Fantastic FEATHER

Regular readers may recall my love of wallcoverings, and I must profess my love for the Finnish wallcovering company FEATHER, founded by friends Tom, Anne, and Oli. I'm itching to find a client who will love these patterns as much as I do.

Their company creates amazing wallpapers and murals like this gorgeous watercolor series by LA artist Stacy Solodkin.

Artist Magnus Gjoen has created several marvelous wallcoverings for FEATHER that riff on the ideas of Neo-Classical, Georgian, and Victorian wallcoverings but with a wry, modern twist.

His "Flower Bomb" paper looks like a typical design featuring a spray of flowers but when studied closely, that spray is in the shape of a missile.

Gjoen's incredibly realistic trompe-l'œil paper "Victory Over Ignorance" is startling in its depth. The red stripes actually seem to hover over the antique black and white botanical etchings below.

And finally, what self respecting Victorian would not love this florid, Flemish-flowered paper with hidden skulls.

The papers from their regular lines are just as wonderful. I love the Art Deco vibe of this design called "Ember."

The mash up of graffiti and oil paint is exciting in "Glowing Shards Blue."

Take a look at the tranquility of "Ornament," "Oslo," and "Raindrops."

And "Superabstract" is a fun homage to the graphics of the 60s and 70s while "Utopia" is pure 1980s Memphis style!

If you think you could be "that client" who might love these papers as much as I do, give me a call and let's create something!
Happy designing!

Cranky With Crank Windows? Pella Solves the Problem!

Greetings and Happy New Year readers! Welcome to 2021...we have high (or desperate) hopes for the new year. And in the spirit of new, let's start 2021 by looking at a new product!

Over the years when I have been working on ground-up builds or whole-house remodels, it's common for homeowners to choose elements and finishes that are the opposite of what they have lived with. They know what did not work in their previous home and they want a product or finish to behave better than whatever they might have suffered with previously. But I have seen people get stuck when they get to windows. Not every home can have sash windows and if a slider is not desired, often a casement window is one the few options remaining. However, the big complaint about a casement window is the big clunky crank handle that sticks out. Not only can it be unsightly but the crank handle can be difficult to use.

But window manufacturer Pella has engineered a solution to the crank problem! This new window is called the Easy Slide Operator. The easy-to-use operator is a button installed inside the jamb and slides up to open and down to close. It couldn't easier. And the new design satisfies homeowners wanting something easy to use, and satisfies designers wanting something sleeker and more modern.

The slide button was designed with a comfort grip and the entire mechanism was tested for 20,000 open and close cycles, which exceeds the industry standard of 10,000. This is equivalent to opening and closing a window once a day for more than 54 years, says the company. The new operator can also withstand extreme weather conditions. These seem ideal in so many ways!

Happy designing and Happy New Year!