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NOVICA | National Geographic | Global Decor

NOVICA novelties
By: Jon Peters

Recently I found an amazing online store called NOVICA that sells handmade crafts and home decor items by local artists from regions all around the world. Although I’d ideally prefer to find these pieces in person on a fun vacation abroad, I think I can settle for a super-cool and authentic online shop that serves as a hub connecting tons of brilliant artisans together in one place. The name NOVICA is actually made up (I figured it would be an acronym because of the capitalization) in order to make it easy for every person to be able to pronounce the name by excluding sounds that many cultures don’t pronounce in their language. NOVICA is associated with National Geographic, so I felt comfortable about buying things on the site without ever seeing anything up close and in person. I was very satisfied with everything that I got from the site, nothing was poor quality and the work was definitely not shoddy.

I was really attracted to the paisley pillowcases and beaded baskets, but I couldn’t decide on one at first. Everything was so cool, from the color choices to patterns to texture. After I selected a fun red, blue, and orange pillowcase I noticed that the artist was Seema, who specializes in textiles and sewing patterns onto fabric.

“My designs mainly focus on embroidery work and the coordination of color and fabric.”-Seema

Seema was raised in the Kashmir region of India and has always held a passion for painting and design. She graduated with a five-year textile degree and worked as a designer for six years before she got married and had a baby. After her baby was born, Seema decided to start her own line of beautifully designed home furnishings with tons of pattern, texture, and bright colors. The sewing and embroidery is beautifully done and I was really thrilled to put my pillow inside to bring it to life. I settled on the “Paisley Garden” pillowcase and it looks great on my sofa.

You can check out more of Seema’s textile and embroidery work here.

“I really appreciate what Novica is doing for promoting all kinds of art work.”-Wayan Sukerni

The other item that I couldn’t pass up was a black and white chevron striped beaded basket, handmade by Wayan Sukerni. Sukerni is 30 and living in Bali with her husband whose mother helped teach her how to create her beaded baskets and artwork. She started out working in a hotel and restaurant but quit after she got married to hone her craft full time. Her designs are beautiful and the attention to detail is amazing. I love my new beaded basket!

Be sure to head over to Wayan’s page here for more of her beautifully beaded products.

Since both items came from different parts of the world, I thought it was interesting that everything shipped separate, but both came in a beautiful wrapping with a handwritten note or product card along with the packaging. Getting my NOVICA packages in the mail felt like somebody sending me a fun gift (even though I purchased them on my own) and it was really exciting to unpack the boxes. I even had to save the packaging, it was just too cute.

Written by: Jon Peters

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Contemporary Design | Bathroom Sink | Interiors

Contemporary Bathroom Faucets
By: Helen Davies

Way back when, we all had two faucets on our bathroom basins. The hot faucet gave you hot water (sometimes you had to wait a while) and the cold faucet gave you cold. Then some clever soul invented the basin mixer faucet and now most bathroom suites (if they are pre-drilled for quick and easy faucet installation) have a single faucet hole in the basin, designed to accommodate a mixer faucet. For the user, there’s a choice of hot water, cold water, and every shade of warm in between, and it’s all very modern and civilized.

Having got the basics solved to almost everyone’s liking, faucet designers have moved on. Anyone choosing a bathroom sink faucet these days has the option of a ‘standard’ chrome finish, but if you’re feeling adventurous, you can also choose from a selection of other finishes: brass, bronze, gold, pewter, black, white, and all the colors of the rainbow.

And it’s not just color, but materials and shapes, too. Decorative bathroom faucets can be crafted from glass, they can take the shape of a plate or a funnel, they can zig-zag stylishly and erratically upward from your basin, or they can barely break the surface of your wall for some stylishly minimalist water delivery. If you can imagine it, an innovative faucet designer has probably created it!

Then there are waterfall faucets. Using the very water they are delivering to you to create a decorative focal point for your bathroom, waterfall faucets come in a selection of shapes and sizes but all have one thing in common: they harness the beauty of moving water for your appreciation.

Finally, if you desire just a little extra flair, you can choose a faucet with integrated, colored LED lights, allowing you to bathe in a glow of color each time you wash your hands or splash your face. My favorite faucet ‘must have’ is in fact not a faucet at all, but an LED device which can be retrofitted to an existing faucet. It costs less than $5 and reacts to water temperature, so as well as creating a stunning waterfall of light when you turn on your faucet, it tells you whether your water flow is hot or cold before you touch it.

Of course, no faucet can be looked at in isolation. Always consider the match between your faucet and your basin when investing in a stylish new look: if you’ve bought a beautiful faucet, you need both its color and its shape to be complemented by the basin with which it sits.

In general terms, a faucet with rounded curves will look better with a rounded rather than angular basin, and vice versa. And while chrome looks good in most situations, if you choose a different finish for your faucet, you may need to exercise a little extra care when selecting your sink.

To take an example I came across a few days ago, Jonathan Adler’s Kohler line of colorful basins (in green, yellow, blue and navy) are perfectly paired with a pristine white basin mixer faucet. It’s a look that screams contemporary chic and, for maximum effect, I would choose to add a brilliant white backdrop with widely spaced but sizeable splashes of complementary color.

Written by: Helen Davies

Helen is the in-house interior designer for Better Bathrooms.

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Florence Italy | Europe Vacation | Things to Do
A SmartFlyer Guide to Florence
By: Taylor Methfessel

A look inside Desii Vintage in Florence

Shops:
1. Boutique Nadine: This store features jewelry made by a local Florentine designer who uses vintage Chanel buttons on everything from bracelets and earrings to necklaces and headbands.
2. Desii Vintage: Desii is, in our opinion, the best vintage store in Florence. The store has hundreds of one of a kind pieces from designers such as Pucci, Louis Vuitton and Hermès.
3. La Rinascente: The Saks of Florence, this Italian department store will make you feel right at home.

Restaurants:
1. La Giostra: Owned by a Hapsburg prince, La Giostra is famous for its pear and Gorgonzola ravioli, although everything on the menu is worth ordering.
2. Trattoria 4 Leoni: The atmosphere is one of the best features of Trattoria 4 Leoni. Sit outside amongst the local Florentines who visit this restaurant to taste its pesto sauce and noteworthy Florentine steak.
3. Lungarno 23: Lungarno 23 is home to the best Chianina hamburger in all of Florence.

The view from the penthouse of JK Place Firenze

Hotels
1. JK Place Firenze: Located in the heart of the city, JK Place Firenze feels more like your own luxury townhouse than it does a boutique hotel.
2. Four Seasons Hotel Firenze: With its hidden garden and hotel spa, the Four Seasons Hotel in Florence is the ultimate escape from the stress of city life.
3. Rocco Forte Hotel Savoy: Overlooking Piazza della Repubblica, Hotel Savoy is perfectly located just a block from the Duomo amongst some of the best shopping in Florence.

The Ferragamo Museum in Florence

A Few of Our Favorite Things:
1. Piazzale Michaelangelo
2. Museo Salvatore Ferragamo
3. Mercato Centrale and the Sant’Ambrogio Market
4. Gucci Museo
5. Galleria dell’Accademia

To take advantage of one of these properties contact us at 212.268.9088 or visit our website.

Photo Credit: Ferragamo, JK Place Firenze, Desii Vintage

Written by: Taylor Methfessel

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Lighting Idea | Crystal Chandelier | Ceiling Light

Show-Stopping Chandeliers
By: Jon Peters

There’s no doubt about it: chandeliers make a show-stopping statement and have been used as status symbols for centuries. These days, chandeliers still have their big effect, but are also being used in much less formal or glamorous settings. I think that one of my favorite looks right now would be the juxtaposition of a large chandelier outside (see below) or used in a less common way, such as two smaller crystal chandelier designs over a double vanity in a lavish bathroom (further down). Both more modern applications yield the same result, which is a powerful space that commands your attention.

I’m pretty sure that the best part about crystal chandeliers in general is that they refract light as it passes through, creating an attractive visual effect like an expensive diamond ring. I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for shiny things so naturally if I had a grand foyer and unlimited funds it would be a blast to search for an awe-inspiring crystal beast that would greet each of my fabulous guests as they cross the threshold.

Some of my favorite contemporary chandeliers have gotten away from crown shape and crystal design and have evolved into more of a linear dangling lighting statement, my favorite having clear bulbs instead of crystal elements. Illuminated or not, these chandeliers are more like works of art than light fixtures.

A really awesome place to showcase your chandelier would be above a dining room table, in a foyer, or anywhere that could use some pizzazz! Check out some of my absolute favorite chandelier designs below and let me know which one is your favorite on Twitter. Are you more of an old-school glam chandelier lover, or sleek and contemporary? Let us know!

Written by: Jon Peters

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Room Dividers | Decorative Screens | Partitions

Unique Room Dividers
By: Jon Peters

With today’s new homebuyers demanding open floor plans and spacious multipurpose areas, decorating a big space with the same colors, fabrics, and finishes can get somewhat boring. A good solution would be to still keep things open by using decorative room dividers instead of walls to break up the space, allow for more privacy while also creating more distinct design possibilities. For instance, using interesting bookshelves, vintage windows, or decorative branches to separate one designated space from another makes you almost forget about how big the actual room is and helps you focus on the intended space.

I think that more people are open to a shared living room and dining room space these days, especially in a condo or smaller modern home setting, but I still think that kitchens and the rest of the living space are often still separated in some way. I feel like a good way to keep kitchen and dining or living rooms broken up would be a large island counter or decorative room divider. The wood block, as well as the vertical iron bar or wood slat designs (see below), would all make visually fantastic room divider options.

Likewise, many times loft spaces or open floor plans can have privacy issues between the bedroom and bathroom, or bedroom and living space. A creative option to keep things feeling relatively open would be an opaque glass or decorative screen curtain panels. This would also be a good idea if you get most of your natural sunlight on one side, since the light will easily pass through the glass or thin panels.

Whatever your style, be sure to scroll through and check out some amazingly creative and inspiring room dividers. What are your favorite looks? Let me know on Twitter to keep the conversation going!

Written by: Jon Peters

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Black Color | Color Quote | Monochrome Interior

Back to Black
By: Jon Peters

I’m a big fan of colorful interiors, but I’ve always thought that there is something instantly classic about a room designed with black as a dominant color. Black makes an impact and a statement, and can be really inspiring if done right. Personally I think it would be a challenge to design a room mostly in black, not only because I feel like it could get goth or depressing really quickly, but also because it could get tricky to decide which elements of the room should stand out. Not really even a color at all, (elementary school art class tells me it’s the absence of color. Thanks Ms. Carte!) black can really create a powerful mood.

Often shied away from because of the association with negativity or mourning, the color black is all about being timelessly classic and is an excellent choice for a chic home interior. Black cabinets in a kitchen (like below) complemented by chrome finishes and marble feels luxurious, while a black bookshelf makes the color of your books really pop. In the same way, a black lacquered door can accomplish the same feeling for me as a black grand piano in the living room.

Tons of designers have had a passion for utilizing the color black in interior design, and each of their reasons for using the color makes sense in their own ways. I think my favorite is by Ron Woodson, who thinks that lacquered doors “are the epitome of chic”. I couldn’t agree more and think that the shiny lacquered black against brass-finished hardware definitely sets a distinguished and luxurious tone for the rest of the house. Keep scrolling for some exceptional black room designs as well as designer quotes on the color.

What are your thoughts on using black as a main color element in your interior? Let me know on Twitter!

Written by: Jon Peters

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