shopping

You are currently browsing the archive for the shopping category.

Have You Seen the New Crate & Barrel?

August 24, 2010 in Editor Favorites, New Product, shopping by Kate | 6 comments

Something’s happening at Crate & Barrel. While we’ve all been abuzz over the debut of the company’s contemporary offshoot, CB2, along Atlanta’s Midtown Mile, the big daddy, it seems, has been slowly transforming from standard-issue style to superior sophistication. Truth be told, I’ve never found more reasons to say “Wow!” about Crate & Barrel before. And the Fall 2010 catalog reveals this approach boldly with stunning design statements and a refreshing repertoire of new pieces for a fresh season. Dubbed “Modern New Classics for the way we live now,” the latest collections present an aesthetic that’s not only in step with the changing mode of Atlanta, but also the looks that Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles editors champion in the magazine’s pages month after month. Below, I detail the pieces I love most:

Probably my favorite of all, the Hendrix Desk is constructed of rough-hewn reclaimed Peroba wood, black walnut, heavy-duty steel “M” legs and iron hardware.

…And the best part: the back of the desk doubles as an open shelf for all of your favorite texts. $1299.

The Shadowbox Tower is a very modern way of looking at the bookcase/display case. Made of cold-rolled steel, this artful addition boasts a hand-applied graphite finish. $899. Plus, I’m in love with the European white oak Dakota Dining Table for a handcrafted look. $1399. The all-weather wicker Captiva Chairs are $269-$329 each.

A Midcentury revival, the Paloma Sideboard is made from strips of eco-friendly peroba wood wrapped around a solid mahogany frame. $2499.

The new Walker Dining Table, shown here in Cherry, reinterprets the classic farmhouse stretch table by adding graphic lines and a powder-coated steel base plus a high-gloss top of engineered wood. It’s also available in six additional colors. $999.

I think the pattern of the Cruz Pillow is just lovely: graphic yet feminine, contemporary yet vintage-inspired—and the color palette is right on point. $70.

Part desk, part console, part dining table, the super-versatile Phoenix Work Table is made from reclaimed Brazilian telephone poles so that each has its own distinct character. The shape of the iron loop base makes this rugged piece more graceful and interesting. $1299.

A reissued classic, the Milo Classic Leather Lounge Chair revives the vision of Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin. It features semi-aniline leather cushions on a nickel-plated, flatbar stainless steel frame. $2499.

Tags: contemporary, Crate & Barrel, Midcentury, modern, Modern classics, new classics, reclaimed, reclaimed wood, rustic, salvaged

Stationery Reborn

July 27, 2010 in Editor Favorites, New Product, shopping by Kate | 5 comments

One might say that Christmas has come early for me this year, thanks an exciting new collaboration that I can’t wait to share with you.

I’ve been a fan of Snow & Graham, a Chicago-based producer of fine stationery, wrapping papers, calendars and other fantastic paper items, for years. In fact, when it comes time to purchase a card for a friend, I normally head straight to Sam Flax on the Westside or Paper Source in Virginia-Highland to, more often than not, find myself leaving with a fabulous new Snow & Graham product. If you’re a stationery nerd and design fanatic like myself, I’m sure you can relate. The motifs are unfailingly fresh, fashion-forward and elegant, and the paper and printing quality is always tops.

Happily, it seems that Garnet Hill shares my penchant; the company will debut a number of pretty new products featuring Snow & Graham’s signature graphic designs for the 2010 holiday season. These include sumptuous supima flannel and cotton percale bedding and cheerful doormats now, and in the future, Garnet Hill plans to extend the collaboration even further by introducing lots of additional home and fashion items with the telltale Snow & Graham touch. Even better, two of the patterns used in the current collection, Tweets and Cocoa Cups, are already my favorites. Keep an eye out for the introductions below (and more!) when the collection becomes available at garnethill.com on September 15.

Tags: bedding, christmas, Garnet Hill, holiday, home decor, Paper Source, Sam Flax, Sam Flax Art & Design, sheets, Snow & Graham, Stationery, winter

Baking for a Cause

July 8, 2010 in Food & Recipes, Uncategorized, entertaining, shopping by Brian D | 7 comments

Anyone who knows me can tell you I like to cook. My kitchen cabinets are overflowing with more gadgets and tools than any college student could ever need, and I am the only student I know that has a fully stocked pantry. So when I see kitchen stuff I like, I have to have it. That’s exactly what happened when I stumbled upon this Elements of Style blog about Bake It Pretty’s selection of fun and fabulous cupcake wrappers.

I have already gotten together a wish list of things I need in preparation for my fall project of hosting a Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale. Stemming from too many hours of watching the Food Network and a desire to do some good with my spare time, I realized that the combination of hungry fans on a football Saturday and a great cause would be a recipe for fundraising success. All of the money raised in the bake sale will go toward Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign, which is fighting to end childhood hunger in America by 2015. The program joins together the efforts of community groups, activists and food programs to catch children who are struggling with hunger, bringing them healthy and nourishing foods to the places they live, learn and play.

Here are a few of my must-haves before this fall:

I absolutely love these playful yet classic cookie cutter shapes from Bake It Pretty. I can just imagine how much fun it will be to decorate these cookies with icing!

Essential to any bake sale, cupcakes get a makeover with these designer cupcake wrappers.

What do hungry fans like more than sugary sweets? Sugary sweets that say things like “War Eagle” or “Go Dawgs.” I love the idea of being able to personalize my cookies to say just about anything using this Message-in-a-Cookie Cutter from Williams-Sonoma.

Also from Williams-Sonoma, this Apple Pocket Pie Mold makes perfect apple pies portable.

To learn more about Share Our Strength and its efforts to end childhood hunger in America, or to find out how to host your own Great American Bake Sale, click here.

Tags: Bake it pretty, Bake sale, Bakeware, Baking, Childhood hunger, cookie cutter, cookies, cupcake wrappers, cupcakes, Great American Bake Sale, kitchen, No Kid Hungry, Share Our Strength, Sur La Table, Williams Sonoma

A Design Revival—In Silhouette

June 24, 2010 in Designing, Editor Favorites, New Product, shopping by Kate | 6 comments

Silhouettes by Mike Miller for West Elm

Antiques dealer and artist Mike Miller recently debuted a new designer collection of pillows and wall decor for West Elm—comprising generic silhouettes of pets, people in motion and graphic shapes—that is generating a tremendous amount of buzz. Shoppers and design fanatics are already clamoring for them, but the silhouette itself is nothing novel at all.

They say everything old is new again—and in the case of the silhouette, the Mike Miller collection is just one mark of its vehement revival. While this decoration has loads of graphic modern appeal, the silhouette as an art form—and an affectionate way to capture the likeness of a loved one—has been around for centuries. For a thorough rundown on this long-lived art, Country Living produced a superb story on its history in 2009 that has since been adapted into a slide show at countryliving.com.

A collection of antique silhouettes. Image courtesy of Country Living magazine.

True antique silhouettes are always precious finds at antique stores and flea markets, but there are a number of resources for customized versions with the promise of becoming modern-day keepsakes. I find them oh-so charming. The accompanying sentiment is always a special one and all of these examples would make incredible gifts. I’ve included a few of my favorites below. Click on each picture to learn more:

Lucky Me Beads

Le Papier Studio

Be Good Studio

Fire Hydrant Press

Paper Cuts by Joe

Jenny Lee Fowler

Poupette

Carter Kustera, a Brooklyn-based illustrator known as “America’s favorite silhouette portrait artist,” at work.

Tags: antique silhouette, Be Good Studio, Carter Kustera, custom silhouette, Fire Hydrant Press, framed silhouette, Jenny Lee Fowler, Le Papier Studio, Lucky Me Beads, Mike MIller, necklace, note card, Paper Cuts by Joe, pillows, Poupette, silhouette, silhouette art, silhouette jewelry, silhouette pillow, silhouettes, Stationery, West Elm

IKEA as We’ve Never Seen it Before

June 23, 2010 in Designing, New Product, shopping by Kate | 4 comments

Most design authorities will recommend investing in a classic sofa with lifelong potential, but there remain sound occasions to buy IKEA upholstery—a budget crunch, temporary apartment living, decorating a playroom for a fickle youngster, needing a cheerful accent piece, etc. In such cases, British fabric design phenom Tricia Guild and Bemz, a maker of custom slipcovers for the pocketbook-friendly Swedish furnishings, are here to save the day. Guild recently lent her whimsical, modern aesthetic to a cheap and chic line of Designers Guild covers for IKEA chairs, sofas and cushions. The 70-piece Barcelona Collection, which debuted yesterday at Bemz.com, ranges in price from about $55 to $719, depending on the piece, plus a flat $20 for shipping and handling. The Spanish-inspired textiles are made of 100 percent cotton and are machine washable, too. I’m partial to the neutral patterns, but the colorful versions would be vivid complements to any daring decorating scheme. I think the motifs really spruce up IKEA’s very simple shapes beautifully! Here are a few of my favorite images of the new collection below: