Transparent.

This wood table is creative and unique in a very big way. It's transparent. The studio Nendo from Japan created this table. It’s made of clear acrylic in a wooden form with a heavy grain. The table is available in clear or black. Each of the tables have specific and different optical effects. When first looking at the black table it appears to be solid wood, but upon a closer look reveals its transparency, while the clear table is the transparent at first glance, and only later reveals its wooden form.

Charcoal.

My latest fascination is with interior walls painted a Charcoal. While Charcoal Grey is certainly acceptable, I do not mind seeing the walls heading more toward a deeper Charcoal tone. I love the way this paint color adds instant sophistication and drama to a space. It also enables all of the furnishings set inside the room to really stand out against the deep painted backdrop. My bedroom is now painted Charcoal. It's smashing.

Welcome Summer. Santa Cruz Boardwalk.

Euro Tropiques Platter Plate

The small details on Bernardaud's Euro Tropiques Platter Plate intrigue me. First of all, I like the delicious deep crimson colors on white found on the plate. I then like the twist of the snake design and the overall shape of the platter. I look at this as a "jewel piece" for the table. It's an interesting platter that is versatile and may be combined with many different table settings. I would love to see this plate paired with a grouping of crisp white dinner plates and white linen napkins piped with the crimson color found in the plate. This is a conversation piece. A lovely way to allow French porcelain to spark some interest at the dinner or luncheon table. The plate is available at Barney's New York for $480.00.. As mentioned, it is Authentic French porcelain from Bernardaud. Brazilian designers, the Campanas Brothers, have collaborated to produce this unique platter plate that measures 11.4"d. It is made in France.

Retro Style Graffiti Furniture.

Capri is the latest work of Portobello Street. They are mainly storage pieces of furniture - a sideboard and cupboard. One of the focal different of these furniture is their retro style graffiti. Paris, in the year of the classical Formula-1 races, has become the inspiration for the designer to decorate the furniture with the graffiti. While the furniture is traditional in style, the graffiti was done in retro style. The addition of the graffiti to these pieces of furniture gives them a fun, modern edge. The furniture is made of cherry wood, with glossy silver or other specialty finishes.

Hand-blocked wallpaper.

I have a secret fascination with hot pink. Something about this wild wallpaper from

Oneiric design inspires me. According to their website this is a "Hand-blocked, ochre block ink on pink day-glo wallpaper stock. The combination of colors in this wallcovering make it a living, dynamic presence in the rooms it occupies, changing dramatically with the changes in the ambien light of day into evening. Also available in a variety of custom block inks on several day-glo fields." How about trying something like this in a powder room? Certainly a big surprise for a small room.

Ko Table.

The Ko Table by Element Design was created in the image of a Canadian forest. It feels as if you are sitting in a forest looking at branches in a lake. Because each piece of furniture is carefully carved by hand, none of them are exactly the same. The table is made from rich Walnut and supports a 12mm tempered glass top. It is finished with a delicate organic oil.

The Cove Ceiling.

While the design feature is certainly not new, my infatuation with the Cove ceiling is. Simply defined, a cove ceiling is a style of ceiling characterized by curved molding that joins the wall and ceiling, creating a transition between the two and eliminating sharp corners. This design requires technical skill to execute, which typically makes cove ceilings more expensive and more common in luxury homes or homes built at the time when manual labor was less costly. In addition to being an interesting design feature, a cove ceiling can also be used in some creative ways. Two of my favorite ideas is to paint the ceiling a contrasting color from the rest of the room, leaving the cove molding the color of the trim throughout the room. If the room can handle it, I love to use a metallic silver leaf paint to achieve this. I also like to light the cove ceiling by installing either florescent or LED lighting inside the cove molding so that it illuminates the entire interior of the ceiling. The look is dramatic, sophisticated and very elegant.