hotel  Midtown West, New York City

This bathroom has the edge. Outfitted in a combination of white and tan marble, with a minimalist rectangular sink, a large soaking tub, and a wonderful rainfall showerhead.
Rates: $300 per night. 

Trump International Hotel And Tower  Upper West Side, New York City

Red marble and gold fixtures. Tasteless. This is when less would have been more.   Rates: $556.00 per night

 

The Alex Hotel  Midtown East, New York City

Jail Cell or Bathroom. If it wasn't for the LCD TV, I wouldn't have known the difference. 

The Standard New York  West Village, New York City

Oh no you didn't...separate the tub/shower with a clear pane glass window from the seating area.

A voyeurs delight. Rates: $322 per night.     

The Standard New York  West Village, New York City

Freestanding tub in the middle of the room. The views of the Hudson are the thing. 

Rates: $322 per night.  

Photo below from 101 hotel, a boutique hotel, situated in the heart of Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland.  The owners of the hotel,  Designer Ingibjörg S. Pálmadottir and Jon Asgeir Johannesson are the same couple who are at the center of the lawsuit for installing an “ugly” IKEA kitchen in their Gramercy Park apartment..

Double Room, 101 Hotel, Reykjavik  

Eclectic mix of materials. Claw foot tub and Modern furnishings.  A little cluttered and lived in looking for a hotel room.

Standard Room. 101 Hotel, Reykjavik, Iceland.  

 This room is bright and has warmth to it. Good mix of materials. 

101 Hotel, Reykjavik, Iceland.  

Nordic coolness. Modern, light, fresh. 

Young. Daring. Fun. 

What's wrong with this? Is there any Ikea in here?

 

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Can you get sued for bad taste?

 

Gramercy Park Hotel lobby

The short answer is yes! You can get sued for bad taste. When you scroll the website of New York City's Luxury Hotel, Gramercy Park, you immediately get a sense of luxury with photos showing luxuriously appointed rooms and private residences with custom designed bathrooms and kitchens by British designer John Pawson.

If the stellar photos are not enough, quotes from reputable publications flash on the web page confirming that this is the place of true luxury. 

"TRULY GRAND COMFORT RULES", The New York Times

"CHIC SENSUALITY", Travel & Liesure

"RAISING THE BAR", Vogue

"UNIQUE, Another Lifestyle Revolution" Time Magazine

"IAN SCHRAGER'S NEWEST MASTERPIECE", Hospitality Magazine

 And then there is the case of power couple, Jon Asgeir Johannesson and Ingibjorg Palmadottir, owners of a swanky New York apartment, (one of the twenty three private residences), located on a full floor in the Gramercy Park Hotel Building. I was tipped off about this story by Sara Blask, who writes for the informative Oyster Blog, Insights from the Hotel Authority. Apparently the couple, hit by hard times, decided to save a buck and install Ikea Cabinets in their luxury apartment. 

There is more irony to be found in this story, so with no further delay, I will point you towards Sarah Blask's article:

IKEA doesn’t fly at the Gramercy Park Hotel

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