Asparagus Interiors Inc.

Inspired by Trees, conversation piece and cafe chair.

Whether you are a residential home owner or a commercial firm, you’ll love the Cafe Janus chair.  Janus et Cie offers the indoor / outdoor furniture made of powder coated auminum.  Offered in Black, White, and custom colors by order, this chair was clearly a NeoCon favorite.

FLOR is opening a new store in Chicago.

I’ve had many clients install FLOR carpet tiles in their homes with great success. FLOR product is made of renewable and recycled materials offering an eco-friendly choice and with function, style and performance ratings it’s great for many applications.

Check out their new store this June at: 1873 N. Clybourn – Chicago, IL.

Love the look of a chandelier, but you’re just not that into crystal and scrolls?

Consider a shade pendant.  The soft glow, graphic details and interesting patterns may just be the fixture for you.

Anchor a pendant with a seating area accented with a mirror to bounce the light around.  Special places accented by a pendant don’t have to be the dining room table or foyer.  Consider a reading nook a special place and … let it glow.

(Note: Pendant at left, Roots Chandelier by Agnes & Hoss and Stonegate Designs – found at Fyndes.com. Pendants at the right, Drum Pendants by Galbraith & Paul)

With all the hype of the Slumdog Millionaire, and my new found obsession with the soundtrack.  I’ve been thinking… how could I add global designs to my interiors?

1) Research.  Go out and explore!

Find cultural influences that inspire you.  We visited the North Central College International Fair this month.  I’ve always been inspired by the far eastern cultures.  My daughter loved the vivid colors and jewel tones of the costumes.

2) Little Pieces Speak Volumes

Consider including a little sculpture, vase or piece of artwork, but place it in a prominant location.  Make your little piece a focal point and topic of interest for guests.
Chinese Stool found at Pagoda Red, Chicago.

3) Incorporate Graphics Found in Architecture

Love those Roman columns or Moorish arches.  Mimic those architectural details with moulding, wallpaper or painted murals.  Architectural details create the feel of being in another country and give your bland dry wall construction the grand lift it needs.

Imperial Trellis II – Wallpaper, 100% Linen Schumacher.

I’m just canvasing some of the latest green products and resources out there for building an eco-friendly kitchen or bath.

Some noteworthy items:

Crossville’s Echo Recycled glass, made of 100% recycled content.  Wide range of colors and sizes.

Kohler Indio Sink
An under counter mount made of 93% recycled and reclaimed material of cast iron.

Interesting feature: Many new sinks are offering a side faucet mount.  Allowing you to maximize depth and reduce the holes in your counter top.

Soupcan, offers countertops in concrete, stainless steel, copper and zinc.

Notice: the undermount sink with side mounted faucet.

Also the 2-3″ depth on the counter top edge.  A greater edge depth can give the counters the look of a thick, beefy edge without adding bulk to the surface.

Soupcan can also include integrated drain boards, backsplashes, metal accents in concrete and form the concrete substrate into a single surface with integrated sinks.

Last weekend mom, Maggie and I took a road trip to Big Rock, IL (approx. 1 hr from Chicago) to Esther’s Place.

Now that Mom has Alpacas she’s been looking for local sources to buy roving and other wool fibers.  She started PokeyTree designs creating purses, pillows and other objects d’Art from dry and wet felting techniques.

Esther’s Place, founded by mother and daughter team, Donna and Natasha, offer classes, products and artist retreats.  Esther’s Place is a great resource for fiber artists and novices who are interested in working with fiber.

While Mike was out of town last week, I though I’d finish our room as a surprise.

I used a darker gray on the focal wall and a lighter gray on the 3 additional walls.  I tried Harmony (no-voc) by Sherwin Williams on the lighter walls and Duration (low-voc) by Sherwin Williams on the dark wall.

Both paint options are eco-friendly, but the Duration is made to be more durable, scrubable and I thought it covered well.

The Charles and Ray Eames Blicks wall decals added some fun to the walls and add a tone on tone contrast.  I made 4 paper canvases from Paper Source for color and to create a focal point.

A quick update, but it’s given me a place to call our own.

As part of my New Year’s Resolution and #1 on my “greenie tips list” below, I decided to refinish furniture that needed to be freshed up.

First, Mike’s cadet blue dresser, I refinished with milk paint years ago needed some handles.  New handles mixed with pull knobs gave it the stature it needed and the functionality it deserved.

Mike’s mom also gave us his old cedar chest.  The solid oak construction was brown and tired.  I used Bioshield, low VOC and water based floor stain in chili pepper red.  It turned out to be more Pagoda red after 3 coats, but the finish is exactly the red patent leather look I was going for to spice up the mud room.

Consider refinishing some of your tired pieces.  There’s still life left in the good ones.

I’ve been meaning to write about some inspiration lately.  What moves me? What influences my designs and how are these elements incorporated into recommendations?

I’m usually like a sponge soaking up every color, graphic, and natural anomaly in sight.  But recently I ran across two very different crafts that speak to my core design philosophy.  Experiment with color and incorporate nature.  Nature in this blog comes from wood and glass.

Woven Glass – Two artists, Tom and Eric of Markow and Norris , create delicate hand woven glass sculpture.  The vibrant colors, fabric like drapery and creative inlays take glass to a new level of tactile bliss.

Carved Wood Sculpture – Tom Langan’s carved birds take me a back to my roots.  The grouping of the birds and clustering of the sculptures create a real feeling and sense that this art is alive.  It’s the grouping that interests me and influences how I group objects in my designs.  I love the realistic approach to carving and painting the birds.  I most of all love the Egrets.

Marimekko’s fall line celebrates natural themes with deep jewel tones.  The renowned Finnish textile and clothing company pushes the modernist boundaries by appealing to the naturalist with the Ginkgo pattern. Erja Hirvi’s Purnukka pattern offers funky twist on gars and vessles, and the Terttu pattern is bright and berry appealing.

Textile Arts has just released the new fall textile offerings by Marimekko.  Consider buying a yard and hanging it on your wall with one of their wall hanging systems.