Trendy & Fun Design Resource

Irwin Weiner ASID -- If you're ever in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, NY, make it a point to stop in at the Future Perfect, a trend-setting design store that stocks home items that blend great art, design, and craft instincts. They carry fashion for your home from imaginative and playful designers, all curated with a good eye.

If you can't make it to Brooklyn, there's convenient online shopping on their website.

I enjoyed the diverse mix of playful and sophisticated design objects, ranging from wallpaper (like the London Toille samples below, updated and urban takes on classic toille from Timorous Beasties) and lighting to tabletop and furniture.

For more info: Go to the Future Perfect website for more information and the latest design merchandise.

The photos below will give you an idea of some of the items that really caught our eye.

King of Pop, Prince of Interior Design?

Irwin Weiner ASID -- Michael Jackson, King of Pop, dead at 50. The headlines are unbelievable, and fans worldwide mourn the passing of a musical genius and astounding entertainer. While the star's personal life was shrouded in mystery and controversy, and only a few painful interviews were given to the press, it's possible for us to piece a better picture of his personality through his choice of furnishings, decorative objects, art, and interior design.

Auction items from the Neverland Ranch give us a glimpse into Michael Jackson's decorating taste:

Billy Baldwin, the famous interior designer, once said something that I think applies well to Michael Jackson: "I don't think anyone has a right to possess anything he doesn't love -- art or anything else." Michael Jackson's prodigious spending appetite certainly seems to have been driven by a passion and love for everything he bought. His eclectic collections of art, fine furniture, museum pieces like the Elephant Man skeleton, folk art, and children's games and toys reflects a complicated personality. We see both elegance and sophistication blending with

Irwin Weiner, interior designGuest UserJune 27, 2009Michael Jackson, auction, furniture Comment

Paris Burning

Irwin Weiner ASID -- I tend to dislike scented candles. They usually pass in many homes for "good interior design," and fancy smells are no substitute for good design. A lovely unscented taper or column adds romantic light and ambience to any interior -- without perfumey mess.

But I was recently asked to research scented candles and I came up with some beautiful ones that intrigued even me. Most of the candle makers are from Paris, but a few are domestic and attempt to capture fragrances depicting French life.

Try these websites to get your fill of these perfumed candles and use them when you want to add fragrance to a special interior. Set the mood for a romantic evening in bed, a spa-liscious bubble bath, or just try to mask or neutralize cigarette smoke. Be sure to avoid candles with lead wicks, and remember that SOY is JOY (natural soy candles are wonderful).

colette is an ooh-lah-lah Parisian website with a great assortment of designer candles, and some of them are interior design statements in and of themselves, like the Pharrell candle from Atelier WM (see photo at top).

Irwin Weiner, interior designGuest UserMay 26, 2009France, Paris, candlesComment

Springtime Fancies at Burke Decor

Irwin Weiner ASID -- Spring is the perfect excuse to jazz up your home with some new life. Go to Burke Decor to bring some spring into your space. Browsing and shopping there will become a real guilty pleasure. This online boutique shop has great decorative home products, gifts, furniture, and other goodies to spice everything up a little bit more.

Browse by category or by brand. Burke Decor carries accent decor, bath accessories, bedding, candles, furniture, decorative garden decor, children's furnishings, lighting, mirrors, photographs, pillows, art prints, rugs, serving linens, trays, tabletop accessories, and wallpaper from a range of star designers and brands. You'll love the unique and extraordinary items they source for their appreciative customers.

Here are 10 items that really caught my eye during a recent run through their online store:

Bring spring into a kids room with these Chalkals "Hootie" set of two owls and two branches (below). Modern Dose produced these great wall decals that are easy to affix to any wall surface and remove without taking off paint. Best of all, these decals are great to write on with chalk and are easily erased and cleaned.

Irwin Weiner, interior designGuest UserApril 30, 2009Burke Decor, accessories, furniture, springComment

Adding Color to Your Walls

Irwin Weiner ASID -- Color is very visceral. It's very emotive for people. Picture a white room or a black room -- people feel very different in different colored spaces.

One way to choose color for a room in your home is to follow the advice of master interior designer Samuel Botero. I was told by a friend that he led one of his clients to the refrigerator and said, "Alright, here are the vegetables. Pick your colors." And food in the fridge made up the colors his client chose: hot peppers, green peppers, butternut squash, etc.

Different spaces call for different colors, and even different countries and the quality of the natural light in different parts of the world often determines appropriate color palettes. England is often dark, gloomy, and gray, and the Victorians went with very bright colors for porcelain, paint, and accessories.

Scandinavia, with its relatively weak sunlight, inspired pale grays and whites in home colors (see photo below). By contrast, Country French has its palette inspiration from hot and sunny hues. Mixing up colors and appropriate connotations can be sometimes jarring, like having hot colors in Scandinavian interiors. (Although rules should always be broken!)

In times before the 20th Century, color pigments were very expensive. Cobalt blue was made from lapus lazuli. Turquoise came from turquoise gemstones.

Irwin Weiner, interior designGuest UserMarch 21, 2009colors, decorating, home, painting, tips, wall Comment