Great Idea: Live Tiny, Go Cob

Irwin Weiner ASID - Here's a great trivia question for you: What's the most widely used global building material for homes? If you guessed wood ... you would be wrong. How about brick? Wrong again.

Remember the Three Little Pigs? The straw house is close to the correct answer. It's earth or mud, and over half of the world's homes are made from the land nearby. I loved this video showing young men and women from the Pickards Mountain Eco-Institute putting together a cob house (also called cobb or clom). Cob consists of a mixture of clay, straw, sand, water, and earth and isn't too dissimilar from adobe. Click on the photos of some of our featured cob houses to learn more about each one.

In today's featured video, horse manure is also used, surprisingly because horses have done a superb job of chewing up the straw into fine bits and there's an enzyme in their waste that helps make the clay very pliable, easy to form curves and shapes - note the dandy cob shelves and other features inside the home. 

5 of Our Favorite Dream Closets

Irwin Weiner ASID - The weekend is coming, and I immediately think about doing laundry. Every Saturday morning (almost),, we separate lights and darks, take the shirts to the cleaners, and do our laundry loads. And that gets me thinking about closets and how we can always do better. Look at the walk-in closet in the top photo, for example. London designer Johnathan Reed created this masterpiece in a converted mews. I'm sure the wall with windows on the left used to be the side of an old horse stall, but it suits the new space beautifully and creates a great view of a tidy and well-organized closet. What a beauty!

We found this helpful article on 7 Essentials to Luxury Closets that I had to share with you.

Porro of Italy designed this beautiful walk-in closet corner, with an entire wall of reach-in storage behind-the white cabinetry.

Here are five closets that I thought were praise-worthy examples of storage and organization done up beautifully, like the shoes-only closet/storage/system/lounge designed by architect James Paragano and interior designer Martin P. Mitchell designed  for the NJ home of baseball pitcher C. C. Sabathia (photo above). Click here to see other celebrity closets featured in Architectural Digest. And (because we know you're curious!), click here to see celebrity walk-in closets from Elle Decor.

Walk-in spaces can be too masculine, but fashion designer Nanette Lepore's closet space is beautiful, luxurious, and tasteful.

Neutral coloring allows clothing and accessories to pop, and we love the tufted built-in seating.

Apartment Therapy Tips for Techorating Your Home

Irwin Weiner ASID - Heavens knows our homes are becoming more and more cluttered, and much of that is due to technology.

The cordless Duracell Powermat can sit by your front door to remind you to clutter-free charge your mobile device.

We have sound systems with lots of boxes and lots of cords, we charge our smartphones with cords hanging out of the wall, and our home offices can become an eyesore if not managed well.

Blue Lounge has a great cable management solution, as you can see in this before-and-after photo - on the right is CableBox.

Today's featured video is an interview with Apartment Therapy founder Maxwell Ryan, and he boyishly reminds us that techorating is making cool, clean, efficient, and beautiful technology purchases that make our living spaces more functional and beautiful. He suggested several products which caught my attention - click on each photo for more techorating product information.

Russia Just Warming Up to Contemporary Interior Design

Irwin Weiner ASID - It was a scant 15 years ago that interior design first became known and practiced in Russia. "Design" wasn't really in the everyday lexicon, and architects fell short of providing any guidance for how to decorate for the comfort and enjoyment of residents.

Russian shelter magazines are springing up.

The latest design revolution began, of course, with the well to do, experimenting with style and ornamentation, different periods of furniture, and daring to add more to a room than a set of chairs and a plain table.

Russia's rich design past focused heavily on brocades and velvet and gilded ornamentation, but Western styles are now in vogue (Italy's euro style predominates). I've read that there is yet to be a distinctly contemporary Russian design style, but that will come as more entrepreneurial spirits stop copying what they see abroad and settle down to find inspiration at home.

Here are some interesting links we'd like you to explore to learn more about Russia's emerging design scene.

• Explore a luxury penthouse in Moscow (see top photo above) and explore other interior design projects from the Russian firm Geometrix Design.
• We loved this two-part video documentary on Modern Russian Interiors; it will give you an excellent survey of Russian homes, lifestyles, and champions of Russia's emerging design industry.
• Look at pictures of homes in the luxurious Rublyovka neighborhood in Moscow, a truly elite enclave. 
• The Best Interiors is one of several top Russian interior design magazines.

Quick Fixes for the Versatile Dining Room

In most homes, the dining room is either a place where families come together to share meals or it's set aside for dinner parties and entertaining. Given that it's not used as frequently as other rooms in the house, it runs the risk of becoming neglected and perhaps not serving its role as fully as it should. An unused room? You can't afford it! To avoid this problem, your dining room needs to be continually updated. Your decorating should be fresh and relevant. Some of the easiest ways of achieving this are to change its color scheme, refresh the furniture, and add new accessories. Let's look at some of the quick and economical fixes that almost anyone can carry out without a big budget.

• Buy the Right Rug. Choose a rug that will provide an elegant and/or dramatic finishing touch, while also adding warmth and texture. Rugs break up the monotonous tone of the floor. Remember, it's important to consider the color and pattern with the overall décor of the room, and most designers will begin with a rug selection before coordinating other furniture purchases and selecting colors, fabrics, window treatments, and wallpaper. 

• Buy a New Dining Table. The type table you buy will depend on the size of the room, the number of people to be accommodated, and your family's personal preferences. Dining tables are available in a wide range of styles, finishes, colors, and shapes - from the more common rectangulars to rounds, ovals, or squares. There are also extending dining tables, perfect for optimizing the space, as they're only fully extended when entertaining a large number of guests. Many families like to purchase a table that will also serve multiple functions: homework and study, computers and gaming, and even home office - spread out your receipts and do your tax returns, handle all your bill paying and correspondence, and so on. If you're not always "dining" in this room, find other useful purposes for the room and find the table that best fits your needs. 

• Paint the Walls. It's relatively easy to change the ambiance of any space by painting the walls. For example, a light shade of grey or perhaps light pink will instantly freshen up and brighten the room.

You can add color by choosing imaginative seating, as with Peter Traag's Mummy chair.

• What About Chair Cushions? First, let's talk about the dining room chairs themselves. Do you want a dining room set with matching chairs? Try selecting mismatched seating, a quite popular option, or purchasing a set of chairs that coordinate well with the table, but don't look too "matchy-matchy." Seating can also be chosen to add pops of color to your room (see photo above). But for plainer seating, add cushions to bring them to life in a simple and inexpensive manner. Take care to coordinate the colors and patterns with the overall scheme of the room in order to achieve a coordinated effect. If your dining room chairs are more comfortable to sit in, they'll also serve those multi-use functions mentioned earlier. 

• You Must Accessorize. Accessories are a great way of expressing your personality, style, and taste. Consider purchasing handmade pieces, for example, vases and centerpieces, antique items such as chinaware and mirrors, or artwork to hang on the walls.

An assortment of Tapio Wirkkala's Bolle Bottles would be striking as a contemporary centerpiece.

• Lighting Is Important. Depending on the overall style of the space, a contemporary or traditional chandelier can become the focal point of the entire room. Select a fixture that provides adequate lighting; look into newer LED options. Make sure that you add a dimmer switch to your wall switches so you can easily set the mood. An amazing pendant or chandelier can be an incredible focal point for the room. Select one that makes people comment!

• Consider Wallpaper. Explore using wallpaper, perhaps on a feature wall. It's an easy and inexpensive way of dramatically changing a dining room's appearance, There are literally thousands of patterns, colors, and textures to choose from. For example, select a floral design to accentuate existing chair cushions or table linens. If your space has a wall of built-in shelves, you can also paper the backs of the shelving unit for a dramatic and stylish effect.

• Mix Up the Furniture. Make the room more interesting by using mismatched furniture. One option is to select the dining table and then look for different chairs that suit its height, color, and overall style. The trick is to ensure they do not match perfectly. But you can also be even more creative with the seating around your dining room table. Take out traditional dining room chairs on one end and add a bench or comfy sofa. At the ends of the table, add chairs with arms to create a dressier and more sophisticated look (and the other dining chairs are without arms). Your chair selection can be eclectic, yet well coordinated so that chair legs and splats tie in with one another. This styling will give the room a comfortable, lived-in mood, which will make any guest right feel at home.