"Feel Free to Compose" - Axor Bouroullec collection from Hansgrohe

written by:  Jen Bruno, Hansgrohe National Sales training Manager,IIDA, AIA, ASID, NKBA, NARI, USGBC

 

"Feel free to compose."

That's the message behind the Axor Bouroullec collection from Hansgrohe’s designer brand, Axor. Imagine being able to design your own bathroom oasis by placing faucets and fixtures anywhere you like. Envision a shelf, which doubles as a faucet, allowing for extra space for bath and shower accessories. Enter Axor Bouroullec. Designed by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, this game-changing collection can bring these seemingly impossible design scenarios to life. Comprised of faucets, sinks, a bathtub, shower components, shelves and accessories, it lets you create your own personalized bathroom configurations without having to custom-order essential components. Axor Brand Manager Philippe Grohe elaborates, “Fittings can be freely arranged within the washing area: on the integrated shelves, in front of, or next to the sink, or on the wall. As a result, Axor Bouroullec offers a wealth of options to create designs and solutions that meet the functional, aesthetic and individual needs of the user The use of mineral resin for the sinks and shelves and acrylic for the tub is the main reason behind the collection’s unlimited potential. It provides the freedom to position the faucet and handles to one’s liking, as the surfaces can be easily and safely drilled to meet individual wishes. The easy-to-clean material also allows for the collection’s refined shapes and narrow radii. First unveiled to the North American market at Axor NYC, Axor’s Manhattan-based design studio, the collection officially launched at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in NY the following day. Since then, it has traveled to other well-known fairs. This June, it stole the show at Modern Atlanta (MA), an annual 10-day event focused on delivering a shot of bold design to Atlanta and the Southeast. As part of the program, Axor Bouroullec was included in a curated design exhibition at Terminus Atlanta (http://modern-atlanta.org/ma/2012-ma-home-tour-launch-design-exhibition/). The local design extravaganza was a huge success, maximizing exposure and underscoring the company’s commitment to the community. Just a few short weeks later, Axor Bouroullec made its mark in Los Angeles at Dwell On Design in front of a record crowd of 27,428 attendees The Dwell editorial team couldn’t get enough of the collection, covering it first at ICFF: http://www.dwell.com/articles/ICFF-2012-Axor--the-Bouroullecs.html and again at Dwell on Design: http://www.dwell.com/articles/kitchen--bath-at-dwell-on-design-2012.html Axor Bouroullec can be easily accessed virtually using the Axor Bouroullec Composer online tool. Perfect for planning, it allows users to see the wide variety of conceivable and technically feasible solutions available. Each user can build individual compositions to meet their functional requirements and aesthetic preferences at the click of a mouse. Professionals can access a technical, 2D view. This function designates the drillable space and includes grids with placement coordinates. The customer version of the software offers a 3D view, which allows users to design their individual bathroom areas and deal with questions that relate to their bathroom layout. Check it out here http://www.hansgrohe-usa.com/7080.htm and “feel free to compose!”

In Love with Claw Foot Tubs - guest writer Joanna

Hi! I’m Joanna, a writer for Arcadian Lighting (they offer brilliant lighting fixtures in a plethora of styles and finishes.) I'm fortunate to be able to write daily about my passion—interior design. I spend my time searching the internet for beautiful decorating ideas and images to share in guest posts like this one. Today, I’m sharing some of my favorite clawfoot tubs. No matter their color nor the setting in which they're found, these bathing beauties are always charming with just a touch of nostalgia. This lovely bathroom features a brightly-hued clawfoot tub and wallpaper in an engaging Chinoiserie pattern. Lively purple covers a clawfoot tub surrounded by wide striped wallpaper. The hue used gives the bathroom personality. This clawfoot tub in cheery yellow is dressed femininely in a ruffled curtain. The floor mirror reflects the light from the window and the color of the tub. A red tub offers the only spot of color in this minimalist bathroom with all natural wood elements. A sophisticated black and grey bathroom features a black tub accompanied by brass fixtures. The single glass pendant light hanging from the ceiling subtly illuminates the space. Chevron flooring gives the room a decidedly French air. Pretty turquoise and white provides a touch of Zen to this inviting bath. The little chandelier over the tub is a charming addition. This gorgeous French style bathroom is so beautiful. I love the clawfoot tub in soft blue-grey. Wouldn’t you just love to see the rest of the space? A white soaking tub with claw feet provides a welcoming place for a long relaxing bath. The blush color on the walls adds to the charm of the space. You can see just a hint of two crystal light fixtures. Images | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 What did you think of these tubs? Let us know in the comments section! Also, don't forget to come over to Arcadian Lighting for all your lighting and accessory needs.

Sherwin Williams 2013 Color Trends - August Sponsor

Sherwin-Williams Announces 2013 Color Trends

Submitted by:  Matthew Heald, Sherwin-Williams
Written by: Jackie Jordan, Sherwin-Williams

Sherwin-Williams has just unveiled our Colormix 2013 collection, which embraces the dueling influences competing for attention in today’s hyperkinetic, vividly saturated world.  From exploring the dichotomies of simple versus complex to mystery versus certainty to light versus dark, you can use the palettes of Colormix 2013 to help clients embrace their inspiration and navigate a project’s design direction.

While people gravitate to personal preferences, we are being shaped by the divergent energies pulsing around us.  Colormix 2013 embraces these conflicts and shows how colors are about a process of combination, and creating unexpected harmony.

The 40 colors selected by our color experts for Colormix 2013 are grouped into four palettes: Midnight Mystery, Honed Vitality, Vintage Moxie and High-Voltage.

Midnight Mystery

The colors of Midnight Mystery are moody, the vibe is masculine and the aesthetic is both Victorian and futuristic.  The shades of this palette range from Earthy Plum Brown, absinthian Bottle Green, the metal gray of Outerspace, and Rustic Red evoking the houndstooth cloak of Sherlock Holmes.

We’ve embraced the intoxicating allure of our dark side. It gives us power as we navigate a choppy economy, escaping to the futuristic Victorian vibe of steampunk design that offers a theatrical feel.  This palette is a declaration of independence—a statement of luxury and purpose that pairs warmly with textured fabrics and collections of curiosities.

Honed Vitality

The Honed Vitality palette reflects the interplay of time and nature, taking inspiration from the layered hues of mineral deposits, sea-buffeted stones and the weathered shutters of a rustic farmhouse. The colors are chalky greys and blues, and earthy cider-colored browns. Finishes are matte with an organic, textured feel.

The colors of Honed Vitality create a softened beauty that is restful, comforting and embraces furnishings with natural textures for décor you can feel with your eyes and it folds in the energy of the Earth. Think of the ‘magic hour,’ those minutes after sunset and before dark when shadows compete with rays of sunlight in an epic battle that washes the Earth in a warm glow.

Vintage Moxie

Representing midcentury demure with a new, modern edge, Vintage Moxie is a pretty palette in which the retro glamour of pearls, florals and classic feminine silhouettes is tempered by funky accents and attitude. While the Honed Vitality palette is more subdued, these classic colors are a bit more vibrant. 

Glamour has become much more free-spirited.  It’s softness emboldened; golds infused with semiprecious citrine, violets that are bit more vivid, an almost black that you might not expect, all set off by gauzy white.

High-Voltage

The electricity of Vegas neon inspires this palette, which plugs in to a digital stream of electric limes, phosphorescent yellows and feverish reds. It’s consumerism as self-expression, giving the bold and the not-so-bold equal permission to be nonconformists.

But those bold hues need a palette cleanser, bringing black, white, gray and clear acrylics into the picture to offset the electric feel of the brighter neon shades.

CH Briggs - IIDA Georgia sponsor news

Atlanta[JS1] , GA –  DuPont^™ Corian^® and C.H. Briggs are pleased to be a part of the new Sub-Zero and Wolf Showroom Atlanta, which officially opened in May 2012.  For more than a year, Sub-Zero and Wolf have planned and constructing their new 11,000 square foot showroom in the Terminus building in Buckhead. 

The showroom features many unique applications of DuPont^™ Corian^® on counters, vertical wall surfaces and columns including techniques such as thermoforming, backlighting and Sculptcor^™, a method by which an embossed texture is formed onto the surface.   All of the Corian^® applications were the products of three expert fabricators; A.S.S.T. ^™ (McSherrystown, PA), MacLaren Fabrication, Inc. (West Chester, PA), and Top South (Marietta, GA). 

“We are pleased to have played a part in creating this unique and inspiring space,” says Luis Arias, Chief Marketing Officer for Corian^® distributor, C.H. Briggs.  “Our strong fabricator relationships allow us to support Corian^® applications which continue to intrigue, motivate and inspire the future of design.”

C.H. Briggs hosted an event celebrating the unique applications of Corian^® at the Sub-Zero and Wolf Showroom on June 7, 2012.  This exciting event showcased the beauty and functionality of Corian^® for both commercial and residential spaces.  Many local architects and designers were inspired and encouraged to explore the versatility of Corian^® through the applications displayed. 

“We are very excited to have this event at our Buckhead Showroom,” said Vicki Stevens, Showroom Manager.  “We hope that this type of evening will bring together the design community in a way that is motivating and exciting for all who attend.”

For more[JS2]  information on this event, please contact Martha Smith, mrsmith@chbriggs.com

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 [JS1]This Press Release is currently written for pre-event release but can also be edited for post-event release.

 [JS2]Optional contact person info. 

Shaw Contract Group - Design is Brave

Design is Brave

The very essesense of design is optimism.  At its functional core, design exists to originate, to remedy, and to advance the development and longevity of products, systems, services, and ultimately cultures, all

around the world, all for the benefit of people.  Shaw Contract Group's Design is multi-media magazine explores the brave culmination of empowered designers taking risks and improving lives.  In these

pages<http://digital.turn-page.com/i/69163>, we see that designers, when brave enough to topple boundaries, are impacting the world and redefining the very idea of what design is.  

link:   http://digital.turn-page.com/i/69163
submitted by:  Bryna Wiggins, Shaw Contract Group
written by:  Kaycee Rogers, Shaw Contract Group

Wilsonart's New 2012 Contract Collection

Wilsonart Introduces New 2012 Contract Collection

New Collection Mixes Distinctive Urban Quality with European Influence -- Wilsonart introduces urban-inspired laminate patterns including abstracts, solids, woodgrains, stones and new pure metals to its 2012 Contract Collection.  New “Soft Grain” textured-finish provides an abstracted matte wood tick to existing and new designs. For more information, visit WilsonartContract.com/News and see the exciting new “Look Book.”

(Trend Watch: Layering, Perforations, Tessellations)
Product shown clockwise:
Berry Fizz / 4935 / Fine Velvet
Aqua Fizz / 4934 / Fine Velvet
Cream Fizz / 4933 / Fine Velvet

(What's Old is New Again!)
Products shown Top to Bottom:
Pinball / 4937 / Fine Velvet
Arcade / 4938 / Fine Velvet
Midway / 4936 / Fine Velvet

(Trend Watch: Urban Landscape and Ethical Consumerism)
Shown L to R:
High Line / 7970K / Linearity
Skyline Walnut / 7964K / Soft Grain
5th Ave. Elm / 7966K / Soft Grain

Zaban Couples Center - Weekend Volunteers Needed!!

Exciting Zaban Couples Center News…IIDA Georgia Needs Your Help!

You may recall that last spring IIDA Georgia supported an INCREDIBLE local outreach project to renovate the resident rooms at Zaban Couples Center in Midtown, Atlanta.  The mission of The Center is to assist couples transitioning from homelessness to resettlement and independence by providing shelter, basic necessities and counseling services.

This past year over 61% of the 46 couples residing at Zaban were employed and successfully transitioned to permanent housing. Executive Director Patricia Smith attributes the increased numbers to the renovation as housing stability is key to the continued independence of the residents.

There will be a lot of activity at The Zaban Center this summer as well.  Phase II of the renovation will begin and the common spaces of the facility will be given a much needed face-lift. . IIDA Georgia will partner with The Temple once again and welcomes Robert Fain and IBG Construction to the team. IBG will be doing the heavy lifting (all pro-bono) as we move walls, clean up electrical issues and complete the design as conceptualized by SCAD-Atlanta graduate students over three years ago!

We need YOUR help, too! There will be weekend volunteer opportunities, but the most important volunteers we need right now are Committee Members to assist in facilitating the project, including organizing donations and volunteer efforts.

Please consider joining this effort.  The Zaban Couples Center has impacted the lives of thousands in our community, and we need your help, your hands and your heart to continue this effort.

If you are interested in helping, please email Betsy Lindell at betsy@oedreps.com.

Toot Your HORN on Designed & Delivered

Do you have interesting or new ways that effect the way you work?   Have you found a new processes or design trends that you want to share?  Do you have a completed project that you want to show your peers?! 

IIDA Georgia's blog Designed & Delivered needs you!!! 

D&D is looking for creative, intelligent and progressive news to broadcast.  The intent of D&D is to effectively integrate design related events and information to stimulate conversation and inspire career excellence. 

Send an email to news@iidageorgia.org and make a suggestion/submission.  We need your interaction.  Toot your horn!......