Shay,
I watched a show on GMT (quite awhile ago now) where you showed a sofa upholstered in a ”new” leather like material.   I think you said that it would be very durable.  Can you tell me what it was called and a little more about it.  Also if you have used it & whether your customers/clients have been satisfied.

Thanks.
Mary – Arlington, TX

Dear Mary,
Thank you so much for your question!  I get questions about how to find durable fabrics all of the time.  It’s an issue on most people’s minds.    The leather like material you are referring to is called Brisa.  It is a unique man made polyurethane fabric with a specially designed ventilation system that allows it to breathe.  The textile manufacturer, Gulf Fabrics,  simulates the look & feel of natural leather by creating a discreet grain pattern.  With over 200,00 double rubs, Brisa is known for it’s high durability.  That’s more than 30% more durable than what is required to be considered a “heavy duty” durable fabric.  It comes in a wide array of wonderful designer colors.  Here are a few of my favs:

Presently, Century Furniture is the only furniture manufacturer who is using Brisa.  We have had several of their pieces in Brisa at IBB. I have heard only great feedback so far from clients.  It’s as soft & supple as a really high grade quality leather.  One of my clients, who bought a sofa with the cushions covered in Brisa, says that their dog gets up on it all of the time & they haven’t had any issues.  They also have 3 kids, so durability was a huge priority for them.

Here’s a few more facts about Brisa:

1. Clinically proven to be more resistant to temperature changes than vinyl & leather.
2. Stays cooler than genuine leather in warm weather situations.
3. Resists cold weather stiffening & cracking.
4. Exceeds 200,000 double rubs
5. Cleans effortlessly with soap & water.
6. Most stains can be lifted with with alcohol-based solutions Fantastik or Formula 409

A very Merry Christmas to you all!  I hope you are having a very blessed day & enjoying some quality time with your family.  This is my absolute favorite time of year.  I love to decorate my house and my friend’s & client’s homes for this joyous season.  I also love to entertain.  We really enjoy cooking in our family, so we often throw get togethers & cocktail parties.  Christmas is no exception.  We recently hosted a Christmas open house at our home for family, friends & clients.  The night was festive and the halls were decked!

My mom & I cooked all of the food.  We had a huge spread of beef tenderloin, shrimp cocktail, dips, stuffed mushrooms, fruits, cheeses & yummy desserts.  I even played bartender & mixed candy cane & tinsel tinis.  The evening was a huge success & we enjoyed sharing in the joys of the holidays with everyone.

Our entry way

Our formal living room.  We set out Chirstmas cookies, peppermint bark & sundried tomato cheese spread & crackers for guests to munch on as they socialized.

The dinner buffet

The dessert buffet in our dining room

Festive Chocolate cake (We bought this one at Central Market)

The Martini bar set up

The candy cane & tinsel tinis.  I wrapped sparkle pipe cleaners around the stems of the tinsel tinis.  Get the candy cane tini recipe here.

Santa Challah bread

Chair decor for our gameroom chairs (as seen on GMT)

Family room coffee table decor.  I collect vintage Santas.  We had a contest for guests to guess how many Santas we had in the house.  We had a total of 55 including the ornaments on the tree!

Me & my co-host, my wonderful fiance Brian all ready for the party.

A HUGE thank you to everyone who entered.  It’s been so fun reading everyone’s comments   Everyone who commented during the giveaway had their e-mail addresses placed into a bowl & we have drawn a winner!  Drum roll please…

Congratulations to Kate Kassen!  You are the winner of the iPod Touch.  I will be contacting you via e-mail to get all of your shipping details.

Again, thank you to all of our new & loyal readers!  I appreciate you all so much!  Since this giveaway went so well, I have decided to come up with more giveaways for my readers.  Stay tuned for the next giveaway announcement!

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays everyone!!!

Christmas is just days away!  Are your tabletops ready for the big celebration?  If not, check out last Friday’s GMT segment for some ideas to set your tables in style for the holidays.  Whether you’re setting up for a buffet or just need some inspiration for your dining table, I’m here to help!

Watch the segment here.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

Good morning friends!  I know many of you are probably running around crazy like me trying to get last minute Christmas & Holiday shopping done!  How about putting a room makeover on your list?  I know there are a few rooms in my house that I want to work on

Last week on GMT, I featured a ideas for a game room makeover.  Here’s a link to the segment.  I hope it inspires you!  Maybe Santa has a makeover in store for you   Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

xoxo
Happy Decorating!

Christmas is coming early for one lucky reader of my blog!  I’ll be giving away an iPod touch to one lucky reader on Tuesday, December 22nd.  To enter, simply leave comments anywhere on the Designer Detective blog between now & Tuesday, December 22nd.  How easy is that?  Please keep your comments “content focused”.    Join in the fun & the design conversations.  Whether you’re a design novice,  professional, or simply a blog lover your design comments are welcomed!  Tacky, tasteless, or inappropriate non-content focused comments are frowned upon & will not be considered in the drawing (so sorry to even have to mention that, but unfortunately there are a few crazies out there on the world wide web & the intent of the giveaway is to reward a lucky reader).  Make sure a valid e-mail is posted along with your comment.  I will be contacting the winner via e-mail to obtain shipping information for the iPod touch.  One entry per valid e-mail.  All vaild e-mails will be put into a drawing to select the winner.  Entries will be accepted until 5:00 PM Central time on Tuesday, December 22nd when the winner will be selected.  Good luck!

Kravet, one of my very favorite “go to” fabric lines had a wonderful post today on their blog about selecting the right fabrics for upholstery.  Even as a design professional, I found the knowledge & advice they provided in the blog post to be very valuable.  It’s a worthwhile read for anyone thinking about or in the process of selecting new or re-covering upholstery in their home.  Read their post on upholstery fabric tips here.

Kravet has an extensive library of fabrics to choose from.  They really do have something for everyone at just about every price point.  You may remember me telling you about their new KravetSmart program featuring a more cost conscious approach.

They are also very well known for their ingenious collaborations with interior designers such as Candice Olson, Barclay Butera, Alexa Hampton, Barbara Barry, Calvin Klein & many more.

However, the pièce de résistance for me is their Guaranteed in Stock books.  These books are a lifeline for me when I’m trying to meet a quick deadline for clients.  Case in point ~ I had a rather distressing moment at my own home last week.  Upon “fluffing” my formal living room in preparation for dinner party guests, I discovered that my sweet sweet dog had decided to make my living room chairs her daily place of resting, licking paws & other doggy propensities.  The cushions were in shambles   With our holiday party less than 2 weeks away, I had to think fast!  I went straight to one of Kravet’s guaranteed in stock books that contained my home’s color palette & selected the perfect material to begin the resurrection of my beautiful chairs.  I had the farbic in hand 3 days later.  My amazing upholsterer will have them back to me on Thursday, leaving me 2 days to spare until our party.  Whew!  Looks like Sassy (my sweet sweet dog) is giving me living room chairs for Christmas

Finding the perfect fabrics can take time.  Follow the advice of professionals in the design industry or work with a professional designer to help you find fantastic fabrics for your home.

I’ll be making these for our upcoming holiday party & thought I’d share the recipe.  They are super yummy & are so pretty too!  Cheers!

1ounce Vodka
3/4ounce Peppermint Schnapps or Rumple Mintz
1 ounce  Sprite
Splash of grenadine

Add all liquid ingredients to cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into martini glass.  Garnish the rim with crushed candy cane or red sugar sprinkles & either drop a mini candy cane inside the glass or hang one on the rim.

image: marthastewart.com

For that boom boom pow, you need to head on over to the Standard Hotel in New York City in the ultra-hip newly re-invented Meat Packing District.  I stayed there on a recent trip with some fellow interior designers to the city.  I’ve heard so much buzz about it since returning home, that I thought I’d share my experience, particularly what happens on the 18th floor.

This is the reason I named this post “I got that Boom Boom Pow”.  The hotel features a VERY trendy, uber-exclusive & celebrity packed nightclub on it’s 18th floor called “The Boom Boom Room”.  Some critics have dubbed it the new “Studio 54″.  That’s how chic it is.  Madonna, Jude Law, Lindsay Lohan, Donna Karen, Tory Bruch, Calvin Klein & Bon Jovi were just a few of the big name celebs who attended their grand opening.

Jesus Luz & Madonna at the opening
image: huffingtonpost.com

Dorothea & Jon Bon Jovi at the opening
image: huffingtonpost.com

Tory Burch at the opening
image: huffingtonpost.com

We had all been dying to get in to check out the swanky establishment.  For the celebs?  For the drinks?  No, no!  As designers, we had heard the interior finish out of the bar was absolutely to die for.  We just wanted to take a peek.  The bouncer at the door apparently didn’t care about our eagerness to check out the architecture.  “Are you on the list?” he asked.  “Um, no.  We’re hotel guests & we’d like to check out the design” we say with a smile.  Denied.  (at least for the time being…)

As fate would have it, we met Tyson Beckford (who was one of the coolest celebs I’ve ever met! For being one of the most famous male super models, he was insanely personable & very cool to talk with!) during our dinner at Bagatelle (you must dine there when in NYC!) & then ran into him again on his way to the Boom Boom Room.  He asked us if we were going & with a look of defeat, we explained what happend.  He told us to come with him.  Seconds later, we were in the elevator with Tyson & his crew on our way up to get our very own  glimpse of what we had heard so much about.

A-maz-ing!!!  The scene & be seen bar boasts floor to ceiling windows which offer 360 degree views of NYC as well as the Hudson River.  The rumors were confirmed… the architecture & finish out WERE to die for!  It had a very “Rat Pack” feel to me.  It’s mid-century modern meets old Hollywood.  From the upholstered private booths to the stunning main bar, there was plenty of eye candy even without all of the celebs to fill the joint.  Enough said.  I’ll share the rest of my experience with photos.

Shelly & I with our gracious host, Tyson Beckford

Tyson introduced us to his friend Jazz from the Black Eyed Peas
The Boom Boom Pow was in the Boom Boom Room

I told you the architecture was spectacular!
This is the main bar area.

Bartenders hard at work amongst the gorgeous setting

I love the outfits the cocktail waitresses wear!
image: huffingtonpost.com

SO, if you live in NYC or plan to visit soon, make sure to stop at the Standard Hotel & try to get your very own glimpse of the Boom Boom Room.

I am giddy with excitement today!  Pantone, the global authority on color, announced that 2010’s color of the year is… drum roll please… TURQUOISE!  Can we say YIPPEE!!!???  As I told you previously, my new fav color combo is turquoise & tangerine.  I love, love, love the color turquoise.  I can remember traveling to Santa Fe with my parents as a child & my must have souvenir was always a piece of turquoise jewelry.  The color just makes me happy!  Pantone describes the color as inviting & luminous.  I must say that I undoubtedly agree. 

Turquoise had a dominant prescence at the Fall 2009 International Home Furnishings Market.  So, this announcement is really no surprise to me.  In fact, I think I really would have been more shocked if they hadn’t chosen turquoise as the color of the year for 2010.  Here’s a look at a compilation of some of my favorite uses of turquoise in both home interiors and fashion.

Fabulous accent pillow in indoor/outdoor fabric by Trina Turk for Schumacher

 Fabric by Celerie Kemble for Schumacher

Turquoise retro stovetop oven

Turquoise Front door
image: Dream Kitchen

 Turquoise Kitchen:  I love the retro appliances!  Tres chic!

Now this is tranquility.  So fresh.  The turquoise accents make the room.  Beautiful.

Another truqouise bedroom with a bit more traditional flair.
image: myhomeideas.com

Turquoise chandelier
www.1stdibs.com

Turquoise cuff by Chanel

Turquoise strapless gown from the Iodice spring 2009 collection.
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Eva Longoria in Monique Lhuillier 2009 Spring Collection
photo: profashionelle.com