Home Design Forecast for 2011


Sarah Van Arsdale
- The watchword in real estate has always been: location, location, location. Anything else about a home can be changed: a bedroom can be added, a kitchen renovated, a garage torn down to make room for a garden. But you can do precisely nothing about the number of miles from the nearest grocery store or blocks to the library. And the surrounding neighborhood will make the value of the house plunge or skyrocket, regardless of the square footage.

This year, the watchword in home design seems to be: the economy, the economy, the economy. We're all feeling the percussive echoes of the crash of two years ago, no matter what field we're working in. And the tighter times are affecting not only how much we're spending on decorating and designing our homes, but also the choices we make about how we're decorating—everything from color to furnishings.

To get a sense of the design forecast for 2011 in three different areas of the United States, we talked with three design companies, one each in Georgia, Nevada, and Washington, DC

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Albert Pinto: Table Settings

 

Irwin Weiner - Are you one of those super-organized people who have all your holiday gift purchases wrapped up before Thanksgiving? I can only marvel at that. I wait until the last minute, but one thing is for certain - I will be purchasing a few copies of Alberto Pinto's Table Settings for good friends. It's filled with essential inspiration for tabletop fans.

Alberto Pinto is a highly respected specialist in photography, interior architecture and design, tabletop, and entertaining. I was not surprised that his generosity of spirit drives his love for entertaining and surrounding his guests with beauty, luxury, and whimsy. He respects guests who smoke, too, providing elegant containers for cigarettes at the placesettings.

His trick to making memorable tables is having vast collections of silver, china, stemware, linens, and other decor items on hand at his various residences - a Paris flat, a summer home overlooking the Mediterranean, and a NYC apartment. Company coming over? Not to worry. Mr. Pinto takes an average of 15 minutes to expertly style and dress a table.

He dips into his well-organized cupboards, pantries, and storage areas (beautifully photographed for the book, and certainly putting everything I've seen about storage to shame) and comes up with a glorious juxtaposition of objects which ranges from simple and refined to gloriously festive.

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Notice Great Hotel Details

Irwin Weiner - With autumn upon us, are you sharing "what I did on my summer vacation" stories with your friends and neighbors? I had a memorable summer trip to Italy - as readers of Design2Share already know - and came back wiser design-wise.

It's always important to travel. It broadens taste, gets one out of a rut and comfort zone, and exposes the traveler to new ideas. It's vital for homeowners and interior designers to get first-hand exposure to fresh ideas and decorating inspiration. It is far better than reading the pages of a shelter magazine or browsing photos online. You have to walk up to and touch a detail like a finely carved door, a beautiful set of draperies, or astounding molding.

One of the splurges I made on this trip to Italy was to stay at classic 5-star hotels. I particularly liked the Hotel Principe Di Savoia in Milan. It's a grand hotel done in simple, yet ornate "Liberty" style architecture. The interior design reflects the Lombardy warmth of the 19th century.

The rooms had been decorated recently and expensively, and they contained details that made my eyes go wide. I've filmed some videos

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Report from Milan: Scouting Hot New Accessories

Irwin Weiner - We just got back from Milan, arguably the most design-oriented city on the planet. Part of our visit was to pay homage to La Rinascente, the fashion-forward department store with a rooftop restaurant overlooking the Duomo.

This 150-year-old department store received a 2009 jolt, completely modernizing its departments and opening up a basement-level Design Supermarket filled with great objects from Italy and other countries. Breathtaking views, food, clothing, and home goods to be had - so let's get started with photos of our lunch at the La Rinascente rooftop lounge and some of our favorite finds, followed by a list of designers and objects you should look into for your home.

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